Learn more about Amber's upcoming self defense coach camp: fittofight.com/product/coach-camp-2023/ Which martial art do you think is the best for women's self-defense?

@DojowuBobby

8 ай бұрын

The best self defence is to avoid conflict from the start! All martial arts that focuses on self improvement is great imoh I'm trying to get my wife into karate just to stay active "Men are like steel. When they lose their temper, they lose their worth." - Chuck Norris

@MMAWARRIOR20

8 ай бұрын

Too many variables. I guess my answer would be a different set of skills tailored for each unique person. I wouldn’t give a one size fits all answer to all of them. I’m not going to tell a gal who is a cross fit champ to train in the same things as a soft spoke. Bookish girl lol

@theirresistableE

8 ай бұрын

Rokas should go to an Aikido dojo where they actually do train hard, it kind of seems like maybe maybe he has not experienced that? Have you ever been to Brooklyn Aikikai? All the basic problems still apply, but the physical intensity and pace does make a huge difference. Curious what his view would be if he had actually experienced that.

@dusandragovic09srb

8 ай бұрын

@@theirresistableE Rokas is becoming a fighter, a smooth transition from "martial artist". There is no "going hard in Aikido" 🤣

@anonymoose9907

8 ай бұрын

@@DojowuBobby Often not a choice for women, "avoiding conflict from the start".

What she said starting at 12:30 about youth sports is really _great_ insight. My family did not encourage sports at all, (and that's putting it mildly) and I was always scared of everything until I started playing Soccer (of all things) in College. Then after a couple of years of Judo starting when I was 23, my fear level went _way_ down, and I have been so much happier ever since. Parents, _please_ encourage your kids to do some sports. All in all, a great video. This lady really knows what she's talking about.

@warlord1207

8 ай бұрын

great advice, i started pretty late in my early 30s, it built so much confidence as I was still an anxious teen + adult

@99kerosene

8 ай бұрын

you starting at 23 gave me hope. I am also considering doing judo/taekwondo at 22, but I felt like i am too weak to start it and too old and unflexible, so I felt really discouraged, not to mention me never being in any sport as a child/teen.

@pickleballer1729

8 ай бұрын

@@99kerosene Well, my friend, as soon as I stop laughing (I'm 68, and 22 seems incredibly young to me) I'll give you some encouragement... Firstly, I don't know if I mentioned it in the comment you are replying to, but I didn't do sports at ll when I was a kind either. When I was 16 my parents, not having the money to buy me a car, bought me a bicycle. I could tell by the look on their faces they thought I was going to be heartbroken, but nothing could be further from the truth. Over the next 20 years, mostly in my late 20's, I rode well over 100,000 miles on a bicycle. It completely changed my life. At 19, I took up Soccer, and played well enough to make the varsity team at the small college I attended. I took up Judo in my 20's, cross country and Nordic Skiing in my 30's, rollerblading and some hockey in my 40's, and Pickelball in my 60's. You are not even close to too old to take up new sports. And btw, you've probably heard that men reach their physical peak at about 18. RUBBISH! If you stay reasonably active, you won't even notice any decline at all until you're about 40. Go for it!

@cashews15

8 ай бұрын

​@@99kerosene go for it, you can do it!

@sonofhibbs4425

8 ай бұрын

I’m not even a sporty person (not lazy either) but I agree so much.

It’s so great to see someone understanding the benefits of judo over BJJ, I do both, but judo is consistently underrated.

@davidegaruti2582

8 ай бұрын

I think judo may have one of the best pedagogy around : no other martial art has such a clearly defined chart of moves devided in both difficulty and danger to the practicioners , Catch Wresling doesn't have that as far as i know , it's up to the teacher ...

@jaredmackey4511

8 ай бұрын

Would you say that judo has become somewhat overshadowed by bjj? I just recently listened to a discussion with Rhadi Fergusson where he claimed that that wasn’t the case. However, I see many more bjj schools than judo schools. They’re both awesome arts and sports in my opinion; judo just needs more exposure.

@jwc7215

8 ай бұрын

Judo is literally the foundation of BJJ. It shouldn't ever be overlooked.

@paba1042

8 ай бұрын

I used to love working take downs. I took judo in my late teens and twenties. My BJJ coach works takedowns maybe monthly but they’re more wrestling based than what we did in judo class. As a person nearly 40 I don’t like working that as much. I certainly have some take down game better than most in the class, but I did hyperextend my knee at the beginning of the year. I think bjj has a better competition scene but also think the physical barriers are tougher to overcome for a judo player.

@BlindJudoJourney

8 ай бұрын

Definitely, BJJ has done a very good job marketing itself. However, people often overlook that the emphasis on throwing in Judo is offputting to people, especially adults. It can be more intimidating which leads to people dropping out of the sport. BJJ doesn’t have the fear of getting Costa minutes . My biggest issue with BJJ when people talk about offence versus Judo, is that, yes, BJJ has a better ground game than Judo, but BJJ and Judo ground work are easily effective enough in the self-defence situation, no one is pulling spider guard In self defence. You just need to know how to him someone, control them, and if necessary, apply high percentage submissions such as we’re naked, choke and straight on numbers. However, BJJ doesn’t really focus on stand-up at all, so against the average person their standard isn’t going to be particularly effective, whereas a judoka Will have no issue with the stand-up game, and they will also have significantly more experience with transitions. Issue with Judo is that it is harder to become proficient in. In my opinion, BJJ is 1000 techniques that each take one listen to man (the basics of) Judo is 60 techniques that each take. 2-4 weeks to learn, so it’s a lot harder to feel like you are making progress in Judo.

I’ve given self defense for my young daughter a lot of thought. One thing I don’t hear people discuss are the various situations a woman might find herself in and the applicability of the different martial arts. Situations such as date rape, assault by an authority figure, school bullying, etc… and not just the standard “being attacked on the street”.

@3nertia

8 ай бұрын

Teach them to read body language and situational awareness *first* and then teach them the martial arts stuff

@badart3204

8 ай бұрын

Those issues are more tactical issues than martial issues oftentimes and mothers or friends often teach good stuff for that. This includes always hold on to your drink, don’t be one on one in a room, always go out with friends to watch your back, etc etc

@imjooboy

8 ай бұрын

@@badart3204 but this is a martial arts channel and a woman’s self defense ranking video. I think there is some discussion warranted along these lines in the context of this video.

@af4396

8 ай бұрын

I don't know if you've heard or not, but martial arts are only good if they're good on da streetz, with 5 attackers with knives, wearing body armor and a variety of guns. Actual common self-defense? Doesn't exist! Some guy acts up at an airport? Take him to the ground by breaking his nose and knee, hope his head smashes on the tiled floor, and just in case that doesn't do it, you should already have your knife or gun pulled out! If some big girl is sitting on your daughter and pulling her hair, that's not worth talking about, you don't need martial arts for that, just smooth talking skills!

@SHADOW1414

8 ай бұрын

I like BJJ for self defense for this exact reason. The unfortunate reality is you're more likely to be attacked by someone you know/trust, which means you may be in a bad position before you really realize you have to defend yourself. Since BJJ teaches you to work from a bad position, I think it's an important skill to have. Sure, it doesn't cover everything, but it's something you definitely don't want to need and not know how to do.

At 27:10, what she says about being good at talking is right on! I talked my way out of what could have been a deadly situation for me and for the guy that asked for my help, and by the time it was over, the would-be mugger walked us both to our car while telling his accomplices to leave us alone and even opened the door for us! Here are the details for those interested: I was in a bus station in a very rough part of town when a guy came up to me and asked for my help. He pointed to another guy and said he was trying to rob him as he had seen him get change for $100 bill. (Both the guy asking for my help and I were quite small and unassuming. The guy allegedly trying to mug him was large and imposing.) I told him that I would like to help but I couldn't be sure it wasn't a set up between the two of them trying to rob me. I said just sit here for a while and we'll see what happens. The mugger saw that he was trying to enlist my help so he came over and started trying to intimidate me to get me to go away. He was a tall black guy from a neighborhood where I had lived as a kid. I said to him “Hey, I know you, you were on the Lawton High School basketball team.” ( A reasonable assumption in a town where Blacks and Whites were largely separated and most kids had nothing to do but sports.) He stood up straight and proud and said that he was on the team, but he admitted that he was not a starter. I said “ But you should have been. You had some great moves!” We got to chatting about LHS, where my brothers went, and about 5 minutes later when my parents arrived to pick me up, we started walking toward the door where two other large guys were waiting in a car between the door and my parent’s car, obviously working with the mugger. The guy opened the door for us, and walked us out to my car, telling his friends that these guys were cool and to leave us alone. Believe it or not, he even opened the door for us! We left safely. Boom! Total victory!

@korpzmarcelfranca6825

8 ай бұрын

Wow you took It to the next level

When amber said jiujitsu is S tier when someone is already on your guard but priority should be not to get in that position, I really get what she means. She is definitely right. But I also think about the usual situations of violence an average woman may run into, and I think "deciding to make out with a man, he being on top of you, and then he turning aggressive and trying to force you into things you don't want to do" unfortunately has to be a really common situation.

