How to Pick the Right Martial Art

Preconceived notions, not fact or common sense, often determine what Martial art a person will choose to study. The more exposure a person has had to Martial arts, the more ingrained these preconceived notions are. These ingrained assumptions are also based upon the type of information the person has received, which can come from many different places: for children it is commonly TV and movies; for adults it may be this and more, such as a friend who studied, or their own studies in a particular art. Just about everybody knows someone who has studied Martial arts at one time.

While all of this seems obvious, most people really don't take it into account when they choose an art. It is an important decision, as a person can literally waste years studying something that really doesn't give them what they were looking for. A little due diligence in picking the right art and the right teacher is really common sense. But as they say, "common sense is really not all that common."

There's an old saying in the martial arts, "A student searches for a teacher for three years, a teacher tests a student for three years." While carrying this out in practice may be a little difficult, its meaning should be heeded. There are many reasons for this outside of the scope of this article, however, we have provided this primer to help you make a choice - just in case you don't have three years to spend making your decision.

A few caveats before getting started:

1. Everyone who has ever studied a martial art thinks that the first art they studied is the best martial art there ever was. This person will always have justifications as to why this is so.
2. I am a person and I have studied martial arts (for every day for about twenty years at the time of this writing), therefore number one applies to me also. (Although my opinions are truth :-))
3. If a person has not studied a martial art then the best martial art (in their opinion) most likely is the art that their friend has studied.
4. If a person has not studied martial arts and has no friends, then the best martial art (in their opinion) is the martial art that they have seen popularized most on TV or have heard the name of most. Many years ago this was Tae Kwon Do or Karate. About ten years ago it was kickboxing. In today's world it is MMA. (I still hear a lot of people asking for kickboxing but they don't always know what they are asking for when they say it. When a person walks in and asks if we teach kickboxing they generally mean one of four things; Aerobic kickboxing, the sport martial art called kickboxing, Muay Thai (which is similar to the sport martial art), or just plain self defense.)
5. No one person can know everything about martial arts. No one person can know much more than just a little about all martial arts. There's just too much to cover in a lifetime. With that in mind, no one person can write the definitive guide to martial arts. But I can give it my best shot.

So with that said, let's get started.

The term Martial arts encompasses a whole lot, including thousands of arts which fall under this term which are not martial. There are many martial practices which fall under this term which are not arts. That is ok, it's just best that the person who studies understands this when making a decision. The best place to start is to look at definitions. From the Merriam-Webster online dictionary:

Martial Etymology: Middle English, from Latin martialis of Mars, from Mart-, Mars 1 : of, relating to, or suited for war or a warrior 2 : relating to an army or to military life 3 : experienced in or inclined to war :

So that's pretty easy - something having to do with war. I think the definition of art is one that confuses people,though. I've asked a lot of people what the definition is and rarely if ever do I get the one I'm looking for. Again from Merriam-Webster:

Art Pronunciation: 'ärt Function: noun Etymology: Middle English, from Anglo-French, from Latin art-, ars -- more at ARM 1 : skill acquired by experience, study, or observation 2 a : a branch of learning: (1) : one of the humanities (2) plural : LIBERAL ARTS b archaic : LEARNING, SCHOLARSHIP 3 : an occupation requiring knowledge or skill 4 a : the conscious use of skill and creative imagination especially in the production of aesthetic objects; also : works so produced b (1) : FINE ARTS (2) : one of the fine arts (3) : a graphic art 5 a archaic : a skillful plan b : the quality or state of being artful 6 : decorative or illustrative elements in printed matter

The first three are the generally more accepted definitions. In some dictionaries they are all that is listed. Definitions 4, 5, and 6 (by my observation) are more recent. Since the term is most often used with the intended definition of fine arts. So to further the argument I'll use the first three definitions: basically it means a high level of skill. (Incidentally, the words Kung Fu actually translate as "A high level of skill." The American interpretation is that Kung Fu means martial arts, but this is merely a linguistic error. I can imagine how it probably came about.)

