Is karate a good martial art to learn for effective self defense? I heard aikido and jiu jitsu are better.?

I also heard that wing chun, praying mantis, and white crane kung fu are also good. So many people have said different things like Fanziquan, Hapkido, and Judo.

Is karate a good martial art to learn for effective self defense? I heard aikido and jiu jitsu are better.?
Jiu Jitsu is very good!!! Why waste time.Why??...I live in New York City and most cats in the street are very good.So block the attack ...lock up the joint(or break the bone)...slam the child on the hard concrete is more of what i'm into !!!You can even make your opponent call the police on his own cell phone with a joint lock.(uh huh..yea call em.).check out this book...The Power of Internal Martial Arts(Combat Secrets of Ba Gua,Tai chi and Hsinj-I...B.K.Frantzis...peace...One
Reply:NO!


For self defense I HIGHLY suggest taking Lotar or Muay Thai (boxing). Hapkido is another good one.


If you wanna fight for fun you would need Muay Thai, Jui Jitsu, basic Tae Kwon Do, South Paw, Judo(optional, not recomended).





In the end it's all up to you.





-joe
Reply:I've done Karate, general Kung Fu, Kick Boxing, and Jiu Jitsu. Kick Boxing was definitely the most effective in creating self defense (don't know if it's considered a martial art though), but Jiu Jitsu is a close second and really fun and interesting to learn as you'll find a lot of practical ways to incapacitate people that you never thought of. Oh, and Karate was for sure the lamest one. Lame lame lame. Good Luck.
Reply:Well, first of all, effective self-defense is over 85 percent street smarts. It's about trusting your instincts when you think there's something wrong about this guy that came up and asked you for the time. It's about avoiding certain situations altogether and feeling good enough about who you are to walk away when you smell trouble. It's also about knowing you don't have to trade insults with a drunk, etc..., etc...


All martial arts will teach you about self-confidence, overcoming your fears, knowing your body's capacities and using its abilities in a crisis, the proper distance at which to keep an opponent, etc..., etc...


No martial art, on the other hand, will make you invincible or superhuman. If a guy pulls out a gun on you out of nowhere and demands your wallet, the best self-defense move I can think of is to hand him over your waller without making a fuss and cancel all your cards as soon as you can get to a phone.


This being said, the arts all hav their advantages and drawbacks. I don't think you can say there is a best, or a worst martial art. There are better and worse teachers, so you should be careful who you sign up with. But mostly, you should study an art that agrees with you, who you are, and what can keep up your interest.


This is being said, Karate and Kung Fu involve striking, which means trading blows with your opponent. There is a faster learning curve thant Aikido or Jie Jitsu (Don't know much about Hapkido, sorry). It means after one or two months, you'll have learned something effective, because even a punch that's not perfect still has a certain effect. Aikido or Jiu-Jitsu throws and locks, on the other hand, tend to have very little effect unless they are very well executed. The advantage of these, though, is that you don't necessarily have to get up close and personal with your opponent. You can throw an attacker away from you and run, or pin him down and call for help. (Which to me is just as good as beating him senseless - a lot of people on here will disagree, but to me, self-defense is about surviving situations, not necessarily physically dominating your attacker).


Anyway, I would definitely pick up some books about any arts that interest you and learn about them, and see what interests you. I think people should usually go with their instincts.


Hope this helps. Best of luck to you.
Reply:Its not the style that makes the artist, but the artist that makes the style. It doesn't matter what you train in, all styles can be effective.
Reply:I would go with what you like the most because if you master any of them they will be very effective. But I have to tell you - the cheapest is the regular old wrestling room! Most of the time (except when you go to tournaments) it will be free - It will not cost to train and get belts. But all are effective.
Reply:Kyokushin Karate is a very effective form of self-defence, because it emphasises full contact sparring and competition. Full contact is the closest possible representation you can get of a 'real' fight, because you are not pulling your punches and kicks in any way.





