Best Martial Arts for Self Defense 

"A 100% of fights start standing up." Well no. Today I woke up rolled off of my bed onto the ground and immediately got into a fight with my cat. So now your percentage has dropped to 99.99%

2:00 Aikido 4:05 Bartitsu 5:56 Army Basic 7:40 Brazilian Jiu Jitsu 11:10 Boxing 12:01 Catch Wrestling 13:36 CDS 14:53 Gracie Jiu Jitsu 17:20 Guns & Firearms 20:54 Hapkido 22:35 Jeet Kung Do 24:19 Judo 26:49 Kali 30:01 Karate 32:30 Kenpo 36:47 Kick Boxing 37:47 Krav Maga 40:32 Kuk Sool Won 42:19 Mixed Martial Arts 44:10 Muay Thai 44:42 Police Tactics 47:52 Shaolin Kung Fu 49:00 Silat 50:49 Taekwondo 52:41 Tai Chi 53:52 Wing Chun Kung Fu 55:57 Japanese Jiu Jitsu 57:20 Wrestling You’re Welcome

Totally agree with the list. Haves trained Muay Thai for a couple of years and I absolutely love it. They always teach us to avoid conflict completely unless it is necessary to defend yourself.

"The greatest victory is that which requires no battle" "One mark of a great soldier is that he fights on his own terms or fights not at all" "Be where your enemy is not" -Sun Tzu

I've boxed and done some minor judo in the past. I've always been interested in learning combat for self defense and confidence in protecting myself and my family. After learning to box I gained alot of confidence in my ability to protect myself although avoiding fights is always my number 1 because fights aren't fair. I was looking for something else to get into. I was very interested in JJ and Muay Thai. Thank you for showing me how many different things there were and how effective each one was as well as breaking down why Soni could make my own decision. Great video!

Coming in I thought you were those self-defence “experts” but no this was really good and realistic…

Any popular martial art plus sparring/pressure testing will make the art very strong.

I used to train in a mix of Eskrima and Kempo, and one of the first things we talked about going into armed fighting was that if you can arm yourself in a fight, do it, and if you show up unarmed to an armed conflict, you've made a mistake. The first thing we were taught explicitly about knife fighting was never get into a knife fight, because best case scenario is still a really bad day lol. Definitely was an eye-opening experience when compared to martial arts that are more formalized or competition oriented; Escrima was much more about being the guy who gets to go home under his own power, and using whatever techniques you could to make that happen.

Thanks for the great and very informative video. I have tried Karate as a teenager, Judo in college, a little Ju-Jitsu, a little BJJ, and a decent amount of Krav. I have always been a proponent of Krav, but you reminded me of it not really being pressure tested, except for a little ground defense. 30+ years since college, I still remember and can use Judo techniques and it was pressure tested.

I've practiced Karate, Judo and Kick Boxing - as a smaller guy I found judo probably the most useful and it's fun throwing people. I've not trained in any martial arts for the last 8 years and wanted to get back into something. Seems like MMA will be my best bet (due to availability). Thanks for the great video and explanations!

Another con for firearms is their legality. Although they may not be an issue in the USA; globally, access to firearms is either incredibly difficult or outright illegal. Therefore, by default rendering that defence system unusable in some places. Also great video and a pleasantly surprising detailed breakdown of each martial art

“You probably don’t have a knife on you right now” Looks down at the knife in my pocket

I read that Aikido people, back in the day, were expected to be high ranking in Judo or Jujutsu; peace, love, and gentle wrist locks make more sense as an add on for older fighters than a main art to me.

Great list and breakdown. I'd rank PTK ( Kali) a solid A+ though. For 1. No Kali practitioner is ever without a knife or some kind of weapon. Ever. and 2. The empty hands is actually pretty good and I've trained boxing for nearly 9 years and practiced Muay Thai for a little over a year. Like most PTK practitioners I'd only use those skills... to get to my weapon. High level Self Defense.

I had this video recommended to me, and I don’t even do martial arts. But for some reason Judo stood out to me. So fast forward a couple weeks, I found a judo school and am officially learning. Crazy how these things just drop into your life.

From what I read in the biography of Ueshiba (the founder of Aikido) , I conclude that the original version of Aikido was much more violent and useful for real and hard combat than today's version. It included swordfighting, punching, jiu jitsu, besides the other typical aikido moves. Today's Aikido is a result of Ueshiba's own personal and moral development, as he gradually kept removing all the elements of attack and violence from it. It was because of his war experience that he kept trying to make it more and more peaceful. The original purpose of Aikido is often misunderstood, as the wristlock, throws etc. were meant to be incorporated within swordfighting, street brawls and battles where groups of people run at each other, which is the exact situation when throws and wristlocks are particularly useful for throwing the running enemy off balance.

