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[LordBucket]

"Which martial art is best?"

Thread rules:

1. Be polite.
2. No getting angry. If you're angry, don't post. Come back when you're not angry.
3. Try to understand that the question is loaded. Asking which martial art is "best" isn't much different from asking which type of hand tool is best. Hammers? Saws? Screwdrivers? It very obviously depends on what your goal is and what you want to use them for. If you want to claim that X is best, be sure to say that X is best...for the specific purpose of Y.
4. Try to understand that there are many, many martial arts...and simply as a matter of probability, the odds that the style or school that you chose based on criteria like "my friends are taking it" or "it's close" are probably not that good. Think very carefully about that.
5. Try to understand that nothing you say will convince anyone of anything. Words on a screen have very little weight compared to years of training combined with peer reinforcement in a social environment. Since you're not going to convince anyone else, you may as well listen to what they're saying and at least try to understand why they think what they do.
6. Inevitably references to specific UFC matches will come up. That's ok. But remember #3. There are valid reasons for taking martial arts besides winning ring fights.
7. Save people the trouble of asking for your credentials by volunteering them. If you're claiming that X is awesome and Y is stupid...please have the intellectual honesty to admit up front that you've studied X for 5 years and Y for zero years.
8. Please be specific. Remember that individual schools are different and not necessarily representative of the overall style that they claim to teach. Words like "karate" and "kung fu" are general categories that include multiple, and in some cases extremely different, individual styles. Don't try to claim that fruit is awful because you don't like plums.


Go.

[Levi]

I admittedly don't know a lot about martial arts.  But here is a quote that I liked about Sumo:

Sumo is the most perfect of sports. It has elegance, ceremony, danger, art, speed, and, most important, two fat bastards smacking the **** out of each other. It is immaculate, which is why it has remained essentially unchanged for thousands of years. It remains the only thing in the world that I want to stay static. The only thing I love that loves me back.” (Transmetropolitan Oct 1999, No. 26 Pg 17 — censorship, mine)

[Thecard]

Uhh... I'm obviously going to stir up a pot of honeybadgers here, but I think the best martial arts to learn is what you learn on the street.  Karate, tae qwan do, ninjitsu all involve rules.  In terms of actual fights, it's best to learn how to kick someone's ass without holding yourself back.
But in terms of relaxation... I have no idea.  I don't put much stock in meditation or meditation-like exercises.  Thinking is generally a better way to calm myself.

[GreatWyrmGold]

In terms of fighting, the Dr. Jones School of Swordfighting has always held appeal to me.

If we're not talking about simply which is best for winning fights, it's subjective.

[i2amroy]

Zui Quan (more commonly known as Drunken Boxing, note that this is not the same as portrayed in fiction, read the wikipedia before you start comparing it to that), for a few reasons:
1)It is one of the most difficult wushu styles to learn due to the need for powerful joints and fingers.
2)The entire martial art revolves around misdirection and getting your opponent to believe you are vulnerable when in fact you are at your strongest point.
3)It's a martial art that copies the movements of drunkards! I mean how much cooler can you get?

[Scoops Novel]

Whats the general rule of thumb for going unarmed against modern weaponry, aside from the obvious?

[Sir Finkus]

Whats the general rule of thumb for going unarmed against modern weaponry, aside from the obvious?

Run.

[andrea]

and take cover.

[i2amroy]

Whats the general rule of thumb for going unarmed against modern weaponry, aside from the obvious?

If you are within a few feet then you can force it to be a close-range thing, but elsewise yeah, run/take cover.

[Thecard]

And trying to negotiate.  Running from someone who can shoot a gun is dangerous, even running serpentine.  Surrendering, basically.  Then, attacking at the most opportune time.

[Askot Bokbondeler]

i'm rather fond of brazilian jiu jitsu, and from my own experience in local mixed martial arts competitions, a fighter with no training in submission fights, or in df terms, with zero skill in wrestling, always loses versus one who does, regardless of the opponent's skill in striking\kicking\biting, so i'd say submission martial arts are superior. or maybe it's a RPS thing and i'm just missing a piece of the puzzle.

[Cthulhu]

Uhh... I'm obviously going to stir up a pot of honeybadgers here, but I think the best martial arts to learn is what you learn on the street.  Karate, tae qwan do, ninjitsu all involve rules.  In terms of actual fights, it's best to learn how to kick someone's ass without holding yourself back.
But in terms of relaxation... I have no idea.  I don't put much stock in meditation or meditation-like exercises.  Thinking is generally a better way to calm myself.

Really?  From what I've seen actual fights are all about two flailing assholes tangling themselves up in a pile on the floor.

As for favorite, I'm going to be a dick and say HEMA.  Bastard Sword > Katana

[GlyphGryph]

Naginatajutsu. Atarashii naginata or otherwise.

[Scoops Novel]

Actually, i see this as a perfect thread for MaximumZero (alright, everyone else too) telling us about the fights he's been in, and of course his less-esteemed clone.

[Thecard]

Uhh... I'm obviously going to stir up a pot of honeybadgers here, but I think the best martial arts to learn is what you learn on the street.  Karate, tae qwan do, ninjitsu all involve rules.  In terms of actual fights, it's best to learn how to kick someone's ass without holding yourself back.
But in terms of relaxation... I have no idea.  I don't put much stock in meditation or meditation-like exercises.  Thinking is generally a better way to calm myself.

Really?  From what I've seen actual fights are all about two flailing assholes tangling themselves up in a pile on the floor.

As for favorite, I'm going to be a dick and say HEMA.  Bastard Sword > Katana

Yeah, don't go to any random asshole and get him to teach you.  By real-world, I'm not really talking street-fighting.  I meant that more metaphorically.  You want to learn practical fighting, and you're gonna want to fight dirty.  I just don't know exactly where one would find someone to teach you that.

Ninja'd?  This damn day man!
Oh, but Novel gave me an idea for a teacher...