aikido practical self defense
Sunday, September 5th, 2010aikido practical self defense
Which is better for self defense and fitness training? Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, Wing Chun, Aikido or Muay Thai?
PS - I'm female, just came back from an intensive week of Muay Thai in Thailland, 2hrs morning & 2hrs afternoon training. Looking for a martial art (or martial art combination) that is practical and will also function as a tough workout.
Many thanks!
Hi, since you already know Muay Thai to a good degree (since you went to Thailand to train specifically for Muay Thai), I would suggest Brazilian Jiu Jitsu far more than any of those other martial arts. Brazilian Jiu Jitsu is extremely practical in real situations (I have used BJJ to defend myself from attackers) and deals with grappling/ground game, which can supplement your muay thai as a standing/striking aspect of your combat arsenal. The focus of this martial art is to get to the ground to negate a person's strength and size so you can submit him using multitudes of chokes and joint locks. This should be a good fit for your because the philosophy of BJJ is that a smaller, weaker person can defend him/herself from a stronger, bigger person. So, combining your Muay Thai and BJJ, you will have an eclectic fighting style where you can trade punches, kicks, elbows, and knees, but you can also fight on the ground using chokes and joint locks if you somehow end on the ground. Don't worry about the workout though, you get a lot of endurance and cardio training. Plus, you'll find that sparring with another person in BJJ will sap out your energy within five minutes. The other martial arts that you mention are useless, they are more for a spiritual and theoretical purposes more than combat purposes. For example, the art of aikido is extremely impractical. The moves are too impractical to the point where the practitioner uses those throws and joint locks at targets who don't resist, go at half-speed, and move in a predictable path for the practitioner to employ. On the other hand, Wing Chun might be good in a certain degree, but is ultimately similar to Aikido in a certain sense. Unless if you want to dedicate decades and decades of training in Wing Chun, don't do it and do BJJ and Muay Thai!
P.S. if you want to see a person who knows Muay Thai and BJJ kick ass, then watch the UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva and the UFC light heavyweight champion Mauricio "Shogun" Rua. They are both Muay Thai and BJJ fighters that are almost unbeatable in MMA. This is just a reference, if you don't like UFC or Mixed Martial Arts fight, don't watch it.
03 Cebu Aikido-Arnis Center
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