What is the best Martial Art for Self Defense and Survival?

This is a never ending question.

The Martial Arts Community is very tribal. Every system thinks their thing is the best. That’s cool, but what’s the truth? What martial arts system out there is really going to give you the skills needed in a life or death situation?

 Let me tell you a little bit about my story. I have been training in the martial arts for the last 15+ years.

 I first was exposed to martial arts as a child in the 80’s and this movie was the spark for me…

A classic movie. I don’t care what anybody says.

Yeah, I was a child of the 80’s so it wasn’t really Bruce Lee and the classic Run Run Shaw Saturday morning Kung-Fu flicks for me like my uncle’s who were born in the 70’s. The Last Dragon, and the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, that’s what bit me with the martial arts bug.

As a child because of my infatuation with this movie, (I still know most of this movie word for word) my parents enrolled me in a local karate class.

I convinced them I needed the uniform to make me “do it better”, and of course they bought it for me.

I lasted in there maybe a couple of months and didn’t want to go back. 

Why didn’t I want to go back? Because I was a child, and children get bored easy.

I remember us jogging around the dojo, doing pushups, and sit-ups.

I just remember thinking as a child “This is not what I see them doing on TV!” I wanted all the flash and none of the substance. I wanted to do a flying roundhouse kick on DAY 1!

Many years later at the young, but adult age of 23 yrs old I decided I was going to get back into Martial Arts. At this point I had a good paying full-time job in Sales and I could afford my own lessons anywhere I wanted.

Since I was an adult by this time, I really had no interest in competition schools. I wanted something that would work in the streets…for real. Something I could actually use in a real-life encounter.

 For lack of a better term, a “Spiritual” Teacher of mines at the time introduced me to a system called V.S.K Jujitsu, and I dove right in.

I began taking private lessons from Shihan (5th Degree) Ameer Muhammad, and was with him for a year and half and earned my yellow belt. When his life led him to move to New York for a few years I went to train with Shihan Lemuel Muhammad for the next 6 years and earned my Black Belt. Shihan Lemuel actually gave me a blessing and sent me to take my Black Belt test with his teacher Grandmaster Abdul Aziz Muhammad (formerly known as Anthony Muhammad) and he certified me. I am Shihan Lemuel’s 1st Black Belt student.

Blood was spilled on the mat, injuries occurred, I won some fights, and I lost some fights, but I wouldn’t have it any other way.

Shihan Lemuel also blessed me with the opportunity to train with Guro Arthur Chestand in the Filipino Martial Art of Kali as well. I spent several years with him and earned Intermediate Level 3 rank in Guro Ron Balicki’s Martial Research Systems. I also spent some time with Guro Nate Defensor a well known Filipino Martial Arts Master on the Chicago scene (R.I.P).

 I also have some years in Southern Praying Mantis Kung-Fu with Sifu Dr. Wilbur Rimes a hidden jewel in the Chicago Martial Arts scene.

Enough about me, now it’s time to reveal what I would say are the best arts for self defense in a life or death situation. 

Of course this is just my opinion, it’s not law, and it doesn’t mean you can’t make a system work for you, this is just my opinion, but I would say it’s an educated one. I must admit you’ll probably sense some bias here but hey, it’s based on my experience so take it as you will.

Also keep in mind that these are not in any particular order, i’m not “ranking” these arts to say which one is better or more effective. 

Each Art or system I build on here has its’ own advantages, and perceived disadvantages, you must do your own research, check out some teachers and go with which one you gravitate to, and train hard!

Jujitsu

Gotta make this clear, I’M NOT TALKING ABOUT BRAZILIAN JUJITSU!!!

I don’t believe Brazilian Jujitsu to be a “go to” art for self defense in a life or death street situation. 

Not saying that I don’t think it’s good or effective, just it shouldn’t be the only art you have. I think it’s a great complimentary art.

I think it’s awesome to have in the tool box for sure, just not as your go to, there’s that. 

Thanks to MMA, when the uninitiated think of jujitsu they think of Brazilian but that’s not traditional Jujitsu from Japan. 

I’m talking about traditional Japanese Jujitsu, that the samurai used. 

The History

Jujitsu has it’s roots in feudal japan, during the times of the samurai when it was a lot of warring going on in the country.

Feudal Lords were fighting over territory and their sworn protectors where the samurai, trained in swordsmanship, archery, horseback riding, and jujitsu.

