In this day and age of Martial Arts advancement I am still continuously hounded by the “My style is better then your style” debate. I have noticed the there seems to be a reasonable amount of intellect coming from these forums and therefore I think I will make this my new posting home.
For those of you who lurk here looking for the “best style”(and I know there are some) you need to realize a few things. 1) No martial art is perfect. 2) No one style has the INVINCIBLE TECHNIQUE. 3) You will get your ass kicked with that mentality. Now with that being said, ANY style can be a practical, realistic style. All it takes is a progressive instructor. Avoid pomp and circumstance and look for someone who believes that martial arts, like the people who practice evolve consistently, and the only way to stay ahead of the game is to change before everyone else.
Anyhow, hello everyone hope to get some good discussions going around here. Feel free to e-mail me anytime. louie-raynor@yahoo.com
Hi, and welcome to Bullshido. I agree with most of what you said.
I’m not sure about “any” style being a practical style. Just look up… what was it… Juko-Kai? (That’s the style where they teach you how to stand there and get punched in the throat and kicked in the 'nads.)
I think most styles, however, can be effective… IF they are taught correctly. I think too many styles have pussied out and have watered down their training. The students are more interested in learning how to count to 10 in korean and building “character” than they are in learning how to actually fight. But, teach a style “hard-core”, and I think most can benefit you. I certainly think there are things you can learn from most styles and encorporate them into your own.
Yes, god came down from heaven and gave each region it’s own style in a different, but equal manner. All styles were created 10,000 years ago aswell (during a time where all wars were fought hand to hand)
I think the crux of the issue is that certain styles are much more likely to be taught “practically” than others. So when one is looking for which style to start in, one would be best served going with the odds. Not saying one shouldn’t shop around, but sometimes people need to know where to start.
anyway, styles really don’t matter. A punch is a punch and a kick is a kick. You could be practicing wind milling every day and as long as you did it in an alive manner you’d be as good as a fighter as you can be!
oh, it works, you just happen to be a shitty fighter, or perhaps you trained at a McDojo. Just remember: It’s not the style that fails, it’s the fighter.
You know, we really need to come up with a compendium of responses to the standard faire around here.
This one would be dealt with by the “Lefthanded Spinning Backfist Style” argument from 2002, as in “my style only practices left-handed, spinning backfists on B.O.B. dummies; but all styles are equal, am I right guys?”
I like the people who go and try to find the most unheard of style in the known world and try to proclaim it as the end all be all system of martial arts. “I take Himalayan hijitsudosu kyokushoda expanding arm technique” kind of thing.
In my opinion, other than complete bullshit styles, what makes a martial art effective for you is the teacher and how you take your training. If it weren’t for my dojo and my teacher I probably wouldn’t continue doing Taijutsu. There are just too many bullshitters out there and sissies in the booj.
Apart from that, I still stand by the ol’ maxim “It’s not the art, it’s the artist”, the only exception being something like Combat Ki or relative BS arts.
If your style primarily teaches unrealistic techniques (left-handed spinning backfists), your style is not as good as styles that teach more practical and realistic skills.
This argument was dead in 2002. Some styles suck more than others, but any style that trains realistically will eventually suck less than those that do not.
ya know, this thread makes me think about the banner for this site. We have some cardio girl doing a nice high kick (she’s obviously a cardio girl, I mean look at her outfit!). Elvis doing krotty. Some Sho shou (I think) guy doing a pansy bent wrist punch. Of course the ki kid doing a kameha maha. A doh\g wearing a gi (very cute). A 9 year old black belt. A ninja doing the splits with people holding him up. A karate dude riding a mechanical bull. A fatty, meditating. I don’t even know what the deal is with that shirtless guy on the end…