This guy has a rational approach to the martial art styles and their strengths and weaknesses. Something the martial arts-community in general could use more of. i would like to hear what he thinks of arts like Capoiera, Vale Tudo, Savate, Kurash, Ninjutsu, Hwa Rang Do, Pankration and Bok(Mongolian martial art).

3:22 "If you were in a situation where your son were to attack you" Dude, i didn't expect the emotional reaction i had after hearing that. It reminds me of training mentally as well as physically. Like training to defuse a potentially bad situation, you don't want to cause injury but to restrain. Mentally, you always expect the unexpected. Good work

Where is Parkour? If running is the best of "self defense", Parkour can even climb the obstacle and away from pinch attack.

We need a part 2 with: capoeira, savate, standard sambo, combat sambo, sanda, shuai jiao, lethwei, other Filipino martial arts besides Kali (pangamut: dumog, panankutan and trankadas), ninjutsu (lmao), systema and kudo daidojuku If you can talk about baritsu you should've talked about those as well, please do a part 2 Also: kenpo and kempo aren't two different things? If so, you should rank both of them and talk about the differences. In case you're wondering, sensei Seth did a video with Jesse enkamp with a tier list of karate styles and they talked about this kenpo/kempo difference, I'm not making shit up.

Largely agree with the list, not sure I agree with the top two and both catch and freestyle wrestling should be higher, it definitely favours the youth but even a hobbyist wrestler can dictate where a fight can go, not to mention you develop insane strength. Catch wrestling also has a heavy emphasis on escapes as the sport awards points on top control / submissions not off your back which is the last place you want to be in on a street fight. Muay Thai should be higher too, knees are very useful in a street fight probably the biggest low risk high reward strikes possible, also has a lot of trips compared to other striking arts.

Something you forgot the mention about karate is the punching, blocking, knuckle conditioning and in/out movement is designed for bare knuckles and no wrist wraps. Pretty useful for not breaking your wrists and hands ( at a legit dojo)

Boxing should come higher in my opinion (B+) A fight always started standing, and a hard well-timed punch is all thats needed. Also, its often messy (a pub for example with a lot of people) where kicks dont work so well either,

Gotta admit that I was surprised by how much I agree with your overall rankings. I wrestled in high school, studied Kenpo (in its Kajukenbo variant) in Hawaii, and Shuri-Te Karate in Japan. Tried out TKD once, but the "McDojo" thing was in full force and I walked away from that pretty quickly. I've dabbled with a few others, including Wing Chun and Kali/Arnis (you can chalk that up to Tao of JKD influence). Your analysis of Kenpo made me smile: it is indeed brutal. My stand-up abilities are decent, but I've been kicking around the idea of training my ground skills. They're not nonexistent, but they're lacking compared to what is fairly common these days. As for feedback on your rankings, I'd probably bump Kali up a bit. I'm pretty much never without a knife; it's just part of my "daily carry," right up there with my wallet and keys. And it's a fixed blade, so it's not folded up in my pocket; it's immediately accessible (perfectly legal in Texas). That's just me, though; others' situations might differ.

It would be interesting to have a conversation about this. The best Martial Art is one that works for you in various situations, but that's just understanding tactics. Having multiple different martial arts is always a good thing, technique-wise. I would have to say Kali/Arnis/Eskrima has a good amount of pressure testing. Lots of live sparring at full controlled speed without padding, as well as understanding how to go up against multiple attackers. Lots of good bruising to get used to, on the hands, arms, body, and sometimes on the head. For close-quarter weapons fighting, it is essential in its simplicity to learn. Definitely a B+. I would also move boxing to B+ as well. It is the best for striking with fists, staying balanced, blocking, dodging, and foot movement. As you're noticing, there should be martial arts in the B+ that have a primary technical focus: hand-striking, kicking, close-quarters weapons, take-downs, grappling/wrestling, mid-long distance weapons, etc. Which would put Guns & Firearms up at B+, as well as Muay Thai. It's too bad Tae Kwon Do has become McDojo'd, since the footwork, balance, and timing for kicking complements very well with boxing. Otherwise, an actually decent overview.

There is one Tai Chi teacher I have lightly sparred with, and he was actually good at FIGHTING. He is an anomaly.

Literally, I took ITF TKD for 9 years and i developed devastating kicks, but damn was I garbage at real fighting lol had to take up boxing and wrestling to cover some of my weaknesses.