In fighting, more often than not things don’t go as planned. So when the samurai lost their sword or other weaponry they needed a way to defend themselves and incapacitate an enemy who was heavily armored, as they were. 

The first Jujitsu school that only taught jujitsu was opened in 1532 founded by Master Takenouchi Hisamori. The Takenouchi school taught the art of seizing (Kogusoku). It was different from the style as it is taught today, but it is usually considered to be the foundation of the modern art jujitsu. 

During the 17th century many samurai were unable to make an income from war because Japan was in a period of peace, so these warriors taught.

This is how the system spread during the Edo period (1603-1868).

During the Meiji Restoration beginning in 1868, the Japanese government had banned many aspects of the Samurai culture, and that included martial arts. 

In the Early 20th century the Japanese government commission Jigoro Kano to create a watered down version of Jujitsu due to the injuries and deaths that occurred during jujitsu practice. 

This is how Judo was created and Judo, is what Brazilian jujitsu comes from. 

Why is Jujitsu Good For Self Defense?

Jujitsu also know as the gentle art uses a persons weight, and aggressiveness against them. It is a very technique driven art. 

This is a positive and a negative when it comes to self defense. 

The positive is that if your skilled in the technique, a smaller person can overcome a bigger, physically stronger opponent.

The negative is that you must be very skilled in the technique. It’s something your going to have to put some time into to be able to use in a real situation, it’s not as simple as kicking and punching. Although kicking and punching has technique as well, I wouldn’t say its as intricate as a lock or wrist throw. 

Jujitsu’s greatest utility is as a defensive art. 

In jujitsu the main skills you are going to be locks, throws, chokes, and various off balancing techniques. 

In a defensive situation, these skills can prove very useful. When an attacker punches, you’ll learn how to evade that attack go right into a throw or choke. 

When an attacker grabs your arms, wrist, waist, neck, etc. you’ll learn how to use various joint locks to either restrain the attacker or break that joint, whether that be a wrist, shoulder, elbow, knee, etc.

In my system of Jiujistu, it’s a mixed martial art by definition.

V.S.K Jujitsu contains many elements of Karate, Boxing, and Arnis so we use a lot of striking techniques to “tenderize” the opponent before we use a jujitsu technique to effectively “end” the threat.

If you get the opportunity to train with a good teacher in a good school you’ll find out quickly that Jujitsu techniques can KILL people. So, being aware and conscious while you are training is of vital importance. 

Kali (Filipino Martial Arts)

The Filipino Martial Arts are some of my favorite.

I have rank in Kali under Guro Ron Balicki under the instruction of Guro Arthur Chestand. 

History

The history of Filipino martial arts is hard to pin down because it comes from a tribal culture, much like the America’s or Africa.

In the Philippines, you have tons of small tribes and cultures on different parts of the island and they all have their own “method” of fighting.

Some call it Kali, some call it Arnis, and some call it Escrima.

More or less, they are all very similar. Some use two sticks, some use one, some use stick and knife, some use swords, the list goes on. 

The Filipino Martial Arts has a long ancient history, way before the Spanish first came to colonize the island.

In fact, there is a story about a Filipino warrior chief Lapu Lapu that used Kali to kill the famous explorer Magellan. His bronze statue can still be seen today in Cebu, near the place where the battle of Mactan took place. 

For an in-depth history on FMA, I’d recommend the book “Filipino Martial Culture” by Mark Wiley. It’s an awesome book that is one of the favorites in my collection. 

Why is F.M.A Good For Self Defense?

You get everything in the Filipino Martial Arts. 

In most styles you start with weapons where in other traditional martial arts you start off empty hand and don’t get weapons training until much later. In many of those cases you NEVER get to learn the weapons.

Usually this is because the teacher didn’t learn weapons himself. So the fact that you get to learn how to use weapons so early makes it an essential art for self defense.

What I also think is important is the kind of weapons you learn to use. 

In FMA, you learn to use single stick, double stick, knife, double knife, stick and knife, bolo’s (basically a machete), and staff. 

These are all common weapons that can easily be found today and have transferable skills.  

You can find a knife to purchase damn near anywhere, and you can find a stick any where outside. 

The techniques you learn for single stick and double stick are mostly techniques derived from FMA’s use of bladed weapons, but those techniques can easily be transferred to a baseball bat, a broken glass bottle, a steel pipe, pvc pipe, etc.

I can be out at a bar, get into a fight and I can use the same knife and stick techniques with a broken glass bottle, that’s SUPREMELY valuable.

