1. Great list, might come in handy to some folks. Though it would be ever more awesome if short description of each and everyone of those martial arts would be included next to the title 🙂

  2. Thanks! My girlfriend will definitely appreciate this article 🙂

    1. Profile photo of Mantas

      I’m glad that my articles are useful for you and your girlfriend bro! 🙂

  3. Great in-depth explanation on each and one of them; would love to see more articles on Krav Maga over here, as this particularly sounds exciting.

    1. Profile photo of Mantas

      Thanks for your comments nextbigname, I appreciate it. I can guarantee you will defenately see more articles about Krav Maga in the future

  4. And not a thing about Kendo. wtf!?

  5. Profile photo of Mantas

    Thanks Jonathan for your comment. Unfortunately that’s a problem with top 10 list, that it has only 10 martial arts, which are the best for self defense in our opinion, but everyone has different one. Would be more then impossible to find the same top with the same martial arts. But I agree, Kendo is definitely great martial art for self defense. I can promise to mansion it in our future articles. Or you can apply for writer position, and you might be able to do it by your self. Just use our contact form if you are interested.

  6. great list of martial arts. Although I find out that any types of martial arts can be good for self defense after you master it. For me karate works the best.

  7. I tried taekwondo before but didn’t have the opportunity to continue, maybe i lost interest, anyway, i’m thinking of enrolling into Muay Thai or maybe Kickboxing though they are almost the same with only a little bit difference, i guess i’ll take muay thai followed by Jiu-jitsu.

    What do you think should i take muay thai first then Jiu-jitsu or Jiu-jitsu followed by muay thai?

    i’ve read a lot about krav maga since its really something catch, but for me its a little bit too lethal, but self defense and fitness wise, its something you should put on your list as it develops coordination of all body parts unlike other combat sports, but still its way too dangerous, i suggest a psychological test before taking lessons or trainees with this combat sport 🙂

    1. Profile photo of Mantas

      Krav Maga isn’t as dangerous as it looks like, but of course it depends from instructor.
      I have been training jiujitsu and muay thai for many years, it’s a big difference between these martial arts. But it’s hard to say which one you should try first, if you can’t do both, just try couple classes and you will feel where you can be better. My advice is to try as many martial arts as you can, because they all are wonderful and unique, but stick to just one or two which are the most interesting and acceptable for you. Because it’s always better to master one martial art, rather then just learn some basics from each of them.

  8. The Korean martial arts styles are some of the most popular in the world today. Since these martial arts have many techniques, becoming a master in any one requires a long-term commitment.

  9. A really enjoyable and informative read. Thank you

  10. Good! you did not put Kali on your list since the art is EXTREMELY DANGEROUS!

    1. i agree with you. Kali or popularly called Arnis is a systematic way of stick fighting originated in the Philippines and known for its effectiveness in real-life situations. Like you said, Kali is extremely dangerous it was also featured in fight science!

  12. Yin & Yang. One can not have strong/hard technique without soft/light technique.

  13. Ninjutsu? hmmmmmmmm Ninjutsu is far superior than BJJ, BJJ is just more popular because of MMA. So of course BJJ if gonna get more visitor votes because its more widely known than Ninjutsu. Just Sayin. I respect all styles but I feel Ninjutsu should’ve been somewhere on that list. I agree with Tae-Kwon-Do, Kung Fu, Krav Maga, Karate, but BOXING! REALLY? BOXING! that shocked me.

    1. Dude. people give boxing a bad rap for just being punches and clinches. but its got great footwork devestating close range force and exceptional speed.

      1. I totally agree with you man. But you know, everyone has their own opinion. Although, everyone who has ever tried boxing, knows that it’s much more then just two guys punching each others face. Like you said: speed, timing, footwork, head and body movement – makes this sport a real martial art.

    2. I’m not gonna repeat what the others commented, but ninjutsu focuses mostly on stealth. Not backflips and those stuff you see in fiction.

  14. So why are Wing tsun separated from rest of Kung fu? It is mist popular style for self defence for its straight forwardness. And are all the rest chinese styles equal? This look like something thrown togheter in a blink with not mutch effort.

    1. yes , it’s matrial arts from southeast Asia

  16. Here is a question. I am from Pakistan so if I order this set of DVDs will I get it?

    1. Thanks for your question Ali. After you order this Krav Maga training program, you will get your log in details and you will be able to watch it online or even download it to your computer.

    2. Sorry Ali, I just realized that you probably had Master Krav Maga DVD Set in mind, if that so, you have to check with amazon, but they won’t let you order if delivery is not available to your country. It just probably will take a while.

  17. Martial arts training can be difficult for beginners, and some find that they start to feel discouraged if they’re having trouble with certain basic techniques. The above details are very helpful for the beginners to learn Martial arts.

    Boot Camp Temecula

  18. guess what i’ll be finding classes for! thanks.

