Martial arts practical improvement options.

[Raptor]

I'm not sure if i'm posting in the right forum, but:
I'm looking for suggestions as to what kind of club, competition, martial arts style or training outfit would allow one to practice their training in a padded, intensive environment. A controlled and moderated situation, where one has more than one opponent, and is tasked with dealing with all of them at the same time.
What kind of martial arts train in such a practical manner as mentioned above?

[Franklin Payne]

Well, some martial arts have this type of training (for example 'randori' in aikido
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Randori ). But the effectiveness of this training in a real streetfight situation is doubtful. Just watch some randori videos on YouTube. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iSry10gzjvA I'd like to see him doing this to seriously determined attackers.:rolleyes:

I'd recommend Boxing, Krav Maga, Muay Thai. Krav Maga would be the first on the list, but it is hard to find good instructors nearby. My recommendations are based not on the 'multiple attackers' requirement but rather on the fact these martial arts will train you to fight efficiently. Mike Tyson is probably not trained to fight multiple attackers at the same time but I wouldn't dare to gang up on him with my buddies.

[supperrfreek]

Krav Maga, Muay Thai
and Judo/Aikido may teach you to cope with multiple opponents, you'd have to ask the nearest instructor to you. I'd guess this would be a problem which would be addressed in a belt test or at least once at some point during your period of instruction. They definitely wouldn't leave it out entirely.

[HARDMAN]

That sounds exactly like Krav Maga to me. Although I'm hesitant to say anything that may indirectly support the economy of the zionist state of Israel, I must say they have probably the best self defense system in the world.

While other styles/arts may be good for self defense, most of them don't train for realism such as Krav Maga. Boxing won't teach you to deal with multiple opponents, Judo won't teach you reaction skills needed on the streets (too much gi-grabbing, especially if it's sport judo and not combat judo), and Aikido doesn't involve much training against true resisting opponents.

I'd say Krav Maga has all these styles beat in many regards for self defense. The problem is finding a legitimate school and not some rip-off owned by some guy who used to practice karate as a kid. I suggest you do your research.