# Is 6 months of training enough to defend oneself?



## farquharraffles (Nov 2, 2011)

Hello, I was just wondering if 6 months of training is enough for one to be adequately trained to defend oneself against the common punk.

Of course, I don't expect to be submitting trained fighters, but will I realistically be able to defend myself 99% of the time against the common punk?

I will be going for lessons twice a week at least. Sometimes, I will go for four lessons a week.


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## Intermission (Oct 1, 2009)

Ideally you should never stop learning self defense because you can learn something everyday. Even blackbelts learn something new every class.

I understand why you would want to do this though, there is some assholes out there.

6 months could definitely help but I doubt it would help you 99% of the time.


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## cdtcpl (Mar 9, 2007)

I have learned this lesson the hard way, but the reality is no. The reason why is your average person who wants to hurt you is not going to make their intentions known or will act when they know you are not expecting it. I have found that for the most part training helps you in damage reduction, it has probably saved my life once or twice since drunk people tend to not know when to stop. Have I put them into positions where 'I won' the fight? Sure. Did I feel like it? Nope, the bruises, cuts, etc still make you feel like you got your ass kicked.

I'm not saying it isn't worth it, it totally is, I am saying that it is better to understand what your training will really help you with in the real world. It helps me stop friends because I know how to properly hold them back/down, it helps me understand what is going on under duress, and it helps me keep in shape and challenge me. It does not stop a kid with a baseball bat attacking you from no where.

Reread that and it sounds a little depressing, but it is honest.


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## Intermission (Oct 1, 2009)

cdtcpl said:


> I have learned this lesson the hard way, but the reality is no. The reason why is your average person who wants to hurt you is not going to make their intentions known or will act when they know you are not expecting it. I have found that for the most part training helps you in damage reduction, it has probably saved my life once or twice since drunk people tend to not know when to stop. Have I put them into positions where 'I won' the fight? Sure. Did I feel like it? Nope, the bruises, cuts, etc still make you feel like you got your ass kicked.
> 
> I'm not saying it isn't worth it, it totally is, I am saying that it is better to understand what your training will really help you with in the real world. It helps me stop friends because I know how to properly hold them back/down, it helps me understand what is going on under duress, and it helps me keep in shape and challenge me. It does not stop a kid with a baseball bat attacking you from no where.
> 
> Reread that and it sounds a little depressing, but it is honest.


Honesty is the best way, and what you said is completely true! That's why I like BJJ the best, it is the most practical for real life, it basically acts on AFTER you have been attacked. Say you get knocked down and now you need to defend from further damage, BJJ is perfect. Plus, the chances of choking someone out is WAY more likely then knocking someone out.


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## G_Land (Aug 11, 2009)

I agree Inter. BJJ will stop someone in their tracks cold. Plus it is so great to see the look and a persons face when you slap an arm bar on them right after they were just talking about beating you into a coma.


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## Intermission (Oct 1, 2009)

G_Land said:


> I agree Inter. BJJ will stop someone in their tracks cold. Plus it is so great to see the look and a persons face when you slap an arm bar on them right after they were just talking about beating you into a coma.


Or the priceless struggle to get out of a RNC or triangle after they talked so big haha


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## G_Land (Aug 11, 2009)

Bahhh the simple things in life!!!


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## khoveraki (Jun 28, 2009)

Training will probably build your confidence a good amount, and that'll keep you from *having* to defend yourself.


I was excited when I started training 5-6 years ago, at 135lbs~ or so. I was like "I'm gonna totally choke those dicks at the bar/gym/anywhere when they talk shit!" Fast forward to today and at ~175lbs and plenty of experience in kickboxing and jitz I haven't needed to actually use any of it in years. 



Probably if you want to be the guy who "wins" the fight, take a lot of free-style wrestling. If you double leg a guy and then pitter-patter him from the top, people will pull you off after a few seconds and you'll look like you smashed that guy. If you almost have a triangle locked in from the bottom, and people pull you two apart, you'll just look like a weirdo who got beat up.


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## UFC_OWNS (Jul 7, 2010)

It takes you 6 minutes to be able to know how to defend yourself, the common punk doesn't know how to throw a punch with their hips or block good, let alone the thai clinches and kickboxing and grappling aspects.


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## pipe (Jun 15, 2008)

If you train UFC then you would easily be able to defend your self. Or download some instructional video's of Rob Emerson kicking someones ass.


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## El Bresko (Mar 12, 2010)

pipe said:


> If you train UFC then you would easily be able to defend your self. Or download some instructional video's of Rob Emerson kicking someones ass.


Not sure if serious :confused03:


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## pipe (Jun 15, 2008)

MRBRESK said:


> Not sure if serious :confused03:


Deadly serious :serious01:


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## oldfan (Mar 14, 2010)

You guys having some fun with the OP?

here's my honest answer. It absolutely depends on you and where you train. Some people have a natural punch. some have great balance, some just aren't meant to fight. Your willingness and ability to tolerate pain will make a big difference.

BJJ is not necessarily the best form of real life self defense. In a true 1 on 1 situation BJJ is the shit and will win against any untrained opponent every time.

*BUT* in most real life situations I have seen (lots) ground fighting gets you kicked in the head by his friends and/or trapped under a pile on .

in real life you want to stay on your feet. you use bjj or wrestling to get the **** up.


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## farquharraffles (Nov 2, 2011)

Intermission said:


> Ideally you should never stop learning self defense because you can learn something everyday. Even blackbelts learn something new every class.
> 
> I understand why you would want to do this though, there is some assholes out there.
> 
> 6 months could definitely help but I doubt it would help you 99% of the time.


