What is the best Martial Art for you and why?

[Spielwurfel]

First of all, I know that asking such a thing is not right, since the effectiveness of the MA depends on who is fighting and all the styles don't have the same goal (thats why I want your opinion)...

 

Well... I choose karate because it was the only MA available in the region where I live, but after some time practising karate, I perceived that it was "the best" MA to study (for self defense I mean). On karate, you want to end the fight as soon as possible hitting the opponents with powerful punches/kicks(surely without losing the velocity of it), and giving the less hits as possible. After training for some few months, this way of thinking looks very resonable for me.

 

Why did you chose your style?

[White Warlock]

In my case, i've experienced and studied in a variety of styles over the years.

 

With judo, it was due to the fact they were providing courses from a good instructor at the local community center, and my parents wanted something to keep me busy.

 

With boxing, my dad had studied it, shared some with me, and i was intrigued by it so i continued my studies at a local gg club.

 

With ninjutsu (taijutsu for you purists), my neighbor was friendly and taught me. I gather he did it to keep himself in practice. To me, he was conveniently located.

 

With wrestling, my friend, who was in the high school team, utterly dominated me in a friendly wrestling bout in the grass. This intrigued me, and so i joined. Was a good thing too, because the coach was awesome and i later studied wrestling, self-defense, and judo with that same coach at the local college.

 

With san soo, Rick & Rick had a school right next to my job, so i joined and studied with them for some years. Mostly, i was taking up dangerous occupations and generally taking too many risks, so i needed something to compensate for my increasing insecurity.

 

I jumped into aikido because it provided me a means to deal with confrontations, without the 'kill or be killed' mentality that had pervaded my senses over the years.

 

My later studies were pretty much a delving into various systems, so i could understand the strengths and weaknesses of each, and to increase my repertoire of responsive understanding (i.e., decrease the likelihood that i would be caught by surprise, by decreasing the amount of techniques i had never witnessed or experienced).

 

I suppose that's enough.

[wing chun kuen man]

Spielwurfel,

 

I chose traditional Wing Chun kung fu, because it is a practical and a complete style of fighting. In Wing Chun - like many martial arts - the objective is to finish the fight as quickly as possible through strikes targeted at vital areas/nerve centers etc. Eventhough our main emphasis in Wing Chun is short/close range fighting we also have various mid to long range techniques. We are also taught the seizing and controlling art of Chin-Na, which is present in Wing Chun as it is in many other kung fu styles.

 

Wing Chun also has ground fighting techniques taught at my level of training (Chum Kiu). Iron palm practice is an important and ever present aspect of our system. Also, internal energy training (Chi-kung) is given a high level of emphasis.

 

Wing Chun has influences from the earlier kung fu systems such as the crane, snake and dragon among others. This makes it easier for me to study other styles of kung fu in the future - when I have sufficiently mastered Wing Chun.

 

By the way, what is the style of karate that you practice?

 

Wing Chun Kuen Man

[Luckykboxer]

hehe...

 

I would have to Chose Kenpo Karate.

 

Its an evolving art that incorporates the best techniques from all styles.

 

as long as it is an evolving art.

 

what i mean is there are so many kenpo instructors adn some have not evolved the art at all adn still teach Ed Parkers complete original system.

 

I dont think Ed Parker meant for that to happen, he himself wanted the art to evolve with the times.

 

True Kenpo now days takes into account all bodystyles and adapts the art to match the bodystyle and make it the most effective for each person.

 

I cant figure how you can do better then that.

 

I am not saying any other art isnt great... Hell i am sure that many arts teach many of the same moves. I believe the way Kenpo is taught leads me to favor it.

 

I have visited classes in many other arts... I just have not been able to spend enough time in any of the other arts, or with enough different instructors of those arts to get a good sense of the arts as individual systems.

 

where as with Kenpo, I have had the priveledge of working with dozens and dozens of instructors.

[aefibird]

I started karate because a friend got me into it. I continued with karate because I believe it is an effective self defence and training system. I also continue with it because I enjoy it!!

