What is the best martial art for self defense I live in Quezon City Philippines where could I enroll or train?

Answer 1

What is "best" is always a matter of opinion. Each established system of Martial Art is designed to provide effective self defense skills that will consistently work if the curriculum is taught accurately, studied diligently, and applied correctly. Each system will differ in the priority given to the categories of striking (with hands, elbows, knees and feet), throwing (sweeps, reaps, flips and other takedowns), and grappling (holds, controls, joint manipulation, and nerve pressure points). It is a good idea to look around your city to find a quality school with experienced instructors who have good credentials and produce the kind of students (attitude, knowledge and skill) that you would aspire emulate.

Some things to consider about various self defense systems:

Jujutsu: (Also "jujitsu," "juijuitsu") A Japanese Martial Art that was taught to the military and contains striking, throwing and grappling (or "ground-fighting), with an emphasis on the ground work and submission holds. It is best suited for one-on-one confrontations rather than multiple attackers. Close contact presents additional peril if the attacker has a weapon such as a knife.

Kung Fu (also gong-fu or wushu): Ancient Chinese systems associated mostly with the monks of the Shaolin Temples, and were developed by imitating the natural fighting defenses used by various animals. Each animal style takes many years to master, and each one focuses on different traits of the animal depicted (IE: speed of a snake, power of a Tiger, nimbleness of a Crane, etc.). To give a disciple a variety of options, yet not too much to study for mastery of skills, the student typically would choose only two animal styles to train in for life.

Judo: A Japanese Martial Art born out Jujutsu with a focus on the more gentle (non-aggressive) application using mostly flips and throws, followed up with some ground Wrestling skills. Judo has grown as an international sport and is included in the Olympic Games, but is also a viable form of self defense, however similar to jujutsu, it is best suited for one-on-one confrontations rather than multiple attackers. Close contact also has the added risk if the attacker has a weapon such as a knife.

Aikido: Another Japanese Martial Art extracted from earlier forms which is intended to be more passive and utilize "harmony" and blending with the opponent's aggression. Typical encounters are dealt with through evasion, parrying to redirect forces, and applying joint locks and joint manipulation to either effect a throw, projection, or takedown with an occasional ground technique for a submission hold often placing painful twisting or hyper extending of the shoulder, elbow and wrist joints.

Karate: A term that is very confusing since it can refer to many things. Originally the hand fighting skills of China were introduced to Okinawa where they refined their own system called "te" (pronounced "tay") which simply means "hand." To distinguish from China's hand fighting, the Okinawan Masters called it's predecessor "Kara-te" ("Karla-tay") - meaning "China hand" or "T'ang hand" from the ancient T'ang Dynasty period. In Japan, the term became generic for all fighting systems, so a variation of the written Chinese characters changed the meaning to "Empty Hand." It employs mostly striking with hands and elbows in deep stances for added power, supplemented with kicks and some throws and a little ground-fighting.

Taekwondo: A Korean Martial Art that places the kicks as the primary weapon which is based on their native ancient form of self defense called "Tae Kkyeon" ("Kicking method"). Some native grappling and hand strikes were blended with influence from Chinese, Japanese, and Okinawa Martial Art. Refined and codified between 1944 to 1961, Taekwondo became very popular world wide as an effective form of self defense, and also expanded the sport aspect to also become an Olympic event. Therefore, the range of focus and quality between each Taekwondo school will vary widely. Some will be deadly Martial Art training while others will tone it down for kids and families, or tip the balance of training from Martial Art over to sports and competition.

There are many other systems under various names, but most will resemble the characteristics of the ones described above. To suit your own needs, it is best to visit each Martial Art school in your area - - talk to the instructor, observe a class (even try a free trial lesson if available) and talk to current members to find out if it is a good fit for you.

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Additional comments:

One aspect of self-defense is Atemi waza (Japanese term for "striking techniques"), but in order to make proper use of Atemi you need to have a working knowledge of anatomy and physiology (gained through proper Martial Art Instruction). Atemi employs the use of striking nerve centers of the body of an opponent with either hands, feet, elbows, shins, or knees.

Striking some nerve centers are more effective at incapacitating an opponent than are others. Striking the nerve centers in different areas of an opponent's body produces effects ranging from minimum pain, to numbness, to intense pain and temporary partial paralysis, to unconsciousness and even death. You should never use deadly force unless you reasonably believe that the attacker means to cause you grave bodily harm or death, and even in these instances you do not need to use deadly force if you can simply incapacitate the attacker long enough so you can run away.