Hi,

I wanted to ask the advice of martial artists on here to try and find out which martial art would be suitable for self defence.

What I'd ideally like is a martial art that is practical for self defence situations (eg being pushed about in the street, being threatened while in your car, threats of violence in a bar).

I am looking for something that will be practical in its applications, preferably relatively straightforward to learn and somehwree in the Sheffield area.

I'm not really looking to learn forms or take belts but really I need something effective in the sort of situation you might be threatened in during real life.

Any suggestions would be very welcome. Possible ideas I had from reading around it would be Kapap, Thai Boxing or Jeet Kune Do. Ideally I would do something that would be the most straightforward to learn as I am very much a beginner so any suggestions would be fantastic.

Thanks in advance for your help.

Hi,

I wanted to ask the advice of martial artists on here to try and find out which martial art would be suitable for self defence.

What I'd ideally like is a martial art that is practical for self defence situations (eg being pushed about in the street, being threatened while in your car, threats of violence in a bar).

I am looking for something that will be practical in its applications, preferably relatively straightforward to learn and somehwree in the Sheffield area.

I'm not really looking to learn forms or take belts but really I need something effective in the sort of situation you might be threatened in during real life.

Any suggestions would be very welcome. Possible ideas I had from reading around it would be Kapap, Thai Boxing or Jeet Kune Do. Ideally I would do something that would be the most straightforward to learn as I am very much a beginner so any suggestions would be fantastic.

Thanks in advance for your help.

For JKD try sheffield martial arts centre. Theres a guy called Mark who teaches it. He knows his stuff.
For kapap,
try www.kapapsheffield.co.uk

The instructor Craig knows his stuff.

The kickboxing system i teach can be applied for self defense as it is very boxing based with powerful kicks,knees etc (not to be mistaken for "shiny pants" kickboxing).

Hi,

Wow that was quick. Thanks for the advice.

www.wickercamp.com
Check out the legendary Wicker Camp Muay Thai Gym, wonderful friendly welcoming people, top notch tuition, very effective martial art.
have a look on youtube to see fighters from the gym in action, just put 'wicker camp' into the search box.

Will do. Thanks for the suggestion.

Thanks for that farhad.

Come down and try a class Wroughton, you are welcome..

Craig.

For self defence, Kapap with Craig is the best you will get. It covers everything you need, the club is friendly the teaching is spot on.

Hi,

Kapap sounds like exactly what I need.

Couple of questions.

What gear do I need to attend a class (what to wear/anything else I would need)?

How much are classes?

How fit would I need to be to attend?

Any help would be great and thanks for all the replies.

Hi Wroughton

Wear anything comfortable ie. shorts, tracksuit bottoms and a T-Shirt

Classes are £5 each, no joining fees

You don't have to be fit to start, you will get fitter as you train.

Hope this helps and look forward to meeting you.

Craig.

Hi Wroughton, if you were going, which class would you go to? Kick boxing or personal protection one?

The best self defence is running away if at all possible.

Thats correct Satsuma... unless of course your with your wife.. pushing your babies pram, with your Grandma. etc... better to prepare for the worst. maybe your attacker can also run faster than you ??

Craig.

Probably better to have a condom and not need it, than to not have one and get lucky!

Lotar - just been watching your youtube vids. Looks like useful common sense stuff:thumbsup:

Hi,

Well looking at the Kapap site I would go to the Personal Protection class. It looks ideal.

The reason for this is that I feel more than ever you need to be able to protect yourself. Ironically I went for a game of golf at my local course last nite and was confronted by a gang of 16 year olds all of whom had been drinking cider and smoking some funny smelling cigarettes.:confused:

They called me a few names and threatened to "do me" if I looked at them (which was nice).

Dont get me wrong I'm a peaceful person and would never start trouble with anyone. It would be nice to be shown techniques to make me more aware of trouble (to avoid it) and if it isnt avoidable to have a chance against some of these bully types.

EDIT- forgot to say that running off wasnt an option last nite being as I had a set of golf clubs on a trolley weighing me down. Which shows that Craig's point is spot on and you cant always leg it.

threatened to 'do you'? are u a female or male just out of curiosity. I really wish chavs are dealt with by the police and their parents made aware about their kids. it's disgusting.