Really great video! I practiced +10 years of TKD (both ITF & WTF schools) and a year of Shotokan Karate. I 100% agree about the McDojo issue, and it's totally true how a ton of TKD students don't keep their hands up or leave their head open. I would constantly yell at people to keep their guard up. Also, TKD has little to no ground game. I'm 28 years old and I'm super, super interested in learning ground methods.

I agree with this list completely. I was a TKD practitioner and I trained with two different instructors, one wanted us to be fast kickers for tournaments, would prepare us for point accuracy and we'd heavy sparring every Friday which was great to condition yourself for tournaments. And the other incorporated jiu jitsu into our tkd background and would be very strict about us having our hand guards up at all times, would always encourage to de escalate rather than be the aggressor. I still fondly remember this second instructor because what he thought me helped me avoid many street fight situations as well as leave unscathed when everything else failed.

I respect your list but I have to disagree about silat, I actually did a decent amount of pressure testing and I've used silat in many street fight to defend myself. It is correct it has alot in its arsenal, but I have never sparred against someone standing still.

The moment I saw what you did with the A tier I questioned your credibility & motives. You have some excellent points but if we’re talking about “having to fight with your back against the wall” I’m certain CDS & Jeet Kun Do aren’t more reliable than those B-Tier Martial Arts. 1: Everyone thinks their current practicing martial art is the best so you should’ve left your unheard of Martial Art out the list. 2: Jeet Kun Do while GOOD in my opinion should’ve been sitting right next to Kenpo. Just like what you said about “lot of McDojo’s” in Karate could be said the same for Jeet Kun Do because it’s technically not even a style. Besides all that, this was a solid video.

As a combat soldier and boxing trainer your analysis is superb!

I did Kenpo for about 3 1/2 years and the one thing I didn't like about it was it was full on attack. I just came back to martial arts and at 59 just got my Blue belt in Gracie Jiu Jitsu. What I like is I can seriously injure someone if needed or just submit someone. One example we've heard is the drunk brother-in-law at the wedding that gets ornery and throws a punch. Pretty sure I don't need to take out his eyes or break his knee, etc. Thanks for the video.

A: Muay Thai & BJJ B: Wrestling & Boxing C: K1 Kickboxing & Kyokushin D: Judo E: Kata Karate, Aikido & WTF Taekwondo F: Wing Chun & TaiChi

Kickboxing, Muy Thai 1 Boxing 2 that's all.

To echo the popular sentiment, I was refreshingly surprised to see that you know your shit and that breakdown was very well thought out and explained. I would move Catch Wrasslin' up in front of Muay Thai for the ground domination aspect and Wing Chun down to Ju-Jitsu due to lack of pressure testing, but otherwise I agree with that list given the criteria is a self-defense system of martial arts. I've run the gambit from TKD as a kid to Boxing to Muay Thai to JKD; BJJ to MMA so speaking from experience, this breakdown really does highlight a lot of the strengths and weaknesses of each art in a truthful way. Good job man!

I’d put boxing ahead of kickboxing. For three reasons: 1 - the intensity of sparring is a lot higher in boxing (at least from the gyms I’ve trained at, I’m sure it’s not a unanimous rule). 2 - there’s so many more terrible kickboxing gyms than boxing gyms. 3 - if you train for a bout, in kickboxing it’ll likely have “softer” rules (try not to knock out the opponent etc). In boxing you’ll have 3 x 2 minute rounds of true 100% intensity and the standard is just a lot higher. This is at least true from my experience in the U.K. Boxing is probably a lot worse for your brain health for all of the above reasons, not sure if that is relevant?

Yeah it's funny how my perspective on Wing Chun changed the moment I took a real wing Chun class. I've been taking Choy Li Fut Kung Fu for many years, and I understand the downsides. My particular school has the downside that we do not often spar, but the art itself is not at all based on acrobatics as "Shaolin" Kung Fu as done in Shaolin is. I also took some sanda and shuai jiao classes, which really helped with balancing the scales in terms of applying the techniques I learn. And then I took Wing Chun and I had to forget everything I knew and look at it from another perspective. It's fascinating how the actual Wing Chun philosophy on fighting is completely lost in any situation it is mentioned. It teaches proper striking, trains incredible reflexes and staying calm in close combat, as well as flowing effectively from long range striking into close range grappling and even takedowns. I have not done anything on the ground however, so it is not perfect for a 1 on 1. That's because it's not made for that. The point is to effectively take down your target as quickly as possible and move on to the next target. Anyway, I recommend people research the real origins and applications of Wing Chun because it can really supplement your other self defense/martial arts

