Posted: 2/7/2025 3:15:22 PM EDT
| I’m interested in a self defense/martial arts program for my 13 yr old daughter. I know there are many schools of thpught on this topic. Any recommendations for an effective, no nonsense discipline to achieve a working knowledge of self defense techniques for a 13 yr old? |
|
I studied a few different styles, Chinese Kenpo served me well in a High school where I was a minority (street fights where it was usually 2 or more on me) and in many tournaments.. |
LARUEMINATI
NRA Endowment Life Member
Originally Posted By Boom_Stick:
""AKs are for villagers you have to tell not to shit in their water supply.""
NRA Endowment Life Member
Originally Posted By Boom_Stick:
""AKs are for villagers you have to tell not to shit in their water supply.""
Infantry, sales, nurse. Shoulda kept the rifle...
Joined:
Jul 2010
Posts:
6462
EE: 100% (3)
ME, USA
|
Originally Posted By 10mmillie: This. I did boxing as a teenager and then grappling in the Marines and police. Once she gets trained it will be easy to incorporate knives and blunt objects into the fight. ^^^This in red! Its difficult to explain, but one of the most useful aspects of training in many, if not most, martial arts, then progressing to weapons training is the "understanding" it gives you of your body and tools you are using. Not just actual weapons. ex. Nunchaku are not overly useful in a fight for most folks except for possible scare factor. However, once you are very competent with them, you become better with every tool of every type you might use. You gain a positional awareness of the items, you understand how bounce acts, how to divert force instead of stop it, etc., etc. If you are competent with chucks, the first time you pick up a staff or hunk of chain, you just "know" what you can do with it and already understand the basic moves with it without a lick of training with the item. Every item you may pick up will be more effective as a makeshift weapon once you acquire that understanding. |
Proud Member of Team Ranstad. RIP RetMAC, we'll keep the mission alive.
Straddling the thin plastic line between psych nurse and patient.
Now say 3 FBHOs and go in peace, my son-PorchDog
Survivor of ARFBORTION 2016
Straddling the thin plastic line between psych nurse and patient.
Now say 3 FBHOs and go in peace, my son-PorchDog
Survivor of ARFBORTION 2016
|
Boxing Jiu-Jitsu (if they are self-defense focused) Krav Maga. It takes boxing, kickboxing, and Jiu Jitsu and puts it together, along with groin kicks and throat strikes. The trick is finding a good school. Find a Krav Maga Alliance school here |
|
In my opinion, the instructor is more important than the discipline. Most places will let you sit in on a class - I highly recommend that. Go to several. See how the instructor(s) interact with the kids/teenagers. Try to avoid the "belt mills." With most decent martial arts classes and a good instructor, regardless of the specific discipline, your daughter will be ahead of 90+% of the general public. |
Posterity! You will never know, how much it cost the present Generation, to preserve your Freedom! I hope you will make a good Use of it. If you do not, I shall repent in Heaven, that I ever took half the Pains to preserve it.---John Adams
|
I would consider the personality as well. An aggressive, active fighting style speaks to karate or other "hard" style. A less aggressive but determined style takes in ju-jutsu, and a truly laid back fighter would do well in aiki-jutsu. The most brutal of the martial arts is tai chi chuan. While it is taught as a slow movement, almost dance like style, take those same movements and run them full speed and you will kill someone.. |
Another old guy
|
The one art every single UFC fighter does is Jiu Jitsu, even the ones that don't want to use it and mostly strike. That should tell you something. That something is they have to at least know it enough to not get destroyed by it. Then pick up Thai boxing on top. OP, join the gym with your kid, that's the best. I do BJJ and help teach the kids classes and it's a blast. |
|
Originally Posted By jharpphoto: I’m interested in a self defense/martial arts program for my 13 yr old daughter. I know there are many schools of thpught on this topic. Any recommendations for an effective, no nonsense discipline to achieve a working knowledge of self defense techniques for a 13 yr old? I recommend starting girls with BJJ. (Especially at her age) There’s a higher chance she may need to know how to fight off a bigger, stronger opponent, while on her back. Teaches her how to counter and escape from an aggressor who already has a hold of her, and unlike a lot of schools, rolling and practical application are a regular part of training (which is crucial to being able to actually use ANY of it, against an actual aggressor). Can add something like Muay Thai, or MMA, later. |
|
Originally Posted By smullen: I studied a few different styles, Chinese Kenpo served me well in a High school where I was a minority (street fights where it was usually 2 or more on me) and in many tournaments.. @smullen I see you are in Mo. Did you go to a Tracy's studio. |
|
Originally Posted By cb69: @smullen I see you are in Mo. Did you go to a Tracy's studio. Originally Posted By cb69: Originally Posted By smullen: I studied a few different styles, Chinese Kenpo served me well in a High school where I was a minority (street fights where it was usually 2 or more on me) and in many tournaments.. @smullen I see you are in Mo. Did you go to a Tracy's studio. We were really small. I think we had 10 students including myself. Basically, 2 guys that had studied under that system, kind of spun off and did their own thing, but it was 98% the same instruction, I think. More on work outs, sparing, some weapons, less on Katas or Forms, but we still had them. Pretty much the same belt ranking and stacking, meaning each belt had like 15 techniques and 2 forms, and they added on and you had to review the previous belts as part of the next test. Ex: 1st belt had 15 techniques, 2 forms. 2nd best had 30 techniques, 4 forms 3rd belt had 45 techniques, 6 forms 4th belt had 60 techniques, 8 forms on and on, by the time you got to your 1st black belt test it was like a 6 hour deal. It was very close to the Jeff Speakman System of Kenpo. We used to love to watch that. I loved it. I've tried Kenpo, Tae Kwon Do, Moo Do Kwan, a form of Ninjitsu, and Wing Chun. Like trucks, gun brands or whatever, everyone has their own favorite and reasons for it. For me, it was always Kenpo. I'd get back into it, if a school would open up down here. Probably be pretty embarrassing though as I'm so old, soft and out of shape. I can still block fairly well, but I feel like I'm lucky if I could kick an adult in the nuts, where as before, I could kick the top of a doorway. Being 6'4 I have some long legs... LOL Getting old SUCKS!!!! |
LARUEMINATI
NRA Endowment Life Member
Originally Posted By Boom_Stick:
""AKs are for villagers you have to tell not to shit in their water supply.""