Then you’ve got empty hand techniques.

 The empty hand techniques involve a lot of elbows, combinations, and catch/parry techniques.

 You’ve got tons of drills that teach coordination and sensitivity. You’ve got kicks as well. The kicks are well suited to self defense because the kicks are low.

The kicks are mostly aimed at destroying your opponents foundation, not some knock out spinning roundhouse to the head that can leave you off balance and vulnerable.

Then you also have Dumog which is Filipino wrestling.

You’ll find some similarities with other grappling styles like Brazilian Jiujitsu, jujitsu, judo, roman greco, sambo, etc.

All good stuff.

The last part of FMA that I think makes it a great art for self defense are the live 2 man drills.

There are various free flow drills with stick and knife that show you how to attack and defend in real time. You learn how to attack with a stick and/or knife and you also learn how to disarm a stick or knife. 

As you can probably tell, I like FMA a lot. I believe the filipino arts are very effective, and you would be well served to train in any system whether it be Kali, Arnis, Escrima, etc.

As with any martial art, the key factor will always be the instructor. If you can find a good instructor, you’ll be all good.

Southern Praying Mantis Kung Fu

I have actual training experience in all these systems I have listed so far, and that’s why I’m starting with these.

I was hesitant to include SPM (Southern Praying Mantis) in this list at first because it is the most difficult martial art I’ve studied, but then I rememered something…

Even though the system itself is very difficult to learn, the basics of the system are very simple, and the basics get you ready for a fight rather quickly. 

First let’s give you some history…

History

My system of SPM is Jook Lum Gee which translates to Bamboo Forest Temple.

The temple rests on Mt. Longhu and the system is said to be created by one of the monks there named Som Dot in the early 19th century. It’s also said that Som Dot was inspired to create the system after witnessing a praying mantis fight and defeat a bird. 

In the late 19th century Som Dot passed the art onto Lee Kun Ching, who was later known as Lee Siem See.

Lee Siem See was responsible for traveling to southern china and spreading the art among the general population. 

One of his strongest students Cheung Yiu Chung returned to Kwang Sai province to continue his training at the Bamboo forest Temple. 

In the early 1900’s Chung opened his first school and this was the first time Jook Lum Gee Tong Long Pai (Bamboo Forest Temple Praying Mantis Kung Fu) was taught to the public.

In the 1920’s Chung had a student named Lam Sang. 

The old Abbot Lee Siem See traveled to visit his student Cheung Yiu Chung and met Lam Sang.

He took a liking to Sang and took him in as a closed door student. Lam sang is who is mainly responsible for the spread of this system of martial arts. 

Lam Sang took the southern mantis system to New York and taught there thru the 50’s and 60’s.

I was told by my Sifu Dr. Wilbur Rimes, that Lam Sang taught the Hip Sing Tong in New York. 

The Hip Sing Tong is known as a Chinese-American organization that was started in the 20’s. Of course the Chinese like many other immigrants, wanted to band among themselves to form a sense of community and protection in a new country. What better way to do that than to learn one of the most deadly martial arts from your native land. 

Why is Southern Praying Mantis Kung Fu good for Self Defense?

When I started training in mantis I had already been training in the Martial Arts consistently for 9 years and had a Black Belt in VSK Jiujistu, so I thought I was good, let’s just say I was humbled.

Don’t get me wrong here, Jiujitsu is an awesome art, and great for self defense, as I’ve already discussed in this article, but there are some things particular to SPM that make it amazing in it’s own right and actually give it some advantages over other arts I’ve seen.

One thing about SPM that I love is the attention given to building the body up for combat. 

This is a traditional art, there is no competition for SPM, so the assumption is that if your fighting, your fighting for REAL! If your fighting for real then, your body had better be ready to give and receive pain, this is where SPM shines. 

There are no big flowery movements in SPM. Everything is meant to be short and powerful, all while protecting yourself at the same time. 

It’s a lot of stance training in order to build up your foundation so that it’s very difficult to be taken off of your feet by a BJJ guy or taken off balance. It’s also a lot of building up the forearms for taking and delivering punishment. 

You achieve this sitting in the stance that you will use to fight with, and doing a drill called “walking the horse” or “chop stepping”, all while doing isometric muscle contractions all at the same time. 

You roll your forearms on steel pipes to the point you rub the skin off of your forearms!

