The best martial art for street fight [Real life vs Expectations]
Well, I still dared to talk about it – the best martial art for street fight. This subject is always on the surface. Always. All the way I remember myself in martial arts. But I thought I will never write about it.
Because it’s a tricky subject.
On one side, the answer is short and obvious and there is nothing to discuss here. But as soon as you only start to talk about it, especially to someone, a real talking battlefield may unfold right away.
Especially on the internet.
You never know at what count of comments it will stop. And we will never know how many threads on talk boards on this subject have been closed by admins already.
The best fighting style for street fights
But what we all know for sure, the internet and real life are two different worlds. And a street fight is one of those things that bring into the real world right away.
First of all, if talking about the street fight, one should determine two contexts of it:
- martial arts for street fights as self defense
- and street fighting styles as a, let’s call it, subculture or a phenomenon
Self defense martial arts is a way to be prepared (as much it is possible) to fight back if someone is attacking you on the street.
Street fights as a subculture or a phenomenon are usually organized by agreement in advance or before the fight takes place. The reasons for starting a street fight in this case can vary: a quarrel or a dispute, or a competition format to measure whose street fighting style is the best.
In this article today we are talking about the first variant – martial arts for self-defense.
What is the best martial art for street fight?
First of all, as I mentioned I was postponing writing about this subject all this way long. But eventually, this time came.
I don’t give expertise on what is the best martial art for street fight but combine my experience in sports with the experience of other martial artists.
In fact, I prefer to expose here the point of view of many other combat sports practitioners which are available to find on the internet.
What I have done in the format of research and to give the main messages in short sentences.
These presented basic conclusions below are not just about what martial art is most effective in a street fight but also what to expect from a street fight and therefore to consider.
But first, I want to point out the very basic and main thought:
No martial art style, black belt grade, or world champion title guarantee success in a street fight. A sudden onslaught from behind or another situation may break the scenario.
Unfortunately, we all know the bad scenarios from real life.
RIP Leandro Lo.
The best martial art style would be, if possible, to use your consciousness and run away.
Now, let’s jump to other detailed points.
| Being an enthusiast of any kind of martial art is already better than having no experience in fighting at all. |
| Even a short analysis of street fights shows that win those who hit first. Again, if there is no option to avoid the fight. |
| At the top of most of the discussions of best street fighting sports remains boxing. Boxers have a well-worked-out instinct to avoid punches and keep guard. |
| Kickboxers may miss with their kicks and as the result end up on the ground or the opponent can catch their foot. Also, there can be not enough space for leg kicks. |
| There is a lot of grabbing and pushing involved in street fighting. The Muay Thai clinch game can come in handy here. |
| Kickboxing and Muay Thai are good for street fight but better if mixed with grappling or wrestling. |
| A combination of boxing with BJJ, judo, or another grappling in a street fight is an “effective cocktail”. |
| Karate, and taekwondo do work. But if the opponent knows how to fight and in addition is stronger and bigger, chances can melt faster than ice cream. |
| Kung fu and aikido have a lot about blocking techniques which in most cases don’t safe from real punches at a close distance with high speed. |
| Surprise and spontaneity are the “techniques” of street fighting. If you are strong in that – you have great chances on the streets. |
Best martial art for street fight Reddit Opinions
Here we come again to our favorite source of minds and information.
Reddit threads are always a chest of useful thoughts and experiences of real people.
Let’s see what people share about the best martial art for street fight.
For instance, there was taken a poll among the r/martialarts subscribers “What is the most effective Martial Art in a street fight in your opinion?”.
The poll got 408 votes in total and here are the results:
So, the most effective martial arts for street fighting according to the poll are:
In the comments on Reddit people also mention:
- judo
- any grappling combat style
- any of the mentioned martial art if you have any martial arts experience at all
And one more popular opinion regarding the best martial arts as self defense:
