Ive never been one to enjoy performing hours and hours of kata. That doesnt mean I dont like to practice my martial arts moves, just that I prefer them to be more active and realistic.

Over the years, I have searched for an effective martial arts style that fits my stature and my mental outlook. Im a small man 68 inches and 185 pounds. So I need a method of self defense that allows me to be effective in any combat situation at any range.

As a small man or woman you can count on your bigger assailant attempting to control you with his size and strength. Often bigger attackers feel they can take liberties because of their size.

In my youth I was involved in a fight almost daily, I just dont deal well with bullies. I decided early on
that the butt kicking I got for defending myself, wasnt any worse than the butt kicking I got for not defending myself.

The main difference is that by standing up for myself, I only had to deal with the bully only once. By not standing up for myself, I would have had to endure the bully over and over and over

Of course none of us really knew how to fight so no one got hurt, just embarrassed. As I got older, I began learning how to defend myself by studying different fighting styles.

It wasnt until I went to Fort Benning for Infantry Training that I began to understand what it really means to fight.

The hardest part of learning a style is sorting out the advertising hype from the substance. Every style of martial arts can be an effective form of self defense, but not all schools or instructors live up to their hype.

The very first thing you need to do is put together a list of your goals. Just make a short bullet list of what you want out of the martial arts.

My list might look like this.

• Physical Fitness
• Weight Loss
• Stamina/Endurance
• Self Defense
• Maximum effectiveness regardless of the damage to my opponent
• Be able to protect my family
• Self Confidence
• I dont want to be a victim
• Easy to learn, easy to use, effective
• Doesnt take years to learn
• Can quickly takedown an opponent

The great thing about the martial arts is that there is a style for every person. I am a great believer in matching your style to your weapons.

For me, this turned out to be a combination of American Kickboxing and Brazilian Jui-Jitsu. The two styles combine to allow me to defend myself across all zones of engagement. It also allows me to defend against all opponents of all sizes.

While the vast majority of people who have attacked me have been larger than I am, it is the ones who are my same size who have given me the most trouble. So my style has to enable me to defend against the largest range of opponents.

No single style seemed to fit my need. Blending the styles of Brazilian Jui-Jitsu and Kickboxing has proven an effective mix. In fact, its really just a real world version of what you see in most Mixed Martial Arts competitions.

The differences are that you arent going for a tap out. Letting an opponent out of an arm bar or choke to start fighting you again is insanity. In a self defense situation you need to do enough damage to stop your attacker from continuing his attack.

Be careful though, in todays society going beyond this can get you into legal trouble. Even though you were attacked and simply defended yourself you could be sued by your attacker for hurting him or you could be jailed for use of excessive force.

Thank you liberals!