 

I started Aikido because I wanted something to complement my karate training. I was looking for a judo club, but I can't find a decent one in my area.

 

I don't particularly believe that these are the 'best' martial arts in the world (I don't think a person could say that about any art, actually) - I just believe that they are the best for me at the present. There may be other arts that I get into in the future, who knows? If I stick with them, then it is likely that they will be the best arts for me at that time.

[Shorinryu Sensei]

What is the best martial art, and why?

 

Well, this is an easy one...mine is of course! lol

 

Stop and think about it...if I didn't think so, why would I be doing it?

 

Oh sure, if that was all that was available to me...sure, I can see that, but I truly belive that what I am doing is the best for what I want out of a martial art. It's proven to be an effective, and realistic system for self-protection (and the protection of others I might add) that I have used a number of times over the years.

 

Until somebody shows me something that I think is better, I'm a believer in it.

[DLopez]

Taking "the best" martial art never even crossed my mind when I decided to take it up. In fact, I was of the ignorant opinion that they were all the same.

 

I happened into Kuk Sool Won because a good friend of mine decided to open his own dojang, and invited me to take a few free lessons to see if I liked it.

 

Even then, I had no idea how the various martial arts differed, but after reading many, many posts here about folks who feel the need to cross-train in other martial arts to complete their education, I feel very fortunate to have found KSW, as it covers so many different aspects, including weapons.

 

I think I was just flat out lucky to find my martial art.

[Spielwurfel]

Spielwurfel,

 

I chose traditional Wing Chun kung fu, because it is a practical and a complete style of fighting. In Wing Chun - like many martial arts - the objective is to finish the fight as quickly as possible through strikes targeted at vital areas/nerve centers etc. Eventhough our main emphasis in Wing Chun is short/close range fighting we also have various mid to long range techniques. We are also taught the seizing and controlling art of Chin-Na, which is present in Wing Chun as it is in many other kung fu styles.

 

Wing Chun also has ground fighting techniques taught at my level of training (Chum Kiu). Iron palm practice is an important and ever present aspect of our system. Also, internal energy training (Chi-kung) is given a high level of emphasis.

 

Wing Chun has influences from the earlier kung fu systems such as the crane, snake and dragon among others. This makes it easier for me to study other styles of kung fu in the future - when I have sufficiently mastered Wing Chun.

 

By the way, what is the style of karate that you practice?

 

Wing Chun Kuen Man

 

Epa!! Mais um brasileiro na área!!

 

Então, tirando os golpes, o Wing Chun não é muito diferente do karate... Mas os golpes de karate são mais de longa distâncias...

[wing chun kuen man]

Spielwulfel,

 

I happily live in Brazil but I am not brazilian and my portuguese is a little "ruim" .

 

There are many differences between Wing Chun and Karate. The degree of this differences will obviously depend on the style of karate Wing Chun is being compared to. However, in general one of the major differences between karate and Wing Chun is the fact that we never meet force directly. Our defensive techniques are used mainly to absorb the attacks and strike at the same time as we defende. Also, in comparison with karate our techniques are performed in a very relaxed manner, that is body tension is minimal and tension is only applied at the end of the techniques. We use body unity combined with "relaxed power" to create power. Also, we do not use high kicks, most kicks come up to waist level. The exception is the front heel kick to the throat.

 

There are many other differences that are rather difficult to explain in a short post so I hope that the above information has been helpful.

 

You did not tell me the style of karate that you practice.

 

Wing Chun Kuen Man

[Zorba]

There is no such thing as "the best martial art"

 

I also dont beleive in the line "its the best martial art for me" All types of people can be successful in all kinds of martial arts. I have studied 2 martial arts, and i will probably do a lot more.

 

all martial arts were developed for a reason, not a person. and it was the best method for the reason it was created for at the time. so, unless your situation mimmicks the reason for the creation of the martial art. its not the best, its not the worst, its just one of many.