NRA Endowment Life Member
Originally Posted By Boom_Stick:
""AKs are for villagers you have to tell not to shit in their water supply.""
|
There are pretty much only four martial arts worth training. 1. Wrestling. 2. Brazilian Ju Jitsu. 3. Boxing. 4. Thai boxing. We know this because its what 99% of our professional MMA fighters train. Even guys who grew up training other disciplines. Dudes who spent years becoming a blackbelt in other arts completely quit training them and disregard nearly every technique they learned once they decide to fight professionally... We've seen maybe 2-3 Judo blackbelts use some Judo throws in MMA. And we've seen a few Karate and Tae Kwon Do guys throw some Karate/TKD strikes. But you can easily just learn a few of their strikes/throws and not dedicate thousands of hours to those sports. When it comes to Krav Maga or other 'defensive' martial arts its a waste of time. You don't need specialized training to hit someone in the throat, groin or gouge an eye. When it comes to 'knife' arts those are a waste of time too. A good boxer who has good timing and movement and holds his knife is his jab hand will kill the 'knife fighting experts' 9 times out of 10 and sustain less damage then any kind of knife fighting expert would. I'd look around at schools locally and see what's offered. Ideally you want something that does a lot of active sparing. Without active sparring the art is completely useless. If those four aren't options then I'd look for Judo for grappling and some kind of Karate school for striking. Just be aware historically those disciplines haven't produced people who are able to perform at a high level in a ring or cage. |
|
Originally Posted By Ops: I would consider the personality as well. An aggressive, active fighting style speaks to karate or other "hard" style. A less aggressive but determined style takes in ju-jutsu, and a truly laid back fighter would do well in aiki-jutsu. The most brutal of the martial arts is tai chi chuan. While it is taught as a slow movement, almost dance like style, take those same movements and run them full speed and you will kill someone.. These kind of claims are the exact same thing as if a shooter would practice drawing slowly, aimed accurate slow fire, etc. And have perfect technique in slow motion. Then claim they are the best/fasted pistol shooter in the world. That they can't compete in any of the pistol shooting organizations because it would be unfair to the other shooters and they'd win everything... If a technique is so dangerous you can't perform it in practice against someone who's actively resisting you. You won't be able to perform it in an actual defensive situation where someone is actively resisting and/or attacking you. It simply won't work. Its unproven. And you don't know how to perform it against someone who isn't complying. If someone is supposed to be some kind of high level instructor of some martial art. And they claim its so dangerous they can't go 100% in training/sparring. They are a fraud... If they aren't willing to take a beating/get submitted by a student in front of the class. They are a fraud. I've trained various martial arts and have had gloves on my hands since I was a kid (literally a kid). 30+ years now. Furthermore after working in law enforcement I've been to various training classes with these experts that claim their arts should be reserved for military and law enforcement because its too deadly to be practiced in commercial schools. I can tell you first hand these experts won't even engage in a gentleman's sparring match because they don't want to be exposed. Furthermore if they are teaching a class and you are selected to be a participant to demonstrate on. And you offer some resistance and don't allow them to perform the technique they get quite flustered/angry and feel disrespected. Even if you aren't trying to hurt them. You just don't cooperate... These guys ALWAYS leave themselves wide open to being hit. Always. They are just fortunate their students are respectful and don't want to hurt them. Don't train in any martial art that doesn't have active sparing and actual use of the techniques. Shit that you learn in practice on a willing participant cannot be applied to someone who's actively resisting/attacking. The dynamics change dramatically. There is a reason why literally every 'effective' martial arts discipline has live sparring. Frequent live sparring. Learning a skill is one thing. Applying it against an actively participating opponent is another thing entirely. |