Overall and between karate/boxing (due to limited options).

both are terrible for self defense

sprinting is far and away the greatest

Of the two, boxing AINEC.

From my very, very brief time in an MMA gym, as I far as I understand BJJ would probably be your best in a one-on-one situation, but taking it to the floor in an all-out brawl could be a terrible idea. So muay thai or kick-boxing would be best for striking.

Agree with the advice above. My coach (pro MMA fighter in Latin America) said there is no such thing as self-defense, only offense and flight. But a year or two of boxing would give you a huge leg-up against the average drunk looking to get knocked out, and would be a nice base to start from should you ever find yourself in prison.

I wouldn’t want to punch anything without at least wraps. So I guess Muay Thai would work with knees, kicks, and elbows but I also wouldn’t want to be video taped on someone’s iPhone showing proficient striking, while the drunken instigator is getting beat up.

I train jiu jitsu a lot and most of that training and sparring takes place on the ground and in a fight I would not want to be on a dirty bar floor or parking garage etc. although you are taught a little stand up, headlock defenses, take downs, arm drags, and clinch type stuff in the first few classes.

I would say the best for self defense is stand up oriented fighting, like wresting and judo. Although it’s kind of silly to take a judo or adult wrestling class just for self defense, since they are pretty niche.

You should take what you like the most as long as it has sparring, without sparring you aren’t battle tested.

I remember reading an MMA article awhile ago that says anyone coming into the sport without a martial arts background should start with boxing.

Which if you think about it, basic striking akin to boxing is the first thing taught in all martial arts, isn't it?

Krav Maga

I've been in 2 real fights after high school and they both went something like this:

I start out trying to box, which I have a reasonable amount of experience in, but I'm short and have short arms

I get punched in the face a few times, realize it hurts and that sucks, then start doing mental judo on how not to die

Go into crisis mode, realize I wrestled at a pretty high level, and do anything I can to take the fight to the ground (duck unders are highly effective against 99% of people)

Fight goes to ground, eventually they give up their back, and I go to sleeper hold.

So yeah, probably BJJ, then wrestling. I wouldn't recommend punching people with no hand protection either. Hands are fragile. Very few people can use karate effectively to fight. It's a discipline more than a fighting style imo

Most street fights end up on the ground for numerous reasons

Yeah I'm sure that's exactly what happened in those fights.

You have boxing experience but get out boxed anyway by random people? Then when you're hit only then realize it hurts even though you have boxed? Then you suddenly, while hurt and panicking, realize you can wrestle at a high level and both times consistently take down your opponent and choke them out with what you call a "sleeper hold"?

What happened after that, btw? You just got up and people let you walk away?

Your advice at the end is good but this is so inconsistent and reeks of total, complete bullshit. Like nothing you could possibly say would make me believe this is true. How about next time you just say the last 2 sentences without all the lying I just had to read for no reason?

Here's a real first fight I got into before having any martial arts training:

I tried to use karate I learned as a kid and got my nose smashed by a taller person who knew how to punch. I grabbed them for an unknown period of time and got hit more but was 30 pounds heavier so I fell on top of them. It had only been possibly <1 minute, at most 2, but at this point we were both so exhausted from adrenaline and briefly wrestling that the fight was basically already over. I hit him once in the back of the head with little force while we were on the ground. I considered trying to choke him but couldn't fit my hand under his neck. Then I layed there and rested trying to get the energy to hit him again. Then everyones friends on both sides ran over and broke up the fight. Then we both went to the hospital, him for his eye that I had hurt/gouged without even realizing it while struggling close up before we both fell, me for my nose. We became friends after and both stopped being friends with our respective groups of friends that had pushed us into fighting. There were definitely many lessons to be learned here. We also both started training combat sports after this.

Literally any form of combat training would have prevented me from getting my nose hurt in this fight and won it because the other person didn't have real training either. Which is how the vast majority of fights like that go. The person with fighting training/experience and conditioning easily wins. So pick whatever you want and will stick with, as long as it's a combat sport. If you're asking what will win in a fight between two people who both have combat training, then specifically pick MMA/BJJ. As a general rule of thumb, grappling with good takedowns will beat striking in a street fight. Your size matters too. BJJ and grappling are going to be more effective than striking with someone if you're small. If you're large and strong, just knowing basic wrestling will let you beat 90%+ of people up easily, although striking will probably do exactly the same thing unless you run into a superior striker or a strong grappler.

