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[Alastar]

Dilemma:
Arts that are practiced in a sportsmanlike context are incomplete and inefficient.
Unsportsmanlike techniques (e.g. doing something nasty to the opponents' eyes, nose, groin or joints) are difficult to practice and often inappropriate.

[LoSboccacc]

Mix karate, kick boxing and qwuan ki dao.

Octagon partecipan all practice mixed stiles

[DJ]

Ive found the 'im a big guy' thing can be a bit of a bad thing when it actually comes down to blows, as you said, you havent been in a fight for years, I was the shortest kid in my highschool and had to fight more than a bit just to keep a lid on guys who thought they could bully me because they were bigger than me.  Ive taken down a few guys who had over a foot on me.  Usually because of the fact that the guy didnt expect me to actually hit him.  As stated above, first blood and a willingness to do violence will win alot of fights.  Especially if the first blow crunches the nose, pretty much blinds the other guy and you then hit him again in exactly the same spot.

Yeah, you're definitely right, I'm very much inexperienced in fighting so I wouldn't really put up a coherent defence or attack. Thing is, if I do get a lucky shot in (which isn't all that unlikely with my reach), you will definitely feel it. I've got some darn heavy hands on me, hands that are used to carrying cement sacks and wooden beams. I reckon a single solid headshot could give most people a concussion. The odds of me actually getting that shot in aren't that high, but with a risk of damage as high as that most people will accept the olive branch if they can do it with their honour intact.

As for the hit first thing, I've seen it in action plenty of times from a friend of mine. He's short and wiry, but he's bold as hell. He never lets the usual pre-fight protocol go through, with shoving etc. He just responds to the first shove with a punch, and then keeps coming so the other guy doesn't have a chance to get his bearings. It worked flawlessly every time I've seen it.

[Leatra]

Yeah, fights usually don't keep going for minutes like in the movies. That's why the first punch is very important.

Of course, if both sides are determined to turn each other into a pile of gore, fight can go on for some time. But that's usually not the case when dealing with strangers. Most people are willing to avoid a fight with their dignity if they can.

[DJ]

Getting that punch in is far from guaranteed, though, unless it's a total sucker punch. If I'm expecting a fight at all my arms will be at the ready to intercept you. I probably won't completely stop it, but with all the space that my long arms give me I'll have room to shave it down to a fraction of it's original strength. And the initial conditions will be at my max reach, because every tall guy is well aware of the advantage of his long reach and will try to maintain it in the lead-up to the fight.

[DJ]

*double post*

[xczxc]

Spoiler: I'm not speaking out of my head (click to show/hide)

For quite some time I became kind of obsessed with martial arts, because I wanted to be prepared in case I got into a life threatening situation (or a bar fight) (never got even close to one, though). I trained Karate for 2 years, then Krav Maga for another 2 and then I moved to Wing Chun in private lessons for 1 year and a half, I also went to several seminars of Systema. Before going to Krav Maga, I researched a lot about the topic, watched real life fights (to see how most of the people fought), read about the principles of each defense system, etc.

In a fistfight, when you know there won't be any weapons or objects used as such: Wing chun

For real life situations: Krav Maga (as said before).

Weapon Techniques: Kali-Eskrima-Arnis.

Also check: Systema

Spoiler: Some words about these (click to show/hide)

Wing Chun is my favourite one. It is very methodic and the movements are not instinctive, and as such, you actually need to train to forget old habits, which is one of the reasons it is so effective. It has rules at first but then discards them as you progress. It has what I consider the best sparring method (Chi Sao), and most importantly, a group of very defense-oriented rules. For example, the center line, one of the main pillars about it. It allows you not to leave a delicate part of your body exposed, even in the event you miss a punch, and that allows you to throw a second punch right away, and not leave your opponent any time to think. We used to train blindfolded to develop the necessary reactions (in what it's called "sticky hands", because in Wing chun, if you manage to get each of your arms in contact with your opponent's arms, the ball is on your ground). There is nothing of that little hops you see in a fight, like two guys in guard, hopping in circles, waiting to make a move, in wing chun you go straight to your opponent. Wing chun is focused on close quarters. As my Sifu used to say, your main concern is getting into a comfortable position to fight him, which is elbow distance.