@3nertia

8 ай бұрын

You're probably right that it's a more common situation than it should be but I also think that maybe there were other indicators earlier on that this guy might be the predatory type?

@agzfd

8 ай бұрын

@@3nertia Absolutely, watching for red flags in our relationships is way more serious and necessary than we may think

@melusine826

8 ай бұрын

You can be 5 years into a relationship before shit goes sideways.... and at that point you are probably so messed up in the head / scared you aren't going to go hard

@3nertia

8 ай бұрын

@@melusine826 Granted, some people are really good at being manipulative/secretive but there are always signs if one pays attention. This is also what friends are for and why females tend to "gossip" to each other about boyfriends - a good friend will tell you, tactfully, when shit ain't right :)

@chrisortiz8077

8 ай бұрын

​@3nertia yea but this is about which martial art would be most beneficial in the case where you miss those red flags. If the answer is always "situational awareness" and not ending up in the situation in the first place, then that essentially makes the conversation they are having, and all martial arts, pointless.

I remember complaining in the past about a video of yours on women's self defense which lacked the perspective of an actual woman. I have yet to see this video, and I don't know if you made it with that comment in mind, but I just want to say you have a great capacity to accept critique, and also for self criticism, and that is surely the key to your success as a martial arts divulgator. Keep the good work!

@MartialArtsJourney

8 ай бұрын

Thank you! This video was 100% inspired by the comments that critiqued me for asking another guy about women's self defense. It was such a good insight that I'm embarrassed I didn't think of it myself before. Here's to fixing our mistakes!

@agzfd

8 ай бұрын

Just five minutes in and already really enjoying it. Amber is just incredibly coherent and articulate, considering things like confidence making you less targetable, or the physical effort the average person would need to make said martial art effective... We usually think confidence is dangerous and assume judo is great because high level athletes use it successfully, so this is a refreshing perspective

@MrCmon113

5 ай бұрын

@@MartialArtsJourney That's stupid. Women are half of the population. Being a woman doesn't mean you know anything more about "women's self defense" and being a man doesn't mean you don't know about it.

@AnaMariaSocae

2 ай бұрын

@@MartialArtsJourneywatching this video made me want to get into martial arts myself. I’ve been researching purely for copywriting, your comments section is useful, plenty of takes, plus your content seems to tackle the problems in all directions. Thank you for this insightful platform 🙏🏻 I’ve been hearing self-defense is just mkt phrasing, Then is there such thing as self-defense? If yes, is it limited to martial arts?

@user-rc8br5sw6j

Ай бұрын

@@AnaMariaSocae It depends. Some people argue that self defence is a legal term. So a plea entered after an arrest when someone is incapacitated or broke his neck when you threw him on the kerb. And then it depends on the area where you live what constitutes reasonable force. You have the right to protect your own life and therefore the right to defend someone else but there are legal limits and it varies. Those who object to the self defence industry and possibly use the term self-protection which is not a legal term tend to vary in their approach so for some its purchase a gun and a carry conceal licence practice with someone who is very skilled at gun self protection classes. It still requires training but is the quickest way given that the self defence industry offers a quick way but their one doesn't work. If you were prepared to take more time then the general advice is eat more healthily gain strength and fitness including flexibility. So for that you could take up modern dance, ballet, gymnastics parkour whatever you enjoyed doing and would promote the muscle gain (so some kind of weight lifting programme) strength stamina and flexibility that would enable you to defend yourself better. Then the difference between martial arts and more focussed training would be the intensity of the combat. But this chap Amber has done videos on what she thinks its about and its still try to avoid getting into a fight as paramount. I'm like you without the content prep I just like watching videos and look for things for my kids to do. So for now karate but they've started football because they enjoy on weekends. And swimming because we have a heatwave in bangalore for now and that climate change is not going to change longer term unless it gets hotter. Being popular in school can lessen the chances of bullying so football works I think. In theory

I love the fact that Amber is giving her own perspective and not afraid to speak her mind.

@chrisortiz8077

8 ай бұрын

Um, yea that's kind of the point of her being here. Have you not ever seen a woman speak her mind before lol? It's not some incredible feat of courage.

@user-xm8pr7yr2r

8 ай бұрын

@@chrisortiz8077Thank you, people act like women should get a trophy for talking

@jasonfrederick5210

8 ай бұрын

Another angry comment

@FitToFightRepublic

8 ай бұрын

Instagram is pretty sure Amber is abused and stuck under "her husbands" thumb. Most people paying attention know she's her own little unicorn 🦄

@bethanp3453

8 ай бұрын

Why would she be afraid to speak from her own perspective?

Oh man this is the one of these I didn't know I needed before I watched it. I've seen a few videos with Amber (like Icy Mike), and her analysis & technique has always been so on-point. Awesome collab!

As somebody who has had a Judo background I do like the fact that Judo does focus on standing while yet at the same time the ground fighting aspect still gives you something to fall back on as a last resort if need be as opposed to having to use it as your primary go to open.Ground fighting is okay and has its place but in many self defense situations it should never be the go to option and if you're training in BJJ as opposed to judo your first instinct might be to use it as a go to option while it may not be all that great of an option.

@3nertia

8 ай бұрын

Which, in your opinion, would have more value; Judo or Greco-Roman wrestling?

@adriafro7321

8 ай бұрын

@3nertia I Would say they are pretty much 50/50 judo usually is trained with gi and grabbing legs(just preparing an attack is banned) so there would be some while wrestling has a bit less of throw variety but has more explosivity that really might come in handy (judo also has some chokes/locks)but overall i feel they are really similar.

@gudea5207

8 ай бұрын

Judo focuses on standing and has ground work but the imposition of the most recent Olympic rules mitigates the efficacy of both. Any bum with no grappling experience has the chance to tackle a judoka who can’t sprawl and utilizes an upright posture. Judo Koshi waza exposes the back to an opponent and can put a newbie with bad kuzushi in a compromising position. Judo ne waza in reality focuses 80% on the turnover and pin or submission from turtle or flat on the stomach so it really isn’t this complete fall back plan as you said. Judokas have a tendency to fall to their stomach if they hit the ground which I have caught myself doing in MMA sparring. Gi grips have to be adapted in an environment where strikes are permitted making a potentially dangerous situation. Many judoka get rolled over with their throws which ends up with their opponent in top position even if it would score ippon under the rules of the sport. Don’t get me wrong I like Judo but I think we need to scrutinize it like we do BJJ for some obvious flaws. All of these martial arts when not cross trained can be blinded in their own rule set of their dominance.

@adriafro7321

8 ай бұрын

​@@gudea5207 i agree completely :3

@garynaccarato4606

8 ай бұрын

@@3nertia While I do appreciate the fact that Judo sort of has kata or drills which address thing specifically pertaining to self defense/weapons to a degree which Greco Roman/various forms of Western wrestling does not have I think that both can hold there own fairly well against an attacker.I would say that even though judo does have weapon drill stuff some of that stuff is fairly hard to train and learn how to effectively apply. while I still appreaciate the fact that this type of stuff is present in judo I sort of think that many judoka and many Greco Roman wrestlers might not have the easiest time against weapons.Not that weapons are the easiest for anybody to deal with.However if were talking about other forms of wrestling double leg take downs might be a pretty dangerous technique to try to pull off when theres weapons involved.

Amber is absolutely a great person to ask about which martial arts would help women best, get a female's perspective since many self-defense demos come from men and don't always account for strength or height difference. We need more of this, Q&A's and collaborations. Maybe Rokas and Amber can do some demos if they ever meet in a gym.

For self defense Parkcour is #1, Firearms/stun gun #2, knife/baton cqc training #3, wresting and boxing #4

@scoobydoo7275

2 ай бұрын

Gun-fu #1

@sharongakii46

2 ай бұрын

​@@scoobydoo7275made my night 😂😂

@gehlesen559

28 күн бұрын

​@@scoobydoo7275 Tank1do beats gun Fu.

I really appreciate Amber's perspective on Kenpo! I actually train BJJ primarily now and what Amber said about Kenpo's teaching methodology is spot on! Kenpo's self defense techniques are often a bit sketchy but the thought process behind them teaches you very well how to learn martial arts by breaking things down into basics, the reconstructing them to face fluid situations. There are a few videos out there of Ed Parker explaining the analogy of letters to words to sentences in putting together your attack and defense which applies very well to any system! Great video Rokas!

@samclydemayes

8 ай бұрын

They didn’t cover kenpo. You might be thinking of when they discussed kempo. Slightly different.

In defense of Capoeira: It has advantages in developing a general kind of athleticism, will enhance your distance management capabilities, will upgrade your 3D-moveability-competence and all that while strengthening a positive mindset and providing the joy of singing together. Not by accident has it the highest rate of female to male long term practitioners (within the arts I did study) and will produce women that have the muscle set to tank and dish out. Combine it with Kali/Silat or any hybrid defense system that does sparring later on and your good to go. Or do Combat Sambo from the beginning, if you have the training options and are willing to invest substantially.

