What Is The Best Martial Art?

[Cynik75]

I am not sure if you know that MMA means Mixed Martial Arts, not Modern Martial Arts.

 

[Taiji Rebel]

I am not sure if you know that MMA means Mixed Martial Arts, not Modern Martial Arts.

MMA is a modern martial art practice which mixes up various techniques from different styles for competition - it is my decision to rename it Modern Martial Art - or maybe Muddled Martial Art is better

 

[a.v]

Martial arts are and always have been a way to teach a group of people to fight or defend themselves.

In any area, specialists are recognized.
At the end of the day, an individual can only rely on themselves to grow and appreciate.
There may be a "Best/Stronger martial art" for a given time period, but teaching styles will differ, information will be gained, lost, misinterpreted and students will be more or less competent depending on a great many factors.

 

[drop bear]

MMA is a modern martial art practice which mixes up various techniques from different styles for competition - it is my decision to rename it Modern Martial Art - or maybe Muddled Martial Art is better

Muddled is a good description. Smashed with a stick untill it all comes together. Is pretty much it.

 

[Kung Fu Wang]

MMA is a modern martial art practice which mixes up various techniques from different styles for competition - it is my decision to rename it Modern Martial Art - or maybe Muddled Martial Art is better

If someone cross trains

- long fist for foundation building,
- Baji for power generation,
- praying mantis for speed generation,
- Chinese wrestling for throwing skill,

Will you call that person an MMA guy?

Most MA guys that I have met, they all train more than 1 MA system.

For example, Adam Hsu has trained:

- long fist,
- Baji,
- Pi Gua,
- 7 star praying mantis,
- 6 harmonies praying mantis,
- Chen Taiji,
- Mi-Zong,
- ...

Will you call him an MMA guy?

 

[Taiji Rebel]

If someone cross trains

- long fist for foundation building,
- Baji for power generation,
- praying mantis for speed generation,
- Chinese wrestling for throwing skill,

Will you call that person an MMA guy?

Most MA guys that I have met, they all train more than 1 MA system.

For example, Adam Hsu has trained:

- long fist,
- Baji,
- Pi Gua,
- 7 star praying mantis,
- 6 harmonies praying mantis,
- Chen Taiji,
- Mi-Zong,
- ...

Will you call him an MMA guy?

Yes, I would call him a modern martial arts guy if he trains for competitions.

The Sword Polisher's Record: The Way of Kung-Fu by Adam Hsu is a great collection of his writings.

 

[Cynik75]

MMA is a modern martial art practice which mixes up various techniques from different styles for competition - it is my decision to rename it Modern Martial Art - or maybe Muddled Martial Art is better

Modern Martial Art is not a good name. Krav Maga, Kapap, Defendu, MCMAP are modern systems and are not competition oriented at all.

Yes, I would call him a modern martial arts guy if he trains for competitions.

So if he do not train for competition he cannot be called Modern Martial Arts guy? With the same techniques, tactics, methodology etc?

Wrestling hs thousand years of history and in no way can be called "modern" whilst it is very competitive MA.

I find your MMA definition not usefull at all.

 

[Taiji Rebel]

Modern Martial Art is not a good name. Krav Maga, Kapap, Defendu, MCMAP are modern systems and are not competition oriented at all.

So if he do not train for competition he cannot be called Modern Martial Arts guy? With the same techniques, tactics, methodology etc?


Wrestling hs thousand years of history and in no way can be called "modern" whilst it is very competitive MA.

I find your MMA definition not usefull at all.

I agree 100% with your assessment of my definition - it is really confusing when we try to simplify complex systems with basic labels like MMA, TMA, CMA etc, etc, etc

 

[Kung Fu Wang]

Yes, I would call him a modern martial arts guy if he trains for competitions.

Many cross-training people have no interest in competition. Your cross-training reason may not be for competition. It may be to find something that's missing in your primary MA system.

 

[Taiji Rebel]

Many cross-training people have no interest in competition. Your cross-training reason may not be for competition. It may be to find something that's missing in your primary MA system.

Yeah, I know

There are many people who enjoy training in different systems. Dan Inosanto is a famous example. It is a smart thing to do.

Just having a bit of fun playing around with other martial systems can be informative. The early blues musicians used to hang out with one another in order to learn new licks and tricks to add to their own songs

If you enjoy what you do, keep on doing what gives you pleasure

 

[Yamabushii]

What Is The Best Martial Art? - From Sensei Ando

Once upon a time, I would have agreed with this. Unfortunately there is a lot of excessive need for acceptance in the martial arts community as well as a need to make everything seem equal. The reality is that not all martial arts are equal.

Having a great instructor is of course a priority, but that is also subjective. An instructor is still bound by the art they teach. People new to martial arts are typically easily swayed by experienced instructors and led to believe they are good instructors, only until years later they may/may not realize they wasted a lot of time learning useless skills. In general, I find it best to FIRST look for schools that promote open sparring regularly and pressure testing their techniques against fully resisting partners. THEN look for a great instructor from the pool of schools you've found. If you're looking to become an actual martial artist and not a historical LARPer, then avoid teachers who spend too much time explaining theory against overly compliant partners.

It's very easy to say things like "good teacher" or "great teacher", but that's a whole other topic on its own as it's very subjective, and not something for untrained people to be able to easily determine on their own.