Krav Maga is very very effective and what most people would want to learn. It borrows from jui-jitsu, judo, boxing, among others. Real life is its main concern and the Israeli army is trained in it. Personally, I walked away from it because I think it is perhaps too risky in its aggression, the object that made me think so were the punches, since KM was influenced by boxing, some punches require you to turn your body, the result is stronger punches, capable of knocking an opponent down, but if you miss one, you don't end in a very convenient position; and besides, Wing Chun suited my personality better. Nevertheless, it is the one I would recommend.

I didn't personally train in Kali/Eskrima/Arnis, but I read about it and they are regarded as having some of the best knife techniques. You are probably familiar with the moves because Matt Damon trained in them for the Bourne movies.

Systema is a very tough one, you get punched for real, and teaches you to think out of the box, which is a MUST. But I'm not very keen on it because since you need to be relaxed at all times, you train being relaxed and your classmate does so, and while it is good in real life, it is not so in a class because you can get spoiled into thinking that your opponents is going to be as docile as a puppy, or in this case, as the person training with you, and then be surprised when you simply couldn't throw him to the ground because he is stronger.

Spoiler: Some words about fighting (click to show/hide)

I stopped training because I realized it was more about the mindset rather than the system. I consider that a couple of years of training were good enough for me, but for others it may be more. If you manage to keep your calm, you win. Simple as that (but really hard to do so).

Real life fights are not like in movies, most people start fighting out of rage, and that clouds their judgement, a well placed punch is enough to stop a fight. Real life hits hurt A LOT (I know so because of the Systema seminars) and pain can mean the difference between winning or loosing. A blow to the nose is a very hard one to recover from, for example, if it's strong enough you are basically blinded. Also, you often hear that strength is not important, but that is true only if you are really good, if you aren't, a stronger fighter has the advantage.

The first and foremost skill you should learn is letting your ego go. Because you don't know if the other one has a gun, or has friends. With guns. You don't know if he is an internationally recognized fighting star or an ex-navy SEAL. The idea is only using what you have learned if you see no other way out, and as soon as you are able to, run as fast as you can. If someone points a gun at you and demands your wallet, you give it to them, and if he isn't going away and you see that he will shoot you, only then you try to take the gun away from him. And you also should consider not carrying weapons, because if you get mugged you might scare the thief and then he will start shooting. As some people have already said, if you know about psychology and are charming enough, you can get away from almost anything (that is, unless you are a driver in Russia)

If you decide to start training, remember to check the credentials of your school. In the case of Krav Maga, Wing Chun and Systema, there are international federations with lists of official training centers and teachers.

[Funk]

just a quick note on the idea that strength is not important if you are really good.
most people cant throw a punch with there full strength at a hard body part(i.e. head), there hands just arent up to it.

but real mindset is the real way fights are won, if you can be more brutal and aggressive than the other guy then you can win.

[Zyxl]

I've heard from an actual Krav-Maga instructor that even if you are a martial arts "master", a simple tool is still a significant advantage in a fight. On the grounds that I would consider fighting without a tool stupid, I think the best martial arts are those made for regulated tournament fighting because sparring is fun.
editsidenote:
I miss sparring. I don't do much in the way of physical sports anymore either. :/

[Kogan Loloklam]

Marine Corps Martial Arts Program (MCMAP)
Tai Chi.


MCMAP teaches you good knife fighting (accept you will be cut, it is inevatable. So make the enemy cut you where it does the least harm to you while you cut them where it hurts them the most.)

MCMAP is really strength meeting strength, which is the opposite of Tai Chi's redirection of force. My style switches freely between them, but the fighting idea behind it all is MCMAP's one mind, any weapon. It works out very, very well.  Barroom brawls and random attackers are easily handled with whatever force is appropiate. I don't do MMA though.