I actually put bjj as S for women and always recommend it to them. Someone trying to have their way with you will try and hold you down on the floor. That is exactly bjj domain. If you expect to out wrestle or out punch a big man that is trying to hurt you or worse, you are better running away. Now if he grabs you and pushed you down, well, well, well, time to break some bones

@MrCmon113

5 ай бұрын

Also lots of attackers might not want to punch her anyways, making pure grappling especially relevant.

@jerryvandevort2366

15 күн бұрын

Women can be and are really good at jiu-jitsu. Jiu-jitsu is definitely s tier and with Tae Kwon do kicks what a combo.

Really love her perspective, especially about boxing. Holding fast and striking somebody in the face gets results and is much safer than many other things that could end in a failed attempt, but some form of grappling to round it off is imho the "best" way to defend yourself. Even as somebody much more comfortable with kicks, I'd practically never throw one in a street fight.

I used to teach a class to women. In my experience it's not the same as a specific martial art. In most cases women who take a self-defense class do not have any experience in any fighting art, so you need to cherry pick techniques from any of the above Martial arts which fulfill several criteria: -Easy to learn -Effective -Easy to execute -Intuitive -Tailored to the specific student, including physical fitness, skills, environment, possible situations, etc.

@zakosist

2 ай бұрын

I think "easy to learn" may be optional, some things take extensive training and you put in that effort if you really want to. But good point

@kiwiyogi2846

Ай бұрын

Like Krav Maga?

@Selma-Afnane

Ай бұрын

Please, can you give me advice on the most self-defense sport? I feel confused and lost because I am a skinny girl and my clothes outside are always modest dresses that are long for the feet, so I am afraid that they will hinder me if I want to choose Judo or Muay Thai! I just want to defend myself!! 😅Thank you very much if you answer my question or if anyone reads it and has experience or has an opinion on the subject.🌹

@DoctorZisIN

Ай бұрын

@@Selma-Afnane Martial Arts are mostly for fun and good health. For self-defense nothing beats weapons like pepper spray, a taser or a handgun. Another option is a tactical knife or Karambit, and taking classes on how to handle a blade in self-defense. They would teach that in arts like Kali, Filipino arts or Silat. And a long dress shouldn't be an impediment in those cases. Example: kzread.info/dash/bejne/lJeWzM5qnq3bdso.html

@gehlesen559

28 күн бұрын

​@@Selma-AfnaneHEMA.

Wow it must be pretty hard to find a legit good Karate Dojo, specially in the U.S. if she has such a bad impression of the art it must be because those schools were pretty sport karate focused, Mcdojos or simply bad teachers. Karate is even more complete than some of the arts above it in the list. Anyways, I really enjoy these ranking videos a lot, keep them coming 🔥🥋

@goodboi1725

7 ай бұрын

I absolutely hate how saturated the US is with karate mcdojos. Makes it a pain in the ass to look for dojos that end up being a waste of money

@kenirawadi4689

7 ай бұрын

This kind of comparison is just for fun. What really matter is the competency of the trainers. This day ppl combine and cross train diff MA. A taekwondo teacher could also be excel in boxing and teach it to the students. Plus knowledge in sport science, fighting experience, etc.

@scottdennis456

6 ай бұрын

Agree 👍 says a lot about us standards for sure. Karate is the original mma and includes many if not all of other martial arts . In fact is from my experience the best to start with and then after to experience other styles as you have set solid foundations . Pressure testing is often not done enough although

Hey Rokas. I would love to see you do one of these self defense videos that includes Hapkido. Hapkido is a very near and dear martial art to me. Like Krav Maga it's advertised as a self defense martial art, but unlike Krav Maga it actually delivers on that promise. I've seen a good bit of Hapkido online though, and it doesn't look the same as when I trained, so my Dojang may have been one of those outliers, but the way I was trained was extremely effective. In my Sabumnim's words, "A mugger isn't going to wait until you're a black belt before attacking you." We addressed clinching, striking, throwing, and ground work. We didn't do forms, and instead practiced applying techniques against a partner who would put themselves in position for you to apply the technique (i.e they would grab your wrist so you could apply one of the many techniques we learned to handle the situation) but would be instructed to resist and not just let you apply the wrist lock or whatever, so that you would have to apply the technique correctly. We also sparred at 50-60% power so we could practice technique application on an actual opponent, AND we learned how to identify threats, respond with the appropriate level of force, and de-escalate of possible. I'd say that out of all of the martial arts I've seen you rate, Hapkido (at least, the way I was trained) would be the most effective after only a year. I trained on and off for about two years (I was in high school at the time and did a lot of extra activities, so I didn't always have the time) but I have still been able to apply and use the techniques in real life scenarios. Note that I'm male, 34 now. only 5'5" on a good day, and a little overweight, and it has still worked for me. There were women in my class who were tiny, and the techniques were just as effective for them as long as they applied them correctly and used their body weight, center of gravity, and movement instead of relying on strength. One of my classmates weighed maybe 75 pounds, and was able to apply the moves to much larger opponents who were actually resisting. I'd love to see you do a review on the art as a whole and see what you think.

Hearing the fit-kickboxing classes ruining kickboxing is so sad, yet so common. Fitbox classes are found everywhere and people hit pads without proper technique and then hurt their wrists... and I am like 'please be careful with your joints!' That said, I love kickboxing, but I don't do it for self-defense. The main self-defense it gives me is confidence and the attitude that people avoid me. haha

@afrancis7475

8 ай бұрын

Agreed, confident people also seem more intimidating than those trembling in fear.

Would love to see a tier list for martial arts for disabled people, blind, amputee etc.

@jdiaz4877

8 ай бұрын

Yes that would be cool.

@MrHarumakiSensei

8 ай бұрын

If you are blind, you need to learn how to use a katana disguised as a walking cane. ;)

@denverwingchun9852

8 ай бұрын

That entirely depends on the disability. I have a guy who trains at my BJJ gym who doesn't have a working lower body but he's very accomplished and a solid blue belt.

@raccoonmyroom6861

7 ай бұрын

​@MrHarumakiSensei This is such an underrated comment.

@connorperrett9559

6 ай бұрын

I wouldn't want to take a roundhouse from a metal prosthetic leg.

Yesss we really need this!!

Reminds me of a conversation with my Aikido sensei. I ask him what I should do if someone kicks me. And he just said, "Look, he's standing on one leg." And I ask again what I should do about a kick, and again he said, "He's standing on one leg." And then he said, "You know , how long it take to perform a well-balanced kick without exposing yourself? Years... And no one with that much training would kick you on the street. He has been teaching Aikido for 40 years now and was a stundent under Yoshigasaki, the founder of Shin Shin Aikido. Therefore, I think he is one of the very few people who are honest when it comes to martial arts.

@federicostanzani3437

28 күн бұрын

Bro aikido is bullshit for martial arts

For women's self defence, the very first technique I teach is the eye gouge. The first thing you will do is the first thing that you learn, so I make sure that it will be effective. That, ear slaps, elbows to the throat/neck, stomp kicks to the knees and knees into the groin seem to stop most problems. If a martial art is not teaching these on the first day, then it will not really teaching self defence . But I suppose I teach this because I come from a karate background. But in a self defence situation, never, ever go to the ground. But the number one self defence technique of all? Avoid the situation. If you get into physical combat, then something has already gone wrong.

@Chattepliee

5 ай бұрын

Yes! As I commented above we were just talking about arts where you fight fair. Chances are if a woman is being attacked it's already not a fair fight, no need to be polite!

@bobbyjackson7325

4 ай бұрын

From what I was told is that women should learn grappling first before striking. 9 times out of 10 an untrained man is going to grab you. But in a self defense situation always strike first then try to get away. If the man somehow is able to grab you that's you learn grappling first. Agree with going to the ground should be the last option.

Talkjutsu needs to start being put on these lists. People should look into how effective talk jutsu is. We might be surprised.

@harisankar2688

4 ай бұрын

Dattebayo!

One thing is for certain, train hard and get in shape, mentally and physically. No one would rather fight a green belt in judo than a house mouse.

I'm a man but if i was asked by any of my female friends what they should train in i would say go full blown MMA with some BJJ on the side. The reason is simple with MMA you not only learn be a well rounded fighter but you know what to expect from an attacker in terms of hand to hand combat. With BJJ your lack of size won't be much of a disadvantage and most all if an attacker overpowers you and puts you on your back the odds will be in your favor as a woman.

@KentPetersonmoney

Ай бұрын

MMA might be too much sense it's actually fighting and not self defense. The law might treat the mma fighter like the aggressor the same way they do with boxers.