I've studied and self trained traditional Muay Thai since 16 years of age, and now 26. It really prepared me for real training. I walked into a Muay Thai gym day 1 better than anyone who's been there for years(compliment from coach/world class fighter Malaipet Sasiprapa). Form, mentality, reflexes, execution etc. I have a good friend who we would always spar between 20%-80% almost daily because it was fun and indulging. It made us tough as stones because as time went by, pain wasn't really a thought in our minds anymore. Also picked up Judo for 8 months and that was quite an experience. Now I don't ever start fights or ever look for a fight, but I've gotten into a few fights outdoors(over protecting me or my friends) against aggressors, where we came out not badly harmed every time. So you, in your mind, have to know who's trained or untrained. Always analyze and deescalate as much as possible and that is the best defense from a personal perspective. It's not always about fighting back. You gotta have that mentality to stay neutral during altercations and that's a real stress test to whether you can make a situation worse. So the best defense, is really experience and discipline where martial arts did not play a big factor. BUT, having that martial arts background and knowledge, reminds you what you're capable of because it will not be used or will not work half the time. So train in body, but more in your mind. Muay Thai and judo would be top tier for me because of how it impacted my life so far. Other than that bro, this is A1 content. People need this knowledge. Martial arts isn't about harming people. It is just used as is.

you did JJJ kinda dirty at least give it the recognition like kenpo appreciate the great vid tho

No capoeira on this list?

Good video. But I think you are missing some points on Muay Thai-their extensive usage of knees and elbows where American Kickboxing disallows them. Another especially useful technique is their debilitating calf/thigh kicks, which is another facet that American Kickboxing seems to deploy less.

I was fortunate enough to have a Krav Maga teacher that had a background in both the Israeli military background and Muay Tai. With my teacher I covered striking martial arts, ground control (bjj) and wrestling. The biggest focuses were conditioning and sparring. I found it the exact opposite of close minded, willing to use and technique that was effective. However I’m also UK based and got do have sessions 1to1. I’ve heard Krav Maga dojo’s in the US are a lot more spotty in their effectiveness

Finally someone put some respect on Wing Chuns name!!!

This was really well done. It really does come down to the specific school within an art as well. I trained kuk sool won for 12 years starting in 1990. We sparred twice a week and trained till we were soaked in sweat 6 times a week total. I also know some Japanese Jujitsu guys who are the nastiest fighters I've ever met. They have taken their art to practical street application. Very logical analysis of the various arts!

I do Gracie jiu jitsu and I love it :) haven't experienced striking though.

Shaolin kung fu is such a broad term too. The warrior monks who use it with a combination of Sanda (like Chinese MMA) and spar are devastating in a fight due to their extensive training and control, but yes those who do not spar are more just performers than actual fighters. Also on Wing Chun, I feel it is okay but when combined with other systems it can be very powerful. Ip Man and Bruce Lee practiced Wing Chun, and they (Bruce Lee especially) combined it with other martial arts. That's JKD has alot of Wing Chun techniques in it.

As someone who practiced Kempo in high school and early college, I can't tell you how many times sensei would show us a technique and then go, "... and from here you should be able to easily snap your opponent's neck."

The hidden S tier is sprinting.

A misconception with the Taekwon-Do is there is ITF and WTF. WTF is the Olympic sport with no head punches, and ITF is the one taught by the North Korean army and is more full-on. It practices 3 on 1 sparring, knife defence, ground defence, and less flashy, more practical kicks. In self defence ITF is much better, but I 100% agree it's all McDojos ESPECIALLY in America. Having done it properly I will say it is very effective but it requires high technical skill compared to something simple like boxing.

I spent some time at Shaolin Temple. While it was short, I'm gonna have to disagree with you. All of the Shaolin Monks I've met sparred under Sanda rules. Some of them also Boxed.

You're right about Tai Chi. If people want to learn the actual fighting art, they need to find someone who knows "Tai Chi Chuan." Many people get today's Tai Chi confused with Tai Chi Chuan. I mean it is Tai Chi but that was the real ancient martial art that was taught for defense and combat. I also agree with what you talked about Tae Kwon Do. They focus TOO much on their kicks and do a lowsy job protecting their heads. If I put I mind to it, I'd beat them easily, too. Plus, a lot of those types of martial arts are becoming pretty predictable with all those high kicks.😒 This is a cool video. 😎👍👍

boxing be like: you wanna defend yourself? just punch till there are no more problems

Very good however he neglected to consider the martial arts ability to deal with size differences. Striking arts would be much lower on the scale

Spoiler alert : You don't bring guns to a fist fight. I think people who had outright knives and are now 6 feets under because of a 38 snub nose/22lr compact autoloader can attest Oh and also if you need martial arts in a father/son argument, self-defense is not where you problem resides.

