What art is best for street fights?

[BaehrTKD]

Taking a stab at the original question.....

I've been in three real street fights in my life.

• In all three cases my opponent was taller than me.
• In 2/3 of the fights, my opponent was stronger than me.
• In 2/3 of the fights, my opponent had an age advantage over me*** (see below)
• In 2/3 of the fights, my opponent had friends and/or GF with him or both.
• In all 3 of the fights, the other person initiated the confrontation.

***"Age advantage" as I define it for the purposes of my comment alone is to "be at an age where the age is to your benefit and not your adversary". Example: It's better to be 16 than 10, but it's not better to be 50 than 25. So "age advantage" is directly related to a human being's prime years.

My knowledge in Taekwondo and Hapkido proved effective in 2/3 of the fights. In the third fight it got into grappling and I got overpowered by a guy who was twice my strength. The first fight was primarily striking, and the second fight was only striking. One of the fights was also a semi-2-on-1 because the GF kept interfering to give her guy recovery time.

People often use the phrase "99% of fights ends up on the ground" (or whatever it is), but from what I've seen (MY OPINION), most fights end with pure striking because it often never gets to a wrestling match / grapple. One solid punch typically ends the fight. (I'M NOT GOING TO ARGUE OR DEBATE MY OPINION. IT'S MY OPINION BASED ON THE THOUSANDS OF REAL WORLD FIGHTS THAT I HAVE WATCHED ON YOUTUBE, TV, AND SEEN IN REAL LIFE.)

It is MY OPINION that any traditional martial arts system (which I define as Kung-Fu, Karate, Judo, Taekwondo, Hapkido, Aikido, Jujitsu, Boxing, AMATEUR wrestling, and others I apologize for missing in advance) prepares you well for real life fights because it is the PHYSICAL CONDITIONING obtained from regular training that is most important. The blocks and strikes and stances are largely equivalent, and so an expert Kung-Fu student will do well in a fight just as an expert Taekwondo student will and so forth.

 

[Steve]

You know, the best way to avoid dying from cancer is to not get cancer.

But I think we can all agree that answer is very unhelpful.

 

[Wing Woo Gar]

View attachment 30581

Who would have seen this coming?

 

[Wing Woo Gar]

…and we’re off to the races.

 

[Wing Woo Gar]

Sprinting has my vote for most effective art in street fighting, I have used it several times to prevail.

 

[Kung Fu Wang]

i don’t get it. Mountaineering is way, way more dangerous than fighting. Are you saying no one should do it? It’s a funny analogy.

If you

- eat too much food, your stomach will explode.
- drink too much water, you will drown.

Eating and drinking can be dangerous. No one should eat or drink.

There are 3 solutions for street fight.

1. avoid.
2. stop.
3. finish.

For 1, you don't need any MA skill. For 2 and 3, you do need MA skill.

If someone attacks

- me, I can take that opportunity to polish my defense skill (my running speed is not good today).
- my family member, that will be a different story.

 

[_Simon_]

Who would have seen this coming?

It brightens my day I know that much

 

[_Simon_]

Well... we can stop messing around guys. We already aaall knew the answer to this from its inception.

Clackledockling. No question

Official logo:

It's so fetch.

More in depth discussion:

Non-competitive clackledockling - effective?

Clackledockling, that is, the combination of grappling and striking synthesized into a seamless martial arts style, is very effective. I think we all agree on that. But while MMA is the most well known example of clackledockling, I think the competitive nature of MMA training is what makes it...

www.martialtalk.com

 

[Dirty Dog]

Sprinting has my vote for most effective art in street fighting, I have used it several times to prevail.

I think it's undeniable that a combination of Run-Fu and Chic-Chic-POW is super effective.

 

[Steve]

I get asked this a lot by people who are 'interested' in martial arts, or who want to know 'which art is best' for various things. "Street fights" always comes up in such discussions.

"What would you do in a street fight if XYZ...etc."

