On the subject of Tae Kwon Do, I have recently an interesting experience with that art.

I'm currently in a self-defense school that teaches pretty much the same methods and theories that our local police and sheriff departments use. It seems to be nothing more than things that have been tried and proven through trial and error over years of collective experience, rather than a certain style that has its roots in Asian Country X. If I likened the system to anything else, I'd say Kenpo is the closest.

Before that, I had almost three years of TKD training.

This last tuesday was a sparring night, and, well, I kicked ass (if I say so myself :D ) .

What highlighted the session, though, was sparring against my instructor, who's never been outside of the system that this school teaches. We stayed at kicking range because that's where I'm comfortable and he wasn't pushing me because he doesn't know me very well yet.

So we're trading kicks back and forth. I realized that any time I just throw a regular ol' kick at him, he blocks it and closes distance (but couldn't pummel me when close because I'm VERY good at jumping away ^_^; ). So I went back to my sparring experiences from TKD for my next move.

I threw a jumping straight kick at him. He saw me move, of course, and went to block... my left leg. My left leg was only launching me into the air. My right foot was unobstructed all the way to his chest and BAM! Surprise!!! He stepped away real fast and seemed a little confused until he realized where the kick came from.

The moral of the story is this:

No matter what anyone says about TKD not being a combative art, always know that a good TKD fighter CAN do a thing or two that'll turn the fight. TKD is not "useless" by any means.

Having said that, I still would not pick TKD as my art if I were looking for one to use for SD.

The same applies to all art, every art has the potential to be deadly, its just how well you train and master it

Hokuto Shinken -nod nod-


You're already dead...

YouTube - hokuto no ken techniques

i like Ba Gua.
you go around with smooth circling movements, twists. and the sky is the limits on what you can do.

Calligraphy. When I studied kendo, all students had to read Musashi's go-rin-no-sho, in which he writes about the proper way of the sword being a combined way of the pen and the sword.

If you look at the writing of the great martial arts masters, you'll usually notice that they have a striking way of writing.

Calligraphy is mental and physical, it requires great focus and coordination. It is described as the "7th martial art".

Martial
–adjective
1. inclined or disposed to war; warlike: The ancient Romans were a martial people.
2. of, suitable for, or associated with war or the armed forces: martial music.
3. characteristic of or befitting a warrior: a martial stride.

According to this definition [2. of, suitable for, or associated with war or the armed forces: martial music.] Calligraphy may be considered a "Martial Art": It is related to combat and it is a practiced art. However, it is also not a Martial Art, as in the relevant definition describing a physical knowledge that is applied in combative situations.

My point: Clever answer. ;)

i think no art is the best it is only the person who can be better than another

While this is true, there is a certain ability that practitioners get from their art that could possibly make a difference in a fight. Generally, these come from what the art focuses on. Boxing, for instance, focuses exclusively on punching techniques--at that, in a setting that is controlled and predictable. Because of that, a boxer might be at a disadvantage against a US Marine who has trained to fight with no controls, no way to predict conditions, and to use whatever is available to him in the fight.

That is assuming that training is the only thing that matters. As you said, in the end it comes down to the person. Training only helps ;) .

There are a few ways to answer this question:
A person could choose to be wise and say there is no best martial art.
Or they could express, through personal opinion, which they believe is the best.

... And neither response would be wrong.

What we consider to be the "best" and why varies from person-to-person. It's difficult to determine who is correct or incorrect when it comes down to such things as personal preference.

When a martial artist defeats another martial artist in physical combat, he could feel that the knowledge and practice he received through training contributed to his victory and, therefore, believe that his martial art is the best. And that belief wouldn't be unjustified.

This is why there are many types of martial arts and martial artists.
There is a best martial art and there isn't, at the same time.

Aikido is the coolest. I want to do it so badly, but I have no money. :eek: