I've been in a lot of different schools; tae kwon do, karate (couple different forms), hapkido, aikido, escrima, moo sool, judo, tai chi, and jiu-jitsu. I've also had some boxing, wrestling, security/leo and military training. On top of that I've watched or known people involved in many many other arts, including two people into krav maga (one an Israeli instructor who immigrated to America).
My overall outlook is pretty much polar opposite to IloveDivx, although I agree with many of his assessments. Personally, I don't think fighting is EVER a sport, nor a form of exercise (although it will help keep you in shape). I also don't think anyone who is only a physical fighter is worth a crap in actual combat. I believe any truely effective warrior develops a 3 tiered training system and lifestyle, encompassing physical training, mental aptitude, and spiritual awareness. That sounds hokey to many, and that's fine. But all the physical conditioning in the world will NOT help you if you're taken by surprise, and only mental training conditions that. Only mental training prepares you to use your environment, to improvise, or even better, to talk your way out of a fight (which is a far better outcome even than winning a fight). As for spiritual, you can call it something else if you're uncomfortable with the term, but if you aren't in control of your emotions, you will lose. If you aren't willing to take a life (or at least ruin one) then maybe you shouldn't be in the situation. Only through careful exploration of the self can you come to terms with these limitations. What's more, deep conditioning of the spirit heightens your respect for and understanding of life. It raises your compassion and empathy. These things will help avoid more fights than any other training. I'm far more afraid of someone who is 5'5 145lbs calm, aware, and knowledgable, than someone who is 6'5 250lbs and blinded by rage. I've faced both types. I'm not sure I would have won against the calm man had it come to blows. The big freak was relatively simple by comparison.
I believe there are three reasons why a person wants to study martial arts: Activity (they want exercise or want to fit in or think it's a sport or have some starry eyed notion of what a martial art is). Self-defense (they want to be able to defend themselves against attack, rather or not they have a specific purpose in mind). Warrior (something about them demands they make a concerted effort to master themselves).
If you're the first group then it doesn't matter what you take, they may all work. You'll probably enjoy tae kwon do, sport karate, maybe kung fu.
If you're in the second group then it does matter what you learn. You have to first decide what environment you're thinking of. Are you being bullied? One person or many? Urban or rural? Are you afraid? Do you have something to defend? Family, friends, property, values? Or are you simply wanting to feel confident that should the situation call for it you could live through the encounter. Could you kill? Could you break or maim? Does blood or violence bother you in any way? All of these are important to know to choose a style that is right for you. If you're training for self defense you want to stay away from any school that focuses on the sports or health aspects. Good general choices for self defense are: krav maga, muay thai, jiu-jitsu, judo, some (though not anywhere near all) karate, even boxing and wrestling. The idea of self defense is make it through to another day, preferably without being injured. Against opponents you want to be able to inflict rapid direct incapacitating damage to your enemy, without flair or wasted time, or be in complete control of the engagement and thus avoid any possibility of continued action against you. Against multiple opponents it's even more vital. Every attack you launch HAS to remove one enemy from the fight until you're down to no more than two, preferably one. That means overwhelming blows (like from muay thai), vital strikes (krav maga, some karate), simple incapacitating maneuvers (jiu jitsu), or tossing them out of the threat area (like using judo training to launch them into sharp pointy things). Aikido, while a devastating art, simply is too complex to master rapidly enough to make it a useful defense art. Another school of thought for defense which borders on the third type of seeker, is to put so much fear into your enemy(s) that they don't continue the fight. Some arts like Aikido, kung-fu, escrima, etc are excellent for this. If a guy comes up to you and swings and you maneuver him into a good wrist lock where you can parade him around calmly, while talking about all the nasty things you could do to him (kinda like a steven segall movie) his friends often decide it isn't worth it. One on one it's always better not to hurt someone unless it's necessary, and then locks, throws, incapacitations, etc are even more effective. I've been in security for the last 10 years or so. I haven't thrown a punch or kick (except specifically at a vital or control point to break their strength) in that time. I've been in hundreds of encounters (especially in the hospital er and psych wards) and I haven't been struck yet. Don't fall into the 'beat them up' trap of thought. There are many ways to leave an encounter alive, and striking (in my opinion) is near the bottom of the list. Also, self defense doesn't stop at melee combat training. If you TRULY care about defense, you'll be open to additional training (mental conditioning, street awareness, firearms training, etc).
