Can you recommend a martial art for fighting off scum?

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This video shows some close-ups so you can see how it works:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BlYs80orEYI[/youtube]

I've studied a wide range of martial arts for nearly 20 years. I'll be honest, even after all that training, if there's trouble, I'd rather have my revolver. Martial arts take years to learn enough to be useful, and even an expert can be beaten up by an untrained thug if the thug gets a lucky shot. Or is armed, crooks do tend to ignore those rules about carrying weapons.

If you absolutely must rely on a martial art, I'd recommend a mix of bujinkan and kali. Look for an instructor who teaches "down and dirty" fighting, no dramatic poses or flair. Good luck!
(And I mean that sincerely.)

Keeping yourself safe is mostly about avoiding dangerous situations. Getting into fights will correlate with getting injured . . . you will never 'apprehend a criminal' who has stolen something from you, hand them into the authorities etc, because in preparation for the crime they have probably considered all eventualities and have tricks up their sleeve you'll only learn about if you make them feel threatened. Real World robberies happen at knife/gunpoint. And in the real world you are also held accountable for killing/injuring people whether they attacked you first or not.

Simply giving up your ipod, wallet, or whatever is avoiding a dangerous situation, as emasculating or un-superhero-like as it may be, as is avoiding being alone in urban areas late at night with valuables. Learning martial arts will not make it much safer to do otherwise . . . If you do take classes, I hope that you can repair your confidence and satisfy your craving for aggression within the context of the refereed fights and classes, and you use extreme moderation in applying them to the real world.

It might be best to think, will a ninja punch or kick not just make them more angry and dangerous. I would like to warn you about the "John Wayne" Syndrome, some gun owners, self defense "experts" and policemen think that becuase they have a gun, a police uniform or some martital arts training that they are indestructable and able to take on the world. Then they go and do stupid things which lead to chaos and injury.

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[quote="Kjas"]I'm a 5'0 ft girl.

I have learnt BJJ extensively and also a bit of MMA, some boxing, a little aikido. I can say without hesitation that the BJJ has gotten me out of more than one tight spot before, but is is almost always used defensively in a situation on the street. It's good because it's more about technique rather than brute strength which is why it's perfect for someone my size.

Not sure if it would be good for you if you want something offensive.[/quote]

I agree with this poster. To the OP, if you're 60 kgs soaking wet, you're going to find yourself on the ground at some point, and then you better know what to do. BJJ is the only art that will sufficiently prepare you for that. It's also great for offensive purposes, because no one in Europe expects to be double-legged. It involves lots of physical contact though, as every fighting art/sport worth its salt does.

Krav Maga is mostly just the same old traditional martial arts stuff repackaged without the dime-store philosophy and oriental etiquette. The quality varies a lot. Some places are good, but they're basically just doing MMA under the Krav Maga banner. I don't know where you've heard that 1/3 of all Jews practice it, but that's not true.

I wouldn't recommend a striking art. You're too small to go up against a big thug without years and years of dedicated training. If you can't or won't do BJJ/MMA, you're out of options and you should get a can of mace.

Craziness is a great deterrent. If somebody threatens you, roll your eyes, flare your nostrils, bare your teeth and make strange noises, then threaten to bite them. Growl like an animal. Pretend that you're about to throw up on them. Reenact a scene from The Exorcist, speak in tongues and different voices, curse and blaspheme.

Snap your teeth in front of their nose a few times and grin like a madman. Tell them that you have AIDS or rabies for added effect. Or tell them that their eyeballs look tasty, throw your head back and laugh like something that lives in a graveyard. People won't dare to touch you if you behave utterly inpredictable and appear capable of just about anything. Chances are that they can't get away from you quickly enough

Even though it is widely practiced, if you can, try Wing Chun. I am a rather tall guy, and can tell you that being small is a real merit when practicing styles like Wing Chun that are about keeping your opponent off balance. BJJ is good, too, but be aware that as soon as you are facing more than one assailant, its usefulness is reduced to almost 0, as it focuses on ground controlling one opponent, and trust me, against multiple foes, you do not want to go on the ground. What BJJ does more than most other martial arts ot combat sports, is build up useful strength and stamina.
Even though I am a long time practitioner of more than one japanese martial art, I can only say that if self-defence if your goal, be cautious what you pick up. Especially more "main stream" styles of Karate (I am sorry, Shotokan-pracitioners) have shifted in focus, gearing towards a competetive environment. Full-Contact styles like Kyokushin style Karate are a little more "true" to the original idea of knocking people down with your blows. I'd stay away from any style that usually incorporates too much protective gear, especially gloves. Gloves teach you one thing: How to not close your fist properly.

