OT--Martial Arts

[Andrew]

Originally Posted by fearn

I agree that there's no best martial art. Moreover, in the purest sense, mixed martial arts as currently practiced are a sport, and are only very partial martial arts. It's too bad we can't call it modern pankration, because that's what it is.

These days, the best martial art (and it is truly mixed) is probably practiced by SEAL Team 6 and their special forces brethren around the world. They use it for killing people on the battlefield, and that's what truly martial arts are for. I point to the SEALs only because they seem to be pretty effective at what they do, though they're enormously expensive on a per-warrior basis.

One could equally argue for that various guerrilla groups around the world (especially those currently using AK-47s and IEDs, as in Afghanistan) as the most effective martial arts, in a cost-efficiency sense. After all, they've cost the US multiple trillion dollars, and they still go on fighting.

Best,

F

That's like saying the only "real" auto racing is F1.

I would agree only if you define "true" martial arts as those techniques actually employed to kill, maim and injure the opponents. However, in a civilized society, we cannot kill, maim or injure our training partners and opponents. The only way to effectively practice these things is to stop short of the ultimate intended result...