  19. the master club is the best in the universe. If you do not know the master club is a karate

  21. Well i was actually wondering which Korean martial arts styles are the best well practiced???? How about the least practiced????

    1. I’m pretty sure that Taekwondo has the most practitioners amongst Korean martial arts styles(70 million practitioners in 190 countries around the world https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taekwondo)

      I don’t think that anybody knows which one is the least practiced Korean martial art style, there are many new and small styles, that nobody even practice outside of Korea.

      1. Wow…. i did not know that!!! Is Haedong kumdo widely practiced aswell????
        I’m going to move away from the city i currently live in….so ill stop my martial art training and start elsewhere. I have my doubts on the dojangs in where im going to move, to be frank none of them have got too far in international competitions.(west against asia….)…… do you think im being too paranoid???….or should i review the movements on my own????

        1. Yeah, Haedong Kumdo is quite popular around the world. Although I have never tried it before. So I can’t really recommend you anything. Well. it depends where are you moving to? I know it can be hard to find a good new dojo, when you are moving to a new city, I’ve experienced that myself. But I think any dojo is better than just practice on your own. How long have you been practicing Haedong Kumdo?

          1. no, i dont practice haedong kumdo….. but i practice Taekwondo (Wtf style). I havent practiced for six months due to sickness…..
            Ill be moving to south america…… And in the country where i’ll be going does not seem to hold a very good record when it comes to sparring with the other side of the world(against European and Asian countries )but when it comes to sparring with countries of the americas (north south and central america) they seem to be doing fine.
            I saw a video of a dojang in where im going to move, and even though i still hold my suspicions on how reliable they are, i would like to know what another martial artist has to say:
            https://youtube.com/watch?v=mhbzgg4sTUE&desktop_uri=%2Fwatch%3Fv%3Dmhbzgg4sTUE

            What surprised me is that some movements that i just saw the red belt girl do were movements that i’ve never learned in her level (im one step away from being a black belt). And even i haven’t learned the leg swiping movement….. So, do you think it will be good for me if i continue my training there???(the things they’ll teach me might be different in what they taught me here)

            Or learn another martial art that could help me with an aspect that i cant do well in taekwondo; like learning capoiera (will help keep my flexibility) or kendo (will help with my breathing)

            So i ask to you a fellow martial artist what’s your opinion on what i should do???

          2. It’s really hard to judge from this video. But it looks fine, although I don’t see many high level students in this video. Which girl are you talking about? The one at the end of the video who are defending herself? Plus it’s just a demonstration program, would be much better to see a real competition where they are taking a part.

            If you are one step from the black belt, it’s possible that this dojo might be not good enough for you. I guess you have to go to that dojo and try it your self. You don’t have what to loose right?

            If I were you, I would try other martial arts. But it depends what is your goal. If you want to be of the best at Taekwondo you better stick with it, if you want to be better martial artist in general – try something new. But it’s just my opinion. Follow your heart 🙂

          3. hmmm… you make a good point…. But, like i said im very suspicious because alot of people don’t teach “real” martial arts….. But, the good thing is that ill come back in a year and ill be able to resume training 🙂 What do you think??

            My goal is obviously to be great at it…. But, i thought that if i learn capoeira, i could become more acrobatic…….

            Do you think it’ll begood for me to not do taekwondo for ayer and do capoiera… and then come back and countinue training???? But all i worry about is that I’ll forget alot…
            What do you think???

          4. I think, If you feel like learning Capoeoira, then go for it. I don’t think that you going to forget Taekwondo in one year. It’s too short time to forget. It’s been 5 years since I last time trained Karate, but I still remember almost everything. So don’t worry about it, you will be fine! 🙂 And you can still practice Taekwondo moves while you will be doing Capoeira. You can also ask your current dojo instructor what he thinks would be better for you.

          5. thanks for the advice man!!! I’ll see through it…….
            One more question……. If i learn first KIF kendo will it be faster for me to learn kumdo??? And will it be easier to learn another kendo style from another federation???

          6. No problem dude! I’m glad I can help you.

            These Kendo styles are pretty similar, so yes it would be easier to learn one after studying another. The same with Kumdo. Even if you study completely different styles, you will learn faster if you already have martial arts experience.

          7. ive noticed that people say that taekwondo is a popular martial art. Does popular imply that alot of people practice it?? or people just know about it??

          9. wow thanks ill see what to do…

            You know i was wondering that if you learn kendo first will it be easier to learn kumdo later??? And what is the case of different kendo styles (from different organizations) will it be easier to learn them after learning KIF kendo???

  22. Are clubs that teach many martial reliable??? I found a school that teaches, karate, muay thai, jiujitsu, kick boxing, yoga, dance therapy(no idea what that is) and capoiera.
    Are those reliable?? And how can i see that it is??

  23. You need to do a comparison with UFC FIT! I’ve had way more fun with it than the others.

    1. Thanks for your comment nomosolo. Actually I haven’t tried UFC FIT yet. Although it’s a little bit expensive, but might be worth it, if you say so.