Kyoskushin fighters have done very well in premier fighting events like K1, the world's top kickboxing organisation. Andy Hug was one of K1's greatest ever fighters and his style was Kyoskushin. Georges St. Pierre, the current UFC welterweight champion gets his stand up style from Kyokushin also.
Reply:Honestly, all martial arts are good for self defense. They teach you to think differently about your own safety and how to fight. the specific moves are not what's important.





Having said that I will list some very good arts to learn and some not so great ones.





Some good ones because they are versatile are:


Kempo Karate


Jeet Kun Do


Wing Chun


Shaolin Chuan Fa (kung fu is not the correct term but is more commonly used)





Some good arts because they are practical:


Krav Maga


JuJitsu


Judo





Some arts I would avoid but that may work for others:


Tae Kwon Do - it's too predictable for me and relies too heavily on repeated use of the same moves over and over again. It's very pretty, but not street smart. Also I've beaten too many Tae Kwon Do "black belts" to really respect the art any more.





Muy Thai - I know it's the flavor of the year but it's a more dangerous art then any other I've seen. I met a man hobbled before his years, at the age of 65 he could barely stand upright and his legs could barely hold his weight even though we was very thin. He had studied Muy Thai and it had injured him very badly. he broke almost every bone in his body at some point while training and after many years he had to stop training all together. Shaolin monks train until the day they die and at 90+ years of age could still snap me like a twig. At 65 you should still be able to train without major pain due to prior injury.





Boxing - It's the simplest modern martial art and that's why I wouldn't take it. You learn less about how to push your body to it's limit them in other arts. Also you're primary attacks will be punches which the enemy will expect. It's too limiting for me.
Reply:I practise wado-ryu karate, which incorporates elements of jujitsu, and I have no problems with it.


Do whichever style you want to do and good luck!
Reply:It is not as much about the art as it is about HOW YOU TRAIN.





if you train realistically with fully resisting opponents, then that is the better art.





The reality is that many sportative arts train that way (like boxing or muai thai) while non-sportative arts like wing chun, and karate don't.





If you don't know what you are looking for then you are likely to get taken for a ride. If you know how to spot a good teacher and gym. and know what questions to ask about the intensity of the training, then go with whatever art you can find that has a good teacher.





A good teacher and good training outweigh any "search for style" benefits as you may not be in an area that has access to many different styles with good teachers. Even in new york city it is hard to find a good teacher for a particular non-sportative style unless you know someone who knows someone.





my point is that unless you don't know what you are looking for, then i suggest you find a sportative art because it is easier to find a good one as they tend to "self-regulate". Meaning they train for, and go to competitions where there are little rules and they look like a real fight (the closer it looks to a boxing match with legs and grapples or throws tossed into the mix the more realistic the ruleset is).





If you are looking to be non-comittal- then boxing is a good place to start, you will learn to focus on and specialize in punching properly- a skill that translates into or mixes with ANY martial art.





even if you want to do muai thai later, it builds on your boxing skill. I think beginning muai thai first can be very intimidating, boxing slightly less so that is why I'm suggesting it. Also you will be able to get the background of a "good" gym vs. a crappy one that doesn't teach properly, or that teaches you forms and punching techniques that aren't as effective and powerfull as boxing, but they tell you that they are.





Ie: chambering.
Reply:YES, karate is an effective form of street self-defense.





Stay away from MMA, or mixed martial arts, because that is just a ring-style sport and doesn't teach weapons usage or multiple attack defense.





Just realize that it takes a very long time to learn Karate and it is very hard work. Also there are a many different styles of Karate: Okinawan and Japanese. So shop around and choose the style that best suits you.
Reply:Karate is god as are many others. Karate is a striking style, Jujitsu %26amp; Aikido are grappling styles. There are advantages to both. Here is a brief summary.





Striking: Tae Kwon Do. Karate, Shaolin boxing


Good: Can handle multiple attackers, can engage at long range, enables you to be pro active when necessary.


Not so good: Ground, hard to control an attacker without inflicting serious injury.





Grappling: Hapkido, Judo, etc.


