Could you help me...

[Jeronimo]

Ive always found myself attracted to ma. I know some Muay Thai(because I know a guy that knows about 10 different ma) and I really want to learn more. But I dont know what I want to learn. I want to be able to pretty much lay the smack down on some people and defend myself if I ever get into a fight. I want it to be fighting while standing up. So could you help me? Also do you know of any good books on the subject so that I can read up on it and learn some stuff on it that way because I cant really take classes since I dont got the money. And dont suggest the guy who taught me cause I rarely see him since he is so hard to find.

Gracias

[CaptinPickAxe]

Any book by Dr. Yang, Jwing-Ming. But your probably gonna need some formal training to understand most of what he says.

For Stand-Up Hands Game I'd say some good ol' Boxing Mantis, Splashing Hands. For Stand-Up Throwing I recommend Shuai Chiao. For Kicking, Muay Thai.

Shuai Chiao Videos:
emptyflower.stanford.edu

Maybe Splashing Hands:
www.internalkungfu.com

[Jeronimo]

could you maybe explain the boxing mantis, and splashing hands more in depth? What do you think of Shaolin Chin Na? and also what about Jeet Kune Do?

[CaptinPickAxe]

Splashing Hands is machine-gun, rolling punches. I like Mantis because of how direct and aggressive it is. JKD is cool, you should check out the JKD forum. Chin Na is good, just not by itself.