So glad I watched this, thank you

I spent my 17- 30s with a guy who did a lot of mma and multiple styles ( like 6-10 styles) . He LIKED hurting people and supposedly competed. He was at one point twice my weight and soooo much stronger. Statistically the most dangerous person to a woman is our partner or a male we know - which means the psychological component and hesitation to hurt that person is our worst detriment. I think i could go hard on a guy if a random attack, but from the guys i trusted , i froze when they ignored my lack of consent.... so yeah. Its not so clear cut. Fyi i was the mma guys' grappling dummy and it was the only time i was allowed to say no ( yes thats exactly what you think). So i got pretty good at taking hard locks/holds and not tapping out 😅🤔. Not sure thats a good thing

@alyssakira8320

8 ай бұрын

That sounds terrible, so sorry you went through that, glad you got away from him

@TheloniusJ

8 ай бұрын

This is a very important point. Thank you for raising and sorry you had to experience this. When I have taught women's self-defense, this is something I always tried to start with (though it is a difficult thing to do right). Basically, my point would be "We are going to deal a bit with the 'getting attacked by a stranger' type thing, but you really need to understand that statistically you are in the most danger from a domestic partner or boyfriend. It is important to know this and address this, which has almost nothing to do with martial arts." I'd also start a lot of my classes by making the participants yell aggressively in my (or one of the other male instructor's) face. I had read that a big barrier too many women was the willingness to be rude or confrontational with someone, especially someone they know. I definitely found that to be true in many classes. For some women, it would take a lot of effort to get over the discomfort of yelling "Get the F*CK away from me" right in my face, but I also enjoyed the sense of liberation I often saw after they broke through. My main point (which I got from Rory Miller) was that if you can't be rude to someone, you are definitely going to have a hard time physically confronting and potentially harming someone. FWIW: When I teach general self-defense I also point out that the 99% solution for males to avoid a physical attack is to avoid any environment where alcohol is involved. Not sexy, but it is the reality of the world.

@MaxLohMusic

8 ай бұрын

Also I learned from many women the freeze response is actually a survival instinct to avoid getting clobbered to death by some deranged psychopath. Which puts to rest the whole "hurr durr why wasn't she trying to fight him off" argument

MMA Is a separate martial art. Why? Because no other martial art covers specific techniques for wrestling against a wall and most of all specific techniques for striking while grappling on the ground.

Improv classes! Fantastic idea! This is why I love Fit to Fight, Amber, and YOU! Thanks for bringing this to us. Full disclosure, I am not a woman but have always been intrigued by "women's self defense" and what women themselves have to say about it and their perspective is always much different than a man's...

She is so dead on about almost everything. She's so smart and insightful. Truth is, most of us are amazing at self defense because we avoid physical confrontation all the time.

From my POV as a longtime JKD practitioner: I went to a school where my sifu was directly under Dan Inosanto, and structured the JKD classes as both competitive MMA and plenty of pressure sparring. We were taught how to "use the jeet" to intercept incoming blows and redirect them in mid to extreme close range. Lots and lots of Filipino Kali crosstraining (I mean we were Inosanto-aligned, that makes perfect sense to me), lots of pressure points, and a solid Muay Thai base were also parts of the core training no matter what we went onto later. From a self-defense standpoint, I found my school's "version" of JKD to be effective and useful. (The only other JKD school near me was heavy into Wing Chun, and no knocking it, it was also efficient, but based on more traditional Chinese styles than the Thai/Filipino blend that we practiced). My sifu did offer classes specifically for Women's Self Defense, and they were taught with zero MMA mindset, just what could be effective and 15 minutes of pressure sparring at the end of every hour-long class. Some of the women who took it were scary to watch after a few weeks. Was it JKD? Definitely in the sense of "absorb what is useful" that Bruce Lee used to write about. The style was drawn from every system my school offered (Muay Thai, BJJ, JKD, Kali, Wing Chun trapping) and focused entirely on what could be applied swiftly, easily, and efficiently. That might not be the same as what Bruce Lee laid down, but you can't argue it didn't work. And most of the students at my school tended to follow that core doctrine of "if it works, use it; if it doesn't, then don't." I guess what I'm trying to say is it was unorthodox in terms of style, but faithful in terms of philosophy. And one final point: in the two instances where I did need to defend myself after training there, I was able to neutralize my opponent's attack and GTFO before things got bad. I'm not saying I won or I took my opponent down, I'm saying I managed to use what I had learned to stop them just long enough to escape the situation unharmed. In my books, that's what self defense should ultimately be about.

Number one reason I don't like these rankings, is because realistically, you have to either practice standing and ground work, AND you have to be taught street smarts and preventative tactics. The arguement is always "oh, well people don't have time to take multiple martial arts, so this is if they could only pick ONE." The answer is, take a women's self-defense class that combines Judo, BJJ, FMA techniques concepts, and cherry picks those that have universal principles and would be used a lot in the context of women. What it can't have are martial art techniques or concepts that encourage "playing" fighting. You don't want to Box, you don't want to fight Muay Thai or Karate. You don't want to pull guard, you don't want to give your back to do a throw. You want to be able to avoid looking like a victim, you want to look like you'd be trouble in terms of time or noise or danger. You want to have enough wit to de-escalate. When it comes to physical contact you want to break grips and be ready to throw. You don't want to engage (like Judo) and throw, but you want to react and throw if someone grabs you. You don't want to go for a guard pull + sweep, but for a sweep if you get yanked down. You don't want to punch, but if they swing at you you want to be able to get out of the way and do damage on the way out (eyes, nose, neck, balls, depending which level you're evading). Point is, you need to know how to avoid conflict, how to be trouble and buy time, how to disengage grips and grabs effectively (including throws), how to get out of pins, how to get back to your feet and how to do damage quickly and effectively without engaging in a fight and putting up your hands like a moron, facing a 230 lb dude who has longer reach and way more power than you. You want to know the law of self-defense in your jurisdiction and when it's worth risking breaking the law, and when it's not.

This is not the first time I've heard that confident people with Martial Arts / combat sports experience are less likely to be targets. Great point.

OK. I've watched a million of these Tier lists for martial arts. Amber comes across as the most modest and knowledgeble person to create this list. She addresses a lot of aspects of the defense that other people don't- For example the full contact aspect of grappling that give kids a lot of confidence. Great job. Oh. but the Krav Maga rating is higher than I thought. lol.

It is so frustrating that karate has these negative connotations (as earned as they may be). I run a karate school and we base all of our classes (kids and adults) on the traditional approach which encorporates the use of striking, clinching, throws, and pre-emption as the main ways in which to deal with real life violence. On top of that we run awareness, escape and de-escalation drills to aid the training too.

@Moldovanul_

7 ай бұрын

Yeah, after the classes of GoJu-Ryu that I attend, I oftentimes return home in bruises

@KrutiperoCZ

7 ай бұрын

Unfortunately, that puts you to be 1 in 100.

Great to see this video done again with a woman's perspective and opinions, even if the rankings aren't significantly different. The nuance in the conversation matters a lot

Finally I really needed this

@MartialArtsJourney

8 ай бұрын

Glad to hear it!

@nadaarmy8593

8 ай бұрын

@@MartialArtsJourney thank you it really helped making up my mind and I guess I'm going for judo

I don't think much of her rankings, but sje did have some really great thoughts and insights!

Aside from the MMA thing (lol), the Judo ranking seems the most out of place to me. I do and enjoy Judo, and I think it's a great supplement to other martial arts (as Ronda used it), but on its own, very lacking. If you take off your gi jacket, the average Judoka will feel completely lost and are going to have very few options. The ruleset in Judo is very specific, which means their groundwork is nowhere near that of BJJ and wrestling, and often encourages bad practices. For general self defense I'd put, Wrestling > BJJ > Judo. For women I'd probably swap BJJ and wrestling just due to having more attack options off your back.

Even though I currently train BJJ I still reluctantly accept Amber's evaluation. Not all BJJ schools are the same, but most don't provide a lot of repetitive, consistent self-defense instruction, many give it enough lip service so they can put "Self-Defense" on their sign or website. Where I trained about 30% of the blue belt requirements covered self-defense from standing, I also trained Fit To Fight for 10 months, and the self defense concepts and techniques were very similar except for some minor details and emphasis. We also put on gloves and drilled dealing with punches and kicks. I recognize this is rarer with BJJ than it used to be. The most important things about self defense are Awareness, Avoidance, Attitude and always stomp the groin twice. /jk I think showing up and applying anything rated C or above is generally better than not training at all. The 6 month yardstick is a good one to use and rate self-defense instruction. How much legit self defense will someone likely learn if they consistently show up and train every week for 6 months.

I think the reason I think Kravmaga is the best is that I learn everything from punch, kick, wrestling, iKido, knife fencing. I think martial arts, of course, should cover all areas.Would it be easy for a person to give in just because they're punched? Rather, they can attack with chairs, bottles, or in the Philippines, they can come with a knife, or they can bring a friend,

This was really insightful and entertaining! It's funny how BJJ used to be this secret sauce for smaller people taking down big dudes, a la Royce Gracie but now all the big guys know some BJJ too.

@Supermomo2007

6 ай бұрын

Thats why in original jiu jitsu stand up was prefer above groundwork

There is "52 blocks". I find it really worth looking closer; I learned some of these blocks and they are awesome!