You could also try learning to run track. Running faster than them is usually pretty good and they won't get anything from you.

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There's no perfect martial art. I've been trying to find it since I was a kid. It doesn't exist. And I'll tell you, many black belts get their @sses handed to them by street thugs.

What is effective isn't the styles, but the information and techniques encoded in the styles. Different styles focus on different skills. Judo (for example) has grappling and throwing, but no kicks or punches.

If you want to learn an actual style, forget obscurity. It makes it harder to find; thugs don't know or care about the differences; and you can apply the element of surprise using any style.

Consider Wing Chun. It is said to have been created by a woman. Thus it's not specifically a brute force style. It's considered quite effective.

Or go with styles like Senshido, Urban Combatives, Krav Maga, etc. These styles were specifically developed to meet modern needs. And modern styles such as these also teach stuff like avoidance and situational awareness.

Weapons are a great equaliser, but they tend to do ACTUAL damage. If you're going to hang around for the cops, then you might not be sleeping in your own bed that night. Make sure any weapon isn't a recognised weapon. Specialise in recognising the potential of any improvised device (e.g. a biro, chair, remote control, filled water bottle, etc). And make sure whatever you do is justified. Don't exceed justifiable force unless your life is in danger.

Jog for distance two days a week. Sprint or fartlek two days a week. In other words, train to get the hell out of there. Ego means nothing if the result is death, injury or jail. Avoid. Walk away. Run away. Talk your way out of it. Bluff your way out.

There are forums for reality based self defence enthusiasts, and web sites by such authors as Marc 'Animal' McYoung, where you can get lots of info on law, avoidance, advice.

And google 'Geoff Thompson pdf The Art of Fighting Without Fighting'
and
'dead or alive geoff thompson pdf'

Good luck.

The above is just my opinion and doesn't constitute legal advice.

For confronting someone who stole from you? None. No matter what martial art you train in, it is nothing short of stupid to attack a stranger.

If they stole something from you, alert the authorities if possible. If not, let it go. Even if you had training, most thugs have had a life time of fighting. If they're good at fighting, they'll kick your ass for confronting them. If they're not good at fighting, they'll know it from experience and pull a knife or gun on you for confronting them. Sure, you might get lucky and beat them, but you could also very well get stabbed and bleed out. Is your life really worth less than an iPod?

I recall a handgun training course I took years back, taught by police officers and defense attorneys. The advice they gave for someone mugging you, even if you were packing, was to just calmly hand over your wallet and whatever else they demanded, wait until they were gone, and call the police. Again, NO POSSESSION STOLEN FROM YOU IS WORTH YOUR LIFE.

Now if someone were to actually attack you, Aikido would probably be the best based off of your description of yourself. I trained in it for years before school and work got in the way (I was ranked at 4th Kyu before stopping), it is entirely normal to see a 90lb girl fling a guy as big as me (6'3" and built like a rugby player) across the room with zero effort. As one instructor said "To be good at Aikido is to be able to be lazy while performing it", meaning if it takes zero effort on your part to end a conflict, you're doing it right.

If you do look in to taking Aikido, take it from an actual Aikido dojo (Ki Aikido is also acceptable). No offense to the MMA folks, but never take Aikido lessons from an MMA instructor. It takes a minimum of a decade to get a black belt in Aikido, even with constant training, which is something few, if any, MMA instructors have accomplished.

Striking first maybe. It gives you an advantage over a lot of people who just know how to hit hard, which is probably most of the people who would try to hurt you for no good reasons. But learning how to grapple standing and on the ground can be crucial too. If dealing with more than one person, striking will probably help most, grappling only so much... Would be hell if you took it to the ground with another attacker around.