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Breaker:

Yes, the technique training can be good in Combat, but it just doesn't teach you how to use it.

I always used to teach hitting anywhere on the head with palm strikes, knife hand strikes and elbows, not punches. Anyone who has ever connected with a human jaw with their bare fists/knuckles will tell you why!! Ouch!  

Its how you connect with your fist is the key. But like Steve said avoidence is the best form of self defence and never think of combat as a form of self defence. Self defence is mind and body training and the most important being, the mind

The best training in the world for self defence is boxing, without doubt!! The hardest thing to do in boxing is to step into the ring and face getting punced in the face....not nice but in terms of the ability to train mental toughness there is nothing better. Most people lose their head when fighting and swing like madmen as adrenalin kicks in and takes over every part of your body. Boxers learn how to control this and stay calm when it matters, they use there brain to fight, and tech to get in close and punish. At my old kickboxing club we used to run MMA competions and pitch boxers against,kickboxers and all other forms of martial arts and 9/10 the boxers would win. This takes years and years of dedication and training so please do not even think of using combat as a form of self defence,especially the combinations As i said the mind is the most important thing to use and that = avoidence

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Ground for French Press....

mrrocket:

Breaker:

Yes, the technique training can be good in Combat, but it just doesn't teach you how to use it.

I always used to teach hitting anywhere on the head with palm strikes, knife hand strikes and elbows, not punches. Anyone who has ever connected with a human jaw with their bare fists/knuckles will tell you why!! Ouch!  

Its how you connect with your fist is the key. But like Steve said avoidence is the best form of self defence and never think of combat as a form of self defence. Self defence is mind and body training and the most important being, the mind

The best training in the world for self defence is boxing, without doubt!! The hardest thing to do in boxing is to step into the ring and face getting punced in the face....not nice but in terms of the ability to train mental toughness there is nothing better. Most people lose their head when fighting and swing like madmen as adrenalin kicks in and takes over every part of your body. Boxers learn how to control this and stay calm when it matters, they use there brain to fight, and tech to get in close and punish. At my old kickboxing club we used to run MMA competions and pitch boxers against,kickboxers and all other forms of martial arts and 9/10 the boxers would win. This takes years and years of dedication and training so please do not even think of using combat as a form of self defence,especially the combinations As i said the mind is the most important thing to use and that = avoidence

The one way to beat boxers is to train with them. I trained at a boxing club for a few years to add to my Taekwondo training. Learn how they move/fight then put that against them and add a little Taekwondo tech and voila! That was my point about not using fists. It can be too precise how you hit. An elbow is like hitting someone with a plank of wood and doesn't have to be so precise! Can loosen teeth and knock someone out for around 20 min! I know.

For overall fitness, body conditioning, hand eye co-ordination and reaction speed I'd say boxing is hard to beat. For MMA though, you've gotta go with the grappling arts. Of course in the street, tripping someone up and lying on top of them probably isn't the best tactic unless you're sure they're on their own...

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Never criticise someone until you have walked a mile in their shoes. That way when you do, you´re a mile away and you have their shoes.

 I would think the best thing combat could give you in a street situation probably is the combinations.Being able to follow up the initial attack and finish the job before your assailent can recover is a vital skill.Which is why it is important to encourage participants to go hard in class.Joking aside imagine what could happen if a combateur got in out of thier depth and did think they could take on people with just the class basics and no proper training to back it up.It doesnt bear thinking about.

With regard to most efficient martial art if you cant run..........Krav Manga is proven to be a winner every time.

Be interesting to hear a serious response from LM on this subject.

Its good though to see that few here have stories of assault to share......there appears to be hope in the world contrary to what the media reports.

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BodyPumped "The Bon viver of Body Pump"

I think the best thing Combat gives to you that you bring to the streets is CONFIDENCE. After a few classes, I notice all my participants seem to have a bit of "Bad" in their walk, which might just make a potential attacker decide that YOU are not what they want to deal with. Although going all Track 7 on someone would be awful fun....

Walking tall and having the fitness to run away are the only self defense skills anyone will learn from a group MA BASED FITNESS class.  They are important skills...especially moving with confidence.  That can stop a would-be attacker in his tracks if you look like more trouble than you are worth.

 If you want self defense, you train in self defense.  If you want tournament skills, you train for tournaments.  Martial arts are great stuff, but sparring and the real deal are completely different.  The adrenaline you get from being in the ring is NOT like the body and mind jolting adrenaline that occurs when the real deal happens.  I've only experienced that sort of adrenaline a couple of times, and it takes a TON of effort not to freak out/wet your pants/panic.  I worked in a correctional facility, so the encounters I've had have never been one on one and in a completely uncontrolled environment like the streets...and yet the adrenaline surge is still completely unforgettable.  It's nothing like the constant low level buzz of adrenaline you get from sparring.  It's harsh, it's immediate and it's nearly overwhelming. 

 
I know I constantly have to remind people in my kickboxing classes that it's not self defense.  I may use imagery to add to the aggressive essence of the class and to sharpen their focus, but punching a bag isn't like punching a real person and it doesn't prepare anyone for any sort of self defense.  If I wanted to do that, I'd have to buy a redman suit and attack my participants.  Which would actually be fun, come to think of it!
 

Well said!

Jco97:

.  It's nothing like the constant low level buzz of adrenaline you get from sparring.  It's harsh, it's immediate and it's nearly overwhelming.  
 

This may well be your experience but certainly not common. I found the adrenaline just as bad and if not worse than outside the ring sometimes as you knew the person you was fighting against was equally as good/fast as you may be. Yes in time it get easier but to start off with you find the same emotional response inside the ring as outside. The reason it gets easier is that you learn to control this emotion and use the energy of your opponent.

At the end of the day everyone responds in a different way and handle the situation that suits them. I found teaching kids how to spare in a boxing ring removes so much aggression from them that they stay out of trouble outside of boxing may be cus they can control that adrenaline much better

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Ground for French Press....

To me, doing combat is like watching a really good martial arts movie. You come out of the cinema wanting to spar with lamp-posts and kick over bins. It's based on the real thing but is more of a fun type experience.

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Never criticise someone until you have walked a mile in their shoes. That way when you do, you´re a mile away and you have their shoes.

djbcrawford:

To me, doing combat is like watching a really good martial arts movie. You come out of the cinema wanting to spar with lamp-posts and kick over bins. It's based on the real thing but is more of a fun type experience.

Yeah - i totally know about that!!! I came out of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (Animated) movie last year doing spinning roundhousekicks and knocked over one of those cardboard cutouts for movie ads in the cinema hallway!! My mates fell over laughing at me (and they were probably also embrassed at being near me)!!!

Yep. Had a participant once who went clubbing one night.  A guy at the bar got a little too friendly (hands in the wrong places)and became aggressive when she didn't reciprocate his feelings.  Her instincts and reflexes kicked in and she stunned him with an ascending elbow.  True story!!

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Smile till it hurts

LOL, sounds like how I setup U+Ur Hand.

"Ladies, you're in a club and a bloke gets a bit too friendly..."

The ladies think

The blokes are like 

Especially after where I tell them to target the back kick.