What's the best martial art?

Question

I’m looking to pick up a martial art and taking into account the practicalities of the martial arts attack and defense which ones the best? What are the pros and cons? If you take lessons will you be learning good defense or will you be stuck doing rituals? I want to know a good martial art that has practical qualities like how you stand is comfortable and realistic to a real fight, you know a really smart martial art-thanks

Answer 1

*Sigh* As a martial artist I'm supposed to tell you that there is no "best" martial art. Just whatever is best for you. Unless of course it's Bujinkan Budo Taijutsu.

Answer 2

There is no "best" martial art. There are good martial "artists" and the rest of us. I will tell you a story that illustrates this point (from a martial arts online journal):

An Aikido sensei arrived at the dojo with evident signs he had been in a street fight. Approached by his students he explained that he felt his Aikido was not good at all and that he needed more practice. Pressed by the students he explained he had been assaulted, and that he defeated all the attackers. The obvious question was, "why he felt so bad about his aikido?"... The answer was, I did not use Aikido, I used Judo. and he explained, "..when I was young I studied a lot of Judo, then forgot it and started with Aikido. When the moment came to fight, those early lessons came first to his mind, and without thinking, he proceeded to dispatch the attackers... only later he recognized he did not use Aikido.

The lesson is, pick whatever martial art suits you and learn it by hearth. When the sh*t hits the fan, it does not matter one or other technique, but how deeply are the teachings buried in your subconscious. You will not have time to think! Forget ranks, belts, nationalities or fashionable techniques. Just practice, practice and practice until you do not think about technique at all. So, pick the "art" that you feel you will be practicing better.

(I myself practice Kendo)

Edit: as some other posters said, self confidence, instinctive reflexes and situational awareness are the most important tools in survival. Any decent martial art, and a good teacher will tell you that. The rest is b.s.

Answer 3

No style will truly aid you super effectively in self defense as the atlernative to running.

I suggest if your sole interest in only self defense take a self defense seminar or 10week class somwhere they are not hard to find. Sometime they are offered free.

The closest style that encoporates this philosophy of no b.s, real life, you might get raped or worse- is Krav maga

they teach it to the military for exactly that reason. Techniques that are ridiculously easy and come almost instictive. Techniques for knives guns and etc. Easy to learn and hones your reflexes. Mind you its not a art for sport. It an aart for real life. The whole "they guy who wins the fight is the guy whose buddy shows up with the gun first" attitude. You should try it.

Answer 4

If you want one that is easy to learn, go with kickboxing.  Eastern martial arts take longer to get belts in.  Jeet Kune Do incorporates many different styles of Chinese martial arts, but it's hard to find people who teach it.  Tae Kwon Do and Karate are the easiest to find, and I personally think Karate is a waste of time so I would go with Tae Kwon Do if that's all you can find.  If you have to go with a Japanese martial art, I would recommend Aikido, but stick to the Chinese ones if you can.

Answer 5

The best martial art is the one you study and enjoy.  Do not worry about mastering 8 martial arts.  Pick one that you enjoy.  Then do your best and continue with the practice.  You will make it “The Best Martial Art” because it will be the best martial art for you.  There is no perfect art.  Just perfect what you are studding.

Answer 6

There is no best martial art. It matters how you apply it to what ever you decide to do. If you like Karate then cool or if you want to learn Tae Kwon Do then cool also. Just pick what ever best suits your needs.

Answer 7

i dont take any of these yet but they interest me:

pankration

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pankration

muay thai

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muay_Thai

edit-

krav maga is also a good one

Answer 8

Those "rituals" can save your life.  Although, do be watchful you learn from a legit school and not a McDojo.

A Martial arts effectiveness is rooted in how well it harnesses what the body can do, how efficiently it does it.  Even a strong man will get tired you know, so a martial art that uses too much strength is ineficient, the less strength a martial art uses to accomplish the goal of defense, the more effective it is.  From top to bottom, hopefully you will have one these available to you;

1)  Tai Chi Chuan, Yang Long Form, trained for the purpose of martial arts and not just "health exercise."

2)  Shaolin Kung Fu, or the Tibetan Crane Style, although one of the 5 animals in northern Shaolin I think is the Crane, as taught to them by monk Ordator or rather a synthesized version.

3)  Shuia Jiao (Chinese Wrestling) the king of the grappling styles.  It has twice as many throws as Judo, and twice as much ground work as BJJ and FYI, the "Gracie guard" was known in Shuia Jiao for hundreds of years long before Russian Sambo fighters figured it out, although it is rarely used.  Also, unlike other pure grappling styles, this is the only style that actively has applied grappling for defense against punching and kicking.  In the past, Shuia Jiao masters have defeated Shaolin Kung Fu disciples (disciples; not masters).  Shaolin still holds the better win reccord against this art, however, Shuia Jiao has endured in China because every once in a while a prodigy will defeat even the likes of the Shaolin, a tall order for ANY martial artist.  Catch, Judo, and BJJ, have all had to borrow from striking arts themselves for their defensive game against striking, Shuia Jiao however, instead of borrowing from striking, has adapted grappling to defend against strikes, and it is the only grappling art known which does this.  In fact, Chin Na, or joint locking, is derived from Shuia Jiao.  Word of the wise; don't pick a fight with a Shuia Jiao expert.  I don't care if you train in MMA.

4)  Karate, trained in "old school."

5)  Judo, or old school catch wrestling, as both styles are basically the same thing.  The only difference between Judo and catch, is that Judo has a few more throws, but even catch has hip throws similar to Judo.

6)  Old school boxing; more effective than you think.

7)  Muay Thai; not as effective as you think it is when compared to old school boxing but still more effective than..

8)  Krav Maga, the only real distinction of this martial art are its various weapons disarms, which are pretty unique.  Also the idea of the "shark pit," modified for combat training.  In all grappling styles, a punishment used for unruly students, has always traditionally been the "shark pit."  One guy in a circle who can't leave, who must wrestle 5 to 10 guys in a row, one after another, win or lose, until the victim of this punishment can no longer move.  If the coach is really pissed at you he'll make you wrestle the entire team, from lights to heavies.  In Judo I know, they also have a name for this punishment but I forgot what they called it.  In Krav Maga, this has been adapted for overral psychological conditioning encompassing other aspects of a conflict, not just grappling shark pit style.

9)  Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, or as I like to call it "imitation Judo."

10)  Sanda, not to be confused with Sanshow, which I like to call "castrated Kung Fu" or "Eunuch Kung Fu."  I'm sorry I just feel its a corruption.  Sanshow, is a synthesis of Shuia Jiao, Hung Gar Chuan, and I believe many kicking techniques from northern Shaolin.  Sanda is pretty much the same thing although its arsenal is not as extensive, and it is considerably less effective.....  however its simplicity is the reason the Chinese army has chosen it as a training method for its military.

Hope that helps you pick something.

good luck.

Answer 9

There is no Best.. But the closest to it is MMA,It teaches all forms of Standup,and Grappling,so you will be well rounded.