Most comprehensive close up fighting art

[dear john]

any reponses?

 

 

 

from what i have seen, i like wing chun, but then again it is not a current MA that i study.

 

i ask tis question becuase i take TKD and they focus heavily on keeping distance in a fight becuase it is best for the type of strikes they do.

[Hudson]

Depends on the TKD style.... theres so many of them.

[kotegashiNeo]

For in close stand up fighting I have to say goju even over wing chun

[MenteReligieuse]

Bagua Zhang!

[Vito]

theres really no use in distinguishing close up and ranged... youre either in striking range, in grappling range (clinched or on the ground), or completely out of range. try a more complete striking style like muay thai or boxing... and some kind of grappling is also a good idea.

[Master Jules]

Goju Ryu is all about "in close".....theres actually much more grappling in Goju then many people realize, due to its incorporation of Shaolin Chin Na

[Shane]

I've had a chance to do some light sparring with a wing chun practitioner and it was not that difficult, of course that does not mean nothing but my Instructor has also sparred and trained some wing chun and had simliar results as I did when sparring just a bunch of slapping going on. Apply some muay thai (with that you get clinch fighting techniques) and some jujitsu and you should be good to go.

[manuelito]

Vito,

 

please expand on this comment?

 

try a more complete striking style like muay thai or boxing...

[Shorin Ryuu]

At first, I was going to say Shorin Ryu. Then, I decided to pick a better answer: traditional Okinawan karate in general.

 

But really, there are a lot of styles out there that share very common principles, but just choose different means of achieving them. I'm not saying every style is created equal. Far from it. There are many styles out there that I do not think are best for fighting.

 

There are a lot of Chinese styles that I think very highly of. I chose traditional Okinawan karate because despite all my martial arts elitism and lamentings over all the new styles popping up all over the place, Okinawan karate really is a comprehensive, mixed martial art. It combines indigenous fighting methods with a variety of Chinese methods. Most masters learned weapons as well as empty hand in their training all over Okinawa, China, Taiwan and even Japan at times. What distinguishes traditional Okinawan karate from many modern hodge-podges in my opinion is that it was oftentimes "battle-tested" and refined by people who truly devoted their lives to its perfection. In many cases, it was their job (bodyguard, palace guard, constable) to learn how to fight, and they did it well. It contains depth as well as breadth. Striking, pressure point/muscle/joint manipulation, energy, body mechanics, and loads, loads of grappling are all signatures of true traditional Okinawan karate. And that is why I take it, love it, and live it.

 

As usual, I've rambled and let my blatant bias...I mean, preference for traditional Okinawan karate show.

[monkeygirl]

I'm going to move this to the Comparative Styles forum, but I ask that you please rephrase your quesion to avoid superlatives...instead of asking what is the "best" or "most comprehensive", try asking for multiple styles that specialize in what you're looking for (i.e. close-up fighting), and compare them objectively if possible.

 

Thanks and happy posting