What is the best martial art?

Question

Weapons,hand to hand,defence and offence.

Answer 1

This question has been asked many times and artfuldragon has condensed down fairly well. the disciplines are usually classified by 4 catagories: Traditional or classical, Modern Combat Arts, Sport. and Reality Based.

There IS NO "best" Martial Art to speak of, and no one here is an expert on EVERY discipline to rate each individual discipline and tell you which one is the "best".

The principles of each Martial Art are similar to each other, but they are taught in different ways by different people so they will inadvertantly vary from person to person and discipline to discipline.

they ALL have their strengths and weaknesses so therefore not one single discipline is better than another, so it comes down to the individual and his or her own training ethics to really determine how good he or she has learned the discipline they have chosen. If one has a good training ethic, then one can become a good Martial Artist, but if one has a poor training ethic and does not train on a regular basis, then they eill be a poor Martial Artist; the discipline is only as good as the individual who uses it.

if you are planning to study a Martial Art:

choosing a Martial Art is about personal choice. What is it that YOU want to get out of studying Martial Arts for YOUR OWN PERSONAL BENEFIT?

more confidence, fitness, sport, a hobby, self defense, perhaps it's for personal enrichment (ie becoming a better person through learning discipline and respect) or enlightenment?

again each person who studies Martial Art has to figure out for themselves what they want out of the discipline they choose, no one can tell them which discipline will work for them.

the fact is that when people ask "what's a good Martial Art for me to learn?" or “what’s the “best” Martial Art to learn” has 2 major problems:

1st: the majority of people here that post answers will start blurting out names of disciplines that are probably not even available in your area. there're only a handful that will tell you that will answer the way I am now.

2nd: Just because they recommend a Martial Art that they may (or worse MAY NOT) have studied and it just happened to become THEIR favorite Martial Art because they’re interested in studying it or it worked for them doesn't mean that it's going to work for you or that you’ll find it as interesting as they did.

Most Martial Arts schools will utilize weapons in their curriculums, while others won't or do not use them at all; because it depends on the head instructor (and sometimes owner or founder) and how they want to teach the school.

to find the Martial Art that will "best" suit you is to research the local Martial Arts schools in your area. if you can find at least 3 schools that interest you, then sit in on a few of the classes and watch them at each school and decide which one out of those 3 schools that interested you the most.

the next thing to do is find out if they have some trial classes (up to a weeks worth to help you make a decision, hopefully without being hassled to join or sign a contract to join the class), and if you find that you like the school, then enroll in the class.

You just need to find a Martial Arts School that will provide a safe, friendly, "family like" environment for you and that the instructor(s) are going to help you become the best Martial Artist that you can become.

What matters is that you feel comfortable in the classes (and like the classes) and feel comfortable that the instructor (and the instructor's TEACHING style and not the discipline itself) can properly teach you self defense without the "smoke and mirrors", as well as teach it with a practical sense.

the real problem is finding a school that IS NOT a "McDojo's" or "belt factory" school, because these schools will basically "give" you a belt rank as long as your paying their monthly fees or contracts which are usually pretty outrageous.

these are a few tips on how to avoid these kinds of schools:

These schools usually do a lot of boasting; particularly about how soon their students make their 1st degree black belts, promising that as a student you’ll be making your black belt in about a year’s time (the average should be between 4 to 5 years or better) which often means that they have a high student turnout rate. This is a Red Flag

A prime example of this: having several "young black belts" that're usually 9 or 10 yr old kids, which should be a rare thing to see unless the child started learning the discipline when they were 4 yrs old (some schools don't allow children as young as 4yrs old to participate due to insurance concerns)

They may also try to get you to commit to (by signing) a contract, usually one that's 6 months long or more or try to get you to pay down a large sum of money for that kind of time period. This is a BIG red flag

Also, don’t be fooled by these schools telling you about how many tournaments or competitions their students have entered and placed in or won a trophy, which is NOT a necessity in Martial Arts. Tournaments/competitions can be good to test your own skills at point sparring but again, it’s not necessary because they are the LEAST important aspect to concern yourself with in Martial Arts.

Answer 2

There is no "best" martial art. You have to decide what you want out of the experience and what you're willing to put into it. This path in life is defined by our efforts, not rote techniques or claims of combative prowess attributed to any one style. Anyone who tells you there is a "best" martial art is either a fool, or they think you are.

Look around. RESEARCH!! And decide what you want out of pursuing the path of martial arts. Then decide what is best for you.

Answer 3

There is no "best" Art. Weapons I don't know, I don't do that. All Arts usefull for defense. Striking arts are best for offense. Striking Arts include Tae Kwon Do, Karate & Shaolin Temple Boxing.

Answer 4

There are NO "best martial arts". The are only the best martial artists! Now, my FAVORITE martial art is Tae Kwon Do! We do learn Weapons, Hand To Hand Combat, and Defense and Offense. We also sparr. I am in not saying that Tae Kwon Do is the best martial art, I am just saying it is my favorite martial art!

Answer 5

the one that is the best for you. to train in what we recommend would not help you.

you have a different body
you have a different mind
you have different needs
you have a different history

so you are best to shop around, and not stick too long with just one. you will know what works for you, and what works in the heat of the worst time in your life when you really need something to work.

experience through life will show you what will work for you.

Answer 6

There is no best art, only best artists.
The quality and frequency of your training will far outweigh your style.
People should seek a good place to train, not a good style to train in.

Answer 7

If you want to learn submission moves and ground fighting,Brazillian Jiu-Jitsu is the most recommended.If you want to flip somebody,Judo is for you.For beginners,the most suitable is Taekwondo or Karate.If you want serious training,go and learn Kung Fu.

Answer 8

nobody can answere that. and nobody should there are just to many types and variations to ever tell. the only answere you will ever get is made out of favoritism. personally i believe ninjitsu is the most deadly but regardless like i just said i maid that statment on my own terms and ideals.

Answer 9

different styles are good in different areas

Answer 10

use search and see the other 2,0000006 times this stupid question has been asked.