Is kali or Escrima the arts to learn in Seldefense or in the streets

[Firehawk4]

Would Kali or Escrima be good arts to learn for self defense or in the streets weapons wise or hand to hand ? Or even as a old man ?https://www.google.com/search?q=kali...2&ved=0CEcQsAQ

[sanjuro_ronin]

Weapon wise (edge and impact weapons) yes.
Bare hand?
Hmmm....that really depends on the teacher because some Kali teachers can transfer the weapons into empty hands really well and others, not well at all ( in terms of practical combat).

[Firehawk4]

Thanks then it would be worth my time to learn some Filipino arts .

[sanjuro_ronin]

Thanks then it would be worth my time to learn some Filipino arts .

Most certainly, I know I did and so have many others here.
I learned Pekiti-Tirsia Kali, Insosanto escrima and Dog Brothers Kali.

[Stickgrappler]

I'm a FMA'er (specifically Dog Brothers Martial Arts) - with that said, i feel self-defense on the Streets is more about Awareness and Avoidance.

If you are environmentally aware - you scan your surroundings, see where potential trouble could be and avoid it. Predators pick up on potential victims being aware of their surroundings vs being absorbed in their mp3 player or texting on smartphone. Predators like house burglars would rather select an 'easy victim' who is clueless and wrapped up in their own thoughts vs a 'hard victim'.

If you are situationally aware - you potentially can spot trouble - perhaps up the block is a bottleneck and you see 2 guys hanging around, possibly there's more around but unseen and they look to trap their victim/prey in the bottlenecked area.

A good rule of thumb helps also, which is related to the above 2:

The 3 S's (sometimes there's a 4th "S") Rule:

avoid Stupid people doing Stupid things in Stupid places (at Stupid times)

bars are one area where the 3 S's may apply. alcohol and/or drugs are a bad mix, and people in bars will not react rationally with their mind altered. the stupid times are late at night or past midnight.



However, if you are set on the FMA for self-defense for the streets, i agree with sanjuro_ronin, not all FMA instructors teach the empty-hand component and just chalk it up to 'if you are training the stick/blade, the motions will transfer to empty hands'

it does and it doesn't... some adaptation is needed.

good luck to your self-defense as well as fma training. hope you find a good instructor!