The Best Martial Art

[MJS]

OK....now that I have your attention, no I have not posted a link or article to someone claiming to have cornered the market on the ultimate art.:ultracool

So...my question is: Is there an art out there thats the best? Many times, when people hear about an art, come across the latest fad or trend, they run out and try it out, start saying that its the best thing ever or look at the people doing the art, and assume that because those people have made certain things work, they will too.

In the 80's we had Ninjutsu. Steve Hayes seems to be one of the forerunners during that time. In the 90s we had GJJ. When the UFC first came to light, it was only a matter of time before people set out to Ca. to train with them and before you knew it, every school around was offering a grappling program.

Should we assume that because one person has had success with something, that we will automatically have the same success? Is there an art out there that is the end all be all of arts?

As always, I do not want this thread to turn into a my art vs your art thread. The search function will show threads of that nature that you can join in on. Lets have some good discussion!

Mike

 

[Shaderon]

The answer to that one has got to be personal for every single person that reads it. Taking out any situation that might bias the result, the best of anything is still always based on the judges perspective. Just look at animal shows, one "best of breed" awarded by one judge may not be to the same animal that another judge may give it to.

I know which is the best art for me, but I would hesitate to say it's THE best art. Only the art in your heart is the best one.

 

[bydand]

The best Martial Art is the one where you fit, it fills your needs, and inspires you to continue training week-after-week; year-after-year. It can have the best skill sets out there, but if you have to drag yourself through the door every training time, it stinks for you personally. I know this isn't really the answer you were looking for, but it is the best I can answer.
Personal opinion would be the art I train in, but that answer is only good for me. All of us train in different arts under different Instructors. I would dare say 99.99% of us are NOT training where we are because we think the instruction and art are uneffective and fake, but we like the name of the place and the Instructor is cool.

 

[Kenpojujitsu3]

OK....now that I have your attention, no I have not posted a link or article to someone claiming to have cornered the market on the ultimate art.:ultracool

So...my question is: Is there an art out there thats the best? Many times, when people hear about an art, come across the latest fad or trend, they run out and try it out, start saying that its the best thing ever or look at the people doing the art, and assume that because those people have made certain things work, they will too.

In the 80's we had Ninjutsu. Steve Hayes seems to be one of the forerunners during that time. In the 90s we had GJJ. When the UFC first came to light, it was only a matter of time before people set out to Ca. to train with them and before you knew it, every school around was offering a grappling program.

Should we assume that because one person has had success with something, that we will automatically have the same success? Is there an art out there that is the end all be all of arts?

As always, I do not want this thread to turn into a my art vs your art thread. The search function will show threads of that nature that you can join in on. Lets have some good discussion!

Mike

Mike. STOP asking questions you already know the answer to just so you can sound smart. EVERYBODY knows that Kenpo Ju Jitsu is the ultimate art and all other arts aspire to hold one candle to of Kenpo Ju Jitsu's vibrant flame.

Ok, now that I got that joke out of my system. The style is just the tool. It's the wielder that counts. I can give 50 people an identical hammer but the best carpenter among the 50 is going to use it better than everyone else. Now this brings the question of having different tools for the same job. You need the right tool for the right job hense cross-training. I'm not using my TKD background when my back hits the ground (pun intended). And I'm not grappling too much in self-defense when I can hit the guy hard AND often mixed intermittently with grappling as in Kenpo.

Every art has it's favored situation, BUT how skilled are you in keeping things in your arts favored situation versus how skilled the other guy is in doing the same? That's the early UFC's. The grapplers were more skilled at putting things on the ground than the striekrs were at staying on their feet. Now fast forward to today. Knockouts are occurring as often as submissions and ONE big part of that is the fact that the strikers are now more adept at keeping the fights from turning into grappling matches. On the real fight side of things people use to over-estimate the effectiveness of eye gouges, groin strikes and hair pulling. Now people understimate them which is equally dangerous...but another topic.

