You've heard the old "use the opponent's strength against them" and that you can be weak as hell, but defeat massive opponents, but you'd have to have really good, if not perfect technique to pull off moves that completely cancel strength. Sometimes, the situation may not be ideal for getting someone into a position for a pin or something, so that's why I always supplement my Wing Chun training with working out.
That may seem off topic, but what I'm saying is that
A) Yes, full contact martial arts/self defense training definitely helps, like
>>12210 said.
B)If you don't already, do some occasional powerlifting or just lifting to build strength and size. I speculate your average teenage hoodlums or thugs are less likely to attack you the more built you are.
C)Anything goes if you're being attacked with malice. Eye gouging, clawing, biting, groin attacks, etc. There is no such thing as an unfair move in a street fight.
I'd say go for whatever self-defense system/martial art you want to do, but make sure there's full contact, training in street clothes (you won't be fighting off an assailant in a karate gi and bare feet, and even if you can kick head height, maybe the jeans you wear on the street can't stretch that far), and most importantly, RANDOM ATTACK TRAINING. When doing Wing Chun, I did the drills no problem, but once my teacher suggested sparring, I was overwhelmed when he suddenly started attacking with random and full speed attacks that had full force behind them.
Whatever system/martial art you choose, it should train you to be prepared for random attacks, not one where you practice a move with a partner, because in such a case you know what and how your partner will attack. But with sparring, you don't know what kind of attack or even combos the person might choose.
