What is the best form of martial arts

The most all effective martial art all around is obviously MMA.

Where the hell is Wing-Chun???

Originally Posted by bulldogg

Where the hell is Wing-Chun???

Wing Chung is a Chinese martial art, developed by a women. Like aikido it uses the energy of others and uses arm and legg techniques and also grabbing and ground fighting. I tried it but wasn't content with some of it, especially their way of striking and their "chain strike technique" Sure you hit your opponent, but it is like a small calibre bullet. Better less often but with more power!

Something that is worth looking into is Krav Maga. This is the hand to hand combat taught to the Israeli DF. It is to the point, very powerful and vicisiouly effective against armed and unarmed opponents.

My favorite is off course Shin Kyokushin Karate. This is the knock out variant of karate. It is disciplined, tough, demanding and loads of fun. The adrenaline is enormous when you are unleash into the ring! It truly is my sport!

I know what it is Ted, my workmate and member of this board, Wing Nut, is a disciple of the form. And his strikes are far more powerful than a small caliber weapon. I think you have been exposed to the wussified strain like they teach in Hong Kong.

I personally prefer Tuite JuiJitsu. I learned it from the hand to hand instructor for the Indianapolis SWAT team about 10 years ago... good stuff. Putting my mass on your body and inflicting major amounts of pain with minimal effort. Lifting you off the ground by the boys is far more effective than anyone's jumping-half-turn-flying-spinning-backfist of fury.

I've heard a lot about hapkido, personally. It's a mix of traditional martial arts techniques and plain street brawling. I'd love to get into martial arts, but my schedule's a little full. So far I've done some reading on the subject, and not much else.

Ah.. so we can talk about this topic Bulldogg, since you know how it feels. How do you explain to someone, who never fought, the effect of cracking shins together. Your lowkick on his shin and you see his pain. This instantly makes yours go away..... What a beautiful sport. And you might be right about the wussies where I trained Wing Chung hahahaha!

I hate kicking. I prefer to close the distance with an opponent and put my hands in places, grab, twist and pull... pectoralis muscles, popliteal artery, brachial artery, floating ribs... its nasty. I like fighting but it follows no form and it works to my strengths, namely my size and my grip. But you are right there is something about inflicting pain on an opponent that is very fulfilling.

Fighting, to me, is a survival technique rather than a sport. It something I'd much rather watch than participate in. That said, I've seen many different styles in a variety of environments in the US from UFC-style competitions to local "tough man" competitions to street fights and bar brawls. From my observation, someone who relies completely on Asian-style martial arts will usually fall victim to a brawler who can get in close (where flashy kicks aren't effective) and rip his opponent apart like bulldogg so adroitly described. Granted I've never seen any of the world masters fight, but how good could a system be if it's students can be overcome by a guy who learned to fight in tavern parking lots?

The systems I've seen that seem most effective are those like Brazilian Jiu Jitsu that teach, not just how to strike, but how to fight from one's back and other submissive positions. I've also read about Alexandre Popov's techniques that he taught the GRU. Ouch. Not something I'd care to experience. It seems that purists will often fall to those with a broader education of systems.

Brazilian Juijitzu teaches how to fight on the ground effectively,and grapples, and like you said, submissive positions. Its all about getting your opponent on the ground and locked into the one of many holds. I would LOVE to delve further into it, unfortunately, no one around here teaches it...I HATE MADISON! People tought it in Mobile and Atlanta, so I learned some there, but I want to get more into it....