If you are really into self defense, you should practice kempo/sambo/krav-maga. These "martial arts" are excellent.
We just came off of a huge discussion about how I was wary of Krav Maga and would have to see a good teacher to get behind it at all. You can find it in the shooting a guy thread. That said, do you know of any teachers I could contact? Perhaps they could answer some questions and put me in touch with a good teacher in my area.
As for Kempo and Sambo, I'm lost. Could you sum up the styles? (ie: savate is a very energetic, more practical version of kickboxing performed at a further distance.)
Kempo:
Kempo is the descriptive name of various Japanese martial arts with Chinese origins, and also of hybrid martial arts: the Japanese ones and the Chinese ones. Kempo is similar to karate and includes more punches and kicks than holds or joint locks of wrestling.
Sambo:
Sport Sambo is stylistically similar to amateur wrestling or judo. The competition is similar to judo, but with some differences in rules, protocol, and uniform. For example, in contrast with judo, Sambo allows all types of leg locks, while not allowing chokeholds and focuses on throwing, ground work and submissions.
Self-defense Sambo, which is similar to aikijutsu, jujutsu or aikido and is based on self-defense application, such as defending against attacks by both
armed and unarmed attackers. Many practitioners consider Self-Defense Sambo as part of Combat Sambo and not a system unto itself.
Combat Sambo: Utilized and developed for the military, Combat Sambo includes practice with weapons, including disarming techniques. Competition in Combat Sambo resembles older forms of judo and modern mixed martial arts, including extensive forms of striking and grappling. The first FIAS World Sambo Championships were held in 2001.
Special Sambo - developed for Army Special Forces and Rapid Reaction Police (Militsija) teams and other law enforcement formations. The Special Sambo style differs from team to team due to different tasks and aims; however, the base of any special system developed in that field is of course Sambo. The term "Special Sambo" is a relatively new term which refers to specialized versions of combat Sambo.
Freestyle Sambo - uniquely American set of competitive Sambo rules created by the American Sambo Association (ASA) in 2004. These rules differ from traditional Sport Sambo in that they allow choke holds and other submissions from Combat Sambo that are not permitted in Sport Sambo. Freestyle Sambo, like all Sambo, focuses on throwing skills and fast ground work. No strikes are permitted in Freestyle Sambo. The ASA created this rule set in order to encourage non-Sambo practitioners from judo and jujitsu to participate in Sambo events.