Best Looking Martial Art - Opinion Thread

[KangTsai]

What in your opinion, without factoring practicality or stuff like that, is the best martial art by aesthetic and performance value standards alone?

I nominate taekwondo and monkey-style shaolin animal imitation kung fu.

 

[Kickboxer101]

I can't really say because whenever I see all the fancy flashy stuff it doesn't make me go wow whenever I see it I do just think of it from a practical standpoint because that's personally how I train but no disrespect to those arts as it takes a lot to do that stuff just not my style of things, personally I think seeing a great boxer or kickboxer or mma fighter with great hand speed head movement good power and crisp movements looks the best

 

[KangTsai]

I can't really say because whenever I see all the fancy flashy stuff it doesn't make me go wow whenever I see it I do just think of it from a practical standpoint because that's personally how I train but no disrespect to those arts as it takes a lot to do that stuff just not my style of things, personally I think seeing a great boxer or kickboxer or mma fighter with great hand speed head movement good power and crisp movements looks the best

Yeah I can understand the natural conditioning into that perspective from training. I enjoy watching displays of athletic + technical prowess in that manner too: a clean 360 degree spinning hook kick knockout has the same effect as a 1080 degree spin hook kick in the air for me.

 

[Tony Dismukes]

Capoeira, all the way. Not just for the flashy kicks, but for the general dance aesthetic and connection to the music.

 

[KangTsai]

Capoeira, all the way. Not just for the flashy kicks, but for the general dance aesthetic and connection to the music.

Forgot that one.

 

[oftheherd1]

I think that question is just like asking who is the best painter who ever lived. If you dislike someone like Michelangelo that is your taste in the matter. But if you don't care the reason, just what on thinks, you will get a lot of answers to which you or anyone else may agree or disagree. One might think of Jhoon Rhee's quasi-ballet forms. Another might cite what they consider the most efficient art, that making it more aesthetic to them. I tend to go with efficiency, thinking of that as aesthetic. Hapkido and Aikido to me are that. But so is some Karate.

 

[KangTsai]

I think that question is just like asking who is the best painter who ever lived. If you dislike someone like Michelangelo that is your taste in the matter. But if you don't care the reason, just what on thinks, you will get a lot of answers to which you or anyone else may agree or disagree. One might think of Jhoon Rhee's quasi-ballet forms. Another might cite what they consider the most efficient art, that making it more aesthetic to them. I tend to go with efficiency, thinking of that as aesthetic. Hapkido and Aikido to me are that. But so is some Karate.

"Aesthetic" is being used very loosely here, and I generally don't disagree with any point in a topic as relative as this.

 

[Xue Sheng]

Xingyiquan based on it simplicity and power

 

[MAfreak]

taekwondo and capoeira. and maybe wushu.

 

[Monkey Turned Wolf]

What in your opinion, without factoring practicality or stuff like that, is the best martial art by aesthetic and performance value standards alone?

I nominate taekwondo and monkey-style shaolin animal imitation kung fu.

Out of curiosity, do you mean monkey fist, or drunken monkey?

Personally, I love watching Zui Quan/drunken fist. It's hilarious.

 

[KangTsai]

Out of curiosity, do you mean monkey fist, or drunken monkey?

Personally, I love watching Zui Quan/drunken fist. It's hilarious.

I mean monkey fist. I didn't know drunken monkey existed. I thought ancient shaolin monks observed real animals for movements, unless...

 

[Steve]

I like to watch the tricking. I don't know whether a 520 tornado kick will ever work in a fight, but it looks cool.

Capoeira is very cool looking. Wushu.

Honestly they all look cool to me. I've never seen a demo and been disappointed.

 

[Red Sun]

I thoroughly enjoy watching Kyokushin. Regular fights, not the highlight reels. Seeing Wheel Kick and Ura Mawashi Geri for the 50th time gets old.

 

[mograph]

Xingyiquan based on it simplicity and power

... if you know what you're looking for. Otherwise, to the uninitiated, it can be pretty boring: "The guy's just punching back and forth. What's up with that?"

Ya know?

But I see your point. It's clean, simple, direct. Minimal. Efficient. Yet powerful.

