By: Endre R.
You have watched this in movies, you have seen the different styles and most of us have at one point or the other scoffed at martial arts believing it cannot be used in real life situations. Martial-arts fights in real life settings may not be as glamorous as that which we watch in the cinemas but they are very useful self defence skills to have in dangerous situations therefore learning a martial art style is recommended. Martial art consists of different fighting styles and most of them can serve as a means of self-defence in dodgy situations. This article takes into account three popular martial art styles that can be helpful in real-life situations.
Kung Fu Hustle
The martial art style that has been made popular by the media is kung fu and it is originated from China. Kung fu or Wushu as it is called by the Chinese was created in ancient China as a style soldiers could use to combat their enemies. Kung fu involves mainly the use of bare hands and feet to disarm or defend oneself from danger. It is highly capable against an attacker who is in your weight grade and carries an edged weapon such as a knife. Kung fu provides you with the balance of mind and body to safeguard yourself from such attacks.
The Krav Maga style
The Krav Maga is a martial art style which interestingly was not developed in Asia as most styles are but in Israel. This fighting style was developed by Imi Lichteinfeld and it involves the use of the fist and feet to strike and wrestle the opponent you are against. The Krav Maga was developed to help individuals handle themselves in real-life situations thus making it a very effective martial art style that can be learnt for self-defence purposes. The techniques employed in Krav Maga are designed to be efficiently brutal and they include: threat neutralisation, simultaneous defensive and offensive manoeuvres and heightened aggressiveness. Its principles involves counter attacking incoming attacks, targeting vulnerable body parts of the assailant and neutralizing your opponent as quickly as possible. This style also teaches you maintain a general awareness of the surroundings where you are going to attack that essentially seizes the chance of escape if any.
A. Attacking Manoeuvres: This technique has its philosophy for carrying out attacks and it targets spots such as the face, neck, groin and joints.
B. Defensive Manoeuvres: This includes learning how to move with speed and using the closest tool available to you which could be your hands, legs or head to defend yourself. The Krav Maga technique is also very efficient in defending yourself against an assailant with a sharp-edged weapon such as a knife.
Taekwondo Technique
The Taekwondo martial art style originated from Korea and its meaning can be gleaned from its name. Tae means to hit or smash with the foot, kwon means to beat or smash with the fist and do means mode. Therefore, Taekwondo means the way of the hand and foot. Learning Taekwondo is an all round process therefore the physical body is trained to achieve speed and strength while the mind is trained to be peaceful and alert. This makes it a good technique to use for defending yourself against an assailant for it prepares an individual to use both his legs and hands to protect himself while being aware of his or her environment at the same time. It can be used to protect yourself from armed assailants as well as un-armed ones.
The techniques discussed here are used to handle different situations that depend on the mode of attack you need to defend yourself against your opponent. Therefore while one can be used efficiently for wrestling and Ground fighting, the other may be more suited to hand to hand combat. Therefore, learning two or three techniques can serve you well in the tight situations. A lot of martial art schools can be found in the United States and if your curiosity has been pricked by this article, a visit to the one closest to you and availing self defense classes is not a bad idea.
Endre R. is a PR and marketing specialist, and occasional guest blogger writing for clients in the fighting scene. Currently he works for MMA Combat.