Best martial art?

[geer]

What is, in your opinion, the best martial art? This includes any style of unarmed fighting, not only asian stuff.
By the best i mean its proficiency in no-rules one-on-one fighting.

[Fred Hansen]

Ching ching pow

[psssniper]

fook yu too

[Visith]

Long Tin Wang

[Visith]

but really, most martial arts suck and are just businesses,
this group includes Karatee , TaeKwon Doo, Krav Maga, Kung foo, etc...
The only really useful stuff for one on one would be Brazillian Jiu Jitsu and for multiple attackers Muay Thai.

[Glock40]

You have to know how to defend yourself on your feet and on the ground.

BJJ or Judo teaches good ground skills. The untrained person on the ground will be at your mercy after you have had 6 months to a year of BJJ. BJJ emphasises groundwork more than Judo. However, Judo will give you enough ground skills to dominate an untrained person.

You can't always go to the ground. Multiple opponents would be suicide to go to the ground. Find a good striking art. Each individual school will be more important than the style. A punch is a punch. The way they train is more important.

That is my opinion after 15 years in Shotokan, BJJ, and Judo.

[hdm25]

Second most of what Glock40 said...

It's not the style, it's not the school (though that starts to matter)...it's the student and the instructor.

There are plenty of schools and instructors out there that aren't worth crap. If you get an instructor that's good and YOU (or whoever) are willing to learn and have the right attitude, then things will work out. You can take someone who has no aggression and teach them the physical skills and they won't be able or willing to use them (no "warrior spirit") when they are needed. You can take someone who does have the aggression within and teach them and they'll do great.

I am a big believer in the spiritual aspect of the martial arts but not in the way that most people think of it. Inner peace comes from no fear and no anxiety. The baddest MF on the block should, therefore, have plenty of inner peace.

[Glock40]

Some of the most dangerous individuals I have ever met in BJJ have been the nicest guys you will ever meet. It's funny, in BJJ, everyone knows who is tough and who is not. There is absolutely no reason to put on a show. It all is proven on the mat.

In karate, I did not notice the same thing. Perhaps, in the process of trying to develop the warrior spirit through endless repetitions with loud kiais, some people can fall into believing they are tougher than they really are. I don't know exactly why.

Just opinion and my experience. The most humbling day of my life was, after reaching black belt in Shotokan, I went to a BJJ studio. This little Brazilian guy said we could go on the mat and spar. I put some lightweight gloves on and he promised not to hurt me. I thought that he was being a little condescending? We started to spar. Within 5 minutes, he had taken me down a dozen times and my arms were bent in these strange ways. He was choking me gently and I couldn't get away. 10 years of kata meant nothing on the ground.

I am so glad he did those "mean" things to me. I have trained in BJJ for about 4 years ago and now have a game plan on the ground. Sometimes it is amazing that you don't know what you don't know.

[hdm25]

I've always found that someone willing to do harm to another has a distinct advantage over someone who is timid, whether trained or untrained.

I have gotten to the point where I dislike practicing any very "traditional" martial art because the majority of instructors in such schools aren't up to a true test of their abilities. There ARE notable exceptions, of course.

I have trained in hapkido, tang soo do, shorin-ryu, silat, escrima, and muay thai (and bastardized versions of most of the above). In the 15 years or so that I've been involved in the martial arts, I've yet to see anyone do well in a real fight or in full-contact sparring without having that "something" that denotes what I assume most would call "warrior spirit". Loud yells sure don't matter.

I, too, have had the experience that some of the best martial artists ("best" meaning most effective) are some of the nicest guys around. I feel that it just goes to show that, if you are able to stand up for yourself and know it, you don't have a problem with anyone else unless they're messing with you.

I have been wanting to study BJJ but haven't been around much of it. I moved away from Indiana right when someone started teaching near my home. Where I live now there is a guy who is supposed to be very good but doesn't currently teach. I'm sort of hoping to buy him into taking a new student.

[stick]

Best for defense... for a moment skip the hang-ups on a style's name and focus on what happens in the training session. For defensive purposes you should be training with appropriate simple, gross motor skills and cover the full contact range. The pratice needs to be with less than cooperative partners. Full force work on bags and pads as opposed to fighting the air. Hopefully Red Man, Bullet Man or High Gear suits for "full contact" on a regular basis. Inclusion of improvised weapons.

