I do Krav maga myself, great for incapacitating a target. Nothing beats the confusion of somebody whose whole body seizes up from a simple press under the ribcage.

What would your advice be for a shorter girl to learn? I know that Judo is a fantastic option, but there are no training facilities in my area; also my college is woefully short on the number of martial arts it teaches.

What I can learn, and will take the classes as soon as I can, are Aikido and Fencing. There's also the option of archery, but the last time I tried that I nearly shot the instructor in the butt... so I'm assuming that's something to stay away from.

I guess what my question is is this: is modern-day fencing something practical to learn for RLSH patrols?

Not particularly. Can't see how archery would help much either.

Judo is a decent option, if it were available to you, because of the height. I've heard some bad things about aikido related to self defense, aikijujitsu appears to be a more reality based system.

For a well rounded introduction to hand to hand combat, MMA schools are everywhere these days. You have to realize that at some point you'll need some other training because it isn't really self defense oriented, but you'll be fighting fit and know how to dish out and defend against striking and grappling, which is a strong foundation for moving into something else.

Not to mention, it gives you a great education in being able to spot bullshit systems, when their striking and such doesn't obey the laws of physics or anatomy.

Aikido work best if you got some reach and ten years to get good at it (and a good sensei). I wouldn't write off fencing, I've learned a lot from iado and aikiken myself. Never trained fencing, so I have no idea.

The MMA tip definitely is a good idea, the only problem is that I'm currently at a small-town college with no access to a car. The Judo I would learn in a heartbeat if it were available.

I'm more interested in the self-defense and grappling more than anything else. With my bulk I can subdue someone easily enough, and I'm more interested in making them stay down than beating the crap out of someone. Is aikijujitsu suited for that?

Grappeling is dangerous, some people draw knifes when they are losing. Before you know you are bleeding alot, and you have no idea how that happend. Safer to fight on your feet. Hit them with a stick.

I'll definitely agree with the stick part, but I think I'd rather make sure it was a staff I'm used to. There was a reason no-one ever managed to steal alcohol off of the Friars in England.

I don't advocate taking a fight to the ground, but with MMA as popular as it is, it isn't as simple as "i'll just stay on my feet."

When they're in top mount beating you senseless, you may be rethinking your policy on ignoring a large part of hand to hand combat.

Train aikido for now. It will learn you more than nothing. If the sensei start BSing (they sometimes lose their contact with reality around 4rd-5th dan), train fencing instead. You can train something more relevant later if you get the chance.

Have fun.

Your school doesn't have any kind of martial arts, or boxing club or anything?

Not anymore. It's a small private college and the physical education classes are limited to what the teachers feel like offering. As of right now Aikido is actually not offered, but if I talk to the instructor I'm certain I can convince her to get re-certified so she can offer the class again.

My school was rubbish like that. Most American schools Ive heard of have clubs for everything, we had football, rugby and a chess club for a year

Yeah, we had several martial arts clubs. I lucked out.

My best advice with learning a martial art is this:

Don't learn a martial art.

Learn how to beat the living shit out of anyone, and likewise, learn how to defend yourself when someone wants to beat the living shit out of you. This doesn't mean I'm advocating you ever beat the living shit out of someone. I am advocating you know how.

You need to know how to throw, block, avoid and if necessary, TAKE punches and kicks.

You need to know how to perform and escape from joint locks and holds.

You need to know how to defend and attack pressure points and vital organs.

You need to know how to take someone to the ground and fight, and also how to survive and win if someone takes you down first.

You need to know how to manipulate the distance between you and your target.

You need to be able to survive when someone comes after you with a knife.

Work on upper body and core strength. Work on being able to strike with precision. Work on flexibility. Get punched in the face a few times so when it happens in real life, you don't freeze up as bad. Work on strategies to avoid violence if at all possible, and the correct timing to apply it when a situation has deteriorated to that point. Work on having a "wolf" mentality in a fight, as opposed to a "sheep" mentality.

None of this can be learned overnight, and especially not in a classroom.

Gotta agree. Unless you're talking learning from a book or getting in a lot of bar brawls...martial arts IS how you learn.

Yeah. Tae Kwon Do and Karate and such is generally bullshit in the US.

So are people who teach themselves to fight.

Learn a modern, proven combat system. And one where you fight full contact. If you're only doing forms, or point sparring, GTFO.

If you're fighting full contact, you'll know for real whether you know how to beat the shit out of someone or not.

When I train newbies with zero fighting experience i always pair them with a skilled fighter and tell the newbie to develop a "new" martial art on their own. The results are usually very predictable, but sometimes people have very good natural instincts, and fast reflexes to go with them. They still get their asses kicked, but the exercise does two things: it shows them the value of training and it shows us in part how best to train them. It gives us a starting point and tells us what to work on or discourage in terms of aggression. It's never about whether they win or lose, but they never win. I've never let two newbies do this exercise together, for fear one or both would end up injured or dead. Invariably someone tries to be Jet Li and makes themselves look like a fool. Don't teach yourself how to fight if you have any other resource.

Reflexes suck. It don't take much MA training (with a unusless style and right attitude) to take somebody fighting on reflex. Many martial art styles take advantage of predictable reflexes.

MA is still not an automatic "iWin-card", street fighting need a killer instinct (which is totally trainable).

Please reread my post if you think I am saying reflexes make up for a lack of skill. If you were simply seeking to clarify the point, then we are in agreement. The newbies with the fastest reflexes still get hit almost exactly as much as the slower ones.

Don't worry, I red you post.