Only one fighting style. The most effective.

[scaredycat]

If someone were to only learn 1 fighting style, what would it be?.....
Karate
Muy Thai
BJJ
Wrestling

[Twist]

I prefer muay thai as I think standup is the best way to fight. It's arguable that BJJ would be better. Each of them have their place and depend on the opponent though. If I had to only learn one to defend myself I would pick Muay Thai for sure.

[baseline_9]

Muay Thai

[workhardgethuge]

Depends on if you are looking for....for real world, krav maga is the best hand to hand combat. For MMA its tough....as bjj, mt, and wrestling are all such important aspects.

[omegagboost]

gun-jitsu. You'll never lose until you run out of ammo .

no seriously muay thai.

[redz]

Monster wrestling skills can work with big power, but you really have to be a monster to dominate with it.

[gixxerboy1]

I prefer muay thai as I think standup is the best way to fight. It's arguable that BJJ would be better. Each of them have their place and depend on the opponent though. If I had to only learn one to defend myself I would pick Muay Thai for sure.

i agree with muay thai for real world. I'm not going to try and pull guard in a parking lot or bar fight

[RoNNy THe BuLL]

I'm a decent wrestler and have rolled with some decent BJJ guys. The problem I have is that they can fight dirty off of their back. I've now transitioned into learning more about BJJ.

[scaredycat]

Most wrestlers put BJJ guys right were they want to be.

[DaGunz]

From your list, Muay Thai would be the best martial art to learn for real world self defense.

Brazilian Jiu-Jistu and Wrestling only works in compititions with rules. For instance, while a BJJ or Wrestler is trying to grapple you or grab hold of your arm for an arm bar, a quick strike to the throat or eyes would end the fight; but you can't do that in a UFC like compition. Another example, how is a BJJ or Wrestler going to fight off five friends of the guy who he is trying to apply a choke hold on? It just doesn't work outside of the ring.

Karate has the potential to be effective, if you know how to use it, properly. The problem is, it has become all about forms competition, so not many people know how to actually use it for real combat. I've come across many Karate guys that have a bunch of degrees on their black belts, and know a thousand different techniques, but can't effectively apply them in combat.

With that said, fighting and the ability to do a flip with a kick have nothing to do with one another. Being able to throw a punch means nothing unless you know exactly when and where to throw it. In other words, it's not the technique of a martial art that wins the fight; it is the knowledge of how and when to use it.

By the way, my favorite combat system is EWTO Wing Tsun.

[stang]

wrestling you can use it to not be taken down or you can take someone down and ground n pound
Bjj would be number 2
Boxing but you better know how to not be taken down or you sol

[stang]

It takes years to be a good in wrestling or bjj boxing is pretty basic and easy to pick up..

[xavierlafleur]

I've heard this question asked all around the world. From what I have seen it isn't the "Art" being studied but the fighter who studies that makes the difference. I've known Karate Blackbelts with 20 years of training and Shaolin Monks who were great at Kata but couldn't beat up my grandmother in a real fight. I had a friend in Bangkok who had never training in any fighting style and never worked out but he got into a real street fight with a Thai Muay Thai champion and my friend kicked his butt.

The dojo or the ring is one world but in a real fight it's how much man you are that counts the most.
If I had to choose a fighting style as the best it would be Western Boxing.

[GZA]

