What martial arts have you used in a street fight/self defense situation?

Looking for self defense stories involving real martial arts, do you guys do anything like Judo, BJJ, Boxing, Aikido and how has it helped you to survive attacks on the street?

I've studied Kempo Karate (5th Degree Black Belt) TKD (Black Belt) Judo (Brown Belt) Muay Thai, and Brazilian Jiu Jitstu and Military Combatives. Because I do BJJ in the Army, we don't worry about belt promotion, but I'm probably around a blue belt level in that if you're talking about a respectable school.

I've worked in Law Enforcement so I've gone hands on against people from a wide variety of backgrounds, from wanted murderers to rapists to drunks to mental patients. I've also competed in full contact fighting for years, but only at the amateur level (never had the ambition to go pro.) Currently I teach military combatives.

The only reason I write that is to show that I'm a pretty well rounded guy. I have a wide variety of tools to use against an opponent, and I've had a bunch of opponents to try stuff out on. Although a fight as a cop isn't the same as a "street fight" really, we do get in the ocassional knock down drag out brawl.

All that being said, if I were jumped in the street tonight, I would end up using primarily Muay Thai and Kempo, maybe Judo, and definitely BJJ if it went to the ground, though I would avoid going to the ground if possible.

My first response would be to clinch in almost every scenario I can imagine. I just don't want to be on the outside taking punches. Also, a clinch gives me immediate control of my opponent. I can control his movement, his access to weapons (if any) and what kind of strikes he can throw. Between Judo and Muay Thai, I am very good in a clinch. If my opponent was going to beat me there, strength wouldn't be enough (I'm also 200 lbs.) He would need to have training.

From the clinch I would attempt to end the fight with knees and elbows or a standing choke.

If that wasn't working for me, I would move to the biggest Judo throw I could set up and blast that sucker into the pavement, obtain a dominant position, and try to finish the fight with elbows or with a choke.

Kempo mostly helps me out with things like balance and reacting to strikes. I did do it for a very long time. It also helps me to deliver powerful strikes as I learned most of my body mechanics in karate and for the most part I haven't been able to unlearn them for Muay Thai. Also, if my opponent had a knife in his hand or something when the fight started my clinch strategy would have to change, and kempo is better for that sort of thing (in my opinion) than the other arts I've mentioned.

In law enforcement I used primarily Judo and Jiu Jitsu. I never threw a single strike in any fight I got in, but my goal wasn't to hurt my opponent, just to arrest them. If I didn't feel a clinch was appropriate, I drew my sidearm and ordered them to drop their weapon and lay on the ground.

There you have it! Long answer, hope it helped.

EDIT: Sensei Scandal - You CAN in fact have a strategy going into a fight, as any full contact fighter can tell you. The Gracie Family embarassed the martial arts world for 70 years because they found a winning strategy and stuck to it. Namely - clinch, takedown, submit. The techniques they used varied from fight to fight, but every fight they won followed that same plan. There are videos all over Youtube that show it. In fact, I think one of the best features an art can have is a plan for HOW to win, rather than just a bunch of tools for the toolbox.

Self Defense Judo

Self Defense Judo

Is there a difference in sporting judo and traditional judo used for real combat self defense like karate?

Yes there is a HUGE difference.

Real combat Judo is Japanese Jiu-Jitsu. It's "One must live, one must die."
Not "One must win, one must lose."

I am a Judoka and my Sensei stresses this difference constantly. He personally cannot stand modern sport Judo while there are tons and tons of other schools that only teach sport judo. Sport Judo is taught as such. A sport with regulations and rules to protect the saftey of the players. Self-defense is protecting yourself. And when protecting yourself, the rules go out the window, wouldn't you say?

So instead of being taught that throwing someone to the ground and casually walking away would be enough, a Judoka focusing on self-defense would be taught to immobilize the attacker with sensitive area striking, instantly throw to finish with Newaza, and break an arm for example. This is if the Judoka is feeling generous, as the attacker is at the mercy of the Judoka once he is thrown.

In any technique my fellow Judokas and I are taught, my Sensei gives us the origin of the technique and how it would be applied for self-defense. The difference would be that instead of teaching us punching and kicking drills, we learn how to make a proper fist, and which areas to strike for quick and immobilizing attacks (groin,eyes, throat etc.) And anytime we are taught such strikes, he emphasizes the Jiu-Jitsu roots and how these techniques were meant for the Japanese battlefield.

So while karate can be used for self-defense, I would venture to say that real combat Judo, (Jiu-Jitsu) is very different from the sport and very different from any form of Karate.

Self Defense Judo
Elgin Judo Club: self defence

Self Defense Judo

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