I’m partial toward moo goo gai pan.
With fried rice.
I believe that the best martial art is Jeet Kune Do.
“Jeet Kune Do favors formlessness so that it can assume all forms and since Jeet Kune Do has no style, it can fit with all styles. As a result, Jeet Kune Do utilizes all ways and is bound by none and, likewise, uses any techniques or means which serve its end.”
~Tao of jeet kune do~
Since it has not set form it takes all forms, therefore has no set patterns that could be devolped as a weekness much like many of the other martial arts.
Way to go Bruce Lee on this one.
Why, it’s Oom Yung Doe F/K/A Chung Moo Doe F/K/A Chung Moo Quan!
Where else can you learn to jump from “the equivalent” of an 11-story building (whatever the hell that means, and whatever the hell that has to do with martial arts) without injury?
BAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
Remember when they had that martial art vs. art death match competition on tv awhile back? Stuff like champion Sumo vs Karate and Tae Kwan Do vs Thai Boxing? It seems to me the sumo guys generally got knocked out pretty quickly (duh!) and the karate guys looked pretty flashy but their moves got predictable and their butts got kicked.
If I remember correctly, the Kung Fu and Jiu Jitsu guys were the winners, so it might be a stretch to say these arts would be best from a self-defense standpoint but if you’re not into killing people, then perhaps something else.
Aren’t those “Ultimate Fighting” contests nearly always dominated by the Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu guys? (The Machado family I believe)
I would say that for all-out brutality, Krav Maga takes the crown. Gotta trust the Israelis on that one.
Coolest looking? Praying Mantis Kung Fu. Very weird looking but also very efficient.
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Bruce Lee’s Jeet Kune Do is more of a philosophy than an actual martial art. From what I understand, it teaches you to take in everything that is useful and discard everything else. This sounds great in theory, but I think you have to be very good before you have the ability to say “this is useful” and “this is trash”. I think we have to trust our teachers to decide for us. They, after all, have already put in the hard work to figure out what works and what doesn’t. With all that said, the art that Bruce Lee developed based on this philosophy is darn good.
What do I think is the best? Gungfu (or Kung fu). But that’s a bit of a cop-out answer because with all the styles and related arts (like Taijichuan which is a tougher art than most think) you get a bit of everything. Narrowing it down, I studied a variety called Hung Gar (sometimes known as Tiger Crane). I learned a brutal conditioning form called Lohan (sp?) that I’ve been doing for more than two years and still I find myself breathless at the end of the set. “Reeling Silk Energy”, which is the art (or science) of maximizing force having to move too far to do it, is very useful. I found that break-falls, throws, holds, break-holds, single, and multiple opponent techniques were taught. Finally, the ability-come-instinct to maintain contact with my opponent has bestowed the advantage to me in several friendly sparring bouts.
Unfortunately, with the advent of silly firearms of various types, Gun-Fu seems to be the most efficient, if not as graceful and sportsmanlike as hand-to-hand combat. (As though tearing someone face off with a claw attack is very sportsmanlike.)
Hi, I am/was also a practitioner of the Hing style, which is an offshoot of the Southern Shaolin martial arts. Tiger-crane is one of the sets which about a bit more than 1/3 of the way through. Later I learned uses of weapons such as cleavers, staves, swords, and the like.
I have switched to Taichi for a while. It is a very deceptive form because it looks so weak. I like it because it is a lot more defensive, so I don’t need to send people to the hospital while I attempt to disable them. Aikido is also good because of this.
Eh, I meant Hung style
I’ve only ever done fencing or Hapkido. Fencing is bloody great fun, but not very practical for self-defense (since I’m normally not carrying a rapier around with me). Hapkido works pretty well for me – it’s a fairly soft style, but its focus on hand techniques (or “fifty ways to break somebody’s wrist before they even know that the fight’s begun”) is extremely useful for the situations in which I’ve needed it.
For sheer ass-kickingness my vote goes to Aikido. I saw a martial arts exhibition (there was no prize money involved) at which a 58-year-old 10th degree blackbelt in Aikido so thoroughly kicked everybody’s tail that the audience’s jaws dropped. Nobody could even touch the guy.
For effectiveness “right out of the box,” try Kali, an older and more basic form of escrima that also starts with weapons. (short sticks and knives)
If you are looking for “bar fight” kind of thing, try Thai boxing, NOT kick-boxing. The down side to this is the training. I personally thought I was going to die from this and had to give it up after 8 months. S
All around best would have to be certain forms of Ju Jutsu. Gracie is one of the best as it concentrates on ground fighting.
If you are looking for “spiritual enlightenment” whatever that is, try one of the “Do” forms as they have had most of the really vicious moves filtered out over the years. Yoshinkan Aikido would be an exception to this as it is still an effective art.
Also. What is your body shape? Male or female? Short people excel at Ju Jutsu due to their lower center of gravity. Taller people do better with striking arts.
