I am always amused when I hear someone ask what is the best style of martial art. There is no best martial art. They are all intended to focus on self-defense. The key is whether or not your training really focused on the reality of combat and self-defense in realistic scenarios and settings or just on memorization of forms/kata/hyungs/poomse.
If you do a Google on "Bunkai" you will find that it is a Japanese term meaning interpretation of kata or forms. What 99% of martial arts schools teach in their kata is what really well versed martial artists refer to as the "B" knowledge. Basically, watered-down or made up explanations of how to use various movements from the kata. The kata or forms are simply the vocabulary of the given style. Like any language, you learn the vocabulary and basic structure and then you learn to write your own thoughts. In other words, on the street you would never jump in and begin to execute a green belt form, but you would use some of the moves from it (if you have studied the "A" knowledge through bunkai") to defend yourself.
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A simple movement like a front-stance with a down-block is typically taught as blocking a roundhouse kick from your opponent. Try this for real and you will end up with a broken forearm. Which is stronger, your forearm or your opponent's shin? In reality a movement like that is intended to defend against someone who has grabbed your forearm. Step BACKWARDS, not forwards as you typically do in a kata, wrap around with the arm being grabbed and re-grab your opponent’s forearm, while stepping back into your front stance, then down block against the back of their elbow as you drop your weight down suddenly into your front stance. The end result is your opponent has a broken or hyper extended elbow and will not be giving you any trouble for quite some time.
I realize this is difficult to visualize in written form, but the point is that every movement in a Tae Kwon Do form or any other form of any other style actually has three or four or many practical and
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often lethal applications if you spend enough time learning from someone who knows the kata. So take the movements you already know and study their practical application before going into another s t y l e o f m a r t i a l a r t a n d r e p e a t i n g t h e s a m e b e h a v i o r .
As far as other styles however, there are some that do come across a little more intuitive in the self-defense arena: Hapkido, Ed Parker Style Kenpo Karate, Jiu Jitsu, Krav Maga, to name a few. But again, any style can be effective if you are taught effectively. It depends up on how much knowledge you have about how to use the techniques you have learned. You must learn about many topics which I cover in my book to be fully versed and prepared for selfdefense whether it is in a parking lot or in Iraq. You must understand principles of camouflage, concealment and evasion. You must learn how to use your environment and terrain to your advantage. You must learn about weapons of opportunity; how to use what is at your disposal and within arm’s reach to defend your self – and actually practice this vs. just reading about it. There are tactics and strategies and training methods that I discuss which will allow you to take what you have learned in the martial arts school and help you make it work in combat. That is the purpose of it all.
More important that any specific techniques are the proper knowledge, mindset and spirit. You must understand the real meanings of terms like timing and speed and how to isolate the difference between them in drills so that you can improve these qualities. You must develop a "survivor" mindset that also involves understanding of how you would truly react and what your triggers would be in a self defense situation. Where is your "line of conviction"? How far can someone push you before you react and
40 then where will you enter into the force continuum. When we were operating our martial arts school United Karate Institute of Self D e f e n s e , I n c . w e h a d a s l o g a n t h a t s a i d i t a l l :