Which Martial Art Is The Best?

By: Paul A. Walker

I’m often asked the question “Which is better, Karate or Taekwondo?”; “Which is stronger, Judo or Kung Fu?”; or more direct questions such as “Could you beat a Mixed Martial artist in a fight?”

Thanks to the current popularity of the UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championship) we are seeing a showcase of different styles being pitted against one another. However my answer to all of these questions has to do with the many different paths that are available in the martial arts, and the one common destination.

Before I elaborate on what that actually means let me first give you a situation. You are standing outside your local shopping mall and you want to get home. How many ways could you do it? Well you would normally drive, either in your car or someone else’s but you could also take the bus, ride a bike, walk or even hitchhike. Which way is best?

Of course most of you will tell me to drive. It’s quicker, you don’t have to pay for a bus, you have control of your trip and you don’t have to use much energy. But are any of the other methods any less valid? You still reach your objective, and that is to get home. Granted it takes longer but maybe you learn something along the way that could be valuable for the rest of your life; or maybe you just have a miserable journey and wish you had driven!

Different martial arts are very similar to that. Some of them are like riding your bike. You get some exercise without straining yourself too much, but it takes a little bit longer than you wanted to get to your destination, others are like walking the whole way - it takes hours to get there but you see all kinds of sights on the way and learn a lot. However, you have to decide whether the time it took was worth the effort. Then finally you have the quick option to get in your car and drive in order to get there quickly. Some martial arts offer you this too but you have to ask yourself if you were even looking at and enjoying the sights along the way, much less learning something.

So which is better, Karate or Taekwondo? Which is stronger, Judo or Kung Fu? I have an answer and here it is!

No one martial art is better than another, yet at the same time all martial arts have something that is better than the others, and ultimately the choice one makes as to which martial art to study comes down to personal preference.

Let me give you some concrete examples of what I mean by this answer. Firstly consider a 250-pound muscular, well proportioned man being pitted against a 150-pound toned guy of equal technical ability in a wrestling match. There is no doubt in my mind that the bigger guy will win 9 times out of 10 because of his sheer size and strength. There is a lot of skill involved in wrestling and that is why I said they have the same technical ability. But wrestling generally favors the bigger fighter.

So let’s put these same fighters in a Karate tournament where the goal is not to pin your opponent into submission but to score points through quick, powerful and focused techniques. The small guy now doesn’t have to worry about being smothered, he just has to worry about whether he is fast enough to get in and out of the big man’s guard and score the point. The chances for each fighter winning are a little more even in this match.

Now let’s make the small guy a ju-jitsu expert who understands wrist locks, arm locks and pressure points and let’s make the big guy a lumbering yet strong oaf. I would almost guarantee that the ju-jitsu guy would win this fight in spite of the seeming size disadvantage.

I hope that you’ve understood what I’m trying to say in this brief article. The point I'm making is that the question of whether one art is better than another does not depend on the art itself, but rather on the person who is studying that art. If the art is suited to the practitioner, then the martial artist will ultimately become very skillful and very accomplished. On the other hand, if the martial artist can’t kick, yet chooses Taekwondo as his style he will have a very hard time!

So which martial art is the best? In the end it simply depends on you and what your specific skills and talents are! It would probably be better to ask which martial art would suit you best, and how can you find this information? I can help you here by offering to help you by offering the additional information in my FREE Report “Beginners Guide to Karate”. You will find out how to download it at http://www.freekarateinformation.com

Good luck and best wishes on your journey in karate.

I hope you take me up on this offer and save yourself a lot of wasted time and effort in choosing the right martial art.

Article Source: http://www.bigfreearticles.com

I’m often asked the question “Which is better, Karate or Taekwondo”; “Which is stronger, Judo or Kung Fu

About the Author:
Paul A. Walker, is a 4th degree black belt karate instructor with over 25 years experience in the martial arts. In 2003 he attained his 4th degree black belt, after studying with the legendary Karate Master, Hirokazu Kanazawa in Tokyo for three years. Get more info at http://www.freekarateinformation.com.

Tags: sports, karate, martial arts, shotokan, taekwondo

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