You're more likely to be in a fistfight than a gunfight. And you're more likely to be laid low by bad health or heart disease than either one. I used to box and kickbox, and had a couple mma style fights back in the 90's. Even got invited to compete at the Shidokan Open in '99. Studied several different martial arts styles, as well as learning to box at places like the old Heights Boxing Club in Houston, and the old Main Street Gym, (AKA: the House of Pain.) I spend most of my gym time nowadays lifting and pushing the prowler, but I still try to get in 2-3 hours of Judo and Muay Thai per week. And while I love the sweet science of boxing, and enjoy BJJ, I spend my time at those two because my experience with criminal assaults leads me to believe the techniques are more suitable for self-defense. Both of them work the standing clinch very hard, one from a striking mindset, and the other from a grappling one. If you're training to defend from a criminal assault, you don't train like a competitor; an assault is not a match. Judo is heavy on grip-fighting for throws, and being able to control a bad guy's hands will keep him from accessing a weapon.....And a well executed throw
ends altercations a lot; it's a technique with a high return on investment. You have to train grappling because knowing how to choke a guy out is very helpful when it's not serious enough to kill over, but the guy won't stop coming at you..... sometimes a little nap is the best way to resolve a situation so everyone can go home, instead of to the jailhouse or the graveyard.
A few rounds of Muay Thai clinch training (called "plum") will wear out anyone, it will improve your striking,(especially elbow strikes and knees) and there are plenty of trips and throws involved. Put in a few rounds on the thai pads as well.
If I had more training time, I'd add more, but I feel that these are the skills most likely to help me defend from a criminal assault.
Watch how much sparring you do; you have to spar, but try to keep the number of head-shots you take to a minimum..... I've been hit in the head a lot, and I have trouble remembering things sometimes. If you want to live a long healthy life, don't set yourself up for pugilistic dementia.
Oh and read this;
https://www.amazon.com/Violence-Min.../ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=
It helps to know how the folks who are most likely to assault you think.