Israeli tactical knife fighting. Krav maga Escrima. These arts for real shit. Pepper spray works wonders followed by punch to the neck or hammer fist to heart. Oss

One of the biggest knocks to Tae Kwon Do, was that in the late 80s and early 90s there was a switch from actual fighting to point fighting. So instead of fighting and being scored based on performance or knock down(out), you only have to land a small number of blows to win. I think parents drove this change, as when I was doing Tae Kwon Do in 88-93, there were injuries and hospital trips at every tournament, and a lot of parents freaking out because their kids were getting broken noses and concussions.

if you want to learn pencak silat, you should learn it from its birthplace, which is Indonesia. I'm also learning Silat class but unlike you, we do "sambung", "sambung" basically means fighting. So yeah silat should be higher, but im probably biased as i've only learned TKD and silat

Taekwondo - perfect kicks Boxing - perfect punches Jiu-jitsu - best grappling Boyka complete fighter

Aikido works if a dude im shop starts dragging you and grabing you, you cam wtist arm lock them or take down. Because random angry Karen that holds you dont expect that. Its not ment for going 1v1 with MMA guy..wrist lock work rly well.

I do wing chun...I was gonna blast this guy....but he is absolutely right about the art....I had to train with a boxer to improve my Chun for self defense. Not the ring or sports! Great video!

I learned Wing Tsun for a few years and my issue was also lack of sparring. Also, there was no consideration of assessing a situation, deescalate, escape etc, it was more like a "gun", if you decide you gotta engage you go in full force, maintain a half-striking distance and keep hitting and kicking, do not disengage until the opponent is totally destroyed. We were very strongly indoctrinated with this principle and I really can't understand why in "Wing Tsun vs xxx" videos the WT practitioner is like moving ahead-back-side-to-side like a boxer or a thai boxer, this is directly violating one of the main tactical principle we were thought and benefits attackers. Also, in the school where i learned in Hungary there was a strong ground fighting element for higher levels. WT they way I learnt it was excessively aggressive. Some of my mates actually got into trouble for using excessive force when in a brawl, breaking joints etc. I guess wing chun also suffers from being too diversely tought all over the world, and where it is consistent it is turned into a money making machine again.

I personally don't consider firearms as a "self defense art". Firearms are meant for a last resort if hand to hand doesn't work or if the other guy or guys have lethal force. Firearms are meant to be used in conjunction with other martial arts. I don't disagree that its great for all self defense situations but firearms are still nice to have as a last resort.

As someone who came 8th in the Ohio high school state wrestling championship, the big issue with wrestling as a SD martial art is if the attacker is just a little bit stronger than you, you're fucked. Seriously everyone who wrestled in high school knows what it's like to have an opponent who is in the same weight class just strength check you and you can't do anything to him. Now take that to a self defense scenario where they could have 20 to 30 pounds on you and are even remotely fit. I just don't see it working out. I'm no SD expert though so correct me if I'm missing something.

judo should be s tier it has jujutsu it,nd unless u on a beach ur attaker will probably have clothes on d that a wrap for them

Impressed by your knowledge. Good video sir

A really good, honest and realistic take on the matter, the best "self defence martial arts" video I´ve seen so far on youtube, all the analysis is SPOT on. Great work, respect :)

kali focuses on close quarter combats and defense even with or without a weapons its also used by special forces all over the globe

Army Combatives should be an F. Not enough time or effort placed in learning any fighting capability at any range.

The same issues you have with hapkido I have with JKD lol. I've cause one of the supposed best JKD guys speeding up his videos. Also there is a major issue in the community in they are nit actually discarding what is useless. There a trend of not going to things we know work, ie boxing, judo, wrestling etc , but instead going to kung fu.

Great video, so informative! I imagine the McDojos started popping up after the movie, "Karate Kid." It is so true about the importance of sparring. I joined a so-called boxing school, but there was little formal instruction. I learned the punches and spent weeks hitting the heavy bag, but once I got in the ring and sparred, I was lost due to the lack of organized sparring.

Tai Chi is not as bad as people think as a self-defense tool. There are actually 2 main streams of Tai Chi, one is about exercising your body like you said, a form of meditation, but one is more combat focus like wrestling. Josh Waitzkin, the author of the book the Art of Learning, actually practiced Tai Chi and he competed in Tai Chi Push Hand Competition held in Tai Wan. I'd admit that it's not a real fight like you see in mma but it can be a competitive sports and people do spar like the way they do in wrestling.

