I often get asked 'What's the best martial art?' As a student of aikido I do of course lean to that answer! But the truth is we need to dig deeper into the question and what the person really means.
The best martial art for you is of course an individual thing. If you want to take part in - and hopefully win! - competitions something like karate or judo may be perfect for you. If you want something more spiritual and cultural aikido may be for you. But if what you really want is to be able to defend yourself on the street, to escape and avoid violent confrontations, street self defence is probably your answer. A critical consideration in these situations is what is reasonable force to defend yourself and you must always of course act within the law.
Street self defence is all about practical, efficient ways to deal with an attacker. The techniques are designed to be simple to learn and effective in real situations. It's a fact that most of what we lean in a dojo just won't work in the street when we need real self defence.
A lot of traditional martial arts are based on 'classic' attacks like strikes and kicks. In a street situation most fights are usually far less 'organised' and formal and will consist of grabs, headbuts, people pushing and falling over ... many street fights end up with one or all of those invloved on the floor.
Something most martial arts don't prepare you for is the fear of a real attack like you experience in a street fight. I've seen it in martial arts gradings when people literally freeze when faced with a full on attack. But on a 'real' fight that's ten times worse - you won't just lose your pride you could face serious injury or worse. Knowing street self defence is in my mind essential for all of us and I urge you to read more on the subject and learn some effective techniques.
A final note of caution and reality check on the use of reasonable force in self defense. Whatever country you are in you must comply with local laws. If a drunk guy makes a lunge for you in a street scuffle it would be way beyond reasonable force to use a weapon against him or leave him severely injured. In the heat of the moment split second decisions are called for and if you learn some good street self defence techniques you can balance the response to the attack and stay within the law.
