You also need to look at the teacher and pick the best teacher. A style does not guarantee good training but a good teacher does. This means that you have to check out the schools in your area by yourself and not rely on style recommendation because all styles can be taught very many different ways for many different reasons. What you get in one school may be very different from the next even though they are the same style.
How much time? Depends on how much you can practice on your own and be OK with that. 2-3 classes per week, practice 15-20 minutes each day on your own if you are a beginner for the first few months. That time increases as you progress.
BJJ is better. People always say it sucks because it's a sport, but honestly TKD is a sport too. It's in the Olypic games for God's sakes! Let me ask you this: If you were to fight someone, would you be able to out strike them? How about out grapple them? Considering that you have 2 years of striking experience, I think that you'd stand at least a good chance of outstriking them. What about our grappling them? Do you REALLY know how to defend a takedown? How about breaking a clinch (which is too close for most TKD style strikes anyway)? You've tried TKD for 2 years, so now try BJJ for 2 years. If you train a decent amount then you'll probably be a blue belt by then. If after you're a blue belt you still think that TKD is better, then just switch back! Worst case scenario you'll just have better grappling skills than your TKD training partners.
Either and neither. Ground fighting range and standing long range is equally important, if the kicking range is not more important than ground fighting. While BJJ explores interesting concepts such as dominant positioning, chokes, and minimal effort. It has a sport nature of tending to go to the ground as a first resort, spend some duration trying to control someone or put them into the point of being damaged. Though this is not to say BJJ cannot be supremely effective in fighting to control with more people on your side surrounding you. For self defense. Controlling someone is the least priority. You have no efficient equipment or number of back ups for that. Escape or hit and run is the first resort. If you go to the ground it must be forced there.
Don't believe the BJJ motto of 99% fights go/end to/on the ground. Here's a pun for thought, do they 'go' to the ground or do they 'end' on the ground with someone standing in victory?
But still. Do you need BJJ escape concepts and techniques should you get trapped on the ground, which is quicker to be explored if you take BJJ with aliveness instead of spending 30 years in a TKD dojo and not get any coverage of the ground range?
Yes. You NEED it. Murphy's law always says if you don't prepare against something. It will come up and make everything else fail. So ground escaping is still vital. Ground fighting or combat of hurting and maiming someone or controlling someone is optional, though not preferred in SD.
By deliberately rolling on the ground. You are prone to buttings and weapons, there's 0 distance, you can barely move out of the attacking line. Plus as someone suggested. You're prone to multiple opponents.
TKD....It can just be as much of a sport. Kicking is something specialized in TKD. Whether you learn more efficient kicks or other more reliable methods depends on whether you make it to a TKD school. Theoretically TKD's kicks makes you equally prone to multiple opponents. Any kick leaves you standing no one leg or make a jump for it. You can't kick with 2 legs perfectly intact on the ground in full balance unless it's a stomp. A second opponent easily takes care of you while you are kicking by moving into range and push you to the floor. Now you have all the problems BJJ faces.
There's really not much to say about the most effective. The mindset of the school makes difference. Sport TKD is equally as insufficient if not more insufficient than sport BJJ, as sport TKD drills you into the mindset against a tactical sport boxer, or kickboxer. Who is limited to strikes and won't rush like a lion and throw hits and takedowns from there. Sport BJJ at least prepares you for the kind of wild attack.
A higher quality TKD martial art dojang gives you much more efficient principles, though such schools are hard to find.
In the end what type of scenarios the school teach you gives the difference.
If a TKD school balance competition kicks, with real low kicks, hand movements, multiple range exploration. It's more than worthy of a try. If a BJJ school balance competition between realities of the ground, drilling you more in rapid escapes if you end up there. It's not that bad for a start.
I take Judo and my dad is a black-belt of highest degree and he was a referee. Since BJJ is similar to Judo, I would say that BJJ is better than TKD for self defense. When I took Judo you started out learning self defense and it's the base point and most important to learn. Judo is called the "Gentle Fist" because you don't damage yourself in anyway and you don't punch or kick others, you use the opponents force against them which can be used both offensively and defensively.
There is no best style.
They will all work as long as you train right and have a good instructor.
Your size, body type and sex have nothing to do with the style you want to choose. People that think that your size and body type determine the style know little to nothing about martial arts
styles are made to adapt to your body type
Most people will tell you there style is the best or they heard such and such is a great style,
The style is not important, what matters is how good your instructor is and how you train. The style is secondary, they all have there pro's and con's there are no superior styles.
