Many martial arts today have nothing to do with actual self defense. Most are just exercise classes or child daycare. You should know the difference. But how does one tell the difference? There are many tools at your disposal. The Internet is a great tool. When you decide what style of martial art your interested in, research it on the Internet to truly find out if it's what your looking for.
People will just blindly accept anything as martial arts. Taekwondo is a great example. Taekwondo is a sport. It has nothing to do with self defense. But because there is a Taekwondo school on every corner, people assume it must be the best. Far from it. Lets say your choice is Karate. Karate is huge with hundreds of styles. Some good, some not so good. A few well know styles to consider would be Shotokan, Gojuryu, and Kempo.
Aikido is very popular. Aikido however is really not about self defense. In fact it's founder was trying to get away from the violence of self defense. An alternative to Aikido would be Aikijutsu. Aikijutsu schools are far and few between. They will be harder to find than Karate schools. The Internet is a great source for this. The most well know styles of Aikijutsu are Daito-Ryu, Senso-Ryu, and Yamate-Ryu.
Judo, like Aikido is very well known but not for self defense. The self defense alternative for Judo is Jujutsu. Jujutsu (jujitsu) is an excellent martial art for self defense. It has become very popular due to mixed martial arts (MMA), Brazilian Jujitsu and competitions such as the Ultimate Fighting Competition (UFC). Some well know styles of jujutsu are Hakko-Ryu, Small Circle Jujitsu, Danzan-Ryu.
Take your time when looking for a system of self defense. They are out there, but they are somewhat overshadowed by all the commercial martial arts.
John Honner is an avid practitioner of the Japanese martial arts and loves to write articles that promote the truth about self defense and sport in martial arts.
Source: www.articledashboard.com
