Choose a Martial Art - Chose Wisely

 

 

Some martial arts are not suitable for sport or competition as they are too dangerous.

 

All Martial Arts have some utility in Self Defence however there is a dramatic difference in applicability to real world situations depending on the style, variant club and instructor’s skill sets.

 

Usually, even if Self Defence is not a focus of the style, a black belt qualified practitioner should have a broad range of self-defence skills whereas beginners to intermediate practitioners may be anywhere from reasonably competent to defenceless.

 

 

 

Judo is a competition-based sport that was created by a Japanese jujitsu master seeking a way to train more heavily and avoid injury and downtime. The primary objective is to throw or takedown your opponent for points. Today, Judo is used for both sport and exercise. Judo does not contain any striking techniques in competition or practice. Judo is a subset of Jujitsu with all of the dangerous techniques removed. To advance in judo, you must compete.

 

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kickboxing There are different origins of the sport of kickboxing, Kickboxing combines punches, knees, headbutt. The key to kickboxing is speed and agility. The kickboxer must strike before the opponent can react and respond.

 

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Karate originated in the south of Japan and is practiced primarily for sport. It typically involves kicking, punching & elbows and also incorporates open hand techniques. Karate is also practiced as an art. Clubs usually focus on the sport form or the art form but rarely both. The main focus is on attack, deflection, controlling and disabling attacks that come from directly in front. The art is based on the premise of being able to defeat an opponent with a single well-placed strike. Sporting components include non-contact comparison competitions of kata, and light contact competitions such as kumite

 

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Aikido is a modern martial art that originating from Japan and is and based on the softer more circular movements from jujitsu. The creator of aikido wanted to make an art that a person could practice, without causing injury to their training partners. Aikido Loosely translates to "the way of harmonious. spirit"

 

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Taekwondo, a Korean martial art, combines both defence and attack, as a means of sport and exercise. The martial art focuses on high kicks and quick hand movements. Taekwondo is based upon the belief that the leg is the strongest and furthest reaching limb that a person has, thus having the greatest potential to be used as a powerful weapon while keeping an attacker at a distance. is practiced as a sort and an art. Clubs usually focus on one or the other

 

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Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ) is a Brazilian version of judo, taught to locals by a traveling judo expert. Once an attacker is brought to the ground, opponents attempt to control and manipulate joints. After the opponent is immobilized and pain applied the round is won by causing the other opponent to tap out. BJJ is a subset of Judo with a greater focus on ground work

 

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Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) is an all-round ruthless sport. Opponents can kick, punch and grapple with the objective being to completely dominate the opponents to the extent that one opponent can throw undefended punched to their opponent while they lie on the ground. Although it looks like an anything goes sort it is heavily controlled with rules and serios injuries mitigated by well trained and seriously fit competitors. There are many types of MMA competitions, all of which are descendants from Japanese Shoot Wrestling. The first M in MMA, “Mixed” is usually comprised of some form of stand up striking art and some form grappling art.

 

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Boxing. Western boxers are known for their agility, both with their punches and without These athletes can throw punches harder, faster. and more on point than any other martial artist. Just to learn proper punching technique takes several years. The goal is to knock the opponent unconscious or to win on the most awarded points for clean unblocked punches

 

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Wrestling is one of the oldest forms of combat. There are many forms with a strong emphasis on rules. Greek Wrestling is a points scoring ground game while Greco-Roman wrestling is a stand up throw game which disallows trips and leg sweeps. Wrestling is a a highly focused skill set and relies on strength and agility

 

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Krav Maga is Israeli’s national martial art. It has been designed for the purpose of military hand to hand combat and it is taught to the entire defence force of the county. This martial art involves aspects of Ju-Jitsu grappling and ground fighting. Karate kicks and knees, and traditional boxing punches. This is not a sport, in Krav Maga, the defence is aimed at killing the aggressor. The defences are generally counterattacks so as to simultaneously incapacitate the attacker. They also focus on attacking high pain areas of the body including the eyes, groin and throat.

 

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Muay Thai originated in Thailand. This martial art uses punches, kicks. knees and elbows in forming an attack. The sport can be very violent and brutal but due to many safeguards today it has become a more widely accepted sport. Muay Thai also one of the staples of MMA style fighting because it not only incorporates western boxing punches but also brings in kicks, knees and elbows

 

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Tai Chi (or Tàijíquán / Taiji ) Originating in China and a mother of many other martial arts, tai chi is a complete martial arts system including sanda* - strikes & throws, chin-na  - joint locking & grappling,  tuishou - a sporting component called push hands & taolu - the slow moving forms that tai chi  is famous for and what most people know as tai chi, the choreographed, slow-motion postures.  There are 4 major styles with many substyles and 1000s of variants.  Tai chi is known as moving meditation. It I ideal for low impact exercise but also contains many martial arts fundamentals and when used quickly, can be an effective combat system however it is rarely practiced this way. Some forms use a sword or other weapons.  *Sanda & Sanshou are also separate and complete military based martial arts, with rule driven sporting components.

 

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Silat originated from and is practised in Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, the Philippines and several other east Asian countries. There are many variants. Silat is a very close quarter combat system combining joint destruction and immobilisation, throws and locks, baiting and feigning weakness and also deadly use of weapons and weapons taking. It utilises recognition of structure to pre-empt attacks, multilevel responses and body positioning to maximise the effectiveness of technique.

 

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Ju-Jitsu  Developed in Japan and refined and utilised as a battlefield system by the Samurai and purportedly descended from Chinese fighting systems, this martial art is a forerunner of both aikido and judo.  Many techniques are designed to defeat armoured or weapon wielding opponents and multiple opponents. It contains punches, kicks, throws, holds, locks, pins, strangles & chokes, grappling, escapes, pressure points, tying, high pain easy access targeting, counters and endless combinations, ancient weapons, modern weapons of opportunity, kata and forms. It is predominately a close quarter combat in very effective close proximity to your opponent.  Jujitsu uses the attacker’s momentum and a system of movement and unbalancing to manipulate the attacker into various joint locks and disablement to quickly and efficiently restrain and immobilise an opponent or serial opponents.

 

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Kali  also known interchangeably as Arnis or Eskrima/Escrima, originated in the Philippines and typically use a cane sticks and small edged weapons. It is known for its fast hand trapping and redirection of force techniques. It combines lethal attacks and structural positioning. The martial art focusses of drills and muscle memory to develop ultra-fast response and concurrent attacks.

 

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Kūdō (or Juko)  is a Japanese hybrid martial art. It is full-contact mixed combat sport with head Guard and gloves, throwing and grappling techniques are also allowed in the competition, including restraint, locks and strangle holds. It can be called a mixed martial art with protective gear for the head. It originated from Karate combative competitions. Some Karate clubs run competitions with similar rules called Koshiki

 

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Iaidō is a Japanese martial art that emphasizes being aware and capable of quickly drawing the sword (katana) and responding to a sudden attack. Iaido is associated with the smooth, controlled movements of drawing the sword, striking or cutting an opponent, removing blood from the blade, and then replacing the sword in the scabbard (saya). In modern times it is purely an art as the carrying of a sword in public as a form of self-defence is completely illegal. There are competitions that examine the prowess of the individual and their forms, but no sparring.

 

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Tameshigiri  is the Japanese art of target test cutting. The kanji literally mean "test cut" This practice was popularized in Japan in the Edo period (17th century) for testing the quality of Japanese swords. It continues to the present day, but has evolved into a martial art which focuses on demonstrating the practitioner's skill with a sword.

 

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Kyūdō  the Japanese martial art of archery which originated with the samurai class of feudal Japan. Practitioners use a harmonised shooting ceremony which is highly focussed and meditative.  The yumi (Japanese bow) is exceptionally tall, usually measuring over two metres. Kyūdō is primarily viewed as an avenue toward self-improvement however there are kyūdō competitions or tournaments held, mostly in Japan.

 

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KungFu – ( Such as Wing Chun  & Jeet Kune Do)  There are hundreds of variants. These Chinese martial arts, collectively known as Wushu use numerous fighting styles, some of them involving acrobatic elements such as flips, jumps, and high kicks. Kung fu can be loosely divided into two schools: those that focus on arm work, such as rapid, close-range punching; and those that focus on acrobatics, with kicks and leg work. Some kung fu forms encourage the practitioner to be aggressively forceful, while others encourage the yielding model, in which you use the attacker’s force against him or her. Some schools emphasize a focus on relaxation and visualization techniques.

