Recently I have been harassed by strangers for my appearance and I feel unsafe where I live so I would love to learn how I can defend myself safely and effectively.
Join a self defence class. I am well trained in judo and it has served me well. It’s good to punch someone but it’s better to punch them with a concrete floor and to fold them up afterwards.
Also, you can already start with youtube tutorials of how to box. The channel Precision Striking has some good videos on shadow boxing you can do right away. In no way is it going to prepare you for an actual fight, but it will give you a feeling of how you throw punches and how you can throw punches and combo’s. Also, it’s a great cardio exercise.
I heard judo is also good if you have a size disadvantage
It can be depending on their skill. Larger opponents have their own challenges so it’s important to use groin strikes, eye gouging, etc if necessary.
Personally I am not physically strong, but desire to do Judo throws. What amount of strength is required to be able to execute a judo throw successfully?
Technique can get you decently far. Plus you’ll get stronger when you practice of course. You’re also not really using your arm strength but it’s more twisting and turning and hooking. I wouldn’t be able to bicepcurl an 80kg guy but I can perfectly throw him.
I studied a little judo back in the day and I loved it. Punching someone with the concrete is definitely more efficient that’s for sure!
Sorry to hear that. The best way to learn and practise self-defence skills is with good instructors so I cannot recommend highly enough regularly attending classes. I do krav maga and recommend it to anyone provided the instructors are good. Krav maga worldwide has videos for their techniques on their YouTube channel and the krav maga manual can be found online.
Here is a short video of all the yellow belt curriculum techniques: https://youtu.be/yxa_YwU1BTM
Here are links to Invidious, which is a YouTube frontend that protects your privacy:
I’ve been doing martial arts for around 20 years now, and the main piece of advice I can give is that there is no shortcut to it. Expect to put in at least a couple of hours a week for six months to a year to become proficient. I would recommend finding a MMA, boxing, or kickboxing/Muay Thai school that has sparring practice. You learn by doing, and you need to experience what it’s like to fight an opponent to understand things like distancing and timing. Doing drills simply doesn’t translate into actual fighting skills. Stay away from any courses where they just run you through some techniques. These will not work the way you expect them to when you’re up against an uncooperative opponent.
Alternatively, you can look for a judo school if you want to learn grappling. However, in my opinion, it’s easier to become proficient at striking. You also generally do not want to go rolling on the ground in a real world situation. You don’t know what’s on the ground, and you’re fully committed at that point meaning that you won’t be able to disengage if things aren’t going your way. My view is that it’s better to learn striking first and supplement it with some grappling knowledge.
Ultimately, the best option is to avoid the fight if you can. You don’t know if the attacker has friends that could pile on, if they’re armed, and so on. Actually engaging in a fight is the absolute last resort.
Excellent points. It’s important to consider the limitations of strictly grappling against multiple opponents, armed opponents, more experienced or better trained opponents, etc.