 

[Shotgun Buddha]

OK....now that I have your attention, no I have not posted a link or article to someone claiming to have cornered the market on the ultimate art.:ultracool

So...my question is: Is there an art out there thats the best?

Gimme about ten more years of heavy training and research and I'll get back to you on that one

 

[Andrew Green]

So...my question is: Is there an art out there thats the best?

Yes.

Which one depends on your goals and natural abilities.

 

[charyuop]

There are too many people that ask these kind of questions. Which Art is the best? Which Art is the most effective? Which Art would win if XXX would fight Vs YYY?

You have found and still walking your own path since the first day you stepped into the dojo. If you are still training that Art it means you like it. All these question tho show a lack of trust in the Art you are training. Every Art is good and every Art is bad. It is good when you are better than your opponent, it is bad when your opponent is better than you. Learn to trust your Art more and it will pay you back.

Last week I was talking to my Senpai about real fight and Aikido. I was stating that in my opinion techniques in Aikido will never go to accomplishment because if you face an untrained person it will fall long before you finish the technique. He played with me the angry drunk man who doesn't know any Martial Art. Senpai got out of my Iriminage (coz we were talking about this technique in particolar) even before I started it. No special techniques by his side, just pure fury. Should I say "wow then Aikido sucks and I should change Art?". Well I opted more for a "wow I do suck, I need to practice harder".

 

[bushidomartialarts]

no such thing as a superior art.

there are superior teachers, superior students, and superior combinations of a particular art with an individual's traits.

but there is no such thing as a superior art.

 

[Shotgun Buddha]

You have found and still walking your own path since the first day you stepped into the dojo. If you are still training that Art it means you like it. All these question tho show a lack of trust in the Art you are training. Every Art is good and every Art is bad. It is good when you are better than your opponent, it is bad when your opponent is better than you. Learn to trust your Art more and it will pay you back.

.

One should always be suspicious of something you plan on relying on. The only way you can really trust it, is to examine and question it, to test it on a regular basis. That way you at least know where you stand with it.

 

[JBrainard]

The best Martial Art is the one where you fit, it fills your needs, and inspires you to continue training week-after-week

Yep.

 

[Andrew Green]

He played with me the angry drunk man who doesn't know any Martial Art. Senpai got out of my Iriminage (coz we were talking about this technique in particolar) even before I started it. No special techniques by his side, just pure fury.

I think this is where different arts do different things. Aikido type stuff is great for "civilized" encounters... meaning you just need to inflict a little pain and control without anyone really getting hurt to hopefully diffuse things.

It's also good for quickly doing some damage very early, before its really a fight, but when a fight is going to happen.

But dealing with someone who is in "brawl" mode is a very different situation.

On the flip side you might say boxing is a great thing in a fist fight, but not so much for using that pain trigger for compliance to diffuse things.

This is why no art can really be the best unless you specify best for what, then something can be the best, and others can be poor for that goal. The important thing in my mind, is knowing the strengths and limits of what it is you are doing. There is too much of a mentality from practitioners of various arts there system should be the best for everything. It isn't, and for some goals it might just be terrible, but for others it might be the best.

 

[Xue Sheng]

XUEFU IS BEST !!! :mst: All other pale by comparison :uhyeah:

But seriously as many have already said it depends on the practitioner.

It is not so much what art is best but what art is best for you.

 

[charyuop]

I think this is where different arts do different things. Aikido type stuff is great for "civilized" encounters... meaning you just need to inflict a little pain and control without anyone really getting hurt to hopefully diffuse things.

It's also good for quickly doing some damage very early, before its really a fight, but when a fight is going to happen.

But dealing with someone who is in "brawl" mode is a very different situation.

On the flip side you might say boxing is a great thing in a fist fight, but not so much for using that pain trigger for compliance to diffuse things.

