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6 Comments on “What tv shows are the best for learning different fight stiles and self defense techniques?”

1. Tominator
   February 8th, 2010 at 6:45 am

   Its my belief that a TV show can not accurately convey techniques and movements in a way that is at all practical for self defense application. Find a good Judo, Ju-Jutsu, (BJJ or Traditional) Ninjutsu, Silat, Aikido, or Krav Maga instructor and put your mind to learning. Having hands on instruction from a professional truly is superior to any DVD or TV show you can find.

   I suggested the martial arts above because all of them are fairly well rounded with joint-lock techiques, throws, ground -fighting, and striking.

   And remember, if you are trying to choose between two different schools that teach different styles, say, on Brazillian Ju-Jutsu and one Silat, I would choose based on which school’s instructor, class atmosphere, and location fit you best. Always insist on being allowed to sit in on one of the prospective schools classes (some even give a free trial lesson) so that you can learn whether or not the school is a good fit for you.

2. D L
   February 8th, 2010 at 7:26 am

   documentaries. aikido. kung fu. bruce lee.

   tv is for entertainment. movies are for entertainment, but you can learn a lot from the old chinese movies if you can mimic the moves and training correctly.

   learn how to spell “styles”

3. sadieriddle83
   February 8th, 2010 at 7:50 am

   thats gay
   just go to a training place

4. Kendall Sylvan
   February 8th, 2010 at 8:46 am

   none. you can’t learn properly just from watching a video or TV show. you have to be under the guidance of an instructor to learn properly and avoid making/developing mistakes in training.

5. Mary
   February 8th, 2010 at 9:16 am

   go get proper training
   you will get more out of it

6. komodo
   February 8th, 2010 at 10:15 am

   You can learn ABOUT different styles and techniques by watching TV, reading books, etc., but if you want to actually learn the techniques — that is, be able to do them — then watching TV is not going to help you, except as part of a professional-quality curriculum. There are some schools that make a good faith attempt at long distance, video instruction. But even so, it is vastly different from actually learning, in person, from a skilled instructor. The main thing is that TV won’t tell you when you are doing something wrong.

   Also, as I’ve said many times in answer to similar questions, one has to recognize that “fight styles” (martial arts) and self defense are two different things. If you want to learn self defense, then you need to study SELF DEFENSE. If you want to learn martial arts, then you need to choose and study a particular martial art. These are two different things, and it doesn’t help that so many martial arts instructors confuse their students on this matter.

   This all being said, if you do want to be able to watch some shows that will demonstrate effective techniques, I recommend two:

   1. Professional MMA matches like WEC or UFC league competitions. Here you will see actual techniques applied in a fluid, live attempt to defeat an opponent. Sometimes it gets a little boring when the fighters have really similar styles. But sometimes it is pretty good.

   2. Lookup “real fights” or something like that on youtube.com. There you will see what kind of techniques attackers use in real life, and what kind of responses work… and don’t. Youtube also has some pretty good brief presentations on particular techniques. This is good if you already know what you are looking for. For example, if you’ve decided you want to learn to do a jumping spinning roundhouse kick — which is a neat show-off move — you can find some decent tutorials on the Internet.

   I thought that Fight Quest wasn’t too bad at demonstrating the fundamental styles and philosophies of different martial arts, but I don’t get Discovery channel any more, and so don’t know if it is still running. You can probably watch past episodes online.

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