Back to names...though it depends on the instructor, from observation some that meet this criteria would be Krav Maga, JKD, and Muay Thai. I would also like to supplement with some sessions with instructors like Tony Blauer and Steve Tarini.

[geer]

http://www.russianmartialart.com/html/thesystema.html

i plan on staring that. Any thoughts? i mean i can do it for free, so...but it better not be a bunch of bull****

[jpd82]

I agree with Glock 40 on BJJ. I trained in BJJ, this was the only style I ever trained in where, I knew the moves would work for real. I mean, if I punched the air, or heavy bag, I dont know if it will hurt someone. But, if I put someone in an arm bar, I know I what its doing. The only thing I didnt like was, it was impossible for me to beat another BJJ fighter with more experience.

[hdm25]

I really think that the biggest reason BBJ fighters have such a good reputation is that the techniques DO get practiced in a more realistic environment. You can grapple and do locks and chokes more "for real" than you can with full-power strikes to vital areas. It's all in the training and the attitude. The Gracies have done an excellent job over the decades making sure that their stuff works and making sure that the training reflects reality. The VAST majority of other arts can't make that claim.

Another poster mentioned protective suits...a great idea for strikers but it still doesn't give them everything that they need. It's basically impossible for someone to train in open-handed striking arts to the level that grapplers can train. You can't just gouge eyes, punch throats, kick knees and unprotected groins, etc. in a martial arts class. A striker ends up learning, at best, how to throw punches and kicks to areas which are actually NOT the best areas to attack.

The best instructors that I know teach thusly:

The first used to run classes in which several things were taught (no katas or anything "traditional"...this was a hard-core class). Physical conditioning was foremost followed by mastering the basic punching, kicking, and blocking techniques. Other things (knives, firearms, sticks, various "one-steps" or "street defenses") were after you had the basics down WELL. Full-contact sparring was done once a month. There was no protective gear other than cups, gloves, and mouthpieces. Other than that, it was about as close to a "street fight" as you could get. Cups were used more to cushion blows that were thrown to your groin than as protection in case someone accidentally hit you there (more than one cup was broken by groin kicks...ouch). Fights would go until one of the combatants couldn't go anymore. Bones were broken and blood was shed in this class. Needless to say, the school was not a commerical success, but it produced students who were TOUGH. As brutal as this training was, it still didn't allow a striker to learn and practice everything that might be done.

The second is/was a student of the first. He has broken things down even further and really teaches nothing but physical conditioning and basics (plus firearms). He sees no use for complicated aspects of the martial arts because he is a "no-nonsense" kind of guy. He doesn't feel that there is a NEED for anything but being able to land the hardest kick, punch, elbow, or knee possible to a moving, resisting, and/or evading target.

Neither of these men is anyone to mess with but the potential of what they practice is STILL not fully realized because you just can't cripple and kill people in practice. Both have fought BJJ and other grapplers and won and lost. In the losing cases that I have seen, the men have had the OPPORTUNITY to land blows on the grapplers which would have ended the fight but they could not due to the rules and just sheerly for the fact that the fights were friendly. You just don't shin a guy in the throat in a friendly fight.

I don't really believe in fighting multiple attackers unarmed. More than one guy and you're very liable to be beaten. Better to fight your way OUT of the situation. One on one, you would be better served to go with a grappling art because of the reasons that I cited above...the training is just FAR more realistic. Striking is fine but, one on one, you can always take the fight to the ground.

I'm sure that I'll getting flamed a little on this, but it's my experience and my belief. I love the martial arts, but learning anything complicated or anything that you can't train at 100% (or nearly) is just exercise for mind and body and not necessarily what you want if you want the best fighting art around.

My only complaint is that I can't find anything in my area where they train in grappling. Everything is traditional martial arts and people not fighting full-contact. If anyone can point me to someone in the northeastern Arkansas area who trains realistically, please do so.

[wingnutx]

I studied Kenpo (Connors/Parker) and western boxing for about 3 years, and now Krav Maga.

I learned a lot about the mechanics of striking and balance from kenpo, but it didn't do me a whole lot of good when I really needed to learn to defend myself. I supplimented it with boxing, which did wonders towards conditioning me to be able to stand up in a fight, take a punch, and aggressively fight back.