I think really all this stuff is arbitrary, you could come up with a name for a fighting style that encompasses everything and that would be best depending on the person who used it (because yes, the man using the style means a lot), at the very least you could say (well such and such fighting style also contains all the elements of x y and z fighting styles plus more so it is most effective... Everyone really knows the least limited fighting style in terms of scope is best, because really there's always a situation where such and such technique or strategy would work best against such and such opponent and/or move they are trying to pull off etc. So really having all the techniques at your disposal and knowing when and in what situation to employ such techniques would make you best, and let's not forget that all mma type fighting systems limit themselves in terms of things like eye jabs (dirty moves) as well as limiting your use of weapons... after that comes firearms and the like... really by saying "what's the best system that only uses your own body and limits itself to not using swords, armor, firearms etc." you are automatically adding rules and formulating a "situation" as to what you have at your disposal when a battle happens. So really none of this leads to a "truly best" definition of a fighting style there is only "the best for this situation" and "these set of rules and limitations on what you can do in said battle" In the end a head general of the most powerful military on earth would have the best "fighting style known to man", anything else and then you're just limiting the power of a single humans ability to destroy in one form or fashion... brain power is a weapon as well and thus so is all the technology we have developed for warfare. We aren't primitive animals who have yet to discover the use of weapons to make your killing power superior to other living beings... long ago we discovered spears and weapons and that's what has set humans apart from other animals... It is only with brain power that a human being is capable of defeating any animal ever lived... when we decide to limit ourselves to "only hands and feet and no eye gouging etc." it's really just a sport and not representative of using truly everything you have at your disposal to destroy your opponent. If we decide to willingly limit this power then good luck defeating any grizzly bear or lion etc. with any hand to hand "fighting style" you can think of. In other words this whole debate is just a matter of semantics and arbitrary rules and limitations... I can think of a variety of limits and limitations on various forms of fighting such that boxing coudl be best, wrestling could be best, heck I could even think of some rules and limitations that would make "fighting with using only your pinky finger" the best fighting style if the rules and limitations you wish to employ favored that form of fighting. In the end it's "cool and manly" to think of ourselves as physical warriors, but as a species we're all pretty much weaklings compared to a large variety of animals. Let's just take all these fighting styles for what they are, which is simply a "sport" because other wize in any real fight to the death, no rules would apply including the use of firearms etc. (don't get me wrong I've been training in martial arts almost all my life but this is just the reality

[l2elapse]

muay thai

[quarry206]

i agree with muay thai for real world. I'm not going to try and pull guard in a parking lot or bar fight

this is how i was viewing it also..

[dec11]

I've heard this question asked all around the world. From what I have seen it isn't the "Art" being studied but the fighter who studies that makes the difference. I've known Karate Blackbelts with 20 years of training and Shaolin Monks who were great at Kata but couldn't beat up my grandmother in a real fight. I had a friend in Bangkok who had never training in any fighting style and never worked out but he got into a real street fight with a Thai Muay Thai champion and my friend kicked his butt.

The dojo or the ring is one world but in a real fight it's how much man you are that counts the most.
If I had to choose a fighting style as the best it would be Western Boxing.

i dont believe this for a second, ive ran with some very good street fighters and not one of them would hold a candle to some of the pro and even amateur muay thai fighters in the club i train in

[Twist]

i dont believe this for a second, ive ran with some very good street fighters and not one of them would hold a candle to some of the pro and even amateur muay thai fighters in the club i train in

I agree. Unless he hit him with a bottle or the guy was shit faced drunk...

[dec11]

I agree. Unless he hit him with a bottle or the guy was shit faced drunk...

now, im no 1st rate scrapper but i can handle myself, i was sparring with a guy who's only been training MT for 6mths and i could not get near him, in a real situation he'd of crucified me

[Twist]

BUt what if he was shit faced drunk and you hit him with a bottle?

What if you charged him, took a hit or two, tackled and ground and pound? There's some guys I spar with who are better than me but I could beat the crap out of them because I am bigger. I'll just rush and take a few, grab clothes with one hand and smash with the other. Without gloves I can punch right through someones guard. street fights are still different than MT.

[dec11]

BUt what if he was shit faced drunk and you hit him with a bottle?

What if you charged him, took a hit or two, tackled and ground and pound? There's some guys I spar with who are better than me but I could beat the crap out of them because I am bigger. I'll just rush and take a few, grab clothes with one hand and smash with the other. Without gloves I can punch right through someones guard. street fights are still different than MT.

i was bursting at him lol, he was just deflecting my weight against me no matter what angle i approached from

im not easily impressed and do agree its diff on the street, but i know for a fact i wouldnt have a prayer against some of these guys let alone a champion fighter, as mr flower described.

as for a drunk, they arent a problem, drunks are basically defenceless and easy to chuck around, i deal with them 5 nights a week lol

[Twist]

You must be telegraphing your punches too much. What do your coaches say you need to work on?

