If you can, try San shou (it teaches you to be a dirty basterd)....
care to elaborate on this one? Having trained Sanda, not sure about the dirty part...though definitely not complaining!
Muay Thai.
TBH, I think the sport based martial arts (most of them at least) are also the best martial arts for self-defense.
Sport martial arts are so well refined, you learn simple but brutal techniques and train them over and over again. Then you test these techniques against resisting opponents by sparring. You try to beat them, they try to beat you. You also can gain a lot of experience fighting in tournaments, at an amateur level, etc.
Muay Thai is a sport based martial art, but I don't think that anyone will tell you that it isn't dangerous or brutal.
Was that your experience?...hahaha only joking mate.When the lights go out, the fishing begins. The cons start whispering, “Fresh fish! Fresh fish today! We’re reeling ‘em in!” or “Here fishy, fishy, fishy…” They taunt relentlessly, but they rarely exceed the level of whispering; the point, after all, is to break down the newcomers slowly, methodically, not to attract attention to themselves. The newcomers in turn, close their eyes and remember the advice they received on an internet MMA forum...
Pure Gold.The newcomers in turn, close their eyes and remember the advice they received on an internet MMA forum
Kali. It prepares you for armed and unarmed combat. Either that, or get yourself a gun.
You guys recommending Krav Maga... have you ever walked into a Krav gym and seen how bullshido that stuff actually is? Dont believe the marketing or the hype.
The best for self defense is well refined sport based MA's like Muay Thai and Boxing because of their polished techniques and brutality. You will learn how to strike overwhelmingly hard and fast for any untrained person. Your body will also be conditioned to take pain and damage.
If you want to defend against knives know that people wont come at you in fixed positions like Krav teaches. They'll probably conceal it and stab you when you least expect. Maybe filipino knive systems are more effective but I cant comment because I have no experience with them.
Your mentality is also important, be ready to seriously hurt the other person. Like poster above said, "Bullies fight to win, men fight to kill."
Finally, avoid street fights. Ive only witnessed several street fights in my life and every time except once the loser was so damaged I wondered if he couldve died later. Its better not to fight in the first place.
This is the truth.
I think you'd have trouble finding someone who has done it for 6-12months+ that would call it "bullshido". No doubt there are crap schools (as with any art) but it is not in McDojoLand just yet...
The OP needs something simple, quick, brutal & effective that will give ways to deal with multiple attackers, weapons and extracting from bad situations, KM is all those things & more.