American (Visiting China, pointing at martial artist practicing form): What the heck is he doing? Chinese person: Ah Kung Fu (Meaning: Ah, he is very good) American: Oh OK (thinking what he sees is called Kung Fu.)

And so a definition is born.

So we can define a martial artist roughly as "A person who is highly skilled at things related to war." This definition opens up a lot too, so lets just say (for the sake of argument) that martial arts has to do with the science of fighting. I think that's a pretty decent definition we can use which fits our needs.

Another caveat:

• Just because something does not fit into the category of martial arts does not make it bad. Cooking is not a martial art (well for some maybe it is). That does not make it bad. If you want to study something that is martial but not an art, something that is an art but not martial, or something that is neither, that is your prerogative. I will not fault you for it. Please remember this. I've been bashed repeatedly for this and it gets old.
• So let me repeat. JUST BECAUSE IT IS NOT A MARTIAL ART, IT DOESN'T MAKE IT BAD.

But I digress...

The first thing to look at are martial sports. This is by far the biggest category. It encompasses the majority of martial systems taught in the US today. This came about for one major reason: Americans just had a really hard time accepting martial arts for what they were; accepting the high levels of discipline without outward reward was very foreign.

"No trophies, no prizes, no recognition for all the hard work and for being the best? Well that's just ridiculous. What's all this personal development hogwash? Let's make it into a sport."

So there it is, Americans taking something they really didn't understand and instead of learning it or trying to understand it they just converted it to something they did understand. Something so deeply ingrained into the culture that it was an easy fit for the American mind, a sport. (By the way, I'm not bashing Americans here, I'm very proud to be one, just recognizing the obvious again, culturally we're different than many other cultures. Duh!). So a sport it became. Again we're touching on something outside of the scope of this article. Maybe another time. But let me just say, there are huge differences between a sport and a discipline. These difference are both physical and psychological. These differences make the training very different. That's not to say that there are not aspects of the sporting side that can enhance a martial art, but it is only a small part.

A martial sport is pretty easy to recognize. Anything system that spends a lot of its time either competing or training for competition. These can be a huge array of systems. From the point sparring of Tae Kwon Do, the musical forms of Wu Shu or traditional Kung Fu, or the brutal competitions of Mixed Martial Arts. They are all focused in some way on the sport. This is not necessarily bad, it is just not truly a martial art. It is disregarding a large portion of what is a martial art.

I will say this though. If you are considering one of these arts then be careful what you gauge it against. If looking at joining at martial sport you should really consider it against other sports. If sports are what will fill a need for you then look at all of them and dive in to one. Would soccer be better for you than Tae Kwon Do. Is rugby going to fulfill you more than MMA. Would dance competitions thrill you more than Wu Shu. Take all of this into consideration.

And if a sport might not be what you are looking for, read on.

Some arts are made for the looking. I think of them as a beautiful picture on the wall. Look but don't touch. Some of these practitioners are absolutely amazing. Wu Shu falls into this category. I've seen Wu Shu practitioners who you'd swear could fly. These guys (and girls) can jump into the air do a double wazoo flip (or something like that) and land in the splits. Amazing stuff. Their bodies are like rubber bands. They can swing tin foil swords at warp speed and twirl lighted plexiglass staffs better than any baton twirler in a parade. And all this is done in their flashy silk suits. Pretty!!!

And traditional arts. They can do all that and mimic an animal at the same time. Drunken monkeys, the hidden drunken mantis, dogs, tigers. Really entertaining to watch. I especially like the picking fleas out of their hair part. It's a great show.

Most of these systems are really a combination of martial arts, dance, gymnastics, and acrobatics. Usually extremely artistic but not terribly martial. Years ago I was watching one of these tournaments. At the time I hadn't really had any exposure to anything but fighting arts. So watching the tournament I was a bit confused. As I tried to relate it to my own I just didn't get it. I couldn't understand what it all had to do with self defense. So I asked. I found one of the high ranking competitors and struck up a conversation. I very politely asked about the practical application. The response I got was that yes it was supposed to have SOME practical application SOMEWHERE in the form but it was easily overlooked by the judges. So it wasn't anything that was terribly important to winning the competition. Once I accepted that I could comfortably watch it for what it was.

