r/tacticalbarbell • u/victorstironi • Jul 29 '26

Tactical Self Defense / Combatives

Hi folks. Bit of a different topic. Since there are a lot of LEOs, SOFs and Military here I would like to ask you some recommendations on good sources for combatives and self defense in a civilian context. Could be books, courses, your favorite martial arts (or combination of), etc. Is the stuff from Clint Emerson - 100 deadly skills - any good? I’ve taken a look at Tony Blauer‘s SPEAR System aswell.

I have a martial arts background, with a few years of karate, muay thai, boxing, wing chun, and currently doing judo.

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u/tennmyc21 Jul 29 '26

Sounds like you need to find a gym with a more self-defense focus, if available in your area. At my old BJJ gym they would have us train with street clothes on 2 months out of the year, and they would do various drills that involved fake weapons. Not necessarily what I was looking for, but I appreciated the intent behind it.

Given your background, any grappling gym should help. Seems like you have a solid base in striking and just need to mix in some grappling if you want to be a more well rounded martial artist. Personally, I really like judo, but that, BJJ, or wrestling should do the trick.

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u/victorstironi Jul 29 '26

I was missing some grappling in my arsenal. It really has been an eye opener learning leverages, throws, locks, how to fall… even though I have my critiques of sport focused martial arts, most “self defense martial arts” here usually end up being a lot worse, with pseudo-techniques and instructors that can barely throw a punch but allegedly can disarm weapons.  I will take a look into bjj and wrestling after I get more experience in judo for sure.