Sports Martial Arts

Here’s a different way of looking at the whole what is the deadliest style of martial art debate.Who cares!?Seriously. I don’t buy into the whole debate and here’s why.If you did a poll of thousands of martial artists you might get a list like thisBrazilian Jiu-jutsu and ground fightingKrav Maga and reality based self defense systemsBoxing, Muay Thai and cage fightingNinjutsu, Kung Fu, Aikido and other Eastern based martial artsModern Hybrid Fighting Styles blending multiple artsTraditional arts like Karate and Tae Kwon DoIn fact you can find forum posts all over the net from people asking “What is the deadliest style of martial art?” Or “What is the best style when learning how to street fight?” Then a bunch of forum users respond with the “best martial art” which is usually some form of cage fighting or combat sport.There are some great martial arts in this list. Many masters of these arts can demolish an attacker without thinking.Ask yourself though, is it your art or you as the martial artist that makes up your fighting ability.I would say it’s you and not your fighting style. About every martial art out there has turned out some deadly fighters.Of course let’s be real here. This is only partially true because there are some fruity martial arts out there as well. There are also some fruity martial artists out there that can help you to get stomped in a street fight. With the Internet it seems like the number of these guys has tripled each year.There’s a huge trap in the martial arts that some will fail to avoid. Putting too much faith in your style or technique and not enough in yourself as a fighter.So how do we sort through the BS when selecting a martial art? Here are some things to focus on that have less to do with your art and more to do with your ability.Attributes Training- This is completely separate from your martial art style and technique. This will include things like speed, agility, toughness, flexibility, endurance, reflexes etc. No matter what martial art you study all of these need to be improved. You can either improve them individually or train an art that improves them naturally. For example boxing and cage fighting might help you to develop toughness and speed while an art like Wing Chun or Aikido can improve your sensitivity and flow. Select a martial art that develops some of these attributes along with technique.Common Sense- Find a balance between open mindedness and common sense. Use your best judgment. If your instructor is telling you to do some ridiculous fancy technique that seems impossible to pull off in a fight, there is a good chance your instincts are right. You might want to find a new school or martial art.Here is the best advice I can give you about selecting a martial art. Decide before hand how much time you are willing to train in the art. One year? Five? Ten? Then make your decision based on that. Some arts take forever to be able to use. While some of these arts can be very effective, not everyone has three hours a day to devote to training.Then you have the simple fighting styles out there that can get you combat ready in a hurry. While no art can make you indestructible in a month, some styles are better for making a fighter quickly.Make sure that if you are only spending a little time each day that you choose a simple, functional system that doesn’t take ten years to use.