Hi thanks. I had trained in Taekwando when I was a kid before. I even attained a brown belt, which is the belt just before the black belt. Sadly, I doubt any of those TKD moves would help in a real fight. I still remember even the basic blocks were so ridiculous that I am sure it wouldn't work in a real fight.

Rather than teaching you to keep your chin down and parry or move out of striking distance, TKD teaches you this stupid rising block, which frankly, even in training, will get you punched. :thumb02: I have forgotten almost everything in TKD now but I think if I get back into martial arts, I would find my feet real fast.

If I have the chance to train MMA for a longer time, I would. But after six months, I would be posted to a rather secluded area to work in a stressful job, hence, I doubt I have the time to continue MMA training. I also doubt that there would be a MMA gym nearby.



oldfan said:


> You guys having some fun with the OP?
> 
> here's my honest answer. It absolutely depends on you and where you train. Some people have a natural punch. some have great balance, some just aren't meant to fight. Your willingness and ability to tolerate pain will make a big difference.
> 
> ...


No one really falls to the ground voluntarily when attacked. Unless you are Nog, and you are fighting in the UFC where stomps and kicks to downed opponents are disallowed. Or unless you are a turtle.

If a guy falls onto his back, I would tee off with a kick to his balls.


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## joshua7789 (Apr 25, 2009)

Six months of training will win you most street fights if you start sparring early and frequently (in my opinion anyway). Most people dont know how to throw straight and accuarate punches and will lose their composure the first time they are hit in a fight. Sparring will desensitize you to being hit (to an extent) and teach you how to stay calm in a fight. Now, when it comes to defending yourself from someone that is truly intent upon hurting you, that is a whole different animal. You can never be fully prepared for that situation, because people in those circumstances are incrediby unpredictable. They may have a knife or some other kind of weapon. They may try and bite you and poke your eyes out, even if you do put them in some kind of submission. You never really know. So as mentioned before, you should never stop learning how to protect yourself and try to learn something new everytime you train.


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## Life B Ez (Jan 23, 2010)

Intermission said:


> Honesty is the best way, and what you said is completely true! That's why I like BJJ the best, it is the most practical for real life, it basically acts on AFTER you have been attacked. Say you get knocked down and now you need to defend from further damage, BJJ is perfect. Plus, the chances of choking someone out is WAY more likely then knocking someone out.


BJJ is not self defense anymore. What is taught in gyms now is sports BJJ, I'm sorry to say it, but it's true. In a street fight the last play I would ever want to be is on the ground grappling. Look if you are going to fight one man sure it will help you, but lets say you get to mount and are just raining hell down on him, where is his buddy that is going to walk up and kick you in the head? Better yet, you're fighting and you throw an armbar or god forbid a triangle on someone and they go "There is something on my face" and bite down, now you're in an entirely different problem. Even the Gracie in action DVDs aren't self defense, they are fighting, where there are rules and gentlemen's agreements. What happens if you end up on the bottom and the guy gouges at your eyes? That's not even in a BJJ system. 

If you want real self-defense try something like Kali, it's a Filipino martial art that teaches you how to defend yourself brutally. But it's not for a simple street fight, it can be very dangerous and deadly.

There is some kind of misconception that a lot of the traditional martial arts are shit because they aren't found in MMA. Here's the thing with that, let's take Kung Fu for example, most of the bases for attack or defending yourself in Kung Fu attack the four orbs, two high, two low(your eyes and your nuts) What is the first thing you can't do in MMA? Attack the eyes or groin. Also, in BJJ you can go full speed with anyone at anytime just for fun, so you can clearly see it works. You can't do that with a traditional martial art, if you did one guy would go and the other guy would never get a turn because he'd be headed to the hospital.

The point being, if you're concerned for your safety, learn an art that will truly hurt someone in the event you use it. I carry a knife with me whenever I go places that I might be slightly concerned about, I've trained in Kali for quite a while and while I hope I never do use it, I feel safe in knowing that if I do I will know what I'm doing. Basically, what I'm saying is this, when you're in a fight on the street, you don't fight fairly, you don't have any agreements and nothing is off limits. If you ever get to the point you're going to fight on the street, you're fighting to survive not to win.

Btw. this is coming from someone who has a brown in BJJ.


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## MikeHawk (Sep 11, 2009)

If you really wanna defend yourself you should be learning something like Krav Maga. BJJ, Wrestling, or boxing does not teach you how to fight in a real world scenario. Krav Maga is designed to specifically do that. You can train against weapons, multiple people, just about any scenario you can think of.


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## UFC_OWNS (Jul 7, 2010)

Life B Ez said:


> BJJ is not self defense anymore. What is taught in gyms now is sports BJJ, I'm sorry to say it, but it's true. In a street fight the last play I would ever want to be is on the ground grappling.


This. People don't understand that using BJJ in the street is high risk, wrestlign serves you better,, if you are on top you can stomp them,kick them knee them, elbow and punch them and even do more dirty stuff. Wrestling,muay thai and Boxing are the best 3 for street fighting. And yarr I do BJJ at Gracie Barra and train MMA(oops I mean UFC:laugh


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## No_Mercy (Oct 17, 2006)

oldfan said:


> You guys having some fun with the OP?
> 
> here's my honest answer. It absolutely depends on you and where you train. Some people have a natural punch. some have great balance, some just aren't meant to fight. Your willingness and ability to tolerate pain will make a big difference.
> 
> ...


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