Top Ten Most Effective Martial Arts

muay thai left the lobby

There are full contact styles of karate and traditional karate is not point sparring the point sparring matches are modern karate

This is still your most popular video - you should upload more videos like this.... ;)

I am a bit bias, because I hold a 10th Dan in Shorinjiryu Kempo which I find the most effective because it is close in and quick with throws and takedowns. I have been studying and practicing the martial arts since 1976 nearly 48 years now. However, my base style of the martial arts is Shuri Te Karate (which I guess you call traditional karate) which was my first style as a kid back home and got my first black belt in. I also studied Jujitsu, which is very effective in self-defense, American Kenpo which builds quickness, Tiger Kung Fu which I do agree the Shaolin forms of Kung Fu are effective as combative art, and some Tae Kwon Do which helped me build up my kicking. I wish you the best in your martial arts journey. Oss. Grandmaster K, MA

Love your channel, but you have kung fu on here, but not Muay-Thai, which I find ridiculous, all due respect

There's videos online of a Chinese MMA fighter who is challenging and defeating Kong Fu masters one after the other. MMA is superior to Kong Fu.

How are you going to put taekwondo and not capoeira, arguably more technical and has a wider verity of moves

How about krav maga?

Metatron ages just like wine.

For street fighting Krav Maga is great to start off with.
The agresive approach to quickly attack and move is and excellent approach.

Muay Thai Catch Wrestling and Sambo would be my three and or Lethwai from Burma Fourth.
I box muay thai and some BJJ
But Catch Wrestling / Sambo is better than BJJ Khabib and Sukaraba prove this.

even i could see the similarities but for me the different styles in kungfu especially animal style and monkey kung fu will always be superior to karate or atleast traditional karate, i mean the biggest problem w karate its like its so signaling all the time much easier to anticipate the next move from your opponent, also u have to have a pretty good physique and muscles too utilize karate style, like if ur a skinny "short wimp" like me u will always be floored...

so kung fu better in like 87% i would say on average ...
i like some of the things about the wing chun, rapid punches, low front kicks, blocking and counter blocks but apart from that wing Chun feels and seems pretty compared to most other kung fu styles , its very "square, not flexible, non movement, low adaptation to your opponent, etc, a very outdated system on average, but i use some of its ingredients like maybe 10% in my training and in developing my fighting style

fighting the last 2 years and probably for the next 7 years or so its not completely useless but, muay thai, krav maga , bjj, jeet kune do , ninjutsu superior in so many ways...yeah karate stiff all right, but wing chun also very stiff in its FORM, closed fist or not...but...well, im not dismissing yoko geri kicks or similar s5uff that WORKS in karate but i would rather train 6 months of wing chun than 2.5 years of karate that is my background so i feel i have enough credit to butcher most of karate on average ...

wing chun is like the kung fu version of karate, but still more "flexible " or varied, cuz its never most about force, like karate emphasize raw power but kung fu in general is much more creative and versatile...

yeah i kinda hate the "cult thinking " or cult culture in many dojos that why i dont train as much as i should or want bcuz the dumb trainers always puts their own restrictions on u basically hampering your chances to develop your own style that will suit u better than their style only or whatnot...

Okinawa shuirte shorin ryu kyoshi jitsu

Perhaps when talking about TaeKwon-Do, you should look at the original styke, that Being ITF, and not WTF like you are showing here.

"Taekwondo is for bitches" - Brendan Schaub

Kung Fu first LOL

Where'd you get your shirt my friend is wondering?

Bruce was a killer machine!!

Studying traditional Kung fu for over a decade in a traditional class environment. I can honestly say this. Against someone with no training im confident I can defend and protect myself and others if needed, however, against a good street fighter, I would probably not do so well, and I've had my ass kicked over and over by a friend of mine who was a high school and college greco roman wrestler. Never underestimate the guys who have mastered how to close the gap and get you on the ground fast. Look at how many of these guys are bouncing around like Ryu with absolutely no guard when they kick... such bad form. Martial arts classes, tournaments , and rules, don't work so well in the real world vs someone who grew up getting into real fights

I have trained in Mantis Kung Fu for a long time. I have been in 2 real fights in my lifetime. My training saved my life.2x

No Krav Maga?

Dear Metatron! You made a great list of training systems, basically the final statement put the dot on the i. Styles worth as much as their practitioners. In this context I tend to agree with your statements, however I would put Kali somewhere in the upper half.

Seemed fair enough. Wasn't sure what I was going to get.

Boxing is the most effective as its easy to learn and apply in a real life situation.

Кунгфу в России называют танцем слабаков 😂😂😂

Do not agree with your list, but enjoyed it

Wrestling, Boxing, MMA, Judo, Sambo, Muay Thai, Kick Boxing, JiuJitsu, Kyokushin Karate. After that it’s hard to put something good up there. Aikido, Systema, TKD, most karate, Krav Maga, JKD…..honestly you would be better off with Rugby.

This man doesn’t know what he’s talking about. MMA is number one. Take downs, trips, elbows, knees, clinch work, leg locks, heal hooks, punches, kicks, chokes.

Taekwondo over kickboxing is crazy

The most effective martial arts is the one that can be tested repeatedly and always produces favorable results. As far as I know, only MMA does that.