EDIT- forgot to say that running off wasnt an option last nite being as I had a set of golf clubs on a trolley weighing me down. Which shows that Craig's point is spot on and you cant always leg it.[/QUOTE]

Maybe he can teach you some golf club based moves to fend them off? The old "1-2 with a sand wedge" move maybe?!

On a serious note, it does seem crazy that people have to worry about what might happen when they walk out of the door everyday. I've never really been threatened like that (touch wood....) but I'm not sure what I would do if it did happen. As you say, most of us are peaceful people just going about our business!

I would go for a 2 iron as opposed to the sand wedge ( no seriously ) LOL...

craig.

Hi,

Well looking at the Kapap site I would go to the Personal Protection class. It looks ideal.

The reason for this is that I feel more than ever you need to be able to protect yourself. Ironically I went for a game of golf at my local course last nite and was confronted by a gang of 16 year olds all of whom had been drinking cider and smoking some funny smelling cigarettes.:confused:

They called me a few names and threatened to "do me" if I looked at them (which was nice).

Dont get me wrong I'm a peaceful person and would never start trouble with anyone. It would be nice to be shown techniques to make me more aware of trouble (to avoid it) and if it isnt avoidable to have a chance against some of these bully types.

EDIT- forgot to say that running off wasnt an option last nite being as I had a set of golf clubs on a trolley weighing me down. Which shows that Craig's point is spot on and you cant always leg it.

I agree with Wroughton.
Sometimes you cant always leg it. SunTzu the Chinese philospher says " better to have an army prepared even though you may only use it one day."
(or something like that?)

I'm actually a bloke and dont get me wrong they may not have carried out their threats; but its intimidating when there is a big group of what looks like 4th/5th year of comprehensive school kids.

Probably looked worse than it was and they are just bored and on holiday I think. Banging down cider and Stella may have had an influence.:gag:

I'm certainly not looking for fights with anyone and will do almost anything to avoid one. The problem is in today's society you dont always get the chance to back down as some folks seem hell bent on having a go.

Its a bit sad but thats life today.

You have just defended yourself. You did not get beat up nor did you lose your wallet. You have to be careful a little knowledge is often a dangerous thing.

SunTzu was a chinese general who penned a book called the Art of War. Many of his tactics are still used in modern war. Very good book google for it loads of free copies on the net.

Personally I Say Mixed Maritial Arts
Also Known As MMA But You Have To Swith Clubs For Different Styles

You have just defended yourself. You did not get beat up nor did you lose your wallet. You have to be careful a little knowledge is often a dangerous thing.

SunTzu was a chinese general who penned a book called the Art of War. Many of his tactics are still used in modern war. Very good book google for it loads of free copies on the net.


I don't think that he did. To defend is to act:

Defend - to ward off attack from; guard against assault or injury

He just wants to know what to do if someone physically attacks him.

Thats correct Satsuma... unless of course your with your wife.. pushing your babies pram, with your Grandma. etc... better to prepare for the worst. maybe your attacker can also run faster than you ??

Craig.

That's why I said if at all possible ... :)

Avoiding a fight should be the top priority, and any martial art should give you the awareness of what is going on to give you time to react and get away from trouble.

Good to see you tonight Wroughton, hope you liked the classes.

Craig.

Good to see you tonight Wroughton, hope you liked the classes.

Craig.

Wroughton got himself down and started training?
Good lad!
:thumbsup:

Wroughton came and watched 2 classes last night, we had a chat and sorted some sessions out for him,

Craig.

Tae Kwon Do taught me how to look after myself, it also put me in the best shape of my life. Many moons ago that was! Wish Id kept it up

Well done to Wroughton for getting of his bum! He'll do well with Craig - good guy, knows his stuff in terms of self protection, excellent instructor- but a really dodgy sense of humour!! I really miss training, just wish this lung would heal up.

I would like to make a point about martial arts whatever the style (and a number of excellent ones have been mentioned on here) that they are not enough in terms of self protection. If you want to protect yourself you need to learn about all the stuff that goes on before it gets physical. In a sense that is the most important part of looking after yourself and you do not learn that in martial arts. It's the Geoff Thompson/ Dave Turton stuff of fences, pre-fight rituals, all the verbal stuff, adrenalin dumps etc etc. Horus and I hope to do some courses with Dave Turton. Because although we both have many years experience in a number of martial arts and are in jobs where we are threatened fairly regularly! There is a need for more than our martial arts training.