I got to a certain level with my training and found I enjoyed other things more and that worrying about fighting just wasn't important to me. As long as I am fit and have basic conditioning and an idea of how to fight I feel secure and safe. But I understand why some people would want more than that, or live in an environment where they need more.

As a beginner/intermediate who trained at a very basic level for 2.5-3 years, trying Judo, BJJ, wrestling, and muay thai, plus some MMA sparring, I would say the physically strongest and fittest people for their size were the black belt Judoka. I would also say Judo was the most fun and least violent of all of these combat sports. But the best fighters were the people at the Muay thai/BJJ school, although no one below purple belt, including me, was particularly good.

Sorry, I didn't meant to be such a dick about the first post I responded to. Obviously the narrative annoyed the hell out of me. Also saying BJJ>wrestling with no context is just wrong, especially when the evidence is a story where one uses wrestling skills to win a nearly lost fight.

I studied Shorei Ryu for several years in my 20's and 30's. Im not a fighter. It looked interesting to me. I really enjoyed it. We did an absolute ton of "street style self defense". I had to use it exactly 1 time. A drunken ass clown charged me with his head down and grabbed my waist. From my training i simply slipped a guillotine on him and subdued him. It was honestly comical.

If I were interested in bar room self defense I would study a style like that.

Also, I watched this video (the DVD actually) and I found it hilarious and moderately informative as far as bar fighting. Obviously isn't the same as actual training, and doesn't train how to punch or grapple or anything, but you might at least find it an enjoyable watch if you have time to burn. I don't actually go to bars anymore but I'm still rewatching this for the LOLs. Probably don't watch it to actually learn anything unless you already know how to fight and are at risk of getting in tons of ultra dangerous bar fights lol

https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x61ln6x

Probably just don't watch this and watch a gracie BJJ video, lol

Possibly the most valuable thing I learned from this video is taking the thinker pose when at risk of being punched or head butted or hit with an object

edit- I also learned to use a chair to defend against someone with a knife which was pretty damn valuable to know

First fight was with my best friend and we were both extremely drunk, and he walked around the front of the car and just punched me. Our mutual friends broke it up after I put him in a choke hold. He's since done a bunch of roids and gained 45 pounds so he loves to joke about it as I've somewhat withered away. Pretty sure he has boxing exp

Second fight was against my roommate who was a friend of my other roommate/close personal friend. He was black out drunk and said something dumb and I said something dumb, then he punched me. I guess it didn't go down exactly as described, like the first, but very similar. Doubt he had any boxing exp, and only landed the one punch. No one broke it up, I just asked if he was done and he said yeah. I'm guessing his close personal friends know that he's a ridiculous alcoholic and deserved to get tossed.

I say BJJ because it incorporates a lot of wrestling principals but the point is to injure someone for self defense reasons, where wrestling is a point structure sport. Wrestling is a solid foundation for any fight and MMA, but the instincts will get you rekt by someone proficient in bbj.

Gj being a dick, but you look like a fool.

It is weird that boys don't learn how to fight as a natural part of growing up anymore.

Probably for the best, I guess.

This thread is absurd. If some dude G4S size wants to hulk smash you, he will. If you wanna learn self-defense, get a gun and get cool with maybe killing someone.

If you wanna get in street fights and beat someone up, all the advice here seems p solid. Just try not to get into a fight with someone who'll pull a weapon. Good luck with boxing when someone stabs you.

I concur with the absurdity mang. Like I said I studied more for the mental aspect (self discipline, attention to detail, focus, etc). In this day and age the best thing to do is practice avoidance, and run away imo

https://baltimore.cbslocal.com/2013/...rian-urlacher/

Then again, I'm like 160lbs and not very strong. OTOH I've definitely seen dudes smaller than me with facial scarring from obvious brawling. (Russians ldo)

Exactly. Sucks if you're in an actual environment where you are at enough risk that you need to know anything beyond basic self defense (or any self defense at all besides running). If that's the case probably get a weapon and take a class to learn how to use it and that's it

If you actually want to get into street fights you have serious problems

Poor people get into fights all the time. Is what it is.

I vote "Bastard"

Teep kick to the knee or ball sac.