Great video. I've watched all of them on your channel. I've been to your school once for the free class and can't wait to get into it full time. Only thing I'm waiting on is my girlfriend and I have our first little man on his way. November 11th. But I love that you have so many arts to offer. I may have to just do privates for now till I can do all classes.

It takes a person at least 2 - 4 months to advance from white belt to yellow belt and that is if you are focused all those months in karate

Combat Sambo, Gets you ready for training or the street, Grappling & Striking & Combat Systema is pretty good to add. Ex MMA fighter Dan the Wolfman Theodore, Kevin Secours, Master Martin Wheeler. & Val Riazanov check him out, Combat Sambo 👍🙏🥋

Damn bro, i miss SAMBO. This is a absolutely killer martial art.

I recently moved and was lucky enough to find a JKD school about 10 minutes from me. In less than a month, I've been introduced to techniques from wing chun, kali (both sticks and knives, as well as the wrist locks used in conjunction to knife-fighting), grappling/takedowns and panantukan in addition to the core elements of JKD, such as the bi jong stance and the straight lead. I came in with the knowledge of how to throw a decent punch but my technique has been refined with some instruction on basic footwork and angling combined with the sheer amount of boxing training we do. The arts within my school's curriculum are so complementary and additive it's often difficult to distinguish between them and we almost always combine techniques from different arts within the same training exercises, resulting in an undeniable synergism. It's a truly exceptional system and with none of the hyper-formality that previously turned me off of other disciplines.

I used to train kenpo as a teenager and earned a black belt, my kenpo school was definitely a mcdojo since we didn’t pressure tested the self defense techniques and there were alot of child black belts. I currently train BJJ/GJJ (blue belt) and is definitely a much better experience, if I had to defend myself in a fight I would put my trust in my BJJ skills over what I learned in my kenpo days.

A ptk (kali) / jujitsu / pencak silat .. B+ judo / muay thai / boxing / karate / mma / bjj / gracie jj / catch wr ... Ok ptk is very dangeros and effective ... Jujutsu is not sport art of blade ... Very effectife judo bjj is section of jujitsu japonai 🇯🇵 ...

Only thing I would disagree with is Muay Thai being below Judo. If I had to chooae between fighting a Judo guy and a Muay Thai guy I would choose the Judo guy.

I've been doing shotokan Karate for 15 years mixed with boxing for 5. While no average Joe can outgrapple me, anyone who knows Jiu jitsu would thrash me as shown to me by my friends who study it xD. I'm gonna be enrolling into Jiujitsu pretty soon to get my ground game up! Excited af.

Feel like Karate and Kyokushin Karate should be separate categories. Kykoushin emphasises full contact sparring, and thus is more resistant to becoming a McDojo. Those guys are hard as fuck.

As a Wing Chun practitioner, I found your analysis of Wing Chun the most balanced and reasonable I have heard yet. I think it is an entirely underrated art-but underrated for an entirely good reason. The theory is sound and the techniques are very good although, I would propose, not as rounded as they could be. But it is invariably trained more as an art than the martial art. (And all credit to all those who do; not everyone trains to be a fighter.) However, train like a boxer or kickboxer, and Wing Chun becomes very effective.

Bro, I have to disagree with you in the guns regard. It is always safer to use a gun against a raper rather than trying to use martial arts to defend yourself, as the raper probally is armed either with a knife or a firearm. Guns shouldn't even there imo, as they outrank all the martial arts in pratical situations.

There should differently be a part 2 to this covering other styles not covered here, specifically Lethwei

That was the best any youtuber has done to convince me to subscribe lol. I was like, “ yeah man good point. You win.”

I started doing martial art when I was 16, dabbled in BJJ for a few years, did Muay Thai and boxing for many years, one aspect that almost always forgotten is strength, conditioning can come from practice and sparing, but strength is most often left out of a lot of these martial arts, in a street fight a big strong man can beat a little good fighter more likely than not, Its so important to get strong especially if you plan on getting wrapped up with another man, its easy to be quick as a striker (boxer, kick boxer) but once you get tied up with another man whos adrenalin is rushing as your is(remember a street fight is different than a bout and training, your adrenaline will rush its natures way of giving u a nitro boost), technique will suffer if you cant man handle just a little bit or at least hold your own in the strength department. I know grappling/trapping is a timing and leverage game, but do not underestimate strength in this equation, Ive been in my fare share of street fights where Im the more skilled fighter but the big strong guy gave me a run for my money( because in street fights there are no weight classes) . Get those chin ups in, get under the squat bar, be able to lift your own weight and more its so important, I can remember the time I took the time to do strength training when i was doing Thai boxing, my effectiveness in the clench improved by a lot, My legs where stronger so I wasn't moved around like a rag doll from the bigger fighters anymore, I was able to hold my own with bigger and even more skilled fighters. Even when I was playing soccer with friends I can feel the new strength I had help so much. Its a shame, My reason for staying away from weights for so long came from boxing, its basically a sin in a lot of gyms lol but once I took the time to get strong I was changed in my beliefs ( it slows u down...more muscles means getting tired faster) its quite the opposite

