Which are the most and least effective martial arts for use in a street fight?

[Physics-Man]

[hellionthesagereborn]

I couldn't say for certain but I would say based upon what I have heard, Krav Maga is one of the best as it was quite literally derived from street fighting (and very recently (this is important because as the martial art ages they tend to start incorporating philosophies and more techniques that are only applicable if some one else knows the style (this actually happened with sword fighting, their was a Spanish style that was so esoteric that it could only be used against another opponent of the same school)).

Second I would say would be probably mauy thai, from my understanding its still very much a combat martial arts and hasn't really lost any of its martial aspects (unlike the many variants of Kung fu (again, from what I have heard (this was also why Bruce lee created Jeet Kun do in order to remove the "unnecessary" aspects that had accumulated in Kung fu).

Third I would say Escrima due to its versatility and to my knowledge is still used in its martial application (plus it switches between unarmed and armed very well with minimal alterations to style making it very versatile).

I here jujitsu is also very good (Brazilian specifically) particularly for ground fighting however in a street fight the last thing you want is to be on the ground (easier to have your head smashed into the pavement (also why in a street fight you always want to protect your head because if you get knocked out, the punch may not do as much damage but your head smashing into the concrete most definitely will).

I've heard Sambo is also pretty affective (its a Russian combat wrestling) though I don't know to much about it so I can't say for certain (also Glima would follow that same vein (Nordic folk wrestling (keeping in mind it was historically for war so depending on what variant you study it can be more or less effective (though it could be that some techniques are outdated like historical ringin (war wrestling (Germany)) which relied some what on an armored opponent (as it used their increased weight with the armor to perform slams that would potentially fracture skulls and necks with the added weight (but what I have seen looked interesting and pretty useful (again since normally the last thing you want is to have your head hit the ground and that's what a lot of the techniques do))).

As for least affective, I'd say most ground fighting because again, if your in the streets your on concrete and the easier you can crack your skull plus concrete is abrasive so your more then likely going to get bloody just shifting and moving around on the concrete (not that some of the techniques won't be useful or aren't good, just that under that situation you would probably need to be more selective with which technique you use)). Also I have heard many of the traditional Asian martial arts are not as affective as many of them have been used against other practioners that they don't translate well to a street fight (they have different rules and expectations for each other then what generally occurs in a street fight (like for instance, they usually don't open with a bull rush/spear charge unlike in real life street fighting which generally do)).

[hellionthesagereborn]

I actually was watching something on this (I don't practice any martial arts myself but do find them fascinating (I'm actually curious about indian martial arts as it seems so foreign and very rarely touched on in the west but I couldn't tell you if they are particularly good (though I imagine they have their uses):https://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Indian_martial_arts ), and they pointed out that if you want to know if a style or master was particularly good, see if they pointed out the weaknesses of their style (like a lack of striking for jujitsu) or if they where welcomed challenges from other schools of martial arts. If they do neither of those then chances are they are no good because they are functioning inside a bubble being unchallenged and they are unwilling to acknowledge the short comings of their style (which all styles have) and so they would not bother to improve on it (because in their mind its already perfect).

However I think that for the most part, most probably have something valuable in them, its just how watered down they have become (as I pointed out time can do that, if they become more of a art form and stylized then they lose some of its more practical applications etc.) and how much work you want to put in to extract that which is valuable.

[jamesgoldman]

They aren't... I did some training with a guy who had belts in several as well as learning other fight techniques
He viewed martial arts as a discipline and an art form but useless in a street fight (he was badly injured in an attack before he learnt his skills)
His view is do whatever it takes to survive as long as you don't kill them

[Agape93]

Least:
Karate
BJJ
Wing Chun
Taekwondo

Most:
Mauy Thai
Sambo
Pankration
Krav maga

[Phoenix98]

For all cases both simple defense and life and death situations I'll post the ones I view as most effective.

Goju Ryu
Kyokushin Karate
Traditional Boxing or Rough and Tumble
Eskrima
Jeet Kune Do

I say this as someone who's won a lot of medals fighting but also as someone who's been in legitimate street fights and fought out of the arena in general.

[blutwolfe]

Considering most of gag has never been in a street fight, all martial arts pretty much suck.

This ain't mortal kombat where there's a combo, it's survival man. Know how to throw a punch, know how to throw a kick. Rest is pretty much instincts.

If you get in a headlock it's not unheard of to bite a mofo. I grew up around this shit, don't aim to win, just aim to survive

[Telekinetic-Potato]

Most effective? Probably a mix between muay thai, krav maga and karate

Least effective, maybe jiu jitsu, Kung-fu or taekwondo

[msss98]

Ur mad if u think krav maga beats bjj in a one on one

[Telekinetic-Potato]

@msss98 I'm talking about a street fight and i'm talking about regular people, not Khabib v. s some other dude lol

I've seen bjj people get their asses handed to them because, first of all, it's a hard skill to master to a pint where you can actually use it and most people really are only dangerous once they get someone to the ground. Which is much easier said than done.

I think an average krav maga streetfighter would beat a slightly above average bjj fighter simply because the whole thing would probably be over before it gets to the ground. You see this even in high level fights

When you see a bjj fighter in UFC go against a striking type opponent the challenge for them is almost always getting the fight to the ground and they usually do it by eating a bunch of punches as they wait for an opportunity.

[msss98]

Any competent bjj guy will shoot a double leg or slam u before u can get to think 😂

[hellionthesagereborn]

@msss98 Brazilian Jujitsu is a very good martial art but you also have to consider environment, not every thing works in every situation. Going to the ground in a street fight is the last thing you want to do because its a lot easier to smash some ones head into the concrete and that could take them out before they could even get a proper hold or lock on the person. Plus your on abrasive concrete so your probably not going to get away from that fight without many cuts and bruises even if your barely touched by your opponent. I think it definitely would have its uses but you would have to cherry pick for it to be most effective in a street fight (not saying it doesn't have its uses, it does but again, consider the environment and what each was actually designed for. Jiu jitsu was designed as a tournament fighting style (and worked very well for that), Krav Maga was specifically evolved from street fighting.).

[msss98]

Im talking 1 to 1 unarmed obviously every martial art goes out the window if anyone has a weapon or is outnumbered

[hellionthesagereborn]

@msss98 that's what I am saying, in a street fight no one is technically unarmed because concrete is a weapon and if you get some one on the ground its really easy to just smash their head into the ground (hell you can do it accidentally just by punching them). If your talking in a gym or some where where the ground is a non issue with a very experienced bjj artist, then yeah absolutely but environmental circumstances matter and in a street fight their is no such thing as unarmed, what ever you can grab or smash them into is a weapon and practioners of Krav Maga are trained to use every thing and anything as a weapon (because it got its origins as street fighting).

[Telekinetic-Potato]

@msss98 It's also worth mentioning that when you learn Krav Maga, you learn how to use your elbows and knees which is basically like coming into a fight with a sledgehammer haha! And it doesn't take that much skill to be dangerous with them.

[pigoat]

If you have a weapon you might get lucky

[mattym11]

Just shoot or stab you so no bloody good anyway

[TwoToTooTutu2]

Pick up fencing. Weapons give avantages.

[msss98]

Muay thai

[msss98]

And least, aikido or kung-fu or some kata based ma

[Anonymous]

Running away.