There are other types of display arts as well. Tae Kwon Do is a good example. This art is more inclined towards strictly athletic displays. While there is no dance involved like in the others it is more focused on high kicks, extremely high jumping kicks, holding kicks up for extended periods, etc. Not necessarily truly martial applications but a bit more so than Wu Shu and traditional systems.

The term martial ways can include a whole lot. What I mean by a martial way is: A system which has martial aspects but is not completely a martial art. As there is a lot of overlap between these definitions martial sports would be included in this category as would display arts. But there is at least one more category within the broader category of martial ways. That would be the peace arts.

The most notable of these arts would be Aikido and it's derivatives. While Aikido definitely falls into the category of an art it does not completely fall into the category of martial. The difference is that Aikido takes as its highest goal the not harming of the opponent. This can easily conflict with the highest goal of a martial art which is the preservation of the self.

While Aikido practitioners do aim to protect themselves they put a lot of emphasis into not harming the opponent as they do it. That's very nice however it puts the self at risk. A martial artist aims to protect himself first. If he has the skills to not harm his opponent while doing so then he has the moral responsibility to do so. But the self comes first. Only if a martial artist is certain he can handle the situation without harming the attacker then he should. Otherwise he is putting himself at risk. This difference in philosophy makes for a very big difference in arts.

I'm going to interject my opinion here. It is my opinion that yes Aikido can be an effective art. But it is also my opinion that it takes at least a decade of training for it to be effective. While a practitioner who has studied a true martial art for a couple of years probably cannot defend himself without severely damaging the attacker. An Aikido practitioner of only a couple of years probably cannot defend himself. A practitioner of a true martial art who has studied for a decade most likely can defend himself without harming the attacker or he can harm him greatly if need be. The big difference is in the years in between.

I have a friend who is a Shaolin Priest. One of five or so in the world I believe. He is pretty amazing. He is a very peaceful fellow and a highly skilled martial artist. He explained it like this.

Our spiritual beliefs dictate that we do not harm others. We are very peaceful. So how is it that we can defend ourselves? When someone attacks us, to us it as if they are committing suicide. They have thrown themselves against something lethal. We did not cause them harm. They did it to themselves. If we are able to keep them from harm then we may do so. But not at the cost of our own life.

I liked that explanation.

So we have covered a lot of Arts that are not necessarily entirely martial but does the other exist. Does a system exist that is martial but not an art. The answer is yet.

So what would make a system martial but not an art? The answer is arts that have full martial intent but not a high level of skill. These arts have been popularized in recent years by slick marketers. Everyone has heard the campaigns. They have headlines like these:

Learn the secrets of the Palestinian military.

Five Easy Steps to Martial Arts Master

Ex- Navy Seal Reveals All

Discover New Breakthrough In Real Life Self Defence (misspelling kept on purpose, I just pulled this from a google adwords campaign. Hey if you can't even spell it)

Martial Arts: Fear No Man Wow you can learn secrets from both now in one easy package! Discover What Martial Arts Masters How exciting & The Army Don't Want You To Know

Functional Martial Arts Even better, get a little of everything and Street Boxing, BJJ, Knife Defense the perfect body too. Sign me up!!! Get Fit. Have Fun. Look Great.

Ninjitsu Training Manual Oh I love it! Get my credit card! Free 5 Day Ninjitsu Training Course Meditation, Invisibility & Kujikiri

Enticing huh. But you know whats scary? It sells.

Some of these programs are easy to ferret out. Some are not. The military based systems are the ones that get even the most scrupulous consumer. The reasons why these are not fantastic self defense arts is not entirely obvious. And what they are selling fits right into what the American culture likes. The easy fix. We love the, just add water, products. But unfortunately a lot of them are not for real.

To understand why a military based art is not the best personal defense art you have to understand the intent of a military art. The intent is to win wars. To win wars a country must put out soldiers fast. A soldiers training is intensive and has a lot more than hand to had combat. To win the war not every soldier must survive. As a matter of fact casualties are expected and accepted. The goal is not to perfect the fighters but to make enough of them with better odds of winning than they would have without their training. So what they train is techniques that will work for some of the fighters. These techniques are generally simplistic and if a fighter has natural speed and strength they are going to work for them most likely. If not, well then your a statistic.