15 years later I am learning krav maga. It is perfect for my needs, and I wish I had been able to do this from the outset. What a previous poster said about full impact, aggression, and gross motor skill development is right on the money.

If someone is already a competent and aggressive striker, go take some bjj. If you haven't done much in the way of actual fighting, choose training where you will have to actually trade blows, i.e. krav maga, muai thai, boxing. If you can't take a punch, your skills may fail you, whatever they are. Flinching has cost me many an asskicking, once upon a time.

Fighting against a "bullet-man" suit is a great training tool to help you master your own adrenaline. I would suggest IMPACT type adrenaline-stress training to anyone studying any technique.

Responding to the comment about k.m. being a business, hell yes it is, as are muai thai and bjj. It is also very effective. How many people here own firearms made by a non-profit organization?

The best martial art is the one that works for me.

[wingnutx]

Ahhhh, of course a National Socialist disparages krav maga. How about American Combatives? They worked great against your buddies in WWII

[4V50 Gary]

Gun-fu, bomb-fu, nuke-strike fu, attack-bear fu, wolf-pack fu, all beat hand to hand combat.

[Christopher II]

The best martial art? Good physical condition, constant situational awareness, proper mindset. Asking which MA is the best is like asking which gun is the best.

- Chris

[Glock40]

Christopher, you are partially right. Comparing various striking arts vs. each other is pointless. Comparing a striking art vs. a grappling art is a different thing. The average grappler with 1 year of BJJ will dominate a striker with 10 years of experience in a one on one situation.

However, not all situations are one on one. Sometimes going to the ground would be suicide. Sometimes people have weapons. The value of my Karate training would multiply ten fold if I had a 6 Cell mag light in my hands.

Learn to strike and learn to grapple. They are both required to be a complete martial artist. Two sides of the same coin.

[ronin308]

I agree with ChrisII. I believe that you have to have a well-rounded skill set, but you have to know when to grapple, strike, run away, shoot, use da ASP, do verbal judo, etc. You can't respond to every attack/situation in the same manner. Therefore, I believe that building your defensive strategy around a single martial art is folly.

[Christopher II]

Agreed re. being well-rounded.

Now my personal favorite MA is still The Way of the Receeding Foot...

- Chris

[LawDog]

You know, I've worked Law Enforcement for 10 years and I'm currently in a city of something over 100,000 warm bodies.

In dealing with all those years worth of the worst elements of society, I've come to the conclusion that the critters just aren't all that good at stand-up one-on-one scrapping.

Your average critter is good at pack tactics, and he's a whiz at ambushes, but when it comes down to brass tacks and he's face-to-face with a calm, cool and wary opponent, a critter would just rather be drinking a root-beer somewhere else.

The Gracies aren't out mugging people, and I seriously doubt if their students are out mugging people.

It is my opinion and observations that someone who has the time, patience, dedication and discipline to master a martial art in anything is not going to be out robbing/raping strangers on the street.

Life isn't a UFC match, ladies and gentlemen. The chances of you stumbling into a an episode of Ginsu Theatre and needing to disable 12 consecutive Masters of Various Animal Gung-Fu on the way to work in the morning is fairly non-existant.

Find a martial art that you like. As you study it, teach yourself that when you need it, you will use it explosively and with 100% commitment. and then run. Hurt the pedator quickly, and then get out of the area. Or transition to a weapon.

Either smash-and-scoot, or smash-and-shoot.

Find something that you like. Not what I like, not what he likes, but what you like. Something you like well enough to study long and study hard.

The confidence that you gain as you progress will show in body language. Carrying yourself like a warrior, instead of some critters next meal, will save your butt more than a certificate from the Martial Art du jour.

Just my humble opinion.

LawDog

[Demi Barbito]

I could start typing a long paragraph or... You could just check out:

http://www.demibarbito.com

Demi

[kungfool]

here we go again.......my kung fu is better than your kung fu..........As a longtime TKD practitioner and instructor I have seen the proof of the pudding so to speak. TKD is blasted over and over again because of it's popularity....(can you say petty jealousy?)....Because it has become the most practiced art in the world, and because it has become an olympic sport, then naturally it's the art that every other art seems to want to knock off that popular pedestal.

Are there instructors that misrepresent themselves are sell the art of TKD short, or even focus nearly entirely on the sports aspects of the art? Of course.....same with every other style of martial art at least to some degree. TKD gets mentioned most often because of the above mentioned reasons. But to say it is not an effective striking art is absolutely ridiculous.