I always give the same unsatisfactory answer. Street fighting is stupid. It's pretty much the dumbest thing a person can do voluntarily.I 'm not saying they don't happen. I'm not saying that a person might not be called upon to defend themselves in the street (although there are lots of ways to avoid being put in such situations, they can't ALL be avoided).

I'm saying that fights are by nature chaotic. Random chance applies as much as skill or art does. I think that's the case here. And what a person might think of as a simple punch up can quickly end up being something the law considers much, much, more serious.

Here is today's example. I do not know who the instigator of this fight was. From the video only, it seems as if the person who survived was the victim; but you don't know what happened before the video started. Perhaps the person who survived had no choice but to the defend themselves with violence - I can't say and I'm not judging them.

What I *am* saying is this. Although neither person expected to die, one of them did die, and rather horribly as well. The other person's life is going to change in a very major way now. He won't be going to work tomorrow. He's going to have to hire an attorney, most likely. He may have to get a bail bondsman to get released from the pokey. Even if in the end it's ruled self-defense, he's got economic and other issues to deal with, not to mention that killing another human being often has a psychological impact on a person.

Man Dies After Falling Onto Train Tracks During Fight In Philadelphia

A man in Philadelphia is dead after being run over by a train ... and he ended up on the tracks because he was fighting another man while they were on the subway platform.

www.tmz.com

So yeah. "Which art is best for street fighting?" The one where you don't get in street fights. That one.

This isn't a thread about street fighting. It's a circular argument about risk. Some folks around here say they appreciate logic, so let's approach this argument for what it is.

Which art is best for a street fight?

Explicit premises:

1. Street fighting should be avoided ("Street fighting is stupid")
2. Street fighting can sometimes be avoided ("although there are lots of ways to avoid being put in such situations.")
3. Street fighting cannot always be avoided ("I'm not saying that a person might not be called upon to defend themselves in the street" and ""they can't ALL be avoided")
4. Street fights are intrinsically risky ("...fights are by nature chaotic.")
5. The consequences of a street fight are unpredictable, may be significant, and possibly dire ("...one of them did die. The other person's life is going to change in a very major way now.")

Implicit premise:

1. The risk of street fights can be mitigated ("Which art is the best for street fighting?")

Conclusion:

• Never fight. ("The one where you don't get in street fights. That one.")

The flaws in this argument become stark when you substitute other activities or events that meet all the same criteria.

"Hey, I'm planning to climb Mount Rainier. What's the best gear to help me survive and reach the summit?" "Well, my friend. Mountaineering is stupid, and the best gear is the gear where you don't climb mountains at all."

"Mr. Smith, the bloodwork came back and you have type 2 diabetes." "Oh, dang, doctor... that's not good news. What's the best thing I can do now?" "Well, the best course of treatment for type 2 diabetes is the one where you never get it."

"Hey @Dirty Dog, what's the best gun for home defense?" "Well, I'd say it's the one where no one ever breaks into your home at all."

 

[O'Malley]

Well... we can stop messing around guys. We already aaall knew the answer to this from its inception.

Clackledockling. No question

View attachment 30595

Official logo:

View attachment 30596

It's so fetch.

More in depth discussion:

Non-competitive clackledockling - effective?

Clackledockling, that is, the combination of grappling and striking synthesized into a seamless martial arts style, is very effective. I think we all agree on that. But while MMA is the most well known example of clackledockling, I think the competitive nature of MMA training is what makes it...

www.martialtalk.com

Quoted for truth.

 

[Bujingodai]

I agree with everyone. Walking away, de escalation is always the best route but. Obviously you must train for that moment when you can not.

That said I don't think there is a best art. Like, I have seen great arts with terrible teachers and arts that are mostly scoffed at with incredible teachers that put the application and focus where it needs to go. I spent 28 years in Ninjutsu most scoffed of all time and most nefarious schools in my opinion. Have seen some stellar artists and mostly junk.
Then despite a good teacher you may have students that just don't have it in them at the right time. All focus and application
I'm a fair teacher, I can convey an idea. I only care about the day when someone knocks in my door, etc. No spirit to fight or compete.
In my 50's now, so it is what it is.

