Martial arts???

[jkasandiego]

Try the very basic discipline and moved up and what suits you.

[Notorious]

Keep in mind that utilizing striking skills can look really bad. If you're non-LE you WILL go to jail unless there was clearly a provable threat to your life. If you are LE and you get caught on video it will look bad. Not saying it's illegal in that case but it just looks bad. But the ones that most consider effective is Boxing and Muay Thai.

Any use of force, by anyone, will look bad on camera.

Who cares what art you use to strike someone, it will be a punch or a kick, and that's what it will look like on camera.

Street fights are ugly by nature. Very fast, very brutal. Nothing you can do can make it look pretty or good to anyone unless you are Steven Seagal and you can intercept a punch or kick and just twist and lock the guy up and control him without further violence... and that is helped out by the choreographer and director, both of whom will not be there for you in your fight.

Do what you need to do to defend yourself, efficiently and without prolonged engagement. The longer you fight, the more likely you will get hurt.

[DannyInSoCal]

JKD - Jeet Kune Do.

Mixed with "reality based" knife fighting.

You have one of the best instructors in your backyard -

Paul Vunak.

Find him online -

Tell "Vu" that Danny Flucke sent ya...

[code_blue]

Didn't Bruce Lee disband the JKD from developing new masters? Maybe it was Kosho Kempo.

Too many. Try it and see what you like. IMO MMA places and lots of others tend to claim a lot of things.

Lots of places claim to teach Krav Maga but they're not officially recognized. The only one in Norcal is off Berkley IIRC, but lots of places place it in their ads.

Stay away from "Bros" and Meat heads. You should never be trained to be out for blood. Best way to avoid getting hurt is to avoid the fight altogether.

[PhoPoweR]

Muay Thai and Jiu Jitsu is all you need

[Notorious]

Muay Thai and Jiu Jitsu is all you need

Right... this is exactly the opposite of what everyone else who knows what's up is saying. Naming a style as being it.

I can see the OP trying to do Muay Thai kicks on suspect's legs and kneeing on a clinch... and then tumbling around and doing GI chokes and leg breaks... ALL IN UNIFORM WITH GEAR ON.

[kayaker]

I used to study and teach Kyokushin karate. It's no bull****, real,not flashy karate. Recently I have been interested in getting back into martial arts. I've looked into many different types and decided that I would be most interested in Japanese Jui Jistsu due to it have grappling, joint manipulation as well as striking. Brazilian JJ is great for matches but in real life you don't want the ground to be you default possition. Pretty much all of the other schools that I looked into did not look like they were teaching stuff that works when the other guy doesn't do what is expected of him.
Unfortunately I can't find a Japanese JJ Dojo within 30 miles of my home.

[Notorious]

I used to study and teach Kyokushin karate. It's no bull****, real,not flashy karate. Recently I have been interested in getting back into martial arts. I've looked into many different types and decided that I would be most interested in Japanese Jui Jistsu due to it have grappling, joint manipulation as well as striking. Brazilian JJ is great for matches but in real life you don't want the ground to be you default possition. Pretty much all of the other schools that I looked into did not look like they were teaching stuff that works when the other guy doesn't do what is expected of him.
Unfortunately I can't find a Japanese JJ Dojo within 30 miles of my home.

Kyokushin, the competition style?

You mean, the one that doesn't punch to the face, and has those flipping upside down axe kicks to the head that lands you on the ground, but hoping to knock the other guy out with the hail Mary kick... that no BS style?

Not knocking it and I know some of those guys are very tough, but it ain't street and it don't work for LE any better than any other style.

[code_blue]

with all due respect every style has a sport variation and every style will have the egoists.

they need the sport and flash to survive as a business. theres always a gimic. what you can hope for is to gain a trusting relationship with your master enough for them to teach you the more lethal techs and training. old school style isn't for pussies and most people won't go under the stress.

I mean ****. old school masters use to do crazy *** **** to their bodies, train in full contact until someone is defenseless and used real weapons. loom at their arms, knife scars.

[kayaker]

Kyokushin, the competition style?

You mean, the one that doesn't punch to the face, and has those flipping upside down axe kicks to the head that lands you on the ground, but hoping to knock the other guy out with the hail Mary kick... that no BS style?

Not knocking it and I know some of those guys are very tough, but it ain't street and it don't work for LE any better than any other style.

Competetion Kyokushin doesn't allow punches to the head because they don't use ANY padding. Full on head kicks are fine as well as full contact to the body with hands or feet. If you think that seems wimpy then you should try it sometime. I have no idea what this hail mary kick you are talking about, but hey, I only got to Nidan, maybe it's more advanced?

[APV]

I guess there is no such thing as the best style. Every style has its advantages. Probably you should consider something that fits better your physical conditions and age.
I'd like to mention sambo in addition to all styles mentioned in other comments. It is based on Judo and very practical since it was developed specifically for military and law enforcement. Combat sambo includes punching and kicking in addition to grappling techniques. As far as I know aikido requires a long learning curve before it can be used practically on physically fit opponents.

[Notorious]

Competetion Kyokushin doesn't allow punches to the head because they don't use ANY padding. Full on head kicks are fine as well as full contact to the body with hands or feet. If you think that seems wimpy then you should try it sometime. I have no idea what this hail mary kick you are talking about, but hey, I only got to Nidan, maybe it's more advanced?

Here, go to the 0:30 mark and the 1:04 mark and you'll see what I mean. I seen that technique used enough that I know it's not just a fluke, but rather, something in the normal repertoire of techniques.

http://youtu.be/3FB8hPmsg28

I know there are no head punching because of the bare hands, but if you don't learn it or don't learn to defend against it, do you think it will just come naturally in a street fight when there are no rules?

How often are you going to do head kicks in a street fight or LE encounter?

As for wimpy... no, I am not trained to be a competition fighter and I won't get into an internet pissing match, which is not the intent of this thread.

But honestly, do you really think this is useful for LE?

Going toe to toe and punching and kicking the crap out of a suspect in a close stand up fight? Really? How will that work out in an arrest situation?

[DriftinG Z32]

As many have said, there is no best style for a LE application. Every art will have its advantages and disadvantages. Try to pick a discipline that you are genuinely interested in and are physically capable of practicing on a regular basis.

If you're looking for a well rounded system, I'd honestly look into some form of MMA. You'll learn basic western/kick boxing, wrestling/grappling, and Jiu-Jitsu techniques that I've found work well on the streets.

Keep in mind that no matter what system you choose, you're only going to get out what you put in.