Great thread and very informative. Since there seems to be a LOT of expertise I was hoping you guys could offer some advice.
I was just discussing this with my wife this past week, my daughter is 6 1/2 yrs old, very fit and is enrolled in gymnastics. I'd like to enroll with her, into a martial arts program. I'm just about 38 yrs old, strength train 3 days a week and run 3 days a week. My primary focus is for my daughter to LEARN self defense and I'd be doing it with her so I can be actively involved.
Can you offer me any advice on how to pick a school? I really don't know a lot about this but I was hoping she could learn more pressure point fighting (?) that would allow her to properly defend herself against a larger opponent vs a technique that requires more strength. Is this a good age to get her started? I was hoping that by the time she was a teenager she'd be in a better position to defend herself if put in a compromising situation.
I really appreciate any feedback
Thanks!
Danny
Danny she is pretty young at this point. Keep her enrolled in gymnastics and allow her to build her balance and maintain her flexibility. You can enroll her in martial arts now but I think she is too young. If you do it, know that it is for fun not for self defense at this point. Its critical she build a good foundation, I would enroll her when she is closer to 10 years old.
In general the best "defensive" art for a smaller opponent against a larger one is Brazilian Jiuitsu. It is the foundation of MMA, and an art that will allow her to defend herself against a larger oponnent. I recently was interviewed by a Boston newspaper regarding what I recommended for women and I will tell you the same thing I said in the paper. Women are always at a significant disadvantage to a man. While it is important to learn how to strike, a woman that is very good at striking arts (punching, kicking, standup stuff) will still lose to a man that is much larger and stronger. The woman can hit the man maybe 5-10 times, but one hard punch from a man will cause a lot of damage to a woman. I actually feel that a lot of martial arts foster a false sense of security in a woman, and she may make the mistake of trying to duke it out with a guy and that is not a good situation.
Most of the time when women are attacked, they are grabbed, pulled, taken away or taken to the ground in a rape situation. In all of this Brazillian Jiujitsu excells, because it allows the woman to use the ground and leverage her weight and whole body strength against the weakest parts of the man's body, his joints. If a man is laying on top of a woman with the woman on her back, it is actually "guard" in BJJ, a very effective fighting position.
A woman with a good BJJ background can protect herself very well against a much larger man. Also it will allow her to get used to the intimate contact that happens often in fighting, and she won't freak out when someone that outweighs her by 100+ pounds is on top of her.
She should also learn some strand up, and for that Muaythai and Judo are very good. I recommend Boxing more to men because their arm strength and joint strength far surpasses that of women. A man can break his knuckles very fast punching without gloves, nevermind a woman. Muaythai allows a lot of use of elbows and knees that are much stronger, and it works well in a clinch which is the most likely situation a woman may find herself in an attack. It provides a nice transition to BJJ on the ground. Judo will teach her a lot of balance, and allow her to throw a man to the ground pretty quickly and get away. She needs to concentrate on Judo throws, not so much their ground game especially the way it is taught at most schools in the U.S. On the ground concentrate on BJJ.
So keep her in gymnastics for now. Once she is older get her into a BJJ school immediately. At the same time have her learn Muaythai (these are offered together at most schools now that teach MMA fighters). A couple of years of Judo will also be helpful to her.
As for pressure points, its mostly fiction. There is some reliance on it in Japanese and small-circle jiujitsu, this is the kind of useless stuff that the Gracies got rid of when they perfected their style (what is now known as Brazilian) jiujitsu. I will maybe get some heat for this but... do not enroll her in Karate, Kung Fu, Kenpo, Tae Kwon Do, etc.
Also a can of pepper spray always discretely carried with her can do wonders. It avoids contact alltogether. There are other things she can learn to avoid bad situations. Of course she is young now but I will give you a few examples:
They say that if a woman is taken away, she has a 90% chance of being raped and or killed. (I am sorry about the grim example). If someone points a gun at her and tells her to get into a car or go with him, she needs to start screaming and run away as fast as possible. Lets say 50% chance that the guy will shoot. Then there is a 50% chance he may hit her. Now we are at 25% odds. There is a 50% chance that shot is fatal, now we are down to 12.5%. So 12.5% odd of dying if you scream and run, versus 90% chance if you agree and go with the assailant. Teach her to never ever go anywhere with someone under force. If someone asks for her wallet/purse, she needs to throw it one way, and run the other way. Giving the thief a choice between a purse and money or a screaming lunatic going the other way. Most people give the thief the purse then stand there while he thinks about his next command. If she is ever uncomforatble in a situation, teach her to trust her instincts, always. If in an elevator with someone she is uncomfortable with, press the button to every floor and get off as soon as the door opens. If she is uncomfortable in a cab, have her say something like "Cab 314, huh? that was my locker # in school" or something like that so the cabbie knows that she knows him and the cab number. Teach her to not go jogging with an ipod in her ears unless its at the gym. I could go on and on, these are some basic rules.
For yourself, find a good BJJ school and start there. Then you can teach her in a few years yourself rather than some MMA wannabe punk rolling with her on the ground trying to cop a cheap feel. Also when you are in a good BJJ school, you will learn a lot from the guys that are there about fighting and self defense in general. They are a rougher crowd, but that is where you need to be to learn. The reason most girls/kids wind up in useless classes is because its a nicer environment. Its much nicer to be in a white uniform with other kids screaming like they are Bruce Lee or a Teenage mutant ninja turtle than it is to be having a Marine just back from Iraq sweating on top of you in a smelly BJJ classroom.
I hope this is helpful.
