What is your Preferred Martial Art and Why?

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Martial arts are good for keeping fit as long as the repiticions don't wear out your joints. Sparing is good as long as you don't permanately injure yourself to the point that you have thrown away your years of training, it happens.

Funny we think we must spar to be good at martial arts but we won't even go compete with our guns, at least the majority won't. Matches bring out in you what sparing does to the arts. Adrenalin,pressure,self confidence all get pushed to the limit when you try to do your best against like minded people.

Being able to compare your skills with others and seeing where you need to work to be better is one of the most important things in all you do. Want confidence then beat others at shooting.

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Martial Arts

I began with Jeet Kun Do (Bruce Lee's original style) for 7 yrs and moved into Judo for the grappling. I found that knowing either of these Martial Arts will help you out in a fight even especially if the fight isnt of your choosing. but when you have a glass jaw like mine, it really doesnt do you any good. Thats why I now study American Ching Chang BooM:D
 
DFW area school.

It's been about 5 years since I lived in the DFW area...

There is a US highway on the NE side of Dallas (US 75 IIRC) that heads up towards Allen, Plano, McKinney...

I <think> it was off of Belt Line Rd, on the East side of the highway in a strip mall. It was a traditional Sh!toRyu Karate school. (The auto-editor removed the "fecal" reference in this Japanese word...how funny!)

It was in a business park, not a strip mall or anything. I can't remember the name of the instructor. I only lived there for about 6 months ...:)

They were respectful, thorough, good natured and fun to be around. Anything else is up to the student.
 
A good understanding of human anatomy and a combination of stength training(especially hand strength) flexibility training, and a strong will to survive.
 
I'm a huge fan of MMA. The style I'd like to train in is San Shou (Kickboxing/MT w/ takedowns) which is pretty much the whole Sprawl and Brawl style of fighting-everything you need for standup, combined with submission wrestling or shootfighting.
Unfortunately the only thing around this area is karate (if it was Kyokushin Karate I'd be all over it, but it's some useless form), so I just try and learn as much as I can from instructional tapes
 
I like MCMAP:
Marine Corps Martial Arts Program. You don't really have the ability to study it unless you have a friend that has more recently gotten out or is still in. It's a mix of a few different arts with a combat twist. You've got some strikes, chokes, counters, and joint manipulations/breaks. I love it.
 
Got a black in Judo over 40 years ago but do not do it anymore--my version was too sportified to be REALLY useful IMO. Considering Wing Chun when it moves to my part of town in a month or two.
 
I'm a 48 year old LEO with nearly 30 years on the street. I hold instructor certs in essentially all phases of patrol and tactical LE skills, and lead & train a High Risk Entry Team.
My primary training focus is Defensive Tactics, and God alone knows how many officers I've trained at both the State Academy and Peace Officer Training Program in the last 20 years.

Unlike the usual current LEO DE Instructor, who goes through a week of PPCT and proudly proclaims himself an Instructor/Expert, I have an old school mentality about this field.

IMO, it takes years of martial arts training honed by street experience, before a LEO can attain the experience and credibility to train others.

My background is Jujitsu & Judo. My primary art is Goshin Budo Jujitsu (I've also adopted much of the Small Circle techniques, as they lend themselves so well to real world combat). I hold the rank of Nidan (2nd degree black belt) in this form. This indicates I'm a pretty good student of the form, not an expert. My instructor (who is my ex-partner and highest ranking non-japanese in the form) tells me I'll be pretty good in another 20 years or so.

Judo is a sport more so than a combat martial art, which, like wrestling, can be adapted for the street. What Judo really teaches the self defense minded is how to read an opponent's balance, how to unbalance him, and take advantage of it.

Jujitsu really shines as a pure combat art, and few martial artists will argue this. My form is about 40% takedowns, 40% throws, 10% locks, and 10% strikes. After a few years of training, it's amazing how effective this type of system is in the real world. A big advantage is that the wide selection of techniques combined with measured aplication of force allows the student to control and negate an opponent without injuring him, unless it needs to be done.

I cannot even guess how many physical arrests, tactical situations, and self defense situations I've dealt with using Jujitsu skills over the years, but they certainly numbers in the several hundreds. Take my word for it, out on the street, Jujitsu works.

A side but not inconsequential benefit of any of the throwing forms is that the student learns to take a fall without being injured. I cannot tell you how many times this skill, which becomes second nature anytime the student leaves his/her feet, has saved me from injury not just on the street, but in the slips & falls over everyday life...
 
I tend to agree with the comment about boxers. They do train with sparring partners and the punches are real, unlike in martial arts matches, at least as far as I know. Naturally, there is more to it than that.

Pure strength matters a great deal. It is on this point that I disagree with the army's current physical training idea. It would seem to be intended to produce marathon runners when you would want a soldier needs to be more like a football player. Now there is another individual who knows about body contact!

Another thing is that we now have a generation that grew up insulated in a hothouse environment or most did anyway. Getting into a fight with other boys (I assume girls never fight) would get you thrown in jail. When I was little there was a lot of fighting between boys (in my neighborhood, anyway). No one ever got shot, because guns weren't as common as they seem to be now, but cuts and bruises were an everyday thing. It wasn't so much your ability as it was your willingness to fight that mattered. Being able to put up with a little temporary pain helped, especially when the other boys were bigger. Otherwise, you live your life being afraid of everyone and everything.
 
I've studied Karate, Judo, TKD, BJJ, and a little basic boxing and Mui Thai over the past 20 years. I consider the arts that utilize a RESISTING OPPONENT to be the most effective for self defense (not common in most Karate, TKD, or Kung Fu schools). However, most CAN be good for getting/staying in shape.

