How do I get a personal fighting/defense instructor?
There are plenty of martial arts / fighting systems etc. If you want a personal trainer like Jennifer Lopez had in the movie, be prepared to pay. You may want to look to traditional jujitsu (not sport jujitsu), krav maga, fight, scars, spears, etc. There is nothing wrong with traditional okinawan karate etc, don't rule that out. There are instructors that will personally train you if that is what you are looking for, however it is better to join a class so you have many different types of people to work with. It will also be cheaper in the long run than personal training. Ask the instructors you talk to what kind of mental preparation are they going to teach you. Anyone can learn techniques and not be able to put them into practice because they do not have the survival, killer mind set. Not paranoia. The physical approach is not always the best answer. In Karate Kid the greatest line I remember was "best block, no be there", Best situation is no be there. Use your head, figure it out ahead of time and avoid the situation if at all possible. Otherwise you better have the right mentality to fight without rules to save your life if it comes down to it. There are plenty of people who know zero martial arts knowlege or skills that save their lives in dire situations because of their mental awareness, and mental attitude for survival no matter what. Always be aware of your surroundings, learn and know the various scenarious the you can get in trouble with, do not put yourself in those scenarios, have a plan, make the plan dynamic so it can change with the situation, and develop the survival mentality. You are in charge of your life. Don't let some stranger dictate to you when you are going to be safe of not. They have no right. You are worth defending!
How do I learn how to fight like Steven Seagal?
Steven Segal is a 7th dan black belt in Aikido (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steven_Seag... So, you will need to spend a good 30 years to get to this point. You should have a well rounded approach to other striking, wrestling, and philosophical martial arts, too. Quick moves? No. You can watch movies and youtube, but you need an instructor to show you how and when to move to do them. Often, what you are taught is last-second technique - and often, the best techniques are executed long before the "cool" stuff is used. By the way, if you really want to learn like Steven Segal, start now by eating cupcakes, pot pies, and bacon. In my opinion, there are others you can also follow, like Tissier, Sugano, Endo, Chiba, Doran. There are many others, and all are more accessible ones than Segal.
Can you really train yourself to fight?
you can train yourself to fight, by watching videos and instructional books. But, in order to become a better and complete MMA fighter, one has to join a well qualified gym with certified instructors that have some training experience. You should always be willing to learn from anyone that can help you become a better fighter.Keep an open mind. Fighting in the streets is not the same as in competition or in the gym, all the rules and sportsmanship go out the window with street fighting.
How can I learn martial arts by myself?
In my opinion, no… at least not to any degree of real proficiency. By watching a video or reading out of a magazine you can certainly get a feel for the gross motor movements, however the finer movements you can only hone with the feedback from someone who understands what they are doing and what to look for. More importantly than understanding “how” to perform a technique is the “why” you should perform/apply it. For example, a normal front kick does not generally have the power to stop an opponent in itself. So, why do we use it? If you practice expecting your front kick to be your “go-to” technique, you are going to be rather rudely shocked when your opponent shrugs off your blow and comes back in for more. A teacher can help you understand how/when to use the various techniques taught. Think about the scene from the original “Karate Kid” movie where Daniel is practicing roundhouse kicks from a magazine. I’m sure he built up a substantial amount of strength and speed. But how much did that help him in the following where he had to actually apply what he’d learned. He had no idea how to use what he’d practiced.The other thing you (tori: the one striking) need is a partner (uke: the one being struck) to experiment on (and, in all fairness, in such a relationship you should also make yourself available to be the uke as well). Technique in any martial art is less about brute force and more about applying the technique correctly. When working kumite I often get the comment that my strikes truly hurt, and not because I’m striking hard… I’m striking correctly. You can only perfect this by practicing on a live partner where you not only get their feedback, but you also get a feel for what a correct strike is.
How can I learn a martial art, like Taekwondo, without an instructor?
You can't. I don't often use the limiting term of "can't" but it applies whenever there is a natural or intrinsic contradiction of terms. Learning involves acquiring new knowledge (which you do not possess), and/or gaining new skills (which you can not teach yourself).As others have stated here, you can't "learn" a Martial Art system without a teacher or "trainer" (the term "trainer" is more often used with exercise and fitness or for athletes in sports). You can do a lot of research through various sources to learn 'about' a subject, but you don't learn the skill, expertise, and intricate, unseen nuances without an experienced teacher to visually observer your performance, and correct your errors. In an art of performance, knowledge is virtually useless without direction, guidance, control, focus, adjustments and frequent corrections that are only made accurately and timely with the input from a qualified teacher.If your situation prevents regular classroom training, then the second best option is to travel as often as possible, and as far as necessary, to get some level of personal instruction. Then you can practice small quantities of basic and gradual increments on your own frequently and diligently until you can meet with your teacher again. This might result in a much more slow process with greater errors that will take more time and repetition to correct, but at least you stand a better chance of getting it right eventually. If you are truly "passionate" about Taekwondo as you say, then this is the correct way to go about it. Otherwise, you would be doing yourself a disservice, and an injustice the art by pretending to be a student and your own teacher with very low quality or incorrect skills.I encourage doing research, by reading as much reliable and authoritative textbooks on the subject, and viewing videos for informational purposes, but to attempt to imitate movements without instruction would be like trying to do brain surgery on yourself after reading medical books and watching youtube videos of questionable sources showing attempts at brain surgery.Bottom line - - find a qualified teacher as near as possible to you, and get some good quality instruction - - then work hard and smart to improve between lessons.
Is it possible to teach yourself how to fight?
Someone invented the first martial art, right? The answer to your question is yes, you can definately train yourself without a teacher. As for your latter comment about not being able to defeat a long time practitioner with a self trained art, consider this. In feudal Japan, the shogun's samurai were often killed at the hands of unarmed peasants when they came to their villages. You can definately in every facet train yourself to be just as good or better than any master, but you have to accept the fact that you'll have to work five times harder than they did. The comment about bulking up and just using size to overpower - it's naive. Don't waste your time on training like that - it'll only work on people with little or no experience, and won't teach you how to focus, maintain stamina, strike or defend, or take a hit/fall. Anything is possible until you doubt.
How can I learn self defence on my own?
An acquaintance, out partying was walking drunk down the street in Balboa Island, California. He’d earned his orange belt in karate, the first level, and thought he was pretty hot stuff.He bumped into a big burly guy and sputtered out, “Hey, watch where. . . .”The next thing he remembered was waking up in the gutter with a sore jaw.See a little bit of knowledge in martial arts can make you dangerous. But mostly to yourself.Sure you can learn a few techniques from a video or book.But what you don’t learn is how to overcome the fear and the inevitable pain in a real confrontation.A karate instructor said, “In a real fight, no matter how good you are, you will get hurt. The winner will be the one who didn’t quit.”That will make all the difference in a real confrontation.Do yourself a favor if you really want to learn martial arts. Learn from a good teacher in a class setting not only techniques but also to overcome the inevitable pain and fear.Martial arts provide great physical conditioning and personal confidence.So enjoy the process of learning.Oh and important safety tip, don’t call out any big burly guys on the street.