Really nice! I've trained Karate and Judo for 17 years, as well dabbled in other arts here and there. And one major difference, which I think is maybe more important than style and art. Is the club and instructor. You can have a Karate instructor with a very good self defence mindset, that takes time to focus on different self defense techniques and mindset. And on the other hand you can have a clueless MMA instructor, who's never been in a self defence situation. And teaches very dangerous techniques without understanding what is being taught (in terms of actual self defense). So keeping the information in this video in mind when chosing a club, will get you super far.

Would love to see a video that ranks safest martial arts to practise… I’ve seen some pretty brutal BJJ injuries lately and wonder how they stack up with the others

I would disagree with the Muay Thai versus kickboxing in a few regards. First, Muay Thai allows elbows. That is a HUGE advantage in a street fight, where you may be very close range or can break your hand punching. Second, Muay Thai has a very strong clinch, to the point where it's essentially a form of stand up grappling. While not as advanced, there are throws and sweeps as well. If you end up on the ground, you may be kinda fucked. Before you get there, though, you have punches, kicks, knees, sweeps, throws, clinch, and good balance

I am a little confused. I studied traditional Japanese Ju Jitsu for 29 years and yet its the first time i have ever heard it explained as "A defensive art." Its the hand to hand combat style of the Samurai and includes all kicking punching striking pressure points etc that other styles have. in the school i went to we had "practice" 2 times per week which were full contact and then standard classes on other days. We also learnt sine dislocations, neck breaks eye gouges and many other forms of attack that are not defensive.

You are so spot on about Krav Maga. I've seen so many Krav Maga people online that are just so unbelievably confident it's absolutely insane. I practice and love Muay Thai, but I also have no problem admitting that any half decent BJJ, Judo, or MMA guy would kick my ass. Krav Maga people however just firmly believe that they can destroy anyone and everyone, which in reality probably means that they just don't know enough about fighting.

I really appreciate how you admitted your biases. I also really appreciated how you didn’t just knock down striking martial. Overall I agree and understand why you rated everything the way you did. I’ve studied martial arts for over 20 years now and can tell you know your stuff. Great video