I currently study Judo. You definitely learn quickly if your throws, matwork, chokes, etc. are up to par. Also, my instructor is top notch - not just an accomplished competitor but also a great coach (that is an important factor in considering the school you attend). Granted, we rarely practice striking, but I think that can easily be incorporated into practice. IMHO it is a reasonable balance between safe practice and effective self defence (as one ages, the body recovers slower and slower and that is a choice one must make).
 
I took TKD when I was a little bugger. As I got older, I took Muay Thai. Not very well known around here, but extremely lethal. Now that I'm old and broken, I practice "Club-Beat-Down", and "Semi-Auto-Shootis" most exclusively.....:D
 
jiu-jitsu

...or a modern variant thereof. It's the most comprehensive no-nonsense system. Punching, Kicking, Grappling, twisting joints, balance etc. Works.

How I come to say that? after 22 years of TaeKwonDo, Kickboxing, Boxing, Judo and - finally - a modern Jiu-Jitsu variant (ATK) that's just my humble opinion.
 
The best martial art is the one you can practise regulary. By that pick a dojo or kwoon that is close to you. Make sure the instructor has some real experience, pro kickboxing, tournaments, etc. Retired cops, military would have the real world experience. Ignore the guy who claims his system is the best in the world for everybody. look for regular sparring along with self defense. I studied Ishinryu Karate for 2.5 years before I had a real world fight. the sparring I did came in handy.
 
I wrestled and boxed in high school, college, and the military.

Along the way I have practiced some Tang Soo Do, Tae Kwon Do, Muay Thai, and Tai Chi.

What has been most useful for real are the dirty tricks my father/uncles taught me...

They all have recreational and practical sides. They all work if you work them right. They can all fail if you screw them up. ;)
 
Hey guys.

I study hard with Systema, American Hand to Hand combat and Ninjitsu

I also have dabbled with Judo and Kickboxing/Boxing.

I would reccomend military and special forces styles of fighting to anyone for street defense.

Have a good day fellas.
 
I have studied a few arts but Akido and Bushido
"true hagakure based " are MY LIFE and have been since i was 6 yrs old. I wake with the soul intent to live in this way.many arts are interesting but a few take total devotion and exceptance.
 
Martial Arts?

None actually interests me except for Gun-fu. Opponent goes keeyaah! My gun goes bang! End of confrontation! LOL!
 
I know it's not a very orthodox first post, but oh well...

I should probably point out that most of those systems you people are discussing are SPORTS, and although the term 'martial art' does condone the mention of art forms, these have little to no practical aptitude. The presence of a COMBAT art is very rare in the modern atmosphere.

There are very few exceptions; ju-jitsu maintains some semblance of reality, but only if taught in a very abnormal setting. Gung Fo lacks in practicality much of the time, as although the proper teaching methodology concerns more conceptual identity than physical antics, in all the years I have been in the United States not once have i found any 'dojo' that applied it properly.
The mention of drunken boxing was also brought up, and although this may be cosmetically humurous, it far outsrips and systematically taught 'martial art.' Its mere inherent properties dictate that there be no system of movements, no kata, no pronounced specification. It is based on the idea that an unpredictable strike is more sure than a predictable one.
Krav Maga is NOT a compliation of other martial arts; it is application of practical ideas. So are the combative methods utilised by SEALS, which I would far more reccomend one checking out (personal experience).

If you've read to this point, you're either in full agreement of what I am saying, you're only doing it to laugh at what seems as arrogance and presumption, or you don't understand what I'm trying to say and are still working on figuring that out.
Someone earlier in the thread said this:

"of course martial arts are not a substitute for a gun"

That statement is CRAP. Any true combat art (note I didn't say 'martial art') integrates a gun; they are not only just as practical a weapon as any other in society, but are the second most socially integrated weapon we deal with at all.

The best martial art based on the principle or COMBAT PRACTICALITY I have found is Ninjutsu. Although it was mentioned earlier, it wasn't elaborated on any, and was mispelled as well. In fact, systems most special forces use (including the Mossad and SEALS) are simply derivative Ninjutsu, but taught by people who haven't studied their whole lives.
Any of you who don't know what that is, go look it up. Anyone who can't distinguish the romantic CRAP they'll find from reality probably has no business doing any such thing, and because of that, I'm not going to delve into it.



So, based on all that... My favorite Martial Art for athletic purposes is Brazilian Nin-Jutsu... And for actual combative purposes, it's the use of a high-powered rifle at a few hundred yards.
Ecprt9 has precisely the right idea; and it is on that pretense that any combat art is taught.


P.S. LoveandHate12, I'm currently bouncing about the country a bit, and wouldn't mind locating a few more dojos. What part of the country are you in?

And, although it's off-topic... I have found no sub-forums specific to CCW. Is this purposeful? Is it something that's going to be remedied? Or am I simply being daft in my inability to find it?




*edit* Twycross, thank you for the welcome.
I understand the initial use of that statement earlier in the thread. I also agree that Mjolnir made an unrelated, and seemingly pointless statement, and that it was appropriate to rebuttle it. I haven't mentioned anything from Mjolnir (I think that's his name) because I couldn't get my finger on a pointed and intellectual theme in his post. As Kungfucowboy had allocated his own in a civil and discernable manner, I could appropriately quote him.

The fact that he thinks of martial arts and guns along different and uncongruent planes was NOT, however, taken out of context. I think you misread what he said. He stated this quite plainly, in fact in a different paragraph entirely, so it was hardly taken out of context. His entire statement was exclusively 'of course martial arts are not a substitute for a gun.' It was with this statement alone i argued, as I agreed with everything else he said. Perhaps the miscommunication on our part is my own inability to correctly convey WHY I disagreed?

And would you please answer my question about the CCW subforum ;)
 
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