Martial Arts: Which one is the best?

Which martial art is the best? The debate will go on forever. Karate people will tell you that it's Karate. Kung Fu people will assure you that it's Kung Fu. There's no real way to know for sure though, because you can't really test each one side by side. Even if you setup a match between a Taekwondo practitioner and a Ninjutsu practitioner, you would probably only learn which person is a better athlete. There are too many factors involved in a fight, like a person's age, height, weight, strength, experience, etc. It would be hard to say which fighting style is superior based on a single fight.

Rather than asking which one is best, you'd be better off asking, "which one is best for me?" The answer is, it totally depends on what type of fighting you're interested in. I know. I hate that answer too. So let me give some examples to be more helpful. Maybe you're really tall and you think you'd enjoy doing kicks. Maybe you have a short reach, so you'd prefer grappling (wrestling) instead. Maybe you just want some exercise. As long as you think you'd enjoy it, it's perfect for you. You're more likely to learn a lot when you're having a good time.

So what are the different types of fighting? Some of them are striking (punching and kicking), grappling (what the MMA people do when they're not on their feet), weapons (knife, swords, staff, etc.), and self defense (escaping a full-nelson). If you're serious about learning how to fight, you'll want to learn some of each.

Once you've chosen a style, you can find a martial art that teaches it. Of course, there's a lot of overlap between the various martial arts, but each has its strong point. I've listed some of those strong points below. Take a look and see if anything stands out to you.

Karate - This is a pretty well rounded style that excels in strikes and takedowns.

Kung Fu - This encompasses several fighting styles, so it's hard to make one brief comment on it. Some of the styles are based on the movements of animals. Other styles are based more on stretching and cardio vascular exercise. This is a good one if you're interested in learning about the culture and history as well as the fighting.

Taekwondo - Kicking. This is all about the kicking.

Muay Thai (Thai Boxing) - This is one of the more practical martial arts. It's basically a no-frills striking class. Many professional fighters have a background in Muay Thai because it's so effective. If you want to learn to fight in a short time, this is a great place to start.

Judo - Grappling, with emphasis on throws.

Jujutsu - Grappling.

Brazilian Jiu Jitsu - Really effective grappling. If you're going to do grappling, do this one.

Aikido - Takedowns and holds. There's a lot of throwing people onto the ground. Steven Seagal stuff. This is commonly used as a self defense course.

Ninjutsu - It's the only martial art that qualifies you to be called a ninja. It's also widely known for its nerve strikes, which can cause extreme pain and even temporarily disable limbs. These strikes are interesting to learn about, but can be quite difficult to use in a real-life scenario.

Kali / Escrima - This is really good for edged weapons training. It does also include striking and grappling though. This style was used in the Bourne Identity, which is the main reason I tried it.

Kendo - This is Japanese sword fighting. It's really cool. It's really fun, and you'll probably never use it in real life.

Krav Maga - This was developed for the Israeli military. It's a very practical and effective self defense system.

MMA - This isn't actually a martial art of its own. It's more of a "mix" of several martial arts. These courses are geared toward competitive fighting and usually include striking and grappling.

This obviously isn't an exhaustive list, but I had to stop somewhere. Hopefully this gives you an idea of the various options available. By the way, many schools offer a free lesson to help you get an idea of what they offer. I'd recommend requesting a free class before signing up anywhere.