Unorthodox Arts that will Save Your Life
When many of us think about self-defense we tend to think about martial arts like Krav Maga, Jiu Jitsu, Karate, and other disciplines. Things that don’t tend to come to mind are modern “sport martial arts” like Muay Thai, MMA, and Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. These are the things we tend to see on the UFC. Although they are not the most popular martial arts for practical self-defense, they are very good for many of us to learn.
Muay Thai, MMA training, and Brazilian Jiu Jitsu can very well save your life. They are some of the best martial arts that you can adapt and incorporate to a healthy lifestyle. They are not as precise and do not talk about self-defense nearly as often as other martial arts like Karate, Krav Maga, or Wing Chun, but they can work every bit as good. Many people are deterred from these because many people do not perceive them as martial arts, they actually see them as sports.
They are sports, MMA, Jiu Jitsu, and Muay Thai do hold various competitions and a lot of people rain these martial arts with the sport in mind and not the self-defense. This does not discredit the effectiveness of these martial arts. These martial arts may also be sports but they may actually be the BEST self defense arts if learned properly. Lets delve deeper into this topic and break it down, talk about what these arts are and how they work.
Muay Thai
Muay Thai is a martial art that was developed in Thailand. It is one of the most well-rounded striking martial arts in the world. Muay Thai fighter typically are not seen as martial artists and they are perceived as fighters. They have their bouts in a ring and they look very similar to American Boxers. They wear boxing gloves, and they punch, kick, elbow, and knee. It is basically boxing with elbows, knees and kicks. This is what makes it so much more realistic then boxing and so much more practical for self-defense.
When you are in a fight you are not sure what is going to happen, you don’t know what your opponent is going to do and what they are going to strike you with. Muay Thai will allow you to develop an incredible amount of knowledge on every aspect of your body and it will allow you to learn how to make your body a weapon. Many people are deterred from muay thai and it is not for everyone. This is because of the rigorous training methods. They spar, strengthen their shins, do a lot of pad work and cardio.
For many people these rigorous training methods make it seem like you are a pro athlete and not a martial artist. Muay Thai is also not the most practical art because it does require you to be able to have flexibility, or at least develop it, have cardio, and a good fitness level. Although this may make people not want to train this art it ca be very beneficial. Not only will you learn how to fight like you never though possible, you will be able to get in shape, get healthy, get flexible, and lose weight all while learning an entirely new skill. Muay Thai is an excellent art for so many reasons.
Brazilian Jiu Jitsu
Brazilian Jiu Jitsu or BJJ is one of the best martial arts for self-defense. Many people tend not to train this art primarily for self-defense because as it has exploded with popularity people have started taking this classic martial art from a self-defense art to a sport. People who train bjj are starting to train like pro athletes and they train specifically for tournaments with points and rules. Don’t let this fool you though, bjj is still absolutely one of the best arts in the world for self-defense.
Unlike Muay Thai it is not as rigorous and cardio demanding. Although cardio and flexibility will help you in bjj, they are not necessary. Brazilian Jiu Jitsu does not incorporate punches and kicks, they have takedowns, throws, trips, submissions and they teach you how to fight off of your back. Jiu Jitsu can teach you how to maximize every aspect of your body. Many people have referred to bjj as the “small persons art.” This is excellent martial art for many people and especially women. Women are able to use their body like never before.
MMA
MMA is not a specific martial art, it stands for mixed martial art but when we talk about it we are referring to the sport of MMA as seen on the UFC. MMA is one of the best things that you can learn to defend yourself. To make it more understandable, you will learn how to use Muay Thai, Boxing, and Jiu Jitsu. It is a very well-rounded way to learn martial arts and it will prepare you for any situation.
MMA gyms very rarely talk about self-defense, they are there to help people become athletes, but the MMA gyms can teach you how to be one of the most dangerous people on the street. Although, they may not talk about gun disarms, or specific self-defense movements, it will teach you how to punch, kick, throw, takedown, trip, and submit. MMA is one of the best things you can learn.
Although it is not popular for self-defense, it works. People are deterred from MMA because of how rigorous it can be and how intimidating it can be to start. Typical MMA classes have cardio demanding curriculums and they can be very difficult to start.
