Why are you interested in taking martial arts?  You must answer this question before comparing styles or schools.

NOT ALL STYLES ARE THE SAME!

AND…  We're Not Your Typical Martial Arts School!

In fact, we’re not a martial arts school at all.  We are a self-defense school!

We consider all aspects of real world encounters!  As a result, we offer the most comprehensive self-defense training available.

One needs to not only learn realistic (what we refer to as Lifelike Self-Defense Training) self-defense principles, but also the laws governing the use of force!

The following commentary is not meant to impugn any style or their practitioners, but to provide the inquirer a source of comparison as to their effectiveness in teaching self-defense.  In fact, some of the skills, not all, developed in many of these martial arts or combat sports can be adjusted, with care and understanding, to be utilized in many street encounters.  But, to do so, one would have to almost completely overhaul the manner in which they train those very same techniques.  All skills must be trained in the context in which one expects to use it.  Here in lies the flaw with most styles and schools training.

Brazilian Ju Jitsu (BJJ)?  Derived from Judo, Brazilian Ju Jitsu is nothing like real world or traditional ju jitsu.  BJJ is a relatively new sport, unique and somewhat different from its judo parent.  Judoka spend most of their training utilizing throws to score points.  BJJ, on the other hand, spends most and in some cases, all of their time on the ground attempting to score points or submit their opponent.  Their claim to fame for teaching self-defense and accessing certain law enforcement and military contracts is that most fights end up on the ground.  OK!  So, then we should just accept that and go to the ground anyway?  NOT!!!  We disagree and suggest you learn how to prevent such take down attempts and if you should be taken down, you don't want to be rolling around on the ground with a bigger adversary who may be armed and probably has friends standing by.  Remember, this is a sport with rules - in fact, lots of rules!  And referees!  There are no rules on the street or referees to come to your rescue.  How realistic do you think this is?

Judo?  Judo means "gentle way" and is considered, as is BJJ, a modern combat sport.  Judo originated in Japan in the late nineteenth century.  It's most widely known for its competitive elements where the objective is to throw the opponent to the ground and immobilize him with a grappling maneuver such as a joint lock or choke.  Kicks, punches, etc. are also practiced to a very limited degree and only in pre-arranged forms called kata.  Strikes are not allowed in competition.  Practiced for sport, again there are numerous rules and of course judges and referees.  Admittedly, if one throws an adversary onto the concrete, he will probably leave you alone!  Thoroughly practiced in a self-defense context, many of the throws utilized in judo can be successfully used in self-defense.  But, attacks on the street rarely occur in the same manner as judo matches.

Karate?  Karate means "empty hand" and came from Okinawa.  There are too many styles of karate to attempt here to address each of them.  But, all styles of karate contain the same basic elements - kicks, punches, blocks, kata and of course sparring.  Most of the training is devoted to kata and point sparring.  Both of which will eventually lead the talented martial artist to a certain level of proficiency.  Most schools spend very little time with the self-defense applications.  Even so, when time is spent, the scenarios are not usually very realistic or the skills taught may be less than practical with all factors considered including the use of force as defined or allowed by law ('hard' techniques are 4th on the use of force scale).  One must have more in their bag of skills that punches and kicks.  The law doesn't allow for hard strikes in all cases.  As for point sparring, although it does offer an element of timing, speed, etc., street encounters do not happen in the same way.  Therefore the range, timing, etc. are going to be off.  And, violent attacks end in approximately 5-6 seconds.  Furthermore, fighting is illegal.  Training to fight someone isn’t the same as training to defend yourself.

Taekwondo?  Taekwondo is a Korean martial sport.  Their primary focus is more on the business of developing their memberships and appealing to numerous interests people have, especially children.  Known primarily for their fancy kicks and aerial acrobatics, such techniques rarely, if ever work in real street encounters.  Like most martial arts schools, Taekwondo also offers an element of self-defense.  Often times, the role playing done for self-defense purposes in less than realistic.  They too spend enormous amounts of time with pre-arranged forms with minimal benefit to possible street attacks.  Now, if you want your kids having fun, then Taekwondo is the right style for them.  They are the world’s experts at entertaining the family and kids.  But, if your primary interest is in self-defense for either you or your child, unless the Taekwondo school offers our program or something similar, it is not the best choice.  Again, much like karate, kicking and punching alone is not enough and may be unacceptable in many street encounters where that level of hard contact is unjustified.

Kickboxing?  Like most of the full contact martial sports, kickboxing is very popular.  But, it is still a sport!  The full contact aspect will likely make it more useful in the real world should you face an adversary and judge the attack properly to counter it with a kick or punch.  The repetitive drills and full contact sparring, albeit somewhat beneficial, most people I know today do not want to spend their evenings getting bruised up by full contact strikes.  As with karate and taekwondo, kickboxing is limited to hard punches, kicks and blocks.  Plus, such full contact sports train one to fight, NOT defend yourself.  Remember, fighting is illegal in the street.

Muay Thai?  Muay Thai is much like kickboxing.  The main difference here is their allowance for tying up and throwing knees and elbows.  The in close fighting skills developed in Muay Thai add additional, useful tools for the street, but it is still very limited in its scope of training and can be used against you in a court of law.  But, most martial arts training can be subjected to the same level of scrutiny by the judicial system, some more than others.  So, you need to be sure that the school or style you select offers the best support for the possible subsequent legal ramifications of self-defense.

Ju Jitsu (Jiu Jitsu)?  Ju Jitsu means "gentle art".  Of all the arts taught today, this is the most effective martial art if taught by a truly proficient master and if taught for modern self-defense use.  There are a lot of so called masters of ju jitsu out there and very few can actually use the principles for which ju jitsu is based much less do so under realistic, dynamic street circumstances.  Again, watch how they practice and ask yourself how realistic it looks.  If self-defense is your interest, then look for the style or school that focusing comprehensively on all aspects of self-defense.

Combative Arts?  BE CAREFUL HERE!  Although the techniques taught in these programs may be more effective in saving your life, they may cost you all you own.  Unless you are an active duty military person, combative arts or what is often referred to as Hand-to-Hand (H2H) can be easily used against you in a court of law.  The average citizen serving on the jury will likely interpret such training as overkill.  Then there are the numerous persons capitalizing on the self-defense market by advertising Never Before Seen techniques or Special Military Techniques.  Be wary of such ads and don't be misled.  Most of these people have very basic backgrounds in hand-to-hand training and little to no knowledge of the physiological and psychological principles surrounding adversarial encounters and rarely, if ever, consider the laws governing self-defense.  Self-defense is about surviving the street and the court.