The weapon doesn't make the man.
Instead of learning how to use a weapon, it would be better to learn how to disarm someone that has a weapon and beat them with no weapons.. I also found it funny how a lot of people in this thread speak like they are ninja's or 3rd degree black belts.
Taking martial arts classes isn't going to help you much if someone jumps you while walking down the street.. The best kind of martial arts classes are the street smart kind..
Because in a real battle, your enemy isn't going to stand there and let you hit them, and 99.9999% of the time they aren't going to fight you martial arts style. They are going to charge at you and knock the crap out of you.
The first person here to tell me what you would do if someone was running at you, was twice your size, and neither of you had weapons, gets 100g
(and the area around you is open and flat, and it's daytime, and he is coming at you like he a rhino)