This was a really great video. I'm a bit biased towards Muay Thai, but I completely agree where it was ranked. Since there isn't any perfect martial art, I'd be interested in seeing how they're ranked for striking specifically and grappling specifically. That way people would know two solid arts to learn that would compliment each other. I say this because I've done Muay Thai, but also have an interest in Judo. The standing aspect of grappling is really enjoyable to me (I hate the ground)

"Improv might be S tier." Couldn't agree more. The only fight you're guaranteed to walk away from in one piece is the one you don't get into.

Assertiveness ,being self-aware and aware of what's going on is already a self-defence on its own because you can prevent yourself from getting hurt. Unfortunately there are situations where danger is unavoidable because anything can happen and that's why the ability to protect yourself (and others) is very important

Please do a tier list for active sesniors in the 60 - 75 year old range. Thanks!

@augustopizarro6823

3 ай бұрын

Try Kravmaga, is the best self defense for the weaker to defend against a strong opponent. In my class we have men and women from ages of 12 to 82!!!

I do agree with Amber, in terms of self-defence, the most important aspect is the assurance and physical posture you project (or bluff projecting) when you are a bit trained. The objective is to avoid violence at all costs, right? The stronger (menacing, dangerous, unstable, armed, unhinged, sadistic, etc...) the more you need to avoid violence. Because if you fight you will be full of fear and will need to chose between applying extreme violence or just accept to be abused. Rokas, Paradoxically, AiIkido because it teaches you to never hurt others in a controlled dojo environment, learning the "fake fighting the Aikido way" also gives you the basics of how to really hurt someone badly (throat atemis, joint breaks etc..) , which is the only option you have if on a violent scenario with someone bigger/stronger/aggresive. If you cannot avoid violence there are only two outcomes: 1 you get beaten and finish in the hospital, alive with some luck, worse with less luck. (the most probable outcome, street fighters beat dojo people 99% of the time) 2 You hurt the other person and get in a whole world of legal trouble. Or even worse, you do real lasting damage to them. The stronger the aggressor, the more ruthless and maybe lethal you need to be. I guess self defence is about complying/distracting/running. Anything else there has no positive outcome really. If you got yourself in the position of maybe having to use violence or someone maybe using violence on you, you have already failed your selfdefense. Before that is when you will win the fight by avoiding the condition where it can happen. (I am a law abiding European man and I live in Thailand(much much secure than Europe) , so my cultural assumptions about violence might not apply to other parts of the world, genders or other relationships with the law)

“You gotta lose to know how to win“ Steven Tyler

In my area there are gyms that house a few different martial arts and the subscription normally includes access to them. What are the thoughts on these?

In my opinion for women or smaller people for striking muy thai because you're elbows, knees, kicks. I didn't mention boxing because women don't have enough punching power to knock out a man. But with the leg kicks, knees, and elbows it could really hurt somebody. For grappling jiu jitsu because 9 times out of 10 an untrained man is going to grab a woman who is smaller and weaker. Women should train grappling first and striking second. But in a real life situation strike first and try to get away and grappling should be the last option.

Nice interview. Although I disagree with some (e.g., the lack of quality control in Krav Maga is a bigger deal to me), I think the list was generally good and she was transparent and honest when she ranked things based on limited experience.

Thank you for pointing out the detriment cardio kickboxing(I feel dirty saying it) has done to actual kickboxing. I've competed in both kickboxing and muay thai. It has ruined what people think of actual kickboxing. I have also done studio karate and jiu-jitsu. The issue with a ton of martial arts and "self defense" schools is that they do not prepare their people(men or women) for just how brutal 200lbs dude or even a determined 150lbs dude can be. Part of this is the school and part of this is both men and women, for different reasons can have a difficult time getting past the fear of what it is really like to get truly be attacked. This is were boxing, kickboxing(muay thai), jui-jitsu, mma, wrestling, etc truly can be beneficial. The problem of course is this training takes time and how do you get people in the door and to stay. When it comes to firearms, although not perfect, there are 500,000-2.5 million times per year(per CDC, not quite pro gun) people, mostly untrained use a firearm in some way to save their life or stop a crime. This is a staggering number, even on the low end. A firearm is a force multiplier that truly can even the odds with minimal training. Obviously the more the better. Schools like Tactical Response can train someone in two days to be reasonably proficient in fighting with a gun, mindset being the most important asset. I get what your point about having people clear a house when they could just leave. Any decent firearms school will reinforce this, but you do need to create scenarios to challenge people, induce stress and teach specific skills. Anyways, great overall video. Sorry for the long post.

Great conversation and I'm glad you continue to be willing to rationally discuss contentious topics. I think one thing that makes this perhaps more contentious than it should be is trying to rate all of these in a wholistic manner. As comes up several times in the discussion, there is the physical skills (actually dealing with an active physical struggle) and the pre-conflict aspect. This last aspect includes things like situational awareness, avoidance, deescalation, and escape. And I think conflating these two into a single ranking is problematic (you can actually get this several times when Amber trying to place things). In the military, this latter aspect is sometimes referred to as "left of bang" and is usually treated somewhat separately from technical combat skills. For example, you teach hard-core combat skills like marksmanship and room clearing with a focus on effectiveness. You don't explicitly teach the "left of bang" stuff in this training, though you may discuss. That other stuff gets covered separately (as it should in my opinion), though will get incorporated in live exercises and scenario training that involve technical skills. I always treat this similarly with self-defense. I think it is critical for anyone interested in self-defense to spend significant time on "left of bang" things, for which I universally recommend reading Rory Miller and I would routinely do a little of at the beginning of certain classes when I was teaching BJJ. However, I still encourage people to train in an effective martial art if they can afford to whether that art explicitly addresses the "left of bang" stuff or not. Now back to the effectiveness aspect, while I understand the thought process Amber used, I'd definitely challenge her on a bunch of the ranking. Just as a simple example, if you took several groups of women and gave them 6 months to train regularly in a martial arts at the end of which, they'd have to address a physical attack, I personally believe the group that only did BJJ, would fair much better than things like boxing and judo. For context (and as a kind of disclaimer), I am a BJJ black belt, I trained in Aikido for many years in the 90s, I've done a fair amount of boxing training, and studied judo for a year (I am officially ranked as a green belt). After my first year of BJJ, I was able to deal with most people off the streets (something I definitely did not have after several years of Aikido). I can say definitively that I still struggle with applying judo on anyone with even a little training who is trying to resist me throwing them and if I had to rely entirely on striking to handle an aggressive attacker, I'd be in bad shape for sure. I mostly use striking and judo to create distance so I can escape or to create an opening to get to grappling range. Again, I 100% agree that there is not nearly enough focus on the "left of bang" stuff in almost any martial arts, but if I was going to recommend a martial arts path to anyone who had average time to put into it, I'd recommend BJJ supplemented with simple boxing and a good focus on the conceptual material presented by people like Rory Miller (or Matt Thornton). I am actually also a retired military officer who has been involved in some combatives training which also suffers from a lack of clarity in covering these two separate aspects effectively. Anyway, thank you again for all your great content.

A consideration that I don't see mentioned often is age and time. It's different if you're putting an 8 year old girl into a martial art to learn self defense or a 50 year old woman. If you put an 8 year old into Judo seriously, in 10 years they're going to be very strong, and very athletic with thousands of rounds of sparring under their belt and able to defend themselves well against most average people and have a very good understanding of their own physical capabilities. Take that 50 year old and in 10 years they are either going to be competent or have been down a lot for injuries. Some martial arts will turn you into an athlete, but only if you start at the right time. Others will never turn you into an athlete and build that physical base. And depending on your age and athletic base, which path you choose will get you different results.

I have been doing BJJ and other mixed martial arts for a decade now, and I've never been to a jiujitsu school that didn't teach take downs, working from the clinch and wall wrestling. If the class is really big and there's no room, sure we'll all be on our knees, but the idea that the majority of BJJ students that have been doing this for a considerable time, DON'T know how to take someone down to the ground, is ridiculous. And secondarily, running from an attacker is always the best option until they grab you and get close. (Then you have no choice but to engage in some kind of grappling.) All of that being said, its a tool. Not a tool for every case scenario, but its a tool regardless. Just like striking, or running, or even using a weapon.

@paba1042

8 ай бұрын

Yeah I’ve seen this a lot lately. I’ve cross trained at a lot of gyms around the country(US) and I’ve never been to a gym that did zero takedowns and takedown defense. It’s not judo or wrestling level but most schools teach higher percentage takedowns. You definitely don’t spend as much time on each takedown as they do in a judo or wrestling class though so bjj athletes probably aren’t winning these competitions. But since they work high percentage takedowns it’s probably good for the streets. The competition scene and memes about butt scooting probably give people that impression. They also work the clinch like Muay Thai. I do think it’s still properly ranked just below judo though.

@TheloniusJ

8 ай бұрын

Solid point. I think being very skilled at judo (and I'm talking at least brown belt level which can take a couple of years), is advantageous trying to actually a throw a skilled grappler, but the basic takedowns (and takedown defense) you get in most BJJ schools is more than enough to deal with an untrained or even slightly skilled opponent.

