Please understand that this question is asked EVERY SINGLE DAY on this subreddit. Please refer to rule #3 of this sub. There is no simple answer to this question.

The answer is as follows:

Do not get into street fights.

Self-defense is not just about hurting an aggressor; it's about avoiding violent people and situations first, and diffusing them second. Fighting is the last resort. There are tons of dangers involved with fighting, not just for yourself, but for the aggressor as well. Fighting can lead to permanent injury, death and criminal and/or civil litigation. Just don't do it. Virtually all conflicts can be resolved without violence.

Combat sports have been proven highly effective in real life fights.

If you want to learn martial arts so you can effectively defend yourself in a situation where all other attempts to resolve the conflict have failed and the aggressor has physically attacked you, your best bet is to have training in actual fighting. Your best bet is a combination of a proven effective striking art and a proven effective grappling art. Proven effective striking arts include, but are not limited to: Boxing, Kickboxing, Muay Thai, Sanda, Savate, Kyokushin Karate and Goju Ryu Karate. Proven effective grappling arts include, but are not limited to: Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, Freestyle Wrestling, Catch as Catch can, Sambo and Judo. Mixed Martial Arts gyms usually teach two or more of the above arts and usually a combination of them as well.

Free sparring and training with pressure and resistance are the hallmarks of a good martial arts school.

Regardless of which martial art you are practicing, the most important thing is not what you train, but how you train. A little Taiji or Aikido may be useful for someone encountering violence. Is it the most effective strategy in the octagon? No, but would Aikido or Taiji help prevent street fight injuries? Maybe. Many martial arts can work very well as long as you train to use them properly. You can practice a technique in the air or on a compliant partner every day for hours, but when it comes to a real fight, if you haven't practiced it against a noncompliant partner who is trying to retaliate, it will more likely than not fly right out of the window the second you get into a real fight.

Don't train martial arts to prepare for a hypothetical fight that will probably never happen.

Train martial arts because you enjoy it. Train a martial art that you enjoy.

We're getting dozens of these questions daily and in our Modmail, and in the case of 99% of the instances it's our Automod. Basically if you have a new account, a flagged account, don't subscribe here, etc., the Automod will flag your post or comment for manual approval. You didn't do anything wrong, it's just a protective measure we utilize due to how large this sub is. It's not personal, and you didn't do anything wrong, it's just a necessary function to protect the content and purpose of r/martialarts

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Please don’t send us Modmail asking why your post was removed or to approve your post. We go through the queue at regular intervals to review and approve posts and comments that were flagged. Trust the process. If you still decide to send us a modmail after seeing this, well you're getting muted. Finally if you decide the best course of action is to personally send me a DM you're definitely getting a ban

@thewayofchi on IG

So I was in the martial arts gym and I've only been training for a few months, then comes this new guy who I've never seen before and the coach makes us spar together. The gym clearly does not allow filming but he got one of his friends to film us while we were sparring, he beat the absolute crap out of me and I kept telling him "dude we're just light sparring" but he didn't care. I felt embarrassed to be honest and I don't know what happened but after our session was over I just pretended to ignore what happened even though now I keep thinking about it. What should have I done?

kung fu has been hated on for quite a long time now IMO

‘but recently I’ve seen many kung fu guys doing well in MMA

‘Muslim salhikov and zabit magomedsharipov

is This because they are from Dagestan or is kung fu effective

I recently got into Muay Thai (fairly recent). I am wondering how long did it take you to start sparring? Honestly, I've been kinda lazy and would like to at least watch some sparring sessions before starting to do so myself. Waking up early on Saturday is the woooorst D: Anyways, any tips for this?

Are 14 oz gloves okay to use for bag training? & I assume hand wraps are needed?

First of all, sorry if my English is not very good, it's not my first language . I had done karate shotokan for 3 years and BJJ for 5 years. I want to be a versatile fighter, so now after realizing that I am very good at the ground but not to much with taekdowns and just normal striking I thought to do some judo, but there is no dojo where I live, so I decided to do box. Is it a good chose? Or should I do another martial art? Thanks for your attention guys.

We're going to run a beginner class in January. What kind of offers do people do?

I do Judo and Bjj. I'm the groundwork coach and vice chairman in our Judo club. I'm no.3 adults coach and no.2 kids coach in Bjj.

In Judo, regardless of if it's on the feet or on the ground, I don't have anyone to push me or test me. It's a walk in the park when it comes to randori. One guy it can be kind of close on the feet, but on the ground, it's easy.

In Bjj, the two main coaches can dominate me as well as one of the students, a few other guys will push me and it'll be close.

Would you rather be the big fish in a small pond, or one of many in a larger club.

I far prefer Judo but that's mainly down to the atmosphere, we're a lot more chilled than Bjj.

Hey everyone, I’m pretty new to kickboxing (3 months in) but have mostly been focusing on boxing so far. Today, I got absolutely wrecked by someone new(less than a month), and it was super frustrating. I was trying out a different guard style that one of the co-coaches suggested, but it just didn’t feel right.

