Alright, I know how this sounds...

[circa02]

I know this is a juvenile question, but I just have to ask. I know there's no way to get a definitive answer, but who would you nominate as the greatest martial artist/fighter who actually existed? People who have reliable documented accounts of, say single handily defeating the largest amount of combatants who attacked at the same time. Yes I know that that virtually never works, but I'm willing to bet that is has to have happened some time in history. Try to keep the snickers and eye rolls to a minimum please.

[The BB of C]

It's an interesting curious question. Don't worry about it. Nobody here is going to ream you out.

I know that there are legends of warriors in a lot of Asian cultures that defeated many people in battle and/or under extreme circumstances.

The only definitive name I can give you is Masumada Oyama; founder of Kyokushin. As far as I know, he's the only person to successfully complete a three-hundred-man kumite. Or, first hand accounts say that Bruce Lee was never defeated in a street fight.

[tonydee]

It's a really tough question... I mean, how many of the people we could list have we ever met, let alone having fought them (if we were good enough to probe their limits)?

Miyamoto Musashi, Ueshiba - neither appear to have met their match, despite many challengers. Similarly, there are legendary Chinese fighters amongst the Shaolin styles, tai chi, wing chun; and lots of Okinawan masters quietly training without tournaments or wide-spread fame - I've no idea how they compare. Oyama - again - I'm not overwhelmed by his technique or fighting style, but did anyone beat him? (Some say yes, others no). Malaysia's packed full of very capable martial artists who nobody's likely to have heard of. Vietnam. The best thai boxers get famous because it's a sport and therefore they bubble to the top in an internationally accessible, consumable form.

On the sports side, well I don't know much about MMA/UFC etc, but Fedor Emelianenko seems to be up there - not my ideal of martial arts though - gloves and rules and all that. I'm always surprised to find Chuck Norris taken seriously in discussions of the older American fighters, his technique is so lumbering I just can't credit him as much of a fighter. Still, his style is close to mine, I just don't think he is/was-ever especially good at it. Benny the Jet had an amazing record fighting outside his weight class and under so many rules.

Bruce Lee's never impressed me as being a stand out. So much was style over substance, and frankly some of the suggested self-defence in his books is plain stupid: women expected to suddenly make large awkward footwork and kicking movements when they're surprised by a man while getting into their car, when there were easy targets that could be struck effectively with much easier, more credible movements. In some ways, standards have changed since then. In terms of martial artist/actors, I do like Jet Li. But again, it's not based on much. I remember watching an early Jet Li film that was obviously very low budget, and the fighting looked so much worse - many films have shown how selective editing, camera angles, changing the speed etc. can make someone who isn't even trained look ok, or someone good look incredible.

Cheers,

Tony

[sensei8]

For me the greatest fighter of all time isn't Bruce Lee. No.

Vespasian (17 November 9AD – 23 June 79AD), was the ninth Roman Emperor, who reigned from 69 AD until his death in 79 AD. His military might was to be reckoned with!

[ps1]

For me the greatest fighter of all time isn't Bruce Lee. No.

Vespasian (17 November 9AD – 23 June 79AD), was the ninth Roman Emperor, who reigned from 69 AD until his death in 79 AD. His military might was to be reckoned with!

I like this answer alot. I think soldiers are often over looked as martial artists.

You could also put the likes of Alexander the Great and Gengis Khan in this list as well.

[JohnASE]

Choosing the best anything or anyone requires qualifiers. Best at what? Under what circumstances? Some of the answers here illustrate that. Great generals use their soldiers as weapons to devistate their enemies. This can spark an interesting discussion, but I doubt that's what the OP had in mind. In his example of a man single handedly defeating a group, I doubt he meant some guy with a machine gun in a pillbox holding off an advancing group of enemy infantry. Otherwise, is the most effective martial artist Oppenheimer, the man credited with creating the atomic bomb? Although, I suppose he's not actually credited with the most effective use of that weapon.

Don't mind me. Discuss as you see fit. In my oddball opinion, the best martial artist might be someone who didn't spend his time beating up as many people as he could. But then, why would anybody talk about him?

[tallgeese]

Chances are it's someone no one's ever heard of.

Maybe some glaidator who slew x number of opponants and a few lions along the way. Could be any number of individual who've made combat their life.

Could even go to some neanderthal, Gronk or whoever who first figured out it's easier to kill the sabertooth cat (and his neighbor) with a pointed stick.

[Patrick]

Hello,

We removed a post from this thread in error. This post is below. I apologize for the confusion.

Thanks,

Patrick

King David of Israel and his mighty men as recorded in 2Samuel 23:8-39, among other passages. In fact, some ancient texts and other translations have the number of Philistines that Shammah fought in the lentil field to be around 10,000 men. (vs 11-12)

[mr_obvious]

Miyagi say -- "always someone better."