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Which martial art is best?
This is a common question that people ask. The answer is simple. It
depends on what you are looking for.
Each martial art has its own emphasis. The system/teacher
trains what they think is important.
Grappling or striking?
If you want an art that focuses on ground fighting,
then choose an appropriate grappling style.
If you want to punch, kick, knee or elbow, then pick a striking art.
If you want to grapple and strike, then choose
accordingly.
Emphasis
Some fighting arts were designed for self
defence, others for military combat.
Some are sports. It is important to discover
what each system emphasises before
commencing lessons.
Quality
'Better' or 'worse'
depends on what you want to train, how you
choose to train it and whether or not you personally
are any good at the art.
There are many fighting arts.
Although they use different forms, for the most part they don't go beyond
the strong dominating the weak, and the slow resigning to the swift.
Effort to reward
ratio
Ideally, in a fighting art you want to achieve the greatest
results whilst expending the absolute least
amount of energy. Combat is
tiring. The longer it lasts, the
weaker you become.
A speedy result is the goal. If a fighting
style wears you out, how good is it?
How good are you?
Age appropriate
Some martial arts feature skills that
can easily be executed by a young person but not
somebody in their 50's. Do you want to 'retire'
from martial arts practice at 50? Or continue?
How fit do you need
to be?
If you watch an exponent fighting on-line or
in person, you'll notice that most martial
artists are very fit. Many are in fact quite
athletic; with great muscles,
suppleness and considerable stamina.
The average member of the public is
no athlete. They often have poor motor skills,
limited coordination, not much
focus, and little or no
fighting spirit.
Size, strength and
gender
Martial arts should ideally enable to individual to use their existing
body to the greatest advantage. Yes, you need to be fit. But there is more
to it.
A small person should be able to use the art against a larger, stronger,
more aggressive person. If they cannot, what
use is the art? How can the small person
possibly defend themselves? Or win?
In some styles, women only fight
women of similar weight and size. Is this in any way preparing the
student for real life combat?
Without formal training, the larger and stronger naturally defeat the
smaller and weaker. Therefore, a basic premise of training must be that the
methods employed should make it possible for the smaller and weaker to
defeat the larger and stronger.
(Tim Cartmell)
Real life or sport?
How many people want to fight in the ring? Not many. But
most people would like to be capable of avoiding harm,
protecting themselves and their loved
ones. As such, martial arts need
to address this.
Fighting people within your own school is fine,
but is this what you will encounter in
real life? Do other people fight like this? What happens if the attacker
is armed or has
friends?
Competition
Quite a few fighting arts have bouts and competitions akin to boxing.
They train seasoned, capable fighters. This is good in terms of competence.
But is there a downside? Yes.
Injuries.
Sparring and fighting competitions can be quite brutal; often
resulting in injuries. You may potentially suffer more injury in competition
fighting than you would in the street.
Competence
Many martial artists humiliate
themselves on-line by goading other people into fights. Desperate to
prove something, naive
exponents challenge better fighters and get a sound thrashing.
This is sad but not surprising. It is a question of
competence and (once again) emphasis. People who regularly fight
other fighters tend to be experienced and skilled. You may be
playing. They are not.
The answer here is not to go looking for a fight.
If somebody assaults you, then fight. Otherwise, use your
head?
What can you do with the body?
Every person on the planet has essentially the same
human body. The limbs have a certain
range of motion. The steps can be a certain
length.
Different arts use the body in different ways. Some arts pitch
force against force, some specialise in concussive
impact accomplished by throwing people. Others in impact from
blows or blocks.
There are small stances and large. Horse stance or
high stance. Muscles can be
tense or relaxed. Each fighting system
has its own spin on what you can do with the
human body.
What should you do with the
body?
Not everything you can do with the body is healthy or safe. Consider the
70% rule. Beyond a certain range the body
innately becomes weaker; more vulnerable to
injury. Joints suffer.
Certain fighting moves may work in combat, but are they using the body in
an optimal way? Are they innately injurous? Is it something you be doing?
What are the long-term side-effects?
Are you training your
body purely for fighting or for everyday
life? A good example is Newton's 3rd law, which
most martial arts simply ignore:
For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction.
Jutsu or do?
Japanese fighting arts
used to be classified as 'jutsu' or 'do'. Jutsu was pure
combat, whereas 'do' (Tao)
is combat plus character development. An
individual can choose which approach they prefer.
Modern or traditional?
So-called traditional martial arts are often only about
100 or so years old. Their roots may be older, but
their modern manifestations are quite recent.
At one time every martial art will have been developed to meet the needs of
the time. The question to ask is whether or not traditional arts still
accomplish this.
Trends and fashions
Has the human body changed? Are we now fighting in The Matrix? Of
course not. What is different? Are people bigger, stronger, heavier,
faster?
All martial arts were designed to work in combat. Yet, some
become obsolete. Is this because they are badly taught? Unhealthy? Not
pragmatic enough?
Some arts become trendy and more people seek these out. But how much are
fighting arts subject to fashion? To novelty?
Modern arts
Modern martial arts tend to be geared towards functionality, pragmatism
and results. This is sensible. It saves on wasting time on ritual and
ceremony.
Often, people feel to have limited time and want quick results. They are
taught direct, effective skills that work.
Depth
Yang Cheng Fu wrote a book during the
early 20th Century. He mentioned that it was hard to find committed students
who were willing to practice and study.
Given our modern era, things are perhaps worse. Sophisticated
skills take time to develop. Practice. Dedication.
Extensive research.
How many people want to do this? How
many will follow through?
Your personality
If you want to get the best out of a martial art, choose something
that suits your personality. If the school you join doesn't fulfil the
promise of the art, then go elsewhere.
You need to allow for: 1) The art, 2) The teacher, 3) Yourself. Typically,
the student is the weakest link. Make sure that you are honest about
your fitness level, expectations and commitment.
It is perfectly okay to just have fun, get fit or
have a laugh. Everyone is different. And, if you
are seeking mystery and
depth, ensure that your teacher is capable of
pointing the way. Be wary of
talkers...
The energy of an object in motion
increases with the square of its velocity. Or in even simpler English: when
you’re hitting something, speed is more important than mass. If you double
your mass, you’ll hit with twice the force. But if you double your speed,
you’ll hit with four times the force, and so on. Quite handy to know when
you only weigh 140 pounds.
(Anna Spysz)
Page created
18 April 1999
Last updated
16 June 2023
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