What ever you decide on system wise, take classes. Hands on with a teacher and partner (or even better several partners of different sizes and skill levels) is the only way to learn. Research the class you take before hand and even go watch a few classes before signing up to see what they're doing. Then I recommend reading Sun Tzu and Ender's Game. Sun Tzu for strategy, and Ender's Game for the philosophy of self-defense.

BJJ has always intrigued me, but it almost assumes you're only fighting 1 person, otherwise, you take him down while his buddy keeps kicking you. Not good.

I like Tae Kwon Do, but it's better at a distance, and is really a young man's game. I have some arthritis setting in my hip, and high kicks really aggravate it.

Whatever Steven Seagal practices (Aikido?) looks interesting. I like that you can use it to control someone without necessarily having to punch or kick his lights out. I also like that you can use it in tight situations, like a bar or crowded room.

"...Whatever Steven Seagal practices (Aikido?) looks interesting...'

yes it does. but apparently it makes you put on weight

+2 on BJJ or mixed martial arts.



Actually BJJ has a comprehensive self-defence stand up component, much like what is taught in Judo/stand up jiu-jitsu.

Here is a manual on it.

Brazilian JJ self defence

Mostly I have found no matter what the art, the self-defense is about the same, the big difference in MMA and BJJ is that you go all out against a fully resisting opponent.

I'll stay away from the usual argument about fully resisting but the techniques are not as deadly versus how do you know that deadly technique will work against a fully resisting opponent...that has been debated ad nauseam on almost every martial arts board.

As for fighting more than one person....well if you are taking on more than one empty-handed, your best option is to run or pull out your .357

I have missed another idea. I don't know exactly what it is, but research the Texas DPS Trooper fighting. They are continually killing each other just training, so whatever it is they do must be damn effective. I know it is something combined with stand up boxing.

Rudimentary website but lots of links-

http://www.gutterfighting.org/Main.html

Seagull is a very good akido master. And I doubt he has ever been in a real street fight from two anecdotes, one personal. I was at a beachside restaurant with my then Gf. local resident Steven walked in and sent a drink to her. She sent it back. He walks over and starts sweet talking her. I stand up, go into a loose judo stance and say something classic. He turns, sees my stance and laughs 'And who taught you that.' I told him ( my Soto Zen Roshi who was also Japanese grand champion.)He walked away.
A few months later 3 punks yelled obscenities at his family. He left immediately.
All I know, is I saw Frank Sinatra, who NEVER had any formal training , sock a guy half his age and twice his size for making an anti italian crack one night in Westwood Village near UCLA.
There are any number of sytems. As others have posted, it's your mindset, first and foremost.

That may be the result of the munchies following his latest dose of "Medicinal" marijuana.

That's a mighty difficult question to answer. You'll find everyone has an opinion on it but few will really agree on what's best. You'll just have to find something that works for you.

Not trying to persuade you any way or the other, just to share my own experience - I've done a bit of self-defense training in the past, starting with boxing, then some MMA and BJJ classes. In the meantime I also experimented quite a bit with military combatives, especially the WWII system by Fairbairn, Sykes and Applegate.

The boxing, MMA and BJJ improved my fitness way beyond what I expected. I also learned some valuable things about fighting a fully resisting opponent in a controlled environment.

And there's the catch - it's an "opponent" in a "controlled environment". Not a bad guy (they tend to bring along a friend or two) intent on sneaking up on you, maybe distracting you with some verbal ploy, then strike when you least expect it. Combat sports are extremely important for developing a whole range of skills but they won't necessarily prepare you for a real-life confrontation. I have personally seen experienced combat athletes, and good ones at that, who gradually became cocky and arrogant because they believed in their skills too much. What they did not realize was that the bad guys don't fight by the rules. No matter how tough you are, everyone can get blindsided and no amount of working out will make you knife- or bulletproof.

Military combatives, Krav Maga etc. on the other hand are excellent because they're all about the mindset and mastering the basic, but most effective, techniques. The problem is, combatives work because they're part of a bigger system (boot camp/military training). You're already supposed to be fit to begin with, you really must mean business and train with maximum intensity. In the civilian world those qualities are hard to come by in most people.

Another BIG problem is that a lot of combatives teachers, maybe most, are not in fact ex-Special Forces or whatever they'd have you believe. Many probably have zero actual experience and may never have tested their skills for real. There are just too many crooks and wannabes out there who can't really walk the walk. Following their instructions might get you hurt.

Whatever you decide in the end, you WILL need to do some full contact sparring eventually. If you don't, you won't know how it feels to be in a fight. You have to learn how to take a punch. My advice would be to start with a legitimate combat sport under a good teacher (something like boxing, Judo, Muay Thai, MMA, whatever suits your bill). Once you get the hang of it, look into more reality-based self-defense classes, maybe combatives. By then, you will already have enough training to be able to sort out the crooks from the real deal.

Also, if you have the time, I would suggest looking into some of the books by Geoff Thompson. All the best and stay safe!

Oh, another combatives guy I can vouch for is Kelly McCann. One of the few combatives teachers with a proven track record. I have some of his videos and they're top notch. He also integrates non-lethal weapons (pepper spray etc.) into the hand-to-hand system. Very practical and down to Earth.