If you are looking to kick someone’s butt, you need to plan on several years of lessons. Around 3 times/week and maybe a couple of hours each. Not including your practices between lessons.
Send me an email if you like and we can talk more.
Regards
Testy
I say a decade is a good estimate to achieve mastery in one of the “deeper” arts such as Aikido or Taichi.
I would say Sinanju, but don’t bother trying to learn it. My teacher only takes on one student at a time.
No style is best. Only instructors. The quality of the instruction is the key.
Most “contests” are useless as they pre-determine the outcome with their rules.
A note, firearms and swords are useless if you do not have them with you. It would be nice if someone attacked you when you had your weapon, but life is never as pat as a martial arts movie.
Most determinations of “best” are based on personal bias or misconceptions.
If you are looking for a style, focus more of the instructors and the school then the style. I was taught in a multi-style school that used a lot of TKD, for what its worth. I gave it up after meeting my personal goals for the experience, as at a certain point you need to make a hard choice regarding lifestyle.
I tried krav maga a few months back. It’s an explosive form, relying on sheer speed. And it requires a good level of physical fitness when you begin training.
I’m currently studying TKD to develop that fitness. I should have my yellow belt by the end of the year.
Getting back to the OP, the real question is which style is best for what purpose? Each style (or type of style) develops its particular physical abilities, be it strength, coordination, or agility. I would expect soft styles to have a stronger spiritual aspect than hard styles. And the modern styles tend to be based (afaik) on scientific principles as opposed to ancient philosophy.
No one style will excel at everything. (Isn’t that always the case?) So no style can be called “the best” – just “the best for its own purpose.”
I would have to say Oral Sex. For all of its…
What?
Oh, I thought you said Marital Arts.
[Emily Litella]Never Mind[/Emily Litella]
although not a martial art: wrestling i’d venture to say that most street fights end up on the ground
most martial arts (particularly the traditional styles) are really pretty but not really practical.
Tae kwon do or the other korean styles are really nice for learning high kicks, impressive at parties but not real practical.
kung fu: a really ornamental style, intricate, nice
i’m not too hip on the japanese styles, although Aikido is really cool, practical, and comes with great philosophy, I think all children should be taught Aikido
I’d say for pure fighting, go with like a kajukempo, or another of the new hybrid styles that acknowledge that fighting involves grappling- there does seem to be a trend toward that in the past few years.
Any school that has kickboxers in training, they’ll teach you to fight.
but IMO -Join a wrestling team.
I know this is mostly a joke, but I wanted to say that I study Thai boxing, but the way it’s taught (at my school) is mostly for the exercise. So, I’m not as tough as I should be after 3 years of studying it. My shins have toughened up from kicking a heavy bag, but I’d cry like a baby if I took a good kick to the shins. OW!
But physically, Thai boxing is great. Running, push-ups, sit-ups, running, repeat ad nauseum, then punch and kick a bag for 45 minutes, then spar for 15…Definitely helps keep the beer gut off. I went to another school for knife fighting (some Escrima-based style) for awhile, and at age 30 I was in better shape than anyone else in the class…and I’m considered out of shape at the Thai boxing school!
And in 2 weeks I get back on schedule after a 4 month absence…Which is gonna suck…
OP- I think that people should study a few martial arts, and then go back to the one they liked the best. Taking a few months of classes in boxing, grappling, etc. will only do you good. In fact, I would say that boxing should be a requirement, and then move onto other things. I studied Judo, karate and kung fu when younger and even though they all had some form of strikes, nothing cleaned up my punches like boxing did. They just feel “right” now. And that will always be with me- even in knife fighting, people open themselves up, and a good left cross will rattle their brains long enough to get past their blade. Or if you do grappling, there are plenty of times when a right hook can end a wrestling match outside a pub.
Just my $.02-
-Tcat
-Tcat
They were for a long time, but the family name is Gracie. Brazilian JuJutsu is an offshoot of an older style of judo called Kosen judo, which specializes in groundwork.
Currently the UFCs are being won by people who are good at grappling and at striking. Nearly all the big names cross-train.
If you want to learn self-defense, there are several modern hybrid systems that concentrate on that. I would hesitate to recommend Thai boxing for exercise, as getting hit is bad for you, but contact-trained fighters nearly always beat non-contact trained fighters.
FWIW, aikido is too stylized and impractical to recommend as a fighting art. So is tai chi. You could probably apply their theories and techniques to real combat if you practiced long enough, and they can be fun to do, but an aikido-ka with five years training is nearly always going to get his ass kicked by a practitioner of another art with equivalent experience. YMMV.
If you can find an old-style judo school, that concentrates on self-defense, you will be miles ahead physically and in terms of your ability to defend yourself.
Yes, I am prejudiced, but I have messed about with a number of different arts - shotokan karate, aikido, wrestling, tae-kwon-do, a couple of different styles of ch’uan-fa, and have found judo to be the art with the minimum of BS and the maximum of sweat - and even the occasional blood.
Regards,
Shodan