@dhimankalita1690

8 ай бұрын

The thing is judo gives a person the sense of balance on feet that no other art does. You can hardly take down a good judoka because their firm as a stone when standing . Judo is the only art which has an specialised sweep takedowns which makes them more aware of balancing in feet. The idea of self defense it taking someone down in a controlled manner while also making sure you don't stay down with them and if somehow you go down with them u either submit them quick or stand back up and manage distance which judo does perfectly

@af4396

8 ай бұрын

I think anyone that actually does BJJ knows that this common critique is BS. Every BJJ gym teaches either JJJ, Wrestling or Judo standing techniques (or all of them). The exception may be if the club ALSO has those separate martial art classes, and each one is more focused due to that. Although you see lots of guard pulls in comp, it's usually because both competitors are trained in standing, and it's hard to take each other down, so one of them gives up and takes them to the ground. Sometimes you also see standing subs, or takedown into sub.

@buubtube

8 ай бұрын

@@dhimankalita1690 They're balanced until you attack their legs, which they have no answer for.

Message for Amber... Very interesting Amber. You are a wise lady. I mostly agree with you, but even where I don't, I liked the logic you presented for your conclusion. I teach women's self protection as well as classes for men. I teach Gutter Fighting/Ladies Gutter Fighting. My main interest is in understanding danger, how to avoid it and de-escalate etc. I probably teach 100 tactics that merge into each other in a natural way, for example how situational awareness and DADA are linked. My main goal with the physical methods is to create the most severe injury possible, with the fewest moves, in the shortest possible time. William Fairbairn who created Gutter Fighting knew what worked as he had over 600 fights with Triad gangs in Shanghai. It was known as the most dangerous city on Earth in the 1920s. Many of these fights resulted in death. He was almost killed many times. His methods were used by Special Forces and the OSS. He is a legend and known as the father of modern combatives. I think he would agree with what you are teaching Amber. Oh, interestingly, I have taught many people who have previously done Krav Maga and all came away feeling the Gutter Fighting is more effective.

That is overall the best video I have seen about Self Defense (here supposed to be for smaller and weaker people, but actually, does applly to bigger folks too if they use it well). As Amber said, the best self defense is not to put yourself in a situation when someone is then on you and you got to react. Also, as Rokas said about Jeet Kune Do, way too many techniques now. JKD was meant to be direct and...simple. Also, if you can talk you way out of an agressive situation first, that is indeed a golden skill to have in Self Protection! So, what is my 2 cents? First of all my backround, as an ex Martial Arts/SD students, when I was an adult and traveling as well as a family man: Martial Arts Path to QSD Self Protection Sufficiency 1983-1984 Judo, Yellow belt, 7 months, Germany 1986 & 1987 Judo BJA under Dennis Senior brown belt in England then under master Judo red and white belt in Scotland, green belt, 18 months (1st hard injury, fracture of little toe on left foot), United Kingdom 1990 Isshin-Ryū Karate, experience of forms/positions, 2 months, United States 1990 Tai Chi Ch'uan Kuang Ping under the direction of Valerie Prince, experience of forms for upper body relaxation, 6 months, United States 1990-1991 Inyo Ryu Karate under Sensei Kamil Al-Hakim, orange belt, special training in self-defense and rooting included, 14 months, United States 1992 Moo Yea Do, Under Grand Master Tiger Yang, style experience, positions/punches (best white belt form), 2 months, USA 1992 American Kenpo, experience in lateral position and circular movements, 1 month, United States 1992-1993 Tai Chi Chuan Yang Tung under the direction of John Bradley and Becky Levine, intense relaxation and grounding training, 10 months, United States 1993 to 2003 Creation of a self-defense method based on well-chosen Judo/Karate/Self Defense techniques (kubotan & stick included): Mato Do, United Kingdom 2006 Sho Shin Kan, Al Hakim, special tree/sand training and Sanchin Kata (three fights), two months, United States 2005-2008 Korean Hosinsul under the direction of Master Rick Bean, self-defense course, red belt, 32 months, United States Note: Serious injury (based on work and training) to right hand/wrist 2008-2011 Mato Do becomes Quantum Satis with the addition of some self-defense from Hosinsul. 2011 Yi Ch'uan, under the direction of Dominique Clavel, training in Zhan Zhuang posture, 3 months, France 2011-2012 Self Defense Workshops with Aikidoka/Goshin Jutsu Aikido and EFSD self defense instructor, Stéphane Gaiffe, 7 months, France NOTE: first serious left knee injury and surgery (due to heavy work use and previous training with martial arts) 2013-2014 Tae Kwon Do under Professor Andy Taylor, best white (and gold) form but severe tearing of left knee for the second time, white and gold belt, 3 months, United Kingdom 2014 Quantis Satis becomes Quantum Sufficit Do with the best techniques chosen from Judo Kodokan, Karate Inyo Ryu/Sho Shin Kan, Hosinsul and Self Defense for a program accessible to all. 2015 Ninjustsu Course (for experience in tracking follow-up direction), 3 weeks, UK 2016 Tai Chi Ch'uan Chen, Zhan Zhuang posture experience under Sifu Tom Collingridge, 1 month, United Kingdom American Kenpo Experience 2020, advice on postures and hand techniques, 1 month, United Kingdom 2021 Kick boxing, under Zoe Reed for experience in boxing punches and kicks but knee injury unable to high kick, 1 month, UK 2022 (May) 2 sessions Te Ashi do Kickboxing (middle row) + two-hours seminar with Bill Superfoot Wallace, United Kingdom Have done, then, weight training in cycles in increments of seven to eight months each time: 1988, 1989, 1990, 1992, 1998, 2003, 2005, 2008, 2013. Total in 2021: Hard styles martial arts/self-defense training: 91 months Gentle style martial arts/self-defense training: 20 months SO, thr TRUTHS, I did learn and that are just that: Most of the population on the planet cannot do, for example, MMA or BJJ or boxing fighting at an intense level and for long. Why? Because many do not have the capabilities or capacities to be athletes at a high level, be it because of their physicality or a mental health condition. Plus, when you age, the amount of usage you did with your body will be felt at a hard enough level! No exception there! Actually the harder you did fights, the harder the price will have to be paid back from brain damage or/and to destroyed joints/nerves. I have been partly injured that way, just from hard MA training and yes, work too. So, that does not leave many people that could fight like crazy. To finish, as a good fighter (even of big size), here are your real limitations: No one can wrestle 2 people at once on the ground (which anyway for teh latter is hard, it is not a mat). You cannot keep fighting people on the street like in the movies for, at least, 10 minutes non stop, that is not real per se. and your gas get burned quick. If you get hit in the head, brain cells will die and they do not grow back. The more you get hit there, the more you will go down in time health wise. You cannot cover at the same time, all your main weak/vital points, which there are at least, 8 of them. If someone got a knife and they pierce you quickly, you might be a goner. If you get hit cleverly on your eye (for example), you will not be like Superman bouncing back a a bullet when he got hit in the eye, you will be stopped and that us just one example,... So, what to do? 1) The best self Defense, I call it Self protection is avoid all hot spots, unsafe people and unsavoury places. 2) If there is a situation that arises and you cannot avoid it, usually, to defuse a confrontation. 3) Use what you have with you or around you: As if you fight a strong fighter (be it Sambo or whatever), sure, it can be scary BUT if you have a hard piece of wood (like a Kubotan size) and reach the eye hard or temple (yes, it may be done) hard enough, he, she will be stopped on their track. So, if you have something with, or around you, that legally you can use to hit a weak/vital stop, sure... Yes, Martial Arts, Combat Sports, MMA and more can really help much for to learn how to use your body, your motions, to, if you are lucky to have a good teacher, aim to weak or vital spots that will stop for a while, or cold, an attacker, and more so, to reach an inner balance to deal with some stress. Apart this about Self Defense: only the circumstances and the environment you are within at the moment and how, cleverly, you react, will determine if you survive ot not. To have done MArtial Arts or SD will can you a cool edge but will not guarantee victory...so, stay cool, talk yourself out of it if you can, even better, be chilled and avoid the confrontations. Also, if you hit someone too hard and they die, legally and family wise (from the victim then), it can be a life problem to deal with according the case. So, beware...

Yes, the tricky one is Filipino Martial Arts (Kali/Escrima/Arnis) since yes, there is a lot of variability, but also because most people don't know what it is. FMA proper is warfare. It is not tame or nice at all. It is killing or maiming the enemy. Which is a bit of a problem for your regular lawful self defence deal. The obvious thing to spot right from the outset is that FMA is complete. Wrestling through to archery. The thinking is not restricted to 'empty hand self defence' at all. Blades are ever present. Which again, is.a major problem for your regular self defence thinking. But FMA shows you the actual parameters in a lawless or warfare environment perfectly.

You should do this setup with sensai Seth, just because he does have some experience with every one of the martial arts you're asking about.

Great conversation! How about weapons-based martial arts? Systema and Krav Maga are military styles, what about American Combatives?