Good: effective in close, good on the ground, can control an attacker without inflicting serious injury.


Not so Good: Not good at long range, you must wait for the attacker to make the 1st move. Not effective against multiple attackers.
Reply:honestly karate doesent help much in self defense.. if you want to know how to protect yourself in the streets you should do boxing or kickboxing.. both of those are the best combat sports you can do
Reply:Some martial arts are more external or hard styles eg. boxing karate taekwondo, some are more internal or soft eg taichi aikido wingchun.





jujitsu, hapkido are probably somewhree in the middle.





Generally the softer the style the greater the heights you can take it - the greater in the hands of a master, but the longer it takes to become a master.





Generally the harder styles are much faster to learn at the beginning and to be able to use effectively.





So i am really coming to believe in starting your training in the hard styles, and gradually moving to softer more internal styles as you are ready.
Reply:karate sucks for self defence
Reply:It isn't the martial art, but the practitioner that "is good" or not. Also, no matter what you pick, it takes training and dedication. Everyday you need to be in there training, working out, getting in shape, going over forms, and exhaustivly training your punches, kicks and holds or YOU ARE WASTING YOUR TIME AND MONEY.
Reply:Martial arts effectiveness is a never ending open-ended and often contested question.





Some arts are built for sport (with rules set to protect competitors from serious injury) other arts are meant to injure and inflict great pain to gain compliance from a would be attacker. From what I’ve learned and scene some martial arts depend on the element of surprise to gain advantage quickly and finish fights with little or nor interference from an assailant. And all depend on your having confidence in your self and being prepared to protect yourself form any attack.





The truth about fighting is if your in a fist fight you will get hit, if your in a knife fight chances are you will be cut. It’s a fact so get past it and learn how to protect yourself form serious injury.





The truly good news is most people will never have to face an attacker in a life or death situation, most conflict is preventable. Use your head more than your hands and you will avoid much trouble.





After studying a handful of martial arts I personally feel it is good to practice whatever style fits your personality, beliefs, lifestyle and body type best. It’s good to challenge yourself in many ways but stick to one art and build a good base of knowledge before seeking additional answers elsewhere. Often you will find the longer your practice one art the deeper your knowledge and wisdom grow.





Young students do not always learn the best an art has to offer them. They simply take a taste, judge too quickly and move along before ever feeling the true nature of the art. So take some time and visit many studios before signing up. All good studios offer free or low cost introductory classes, take some and learn all you can before signing up.





The ultimate goal of all martial arts is to improve self, gain control of emotion and anger and channel your energy into something positive that improves you as a person and makes you a better human being both inside and out.





Truly great martial artists never create conflict, they find resolution in humility and confidence.





Is you seek to visually prove or disprove the effectiveness of martial arts when compared side by side simply search YouTube for many fights between various practitioners and BJJ (Brazilian Jiu Jitsu). This is as close a comparison as I have scene of one art vs. another. You will note when a grappler closes distance on a striker or distance fighter and the fight ends up on the ground all the grappler need do is gain superior position over his attacker, force them to roll to their stomach by striking to the face and choke them out. To this day the Gracie Family has an open-ended challenge to all martial artists. To my knowledge BJJ has never been successfully defeated in this regard. But I may be in error so forgive me if I speak out of turn.





I enjoy training in both Kung Fu and BJJ and I love each for it’s many differences. But I also enjoy having fun with both.





Find something you like and learn as much of it as you can. If you seek to compete look into TKD, BJJ or Karate they all offer point fighting tournaments that are great fun but take a lot of focus and training to do well in. there are also a great many truly fantastic arts that require a great deal of study to learn but are equally reqarding for the practitioner such as Krav Magra, Kung fu San Soo, Lima Lama etc… All unique but all fun in their own way. (sprry for spelling errors above.)





Don’t dabble either, if you want to study martial art, do your best, focus and give it your all to gain a true understanding of your selected art. Anything worth doing takes great effort and time to get good at. Don’t quit after your first belt, keep learning and expanding your knowledge.





Good luck.





KK

java