Advice on these Clubs

I highly recommend the training at Combat Sports Academy in Strood:
http://www.combatsportsacademy.net/

 

They've got an awesome rep nationally!

Op - go there right now, run dont walk!!!

 

Someone mentioned Judo not being good because you don't want to fight on the ground but you'll mostly focus on throwing with only a minor amount of work on pins and subs. I would go with that if you don't like ground work because it will teach you the bare minimum as well as teach you to stay standing.

 

Indeed. Learning knife defence against someone who doesn't know how to use one is like learning takedown defence versus people who can't actually grapple. An unarmed encounter vs. a knife is probably the most dangerous scenario you're likely to encounter. Do you really want your knife defence to be sub-standard?

First of all, find a club you like and enjoy training at. If it's on paper an ideal club but you hate going there, you won't go to class! You can always cross-train in another art to fill in the blanks.

-Mark