Shotokan, Goju Ryu, and Judo: self-defense effectiveness

merkury · Yellow Belt

Which should I, personally, choose for self-defense?

I'm 22, 5'8" and relatively fit and athletic. My martial arts background is with a few years of Chung Do Kwan Tae Kwon Do in which I earned my black belt. The style was extremely similar to what I've seen of Shotokan Karate, and the majority of the hyung/kata I learned were basically identical. In other words, it wasn't olympic/tournament based at all, but very linear and grounded. As a result, I feel more than comfortable using my legs, in comparison to my arm maneuvers, which did not receive as much attention.

My primary interest is in self-defense. More specifically, I would like to be able to defend myself in physical combat, should it be necessary. I might seek weapon training down the road, but for now I'd prefer to develop empty-handed techniques. I live in a university neighborhood and, as such, typical situations I might encounter are drunk macho guys at a bar or on the street, muggers, or the rowdy neighborhood gangster-types and homeless guys.

Judo seems to be a very well developed art, and more practical for self-defense than similar styles I've seen, such as Aikido. However, I have heard a few horror stories of joint manipulation training gone bad that have kept me as far away from them as possible. Nonetheless, I'm very interested in studying the Judo, particularly in combination with either Shotokan or Goju Ryu. What are the strengths/weaknesses of these styles, and which do you think would suit my situation best? As of this moment, I'm 80% set on taking Judo (M/W/F) and Shotokan (T/Th) concurrently at my university.

Thanks again for any input - it's more than appreciated.

man thing · Yellow Belt

go with judo. you can prolly already strike.

fallen_milkman · Blue Belt

I'd say Goju, because conditioning will help win a fight a good amount of the time. If your opponent is dead tired, and you're just warmed up, it doesn't matter how big or tough he is. He is going down.
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Shorin Ryuu · Black Belt

I'm a Shorin Ryu guy, but I recommend you check out the Goju Ryu school. Goju Ryu will give you better strikes than Tae Kwon Do or Shotokan and Goju Ryu has more than enough of grappling for you to do (at least an Okinawan Goju Ryu style will...I'm unsure about the Japanese ones simply because I haven't done that much research on Japanese Goju or met a practitioner of it). Plus it has a lot of energy training and deeper things you are unlikely ever to see in a Shotokan dojo (not "bashing" Shotokan per se...it's just not where their focus is).
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ravenzoom · Green Belt

Well, I don't want to be biased but of all the styles you mentioned the only one which has a lot of ground work is judo, and since you already have a black belt in tae kwon do, being good at takedowns and being good on the ground would give your fighting abilities a huge boost.

Menjo · Black Belt

Id say shotokan because it keeps it simple and it gives u a certain strength, also who you are matters to though

elbows_and_knees · Black Belt

I would go with judo.

ovine king · Brown Belt

if it were me, i'd go for the goju if for no other reason that it is the one that is potentially closest to the original source.
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MadMatt · Yellow Belt

Judo has very effective practicle applications for self defence.
Striking arts utilize body parts as weapons and although useful at times, this can cause injury to yourself as well as your attacker (ie broken hand, foot or shin etc).
The goal of Judo is to break balance and use the ground as your weapon. Please try to punch, kick or even grab someone when you are off balance, it is very difficult if not impossible in most cases. Then imagine your body hitting the ground at around 70kph (from a good hip throw), the consequences are devestating.
It is a tough MA to learn and rather scary (IMO) at first, injuries are common but that is a part of the art, you just have to learn from them and condition your body to deal with the punishment.
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Fairfax_Uechi · Blue Belt

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