What would one of the most effective martial arts be? I’m also interested in the differences between karate and tae kwon do and if one is more effective than the other.
Other than “I-Sue”, the most effective martial art in the world is the ancient Indian martial art is called “I -Run”.
Takes years of training and one can finally attain the exalted heights of the “Like hell” belt – provided of course you find the right masters.
We have found this to be most useful, effective and efficient form of self-defense especially in hand-to-hand combat.
Toecutter <-- from Mad Max?
Most effective? Depends on what you mean, what you like, and what you can do, I would think.
I sold my soul to Satan for a dollar. I got it in the mail.
Oh, and I’m now taking Karate, and my sensei (out of many) prefers that we learn a combination of kata and bunko (the traditional forms and the applications). I don’t know much about Tae Kwan Do, but when my friends practice, it’s much more bouncy than the Karate I’m learning.
I sold my soul to Satan for a dollar. I got it in the mail.
Speaking purely of differences:
First, karate is not a unified art. They are MANY different brands of karate, and many karate styles are quite different from each other although those differences are largely in terms of doctrine and not technique. Tae Kwon Do (TKD) is a largely unified art even though their are different TKD organizations (doctrinely speaking almost all TKD is very much the same).
Second, most karate styles are punch/kick arts. Most focus more on punching than kicking, although the split for most is probably 60%/40% for one or the other. TKD is primarily a kicking art (80-90% kicking).
Third, many (70-90%) karate schools are competition oriented. Almost all TKD is competition oriented (easily 95%+). It is becoming increasingly difficult to find good , no-nonsense self defense oriented schools.
Now, with regards to effectiveness. Read “Real Fighting” by Peyton Quinn (an excellent primer for this topic). Street survival is primarily a matter of mindset. Forget martial arts style, and find a good instructor who teaches proper defensive mindset especially by means of scenario based training. Bottom line, the technique doesn’t matter. Hell, 90%+ of all technique can be found at various levels of ALL martial arts styles (go find me a martial art that doesn’t teach a crescent kick, for example), the difference is simply the degree of importance placed on particular technique and at what rank they teach it.
Best of luck. Train hard and don’t worry about the b/s.
OSU!
P.s. - Concerning competition orientation. Don’t let that fool you. Highly skilled atheletes often represent the cream of the crop in their field! Do you think a TKD gets to fight in the Olympics without training VERY hard? Ha, not likely. Good atheletes, especially martial artists, are going to be strong, fast and have very precise technique. The only thing they may lack is that critical mindset, and that is all in how you train. You train JUST to fight in the ring, you die. You visualize yourself on the street. If you treat sparring like a self defense situtation, you will still be able to compete just fine, but you also stand a chance on the street. People love to think that you can’t fight in both worlds. It simply ain’t so. (For the record, I do not compete myself, because I am not a competitive person).
I studied Tae Kwon Do for three years in high school. Like any form of exercise, it’s a good workout if you apply yourself. But as a form of self-defense, it’s pretty low on the scale, I think. It’s not as sophisticated as Kung Fu or Karate, and those are second seat to more specific forms like Hsing-hi and Pa-chua. Kung Fu is probably the most effective martial art that’s accessible to you, though I’ve heard good things about Aikido as well.
More important than style is the quality of your instructor/school. Research your choices, and choose quality of instruction over style.
Never attribute to an -ism anything more easily explained by common, human stupidity.
Can’t remember which blaxploitation movie this came from, but to paraphrase:
“I may not know anything about Kung Fu, but I am an expert at Gun Fu.”
“It’s only common sense,
There are no accidents 'round here.”
If you’re into self-defense, you may want to consider Thai boxing or Isshinryu. Thai boxers are bad mofos…with the training they go through, I don’t think they even feel punches or kicks anymore.
Isshinryu, from what little I took, is very urbanized. Movements are short and quick, there aren’t any kicks above the waist, and the stances are short. The movements are easily performed in street clothes. It’s worth a look.
In any case, before you pick something, attend a class and just watch. Teachers usually don’t mind, and you get a good feel for the instructor’s style and the art itself.
I took Kenpo for about a half a year. It was touted as a practical means of defense, which I think it is. It’s not a very pretty form of karate, as opposed to TKD, which seems more of an art form. Kenpo strike drill was like “BALLS, BALLS, ESOPHAGUS, BALLS!” If that didn’t do the trick, ya give 'em the damn wallet.
It seemed Kenpo was all about inflicting a lot of pain. Which is what you want to do if somebody has the same intent towards you I suppose. I dropped out cause there was way too many meat-heads who like to brag about all the times they got jumped by bus loads of Navy Seals and had to kill them all with a single crescent kick.
Jiu jitsu is an interesting form. It’s all about pressure points,throws and holds. It doesn’t require a lot of strength either. I once trained with a girl half my size who had a black belt in Jiu Jitsu. She threw me around like a rag doll and my wrists hurt for a week afterward.
So, how long before you become a bunko artist?
When someone annoys you it takes 42 muscles to frown. But it takes only 4 muscles to extend your arm and whack them in the head.
I believe TKD is pretty effective. If you really practice and know your techniques, you could defend yourself against almost anyone. Besides, look at all of the great things you gain from TKD and other martial arts. Perseverance, self-control, courtesy, indomitable spirit, integrity, setting goals, etc. etc.
We practice one-steps and three-steps and stuff and the takedowns and things are pretty effective.
Oh yeah, one-step and three-steps. That’ll work real good on the street.
From “Strong on Defense” by Sanford Strong
As commonly taught, martial arts fails to teach this last vitally important skill. Pre-arranged attacks, and the safe setting of the dojo fails to instill what crime survival demands: the defensive mindset. Scenario based training, and focusing on simple, fast and strong technique (under the chemical cocktail of battle you WILL (99% of the time) lose all fine motor control, ALL technique you choose to master for street defense has better rely on gross motor control and gross motor control only). This assumes we are talking about serious street defense, and not protecting yourself from some drunken slob in a bar, although that can be dangerous too, it doesn’t reach the level of a serious attack from a violent criminal. Scenario based training demonstrates this quite effectively when it is properly done.
You may consider reading the following three books (at a minimum):
- “Real Fighting” by Peyton Quinn
- “A Bouncer’s Guide” by Peyton Quinn
- “Strong on Defense” by Sanford Strong
I have on many threads gone over some of the basic material in these books, but I cannot condense everything in them to a 500 word post. Go and read them.
Surgoshan: Yup “Mad Max:” it is.