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I would like to choose a martial art for self-defense. I learned Karate when I was in middle school, but I don't think I'm good at punching or striking with power. I think I have great body flexibility, so I am wondering whether a throwing or grappling art would be a better choice. This would only be personal preference. I am not sure whether grappling would really help in terms of self defense. Guidance on this point would help.

I am now in my early thirties, and live in Singapore. The schools that are available near me are mostly Tae Kwan Do, Judo, JuJitsu, Karate and MMA.

Dave Liepmann
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Thurein
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  • @Kyaw Could you provide more detail about your situation? What kind of self-defense are you looking for? What schools are available to you? – Dave Liepmann Aug 25 '12 at 02:24
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    For some discussion on which arts handle self-defense, this question is a good start. My question about what kind of self-defense you want is described in one of my answers there. – Dave Liepmann Aug 25 '12 at 02:35
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    Thanks for your reply. Speak frankly, I don't think I am good at striking and punching and since I have good body flexibility, I am just wondering whether I should go for throwing and grappling but this is my personal preference only and am not very sure whether it would really helps in self-defense situation. In Singapore, Take Kwan Do, Judo, JuJitsu, Karate and MMA schools are mostly available. – Thurein Aug 25 '12 at 02:37
  • i've got some connections in the singapore martial arts scene, i'll try to dig up some specifics. also, how far are you willing to travel within sg? – Robin Ashe Aug 25 '12 at 02:49
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    @KyawThurein Is your question covered by this question? – David H. Clements Aug 25 '12 at 04:10
  • Incidentally, I am closing this as currently it isn't a particularly good fit to a Q&A format and may very well be an exact duplicate. If it can be modified and/or clarified to the point where it can be reopened then it is easy to do so. – David H. Clements Aug 25 '12 at 04:24
  • @DavidH.Clements no, it's not covered well, Singapore is fairly unique in a number of aspects related to self defense, and a lot of the answers are barely applicable as a result. Singapore has a population over 5 million, so it's not like it's even remotely too localized – Robin Ashe Aug 25 '12 at 06:41
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  • That it is based in Singapore is not mentioned in the questions 2) It is not clear how that makes it any different. It needs to be improved. If it can be improved and made into a great question, I can happily reopen it.
    • – David H. Clements Aug 25 '12 at 15:23
  • @DavidH.Clements that's because you don't know how Singapore makes it different, I do. Re-open it first, I'm not wasting my time fixing the question up if I don't know I can answer it too. – Robin Ashe Aug 26 '12 at 02:37
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    Fix it, then it can be reopened and can be answered. That's why it is a community site with edit privileges. The fact that I "don't know how Singapore makes it different" is part of the problem in that such needs to be spelled out in the question, and it isn't even clear that locality is at all the focus in what @KyawThurein is asking about. – David H. Clements Aug 26 '12 at 05:09
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    A community site with edit privileges is irrelevant if we don't have a community because you and Matt keep driving new users away by closing their questions right away. – Robin Ashe Aug 26 '12 at 10:27
  • So fix it quickly so that it can be reopened quickly. – David H. Clements Aug 26 '12 at 16:43
  • It already has been fixed, look at the FAQ, it's specifically one of the questions that can be asked, and you still have it closed. – Robin Ashe Aug 27 '12 at 05:19
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    "Evaluating and choosing martial arts given specific criteria (e.g. grappling, high kicks, self-defense, etc.)"

    The original question in fact met those criteria, uncertainty about grappling, uncertainty about striking, self-defense.

     – Robin Ashe Aug 27 '12 at 05:20
  • @DavidH.Clements What is keeping this question closed? – Dave Liepmann Aug 28 '12 at 20:42
  • A couple of things. One is that I hadn't been pinged (generally report things once you feel they are ready to be reopened), so I hadn't actually taken another look at it. Another is that it is still a very broad question with vague specifications that isn't clearly different from the other question that was asked in this regard. The major distinguishing points seem to be that he mentions a bunch of different things that are "widely" available (as opposed to just asking generally) and says that he "wonders" whether a "throwing or grappling art would be a better choice." – David H. Clements Aug 28 '12 at 20:56
  • That doesn't narrow it down much from the other question that was asked, which despite not explicitly mentioning these still covers the same territory. – David H. Clements Aug 28 '12 at 20:58
  • this seems like a fine question to me. – Patricia Aug 29 '12 at 15:28