That's why when people are looking purely for self protection and not a martial art for competition etc. I recommend Craig because he works on all of the above. Anyway all the best for your training Wroughton!

Cheers Noel, hope your better soon mate. xx

Craig.

Hi,

Just wanted to write a big thank you to Craig, Debbie and all the nice folks down at Sheffield Kapap.

To say I'm a nervous character and easily intimidated wouldnt be the half of it (hence I'm going to have some private lessons with Craig) but the people there couldnt have been more welcoming.

Very impressed both with Craig and the atmosphere he creates for his classes- hard work but always enjoyable. You could see students enjoying themselves and learning at the same time which seems like half the battle.

Dont get me wrong I'd never seek confrontation but I feel that in training with Craig I would be so much better prepared were it to come my way and more confident too. So a big thanks for the welcome from all at Sheffield Kapap.

I love threads like these as they're all about a subject I care about a lot, that being street effective martial arts. Wroughton your onto a winner with Craig, you also have my sympathy, I started martial arts when I was bullied a long time ago (I was 12) and no matter what age you are when it happens it is really hard to get your backside into that first lesson so congrats on doing that, sincerely.

If you follow the link below it will take you to a thought provoking (if slightly controversial) interview with the late Gary Spiers. Mr Spiers was a high graded Goju Ryu Karate exponent who made his art very effective for the street. I only post it as Karate and other traditional arts take a hammering all too often on these threads. I have to say after being involved in martial arts and boxing for 19 years the most frightening and dangerous fighter I ever saw perform was the late Sensei Steve Cattle. At 5ft 5" and 12 stone I saw him completely manhandle a 20 stone 6ft 3" boxer and doorman.Impressive.

http://www.cqbservices.com/?page_id=38

I know my last post was a little random but hopefully not off topic:hihi:

I know my last post was a little random but hopefully not off topic:hihi:

No more than usual!!

LMFAO ...... ( don't know how to put thr smiley faces ) ...

Craig.

I love threads like these as they're all about a subject I care about a lot, that being street effective martial arts. Wroughton your onto a winner with Craig, you also have my sympathy, I started martial arts when I was bullied a long time ago (I was 12) and no matter what age you are when it happens it is really hard to get your backside into that first lesson so congrats on doing that, sincerely.

If you follow the link below it will take you to a thought provoking (if slightly controversial) interview with the late Gary Spiers. Mr Spiers was a high graded Goju Ryu Karate exponent who made his art very effective for the street. I only post it as Karate and other traditional arts take a hammering all too often on these threads. I have to say after being involved in martial arts and boxing for 19 years the most frightening and dangerous fighter I ever saw perform was the late Sensei Steve Cattle. At 5ft 5" and 12 stone I saw him completely manhandle a 20 stone 6ft 3" boxer and doorman.Impressive.

http://www.cqbservices.com/?page_id=38
Bloody hell, excellent article. Very long though, I've just spent the best part of an hour reading it!

It's also in a book "working with Warriors" by Dennis Martin (another very hard bloke) who worked the doors with Gary Spiers and Terry O'Neill (another very hard bloke). Well worth a look.

I agree carcass, a thread on Martial Arts without any arguing........ :thumbsup:

There are loads of great clubs in Sheffield. :thumbsup:

Craig.

To be honest going to ground is quite risky in the street, I think if any fight went to ground, most would be attackers would run a mile if they realised you had a "hard on". Although its never happened at training, I'd imagine most people would tap, if they realised their partner had a stiffy.

I think you should stick with fists

To be honest going to ground is quite risky in the street, I think if any fight went to ground, most would be attackers would run a mile if they realised you had a "hard on". Although its never happened at training, I'd imagine most people would tap, if they realised their partner had a stiffy.
Trust me, they don't.

Trust me, they don't.

I'm not sure if you're being serious?!

I'm not sure if you're being serious?!
They might not tap but they still love it. The slags.

Another one for wicker camp, top place, I have lessons with Daniel Hudson and he is great, couldn't meet a nicer bloke.

They might not tap but they still love it. The slags.

You've gone wrong...

You've gone wrong...

Read the sig. Its there for these sorts of situations.

Understand you've started with Kapap, i don't Know the style myself but the main thing is that you enjoy the training. I use to do WTF full contact Tae Kwon Do with Pilsung, which i found really good and enjoyable.

If it comes to a fight, be sure you can win. Unsuccessful resistance may make your injuries worse!