Boxing will get leg kicked, kicked, knees, elbowed, clinched, taken down, thrown etc unless the skill gap is absolutely massive. You put them next to kickboxing and Muay Thai, which is weird. It’s boxing with kicks, leg kicks, defense against both, knees, better stance, also elbows if Muay Thai, and teeps, push kicks etc. Most of the obscure martial arts and things like military stuff is just not it, either not enough to learn, too out dated, not focused on H2h enough etc. Won’t recommend any of them, and I’m not going into detail with any of them. Hapkido and by extension HanMuDo and all art like this are the most overrated art I’ve ever see in my life. Joint locks aren’t gonna help you for shit. It’s way too hard to get in active fights, way too dangerous to attempt and even IF you succeed, what if it’s a crack head or just adrenaline pumped dude or someone with high pain tolerance. I’ve seen a dude attempt a joint lock get KOed multiple times after a dude just didn’t care and punch him anyway. Other than that they focus on kicks which is the easiest way to get taken down and ground and pounded. Terrible, only works on people who can’t fight in the first place. Now the latter part is also for TKD, they get taken down and beaten. It’s an amazing art to mix into a full system of MMA, on its own its not okay. They never pressure test, terrible punches. On the ground they are below average judo practitioners. Just overal dreadful. Karate depends imo, I think that light footed point karate in and out style is on the level of Muay Thai and depending on how good you are at distance management, probably even better, better than many forms of kickboxing and definitely better than boxing. Its also used to get amazing timing, close the distance, clinch, break structure, control body, elbow, knee and head bud in the clinch after they blitzed in. You probably didn’t even count that. It’s still weak to people who can grapple and close distance fast, like wrestlers. If you can grapple but not close distance you will not even touch them. The old flat footed ridged style is absolutely awful. Shaolin I kinda agree but to be honest they are more tough, more fit, more flexible, more athletic and more explosive than even many professional MMA fighters. That alone makes it a lot better than aikido, and all those police stuff and army stuff. They do incorporate strikes, kicks, elbows, head buds, knees, and all. You are just being disrespectful right now, they aren’t magical, they aren’t the best but have some decency. They also have weapons and their art did survive on the battlefield with weapons. Wing chun, funny that you mention it. I believe wing chun is starting to be modernized now and the new variation is actually very effective. In terms of H2H better than boxing and maybe even kickboxing and Muay Thai depending on the location. (It’s focused on very close combat and if you can keep your distance you have an advantage) It totally reworked the footwork, turned those wrist binding techniques into actual grabbing of limbs, manipulating the opponents head and balance while at the same time finding ways to strike. Uses head buds, elbows, insane close up defense, knees, kicks, knee kicks, hammer first. Actually interesting. And it does teach you that social awareness and fighting people and decent grappling and even ground and pound. Should be relatively obscure still but I am sure I heard of it somewhere. The old wing chun would get out maneuvered by footwork, head movement, in and out movement, take downs etc. Maybe on the level of boxing but way way harder to master, not worth it. But has nice concepts (but I guess all arts have concepts to learn from or modify for your own personal style) In a clear 1v1 I would pick any form of good wrestling over 99% of martial arts. MMA isn’t an art, it’s a collection which is 100% dependent on the person. It can be F tier and S tier. Because it can mean you know 30 martial arts to a master degree or 3 martial arts to an hobbyist degree. Also MMA because it’s a sport can be taken to the absolute highest level of competition so the potential of an MMA fighter is higher than any of the CDS guys. Only thing CDS has over it is talking, and weapon defense. That’s assuming the MMA guy didn’t master your art already or at least get proficient enough and his fitness mma would get you would probably make up for most disadvantages anyways. Also just because why aren’t allowed to do something doesn’t mean they can’t. A MMA fighter will still soccer kick your head if they need to, and they will still do the 12 to 6 elbow if they need to. Also good MMA guys train with bigger guys than themselves, it’s a culture. Always push yourself. And while they might not have social situational awareness, their spacial awareness, distance understanding, reflexes, toughness and probably experience will definitely tell them if they are in danger 9/10 times at minimum. Judo, I feel wrestlers are better at closing distance so you can be held at range if he is good at something like point karate. JKD is more of a mind set and philosophy than an art, shouldn’t be on the list. I think you should have included Sambo or military sambo. CDS is highly bias but you already admitted that so I won’t try to convince you of anything. No wonder you out traditional Wing Chun so high, CDS uses a lot of it. Oh and on the topic of “it’s not a self defense art” it’s a sport. Even in self defense I believe having a well rounded art which is also a combat sport might actually be better. Why? Because it’s been tested and refined and upgraded a million times more than any other art that isn’t a sport. Because it’s evolving every second and the level of competition will always have more potential than any gym instructed. And lastly because in competition you will always find real pressure testing and sparring. And most of them will get you into shape and make you sharp instead of saying “yeah anyone can use this”.

I`m so sorry but I have to disagree with you particularly on BJJ, GJJ because they tend to focus on one on one instead of one against many (three persons or more). When Z uses his/her BJJ/GJJ he/she tends to focus solely 100% to A (if there are three persons or more) instead of B and C (or more) at the same time in real fight and that situation is not practical because the others would release his/her kick/punch or even his/her knife at Z during those +- 10 seconds fight with A.

Any sort of grappling will be superior when it comes to one of one hand to hand combat. Introduce multiple people or a small sharp metal object and it's basically completely useless, whereas with striking you still have somewhat of a chance. Grappling also puts you in a committed position, once you start, you are stuck there, whereas striking allows for a non committed approach.

Great video, I have taken Judo in Cuba as a kid, Shotokan and other Japanese styles since 1975, Aikido, Kali, MMA and Krav, I can't disagree with much, but it is a shame that Karate has been watered down so much. Also have taken pistol fighting classes with Varg Freeborn, Google him. Really interesting story and we did simmunition pistol against shock knives with full helmets and everyone got cut or "shocked" but one who pushed the guy off really hard but he knew the specifics of the attack. Half the class of twenty-something people were LEO's, most had some MA training, but it was a bitch fighting against a knife. This was a pretty good scenario of pressure testing, those simmunition rounds do leave a welt.

I have a little experience with Krav Maga, and it’s taught poorly outside of Israel. There, it’s not so much of a fighting style or self defense technique, it’s a mindset to teach military recruits to become the threat and source of violence themselves if they’re in danger while clearing a building or something.

Aikido makes you a real fighter? Man, you need to check Rokas and his experience.