If you have an instructor that can’t teach you how to fight, regardless of the style, what good would it do you?
Choose a school with a good instructor in the end that’s all that matters, that and how you train.
Its the person that has the ability to fight not the style
It depends on the quality of instruction that you are learning. Both would be effective if you are learning it under a good instructor. Visit some schools, even some different styles, and see what the best ones are. It's not fair to say that any art is bad or can't be effective in a real situation. As long as you are training correctly you can make any art work.
For the hundredth time, a style does not determine effectiveness. It is the quality of the instructor who trains you. A crappy instructor is not going to teach you anything effective regardless of what style he teaches.
Find the best teacher and train seriously. There is no absolute number of times you must attend class because it is not about quantity, but about quality. If means someone who goes 5 times a week who does not train seriously and without dedication (just going through the motion) is going to be worse off than someone who goes twice a week and trainings with heart and mind. It also means you train even when not in class. Do you stop using your mind because school is out? Do you stop learning because you are not inside a classroom? Well, self-defense occurs outside in the real world, not inside the classroom.
Furthermore, all styles of martial arts have their limitations. While many style bigots will claim their style is "complete", this is simple ignorance. Each style was created for combat situations that the creator of the style was familiar with. With time, various masters would add to the style, but no style is complete because no human being knows all there is to combat. This does not make all styles useless, but means each have their ideal environment which you may or may not find yourself in when attacked. Case in point, grappling is effective but not against more than one attacker; while you are handling one attacker his friend could stick a knife in your back. Kicking is effective but not in close quarters, uneven or slippery terrain.
This is why self-defense requires more than just knowing techniques. It requires situational awareness which comes with training and experience. Self-defense also requires a certain amount of street smart which is not taught in any schools, but comes with experience and hopefully with age.
Real self-defense is low down dirty. It is not "clean" straight forward like you see in the movies. You will get hit and there is always the possibility of getting seriously hurt or kill regardless of how good you are.
Muay Thai is very powerful for Street-Fighting orientated Self-Defense in a fighting situation but ignore Keyboard Warrior. He's a douchebag who promotes MMA, BJJ etc. and denotes Traditional Martial Arts such as Kung Fu, Karate etc.
I have a friend who formerly did Judo and he's a big County Rugby Player and it has helped a lot.
Grappling arts are for more squat and stocky persons (Judo, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, Jiu-Jitsu) and Arts like Wing Chun, Karate, Taekwondo are more more agile and lean persons. Aikido is quite good too though people think of it as 'fake'.
@LIONDANCER : ALL martial arts have a sport aspect to them in the modern world. BJJ was NEVER designed for sport and if you want to doubt that it can defend against multiple attackers then perhaps you should visit an academy and ask for a demonstration. BJJ is NOT solely a ground fighting style. I have personally used BJJ to defend myself against multiple people. Just like any style it depends on who is instructing you.
Its people who come here spouting sport rubbish that clearly know nothing of which they are talking about. Any style can teach you to be a good fighter. multiple styles teach you to be a great fighter. Acknowledging and respecting that all martial arts have validity and worth makes you a magnificent fighter
TKD is garbage for self-defense. BJJ is more useful than TKD but BJJ by itself is also garbage for self-defense. Not hating on BJJ, I do it and it's fun but IMO it's garbage on the street.
Try option #3. Find a ghetto boxing gym. Your sparring partners won't be nice but neither will your opponent on the street. I'd say 5 hours a week would be minimum, half of it sparring.
I didn't think I'd ever see anyone seriously claim that TKD is the most effective martial art... wow, you're delusional.
@LionDancer: kung fu guys can't even defend against ONE BJJ fighter... so worry about multiple opponents once you've proven that you can at least successfully take one person.
My time is limited its really between BJJ and TKD. I did TKD for two years a long time ago but remember very little. Ive never done BJJ or any sort of grappling or wrestling type thing before. If i can only take one which would be the most efficient for self defense also how much time is usually needed a week for either
TKD is useless.. I can tell you that.. anything is better than taekwondo.. I would say go for krav maga or muay thai.. you learn krav maga more easy and faster,but in the long run after 5 years muay thai would kick anyones ***
Krav magavhas everything
