Mixing two arts you enjoy for YOU

[whytepizza]

I've been studying Aikido for years. I have not found it to be as empowering as i thought it would be. I find most of the movements are not practical for a modern defense. Not that they aren't good, but that people attack without thinking about what they're doing and Aikido is all about taking that motion and moving them in a big circle. In confined spaces Aikido is VERY limited.
So, i started studying Krav Maga and Systema a few years back. Krav Maga wasn't for me, there was no structure i could grasp my mind around, so i stayed with Systema. It's a 'do what's easiest' art, but you can easily tell if someone is using Systema because it has a distinct look to it..
For the past few months myself, and a few of my buddies, have been mixing our arts together with Systema. I have been focusing on using Systema and confining them into wrist locks where the only way to stop the pain is drop to the ground where i am good at Systemic ground Jui Jitsu (thanks to the military BJJ training).
I've also found my Aikido compliments my Systema with falls. If i need to get far away fast my Aikido rolling comes in handy, but if i need to kick their hip or shoulder and bring then to the ground i find it easy with a systemic roll.
Also, since aikido is nearly 100% defensive and Systema is taking a punch and reasserting the force into a punch, kick, grapple, etc. they compliment each other well.
It works for me, and i like it. What other kind of arts do you guys use and mix that you think is practical in real world environments but that you still enjoy and practice separately?

[Coyote]

Picking two martial arts for street defence is difficult, there are lots of good ones IMO, but I would make sure to include both standup and groundfighting. Right now I'm doing BJJ and Thai Boxing (westernized - much better hand techniques, hook, etc) and I'm loving them.

For standup training I think Muay Thai is probably the strongest, largely because of the clinch. Good clinchwork is where your striking and your grappling abilities can really converge; if your attacker has powerful/wild punches that you can't handle, you can clinch him and use your elbow and knee strikes, or sweep/trip him and go to the ground. However, boxing, kickboxing, and to some extent Karate and Tae Kwon Do all work.

For grappling, once again there are a bunch of different ways to go. BJJ will teach you how to protect yourself from someone on top of you, and the submission holds can obviously end a fight through serious injury; Wrestling will give you better takedowns, better positioning and dominance; Judo can greatly compliment your clinchwork with throws and sweeps. Edited to add - I feel that out of these groundfighting arts BJJ is probably the most useful on the street because of its roots; it has an emphasis on defending against strikes, and breaking your attacker.

[brass hammer]

HERE'S 'the-deal' REGARDLESS of 'TRAININ'!!!

1] RELAX
2]TAKE WHAT THE 'opposition'!!!,,,[feebly attempts] HANDS/PRESENTS-YOU!
3] STRIKE-LIKE LIGHTNING!!![ALSO, the "fear -o-death" SHOULD NOT RESIDE WITHIN A "IRONSPINE"! er, at the TIME/CONTACT of COMBAT.]]

look! gang/gaggle!!!, HOW IN THE ****??? do YOU wanna' LIVE??? [FEDERAL-SYSTEM/I'M SURE],,,so, please,,, ONLY beat/kill THE SCUM-BAGS/ you KNOW, THE WEENIES WHO ONLY WANT 'yer' VOTE!]

W.T.F.:bounce01:

[DaRkWoLf]

I mix many arts and styles into my martial arts way and hand to hand fighting method.

I've independently studied Systema, Pikal, a little Krav, some Jiu-Jitsu, and some Muay Thai. I've trained in Aikido, Shotokan and Seido Juku Karate, Toyama-ryu Iaido, and a little Kuntao, with some familiarization time with different Kung Fu approaches.

Aikido is not 100% defensive, and confined spaces can work to your advantage; but Aikido is so watered down and proliferated these days that it depends on who you were a student under, it seems everyone's is different and only a few offshoots have legitimacy as a combat art. It can be extremely useful as an internal martial art, though I find Iaido, and ironically battoujustu especially with partners moreso.

I'm not a fan of Jiu-Jitsu, Karate, or Aikido by themselves. If you can only know one perspective, Krav Maga and Systema are the ways to go in my opinion but you have to train in a way that people get hurt when they screw up as what works and what wont will become clearer.

My current favorite "style" blends Aikido, and to some extent Iaido, movement and philosophy integrated with some derivations of Systema combatives and my own technique set optimized for my individual bio-mechanics. I've taken a little from here and there and made some of my own and the only structure it has is its very fluid and if it gets interrupted due to error some Shotokan and Grappling ideas come out more until I can flow back in. I tend to default to my lowest "mastered" experience sets which are learned in small situational training focused fighting with many repetitions.

Overall, do what neutralizes your antagonist(s) and be done with it. Figure out what you can effectively and efficiently do and do it.

[Aslan]

I've studied Kun-Tao Silat, Wing Chun, Judo, and currently am learning Isshinryu Karate.

All have strengths and weaknesses. The human body can only move so many ways, so all arts will share common movements and techniques. They differ in stances, types of attacks and defense, and approaches to violence.

Some schools within any traditional art will either focus on tournament or combat - I've never seen a school successfully focus on both. What works in a tourney will get you hurt in real combat.

The best schools will recognize that everyone is different. Stances, strength of technique, fluidity of movement vary from person to person. (The Chinese arts refer to this as the "Jing") Your training has to include your individual jing to be effective. What works for me probably won't work for too many other people.

While I fight on 45 degree angles to my opponent, I still have a rolling direct type of jing. I like to get in close. I'm not a ranged fighter - my goal is to be standing where you are.

For combat, mixed arts is the only way to go. But skip the flowery crap and focus on minimal movement to accomplish whatever you're trying to do.

The number one thing is to refuse to lose.