What is better strictly for self defense and fitness? MMA or traditional martial arts? if so which one?

Question

WHat does MMA consist of?

when i mean MMA i mean Muay Thai, wrestling Jiujitsu and all that.

Answer 1

Traditional, I am not much of a Sport Karate fan, no real street value, sorry.

Answer 2

Self defense arts are designed to be effective. The best art for self defense is the one that shuts down the attack immediately... maybe a .357 magnum? Traditional martial arts all were developed within a structure for a specific purpose. For instance Okinawan arts developed largely based on a ban on the ownership of identifiable weapons.. so they adapted farming implements. Each art is limited by the environment under which it was developed. If you understand the purpose and limits of an art you can select the one that fits your need the best. MMA has a larger set of restrictions than any martial art that I am aware of... No technique is allowed that would immediately disable or kill an opponent (would kind of spoil the sport). So... I don't really count it as a martial art, it is entertainment. If I am on the street and someone grabs me I will go for the basics - eyes, throat, groin, and only if I do not have immediate access to a gun, knife, club, whatever. I have studied many arts, and in a self defense situation would draw from what is immediately effective. This is also the approach taught by the worlds military.... if a howitzer works, use a howitzer. People obsessed with rules such as in a sports environment will quickly end up in the hospital or dead in a street situation.

Answer 3

I have a Video of a Thug coming to try to hurt me, around my 31 friends BAD MOVE THE CAMERAS WERE ON
and you are being watched now as well.....
ahh I have to cut the clip to give a THUG a way out,
but only once....and the lady well...... we are amuzed
better yet I have so MANY MORE FRIENDS
and they know the truth
Traditional Arts hold to the Ancient Values of Life
MMA does not
and the peeps up top ruin little guys lives for money gain
Martial Arts Do Not do that!!!!!
Yes in the Military they call it Improvising
I teach Camera skills as last night a few found out, in fact we have a few Felony cases being examined currently.
It is what we call more Advanced MMA
CameraDo
Put the wankers in Prison
Let Bubba have at em ( Or if they involve their women the Bubbis) with some Vasoline this time
Even Big Shots Go To Prison
Teach your students to keep themselves hidden from anyone, or at least a few....
Then teach camera skills and stealth,
you can pay back anyone for harming you if they are EVIL Doers
Watch me and my Friends now in Action
We Follow The LAW
and we will follow and track your life
And USE IT As well with the Authorities
Ever Pick A Fight With Someone You Shouldn't Have?????
Do Not Drink And Drive
2x proven in court is a FELONY

Answer 4

Sport or self defense
the difference is
In a sport match, no matter how rough it gets, both players are going home tonight
Self Defense
Someone is attacked, no getting away, no talking them out of it, and your life is on the line.;!!! Not a FIGHT
SOMEONE IS GONNA DIE!!!
Very different outcomes and very different stratagies.
Punching, kicking, and grappling, are all good but when your life is on the line, it's time to get VIOLENT.!!!
I PERSONALLY AGREE WITH THE PERSON THAT SAID USE WHAT IS TAUGHT TO WOMENS SELF DEFENSE PEOPLE. If it works for a woman it works for me.
I teach Kenshoryu Combatives, With COMBATIVES as the main word. Not a sport, not a game, stay off the floor, eyes, throat, knees, groin, gun, knife,
stick, rock, and if I don't have a weapon I go to hands, etc
Kenshoryu is based on Kenpo, and Shorinjiryu Karate, with the emphasis on open hand, poking, goauging, knifehand strikes, low kicks, knees, elbows. Things that work for a girl.
Sensei William Crocker Age 63 44 yrs of martial arts training, and teaching.
There is a difference between learning self defense, and learning to fight.
I do not teach people to fight. Fighting is for your friends. Self-defense is for life.
As far as fitness is concerned MMA is great for that. If you want to learn to FIGHT I would take MMA. For self-Defense I would find an instructor that teaches a more serious self defense type class with the above ideas in mind.

Answer 5

I expect that "tradidional" martial arts will generally lead to fewer training injuries, and therefore more to fitness than MMA in the long-run, and that is what martial arts is about, the long-run. Being the survivor. The best self defense, other than not being where the bad guys are would involve a .44 or 9mm.

Answer 6

People act as if you need to pound your opponent into the ground to have a strong defense against an attack. Thats the image the mixed martial arts gives us. That image is just simply untrue too. The ufc and ifc shine a bad light on what true self-defense in an actual street fight is.

Look at aikido, one of the most effective arts for self defense and it has nothing to do with pounding an attacker into the ground.

I guarntee you, that in an actual street fight most most these so called mixed martial artists wouldn't even last a minute up against an aikido master.

Answer 7

Strictly for self defense? I'll take women's self defense course over martial arts. It'll teach you practical skills to get you out of trouble without doing flying kicks and death touch. Mixed Martial Arts is basically like what Bruce Lee taught sort of. MMA doesn't exclude any fighting form, discipline. It may include some or all.

Answer 8

in terms of self defense and fitness the best choice is usually muay thai,these so called MMA's are usually martial arts that focus squarely of grappling and submission instead of a complete set of skills,traditional martial arts are very very good in terms of building the mind,once you are into it you develop a level of inner strnght that can be quite remarkable,but in the most practical situations when you are dealing with an assault the best martial arts are those designed for such cases such as self defense classes,krav maga,combat hapkido,muay thai,enshin karate and shotokan karate they all require a certain level of fitness and they are all proven to be effective in real life situations,you should only consider traditional martial arts if you are looking for spiritual advancement as well as physical,if not i would stick to the ones i just mentioned.

Answer 9

Bjj, Muay Thai, and judo is all good but in the philippines, if you take some one to the ground, you'll be more vulnerable to another attacker. In FMA, you have to take your opponent out as fast as you can. Its a dangerous martial art, thats why most of the martial arts in the philippines are not used as a sport. You also never know if your opponent is concealing a weapon.

Answer 10

What do you mean by traditional martial arts? MMA is a combination of several martial arts (MMA stands for Mixed Martial Arts).

Answer 11

Definitely MMA because that's only way you can test things you learn out in a almost realistic enviroment. Think about this, imagine you end up live on a boat house. You have never swam before, not even in a pool. However for safety, you know you would need to learn how to swim. Would you perfer to take a class where you learn how to swim on dry land or would you perfer to take a class in public swimming pool where the pool is shallower but yet have room for you to swim in?