Learning martial arts to survive in an extreme environment — Please advise

[Short Timer?]

Kid, you need to GTFO of where you live, get that education, stay inside and in safe places as much as possible. Even thinking you can defend yourself against a meth head with a gun is just a bad, bad idea bro.

I would say, work on your awareness more than anything. Start meditating, start learning to always be aware of your surroundings. Learn to read body language and facial queues. 9/10 you can tell some prick is going to fuck with you by some form of eye contact. Go another route.

That's the idea, Soublaze. The suggestion to meditate is very good and I intend to implement it, but I'm already advanced in your other suggested methods. My plan is not to learn martial arts so I can take down armed guys, but to be able to defend myself in the rare occasions when a physical combat is necessary, period. By the way, your digression was very pertinent. Thank you for taking the time to comment.

Karate, obviously.

(:50)

https://youtu.be/gmElew2NIS8

I've already taken that road once, now I'm trying to discover new possibilities. :)

[RWaggs]

Karate, obviously.

(:50)

https://youtu.be/gmElew2NIS8

[Soulblaze]

When I was young, I took Han Mu Do as one of my first Martial Arts, from He Young Kimm. Master Kimm was cool as shit, he would always do philosophy of Martial Arts as part of your training. I remember one of his lessons when he discussed heaven and hell. A young monk asked his master, "Is there a heaven and hell"? The master began to choke his student while exclaiming, "YOU ARE IN HELL!" Upon releasing his student the master then said, "and now, you are in heaven".

After class, I asked Doctor Kimm, "Yo! Doctor Kimm, whats the best defense against a gun and knife?" That old man smirked at me and replied, "To never be in the situation to have one pulled on you".

I'll say, 14 year old me was kinda let down. I was feeling the bullshido that day on the real. Though, after a few years it finally sank in. The old man was right.

No one can defend against a gun or a knife. You'll get shot and you will get cut. Period.

I said, "what would you do, Master Kimm?" He responded, "I'd give him whatever the hell he wants" *laugh* "It's not worth my life".

Eye opening for a young man but honest truth. Han Mu Do worked great in 1950's Korea when people typically grabbed you by the shirt or arm to start a fight but in America, shit is practically useless. I digress...


Kid, you need to GTFO of where you live, get that education, stay inside and in safe places as much as possible. Even thinking you can defend yourself against a meth head with a gun is just a bad, bad idea bro.

I would say, work on your awareness more than anything. Start meditating, start learning to always be aware of your surroundings. Learn to read body language and facial queues. 9/10 you can tell some prick is going to fuck with you by some form of eye contact. Go another route.

[Short Timer?]

This blog have free downloadable techniques from over 100 martial art styles: http://combatotaku.blogspot.co.id/
Just right-click to save the pictures, and try them yourself.

Well, man, thank you for for the link. I mean, it may be interesting to reference that in the future, but I don't think it's a good idea to just go trying them myself. First, it's possible I wouldn't do them right, and either injure myself or habituate myself to a poor execution; second, lacking a cohesive system, I wouldn't know when

[BackFistMonkey]

Ok well I won't lie, that was fun.

[BackFistMonkey]

This blog have free downloadable techniques from over 100 martial styles: http://combatotaku.blogspot.co.id/
Just right-click to save the pictures, and try them yourself.

Jesus Christ you are a fucking idiot, I hope you are just giving crappy advise and not a spammer. Actually I hope you are a spammer. I am going through your post history and if I see you plugging that fucking link I am banning you without further contact.

[Westbud]

I live in a shithole. Mine is one of those countries you hear something absurd, unbelievable about in the news and think, "well, of course that happened there." Being in my mid-twenties, I've had a good number of bouts with death—sometimes I survived by being brave (or reckless), sometimes with cunning.

At least twice, though, I survived by yielding; it's been some time since it last happened, but I still remember how impotent I felt, and I'm still fucking pissed about it, about how I felt. I hate this. Being reluctant to leave my house, having to be constantly jumpy when I do go out, knowing that if I make the slightest mistake I may find myself at the mercy a 14-year-old meth-head with a gun.

I do not want to feel impotent again, if I can avoid it. Next time a huge thug wants to kick the shit out of me, I want to be able to put the good fight; next time someone tries to kill me, I want to be able to bring him along (or something of his that won't grow back); and if someone decides to invade my house and do some surprise raping, I want all of you, despite the many countries between us, to hear about what's happened to that fucker—whatever has to happen to me.

If you think I'm being extreme, just imagine spending a few years under similar circumstances. The scenarios above are far from rare in my area. Before you write me off as a nut job, imagine yourself in my place. Whatever this looks like, I'm a calm person. I keep to myself. I just want to protect mine and myself from the shit that so often hits the fun.

I want to become stronger, not only physically but also mentally, I want to become more disciplined, I want to improve my inner game, that's for sure, all this I want to seek in the martial arts—but becoming a skilled fighter, who can survive the stuff I described, is foremost.

My height is above average, I am lean, I've been a skinny guy for my entire life. I seem to be able to muscles quick, though—the only occasion when I spent some time at the gym, my development was rather noticeable in less than six months—but don't think I'll ever be heavily built.

And though I've lacked coordination in the sports I've tried (if you throw a ball at me, I'll probably duck instead of doing something useful with it), my reflexes have been good in extreme scenarios. Every single time that my life was a risk and I had any degree of agency, my thoughts just stopped, I felt nothing, and I was at my best—from dodging multiple cars coming from different directions in high speed to escaping a guy who had a knife to my neck or convincing people not to shoot me.

