Self defense will always be a key reason for training martial arts regardless of the many other benefits that are gained from training. The real question most people ask themselves is, "How will I handle myself in a real fight?" The answer comes down to how you train. I have found that it is true that there is no such thing as an ineffective technique, their are only techniques trained ineffectively. However in order to apply certain techniques in a real combat scenary will take a great deal more of effort to perfect. My teacher told me that once you have done a technique a thousand times you have learned it, after ten thousand times it is effective, 100,000 it becomes powerful and one million times it is flawless. How many techniques have you practiced a million times? It is the reason hand techniques seem more effective at first. I can fnish a million hand techniques in a year if I work at it consistantly. A technique like a spin kick however will take a great deal more tim...