If a fight actually makes it to the ground (which many do), BJJ is an excellent option. Ideally though, you want to put your opponent on the ground while remaining standing, and there aren't many BJJ classes that teach that skill. Not to mention, the heavier someone is, the harder it'll hurt when they land on their back - especially if they don't know how to fall.

I agree that the best option is avoiding the situation. The more tools in your toolbox, the better... However, I am really disappointed that you included gun-fu, but you didn't include pepper spray. In many cases, a woman is going to be at a disadvantage in a physical encounter. But if it doesn't warrant a gun, pepper spray is a good option. I am a big guy. Even with 30+ years of martial arts experience, I still carry pepper spray. I don't want to get into a physical fight, and if forced to fight, I would deploy pepper spray first if the opportunity presented itself.

as a student of William Cheung's wing chun, I'm a bit put off by lumping wing chun with all kung fu (wing chun and kung fu sansu are far divorced from shaolin kung fu and wushu), from day 2 onward you have practice against at least one more person at varrying degrees of resistance (as far as countering goes) though I would say pressure testing is kinda weak as far as static resistance goes (the most common type of resistance you'll encounter with an unwilling opponent).. as a student of Gary Lam's wing chun, I'm very much put off by her ranking, it has some of the good points of both boxing and wrestling that she mentions, in my 2nd week I'm learning to drive through 250 lbs guys who are not being fully cooperative from the start (and their resistance to being moved only increases as the day goes on), receiving and launching a 10 lbs medicine ball to and from fellow students to build reflexes and power using very very little arm movement ( it's like the very end of a shot put throw but without any wrist extension, and we use two hands... and to "catch" it, it's the same thing but in reverse).

@denverwingchun9852

8 ай бұрын

Wing chun IMO is as good for women to learn as Krav meaning not very. They don't wear protective gear and this would dissuade many women I know from participating more than an MMA class with gloves, mouth guards and shin pads. I want to learn to fight a big wrestler as you mentioned, not get clipped by an elbow and lose my teeth doing it.

Such a good video. As a guy, my perception is so much different.

I'm a man and I felt more comfortable listening to a woman talk about martial arts than I ever have listening to a man. There's not much recognition out there of the existence of men like myself who are not particularly strong, tough or brave but who nonetheless long to find some pathway into martial arts. All I see out there are men (mostly) who are much stronger, tougher and braver I am and it seems impossible to make my way among them (and that often seems to be the point). Even just this woman's acknowledgement that it's intimidating to step into a dojo full of skillful, strong, tough practitioners is helpful. It's like, yeah, okay, my being regarded as weak and lame by comparison isn't a sign of failure, after all... it doesn't mean I've made a mistake showing up in the first place. I'm allowed to be the idiot new guy (the FNG). Bastardizing a line of Jesse Pinkman from _Breaking Bad,_ "I know who I am: I'm the f---ing new guy." 😎 By the way: Permission to simp? (Granted.) That woman in the video is scorching hot. Imagine being the man who can draw the attention of a woman like that. 🤯

Did you review all of the categories? I didn't see a review of Lethwei or Gracie Jiu Jitsu

Overall great video, a great topic for someone who is a woman and an industry leader in women’s self defense! I was a bit surprised that striking arts were not penalized more given the completely ineffective nature of strikes against someone significantly bigger and stronger. Also BJJ has gotta be S tier for learning how to get someone off of you…. Getting out of a pin has got to be a top 5 skill in self defense. The idea that self defense training looks different depending on the students makes some sense, but I feel it’s flawed logic…. A self defense course that’s mature should have a set of skills that you should be able to do at the end of the course! You have to build it based on scenarios and needs of the students, you can’t measure learning if you don’t have a syllabus…. Just feels like she isn’t sure what she wants to cover until she understands her students objectives in life. Instead, self defense needs to start with definitions in the law for where you live and work backwards.

@MrCmon113

5 ай бұрын

Yeah, I would say that if you expect an attack from someone significantly larger, becoming better at strikes becomes a less efficient use of time. And I wager plenty of dudes want to hold you down and harass you as a woman, but not necessarily punch you. Which makes pure grappling especially relevant.

@itsphilipp806

5 ай бұрын

I just wanted to write a comment when I saw that you wrote exactly what I was thinking. I really don't see how striking arts would ever resolve a dangerous situation for the AVERAGE woman. It will not end the fight and the new situation is much worse than before. Of course, somebody as fit as Amber and with her experience might make it work but that is a really big difference to most women.

The question was specific to Wing Chun, not Shaolin Kung-fu, and sadly she never attended a class, so it would be nicer to omit it from the list/not put in a category after it became clear.

Good ranking, but I do take some offense to TKD being in the same tier as Aikido. :-D Perhaps it's different in the US, but at my ITF TKD club here in Norway, we do train with resistance, and medium contact for adults...which sometimes gets a bit heavier than intended. If you'd been hit by a clean roundhouse kick to the head, you might see it differently. I'd probably give it a C- myself. I've also trained Judo, which I agree is way better for self defense.

Something that she only touched on briefly is unfortunately for women a lot of self-defense scenarios are not "stranger on the street". It's more "in a crowded bar" or as she pointed out "someone you trusted". Martial Arts just do not address those situations, which is why I loved her comment at the end about improv. Honestly a real women's self defense course should probably only have a minimal amount of punching and kicking. PS This is not to say women should not do martial arts! Just know that it does not equal self-defense.

@ducksauce2696

8 ай бұрын

Krav maga does with Stay Away course, seminars and scenario training. Fighting multiple attackers in the dark with loud music in a crowd is hard but something I practised during my krav training sessions. One of the sickest scenarios we ever did is throwing a women in a lockerroom with a large male attacker while being lured by another girl that was crying on the floor. We shut the door as soon as she walked in.

My two cents... The most common blows that should be most feared on the streets are the 5 below: 1- punches, because anyone knows how to throw a punch even without technique and some people are very athletic even without knowing how to fight and can give you a strong punch (as in Streetbeefs and Strelka fights), not to mention a possible big weight difference on the street, to deal with this well I thought that being very good at boxing would dictate an abyss of technical difference when strength was not enough 2- clinch with knees and sometimes elbows, for that I thought of judo, to throw the attacker on the ground and quickly escape, after all, you don't want to keep exchanging blows in a clinch, you want to get out of there as quickly as possible. I would say that clinch to throw knees is more common in fights than elbows, but in any case, due to the exposure of the arms to grab you and the distance without being too glued, judo seems better for this situation than Greco Roman wrestling 3- grab the shirt (or neck/wrists) to throw punches while the aggressor holds the victim (like what happens in rugby and hockey fights). I think judo is better for this due to the intensive training in grip bursting in conjunction with Boxing to return punches if it takes even a little longer to release. The only problem is that I don't know if it's very difficult to break the grip on a regular shirt 4- grab the torso with the attacker's body pressed against yours to throw you to the ground. They are very dangerous, if you land on your head it is a sure knockout on the concrete, so I would say this time Greco Roman wrestling first and judo second. Someone have any tips on how to deal with them better for a judo practitioner who doesn't train much without the gi? There is no Greco Roman wrestling in my country :( 5- When the attacker manages to throw you to the ground and is on top, definitely jiu-jitsu, however, that would be 3 martial arts, so I would say Judo for those who can only do 2 arts, as there is a minimum of jiu-jitsu in case fall below in a possible attack

@wemersomdasilvacaruso994

7 ай бұрын

A few more considerations: 1- I didn't consider the double/single leg very dangerous on the street because most people who don't know wrestling have a terrible takedown, including those who do jiu-jitsu, so I imagine that training takedown defense (sprawl) on your own and and good movement with a boxing pivot is enough 2- And about the kicks, I also think that there are few people who are good enough to use them in a street fight, i'm tired of seeing people take takedowns or punches in the face for not being good enough with kicks in Streetbeefs and Strelka fights, so rubbing a broomstick on the shin to reduce sensitivity to low kicks and plyometric exercises, weight lifting and short-distance running to increase bone density and training the defenses/dodges of kicks to boxing shadow should be enough 3- If a person declares aggression against you, even if it is just through language and/or gestures, and you are at least two arms' length away from the attacker, you can use pepper spray and run away, your family must accompany you in this mentality. My criterion for two arms' distance takes into account that the aggressor can pass his hand over his face and then put his hand in your face, and also takes into account that when you reach for your pepper spray, you could be punched in the face in a shortest distance 4- never turn your back to run from an attacker less than two arms away. If you have not incapacitated him in some way, he can quickly catch up with you and with your back turned you will be defenseless 5- If you fall on top of the attacker, just hit and get up to run, on the street the only real danger I imagine for Jiu Jitsu is being on the bottom 6- if you have family members to protect then you must instruct them so that they are minimally aligned with your thoughts of self-defense, after all, you are not capable of immobilizing 3 criminals on the street, at most you delay them so your family can run and you too run shortly thereafter Considering all this, for those who can do a maximum of two martial arts, I imagine that Boxing and Judo would be the best combination. It is an approach focused on the greatest aggressive explosion for the techniques that represent the greatest risk on the street and running as soon as possible

I think JKD is great for people who already have a good foundation in combat sports. Saw some videos of some JKD instructors from NY Martial Arts academy sparring with Jeff Chan and they're absolutely amazing.