And like I said before a difference in philosophy makes all the difference in the martial art.

The other systems which fit into this are the "Everything and the kitchen sink arts". Serious martial artists typically reffer to these as Chop Suey arts.You can tell these by what they advertise on the window. They'll list everything under the sun. While I have never studied one of these and can't give you a definitive answer on the effectiveness, I am suspicious. I've been studying one art for over twenty years. I have yet to perfect it. I really have my doubts when your talking about mastering a half dozen or so.

Of course the argument is always given that it's the "best of" or the mysterious story about five masters meeting and combining the best of their arts. This goes back to the magic pill theory. Yes everyone wants to believe its true but it really raises some questions if you've been studying a single art for a few decades.

Prior to Americanization belts were mostly not used and they did not always signify levels of skill. This was a Japanese introduction but it was due to American influence. We just can't seem to want to do it something without outward reward. So the belt system was introduced.

Now belts themselves are not evil. There are many people that will walk into a school, see belts and disregard the school as commercial and therefor not a true martial art. This is not necessarily a good idea. There are many good schools which use belts. We do and they have benefits. What is important is the importance put on belts. When both the instructor and the students both realize that the belt is not the end goal and doesn't even necessarily give an accurate picture of skill. Then belts are harmless. They can even be beneficial. Belts can be a general gauge of skill but never an accurate gauge. If a student focuses on acquiring belts then that student misses out on the majority of what the martial art has to give. The student must focus on developing his art.

This concept is very difficult for students to understand and therefor they can easily be taken advantage of by unscrupulous instructors. Many of these instructors will guarantee a black belt in a given amount of time. If you hear this I would suggest thanking them for their time and passing on the offer. But many fall prey to this tactic. It is more common than not. It's what people want to hear. There's an old adage which says "If it sounds to good to be true, it probably is". This is true in picking an instructor also.

The funny thing is I've had plenty of people walk in and ask me how long it would take to get their black belt. When I told them there was no way I could honestly answer that. I could give them an idea of what it has taken others but had no way of knowing what kind of effort they would really put into it. However I have never had anyone walk in and ask me how long it would take before they could adequately defend themselves. Or how long it would take to develop balance and coordination or become more centered or... I have had someone come in and ask how long it would take to learn to walk on rice paper (and they were not joking). But that person really belonged in a straight jacket along with a few others who have walked through our door.

So if your looking for belts to hang on your wall, bragging rights, or a whole bunch of shiny trophies then one of these schools might be for you. If your looking for something different, read on

Well we've talked a lot about what is not a martial art. But what is? Truly that discussion would fill several volumes. However we can give you some things to look for.

1. It is truly designed to preserve one self.
2. It will appear easy and effortless but be the hardest thing you've ever learned
3. Said another way. It is easy to do but hard to learn
4. It will be subtle not flashy
5. You will discover it rather than learn it
6. When you learn it it will be the most obvious thing. As if it was always there you just didn't see it.
7. It will make perfect logical sense. You will never do anything just because it's always been done that way
8. It will incorporate your mind and your body. Probably in a way you have never experienced before
9. It will be reality based. You will be required to use your mind to mentally put yourself in a situation
10. It will not always feel good.
11. It will challenge you
12. It will make you feel klutzy for awhile (no matter how athletic and coordinated you are)
13. It will probably make you feel unintelligent for awhile (No matter how smart you are)
14. It will make you feel frustrated with yourself.
15. It will push you outside of your comfort zone (It expands your comfort zone)
16. Eventually it will make you feel comfortable with growth
17. It will be the most exhilarating feeling when you get the tiniest thing correct
18. If you get past the discomfort you will never not want it to be a part of your life

If this sounds OK to you, the only way to really know what it is, is to try it out. My favorite is Shou Shu. But if you can find an art that fits these criteria then your doing great.