- Comparing popular fighting styles

What's the best martial arts style? How do I decide which martial arts style to study?

These questions come up time and time again, yet there are no black and white answers. There are so many potential variables an individual should take into consideration before dedicating themselves to a particular martial arts style.

From a purely physical standpoint, how tall are you? Are you slim or heavier set? Someone who’s 5’4 and 120lbs may find themselves at a disadvantage if they decide to get into wrestling, a style that relies much more on weight and raw power.

What is your pain threshold? Can you take a hit? Kickboxing or Muay Thai, for instance, generally require a higher tolerance to pain since there’s much more striking involved, often requiring you to be able to take several hits before your opponent presents an opening for an attack.

Aikido, on the other hand, is much more passive, relying on your ability to re-direct an opponent’s energy using fluid motions.

It’s not an easy task deciding on a martial arts style. Nobody knows your body, your lifestyle, and your own commitment, better than yourself. Through careful analysis however, you’ll eventually make up your mind as to which martial arts style is best for you, and you alone.

In the meantime, here’s a chart that compares the most modern, well-known, and practiced styles of fighting.

As you can see, Jujitsu seems to offer the most variety with regards to martial arts training, as it encompasses the vast majority of these various techniques. However, nowadays many martial arts instructors are skilled enough in various styles that you’ll often learn an aikido-like takedown, even if you’re studying kung-fu.

- Master the 11 commandments of Taekwondo

Any martial artist fluent in Taekwondo should be able to tell you there are 11 specific commandments to which a serious student holds himself accountable for. These codes of conduct are used to guide a student’s moral development, and fittingly, not following or fully understanding the following principles will prevent them from ever mastering the true essence of the art.

The 11 commandments of Taekwondo:

- Loyalty to your country
- Respect your parents
- Faithfulness to your spouse
- Respect your brothers and sisters
- Loyalty to your friends
- Respect your elders
- Respect your teachers
- Never take life unjustly
- Indomitable spirit
- Loyalty to your school
- Finish what you begin

Incorporate these commandments into your way of life, and your Taekwondo training will progress beyond limits even you can imagine.

- The most vulnerable areas of the head

It’s no secret to any martial artist that certain parts of the human body are more vulnerable than others. What’s critically important, on the other hand, is how to strike that particular area for maximum effect.

First of all, where NOT to hit. Ever see a martial artist break bricks with his head? There’s a reason he uses the top of his head. Being solid bone (and very hard to injure), the top of the head is the hardest part of the body. There are, however, five areas of the head you CAN strike that will cause an opponent to stop fighting.

The Eyes. Arguably THE most sensitive part of the head, a strike to the eyes can cause serious damage, and as such, should be limited to using only in life-threatening situations. A straight punch, palm heel, or elbow strike can all cause permanent eyesight damage. Even more damaging, is the use of an eye jab, which can end a fight in less than 5 seconds.

The Ears. This is a target often overlooked in a fight, but the ears are extremely sensitive. A cupped palm, hook-punch, or palm heel can immediately disorient your assailant and cause him to completely lose his balance. Remember, the inner ear controls our equilibrium, so a move like a two-handed clap on your attacker’s ears can be devastatingly painful, and have immediate effect.

The Nose. Probably the most obvious, a nose strike has long been known to immediately make your opponent’s eyes water and disorient him. It’s fairly easy to break someone’s nose with a strong forearm, punch, or palm heel.

The Mouth. Another obvious, yet misunderstood target is the mouth. While a sensitive area, it’s very easy to get cut by an assailant’s teeth. Believe it or not, the harmful bacteria in someone’s mouth can put you at risk of severe infection. Use caution if striking at someone’s open mouth.

The Neck. Last but not least is the neck. A well-placed strike to the neck can easily render someone unconscious, and/or even be fatal. Most martial arts use strikes to the side of the neck, since they are less lethal. A forearm or hammer fist (bottom of fist) striking the side of someone’s neck can usually knock them out instantly, as it shocks the nerves traveling to the brain.

Understanding these targets and practicing your martial arts techniques, can make you that much more effective when and if you need to use your martial arts in a real-life situation.

- The 4 secrets of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu

Thousands of people worldwide consider Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu to be the safest and most effective system of self-defense available. Why? Is Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu really a better martial art than karate? Or Aikido?

There’s no definitive answer as to which style of martial arts is ‘the best’. Ask a student from every discipline and they’ll each tell you their style is better. It is however commonly known that different fighting styles work best in different situations. So, that gives us four distinct areas which separate Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu from the others.

First, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu is designed for surprise situations. As a grappling art (rather than a striking art), it relies on close contact and wrestling-like holds to control your opponent, in case you’re attacked by surprise, or from behind. Allotting for a wide range of instant reactions to an attack, you have an arsenal of potential responses to any situation.

Second, size and strength are irrelevant. Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu was developed by men of smaller stature, so it had to take into account ways of defeating larger opponents. Unlike a striking art where size and strength typically determine an outcome, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu focuses more on controlling the situation, making use of an arm lock, or some other type of submission hold.

Third, it allows for realistic preparation. Most striking arts don’t allow you to practice as you would in a real-life situation, since you or your partner would likely injure each other if you kicked or punched as you would if your life depended on it. A grappling art like Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, on the other hand, can be practiced at precisely the same intensity you’d use for real. ‘Muscle memory’ is often underrated, but when you condition yourself to react in a certain way, it becomes second nature for you when you’re forced to respond to a situation in which you don’t have time to think.

Lastly, it allows you to control the severity of a situation. Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu can either allow you to safely subdue someone without injury, or go as far as permanent injury, if necessary. Many professions that require safe suppression of an individual (e.g. police, night club staff) favor this martial art due to its flexibility of control.

It’s ultimately up to you to decide which martial arts style works best, for your needs, but at least now it’s easier to understand what makes Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu so unique.

- Punch twice as hard with this one technique

Admit it. It sounds pretty basic. After all every martial artist has seen a punch before or at least knows what a proper fist looks like, right? But what allows that 120lb kid to hit harder than the guy with the 18-inch arms? Surely not size. Or even strength.

I’ll give you a hint. Think of a baseball player hitting a ball with a bat. Make a note of his technique. When he swings, notice how he uses his entire body and not just his arms? The same principles apply when punching, whether it’s noticeable or not.

Without getting too scientific and breaking this down into a formula, punching power is simply the transfer of energy. And you NEED a pivoting, weight-shift to achieve true follow-through punching power. It’s no wonder so many people have a confused expression when they’re told that the pivot starts down in the legs. If your weight stays settled on your feet, you’re only punching with a mere fraction of your potential.

Using another analogy, think of a hammer. Of course it hurts when you accidentally tap your finger instead of the nail. But is all that striking force from the head of the hammer? Of course not! That’s why there’s a handle. It’s the leveraging of the weight, or the torque (whichever you prefer), that allows such a variance in striking force. Like a fist, the hammer head is simply the striking end.

So, write this down if you need to. “The arm doesn’t punch, the body does”.

This weight shift allows you to move the energy up through your legs, using your hips to then torque your upper body, extending to your shoulder, and then forcing the energy down through your arm into your fist, to be released upon impact.

Makes sense, doesn’t it? Simple science for the martial arts. The transfer of energy. Only now, you know how to maximize and leverage your punch.