Self Defense Systems

Ok so I was just shooting the bull with a buddy about martial arts and self defense and what I consider my preferred systems. So here's a quick no BS list of the martial arts/self defense systems I most prefer and strongly recommend if you're looking for a school.

6.Wing Chun Kung Fu
Strengths I've heard great things about their knife defenses. The chi sao (sticky hands) drills are hella impressing to watch
Weaknesses I'm almost certain that chi sao and many other techniques in this style require a high degree of fine motor skills as well as take a lot of time to learn

5. Mixed Martial Arts (MMA)
Strengths This is the stuff of UFC. If you doubt its effectiveness in a fight, watch a UFC fight or two. Unlike a number of other arts out there that practically ignore ground fighting, MMA's ground game is just as good as it's standup fighting
Weaknesses UFC has rules, weight classes, a referee, an Octagon free of debris to hurt yourself on, etc. The street does not. Plus MMA, being a sporting art, doesn't have any weapon defenses/disarms

4. Budokan Ninjutsu
Strengths Yeah, this is ninja fighting. What I've learned from Ninjutsu is pretty good. It also teaches ground fighting
Weaknesses Unfortunately, this is somewhat antiquated. You train with ninja style weapons (a sword and a Bo staff, for example). Who can carry these weapons to employ in their defense?? Also a lot of the things taught in Ninjutsu require fine motor skills, and those simply won't be there in a real confrontation

3. Kajukenbo
Strengths I discussed Kajukenbo a few posts ago. It's real street fighting. I like the emphasis on always being aware of your surroundings and the possibility of a second attacker showing up for the fun. Overall this seems to be a great style.
Weaknesses Nothing that I've encountered thus far. But nothing is perfect, just remember that

2. Escrima/Arnis/Kali
Strengths I fell in love with Kali after seeing the Human Weapon episode on it. Since then I've watched videos and read a few books on the art. It teaches knife fighting and defense, unarmed combat and stick combat (read as ASP baton). Best thing is that the way they train, the techniques are the same whether you have a weapon or not
Weaknesses For one, no firearms threats. Otherwise this seems to be a very viable self defense system

1. Krav Maga
Strengths My personal favorite. Used by everyone from Israeli Mossad to the Federal Air Marshals. Guns, knives, clubs, fists, etc. It'll teach you pretty much anything. Hell I've even learned a hand grenade from a Krav book. Lots of conditioning and focus on the street has no rules
Weaknesses The ground fighting is pretty much just ground-and-pound. I'd like to learn a few other things for my ground game but in a real fight you may only be able to trade punches. I've also disclosed some other flaws in Krav in a few previous posts. Just remember, as I said above, nothing is perfect and nobody has all the answers--if they say they do they're selling you BS

Now before anybody gets pissed off and yells "hey my (insert name here) isn't on the list!!" please remember this is just my opinion. There are a few I didn't include there such as Brazilian Jiu-Jutsu, Kenpo, etc. I like those too but nobody wants to read a dissertation, just a post.

I can't stress enough that no system is perfect or complete. Everything has flaws and nobody knows it all. Also keep in mind that you shouldn't go dissing any other style. If you aren't open minded enough to find SOME kind of good in anything else, you've got an issue somewhere. Lastly just be mindful of the fact that any training is generally better than no training. If your only chance is in some esoteric Asian martial art or combatives no-name style, then go for it. You can always remove what you don't think works and keep what does.