[Porsche-O-Phile]

Tae Kwon Do is pretty good, but you'd be shocked at the amount of difference in interpretation of the style between one instructor/school and the next. There's a shocking amount of inconsistency. I studied for 5+ years back in high school (won a bunch of tournaments and stuff, competed a lot, etc.) and when I went off to college and signed up with a local school, the style was COMPLETELY different - much harder on the joints/knees, different names for everything, different emphasis in the training, etc. I tried two others - same experience (and they were quite different from one another too, despite the fact they all had "TKD" instructors). Just something to consider.

Shotokan is an outstanding style too - VERY physical and demanding. If I ever get the free time one of these days, I'd love to pursue a BB in it... If only. But it's a kick-ass (literally) style. Those guys were always among the toughest to spar against and compete against. I only had the briefest of introductions to it, but it left me amazed and feeling quite burnt after one of their sessions. Again, YMMV. Just my own personal experiences with it.

The single-most "bad-ass" guy I ever trained with was heavily into Thai kickboxing too (the full-contact variety). Those dudes are not to be messed with either. Very "street" style - practical and real-world, with far less emphasis on the showy/disciplined/pretty stuff that a lot of other styles push. Krav Maga is good for this too, if you're looking for a practical, gritty, but "street-applicable" sort of training that can really protect you. Heck, any style probably can to a point, but Krav Maga in particular is very "real world" and focuses explicitly on practical self-defense situations. But any art will help prepare you mentally and physically for a confrontation if you should ever find yourself in one.