A follow up question to the Martial Arts One

[tryinghard2bcop]

I read the post on the martial arts question. I have been training at a local boxing gym for about the last year. It has taught me a lot about self defense. After reading that post on martial arts, I am thinking that trying some other areas of self defense would not be a bad idea. Any opinions.

[txinvestigator1]

You really won't be boxing anyone while on the street; although, it does help you ability to defend yourself.

Most fights I have seen go to the ground.

[mobrien316]

You really won't be boxing anyone while on the street; although, it does help you ability to defend yourself.

Most fights I have seen go to the ground.

Not only do they go to the ground, but it always seems to be in a narrow hallway, or in a two-foot space between a car and a wall, or halfway up a flight of stairs...

[DeltaV]

Yeah, boxing just doesn't have much of a comparison to LE defensive tactics. Other than learning to protect your face, most boxing moves aren't very applicable to what we do. You won't see officers squaring off against a bad guy and giving him multiple strikes in the face.

The good thing that boxing or any other martial art does is get you used to being involved in physical altercations. Any type of sparring, whether its in a dojo or in the boxing ring, is good.

Like the officers in the other thread, I'll suggest some sort of grappling such as BJJ. Don't discount other martial arts though, as you can always pick up useful techniques. Just keep in mind that you can't always do every move that a certain art teaches. For example, Krav Maga has a lot of very devastating moves that would be considered deadly force here.

From my experience, I would suggest a technique that teaches you lots of good takedowns and how to win on the ground. After all, most tactics end with the bad guy on the ground.