JKDMed

This list is a silly list, and I surmise it was compiled mainly by younger practitioners with very limited experience in actual altercations. The truth is, the best possible "style" is no style at all. If I had to label this, the philosophy of JKD, which is what it was intended to be, had it right when it attempted to discard traditional styles. When you commit yourself to any one or two particular styles of any martial art, you severely limit the set of skills available to you in a confrontation. (which is moot, but I'll get to that in a minute) When you think, "I know Karate/TKD/JKD/Wing Chun/Whatever and I can handle myself in a fight", you immeditaely limit your options and opportunities in that altercation to only what you have learned in whatever particular art or style you subscribe to. Actual confrontations and fights are far, far different from the training or sparring environment (which hopefully most of you participate in). Your ultimate goal in a confrontation is simply SURVIVAL, not to win or subdue your opponent. If this means using JKD or wing chun or simply running away or kicking your opponent in the groin and running away, so be it. Too often we have the mindset of, "If I'm in a fight, I must win by conquering my opponent." On the street, your only goal should be survival -- not winning. On the nature of confrontations themselves, those that I have had the unfortunate experience of being involved with always involved one of the following two characteristics: (a) either the assailant was considerably larger than I was, in which case practically any martial art was rendered useless (and size does matter) or (b) the opponent was armed with some sort of weapon, be it a knife, gun, or blunt object. Realistic situations such as this requires one to forgo the conventions of any particular style to which he subscribes and simply do what is necessary to survive. In the case of a much larger or armed opponent (or both), the best bet is to simply give him what he wants. If he wants your money, throw your wallet on the ground and run -- he'll have what he wants and you'll be long gone. If he wants your life/skin/behind, then you better either hope you can run faster than he can or find yourself an equalizer. Simply attacking him in an area such as the groin may not work, especially if he has a handgun; he can recover and shoot you in the back before you can put safe distance between you. Martial arts are great fun to learn and practice -- I still practice JKD and wing chun regularly, and enjoy learning new styles (Zhui Quan especially). I have been through Karate, Aikido, and Tae Kwon Do. However, I have found that most situations in which martial arts would work were easier solved simply by swallowing my pride and walking away. Situations I have been in where I was required to defend myself, I always found the loaded .40-cal semi-auto I legally carry on my hip much more useful than any martial art. Just some food for thought. Please don't assume that since you know ten different highly-touted styles of martial art that you're prepared for any situation that arrives. My views are best summed up by a scene from Return of the Dragon. Although it may not have been intentional, Bruce Lee made a powerful statement in one scence in the restaurant. After defeating several thugs with his immeasurable skill that he trained years for, the character Bruce Lee plays is subjugated by some unskilled thug with a gun. This is the 21st century.