第二步：精读重点段落

（Tips: 双击文中单词可以查释义并加入你的生词本哦）

[5] In all my life, I had never seen such a simplistic yet effective form of fighting. It is so simplistic, I almost felt insulted while learning it. As I am a MMA fighter, I knew 80% of the techniques already, and mastering the gun and knife defenses was a breeze. At the same time, I was truly impressed.

• insult vt. 侮辱

[12] The techniques I studied were similar to Muay Thai with the addition of knife and gun techniques. The reason I picked this art as one of my top five was its marginal simplicity, being a bit easier to master than the grappling forms of self-defense. It involves a lot of strikes rather than grabs making it easier to apply, since the area where the technique can be applied is much bigger than in grappling. I found almost all the techniques functional for a street situation. However, a few moves were exceptions and wouldn’t be so effective if common external factors, such as the attacker reacting in a resistant manner, kicked in. All in all, though, this art will teach you how to defend your life if necessary, even if your attacker is wielding a knife or a gun.

• wielding vt. 挥舞；使用

[16] Although Filipino Martial Arts (FMA) has a tight learning curve, especially regarding the sticks, it’s definitely one of the most potent arts I have ever practiced. The knife fighting is ever developing since new ways to cut and defend with a knife are constantly incorporated into the syllabus. They even have legal live knife fights to the death in the Philippines.

• potent adj. 有效的

（Tips: 双击文中单词可以查释义并加入你的生词本哦）

Defend Your Self on the Street with the Best 5 Martial Arts

[1] In This article, I will highlight the five best martial arts for self-defense, in my opinion. I would also like to state that if self-defense is your only aim and you are not looking for an oriental lifestyle as well, I would stay away from traditional martial arts like karate or taekwondo or aikido. These arts take years to master before you can dare to take on muggers on the street, and even with years of practice, they won’t guarantee your safety largely due to outdated training methods that don’t prepare you for street fighting. I would like to state that there are exceptions to the norm, though, as with all things in life, but that’s an article of its own.

[2] I based my choice mostly on:

• The effectiveness of the techniques
• The speed and simplicity of the arts

[3] These are the most effective arts of self-defense I have practiced and the reasoning behind my choices:

1) Krav Maga

[4] Krav Maga is mostly a striking Israeli martial art created by Imi Lichtenfield for the IDF and originally had its roots in boxing, karate, and wrestling. Today, the art has been modified to include Muay Thai, Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, and various other arts. To put it simply, it’s militarized MMA.

[5] In all my life, I had never seen such a simplistic yet effective form of fighting. It is so simplistic, I almost felt insulted while learning it. As I am a MMA fighter, I knew 80% of the techniques already, and mastering the gun and knife defenses was a breeze. At the same time, I was truly impressed.

[6] Krav Maga can thus actually be seen not as one art, but as a combination of the most effective techniques for any given situation from any art: thus, militarized MMA. Since it is so basic, it also makes it possible to learn Krav Maga through a book or DVD series. I did the basic course then bought the book and DVDs to master the rest. So even if you are a master in various martial arts, take the time to learn Krav Maga, it’s truly a noteworthy addition. To beginners, if you are looking for self-defense, I would recommend this as my number one art.

[7] There are a few other reasons I like Krav Maga so much. The whole Krav Maga system is based around natural reactions of the body in certain situations, and the techniques are then developed around this concept. Thus you could almost say Krav Maga will be the natural reaction of the body. This is important for one reason: Once you are in a life-threatening situation, adrenalin starts pumping into your system, and your brain loses its finer motor functions. Meaning if you are not extremely well trained in an art, you won’t be able to apply techniques that require steps (which might play a role in the other self-defense arts). Since Krav Maga is based around natural reactions, even a person not so well-trained in martial arts will be able to execute its techniques under stress with relative ease.

2) Commando Krav Maga/Combat Survival

[8] This is a grappling martial art developed by Moni Aizik based on Judo. It was specifically created for the purpose of self-defense in real-life situations of today, where guns and knives are usually present.

[9] This, however, is not Krav Maga as created by Imi Lichtenfield, and one should not be confused by the two. I personally think Moni just incorporated the word Krav Maga as a sales gimmick to attract people. Nonetheless, it is an effective martial art, and all of the moves and techniques are applicable in real life. I actually found a lot of similarities between Combat Krav Maga (CKM) and Combat Sambo, probably because both arts have roots in Jiu Jitsu.

[10] Since it is a grappling art, it also has a bit of a learning curve, and practice is required before you could apply the techniques in a life-threatening situation. The striking in CKM has its roots in Muay Thai, but not a lot of attention is given to this aspect. Although the techniques are quite simple, fast reflexes are needed to properly execute the moves taught. Its gun and knife defences are effective, but I still prefer Krav Maga’s approach, which will be discussed next. Again there’s no reason not to consider this as your primary form of self-defense; you will not be disappointed.

3) Pencak Silat

[11] Pencak Silat is a term used for a collection of Indonesian martial arts that were developed to combat the Dutch. It has a wide variety of forms, and picking the correct one is crucial for effective self-defense.

[12] The techniques I studied were similar to Muay Thai with the addition of knife and gun techniques. The reason I picked this art as one of my top five was its marginal simplicity, being a bit easier to master than the grappling forms of self-defense. It involves a lot of strikes rather than grabs making it easier to apply, since the area where the technique can be applied is much bigger than in grappling. I found almost all the techniques functional for a street situation. However, a few moves were exceptions and wouldn’t be so effective if common external factors, such as the attacker reacting in a resistant manner, kicked in. All in all, though, this art will teach you how to defend your life if necessary, even if your attacker is wielding a knife or a gun.

4) Combat Sambo

[13] This is a Russian martial art based mostly on grappling. Take note that there are three forms of Sambo, and although they mostly contain the same moves, the application and purpose of the techniques are completely different. There is:

• Sport Sambo, aimed at competition fighting
• Self-Defense Sambo, aimed self-defense and inflicting minimum damage to the attacker
• Combat Sambo, which basically is the military fighting form created to inflict serious damage

[14] Combat Sambo is the form, in my opinion, that is the most effective for the street, although Self-Defense Sambo also carries some weight. Since it is a grappling art, you have to train your reflexes, and practice is an absolute necessity before applying the techniques in a life-threatening situation. Once mastered, the techniques taught are effective, since the whole art is based on real-life situations in the military. But as I said, dedicated practice is required. Their gun defense is also very tricky to master, and doing it improperly by just a bit will get you killed. It took me two months of hard practice before I was able to apply one of the defensive techniques. Their striking is also in my opinion a bit underdeveloped but then again with such effective grappling techniques you will rarely be required to strike an opponent anyway. The biggest challenge for the practitioner is mastering the proper reflexes to apply the art.

5) Fillipino Martial Arts in the Form of Kali and Eskrima

[15] These arts have originated from the very wide scope of fighting traditions practiced by traders traveling through the Philippines, as the locals always kept an open mind to effective ways of fighting. The resulting art focused on stick and knife fighting.

[16] Although Filipino Martial Arts (FMA) has a tight learning curve, especially regarding the sticks, it’s definitely one of the most potent arts I have ever practiced. The knife fighting is ever developing since new ways to cut and defend with a knife are constantly incorporated into the syllabus. They even have legal live knife fights to the death in the Philippines.

[17] FMA’s hand-to-hand fighting follows the principle that the same stick techniques can be applied without the stick since the stick is only an extension of the body. Although the resulting techniques are not too bad, I have seen better ones.

[18] The main focus of this art is the sticks and knives, and since a person can find some form of a stick or carry a knife around almost anywhere, this martial art is suited for self-defense on the street.