Of course, like I said, cunning's been part of my survival, and most of it meant being really, really cautious as to avoid shit in the first place, being aware of my surroundings all the time, sizing every single individual that moved, having something at hand I could use as an improvised weapon, and so on.

But some times it just can't be helped—last time a guy pointed a gun at me, I'd just taken a bus (ironically, the stop was next to a police station), and the motherfucker got inside and demanded money and valuables as soon as we start moving. Oh, he was a "nice," Marxist Robin Hood—so he only stole from "the oppressive bus company" (his words), but I don't like being terrorized, and I don't like old ladies being terrorized. But what could I have done?

You know, when he was done, when he was waiting for the bus to stop and the door to open, he had already tucked his gun inside his pants, he wasn't paying attention, he had his back turned to me, I was close, I had checked the other people, there was no chance he had a partner; I could have kicked him in the neck, from behind; or in the head; or wherever. But could I make him stay down if I kicked? I didn't know, so I didn't try. I know how stupid this may sound to you, I know I'm no Jackie Chan, but remembering that event still hurt, because I couldn't do a fucking thing.

This is the kind of "situation" I can face here, the kind of fun that my training in the martial arts would have to address. Ideally, I would be able to concentrate my "chi" and hadouken my way out of bad shit—or, as a second best, be able to dodge bullets and use my superior Aikido to break every wrist in the body of anyone foolish enough to shoot me—but in such ideal world I'd probably live in civilization and be rich, so I might simply hire a bunch of deadly ninjutsu masters as security personnel.

No, I need something real and effective, and I have some ideas, but I need to consider the implementation. To use a limited time frame, let's take the next five years. I know no one can become proficient overnight, but I think it's reasonable to expect a good degree of skill after five years of disciplined training—which I intend to do. This would be the fundament to what I intend to be lifelong learning. How should I best approach it?

Do I focus on a particular fighting style and dedicate the entire period (or most of it) to it? I'd consider Muay Thai. Would it be better to divide the period among different styles? Then, perhaps, Judo -> Muay Thai -> BJJ. Rather, should I pick a central style and strive to complement with others as I go? Then I'm thinking Muay Thai + Judo and BJJ.

As I kid, I had some minimal experience with Shotokan Karate and some negligible dabbling in BJJ—I can detail this aspect of my background later, if you want; for our purposes here, suppose I'm a clean slate, without skill but also without bad habits—but there is nothing else. I've done some reading, and I think that I may find what I need in those three styles I mentioned above, but you may know better ideas. I'd really like to hear your thoughts—though then I'd be Charles Xavier and should be focusing on my psychic powers.

Right now my body is, simply put, weak. All in all, I'm an underfed sack of bones, but I'm take care of this. During the five years we're considering, I intend to supplement the martial arts training with strength- (and mass-) increasing exercises, based mostly on weight lifting (with barbells, not machines), and some endurance training—though I shouldn't lose calories, I think I must be able to run fast and for enough time to escape something I can't beat, and my breath doesn't last long nowadays.

This is my first post in this forum, and this is a whole new world I'm entering, so I apologize for any misconceptions I may have expressed here, or for using the wrong terms in this expression—by choosing to start this thread on YMAS I hoped that I would have the least chance of dazzling you during deep debates with a display of my inexperience. Thank you very for reading this far, and thank you in advance for your advice.

This blog have free downloadable techniques from over 100 martial art styles: http://combatotaku.blogspot.co.id/
Just right-click to save the pictures, and try them yourself.

[Short Timer?]

Realizing that I've miscalculated by first asking about this on YMAS, I've started a new topicthere if you can.

[Short Timer?]

Street fighting is great to practise

Bicep curls...Street fight... Make profit

I only mentioned punches as a saner alternative to Mr. Machette's suggestion, but street fighting is not viable when even the mice carry guns. Things here usually go Chicago way, but skipping the knife.

And though outlaws by trade obviously don't care about this, getting a criminal record for carrying would make life even less funny for me.

Hence awareness as the main tactic, fighting only as a last resort and under very specific circumstances.

[GrouchyOldMan]

Bicep curls...Street fight... Make profit

[Sam Losco]

Street fighting is great to practise

[Short Timer?]

That attitude is what you got you into this predicament.
You think street toughs are afriad of getting punched in the face?
They've been fist fighting their whole lives. They thrive on that shit.
Losing their "honor" on the other hand is the kind of thing that keeps them up at night.
Just ask Charles Panzram. No formal training. Fighting style: forcible sodomy. Fight record: 305-7-1

The remote chance that you're serious will keep me

Yeah motherfcuker...RAP!

More likely R.I.P., if I don't get my shit together.

[Sam Losco]

I live in a shithole. Mine is one of those countries you hear something absurd, unbelievable about in the news and think, "well, of course that happened thereyieldingmeexpect a good degree of skill after five years of disciplinedthink

Yeah motherfcuker...RAP!

[Mr. Machette]

That attitude is what you got you into this predicament.
You think street toughs are afriad of getting punched in the face?
They've been fist fighting their whole lives. They thrive on that shit.
Losing their "honor" on the other hand is the kind of thing that keeps them up at night.
Just ask Charles Panzram. No formal training. Fighting style: forcible sodomy. Fight record: 305-7-1

[Short Timer?]

That's what I'm talking about. Pummelling. With your p3n0r.

Nope. I think will stick to punches—using the fists, not the p3n0r.