Sure, there are plenty of Mcdogos out there, and plenty of instructors who teach false confidence for profit, whether it be striking arts OR grappling arts.

Also, as Lawdog so profoundly stated...Life is not a UFC championship....(I'm a name dropper and have a relationship with Russell Hughes, who is the father of Matt Hughes (He lives basically right down the cornfield from me) ...Matt Hughes is of course the welter weight UFC world chanpiojn and an boy from illinois who helps out on the family farm and wrestled in high school. What is his approach? Ground and pound accented with powerful upper body strength and overall physical conditioning.

I have seen him three times, and in all three matches he won by picking up his opponent and slamming him to the ground, supplemented by any punches he could throw in the interum.

THAT'S THE UFC...........In real life 99% of fights one will encounter on the streets will be by assailants with little or no stylized fighting system. they may be adept at a few dirty tricks. In almost all one on one fights that occur on the street, the assailant will not want to go to the ground either, and anyone proficient in striking arts , balanced with good physical conditioning, who does train for the common street attacks will usually prevail, without going to the ground.

So while I encourage my students to stay up on their feet and use their hapkido techniques to stay up on their feet if forced to grapple, I also encourage them to cross-train in grappling arts (I have froend from other grappling schools that would accomadate any of my stuents who would like to cross-train).

If you are an expert in any martial art, be it striking or grappling, you will have an advantage over almost any street thug, taking into consideration realistic training (and full contact TKD matches may not be the real thing but to say it is "foot tag' at the men's blackbelt level would be like saying wrestling matches in high school and at the college level are just" rolling around".

You learn from any art what you are willing to put into it.

To master grappling and think that is all you need to protect yourself on the street is as ridiculous as mastering only a striking art. They both have their strong points and their weak points, so some knowledge of both as well as emotional/mental and psycological awareness is a must.

Find a good instructor that suits you, (make sure it's a good instructor and/or school) and then give it your all. It truly is important to build confidence and not act like a victim.

There is no one art that is best for everyone. To be truly proficient in self-defense one must devote a lot of time (and blood, sweat and sometimes tears) in all ranges of fighting. That, as lawdog points out, is not something you do for a short while, it is a way of life. Otherwise, maybe one should practice running really fast, (which incidently is sometimes what self-defense requires)

Train hard and you will be hard to beat.

[mercop]

Traditional Ju Jitsu is a tri-phasic art that was intended to protect the Samurai if he lost his sword on the battlefield. Phase one is punches and kicks. Two is takedowns and throws and third is ground control. BJJ concentrates on the third phase. As a street cop the ground is not where I want to be due to multiple attackers who may not attack me when I am on my feet but if I am on the ground have no problem kicking me in the head. Locks done on the ground can be done standing. I like to use walls and cars for vertical stuns instead of going to the ground. Ju Jitsu also allows for a measured response. You can go from control to death. It is also a circular art instead of being linier. This plays into the human response where punches and kicks become roundhouses when the fine motor skill deteriorate. My depts DT program is based on Ju Jitsu and I feel it is the best for most people. You may one day have to kill someone with your art however from my experience you are far more likely to have to control a drunk. Check out the dojo I train at @ Reddragonjujitsu.com

[youngun]

I've seen a number of videos of BJJ tournaments, and had the chance to spar with a guy for an hour or so, and I want to reinforce something hdm25 said.
Regardless of how realistic the training seems, it's still within certain parameters.
You simply aren't "allowed" to try to kill your opponent.
No blows to the throat, no eye gouges, those two alone are very seriously effective techniques.

And I have to agree with pretty much everything Lawdog said.
You shouldn't be looking for the art that's going to allow you to beat anyone else in any other art. What is needed is a fun, serious, worthwhile and regular training setting where you can get some time in dealing with H2H situations. Any of the major arts, and some of the minor ones will do this for you, providing you like the teacher and students.

I would add that there simply isn't enough time to get great at everything.
I studied aikido pretty extensively for 10 years, with a little kung fu and t'ai ch'i, but I did nothing else. Now I'm spending my time developing my shooting skills, meditation, and relationship with my wife and child.

These guys who are kicking everyone's ass - a) do they have a life? b) can they draw and put two shots COM in less than 2 seconds?