@gamealot4503

8 ай бұрын

Yeah Bruce Lee made it to fit in with the modern world

I didn't realise how many McDojos are in the US. The JKD training I received here in the UK was so in depth. Functional and very intense. When I joined kickboxing I slaughtered my opponents.

What I like best is that she’s clearly ranking the arts in a vacuum, meaning XYZ art and nothing else to supplement it

Good point on jeet kune do, you hit the nail on the head. Totally agree! I teach jeet kune do, but more in the direction of keeping it simple and keeping the techniques to a minimum. 😊

@jagger_claw

7 ай бұрын

@frankyjkd Do you know a guy named Jesse Glover!🤔

@frankyjkd

7 ай бұрын

@@jagger_claw I the same guy, you said that to on a other video. On my other channel. ^^

@jagger_claw

7 ай бұрын

@@frankyjkdWell have you read his book "Bruce Lee between Wing Chun & Jeet Kune Do"? Also what's your other channel?😁

@frankyjkd

7 ай бұрын

@@jagger_claw spirit & honor's jeet kune do

@jagger_claw

7 ай бұрын

@@frankyjkdI assume You are from Ted Wong lineage!

"i really don't know this martial art, so I'm just going to rate it like a 'D' " Smoothest of smooth brain takes, I love it.

@samusiran2243

7 ай бұрын

kinda relates to her lack of experience. Maybe they dated?

I'm surprised TKD isn't a little higher given that is logical path on how someone can generate the most powerful strikes from their body, but as you were saying, maybe improv class could be S tier for some as self defense is a multi nuanced topic

I'm sure other people have already asked this, but is there going to be a part 2, as you still had a bunch of martial arts left to rank?

Wow. I'm a bit surprised the Kempo and TKD girl dissed Karate so hard.

I *_loved_* this video! Not only do I agree with her rankings, even for a guy, but it's so great just hearing her talk...about anything. I've mostly seen her just as basically Ryan's "Professional Uke." Maybe I'm not looking around enough, or whatever. I fully admit it could be my fault, but still... Amber's great. Current-day Ryan vs. maybe 5 years ago Ryan seems like he lost a lot of his humor for some reason? I could be wrong. I probably am. 🤷‍♂

Krav Maga above Muay Thai, BJJ, Boxing, Wrestling, MMA and carrying/knowing how to use a gun lmao. At least she admitted she's biased

@Matt2299

8 ай бұрын

Yeah putting Krav Maga as A- and MMA in F tier was WILD to me.

@kenirawadi4689

7 ай бұрын

Krav Maga should be in F while MMA should be on top tier. For small and weak ppl it is very important to understand their limit. KM will give a false confidence, making ppl believe one can easily finish the fight by applying aggresive techniques. This is very dangerous especially for weak and small ppl. MMA will teach ppl the reality plus train the student with multiple technique from diff MA.

@TheThundertaker

6 ай бұрын

She talked about other aspects of self defence like de-escalation as well as fighting skills. A decent krav school will teach these skills as well as how to physically fight. That is probably as, if not more important than knowing how to fight. I have known of talented combat athletes who due to overconfidence in their skills who have ended up getting smashed, stabbed or bottled and ended up seriously hurt because the MMA mindset amongst many is that if someone challenges you step up instead of talk them down and get out of there. In that respect Krav definitely has an advantage over combat sports when it comes to self defence. Self defence isnt all about how to win a fight against a skilled fighter.

@EEEasdfasdc

6 ай бұрын

@@TheThundertaker de-escalation techniques are good, but if that's all that your self-defense system has going for you than its not a very wise choice. There are many instances where you can't de-escalate a situation. Krav Maga's fighting techniques just aren't practical or really worth anything compared to MMA.

Boxing+judo! What do you think!

I legit think this is THE most important MA video of 2024.

Shes awesome. You should put her in USDC 3, to see how well she performs against the men.

@Mery143341

8 сағат бұрын

YES PLEASE

I'm surprised no one mentioned "Gracie Jui Jitsu" which I have heard is slightly different from "BJJ" because they supposedly emphasize more self defense. I don't disagree with Amber too much, but I dont know if I would put Kav Maga at the top of the list though, that just seems a little off to me. I think the Martial Arts or the disciplines that you would typically learn at most MMA gyms ie.... Boxing, Muay Thai/"Kick Boxing",Wrestling, and BJJ should be ranked a little higher than a C ....maybe a C+ or a B-. I think the disciplines you would typically find at most MMA gyms are probably the most ideal for almost anyone to train in (even for the smaller inexperienced and perhaps not as strong, and maybe less athletic females) and to learn how to defend themselves in a short amount of time. Now, I have heard that Wrestling is arguably the best Martail Art/Discipline to train in to become proficient in self defense because of the intensity of their training, and Im not sure how much I agree with that, but there is definitely an argument to be made for that. The thing is, all of these different skills take time to develop, and of course you need to sparr while training in all of these disciplines. There is no "magic bullet" for the "average" person when it comes to learning how to defend yourself. I just think that a lot of times Krav Maga just looks like a lot like "kick boxing" with maybe some "dirty" tactics, or what you might train in or do at an MMA gym but sprinked with some "dirty" moves (and yes, I have heard that there are different Krav Maga schools that are vastly different and that emphasize different things) (and sometimes if we are being honest, Krav Maga even looks a bit like "sloppy kick boxing" or "sloppy MMA"), so why not just train at a Muay Thia gym or a Boxing gym (a gym that has Muay Thai AKA "Kick Boxing" classes or just regular Boxing classes), or just train at any MMA gym that has classes in all 4 of the major MMA disciplines. Now, I must admit that some of what I just said is just me paraphrasing from Matt Thornton, but I absolutely agree with what he has also said on this topic, he just articulated it better than me. If we are being honest, the over all grade for Krav Maga should be closer to either a D+ or maybe a C-, and that's being generous.

"Improv classes might be S" is a fantastic point that goes into self protection vs self defense.

It is interesting to think that martial art training is also a self-defense against diseases. Like you are more likely to be injured/killed by diseases like diabetes than by street fights, and martial art training is very efficient to get in shape and healthy

In theory, Japanese jujutsu should rank highly, but in almost every piece of footage I’ve seen, they don’t spar. So that knocks it down to a D for me. Kempo depends, nippon kempo looks like kudo/combat sambo sort of. American Kenpo, gets a d- at best.

“I have no experience with it so let me put it here” A lot of people on either side. Stand up guys or BJJ guys have their views on what is best. All I ask is give something a try for at least 6months. Find a school for example one that teaches the gracie combatives. Try that for 6 months and then give feedback. All martial arts have their flaws. I did karate for a large part of my life then moved over to kickboxing. Realising the flaws of karate. I then also started doing bjj to supplement my kick boxing. I am part of a gracie bjj school and we practice “fight simulation” where someone else puts on gloves and is allowed to do anything. Punch kick and so on. Where the partner is only allowed to use bjj. It’s fun and clearly shows your gaps and pressure testing the things you learned. Can’t knock things by what you think. Try it first.

@denverwingchun9852

8 ай бұрын

or just do MMA and learn bjj and kick boxing at the same time.

Amber is awesome! Ya, She was thinking about the best martial art as being one that is more intuitive, instinct based, with moderate training.

Finally someone who isn’t bias about bjj.

Combat judo , basic for judo - standing. Advanced for judo - ground with hand and foot breaking also head or neck and body pressing also using your thumb.

I don't agree much with this list but she brought up some arguments I havent really thought of, and she seems to actually understand what self defence is. (I still think Krav Magav should not be so high. LOL)

Judo and bjj are the best self defense arts for women in my opinion since they prioritize using leverage over strength and a woman is more likely to be grabbed than having someone square up to box them and the ground grappling has been used by numerous women to defend against SA

Interesting, I think in Europe karate doesn't have as bad of a name compared to US... maybe there isn't as much market for McDojos? I chose it as an adult for several reasons, and my dojo had a dedicated beginner class (for the first year), which was mostly adults. Fortunately the instructors are pretty great.

I don't have pretty much any experience about that except of a few years of judo and aikido long time ago but I think that the best self defense schools for women are those when they spar with men. No matter what martial art it is. You might be the best against someone of your strenght and weight but when you have to fight someone twice heavier and far stronger, someone who can lift you easily, it's a very different story. So if women train only with other women, they probably have no chance against men in a real situation fight. For examle, groundwork, you block another woman easily but when you app[y the same technique to a big and strong guy, he gets away without any problem. He just lifts you and can throw you, if he wants. You block a women's punch and it works great. You block a man's punch and the impact makes you to fall on the ground or you still stand but after a few punches you arms are so sure you can't hold them up anymore. So you need to train with heavier and stronger opponents to know what might work and what you need to avoid.

I usually don't like to argue or hate on people's opinions in the comments but putting mma at f is honestly insane