When choosing a program, you need to first consider what you are looking for. Do you want a short period of instruction (1-5 days) teaching basic self-defense techniques, or are you looking for a long-term commitment that could span years or a lifetime? You need to decide that first (don't worry, you can change your mind later) because that will usually be the deciding factor on whether you go with a self-defense course or enroll in a martial arts program.
Self-Defense Courses:
Self-defense courses generally run from 1-5 days, can be very expensive, and usually it's a crap shoot whether the instruction is going to be worth what you paid for. On the flip side, they are focused solely on self-defense which means everything you learn should be useful the day you learn it and you are not making a long-term commitment. When choosing a good self-defense course, my best advice would be to ask somebody within your local law enforcement. They are very active in your community and know what businesses are out there, and since they have had ample training themselves in self-defense, they know a good course from a bad one. Regardless of how you do it, you should never spend a large sum of money on a self-defense program that you haven't thoroughly researched. Don't just read reviews on the website, read other information that may be available independently on the net. See if there is anyone in your area that has taken the course, contact the Better Business Bureau, and you could also ask the administrators if they would let you watch an hour or so of the class before making your decision. The personality of the instructors do not matter as much in this short of a course, just as long as they can effectively teach.
Good self-defense courses should teach a basic type course that covers generic grabs, holds, and the appropriate defense for each. It should also include simple yet effective strikes against targets such as the eyes and throat. If you have good instructors, they should explain each move, demonstrate it, make you imitate it, and then allow you to practice it. Practicing should first be at a controlled speed until you have the move down correctly, and then you should execute close to full force if not at full force. They should then give you scenarios that make you apply everything you have learned in order to build your confidence in your new found skills.
Some courses may offer advanced classes that build on the techniques you learned in the basic course, such as how to control your opponent once you have incapacitated them or how to escape from an attacker when they are on top of you. They may also run separate courses that teach you how to use tasers, stun guns, key chain tools, and self-defense sprays. Most importantly, if they are not teaching the basics we discussed, or are not teaching them appropriately, you should really consider another course.
As far as the money is concerned, there is really no way to pinpoint an appropriate cost. It will depend on the instructors skill level and background, what they are offering to teach, and how good their equipment and facilities are. It will be up to you to do the research and then ultimately answer the question “is it worth it or not”.
Martial Arts Programs:
If you are looking to achieve your self-defense goals with a long-term commitment and possible change in lifestyle, then a good martial arts program is something you should consider. This is where we may have some debate as most people who have vested a massive amount of time, effort, money, and energy into their martial art of choice naturally like to think that theirs is the best. Again, I do not want to get into a debate but if you have questions concerning why I chose a particular martial art over another I would be happy to explain.
I will start this topic off by recounting my own experiences with martial arts and then go from there.
When I was 15 I had a steady job, no bills, and wanted to take karate. My parents and I found the closest school, I attended a few classes, and since it was my money my parents let me make the choice on whether to continue with it or not. I was all eager beaver to begin so I signed up for the $1,100 Black Belt Club that guaranteed me the opportunity to reach black belt regardless of how long it took or how many courses I had to go to. I achieved the rank of yellow belt with some colored stripes before I succumbed to the 16 year old lifestyle of hanging out with friends and driving my car anywhere and everywhere. I continued to pay off my debt but never again went to another class.
Now that I am older and wiser and have actually trained with professionals, I can see that the instructors I had were egotistical amateurs, even though they were black belts. They belittled the students, made comments such as “I’ve had to use that move before” in order to make themselves appear to be a bad ass, and talked to us with an air of unworthiness. This is a trend I have seen in other instructors from other disciplines as well and it is something you need to be very careful of. You yourself would not want to be influenced by these individuals and you certainly would not want your kids to pick up these traits. I will argue that your best bet is with an ex-military or law-enforcement instructor simply because they know what is important. They have dealt with life or death scenarios and don’t (usually) have to prove to you or anyone else that they are a “bad ass”. They are focused on teaching the content and getting results as opposed to fueling their ego. Be wary, and if you are unsure drop me a line and describe their behavior and I will do what I can to ensure you are making the right decision.
As far as martial arts programs are concerned, all disciplines technically teach self-defense but there are some out there that are better suited than others when your goal is ending a fight quickly with anything that you have available. The most inhibiting factor will be location. What martial arts schools are around you that you could realistically attend on a daily or weekly basis? Those living in a major city will inevitably have more options than those living in the suburbs or in the country. You need to first find out what is around you and then decide which discipline (if any are available) you want to pursue.