If you think you're the third type, then you have the longest, but most rewarding road ahead of you. For these people, there is no right art, and in fact there shouldn't be only one art in the end. You can't simply say 'muay thai' is best. It is NOT best for a very small person with an inability to gain muscle mass or strength (and yes, I've known people who were UNABLE to get over 135lbs at 5'6, even with medical help). A very light, weak person will never inflict enough serious harm with muay thai against a bigger stronger opponent to make it a good choice. It relies on some amount of strength to be effective. A person in this situation would be much better suited to learning fast precision strike arts, or pressure point arts (kenpo, aikido, jiu-jitsu). That's not to say they wouldn't benefit from muay thai training, it's an extremely effective style...but they must tailor their training to their own purposes and limitations. Decide when you think you would use the training, how far you're willing to go (do you want to avoid the fight, scare them off, or are you perfectly comfortable delivering lethal blows against your opponents). Think carefully about your personality and abilities. Find an art which focuses on your strong areas, without totally ignoring other options. After a while you can pick up another school of training to improve your weak areas or just broaden your capabilities. Then another and another. Eventually your own style will emerge from all the knowledge you amass. This is the heart of bruce lees 'jeet kune do', and in fact most of histories greatest warriors. For these people it's the most important that they find a good school, with a good instructor who understands what they want to get from the training. This isn't a path about just fighting...it's about challenges and meeting them, succeeding in and in fact mastering life itself. It is these people who train all three aspects of the self to work as one, and it is these people who are most feared in combat...not because of the style they've chosen to use.
The above, of course, is opinion. I don't fight in tournaments, so I can't tell you what will work there. But I've been in a ridiculous number of encounters on the job and in the streets, and in my opinion, which style you use is far less important than how well you use it, and how well rounded you are.
My overall outlook is pretty much polar opposite to IloveDivx, although I agree with many of his assessments. Personally, I don't think fighting is EVER a sport, nor a form of exercise (although it will help keep you in shape). I also don't think anyone who is only a physical fighter is worth a crap in actual combat. I believe any truely effective warrior develops a 3 tiered training system and lifestyle, encompassing physical training, mental aptitude, and spiritual awareness. That sounds hokey to many, and that's fine. But all the physical conditioning in the world will NOT help you if you're taken by surprise, and only mental training conditions that. Only mental training prepares you to use your environment, to improvise, or even better, to talk your way out of a fight (which is a far better outcome even than winning a fight). As for spiritual, you can call it something else if you're uncomfortable with the term, but if you aren't in control of your emotions, you will lose. If you aren't willing to take a life (or at least ruin one) then maybe you shouldn't be in the situation. Only through careful exploration of the self can you come to terms with these limitations. What's more, deep conditioning of the spirit heightens your respect for and understanding of life. It raises your compassion and empathy. These things will help avoid more fights than any other training. I'm far more afraid of someone who is 5'5 145lbs calm, aware, and knowledgable, than someone who is 6'5 250lbs and blinded by rage. I've faced both types. I'm not sure I would have won against the calm man had it come to blows. The big freak was relatively simple by comparison.
I believe there are three reasons why a person wants to study martial arts: Activity (they want exercise or want to fit in or think it's a sport or have some starry eyed notion of what a martial art is). Self-defense (they want to be able to defend themselves against attack, rather or not they have a specific purpose in mind). Warrior (something about them demands they make a concerted effort to master themselves).
If you're the first group then it doesn't matter what you take, they may all work. You'll probably enjoy tae kwon do, sport karate, maybe kung fu.
If you're in the second group then it does matter what you learn. You have to first decide what environment you're thinking of. Are you being bullied? One person or many? Urban or rural? Are you afraid? Do you have something to defend? Family, friends, property, values? Or are you simply wanting to feel confident that should the situation call for it you could live through the encounter. Could you kill? Could you break or maim? Does blood or violence bother you in any way? All of these are important to know to choose a style that is right for you. If you're training for self defense you want to stay away from any school that focuses on the sports or health aspects. Good general choices for self defense are: krav maga, muay thai, jiu-jitsu, judo, some (though not anywhere near all) karate, even boxing and wrestling. The idea of self defense is make it through to another day, preferably without being injured. Against opponents you want to be able to inflict rapid direct incapacitating damage to your enemy, without flair or wasted time, or be in complete control of the engagement and thus avoid any possibility of continued action against you. Against multiple opponents it's even more vital. Every attack you launch HAS to remove one enemy from the fight until you're down to no more than two, preferably one. That means overwhelming blows (like from muay thai), vital strikes (krav maga, some karate), simple incapacitating maneuvers (jiu jitsu), or tossing them out of the threat area (like using judo training to launch them into sharp pointy things). Aikido, while a devastating art, simply is too complex to master rapidly enough to make it a useful defense art. Another school of thought for defense which borders on the third type of seeker, is to put so much fear into your enemy(s) that they don't continue the fight. Some arts like Aikido, kung-fu, escrima, etc are excellent for this. If a guy comes up to you and swings and you maneuver him into a good wrist lock where you can parade him around calmly, while talking about all the nasty things you could do to him (kinda like a steven segall movie) his friends often decide it isn't worth it. One on one it's always better not to hurt someone unless it's necessary, and then locks, throws, incapacitations, etc are even more effective. I've been in security for the last 10 years or so. I haven't thrown a punch or kick (except specifically at a vital or control point to break their strength) in that time. I've been in hundreds of encounters (especially in the hospital er and psych wards) and I haven't been struck yet. Don't fall into the 'beat them up' trap of thought. There are many ways to leave an encounter alive, and striking (in my opinion) is near the bottom of the list. Also, self defense doesn't stop at melee combat training. If you TRULY care about defense, you'll be open to additional training (mental conditioning, street awareness, firearms training, etc).
If you think you're the third type, then you have the longest, but most rewarding road ahead of you. For these people, there is no right art, and in fact there shouldn't be only one art in the end. You can't simply say 'muay thai' is best. It is NOT best for a very small person with an inability to gain muscle mass or strength (and yes, I've known people who were UNABLE to get over 135lbs at 5'6, even with medical help). A very light, weak person will never inflict enough serious harm with muay thai against a bigger stronger opponent to make it a good choice. It relies on some amount of strength to be effective. A person in this situation would be much better suited to learning fast precision strike arts, or pressure point arts (kenpo, aikido, jiu-jitsu). That's not to say they wouldn't benefit from muay thai training, it's an extremely effective style...but they must tailor their training to their own purposes and limitations. Decide when you think you would use the training, how far you're willing to go (do you want to avoid the fight, scare them off, or are you perfectly comfortable delivering lethal blows against your opponents). Think carefully about your personality and abilities. Find an art which focuses on your strong areas, without totally ignoring other options. After a while you can pick up another school of training to improve your weak areas or just broaden your capabilities. Then another and another. Eventually your own style will emerge from all the knowledge you amass. This is the heart of bruce lees 'jeet kune do', and in fact most of histories greatest warriors. For these people it's the most important that they find a good school, with a good instructor who understands what they want to get from the training. This isn't a path about just fighting...it's about challenges and meeting them, succeeding in and in fact mastering life itself. It is these people who train all three aspects of the self to work as one, and it is these people who are most feared in combat...not because of the style they've chosen to use.
The above, of course, is opinion. I don't fight in tournaments, so I can't tell you what will work there. But I've been in a ridiculous number of encounters on the job and in the streets, and in my opinion, which style you use is far less important than how well you use it, and how well rounded you are.
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