You do endless strikes on a bag full of mung beans, bare knuckle.

You kick tree stumps…it’s hardcore training if you’ve got the right teacher.

The basics of system, the stance, the movement and the striking techniques you learn early on prepare you to defend yourself quicker than any other system I’ve studied!

It doesn’t look pretty though! I will tell you that, you are not going to win any beauty competitions doing Southern Praying Mantis Kung Fu, but it is very effective. 

The basic chop step you lean on day 1 protects your vital organs with each step and generates power for striking. 

The chain punch is difficult for anyone to handle, think of Donnie Yen in the Ip Man movies. 

One thing I can’t really speak to is the systems ability to handle weapons.

I haven’t received training on that in this system as of yet, nor have I actually seen empty hand techniques against a weapon, so I can’t speak on it’s effectiveness in that regard. But I do know the system does have weapons training! My Sifu has training in using the sword, bow, butterfly knives, and probably more.

To sum it up, even though Southern Praying Mantis is a very difficult system to master, it’s a very simple system to understand.

I believe just about anyone can take the basics of this system that you learn in your first 1-3 months of training, and end a treat coming from the average guy or gal on the street.

That’s it for the arts that I have actual training and experience in. The next arts that I’m going to include are some other arts that I believe can also serve you well in a self defense situation.

Judo

I’ve never trained in Judo specifically, but because I studied Jujitsu, I learned a good amount of Judo techniques.

As I mentioned in the section on Jujitsu, Judo comes from Jujitsu, so many of the techniques are the same.

In fact it’s good to think of Judo as a focused SECTION of Jiujitsu.

History

Judo was created in 1882 by Jigoro Kano.

Kano was a Jujitsu practitioner himself, studied under many different teachers and become very efficient Jujitsu.

As he developed further in his training, he began to become more enamored with the philosophical concepts of the art and seeked to implement those into his teaching. 

This was also during a time in Japan when traditional martial arts were falling from popularity as Japan tried to westernize itself more.

Kano was able to squeeze thru the cracks by making Jujitsu a sport, and called it Judo.

In order to make a sport Kano removed some of the more deadly techniques of Jujitsu to help reduce injury and mainly focused on throws, pins, leg locks, and some chokes.

Judo forms the foundation of Brazilian Jujitsu.

Why is Judo Good For Self Defense?

Judo is good for self defense in many of the same ways Jujitsu is good for self defense.

The workout is great! You will become strong and flexible training Judo, it is an Olympic sport so you train like an athlete.

You will learn many off balancing techniques that will help you in a grappling, wrestling type of situation.

You will learn much of what is taught in Brazilian Jujitsu in Judo. The reason why I’ll give Judo the edge over BJJ is that you lean how to fight from a standing up position and putting down your attacker.

I know that some of these techniques USED to be taught in BJJ, but now it’s mostly ground fighting. In most BJJ schools you see students almost immediately pulling guard and going to the ground.

In judo you’ll learn how to use leverage to slam a muthajumpa! Ever watch a Judo match? I’d highly recommend it. Check out youtube and watch some Judo matches these warriors get SLAMMED!

While I was training Jujitsu one of the first things you learn is how to fall without injuring yourself.

This is very important because most techniques you won’t be able to practice unless you learn this skill.

You’ll learn the same thing in Judo. That is an added benefit of the art.

Muay Thai

Another art that I believe has great value even though I haven’t trained in it personally, is Muay Thai.

I like arts that have hard training. Arts that have a focus on building the body up for combat and Muay Thai is one of those arts.

History

Muay Thai is also known as the art of 8 limbs due to it’s use of the arms, legs, elbows, and knees.

It’s origins can be traced back several hundreds of years of course like most martial arts but it’s actual origins are a point of debate among modern scholars. Much of Muay Thai history ended up being lost when the Burmese took over Ayudhaya which was the capital of Siam (Thailand) in the 14th century.

When the Burmese took the city they engaged in typical war behavior and ransacked the temples and all the other depositories of knowledge they could find in the capital. Due to this, most of the written history of Thai Culture as well as the art of Muay Thai, was lost.

The origins of Muay Thai as a fighting style is believed to have developed as the many tribes of Thailand migrated south through Vietnam, Burma, Laos, and Cambodia.

Through these travels, they had to fight, and as you might guess, lives were lost, and strong prevailed.

The Thai always had to stay on constant guard from attacks from neighboring countries like Burma and Cambodia.

