Best Grappling Art for Self Defense

[MightyB]

In your opinion, what's the best grappling art for self defense?

[sanjuro_ronin]

Judo.
Why?
Typically you will be wearing clothes, LOL! and it is far more complete in terms of grappling than wrestling and since it is oriented towards throwing as opposed to ground work, it tends to be more practical in "the street".

To quote Gene LeBell: Some people can take getting punched and kicked, very few can tale getting dropped on their heads.

[Hebrew Hammer]

If it's a bar fight, clearly Sumo! Just based on my own experience, Judo...it would hard pressed to beat BJJ as the most effective one vs one self defense art.

[Lucas]

i would like to say judo, but if we can count sambo i would go with sambo...

[Lucas]

oh i just saw the list, and sambo is on it. ivoted sambo, its a more rounded art. we are talking self defense here, so striking must be included in your game, imo. sambo covers that far better than judo ever will.

[sanjuro_ronin]

I choose judo over sambo because Judo is easier to find and, unless you do combat sambo, they don't have chokes.

[Lucas]

I choose judo over sambo because Judo is easier to find and, unless you do combat sambo, they don't have chokes.

ya i considered that, but then i went for best case scenario. cuz i can! :p

[sanjuro_ronin]

There was an attempt at doing combat judo classes at the Japanese Center I used to go to when doing Judo, pretty much what combat sambo is and what pre-war Judo was to a degree - Full contact strikes with jacket grappling.
Pretty much all that we couldn't do in Olympic judo we could do = strikes.
It was ok for a few weeks but them most lost interest.
Most wanted to either compete in judo proper ( like that put it) or just do judo and they were NOT to keen on the full contact striking part.
Such is life.

[JamesC]

I say judo.

It's the one that felt like it had the most depth. I felt like I could spend years and years exploring the simple techniques even.

Loved it. Too bad i'm a broke ass.

[Frost]

western wrestling nothing ends a fight like a suplex :) or a blast double through a wall :)
and since it says all classifications i can choke him out with my catch as well!

[Lucas]

one of the main reasons i picked sambo is that (combat sambo, after all its not about availability but whether the art works well or not) has answers for pretty much all situations. its one art that you can practice and not need anything else. look at fedor as a good example. how many other arts can you compete with in MMA and not need to go outside your own style. yes i know that sambo is a combination of arts, but at the same time, it is its own art and tradition now.

i think judo is awesome, i think western wrestling kicks ass, i think all arts are bad ass, but i also think in terms of the whole picture of a complete self defense regime using only one 'style' combat sambo addresses the issue better than most simply because it has it all.

if you are a wrestler or a judoka, and face someone with equal wrestling or judo skills, but is also a good striker, you will likely lose if he can nulify your wrestling with his, then knock you out with striking you dont know how to handle.