What is the Best Martial Art?

How Does Mixed Martial Arts Stack Up Against Other Styles?

In some ways, this question gave birth to Mixed Martial Arts as we know it today. But it’s far from the first time this question has been asked, and it’s certainly not the first time mankind has engaged in “friendly” or not-so-friend competition to determine who has the best method of training and which school will prevail.

It seems the MMA world has finally settled on a more modern answer to this age-old question that’s caused major wars over the centuries. In ancient times the martial arts secrets were closely guarded and passed down by families and small communities. Their teachings were closely related to religion and inspired fanatical views on my subjects. In fact, we still see some of this today with adherence to tradition (for the sake of only tradition itself) that makes little sense in our modern world.

The answer proposed by the mixed martial arts world is that no one art is best, but rather a blending of various skills and techniques. You’ll note there is no style name in the term MMA, as it is a mixture of various styles. Although most will tend to assume certain styles are included in modern MMA training.

In the early days of MMA it seemed the Gracie family wanted to prove that their Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu system was superior for combat in a controlled environment such as a ring or cage. They were extremely successful in this endeavor, and inspired a whole discipline of martial arts that utilize a previously uncommon strategy of taking an opponent to the ground immediately in the fight and trying to choke them or break their limbs.

But as the fighters evolved, so did their defense to these strategies. They learned to thwart takedowns and to fend off submission attempts so they could batter their opponents with strikes. The sport continues to evolve and to add new styles of fighting each based on the individuals competing. But primarily the MMA world has settled on which arts do best. These answers come more from ten or so years of high-level competition, rather than the age-old opinions of the practitioners.

As an MMA competitor, you’d be foolish not to learn striking with at least some muay thai background, and you’ll definitely need to learn some wrestling to fend off takedowns and take opponents down. Plus you’ll need the jiu-jitsu ground fighting I mentioned earlier to know how to submit opponents, avoid submissions, reverse positions, and many other factors.

But still we must ask… What is the best martial art?

There are certainly surprise tactics that can work until they become more understood, but I don’t think these could ever qualify as the “best” martial art. Because the best art should be time tested and easily learned by a multitude of students, not just the founder of the art. Some said Bruce Lee’s Jeet Kun Do was the best martial art ever, but others contend it was only as good as its founder, and no one after him could ever master it at the same level.

So do we revisit the victories of the Gracie family and crown Gracie Jiu-Jitsu king of all martial arts? Well here’s the big catch to our all-encompassing question… Asking what is the best martial art is equivalent to asking a handyman, “What is the best tool in your toolbox?”

The handyman may say the best tool is his favorite, or most functional. Perhaps he chooses a hammer. But if you ask him to cut a piece of wood, a saw would certainly overtake the hammer in popularity for the specific task. Martial arts techniques and styles are like tools in the handyman’s toolbox. They are appropriate for various situations, but not universally applicable.

So the question should be asked in a more specific way. What is the best martial art for each specific situation and each individual taking it? If you are asking this question because you want to find a martial art to study, then you should first examine your own goals and situation. Not only do you need to consider the situations you could conceivably need to employ your martial arts in, but you need to consider your own body and your limitations, including physical, financial, and even time.

Some arts require greater strength, speed, flexibility, and time to learn. Some arts can be demanding on the body, while others are very gentle. Some are brutally effective, but cannot be employed legally in certain situations (such as law enforcement).

The bottom line is that there is no best tool, only tools that fit comfortably into the workman’s hand and that perform well for a specific job. So to claim jiu-jitsu as the best art, one would need to expand the statement. Brazilian Jiu-jitsu is the best martial art for ground fighting. I would be willing to go so far as to say that, with the understanding that it’s evolved from many ancient arts and teaches techniques that have long stood in judo, Japanese ju-jitsu, and other derivatives such as Russian sambo.

But to say it’s the best martial ever, ignores many important factors. For example, one should rarely take an opponent to the ground intentionally in a real self-defense situation. There are some cases where it’s not a bad plan, but typically there are hazards on the ground (cement, broken glass, moving cars, etc), and a person on the ground may have complete control over their opponent and still be extremely vulnerable to attack from others.

Self-defense situations often involve multiple attackers, weapons, and/or other uneven odds. Other martial arts such as Aikido tend to be criticized as not working well in a cage fight (they were never meant to be used this way to begin with), but work much better in the case of a real attack by multiple attackers, against weapons, and in other highly disadvantageous situations. Does that make Aikido the best martial art? Of course not.

Striking arts such as Karate, Kung Fu, and Muay Thai have similar limitations. For one thing, there are often situations where it is not acceptable to strike your opponent. Law enforcement is one example, but some others might include a stranger in a bar that simple puts his hand on your shoulder, or a family member that gets drunk and somewhat out of control. These are situations where controlling techniques are needed because vicious striking is not an acceptable response in our society.

But, on the other hand, striking techniques have their place as well. They can be very good for quickly dispatching multiple opponents, and for stopping those with superior wrestling abilities. In self-defense situations these techniques are vital as distractions and can often end the fight in and of themselves. They also lend some degree of danger. For example, punching an unknown attacker in the mouth could lead to a transfer of viruses or bacteria from the mouth to a cut on the hand and could lead to an injury of the hand if the punch is thrown improperly or simply lands wrong.

So in one way I think we can say that mixed martial arts, as a conglomeration of thousands of years and millions of lifetimes of study, is the best martial art because it’s not a single art. However, when we think of MMA, we often think of a style that adheres strictly to the rules of the UFC® or other fight leagues. While this is what’s absolutely necessary for healthy competition, it does not truly answer our question.

To think that the style of MMA taught to competitors is the best form of self-defense is foolish. Clearly there are excellent and highly useful techniques, but the strategies and tactics taught are done so for controlled situations, often with equal weight opponents, in single combat, on mats, with a referee ready to halt the action in case of an injury.

So if you want a real answer to this question, I suggest you maintain an open mind and closely scrutinize your own goals with regards to your martial arts education. Once you know what purpose the arts will have in your life, you can determine the best martial art for you. But as an individual, you will never be able to determine the best martial art in existence.

It should also be noted, that the more arts you study, the more universal truths you will uncover in each art. You will find that while they often teach things in different ways and present a difference appearance to some techniques, the underlying principles are all the same.

If you are trying to discover the best martial art for you, I suggest you pick up my book titled The Essential Guide for Choosing a Martial Arts School: Critical Inside Information for Selecting the Right Program and Registering for Classes