Is learning Martial Arts/self defense free?

Look for a martial art, not a combat sport. Look for a gym, not the martial art itself. Google your area for martial art gyms.

Not every single martial art can be found in every single area. Find a good gym, before finding a good martial art. Also, to people suggesting Krav Maga, yeah, grow up.

Thats all hype and no substance. "Oh, but hte Israeli special forces use and blah blah blah", yeah the Navy SEAL's also practice Judo and the Marines practice Taekwondo, but you don't see people talking about it all the time. The shiet you learned in your Krav Maga "dojo", yeah, its not REAL Krav Maga.

The training isn't brutal, its not lethal, grow up already.

It depends on just what kind of self-defense you're looking for. One of the best martial arts for self-defense out there is Krav Maga, which is taught to the Israeli Special Forces. It's largely based on striking and beating down your opponent before they can make the first move, but it's pretty brutal...you have to be willing to use it if you learn it.

If you don't want to inflict extreme pain and lasting injury on an attacker, Aikido is a good option. It was actually created for such a purpose. The goal in being a practitioner of Aikido is to defeat your opponent as quickly as possible, while at the same time preventing them from being injured in the process.

Aikido and Krav Maga are both very good martial arts, but they have completely different goals. To sum it up: If you want to take a very brutal, realistic martial art that can save your life if attacked by a gang, try Krav Maga. If you want to take an "explosive" martial art that is equally as effective, but will cause minimal injury to your attacker, try Aikido.

Keep in mind that Aikido is not a gentle art by any means.

I cant really gove you an answer,but what I can give you is a way to a solution, that is you have to find the anglde that you relate to or peaks your interest. A good paper is one that people get drawn into because it reaches them ln some way.As for me WW11 to me, I think of the holocaust and the effect it had on the survivors, their families and those who stood by and did nothing until it was too late.