Thanks for the video, man. Looks like some pretty ruff stuff. LOTAR is pretty much par for the course: 360', multiple attackers, weapons (blunt, edged, as well as firearm). I just got lucky enough to live in the area where the only school in the US is located. I think that you hit the nail on the head WRT SE Asian fighting styles. Over the last decades, there has been so much cross polination between styles that jumping from one to the other wouldn't require beginning from 0 again. I know a guy who went from Shotokan to MT and he had a hell of a time...especially since getting punched in the face wasn't part of the SK program:-). Honestly, I've tended to stay away from styles that integrate a-lot of weapons training. I've had weapons pulled on me, and I can tell you brother, this honkey felt no shame at giving his best Michael Johnson imitation. Know when to hold em, know when to fold em, know when to walk away, know when to run! As to multiple attackers, I've only dealt with that once, and a quick sucker knee to the groin of one evened out the odds precipitously. Muay Thai isn't the end all-be all, for sure, but a working knowledge of knees, elbows, and clinch fighting have allowed me to almost reach the august age of 30! Two questions for you, homey: 1)are you a west-coast guy? I'd love to check out some of that silat training (live in L.A.) 2)have you trained outside of the US. One of my sweetest dreams is to spend a couple of months at the Fairtex camp in Bangkok. Thanks Much! Cato

Buddy, I'm an East Coast guy, but if you live in LA I wouldn't worry too much about finding a good FMA(Kali, Escrima, Arnis) or Silat school. I'm not familiar with the Silat systems/standardization, but I can assure you that if any FMA school you find nearby offers training in Sayoc, Pekiti(or Dekiti) Tirsia, or Atienza Kali, you will be in good hands. There are other good systems, but those are the three I am familiar with. Nothing wrong with running from a knife...that's how we're trained as well...that's our primary defense. However, I think it's not a bad idea to learn for those cases when you may not be able to simply run. With multiple attackers(even more so if knives are involved-and you don't even know...many knife victims never even see the knife until AFTERWARDS) positioning is even more important. If you're surrounded and they've got enough balls to come after you, taking one out temporarily will not be enough if they've got any sort of balls. You need to recognize the circle envelopment for example, so you can prevent it from happening.

Thanks for all the help, guys. I am pretty sure that I am going to start BJJ in about two weeks...one of my Mom's friends has a son who takes from the place...so I'll probably give that a shot. I know that Striking might be better for real world situations (multiple attackers, weapons, etc), but my goal is to be able to have fun and compete while I improve my fitness level. Kind of a side question: At what level of BJJ should I start to think about learning a new discipline (ie: should I become a certain belt color in BJJ before I move into Boxing?). Also, with the crossfit workouts you can sub running or rowing for heavy bag work, so would it be ok to work on my striking during the Crossfit workouts (I know all the basic combinations and how to throw them correctly), or would this do more harm than good?

There's nothing wrong with taking more than one art at a time. And it's hard to say at what point you're really "ready." It all depends on things like how much time you want to dedicate to each, how well they integrate with each other, and how quickly you want to progress in each. For example, BJJ/GJJ and boxing skill sets pretty much don't relate at all. Upside is you'll never get "confused" by the two(can do one thing in one art that's not allowed in another), downside is you'll progress individually in each. Counterxample, FMA and most striking arts relate extremely well...unfortunately a lot of FMA techniques and the principles behind them are HIGHLY illegal in typical striking arts(bring down the strikes, hammer fist face, headbutts to takedown and choke...yeah, not gonna go over well with the refs). Heavy bag work is fine if you know what you're doing, and what it's meant to do for you. Heavy bag will condition you to hit harder, and it seems to me that it also has the effect of making your knuckles more dense over time. So it does good things. The risks in hitting the bag is: 1)Developing bad habits into muscle memory(eg dropping your hands or throwing sloppy punches as you get tired). 2)Getting injured, like not hitting with wraps then ripping the skin off your hands or say damaging your wrists b/c you don't know how to time/throw a body hook properly or your joints simply aren't strong enough to hit that bag weight that hard yet. Both risks are pretty low if you actually can throw a proper punch, and you don't do dumb things like try to body hook a bag that's swinging right back at you.

you should also add hitting a heavy bag too hard with the wrong mechanics can help you break a bone or two in hour hand or wrist. GOP - take your time. Appreciate your enthusiasm, but enjoy a full life. Make sure you are well rounded. Spend a lot of time in the pool. You are putting yourself on a pace that might burn you out. If you don't want to spend time doing somethign active, remember the most important tool you will ever have in combat is your brain. Work on it.