The Martial Arts Society

So I have a question .. what kind of martial arts is the best for self defence. I've considered taking some martial arts classes just for self defence, you never know I mean. And obviously a week of training won't turn me into Steven Seagal. So how long is someone supposed to train for to be able to take care of him/herself?

And I'm not sure if height/weight has anything to do with it but I'm pretty big

Whats up guys!

Im starting uni in Sept and want to get ripped in my spare time. Health, confidence and attractive body bein the mean reasons :P

I used to got to the gym a few times a week but would get bored after a while as i didn't have an end goal. This time round i would like to take up a martial art so i will have some inititive to keep training by meeting people and learning something new.

Any advice on where to start? i.e different styles and why. Im really open and am considering anything. I have even thought about kick boxing Id like something that will give me some all round skill or in other words make me a hard mutha hubbard

anyone here know of any great shorinji kempo, krav maga and hapkido places in north and west (central) london?

Why do these threads always turn into arguments?
I do Muay Thai and BJJ. And ive always admired the judokas. Their sport is amazing.
But the judokas who criticize bjj are wrong, because you may throw a bjj practitioner to the ground, but in most rules, other than judo, this is not a win (or ippon), the fight keeps going, and it is most likely from a ground fight, that a skilled bjj practitioner would be the winner. That being said, the initial throw carries a huge impact...
So both sports are equally great.

Why do these threads always turn into arguments?
I do Muay Thai and BJJ. And ive always admired the judokas. Their sport is amazing.
But the judokas who criticize bjj are wrong, because you may throw a bjj practitioner to the ground, but in most rules, other than judo, this is not a win (or ippon), the fight keeps going, and it is most likely from a ground fight, that a skilled bjj practitioner would be the winner. That being said, the initial throw carries a huge impact...
So both sports are equally great.

Umm, who are the Judoka that are disrespecting Jiujiteiros? None in this thread that I've seen, and I'd consider myself both.

In a sport match a throw will not win except in Judo, Sambo, Freestyle and Greco-Roman Wrestling. In a street fight an Osoto Gari will crack your skull open (almost all Judo deaths have been from Osoto Gari, and it's certainly the first throw I'd use if attacked - on a person with no knowledge of ukemi, with no real experience of taking a throw, Osoto Gari would probably be lethal 95% of the time), an Osoto Makikomi will quite literally shatter your ribcage, a Kubi Nage will break your neck, and a Harai Goshi will quite possibly break your back. The fight would be over instantly the vast majority of the time.

Hey,
I'm a martial artist, or say was....
Trained since i was young but can't go any further as I'm going to uni this September and it gets in the way of my training for my next step up (n)

I think it depends on how hard you go. No one should try to kill the person they are throwing in a real life situation unless their life is seriously threatened. Better to use control and bring them to the ground gently and then choke them unconscious.

Seriously, the choke is the ultimate self-defence technique. Safe for both people and the person choked out doesn't remember how it happened haha.

Most universities will have loads of martial arts with facilities to practice in? I practised martial artist before university once a week for five years. Now I go four times a week for literally 1/4 of the cost.

If someone attacks me I'm going to hurt them; very, very badly.

Great, good for you. Just don't expect the law to care very much for that. Simple fact is that you shouldn't try to seriously harm your attacker unless you're seriously threatened because you could end up doing real damage and get in trouble.

That's not too bad then, I wan't to get my next grade that's all and even go onto an instructor programme

Better that than potentially being killed. If someone is attacking me I have to assume the worst intentions, that is the intention to kill me, on their part simply for my own safety. I don't think it's a victim's responsibility to protect their attacker.

What martial art do you do? I'm captain on the Shaolin Kung Fu society and I have no emphasise on achieving any kind of 'grade'. It's probably because I do Kung Fu and traditionally, there is no grade system. You shouldn't worry about belts and stuff. We become instructors by proving our abilities without them. I personally have never liked belt systems - I agree it allows the instructors to know where people are at, but it shouldn't stop you making the transition to another martial art!

I trained in traditional Tae Kwon-Do where there is a belt system, I've been waiting 7 years to get to the age where I can go for 4th Dan Black belt. I also had the opportunity to become an instructor but at the time I was still in college so I had to priorities everything.