Zen Do Kai The Best of Everything in Progression

As I was digging through some emails, clearing things out I came across an email from someone doing some study at Uni and had an assignment. He asked what was the most practical martial art for self defence. This is what I said in reply ...

Umm well it's almost like asking which religion or car is the best.

I'll tell you some things, but probably won't be able to give a real answer to you. I can make comments based on my experiences and knowledge.

I think with ample dedication and training just about all martial arts have ways of developing an awareness of self defence.

The hard part of it all is that although I have done some martial arts I have not had a great deal of experience in them all and even if I had, those experiences would be tempered by the stuff I had already done.

I wanted to start getting fit. I started training Zen Do Kai way back at school (because one of my classmates was doing it). A common theme is that people start training in a particular martial art because it is close to them, they know someone else who has done it or they know someone who knows someone etc or it is the advertising they see when they are thinking of a starting a martial art.

I did judo as a kid, started training Zen Do Kai at high school, started back training in judo before I got my ZDK black belt. I also teach kickboxing (been in the ring twice) and have done some Brazilian Ju Jutsu off and on. I have an interest in Aikido and understand a bit about some weapons.

Zen Do Kai was started many years about by Bob Jones, in Melbourne. After having done a bit of other systems he decided that what he had been learning wasn't what he was after as a bouncer in the Melbourne nightclubs so he adapted what he had been doing and started developing his own system from there. I think it is important to note that in the early days of Zen Do Kai it was probably not the best as a self defence system ... sure the bouncers were able to look after themselves, but the average mum and kids off the street just would not have been able to handle the training - therefore useless for self defence. The system has grown and changed over the years and is now a very good system for teaching self defence.

Part of a martial art as self defence is about building the self confidence in people that they can look after themselves, of course the confidence is no good if the techniques don't suit. And although some techniques are brilliant and work well, they won't work in all situations.

Here are some generalisations ...

• Judo is great with it's throws and holds, but there are times when you don't want to be in close and throw someone.
• Tae Kwon Do is great with its big kicks, but some times you need to be able to control someone on the ground.
• Aikido is great with it's controls and avoidance, but some times you need to be able to really hurt someone with a punch or a kick.
• Kickboxing is great with it's punches, kicks, elbows and knees, but sometimes you may want to control someone not break their nose or knock them out.
• Karate has a great range of techniques for competition, but you don't want to score points in a self defence situation you want to stop it.
• Boxing develops great hand skills, but you can't always punch someone.
• Ju Jutsu is great with it's ground fighting and standing controls, but you don't always want to get to the ground.

Yet it is important to remember that the application of techniques from those systems have their strengths and those that know what they are doing can probably deal with most situations. Also remember that (as one of my black belts found out) there isn't much you can do about getting bottled from behind if you don't know it is coming. Of course in the case of the black belt he learnt a valuable lesson about awareness walking home at night after some drunk yelling at him from across the street crosses behind him.

A lot of instructors now train across systems and bring that into classes so the students learn other things ... be wary of people that are staunchly "this is THE system I don't need to do anything else".

I know of people who have started training in one system and then for some reason start in another - I know I have lost students in the kickboxing, because my focus isn't to get people in the ring. People have come to Zen Do Kai because they have heard from other people it is good. People have left because they were wanting to get into points competition or because they moved away and there was another system that was easier to get to.

Even if the system is 'the one', the instructor can make a difference. The way I teach is different to some of the other ZDK instructors teach ... I don't teach 'as hard' as some of the others, I may focus on different things.

Different personalities and body types may suit a martial art better than another. A short heavier person may find Judo more effective than Tae Kwon Do which seems to suit tall people with good reach. Some people don't like the idea of actually punching someone, so Aikido or Ju Jutsu maybe better. Personally I don't focus on training the kickboxing to get in the ring because I don't like the idea of going out to hurt someone like that, I'd rather control them and give them a chance to mend their ways.

Yet it is easier to learn to hit someone than it is to control them. 'Everyone' can throw a punch or a kick, the martial arts that teach that refine that 'natural ability'. Getting in and making contact to grab and control takes a bit more skill (in my opinion) to develop. Although I like to be able to control someone and that is what I prefer to teach, I also have to understand that not every situation has that luxury, sometimes you have to go for the simpler more brutal move that smashes someone's groin or nose.

I suppose to finish the most practical martial art for self defence is the one someone starts training in and then carries on training in.