Can I teach myself martial arts at home?

[Anonymous]

im not trying to win championships... im just tiny and i literally freeze when someone creeps or w/e and end up bursting into tears the second i get home
... I don't know what to do and I don't know why i even freeze or get shocked in the first place...
and i dont have a man

for personal reasons, i can't go to martial arts classes
so can i teach myself? from utube or something?

is it possible to start at age 22 ? or is it like ballet or something you have to start really young?

[AdamThomas]

You're always going to be better off training in a class or with an instructor but it's possible. If possible get a friend to train with you, it's always better if you practice the techniques against a non-complaint opponent.

You could do with hitting a punch bag or focus pads if you're with a friend to build power and practice technique, and shadows boxing in front or a mirror is good to see if you need to fix your technique.

Most of self-defence is really about situational awareness and avoiding tthose situations in the first place. But if unavoidable you need to be able to attack viciously and get out as quickly as possible. The main things you need to learn are how to hit hard and how to fight dirty, and the techniques need to be simple techniques because you'll forget more complicated stuff in a real situation, this is why as one guy mentioned most martial arts don't work in real life. The best martial art to. learn is krav maga.

All I do if I'm threatens is try to talk them down and diffuse it verbally, and if that doesn't work while they think I'm shitting myself I hit them first and keep hitting til they drop with everything - punches, kicks, headbuts, elbows, knees etc. A lot of people say that's wrong and that you should let them hit you first but that's a stupid idea because they could knock you out with the first shot, and legally you are allowed to strike first if you're being threatened with violence, as long as you stop once the threat is over.

There are some good books on self protection. A couple of good ones I have are "All-In Fighting" by WE Fairbairn, a guy who taught soldiers in WW2, he designed it so that a soldier could be fully trained within a few hours so it's all simple and effective. Another good one is "Dead Or Alive" by Geoff Thompson, he talks a lot more about the psychology of self defence, how to avoid situations and what techniques to learn.

If you can carry mace do that. We can't do that here because it's illegal but anything can be used as a weapon e. g. keys can be used to stab.

[Aizou]

You can indeed find videos online, if masters willing to teach
but of course attending an actual class would be more beneficial.

What sort were you imagining? I actually teach martial arts myself
so I'm intriqued whenever people ask about this stuff. ^.^

[Asker]

cool lol

I don't know, just w. e street self defense lol

[mutedaisy]

You can teach yourself a false sense of confidence and how to get your ass royally handed to you.

[jman46241]

First of all get some mace or take a self defense class if you have felt threatened.. Sure you can learn the moves online, but it's much better to be able to learn in person and have others to practice with. Too bad about your personal reasons, I won't pry.

[Bandit74]

Taking a class would be safer and more beneficial. I suppose its possible to learn through youtube videos but without a sparing partner to practice moves on or someone to critique your form you probably won't learn as much.

[genericname85]

you can learn the basics but you can´t become good at them, without some kind of sparring partner.

[Noxifer626]

I'll give you the same recommendation I give to everyone: Carry a crowbar on you.

[Anonymous]

You could learn wrong. Besides most martial arts are actually not practical at all in real life applications.

[Asker]

wait what? o. O
of course they are lol

[Opinion Owner]

No they really are not. Most martial arts are more like a ritual or dance. Yeah they involve punches and kicks but think of real life fights you're not going to fight like you do in a Karate dojo in reality. Honestly the only martial arts that are really practical are Judo, BJJ and Muay Boran and you can't teach yourself any of those. Judo and BJJ require a partner and Muay Boran is super complex and you'd need supervision anyways for all of them. If you can get lessons do Krav Maga because that's strictly self defense right there.

Just buy a can of pepper spray or a taser though since you can't get lessons.

[Asker]

well good to know if i ever get a chance to take those classes lol

yea ill stick to mace or something for now
thanks