Jiu Jitsu
Jiu Jitsu or Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu is a martial art, combat sport and a self-defense system, also referred to as the “Gentle Art”, that focuses on grappling (ground fighting) to defeat an opponent through various techniques: joint manipulation, choke holds and incapacitation.
The fundamentals of BJJ is to introduce an individual to the realization that size is not a limiting factor in terms of self-defense. By understanding the use of leverage, body awareness and how to manipulate the vulnerable areas of the human body anyone can defeat a larger adversary.
Boxing
Boxing is a combat sport that requires coordination of the eyes and hands to throw punches. From the fundamentals of learning to throw a basic jab, evade punches by moving the head and using footwork to be defensive and offensive, boxing is a widely popular form of training that can be easily picked up by anyone.
You’ll be learning to differentiate the types of offensive punches (jab, cross, hook, uppercut) as well as the defensive movements (slip, bob and weave). By doing simple drills that won’t require you to be hit, you can develop enhanced hand-eye coordination, reflexes and fluid body control needed for self-defense.
Kick Boxing
Kickboxing is a combative sport that focuses on various kicks that are thrown in combination with strikes from traditional boxing. The connections of upper and lower body movements helps you develop a strong core and also enhances balance since most of it’s kicks require a great deal of rotation, extension, and retraction. Kickboxing is very appealing in that it has a broader set of movements and combinations that comes with using not only the hands, but the feet as well.
Muay Thai
Muay Thai is a combative sport also referred to as “The Art of the Eight Limbs”, for it uses the entire body as a means of attacking and defending. It’s similar to kickboxing for it combines kicks and punches using the shins and forearms to defend or strike at close range, but this defending against and attacking with more strikes builds a level of stamina that isn’t seen in other stand-up combat sports. If your goal is to develop a full body, lose weight, or increase your ability to defend yourself on your feet, Muay Thai can’t be compared to any other fighting art.
MMA
Mixed Martial Arts is the most complete combat sport for it puts together the various striking (Boxing, Kickboxing, Muay Thai) and grappling (Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, Sambo, Wrestling and Judo) arts.
It offers the best proficiency for self-defense in that it isn’t limited to a particular style of fighting (stand-up or ground fighting). Every person’s body type and skill will always present an advantage and weakness. This ability to adapt to any opponent is what MMA offers, and hence its popularity has grown worldwide.
Imagine an opponent or attacker that’s much taller than you. Since his limbs are longer than yours using kicks (Kickboxing/Muay Thai) and/or punches (Boxing) may not be your best defense. A more efficient strategy would be to use his long legs to your advantage by taking him down on the ground using a double leg takedown (wrestling) then establish control by mounting (BJJ) on him and finish the fight.