 

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Combatives  Sometimes called Close Quarters Combat (CQC), also often referred to as gutter fighting or dirty fighting.  Practitioners often use the philosophy of “whatever works”. This is a military developed martial art based on jujitsu, simplified and tweaked for potentially lethal hand to hand combat. It contains all of the major components of jujitsu and is generally taught by drills. Civilian schools teaching combatives are known for their violent but realistic testing which includes fully body armoured, full contact, freestyle and in situ combat. Opponents will be placed in a room with typical furnitures and expected to survive an onslaught of attacks from the other.

 

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Hapkido. This Korean martial art incorporates a variety of weapons, including belts, ropes, and canes. They’re used in moves including kicks, joint locks, throws, and hand strikes to the body’s pressure points.

 

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Capoeira.  This Brazilian martial art was originally developed by Angolan slaves who disguised their self-defense moves as dance. It’s very acrobatic, with flips, punches, and kicks.

 

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Self Defence  It is rare to find a self defence class that is not based on a style or system. The issue here being that many styles and systems carry bespoke techniques designed for a very specific (and often outdated) purpose and many of those techniques though may work under controlled conditions and compliant training partners, but fail when exposed to the pressure test of real combat situation.  In addition, many styles train for a specific result and do not give a broad range of responses to match a diverse range of threats. If all you have is a hammer, every problem looks like a nail.  A self defence course or school will have multi-level training systems that are increasingly pressure tested under more realistic conditions as exponents gather the required skills.  The term ”Self Defence” is usually used as a marketing catch word by unscrupulous martial arts clubs.

 

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XMA  (Xtreme Martial Arts) is a combination of elements from martial arts, acrobatics and gymnastics with an emphasis on showmanship.  The concept of adding gymnastics-like tumbling moves to elements of traditional martial arts is otherwise known as "tricking". Open hand and weapons choreography are often accompanied by dramatic dance or programmatic music.

 

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Sumo is a form of competitive full-contact wrestling originated in Japan, where a rikishi (wrestler) attempts to force his opponent out of a circular ring (dohyō) or into touching the ground with any body part other than the soles of his feet (usually by throwing, shoving or pushing him down). Many ancient traditions have been preserved in sumo, and even today the sport includes many ritual elements with no relevance to the combat form.  Weight, strength, skill and experience are the main attributes of a successful rikishi.  There are 83 techniques in the whole of Sumo, many of which have parallels in Jujitsu

 

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Kendo  is a traditional Japanese martial art, which descended from swordsmanship (kenjutsu) and uses bamboo swords (shinai) and protective armour (bōgu).  Kendo is an activity that combines martial arts practices and values with strenuous sport-like physical activity. Basically Japanese fencing.

 

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Ninjitsu developed in the samurai eras of Japan, Ninjitsu closely mimics Ju-jitsu however the names of techniques are typically abstract and include many non-combat elements such as macro combat strategy, tactics of unconventional warfare, guerrilla warfare and espionage.  Some of the unarmed techniques practiced involve punches, kicks, throws, grabs, joint locks, pressure point control, grappling and many more. Some of the weapons practiced are swords, spears and halberds, sticks and staffs, knives, chains, truncheons, ropes and Ninja weapons such as shuriken (throwing stars) and shuki (hand claws).

 

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Sambo  is a Russian martial art and combat sport which literally translates as "self-defence without weapons” however only one version of Sambo is relevant to the name. The creator of sambo was a student of Jigaro Kano, the creator of Judo , himself a jujitsu master and there are unsurprisingly many similarities.  There are two distinct versions, a combat version practiced by the military and a sports version once an Olympic sport. Sambo can best be described as a mix of Judo and Ju-Jitsu and the sports version resembling BJJ or free wrestling (Catch Wrestling)

 

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Carry the tools you are prepared to do the time for!

If all you have is a hammer, all problems look like nails!

 

All Martial arts clubs will advertise their systems as the best.

 

The honest ones will tell you their expected outcomes and be able to deliver this for a fair price. Be wary of those that promise everything or exaggerate their abilities or excessively discount, as they are likely to also discount their quality or ethics or both.

 

 

This is not meant to be everything. It's only a very brief summary. any martial artist properly representing a listed style who wants to make changes to an entry, please contact me by email and I will consider all inputs. This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

 

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