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Think that it’s martial arts moves that will get you out of a tough situation?  If you do, you would be partially right.  Many people learn martial arts moves as a way to increase their personal safety.  However, this is just a part of the entire picture and will only go so far in keeping you safe as you travel through your life.

Self defense techniques MAY include some martial arts moves, but they don’t HAVE to.  Let’s look at some of the most important things you can do to get out of a fight; or get through one if you find that you have to fight off an attacker or aggressive opponent.

The first thing to keep in mind is that one of the best self defense techniques of all time is that of a calm demeanor.  There is no beating the ability to stay calm in any given situation.  And..this is the hardest thing to master when you are faced with a potential fight or attack.  However, to increase your personal safety, keeping your wits about you is a must.  Maintaining calm can give you the power to diffuse a situation; and can help you think clearly if you have to fight your way out.

It is also important to keep in mind that it is not the worst thing in the world to take a hit.  While your main objective in self defense is to get away; you have to consider the possibility that you may be hit.  In fact, this is how many violent crimes START; the victim is unaware of any impending violence.   Being caught off guard is horrible, yes; but if you can remain calm and take a hit and then get back in the game, you still stand a chance.

In a street fight or violent crime, you have to realize there are no rules.  This can work in your favor because you can employ any means necessary to get away from an attacker.  Anything is a weapon if you know what to look for and how to use it.  This is the sort of thing that you learn in a self defense class.  Martial arts classes are great for exercise and for gaining fitness and focus; but they will not teach you to improvise weapons to use for self defense.

If you have to fight off an attacker, you’ve got to know what to do.  This makes perfect sense because in most attacks, the attacker is bigger and stronger than his victim.  This fact alone can shake your confidence and make it hard to maintain the necessary calm demeanor.  By learning self defense, not just martial arts moves, you gain the necessary skills to know what to do and just how to do it.

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Different people have a lot of different reasons for looking into martial arts styles.  Some are looking for transcendence and self-control, others for the ability to kill other human beings.  That lethality captivates the imagination; every man would like to be able to kill others with impunity, even if he never would.  So what are the most deadly styles of martial art in the world?  Simple: the ones that come from war-ravaged nations.

Have you ever noticed that there is no martial art indigenous to the United States, or Canada, or Norway (Stáv notwithstanding)?  That’s because those are countries that haven’t had to deal with long histories of invasion.  Compare them to countries where being invaded is a way of life — Malaysia, Thailand, Israel, Russia, and their ilk — and the difference is clear.  Guess which countries have produced the world’s most lethal martial arts styles?

Thailand: Muay Thai

Muay Thai is also called the “Art of 8 Limbs”.  It has this name because it adds four more striking surfaces to the typical 2 hands and 2 feet: the elbows and the shins.  Muay Thai practitioners use body-hardening techniques on their shins, knees, and elbows until they are tough enough to survive a strike that would shatter an enemy’s bones without bruising.  Muay Thai is famed for it’s clinching martial arts moves, wherein the practitioner grabs an opponent’s head and shoulders and holds them down while repeatedly driving knees into his heart and elbows into the back or top of his head. 

Israel: Krav Maga

Krav Maga (literally “Hand to hand combat”) has it’s roots in brutal Israeli-vs-Pakistani streetfighting, but has been refined by the Israeli government and police into a systematic method of disassembling an opponent.  The Israeli government’s official Krav Maga manual details hundreds of technques and has an entire chapter devoted to dozens of lethal martial arts moves that are easy to perform, from hip-shattering throws to neck attacks that can stop blood from leaving your brain and result in death. 

Malaysia: Silat Melayu

Silat’s origins are mysterious, but it’s a fair bet that this diverse array of martial arts styles developed over Malaysia’s centuries-long history of being invaded by everyone from Colonial Europe to Imperial Japan.  Silat relies heavily on strong stances that allow it’s practitioners to remain firmly grounded and fluid at the same time.  Because Silat is entirely practical, there are almost no flashy flying kicks or extravagant overkill attacks, but a Silat practitioner trains in a wide variety of ways to end fights with extraordinary efficiency.

Russia: Sambo

Sambo, from a Russian acronym for “Defense without Weapons”) is a fairly new martial art, developed only 90 years ago by the Red Army to improve their chances of survival when disarmed.  Borrowing techniques from a variety of martial arts styles ranging from judo to savate, Sambo practitioners take things to the ground, and fast, applying a huge variety of joint breaks, disarm techniques, and knockout blows — often as the opponent falls down.  There are no wasted moments in Sambo.

Could it be a coincidence that four of the world’s nastiest martial arts styles come from four of the world’s most often-invaded countries?  Probably not.  One thing is for certain, however — those of us that live in more peaceful climes are thankful for the opportunity to witness and maybe practice the martial arts styles that come from such turbulent places. 

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Many people that do not an in-depth knowledge of multiple martial arts styles, will often decide what style to learn based solely on martial arts moves that they have seen.  While this isn’t an inherently bad idea, especially if you want to learn martial arts for fun or to stay in shape, it also means that a bigger decision must first be made.  Every form of martial arts has an underlying style or concept that will be reflected in all of the moves that you will learn.  That means that you first need to make a decision about the overall style that you want to learn.

There are a variety of factors that you need to consider to find a style that has martial arts moves that you want to learn.  If you have never done anything like this before, then one factor that you may want to consider is your age and vulnerability to injury.  If, under no circumstances, you cannot sustain an injury then choosing a very low impact style is a good idea.  There are three basic styles of martial arts moves: striking, grappling, and weaponry.  While many forms are a combination or two or three of these styles, it is important to decide what kind of martial arts moves you want to focus on.

For example, if you want to use punches and kicks then striking should be an aspect that you focus on.  If you prefer to learn throws and take-downs, then grappling should be your emphasis.  Many people are learning different martial arts styles, not for sport, but for self defense.  If this is a case, then choosing a style that allows for quick disarming and ending the fight quickly should be a priority.

With a rise is mixed martial arts, there has been a lot of controversy surrounding whether or not MMA (sport martial arts) is better for self defense  On one side of the argument, sport martial arts trains you to compete for a specified length of time, whereas defense-oriented martial art forms want to help you end the fight as quickly as possible.  While sport martial arts is growing in popularity, it is not the right choice for everyone 

A Quick Review

While deciding which martial arts styles to learn based upon your favorite martial arts moves is not a bad idea, it is important to consider other factors as well.  The first thing to consider is how much contact you want to, or can, handle.  If you are older, injury prone, or simply do not want to endure high levels of contact, then a high impact art form like kick-boxing, is probably not right for you.  A second consideration is what overall skill set you want to learn.  Do you want to learn how to strike, grapple, use weapons, or a combination?  Just because your favorite move in a certain form of martial arts is a throw, that doesn’t mean that all you will learning is different take-downs  Finally, you need to take into consideration why you want to learn martial arts.  If you are interested in general health, self-defense, or just want to have a good time, it can drastically affect which choice is right for you.

You can learn more about martial arts moves and martial arts styles to protect yourself from unexpected attacks.