[quote=@AirBender] Okay fair enough, a lot of the times people go a little crazy with martial arts in their characters, that's why I ranted the way I did. I can't say much about Krav Maga and Aikido, as I don't know much about those styles, but I can tell you that MMA is a sport style and is pretty much useless for self defense. There's too many rules. There aren't rules in a street fight. Honestly if you want a good self defense style, I'd go with the one I mentioned I take, Shaolin Chuan Fa, or as most people know it as, Shaolin Kempo. That style has a little bit of everything, we have the punches and the kicks, we have forms, we have throws and grabs, everything. The best part is that its tailor fit to the individual, I'm five feet tall, I'm not going to do stuff the same as a big, muscular guy is going to, so I don't learn things the same as them. We deal with a lot of different scenarios too, like how to fight multiple opponents, even things like how to fight after you've been pepper sprayed and things like that. And, to be honest, it's the best self defense training money can buy. And I'm not just saying that because it's the style I take. I could say a lot more about it, but to even touch on the history of the art or what we do in it would take a long time to type up. [/quote] Haha, you know, I was about to say "Are you sure you're not a bit biased because Shaolin Kempo is the style you train in?" before that last paragraph. You seem reasonable, though, so I'll put faith in your ability to be objective. Since the style is tailored for the individual, however, I'm not sure how I would go about talking about it if it came up. I don't know what exactly she would know and/or be capable of, or even how I would speak of the style in very broad strokes. Her ideal and my own would be that the skill doesn't get used at all, but it might nonetheless. I wouldn't want to impose on you and ask for a crash course, because as you said, it would take a while to type up even if you were just giving me the gist. I suppose I could try looking up some videos on Youtube to get a rough idea just in case, but I also suppose I could just not worry about it at all unless a fight becomes unavoidable. That may be for the best, in the end. All that said, if it's a good style to take on multiple attackers with, and if it's the best that money can buy, that's very likely the style for her. [quote=@Rune_Alchemist] If I may also put in my two cents into this little discussion - and I'm not trying to offend anyone here, or claim that you're wrong, Bender - but as someone who has studied Taekwondo myself, I really don't see any problem with the character to be honest. Certainly studying more styles would take time, and while I doubt she'd be the best, I could see her being fairly decent if she was dedicated and had the time and money. Depending on when exactly she started. I started studying Taekwondo around...I can't exactly remember since it's been awhile - somewhere around when I was seven or eightish, I think. By the time I was fourteen or fifteen, I was well on my way to becoming a black belt. (Won a few tournaments as well) Unfortunately, due to various financial situations, I had to abandon it and am currently lacking all skill in the manner xP While I'm not saying she'd be the best by any means, I don't see a problem with her being 'decently skilled' at all of them. She could hold her own in a fight against someone who had no idea what they were doing, but against another opponent who had trained better in one style, she'd probably get rekt. You know, just be reasonable with it and don't go overboard. [/quote] The most important thing is being able to fight and get away however possible, and if multiple styles would put her at a profound disadvantage against someone who had trained in one well, I'll just go with one style. I haven't thought of when she started, though. It would definitely be important to start early, but you probably don't see a 5-year-old training in Shaolin Kempo. Seven or eight is probably a fairly good age, though. That would give her about eight years of the best possible training that money could buy, which is probably sufficient to at least be decent. She's still training, of course, but it's good to know. Thanks for the input!