The Best Martial Arts Fighting Styles

The martial arts were originally designed to be fighting arts. The term implies a military application of highly refined skill. Today, many martial arts are taught more as a sporting endeavor, or for internal spiritual development than for combative effectiveness. Some martial arts, even those employed for sport, are still very effective fighting styles.

Kyokushin Karate

Kyokushin karate is a very traditional karate style, much like Shotokan and Goju-Ryu. Unlike these arts, which largely rely on kata and padded, light-contact sparring for training, Kyokushin fighters train in much the same way the original founders of karate probably trained. Kyokushin still utilizes full-contact punches and kicks to the body and head in their training and competitions. This focus on hitting and being hit, and developing an immunity to the stress that results, makes Kyokushin one of the best martial arts fighting styles among the traditionalist ways.

Kodokan Judo

Judo was developed as a synthesis of the most effective jiu-jitsu methods by a Japanese professor named Jigoro Kano. Kano saw his style of martial art as a method of physical exercise that provided self-discipline and fitness, as well as a means of self-defense. One of the more valuable developments Kano made was the use of "randori" or free-sparring. By removing the supposedly lethal techniques of jiu-jitsu such as joint dislocations and maiming techniques such as eye-gouging, Kano developed a method that allowed his students to employ their skills in full-speed training against one another. Developed into an Olympic sport following World War II, judo is still an effective fighting style. The modern judo player has the ability to throw a larger, stronger, and more aggressive opponent through the air so they land headfirst on the concrete sidewalk. At the same time however, the use of chokeholds and restraints allows the judoka to apply considerably less damaging force to a less dangerous opponent. This combination of lethal force ability and restraint methods, makes judo one of the most effective martial arts fighting styles.

Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu

Brazilian Jiu-jitsu came to the forefront of American martial arts popularity during the mid-1990s, with the advent of the Ultimate Fighting Championships. Legendary BJJ fighter Royce Gracie was able to defeat larger, more aggressive opponents seemingly without effort, and without striking them or causing much damage at all.
Developed by the Gracie family, after learning the methods of Kano Judo from a traveling instructor named Mitsuyo Maeda, BJJ focused on the groundfighting aspects of personal combat, rather than the throws that would later define judo as an Olympic sport. The patriarch of the Gracie family, Helio, developed the now-recognized concepts so crucial to BJJ, such as the "guard" position, so he would be able to overcome larger opponents. The guard position was developed to allow the rather frail Helio to counterattack against an opponent who had managed to knock or throw him down and landed on top. BJJ employs armlocks, leglocks, and chokes from various positions on the ground to defeat an attacker. Most importantly, like judo, BJJ allows its fighters to practice their methods at full-speed, against a fully resistant opponent, so they know their methods work before ever needing to use them for real. This makes BJJ one of the best martial arts fighting styles if one is taken to the ground in a fight.