I do think you need a good balance of locks throws and strikes, ground and stand up as well as a decent premise to body movement in general added to a form of receiving/ukemi/falls. So maybe do some studying on a few arts, a time spent. But then your own focus may change. Some can't do that as it dilutes their primary study

In the end there is no perfect answer, no perfect art. Bodies bend and twist only so many ways. It is the focus an art puts on what and their application as a thought.

I think LOL. That was no help at all.

 

[isshinryuronin]

"Hey @Dirty Dog, what's the best gun for home defense?" "Well, I'd say it's the one where no one ever breaks into your home at all."

"Hope for the best, prepare for the worst." While there may not be a power failure in a decade, it's good to have a flashlight around. While there is a slim chance a serious self-defense situation, it's something many people may worry about. Having good MA training can give you peace of mind and alleviate some of this worry, bettering one's quality of life.

As for what style of MA is best? Like a firearm, any can be effective, providing you:
1. Have the physical ability to wield it.
2. Know and practice the mechanics of it.
3. Have the mental where-with-all to pull the trigger.

 

[drop bear]

Fight sma

This isn't a thread about street fighting. It's a circular argument about risk. Some folks around here say they appreciate logic, so let's approach this argument for what it is.

Which art is best for a street fight?

Explicit premises:

1. Street fighting should be avoided ("Street fighting is stupid")
2. Street fighting can sometimes be avoided ("although there are lots of ways to avoid being put in such situations.")
3. Street fighting cannot always be avoided ("I'm not saying that a person might not be called upon to defend themselves in the street" and ""they can't ALL be avoided")
4. Street fights are intrinsically risky ("...fights are by nature chaotic.")
5. The consequences of a street fight are unpredictable, may be significant, and possibly dire ("...one of them did die. The other person's life is going to change in a very major way now.")

Implicit premise:

1. The risk of street fights can be mitigated ("Which art is the best for street fighting?")

Conclusion:

• Never fight. ("The one where you don't get in street fights. That one.")

The flaws in this argument become stark when you substitute other activities or events that meet all the same criteria.

"Hey, I'm planning to climb Mount Rainier. What's the best gear to help me survive and reach the summit?" "Well, my friend. Mountaineering is stupid, and the best gear is the gear where you don't climb mountains at all."

"Mr. Smith, the bloodwork came back and you have type 2 diabetes." "Oh, dang, doctor... that's not good news. What's the best thing I can do now?" "Well, the best course of treatment for type 2 diabetes is the one where you never get it."

"Hey @Dirty Dog, what's the best gun for home defense?" "Well, I'd say it's the one where no one ever breaks into your home at all."

Also you don't have to pay for martial arts to not get in to street fights.

So not training is as effective as training and cheaper.

 

[drop bear]

"Hope for the best, prepare for the worst." While there may not be a power failure in a decade, it's good to have a flashlight around. While there is a slim chance a serious self-defense situation, it's something many people may worry about. Having good MA training can give you peace of mind and alleviate some of this worry, bettering one's quality of life.

As for what style of MA is best? Like a firearm, any can be effective, providing you:
1. Have the physical ability to wield it.
2. Know and practice the mechanics of it.
3. Have the mental where-with-all to pull the trigger.

Not really. I could develop a completely unusable for fighting system. There is no basic premise that martial arts works.

Like a firearm.

 

[Kung Fu Wang]

I don't think there is a best art.

The best art is the art that can protect your head from punch. Do you have the ability to block/deflect at least 20 punches that coming toward your head? Which MA system spends more time in this kind of training?

 

[Wing Woo Gar]

Not really. I could develop a completely unusable for fighting system. There is no basic premise that martial arts works.

Like a firearm.
View attachment 30598

I think maybe you have more ammo than you need for that.

 

[mograph]

The one where in training, you fight a lot?

 

[BaehrTKD]

The one where in training, you fight a lot?

Also a good point. You get better at fighting by fighting.

 

[Cynik75]

Also a good point. You get better at fighting by fighting.

And this is the main reason why combat sports athlets are better in combat sport, than streetfighters are in streetfighting.