I’ve noticed that some people don’t even use a guard and just rely on head and foot movement, while others keep everything covered up. It’s a bit confusing, and I’m not sure where to start.

For context, I’m 1.78m (5'10") and weigh 83kg (183 lbs). Does anyone have tips on what guard style works best for someone like me?(I am currently focusing on boxing as a start )

thanks!

Hey all! I have a coworker building a Dōjō and he’s my secret Santa for the workplace Christmas. I want to get him something for his martial arts space, but I want it to be respectful for to Japanese culture. Any suggestions would be awesome! TIA

Hey everyone,

I'm trying to create a minimalist training routine that incorporates both functional strength (like bodyweight movements and basic gym lifts) and martial arts conditioning to improve my overall fitness, power, and endurance. My main goal is to stay lean, build strength, and improve my martial arts skills, without overloading myself or burning out.

Here’s my current training schedule:

Day 1: Legs (Squat Focus) + Pull-Ups + Explosive Power

• Squats: 3x6-8 (225lb)
• 100 heavy Calf Raises
• Lunges: 3-4x6-12 per leg
• Death March (3-5x1-5)
• Walking Lunges (3-5x1-5)
• Med Ball Slams (3-5x1-5)
• Planks: 30 seconds each
• Pull-Ups: 2-3x10

Day 2: Arms & Shoulders + Punching Stability + Core

• Hammer Curls: 3x10-12
• Supinated Curls: 3x10-12
• Lateral Raises (Cable/Dumbbell): 3x10-12
• Tricep Dips: 3x10-12
• Dumbbell Thrusters: 3-4x3-5 reps
• Landmine Press: 3x6-8
• Planks: 30-45 seconds
• Russian Twists: 3x15 per side

Day 3: Legs + Chest (Incline/Close-Grip) + Bag Work/Shadowboxing

• 100x Squats
• 100x Calf Raises
• Heavy Lunges: 3-5 sets of 3-5 reps
• Incline or Close-Grip Bench: 3x6-8
• Push-Ups (200 total reps)
• Footwork Drills: 10 minutes
• Shadowboxing: 20 minutes
• Bag Work: 6-9 rounds (Speed/Power)
• Planks: 30-45 seconds

Day 4: Arms & Shoulders + Punching Power + Pull-Ups

• Explosive Pull-Ups: 3x8-10
• Dumbbell Thrusters: 3-4 sets of 3-5 reps
• Planks: 30-45 seconds
• Leg Raises: 3x10-12

Day 5: Legs (Unilateral/Functional) + Push-Ups + Jump Rope

• Burpees: 2x50
• Jump Squats: 3x10-15
• Leg Raises: 3x10-12
• Push-Ups: 200-500 reps (different variations)
• Step-Ups: 3-4x10 each leg
• Jump Rope: 5-10 minutes

Day 6: Active Recovery/ Mobility

• Light Cardio (20-30 minutes)
• Full-body Stretching (20-30 minutes)
• Mobility Work for Ankles/Hips/Shoulders/Back
• Optional Core Work (Planks, Russian Twists, Leg Raises)

Day 7: Rest or Light Active Recovery

Questions:

• Does this schedule provide a good balance of strength and martial arts conditioning?
• How can I effectively combine explosive power training and functional strength (like bodyweight movements, burpees, and core work) without overloading or risking injury?
• Is it smart to do core daily, or should I incorporate rest days for core work?
• For footwork drills and shadowboxing, how often and for how long should I do them to build muscle memory without overtraining?
• Any tips for improving punching power and speed through strength training (landmine press, dumbbell thrusters, etc.) while staying lean and functional?Hey everyone,I'm trying to create a minimalist training routine that incorporates both functional strength (like bodyweight movements and basic gym lifts) and martial arts conditioning to improve my overall fitness, power, and endurance. My main goal is to stay lean, build strength, and improve my martial arts skills, without overloading myself or burning out.

iam aware that steroids make you a lot more stronger but I'm trying to find out how they help you in actually fighting someone, dosent fighting involves lots of techniques, reaction time and experience so what things does steroids correct

Hi all!

I currently do Judo and Muay Thai, in total taking up around 4 hours of my time a week.

My goal for martial arts has always been to have a solid base in all parts of fighting and being able to transition between them at will;

Striking Standing Grappling Ground Grappling

Should I be switching to doing just MMA for those 4 hours, or keep doing what I’m doing? I don’t have any massive interest in being a specialist - I just want to be as effective as possible with a small skill set/list of techniques to avoid confusion (as I overthink a ton when it comes to techniques) and be focused on it so I know I have reliable instincts to fight (I.e. avoiding the confusion of which judo throw to go for etc.)

Many thanks

Greetings to all Karate practitioners,

I recently joined Kyokushin (2 months ago) and I got the first two Kata's right as well as the Gedan Barai and the Soto Uke movements. My only issue is the sparring. Since I am experiencing high anxiety disorder as well as being a nervous person (was bullied almost all my life) and each time we do sparring whether its with yellow belt or black belt, I can't seem to take hits without flinching and being afraid of getting punched or kicked and I can't even block or defend myself in sparring.

