FAQs

My Favorite Martial Art…

You know I’m often asked the question of what my favorite martial art is. I usually answer with: “Mine.” You see, I don’t mean Isshin-ryu, the one I’ve studied for the longest; I mean mine, it includes all the martial knowledge I’ve ever accumulated. Every move and every philosophy has their moment, from the flashiest to the simplest. So you see, my favorite martial art is whatever I may happen to use at whatever moment in my day to day life. It’s mine and everyone should also have their own personal martial art and if you don’t… you probably will.

What’s the Best Martial Art…

This is probably the question I’m asked the most. Personally, I believe, the best martial art is situational. What do you want it for? What’s the most likely confrontation you’ll be facing? What is your environment? What type of person are you? These are just a few questions you have to ask yourself before you can begin answering yourself. If you happen to be a petite person for example, then a martial art demanding a lot of physical prowess is probably not for you. Say you happen to be in a narrow hallway, Shaolin Long Fist probably wouldn’t be the best style, where something short and direct would be better. Now, if you want a martial art to get in shape, I would say to go shopping. Check out a few dojos in your area because every class is conducted differently, so only by actually seeing the class will you know if the workout is right for you.

A lot of people say that Brazilian Jiu-jitsu is the best martial art out there, some even justify this by saying most fights end up on the ground anyway. However, like I said earlier, all fights are situational and therefore so is the correct and best martial art. The safest route in being a good combat martial artist is definitely to mix it up. Most like to combine both some form of ground fighting with a style of kickboxing. I wouldn’t limit myself to just these two arts however, though good in the ring you may want a little more on the street.

I have often heard it stated that the UFC (ultimate fighting championships), or other comparable cage fight, is the closest thing to real combat. Though this may be true don’t let it mislead you. Kickboxing and Jiu-jitsu rule the world of the ring, however, in real life there are no rules when your life is in danger, when it comes down to you protecting yourself and your loved ones. In real life joints aren’t against the rules, biting isn’t against the rules, groin shots, mace, guns and even keys aren’t against the rules. So you see sport fighting and real fighting will always be different. Real life doesn’t have weight classes and the matches aren’t always one on one. So the best martial art is your mind and using it to gather as much useful information and as many useful techniques to deal with the greatest number of situations.

Tae Kwon Do?

I often hear people put down Tae Kwon Do and I’ve been asked to comment on it a few times. My response? I love it, I love all martial arts, because every martial art has its purpose. Though in today’s world Tae Kwon Do may not be the most effective combat art it is still a very beautiful martial art. The art is great for children because it’s high energy and keeps them flexible and focused. Just because it is great for children doesn’t mean it isn’t good for adults, it keeps us limber and even keeps us entertained and in shape. Tae Kwon Do, along with karate and other similar styles, may have been effective as a combat art in the past when all fighting was stances and set moves, but in today’s world of unpredictable fighters and no stances, these arts are considerably less effective. In the higher levels of these arts they still may be useful to an extent, but still only if used with the correct mindset. Also, even though these arts may not be as effective in strike combat as they use to be, some of their techniques for breaking holds and such are still quite useful.