[Slinjim]

I think for real world combat krav maga is the most effective

[dec11]

You must be telegraphing your punches too much. What do your coaches say you need to work on?

it was during grappling and clinch work, so no punches involved mate, well except for him banging me on the forehead afew times to remind me of my guard lol

[Twist]

I think for real world combat krav maga is the most effective

I would think if it was the most effective then ufc fighters would use it.

it was during grappling and clinch work, so no punches involved mate, well except for him banging me on the forehead afew times to remind me of my guard lol

You must be weak. Jk bro

[dec11]

I would think if it was the most effective then ufc fighters would use it.


You must be weak. Jk bro

the prob is i use my strength instinctively and then burn out

[Twist]

Are you getting tired and winded real fast? Like your muscle takes too much energy up? Or are you just working harder than you should be because you're new?

[choker28]

in the real world,Krav maga or Thai.in competition including MMA Bjj world be the best bet

[dec11]

Are you getting tired and winded real fast? Like your muscle takes too much energy up? Or are you just working harder than you should be because you're new?

muscle takes the zap outa me, i prob go at it alittle too hard also.

[l2elapse]

if youre fighting for pure self defense then Krav Maga hands down

[dec11]

if youre fighting for pure self defense then Krav Maga hands down

had been looking into this b4 i went muay thai, the problem i saw was that it seemed to be run in a block over 6wks or you could do a full day (in dublin). how the hell could someone get proficient in a martial art in that time frame? thats what put me off it, seemed a bit like a scam and a quick buck for 'instructors' from various back grounds, i read up that some of these come from other martial arts and they do crash courses in krav maga and boom, they're accredited instructors

[Sicko]

I think really all this stuff is arbitrary, you could come up with a name for a fighting style that encompasses everything and that would be best depending on the person who used it (because yes, the man using the style means a lot), at the very least you could say (well such and such fighting style also contains all the elements of x y and z fighting styles plus more so it is most effective... Everyone really knows the least limited fighting style in terms of scope is best, because really there's always a situation where such and such technique or strategy would work best against such and such opponent and/or move they are trying to pull off etc. So really having all the techniques at your disposal and knowing when and in what situation to employ such techniques would make you best, and let's not forget that all mma type fighting systems limit themselves in terms of things like eye jabs (dirty moves) as well as limiting your use of weapons... after that comes firearms and the like... really by saying "what's the best system that only uses your own body and limits itself to not using swords, armor, firearms etc." you are automatically adding rules and formulating a "situation" as to what you have at your disposal when a battle happens. So really none of this leads to a "truly best" definition of a fighting style there is only "the best for this situation" and "these set of rules and limitations on what you can do in said battle" In the end a head general of the most powerful military on earth would have the best "fighting style known to man", anything else and then you're just limiting the power of a single humans ability to destroy in one form or fashion... brain power is a weapon as well and thus so is all the technology we have developed for warfare. We aren't primitive animals who have yet to discover the use of weapons to make your killing power superior to other living beings... long ago we discovered spears and weapons and that's what has set humans apart from other animals... It is only with brain power that a human being is capable of defeating any animal ever lived... when we decide to limit ourselves to "only hands and feet and no eye gouging etc." it's really just a sport and not representative of using truly everything you have at your disposal to destroy your opponent. If we decide to willingly limit this power then good luck defeating any grizzly bear or lion etc. with any hand to hand "fighting style" you can think of. In other words this whole debate is just a matter of semantics and arbitrary rules and limitations... I can think of a variety of limits and limitations on various forms of fighting such that boxing coudl be best, wrestling could be best, heck I could even think of some rules and limitations that would make "fighting with using only your pinky finger" the best fighting style if the rules and limitations you wish to employ favored that form of fighting. In the end it's "cool and manly" to think of ourselves as physical warriors, but as a species we're all pretty much weaklings compared to a large variety of animals. Let's just take all these fighting styles for what they are, which is simply a "sport" because other wize in any real fight to the death, no rules would apply including the use of firearms etc. (don't get me wrong I've been training in martial arts almost all my life but this is just the reality

After that long winded read i wanna kick your ass!!!

[Sicko]

I would def go with MT as it gives you the immediate advantage on the street because you are trained and ready for an attack. In almost all cases on the street first strike designates the pace and outcome of the fight. If you try and take me down from the start you are gonna get the shit kicked out of you..You need to set up the take down with some strikes..and even then there are many variables that can make this effective or not.so therefore having striking skills such as those developed in MT would be the best chance in winning a fight. IMO.

[Twist]

if youre fighting for pure self defense then Krav Maga hands down

I did Hapkido before and although they are different someone good at muay thai would beat their ass. They would never get close enough to use their techniques.

[GZA]

I think a lot of this comes down to which particular fight but truly i've seen many great grapplers not be able to deal with somone with good standup and a decent takedown defence... and at the same time for all the people voting MT... we have to remind ourselves what gracie used to be able to do to all the other (standaup)styles before they knew to gaurd against takedowns etc... So nowadays when people say MT they mean "with a takedown defence" but technically MT in it's purest form does not concern itself with takedown defence (save using strikes) so nowadays most purported "standup fighters" are at least adding takedown defence to their repitoire ... so it's not really just pure MT you are doing... Don't get me wrong, I'd vote the same way (MT) If I had to but at the same time keeping in mind that a standup fighter who has no clue to expect a ground game (like most used to fight pre MMA era) will most likely easily loose to a ground fighter (as we saw in the early ufc days) nowadays it's pretty hard to find people who purely do one or the other, they'd be stupid to not learn from all we have seen in the growing sport up until today.. Pretty much nowadays everyone trains in everything to some degree..

[DeniZen]

I did Hapkido before and although they are different someone good at muay thai would beat their ass. They would never get close enough to use their techniques.

I agree I new to mma but Krav Maga and Hapkido look only useful in a street fight if you opponent agrees to not fight back lol

[Twist]

I think a lot of this comes down to which particular fight but truly i've seen many great grapplers not be able to deal with somone with good standup and a decent takedown defence... and at the same time for all the people voting MT... we have to remind ourselves what gracie used to be able to do to all the other (standaup)styles before they knew to gaurd against takedowns etc... So nowadays when people say MT they mean "with a takedown defence" but technically MT in it's purest form does not concern itself with takedown defence (save using strikes) so nowadays most purported "standup fighters" are at least adding takedown defence to their repitoire ... so it's not really just pure MT you are doing... Don't get me wrong, I'd vote the same way (MT) If I had to but at the same time keeping in mind that a standup fighter who has no clue to expect a ground game (like most used to fight pre MMA era) will most likely easily loose to a ground fighter (as we saw in the early ufc days) nowadays it's pretty hard to find people who purely do one or the other, they'd be stupid to not learn from all we have seen in the growing sport up until today.. Pretty much nowadays everyone trains in everything to some degree..

If a guy who only knows ground work is fighting a guy who only knows MT I would put my money on the guy who knows MT. Someone just balls out rushes a guy who knows MT is gonna get kicked, kneed, or punched pretty hard.

[dec11]

If a guy who only knows ground work is fighting a guy who only knows MT I would put my money on the guy who knows MT. Someone just balls out rushes a guy who knows MT is gonna get kicked, kneed, or punched pretty hard.

was practising this the other night in a rush situation, a simple side step, arm across back of assailant's neck, use his weight and momentum and boom, goodbye. a simple 3 part movement, but seriously effective

[Twist]

was practising this the other night in a rush situation, a simple side step, arm across back of assailant's neck, use his weight and momentum and boom, goodbye. a simple 3 part movement, but seriously effective

I honestly haven't even practiced knees at all. Only once and that was on pads. I have done all kicks with majority in boxing. How do you like knees? I find it really hard to open my hips up and turn my body. Real tight hips.

[dec11]

I honestly haven't even practiced knees at all. Only once and that was on pads. I have done all kicks with majority in boxing. How do you like knees? I find it really hard to open my hips up and turn my body. Real tight hips.

yeah i find the thrust difficult, hips are still very tight. i liked tht particular knee strike as it was a flying knee across the assailants body and i could put masses of power into it, the only technique was the side sweep and arm in behind the neck to pull him down and forward into the knee. nxt time some twat puts his arm out towards me on a door they're getting that for def lol