This is why no art can really be the best unless you specify best for what, then something can be the best, and others can be poor for that goal. The important thing in my mind, is knowing the strengths and limits of what it is you are doing. There is too much of a mentality from practitioners of various arts there system should be the best for everything. It isn't, and for some goals it might just be terrible, but for others it might be the best.

Well, it is nice saying that Aikido is for civilized fights and not brawl.
I have been doing Aikido for 5 months and before that never done Martial Arts. Sempai has done Aikido for 15 years and knew what attack I was gonna carry out. He simply wanted to show me what to expect in a real fight differently from the dojo. Probably if we were not talking about that technique I would have received his attack in a different way, since he was coming fast towards me maybe entering streight in his defense and hit the chin. But at this point I am not that good to be able to switch technique if one doesn't work, I am still trying to figure out how to make most of them work for me hee hee.

The real problem is that people see a couple of Demo and they create an opinion about an Art. That's how people define an Art effective and another not. There are Arts that have many things in common (don't say same thing, don't misunderstand) like Hapkido, Aikido, Jujutsu, Judo, Daito Ryu and so on. But who knows if you use a technique in a Judo contest it is wonderful, the same technique maybe in Aikido it is not as good.

Today you see on TV basically MMA 24 hours a day and that's what is best. In a ring you see 2 MMA fighters and we assume MMA is the perfect MA.

 

[Steel Tiger]

Oh this is an easy one. Taijiquan - "Grand Ultimate Fist". The name says it all surely.

Really though, in truth, as many have already said the art that makes you comfortable and you find easiest to understand is going to be the best art for you.

 

[Andrew Green]

Well, it is nice saying that Aikido is for civilized fights and not brawl.

So you would argue that Aikido is well suited for Brawling?

I don't think you will find many brawlers that will agree with that. Different arts are suited for different things. Aikido has its strengths, brawling is not one of them.

 

[terryl965]

MJS here is my take on it the Art itself does not matter the person does not matter what matters is what the soul says. When your soul is fulfilled with all that is mighty and your mind believe in what the soul has to offer contemmient is within reach.

We all have our weakness along with our strength so one single art is no better than the other, but if the mind and soul believes in your training the body will follow to be the best fit for yourself.

 

[zDom]

What we NEED is a good Billy Jack remake so everybody thinks Hapkido is the best art!



Ok, jokes aside I agree with Andrew:

"Which one depends on your goals and natural abilities."

Now what is the best AVAILABLE for you depends on where you live and the instructors within reasonable traveling time!

If I ever move out of this area and decide to join a gym/dojo/dojang instead of open my own, THAT will be the criteria: who is the best trainer around?

Not what art they are training, although I have some personal preferences that may influence my decision somewhat.

 

[Gufbal1982]

Here's an article that I liked about this topic...

http://ezinearticles.com/?There-Are...e-Are-Only-Superior-Martial-Artists&id=378253

 

[CuongNhuka]

No. Why? Simple. Because if there were, it would be the only art that exists. Every technique it taught could beat every techique of every other art there is. Period. There is no 'best' art, and those that claim otherwise are fools. Yes there are styles that generaly do better then others in one area or anouther, but there is no best art.
You also have to remember that almost every art out there is just principles and philosophys. You could teach the techniques from Tae Kwon Do, and use Wing Chun philosophies. Odds are you will get one of three things:
1) a very confused student
2) a Wing Chun artist
3) all of the abouve

Odds are it wont work. But my point is that the phyical stuff is just a way of getting the concepts across. Am I making sense?

 

[Kacey]

So...my question is: Is there an art out there thats the best?

The art that captures the practitioner's attention, that the practitioner stays with and practices regularly, is the best style for that practitioner. There are too many variables between people - size, fitness, age, experience, gender, etc., ad nauseum, ad infinitum - to be able to declare that one style is "the best" for all concerned. When you add environmental variables - number of attackers, weapons or not, support from others, ability to get away, etc. - it becomes even less possible to choose a "best" that will fit every person in every possible situation.