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I received unconventional, unprofessional training in self defense from a friend who was once an Army Ranger, so I am proud to be able to answer at least simple questions about martial arts. But I was recently stumped.

A friend recently asked me what style he should study in besides wrestling, which he already participates in. The problem is he is 6' 7" and 320lb, slow (an idiot could dodge his punch), and he has almost no defense against a blow to the knee ( a dick move but effective against someone so top heavy).

Can anyone think of a fighting style that fits his body type?

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    Maybe he's strong enough to wield a war hammer. – kioopi Mar 21 '15 at 12:41
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    I have seen him bench press his body weight so that is both likely and funny. – Kings Adviser Mar 21 '15 at 17:04
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    I voted to close as over broad because you never tell us what your friend's goals in learning (another) martial art are. Military self defence? LEO self defence? Competition? Fitness? Having fun? ... What are they looking for? Without that, I can justify any martial art whatsoever as being the "best". That does include fencing, bow shooting, and jousting! – Sardathrion - against SE abuse Mar 23 '15 at 7:51
  • Sorry, he wants to learn something because he has lost a street fight before because he is only used to a competition setting. He won't tell me what happened, he could've been mugged by someone more trained than either of us, so I want to protect someone so close that people call us brothers, both by teaching him how to fight someone who doesn't use "fair play " and how to mentally discipline himself to deal with a loss like that. – Kings Adviser Mar 27 '15 at 2:21
  • Welcome to MA.SE! As it stands this question is too broad for the reasons stated by Sardathrion. In general, this sort of question revolves more around the specific school than it does around the art and the answers to "what style should I practice" are generally more discussion oriented than ones that have answers. – David H. Clements Mar 30 '15 at 2:56
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Tricky. I've never said this before in my life, but MMA might suit him - learn just enough of whatever else to defend himself until he can wrestle. Failing that, perhaps thai boxing - he'd learn to lift his legs to protect his knees, and even if his punches are easy to dodge, he can work on expecting that and bringing his elbows in to catch anyone blocking/dodging/slipping to the outside rather than retreating. He might not be particularly good at it which means he might not enjoy it, but learning to defend himself and not be a push over in that environment would teach him practical skills.

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  • But there in lies another problem, he's not a push over. He's a very skilled wrestler with expertise in dominating grappling on the floor and even though I could dodge his punch any day of the week, a connecting hit would shatter my jaw. When we spar, he wants to use brute force to over power me, leaving him vulnerable to throws. Also, he's very heavy but almost none of him is body fat. – Kings Adviser Mar 21 '15 at 15:41
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Tell him to go kyokushin karate..

Kyokushin will teach you that it isn't necessarily the biggest who wins. Proof of this can be seen during the all japan karate tournament. Apart from that mental training you will have tons of endurance and physical training just like muaythai or kickboxing. Since the gentleman already has grappling techniques. A martial art that trains your kicks and punches will make a good combination.

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Wrestling, Judo or BJJ are good options because 1) he's strong and 2) he's big, so it will be difficult to perform locks on him unless you have VERY long arms.

He may also benefit from a bit of boxing so that he can learn to punch faster.

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He already has a great grappling foundation from what you've posted. I would think about going with a defensive martial art like jujutsu (traditional rather than brazilian). It will teach him enough defense to protect against low blows that are his weakness as well as how to get in close to the opponent so he can use his size to his best advantage. Also, unlike wrestling it will emphasize that he stay on his feet during fights, I generally think going to the ground in a non-competition setting is a bad thing. I know people will disagree with me :)

Alternatively I assume he has great range too, so a martial art like Tae Kwon Do that helps him use that offensively might also be suitable.

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Capoeira! Well, just kidding. I think some big guy's grappling would suite him. Sambo, Greco-Wrestling, Judo... or maybe Keysi. Keysi seems pretty practical, and does not involve much kicks. Fit for brutes. but footwork from boxing might help him be faster.

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