It's not the art, it's the artist.

[burn_out]

This is just my opinion based on years of experience. My background is in a Korean style called "Ji Do Kwon." My school is a very "Americanized" version of Ji Do Kwon. In my school, you'd start off with basic mechanics. As you progress, you start kick boxing.

In the 80's and 90's I competed in a tournament league called the A.O.K. This was an open tournament system where all styles were welcome but no matter the style, you still had to adhere to the rules. It was all stand up fighting and no grappling.

I had a chance to fight guys from many different "punch/kick" styles. It was a great learning experience.

Having said that, the only grappling that I have learned has been from the Army and I suck at it.

But grappling is an awesome form of fighting and I respect the grappling styles a lot.

The over all conclusion that I have come to is that it's the individual and not necessarily the martial art itself that is great.

A striker that can't grapple gets taken down by a grappler will lose. A grappler that doesn't know how to bridge the gap will get pummeled by a good striker.

My advice to any Martial Artist is to not get too cocky. As soon as you say that "Kung Fu" sucks...well someday, you might have a Kung Fu guy beat the mess out of you.

Every Martial Art has it's weakness. Every striker style leaves you open at the time of throwing a punch or a kick. Ju Jitsu is great but what if two or more guys attack you? What then?

So what I tell people who are not yet Martial Artists is to take what ever is available. They're all good.

In a perfect world, I'd like to see a real hybrid Martial Art with: the punches of pure boxing, the kicks of Tae Kwon Do AND Muy Tai, and the best grappling techniques from Judo, Ju Jitsu, and Wrestling.

It's getting there with the current MMA but I want to see a day when it's not call "Mixed" Martial Arts...I want to see a solidified hybrid.

Maybe some day.

[calibansfury]

There' s an old saying in martial arts--

There are no superior martial arts, only superior martial artists.

You can trust that as badass as Chuck Lidell and Rampage are, there's a 50 year old Shaolin monk that could gore their eyes before they'd ever have time to shoot in...monks don't have to follow the same rules that Liddell does.

Keep in mind that the current MMA fad is just that--a fad. Ninjutsu had it in the 80's, aikido got a brief run due to Seagal in the late 80's and 90's, then Muay Thai, BJJ, and MMA with the rise of the UFC.

Granted, the UFC, Pride and others have potentially turned MMA into the new boxing--so it may really have some legs going forward.

But as you noted, grappling is only ideal for one-on-one combat situations. Karate, TKD, Tang Soo Do, Kuk Sul Won, Hwrang Do, etc, were all designed for multiple aggressors--the katas all show this. They spin and turn in every which direction, because they all expected to be in an all out brawl against gangs of attackers, or battlefield opponents, or foreign invaders (read Shotokan's Secret for an excellent detailing of this).

In my opinion, you should determine your potential combat needs, then seek the art that satisfies those needs. Start there. You can bridge out later.

Keep this in mind though. As someone who's studied martial arts for about 20 years, keep in mind that the precise, vicious moves that you often see demonstrated look nothing like that in real combat. Due to nerves, fear, adrenaline, etc, your movement is bigger, less controlled--let's just call it sloppier. Also, training yourself to perform X when an opponent does Y can totally screw you up. It's Hick's Law: the more response options you have, the longer it will take you to make a
choice. This is why "spontaneous response" training like boxing or muay thai are great. No preset responses. It can also provide defense against multiple attackers. Jiu Jitsu can provide a lot of control against an opponent. BJJ is perfect for where almost all one-on-one fights end up, on the ground.

Pick your needs, find an art that meets those needs. As a Ranger, I'd suggest something that's brutal, fast, life-ending, that doesn't put everything on pre-programmed responses. I think KRav Maga is a good option to look into.

Good luck