Historically, the Marine Corps has taught a fighting “system” known as line training that incorporated different offensive and defensive moves for a Marine to use in combat. These moves were few and didn’t allow much room for interpretation.
A few years back, the Marine Corps got smart and started developing the Marine Corps Martial Arts Program (MCMAP). They realized that you had to give Marines tools to help them succeed in both a war time and peacekeeping environment. If you only teach a Marine how to kill, what does he do when he is merely trying to detain someone? In this era of conflict, Marines need to be able to employ both deadly force and less-than-lethal force. To that end, the Marine Corps took several high ranking Marines who had been studying various martial arts for a long period of time and tasked them with designing a course specifically tailored for the Marine Corps mission. The men chose moves from a broad range of martial arts disciplines that would help in accomplishing their goal, put it together in an easy to understand, progressive system, and then added some warrior ethos and values to it. The result is the MCMAP we have today. The reason I bring this up is because the Marine Corps, with all their money, war-fighting experience, and required testing of new programs, didn’t decide on just one particular martial art. Why? Because one particular martial art form that had everything the Marine Corps needed didn’t exist. The same is true for those wanting to learn self-defense. Some martial art forms focus on kicks and strikes, while others focus on take-downs and grappling. Karate, Tae-Kwon-Do, Jiu Jitsu, kickboxing, and even wrestling and boxing all have some useful aspects but lack in one area or another. You need a discipline that has taken a little bit from every form, shed the non-essentials, and put it together in an easy to understand and applicable manner. I will talk about two forms that do this, one because of its’ popularity and the other because of its’ effectiveness: Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) and Krav Maga.
MMA gained popularity in the mid ‘90’s through the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Those of you who are true fans remember the days when there were no gloves and the 180 pound Brazilian Jiu Jitsu guy could fight a 220 pound Pancrase practitioner. Ninjitsu fought street fighter, Muay Thai vs. Sumo wrestler, and boxing vs. Karate. Over time, the contestants realized that you had to have both a good stand-up and ground game so they began truly learning mixed martial arts. In fact, that is what it is called today. I included MMA because it is the popular and "cool" thing right now...but it isn't necessarily the best choice when it comes to self-defense. This style of fighting is geared towards the MMA sport which obviously does not allow eye gouging, strikes to the throat, small joint manipulation like breaking fingers, and a multitude of other extremely harmful moves that would degrade the sport but would be a life saver during an attack. Krav Maga on the other hand, is a different story.
Krav Maga was developed to do exactly what we would like to achieve today: end a fight as quickly and efficiently as possible. I will let you the reader do your own research on its history and progression, (and I suggest you do it because you may find it interesting) and I will stick to discussing the pros and cons as I see them.
As I mentioned above, Krav Maga is a brutal and effective method of fighting and can be practiced by virtually anyone. It does not require you to break boards, do flying jump kicks through the air, or waste a lot of money buying uniform items. You will learn the quickest way to defend against an attack and neutralize your opponent. And since there is less "fluff" involved in Krav Maga, you will be able to take the skills you learn in the first couple of courses and apply them to your life directly.
The only con I foresee with this discipline is that, depending on where you live, it may not be as available as other martial arts.
Once you do a little reading yourself I think you will find that I have said all I need to on Krav Maga, I don’t want to waste your time by having you read the same information twice (I will post a few links below to point you in the right direction). If you find that there isn’t a Krav Maga school available to you, or the instructors there are lacking for one reason or another, I would still encourage you to try some form of martial art or self-defense course that is offered. Equipment fails and weapons are not always available, but the weapons organic to your body are ever present.
When I first published this post you may have been expecting an overview of the many different kinds of martial arts and their pros and cons, along with a brief history. I purposely did not do that because I am not trying to make the case for Krav Maga, I am simply stating my recommendation. It is ultimately up to you to decide what works best for you and what you are comfortable with. Any form of self-defense is better than none. The internet and library are full of information on different martial arts so you can do your own research and come to an intelligent conclusion, my job is to simply point out what to look and watch out for when choosing a self-defense course or martial art. Again, if you have any questions or comments feel free to contact me.
Ciao!
http://www.krav-maga.com/
http://www.commandokravmaga.com/html/index.html
http://kravmaga-ikmf.com/
Here is a great book authored by two of the virtual plank holders of the art: Krav Maga: How to Defend Yourself Against Armed Assault
*Click on the words in red to be hyperlinked to that item*
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