They fought each other for years and Muay Thai was a part of Thai culture and was also mandatory training for the military during this time.

Why is Muay Thai Good For Self Defense?

As I stated earlier, I love arts that build your body up for combat.

In the absence of a hand held weapon, your body is your weapon. When all else fails it’s the last line of defense you have and you better have it ready to rumble!

In Muay Thai the body is trained to mimic the weapons of war. The hands are to be your sword and dagger, the shins and forearms are used as armor to protect against strikes, the elbows (which is a Muay Thai staple) is meant to act as a heavy mace or hammer, and the legs and knees are to be your axe and staff.

In Muay Thai they do a lot of bag work, jogging, and multiple repetitions of strikes, and if your old school you spend some time kicking trees, yes just like Jean Claude Van Damme in Bloodsport.

The striking techniques in Muay Thai are very effective in self defense due to it’s use of the 2 hardest parts of the human body…knees and elbows.

The elbows and knees are DEVASTATING when used properly and Muay Thai will give you that.

Muay Thai does train for the clinch. So it will give you some training for a standing grapple but it won’t give you any grappling experience on the ground. For that reason, I think it would be good to add in some cross training in an art that teaches grappling skills either Judo, BJJ, or wrestling.

Boxing

The last and final art I’d recommend for self defense is good old fashioned Boxing.

Boxing is a sport, but it’s use of hand striking, footwork, and defensive movement can easily be employed in a real life scenario.

Let’s check out some boxing history.

History

I would think that boxing on a very basic level is probably as old as man himself. 

The earliest known visual history of boxing is depicted in a relief scripture from Egyptian Thebes which shows boxers as well as spectators.

The earliest evidence of use of gloves or hand coverings in boxing is a carved vase from Minoan Crete circa 1500 BCE.

The first evidence we have of rules is from ancient Greece. The rules were as simple as you continue until one man surrenders or can no longer continue, no rounds, no points.

Later on in boxing you also had a “Bare Knuckle Era”. A particularly savage time in the history of the sport for sure.

In the late 1600’s you had “prize fighters” going all in fighting bare knuckle without gloves and without rules for the most part.

There were also no weight divisions so a skinny guy like myself could end up fighting a 300lb dude! Not a good look.

Rounds were designated but typically there was no winner declared until one guy could no longer continue. Wrestling was also permitted as well so in many ways, this was a precursor to MMA.

As boxing began to take off in the 1700’s the first boxing gloves were introduced by Jack Broughton, they were called “mufflers”. These protective devices made to help the sport be more safe actually brought about more injuries because now fighters were trying to land more shots to the face and head whereas before, they were giving more shots to the body to avoid injuring the hand.

Why is Boxing Good For Self Defense?

I like boxing because it’s simple in concept, and in order to learn boxing, you must fight.

You don’t get that in a lot of martial arts, especially today.

Unfortunately most traditional martial arts are more “art” that “martial”. You spend a bunch of time learning forms and the philosophical aspects and never actually fight.

This is where boxing shines over most other arts. Your going to spar, your going to fight, period. That’s invaluable, and if we’re talking about training for the street? Necessary.

Many people freeze up in a self defense situation because they have never been physically threatened or “pressure tested”

There are people that have never been hit and have never hit anybody. So when that physical confrontation comes, they freeze up and don’t what to do. 

Boxing will give you that. Your going to get hit and your going to hit other people. This has an amazing effect on your confidence and it also makes you more comfortable.

As I mentioned earlier its’ also simple in concept.

You basically have 4 attacks: jab, cross, hook, and uppercut.

Then you have infinite combinations you an make out that but that’s your basic tool box, add in some footwork, feints, blocks, understanding of spacing and you make yourself a dangerous fighter. 

I’d recommend you find a good boxing gym and join. Not a fitness gym that does some type of cardio boxing thing. I’m talking about a legit gym that trains fighters. 

Usually these are small, neighborhood gyms that might not have the nicest equipment but the training is good. The coaches are not making much money if any and they teach purely for the love of the art of the sweet science. 

Conclusion

Willfully this gives you a good starting point as you start your Martial Arts/Self Defense journey. Where you choose to go I recommend going twice. The first time just observe the class. Check out the environment, the feeling of the students are people helpful, is their a lot of ego, etc. 

They will always try to get you on the mat for a free class but I recommend observing first. 

If you like what you see from that first observation, then come back and do the free class. 

To you survival,

Instructor Yasir