Video summary
In this segment of the Take It Uneasy Podcast, Ryan Hall addresses the question of which martial art offers the best self-defense capabilities against an untrained opponent. He emphasizes that while there are many variables to consider in a fight scenario, particularly when moving beyond one-on-one encounters into group confrontations where strategy becomes exponentially more difficult, the most critical factor is using one's brain rather than just physical technique. Hall draws a parallel between fighting and investing, suggesting that intelligent avoidance of conflict is often superior to engagement; he uses Warren Buffett as an analogy for how sometimes the best move in any situation—whether financial or physical—is simply waiting until conditions are favorable before acting. Hall illustrates this strategic mindset with a vivid hypothetical scenario involving entering a room full of armed individuals versus unarmed opponents, arguing that even if one possesses elite tactical skills like those of a "ninja," facing multiple adversaries creates an insurmountable disadvantage due to the sheer numbers involved. He notes that regular people cannot fight effectively because fear and hesitation usually paralyze them before they can execute any technique, whereas highly skilled fighters might incapacitate opponents quickly enough to cause others in a group setting to freeze or flee. Consequently, he posits that under the right circumstances anyone can win, but under wrong ones, even the greatest fighter will lose, making situational awareness and reading the environment the foundational steps for effective self-defense strategy. When narrowing down specific physical disciplines for real-life defense, Hall identifies wrestling or Jiu-Jitsu as his top choices, with a slight preference for Jiu-Jitsu if forced to pick only one art where everyone else knows nothing about fighting. He explains that grappling arts are particularly advantageous because they allow an individual to control and slam untrained opponents who lack the ability to resist being picked up or taken down; he notes that while boxing is excellent, it has vulnerabilities against someone who can tackle a boxer from behind. Furthermore, Hall points out that high-level Jiu-Jitsu inherently involves wrestling elements like judo, creating a comprehensive grappling system capable of neutralizing threats regardless of their size or strength. The discussion concludes with the reality check that even world-class athletes are not invincible; Hall admits he could knock out Floyd Mayweather if given permission to hit him without resistance, yet acknowledges that under normal circumstances where an opponent defends themselves, no one is safe from injury or death. He reinforces that physical expression of defense must be paired with mental acuity and tactical understanding, as relying solely on fighting skills can lead a person into lose-lose situations regardless of their technical prowess. Ultimately, the podcast segment serves to highlight that self-defense is less about mastering a specific style in isolation and more about cultivating the wisdom to avoid fights when possible and utilizing grappling techniques effectively if physical confrontation becomes unavoidable against untrained adversaries.
Read the full video transcript
yeah I've competed in boxing Judo
wrestling Jiu-Jitsu MMA MMA yeah uh what
do you think is the best martial art for
defending yourself against an untrained
opponent there's so many different
factors but let's say for instance okay
most fights I've seen are
one-on-one the the fights we hear about
are an ass whipping like seven people
versus three people and okay the the
more variables you add in it gets very
very difficult I would say the the best
fighting style is using your
brain and because let's avoiding the
fight well avoiding the fight but I
would say intelligent it's just like
investment now I know nothing about
investing which is why I don't do it but
um let's say for instance Warren Buffett
is looking at a stock page now I'm
speculating because I don't know Mr
Buffett but um I do have some
understanding of how the world works so
I would say that some days he looks at
the page and says aha there's a good
investment here and other days
regardless of his skill in investment he
says there's nothing to do the best
thing to do is
wait but you're Warren Buffett tell me
the best investment yeah best investment
today still sucks and I'm not going to
make it talk to me next week and I'll
see what's out there so so next week
we're going to make we're going to we're
going to invest some money maybe and
then you know he'll make the read as he
sees it so let's say for instance you
walk into a room and your goal was to
kill everyone in the room and you are
armed but you walk in to 50-50 ji- Jitsu
and you're going to shoot everybody but
for whatever reason it's bring your gun
to the gym Tuesday and everyone else is
sitting there polishing they're fully
loaded again rounding the chamber safety
off weapons hot all that good stuff and
you see everyone else is armed what do
you
do wait till Wednesday yeah you come
back in on Wednesday when no one's armed
then you shoot us all it' be great so
it's that being the best tactical
shooter you could be as ninja as you
want we're going to kill you there's too
many of us and too few of you could you
make it out of there and like some sort
of Boondock Saints awesome luckiness and
and manage to get everybody sure I
wouldn't bet on it that's like Floyd
Mayweather against three people I would
bet on him sometimes seriously anybody
that tells you differently has never
fought an untrained person because
regular people can't fight for and
the other thing is they get scared so
when Floyd literally cripples the first
guy with the right hand the other two
guys unless they're really serious are
probably going to go uhoh and then
hesitate but they may not but so if you
think about it though four people five
people three people oh let's say it's
one-on-one but Floyd's minding his own
business against snuck over the shoulder
as he's sitting there ordering a drink
at a bar all these different things
factor in so I would say that when it
comes to the physical expression of how
to best defend yourself the most
important thing is situational awareness
and understanding what's going on around
you because you could be the world's
greatest ninja warrior and still run
yourself into a lose lose situation
could I knock out Floyd Mayweather yeah
sure I could if he let me hit him but um
I don't think I would come within
spitting distance of him if he didn't
want me to I would have no teeth before
I even tried but if he sits there and
lets you hit him he is a man he is
Mortal so basically under the right
circumstances anyone can win under the
wrong circumstances anyone can lose so I
would say that understanding that is the
step one to being able to Be an
Effective effective strategist who can
read a situation you say should I fight
this one out should I not should I get
out of here should I fight for 4 seconds
and run for it um and you know when you
take into account the physical
expression of everything and you want to
let's say for instance you know the most
the best things for defending yourself
in real life I would say probably
wrestling or jiu-jitsu um probably
Jiu-Jitsu really in my opinion but for
fighting I would say other things if I
want to be able to beat up more than one
person I now it implies that I can
wrestle or I can CU regular people can't
wrestle for you will you could pick
them up and slam their head on the
ground there's something horrible you
know but boxing would be nice as well
but let's say you're a great boxer and
someone tackles you could a regular
person tackle a good boxer yes all right
could a regular person sucker a good
jiujitsu guy for sure but it also really
comes down to the to the mental and
everything like that but basically if I
to pick one art and everyone knows
nothing I would pick
Jiu-Jitsu but in my opinion Jiu-Jitsu at
a high level involves wrestling so yeah
just like you said grappling is is this
bigger thing that involves Wrestling
Judo everything oh no doubt that's like
you take an Olympic level wrestler and
you let him lean on top of you in side
control it it's not pleasant