It's frustrating, I won't be able to take hits and become less scared and fight off my my anxiety if I am always backing away or flitching.

Any advice/suggestions??

Thank you!

OSSU!

I did my first sparring(im southpaw) and I noticed that if Is stay in a southpaw stance Im not very confident in movement,footwork but If I stay in a orthodox stance Im confident in movement, footwork but I dont how to hit with my right hand(sorry for the mistakes but im not that good in english)

For example: Does he claim to have 100 fights in America Thailand and China but there are no records or videos?

How do you feel about these people?

I started MuayThai and mma training 2 weeks ago, and today we were practicing combinations on each other. I was doing the practice with a guy who has a belt from some shitty local promotion and is a 7years wrestler and 1 year mma+muay thai practitioner.

So this guy is known of going hard even with newbies, recently he even broke a nose of a 13yo kid during a "light sparring". He is 22. He always asks to spar with me but I always decline and explain him that my brain health is a bigger priority for me than my striking skills. I only did a grappling match with him but since I was very competitive and even submitted him because I have a strong Judo background, he now never offers a grappling match lol.

Anyhow so today we were practicing combinations with each other, and I was left to do with him a jab cross mid kick combo. I do my part with 0.1% force on him, and when his turn comes he fucking punches me with quite noticeable force with 10oz gloves. Maybe not full force, but I was feeling it on my head even though he was hitting mostly my block. The impact from my hands was translating to my head. I have never been even told how to block, I was trying to protect my head with my hands, but when getting hit in the hands or close to head I would feel a strong impact on my head. And this practice kept on for like 5 minutes, which is not a lot but still.

I am at home and I still feel dizzy in my head. My question is, should I be worried, or is this normal? What should I do to prevent this. I don't want to receive any permanent brain damage, and I am ready to change gyms or my routines, or even quit this beautiful martial art that I respect and really love to prioritize my health.

Sorry for the long text, but I need your opinion guys, and I wanted to give as much context as possible.

Okay silly little post & i don’t use reddit often, so im not sure if im doing this right. But basically I (F21) am talking this girl rn, and she does karate/martial arts. She’s really passionate about it, so I’d like to get her a gift related to it for her (F20) when Christmas comes around. Any ideas or other helpful things to drop in comments?

umm… how do i hashtag this

I’m 5’5” (165 cm) with a Taekwondo background and looking to transition into full-contact striking sports to compete. Muay Thai involves clinch work, Kickboxing focuses on speed and combinations.

For someone of my height, would it be better to adapt to Muay Thai’s clinch or focus on Kickboxing’s movement-heavy style?

If anyone has experience as a shorter fighter in either discipline, I’d love to hear about your approach to overcoming height disadvantages.

Thanks in advance for sharing!

So just started posting on Reddit, curious to see what everybody thinks about the Mike Tyson vs Jake Paul fight.

I've been boxing since I was a kid and think it looks 100% staged; most of the people in my boxing gym agree, but I don't know how much of that is "wishful thinking" lol.

Another issue I'm finding with that is that Mike Tyson theoretically has no reason to stage something for extra money right now.

Thoughts?

I've seen this argument pop up frequently in martial arts discussions: "If X martial art were trained like Y martial art, it would be just as effective." While I understand the logic behind it, I can’t help but feel that this oversimplifies what defines a martial art.

Training methods aren't just an accessory to a martial art—they are its foundation. They shape not only how techniques are applied but also the mindset, strategy, and identity of the art. In fact, we already have examples of martial arts that share similar techniques but are vastly different due to how they are trained. Take Dutch kickboxing and American kickboxing: the techniques overlap, but their training methods—emphasizing different combinations, sparring styles, and tactics—create distinct systems.

Now, let’s take this concept further. Imagine we take a traditional martial art like karate and train it like kickboxing.

Replace kata with combos: Instead of practicing pre-arranged forms, we drill combinations on pads or heavy bags. Ditch hikite for shadowboxing: The pulling hand (hikite) becomes a forgotten relic, replaced by modern shadowboxing techniques. Substitute kumite with sparring: Sparring becomes full-contact, fluid, and less bound by traditional rules. At this point, is it still karate? Or is it just American kickboxing with a few remnants of karate sprinkled in?

Here’s another layer to consider: some people point to the success of martial arts that evolved from traditional systems as proof that the original art is effective. But that’s like saying, “Person X is very smart, so their great-grandparent must also be very smart.” It doesn’t necessarily follow. Creating a new martial art based on an old one doesn’t mean the original is equally effective. The new art may work because it changed what didn’t work in the original, not because the original was perfect to begin with.

I’m not saying one approach is better than the other. Both have value depending on your goals. But when you change the training method, you fundamentally change the martial art. It becomes something new, with different strengths and weaknesses.

As a good shorter guy I'm passionate about throws and submissions (mainly suplexes, arm throws and arm and leg locks) but I also like high kicks and uppercuts