 

[Monkey Turned Wolf]

I mean monkey fist. I didn't know drunken monkey existed. I thought ancient shaolin monks observed real animals for movements, unless...

There are a lot of different chinese martial arts, and I am nowhere near qualified to explain them or their origins, unfortunately.

 

[Xue Sheng]

... if you know what you're looking for. Otherwise, to the uninitiated, it can be pretty boring: "The guy's just punching back and forth. What's up with that?"

Ya know?

But I see your point. It's clean, simple, direct. Minimal. Efficient. Yet powerful.

What the uninitiated think is not of our concern

Hey, they asked for my opinion and I gave it to them, of course there is no bias on my part

 

[Flying Crane]

I mean monkey fist. I didn't know drunken monkey existed. I thought ancient shaolin monks observed real animals for movements, unless...

Each system has its own creation story, often a monk or a famous general or an outlaw who had some inspiration or other that helped them create a new system. Those stories should be taken with a grain of salt, as they are often embellished a lot. There may be some truth in them, or none at all, but as a creation mythology they give an identity to the system and those who practice it. Of course these stories often have a founder who was unbeatable once he created his new method, and used the system to overcome an adversary of some kind. My own system is traced back to a Tibetan lama who witnessed a fight between a crane and a large monkey, by a mountaintop lake. This gave him inspiration to develop a new methodology. The story is actually plausible, the elements exist and could have happened, but the story traces back to the 1400s, so I personally do not believe it happened exactly as it is told.

These things are often linked to a monk or mysterious hermit or a famous general. Nobody wants to know that their system was actually created by the village drunken outhouse cleaner. So if the origins are sufficiently obscured in history, well the story might change a bit.

Animal systems, in my experience, are more focused on deeper principles of movement and application, and are less about specific techniques that mimick animal. Those techniques do exist, but they are often not as heavily used as people seem to assume. Nevertheless, they can become the "signature" move of the system, at least as far as the uneducated public understands it. But the reality is often not that at all.

For example, in my own white crane method, our use of the single leg stance is rare and usually very brief and simply a step as transition into something else. Our use of the crane beak strike is also rare, and when it is used is often applied as a hooking movement rather than a strike. So, no, in white crane we do not stand on one foot and poke at people with our finger tips. Nor do we flap our arms like wings.

 

[oftheherd1]

Each system has its own creation story, often a monk or a famous general or an outlaw who had some inspiration or other that helped them create a new system. Those stories should be taken with a grain of salt, as they are often embellished a lot. There may be some truth in them, or none at all, but as a creation mythology they give an identity to the system and those who practice it. Of course these stories often have a founder who was unbeatable once he created his new method, and used the system to overcome an adversary of some kind. My own system is traced back to a Tibetan lama who witnessed a fight between a crane and a large monkey, by a mountaintop lake. This gave him inspiration to develop a new methodology. The story is actually plausible, the elements exist and could have happened, but the story traces back to the 1400s, so I personally do not believe it happened exactly as it is told.

These things are often linked to a monk or mysterious hermit or a famous general. Nobody wants to know that their system was actually created by the village drunken outhouse cleaner. So if the origins are sufficiently obscured in history, well the story might change a bit.

Animal systems, in my experience, are more focused on deeper principles of movement and application, and are less about specific techniques that mimick animal. Those techniques do exist, but they are often not as heavily used as people seem to assume. Nevertheless, they can become the "signature" move of the system, at least as far as the uneducated public understands it. But the reality is often not that at all.

For example, in my own white crane method, our use of the single leg stance is rare and usually very brief and simply a step as transition into something else. Our use of the crane beak strike is also rare, and when it is used is often applied as a hooking movement rather than a strike. So, no, in white crane we do not stand on one foot and poke at people with our finger tips. Nor do we flap our arms like wings.

OK, I can give up the single leg method, my knees are getting old. And the crane beak strike has limited applications as far as I can see, and requires more practice than I can give. I was seriously thinking of seeking out someone to teach me that style, but no arm flapping? I'm sorry, that's a deal breaker.

 

[Buka]

Sinanju. It is the sun.

 

[yak sao]

So, no, in white crane we do not stand on one foot and poke at people with our finger tips. Nor do we flap our arms like wings.

Ha, and you consider yourself a white crane practitioner?