STREET CRED
Something I always get asked when teaching self-defense is, “What’s the best martial art?”
That’s actually a multitiered question that requires a multitiered answer, and before I reply, I usually ask a question of my own: “Best martial art for what?”
You might think that’s a silly question, but it’s not. After all, people practice martial arts for different reasons. I know bouncers who take part because they need to be able to fight — I’m one of them — and I know elderly people who go to tai chi class twice a week purely for the exercise. I even know people who have joined a martial arts class just to make friends.
However, what people usually mean is, What’s the best martial art for winning a fight?
Again, this is not a straightforward question. What type of conflict do these people mean when they refer to fighting? In the martial arts community, there are three siblings: fighting in class or at a traditional tournament, fighting in a “match fight” and fighting for self-defense. Each has a different objective and therefore a different method of delivering the goods.
In class or competition, your goal is to win without hurting your opponent. In a match fight, your objective is to beat the other person in any way that’s allowed: submission, knockout, judges’ decision, etc. In self-defense, your objective is
