Do I need to learn a martial art in order to defend myself?

Question: Do I need to learn a martial art in order to defend myself?
Jeffrey, Boston, MA

Answer: No. Not necessarily. The last thing you want to do is spend years training in a martial art just to find out that when confronted with a real-life situation that all your time was wasted! I can't tell you how many black belts I've met that don't know the first thing about how to defend themselves if it came down to it. Many of these martial arts spend hours of time practicing things that won't help you in a self-defense situation. If someone says that what they teach is good for discipline, fitness, self-defense, achievement, sports competition and a whole array of things, ask them which of these are their specialty. If they say self-defense, ask how dedicated they are to sticking to this purpose and not letting the other things get in the way of this specialization. Schools or instructors that try to be everything to everyone just aren't. Generally the more different things a martial art attempts to offer, the less they specialize in realistic self-defense. You should also know that there is a lot to learn from the martial arts that go beyond just fighting. Be wary of belts, masters, karate robes, too much tradition or too much concentration on sports-competition. Combat sports like MMA train in a way set around rules for these sports competitions. They aren't focused on self-defense and they won't help you when it matters most. If your goal is to learn self-defense, find someone that specializes in it.