What would you learn first for self defence beside fast running

Was questioning this whole list and lost it seeing Kung Fu at 2 🤣 learn Muay Thai and you’ll do fine

Kung fu is mainly useless in fights. Top kung fu practitioners I saw in tournaments don't enter the sparring because they lose so bad. They train "channeling" which is ridiculously stupid to be honest in 95% of situations.
I've trained kung fu, isshin ryu karate (karate + marine fighting, you can say US karate), kyokushin karate and tae kwon do. In point sparring competitions that are mixed (kung fu, tae kwon do, kung fu), I've used mainly isshin ryu and isshin ryu techniques for the clubs I was representing.
I've fought at least 20 tournaments starting at 16 (before I was not allowed to participate in tournaments because of my strict family). I never lost a single fight in my own division, but the competition may have been very low. In my opinion the mantra of kyokushin and isshin ryu is most useful in fights. I score 95%+ of points on punches. Also, as I grew up, and started drinking and getting into brawls (in Asia) fists are faster and mightier than kicks. In general, if I do some show off stuff (axe kicks, spinning kicks), they are just for that: show boating.
In my experience, usually tae kwon do low lever tier do not have the speed to effectively use their kicks, usually I charge them and push them over (which is allowed in mixed martial arts tournaments including Tae kwon Do, Kung Fu and Karate). At the time, I was so dominant in the local and surrounding area tournaments, that they would on the side put me to fight some other fighters including girls, so they can feel the speed and power. Of course I never wanted to hurt anyone, and no massive punches or kicks to the head as this is point sparring and we don't want to hurt someone (ie: respect).
I did not pursue martial arts later, as in my family education was most important. Then piano, then martial arts. I preferred playing video games to be honest. I loved training and the most important for street fight usage of martial arts like kung fu, karate and tae kwon do is: use street fight rules - go for simple attacks that either: stun opponent or KO the opponent, break something easily. Grappling is very important too. I did not train BJJ or judo because I was afraid I'd get hurt when something popped the wrong way. I'm actually a chicken, but in street brawls, I always like to like to lick my own blood during/after the fight.
I do not street fight anymore, due to some surgeries I've had and I'm wiser.

Shaolin Kung-fu is my favorite, but Bruce Li brought Win Chun mixed in, making it perfected, imo. Muy Thai, my second.

When I heard Kung Fu... ugh lol
At least you got Muay Thai at top
Wrestling needs to be on there. It's one of the most effective bases for another martial art, and will dominate anyone exclusively trained in just stand up. I'd put all the major grappling martial arts at the top as the best to win in a 1 vs 1. The standup fighter only has one chance to knock the grappler out, then it's over for them

I'm a bit confused about the MMA part: Every good fighter I have seen interviews with, they all say they train Kickboxing, Judo and BJJ. Also, given it's "mixed" I wouldn't say it's a martial art. And you pick Muai Tai for a first place, despite MMA apparently being a martial art, and if you get a thai boxer on the floor and you know BJJ you just won?

It's also kinda weird that you kinda go back and forth, some times focusing on the sport, and other times a group of people in the sport. Like with Muai Thai. "They kick banana trees" yes, SOME will indeed do this. Those as you said "tries to get out of poverty". But if that's the reason for Muai Thai being best, dude, people in Kickboxing does the same. It's just not as advertised. Hell, me and my brother when we were younger and practiced Karate and Kickboxing both had an iron rod in our room, and when watching movies and what not, we would hit our shin, knockles etc to strengthen our bones and knuckles. Does that mean everybody in karate and kickboxing does it? Ofc not.

I get that this is a personal list, and I very much appreciate your channel as a whole, but it doesn't seem like you put a lot of thought into the list before making this video.

A more (also in my opinion ofc) accurate list would be:
1. Maui Thai, because it's pretty much Kickboxing, but with the benifit of also using elbows.
2. Kickboxing.
3. Judo/BJJ, because everyone can throw a punch, but few can grapple.
4. Boxing. Very good in general. Lets face it, most people will only get in a fight because of alcohol. And if you have been drinking, the last thing you'd want to do is trip because of a failed kick, and have you opponent jump down on you. What boxers don't have in their legs (meaning kicks) they have in their arms.
5. Everything else doesn't matter, since 99% of the time MMA only use Kickboxing, Judo and BJJ, and also 99% of the time wins against everything else.

i was here, nice video!

ShaoLin Kungfu or YongChun is far less effective than MMA. lol. To a westerner, it looks cool and mysterious. Yet it is simply a out-dated fighting system.

7 years late but having wing chun on here is an absolute shame. There is almost no full combat in this technique and most practicing is never even close to light combat. In all things considered a great list excluding wing chun.

I enjoyed your video , I’ve trained in Shotokan and taekwondo. With taekwondo there are many punches and blocks and different strikes. We’d have days of just kicking and others of just punching.

Fully loaded firearm for me, but if not available, Jiu Jitsu. So did not do much, but when 11yo a gang surrounded me and required I fight their leader. As I always ran away and always avoid fighting when possible, they thought I was the coward of the barrio. I happened to be wearing boots with steel tips around the toes inside. The fight ended soon and the leader has his spleen and half a liver removed.
Steel is preferable to foot bones if you plan to kick.

How is real Krav Maga not on this list?

Interesting video but quite theoretical. Just take a look at the background of MMA champions and this will give you an idea of the most effective martial arts. Almost all of the champions are either wrestlers, BJJ black belts, kick boxers and muay thai boxers. Only karatekas that shined are L. Machida and S. Thompson. Not to say that no one with any tae kwon do background never did anything.

The military martial arts with weapons are the most effective martial arts. Behind that, any martial art that use small conceled edged weapons would be good, as well. Ex. Eskrima. It would be interesting to see how old pancrase would fair in this, like Spartan warriors. Everyone is afraid of getting in an old fashioned knife fight.

My knowledge of martial arts is movies. Therefore I can not make a truly informed decision. That being said your reasoning for putting Muay Thai at the top sounds solid to me.

nothing beats Hokuto Shinken and Ansatsuken, period.

I’m a mma fan and a fan of Ancient Rome and Greece and if I had nickname it would be the Aurelian’s nick name