  24. Good list. But I’d probably put capoeira. Well, I don’t know that many martial arts stuff, so I can’t judge, but otherwise, good list!

  25. Hey, thanks for the review. There is new wing chun online class called wingchunlabs. It is two guys teaching wing chun. Have you checked it out? Does it do a good job of putting the moves into context? Is it more detail oriented than the kid?

    1. Profile photo of Mantas

      Hey, thanks for your feedback. No I haven’t had a chance to try this new Wing Chun program yet. It seems a bit expensive though. But I will check that out.

    2. No problem Chamako. I haven’t tried wingchunlab yet, it seems interesting, although a little bit expensive. But I will see if I can find out anything about this program.

  26. Fascinating …. report!!! Well I’m in a little dilemma,.. I’m original a taekwondo practitioner… i changed cities and there’s no dojang near me…. so i don’t think i can practice it… so i was thinking of a substitute… WHich other martial arts style has simiair kids like the taekwondo one??? Do you think capoiera will do the job??? But, i don’t think muay thai will do the job… muay thai kicks are too different… plea some advice.
    thanks

  27. Guys boxing is good what about kickboxing that’s a awesome martial art 🙂

  28. I don’t practice any MA (I’d like to in the future), but I follow very similar guidelines to you as far as eating. I’m a bit more extreme on the fasting, mainly because I like to really feast.

    Every day I eat from 4-6pm only. On workout days I train from 3-4pm, then eat. During my feast I have, red meat, poultry, fish, eggs, vegetables, fruit, yogurt and nuts. I’ll mix up the specifics but the categories are always the same. I have a cheat day every 10 days, on this day I relax the time frame of fasting too from midday-7pm, and workout from 11am-midday. I cook around 3-4 days worth of food in advance, this really helps.

    As a side note if I may ask, what would be your advice on getting some groundwork or a start in MA for someone that can’t afford proper lessons/instructor. What are some things I could be doing to get a head start. At the moment I’m just doing body weight strength training every other day, making good progress though, thanks.

    1. Profile photo of Mantas

      Thanks for sharing your eating habits with us MrJed. Yeah I’ve hear that many people only eat once a day. But I personally prefer twice.

      In terms of martial arts training, I wouldn’t start practice any MA technique without qualified instructor, if you don’t want to learn it incorrect way. Especially if you have never done any MA before.

      Body weight strength training alone will make your muscles strong, but stiff and slow for MA. In your case I would continue doing body weight strength training together with flexibility, speed and coordination exercises. Which is the best combination of the most important abilities for MA.

      I hope that helps. Good luck!

      1. Thanks for your reply, I have added some flexibility exercises and have been looking into plyometric versions of body weight exercises for increasing speed and power. Do you think that would be a good direction to head in? I hadn’t considered coordination exercises, thanks for the suggestion, do you have any “must learn” exercises you would recommend for coordination? Or flexibility or speed for that matter?

        Sorry for all the questions but I’m always willing to learn and every bit helps 🙂

        1. Profile photo of Mantas

          That’s okay, I’m happy to help 🙂

          Yes Plyometric exercises are actually very good not just for speed and power, but coordination as well. I’m sure you can find a lot of examples on google. In terms of “must lear” exercises of martial arts, it depends what kind of MA you are planning to do. For example: if it’s something that requires your footwork (karate, taekwondo, boxing) then you can do: Jumping rope, Ladder drills, for your hands – speed bag etc.

          I will try to get this covered in more detail in my next article.

          1. Ok cool, thanks for all the info. In all honesty I haven’t settled on a particular MA yet, not going to be able to start any time soon so figure I have time to research and in the meantime get my body in good shape as preparation. I look forward to your next article.

  29. 1. fot one on one fight mma fighter will beat everyone but it is not martial art but its a sport that combine diffiernt martial arts.
    and almost every mm fighter has certain specific martial arts base
    e.g. Gsp in karate, fador in sambo or anderson silva in mui thai

    2. and other than mma if we have compitation of pure martial artist of diffiernt martial arts its hard to guess whos goona win
    because that will be the stylistically match up
    like wrestler can take boxer down and beat him
    but if wrestler take bjj fighter down he will get caught in submission.
    while ninjitsu fighter can nertrlize bjj ground game.
    and so on.

    its not martial arts whis best its a pepole who masters it

  30. i like Kenpo/Kempo because they have all ranges of combat are strikes,punches,throws,joint locks, and etc.

  31. super interesting story, thanks :). Good luck in your future endeavors!.

  32. Most #HumbleFighters #BlackHouse honor to know!!

  33. Choosing which style is the best always denpeds on what you want to get out of it if you want to learn , learn ; there’s a whole pysychological and emotional component to self defense situations which aren’t generally addressed in most martial arts classes, but are vital to your ability to successful defend yourself in dangerous situations check with your local police depeartment or nearby schools/colleges for women’s self defense courses a karate or kickboxing class may teach you how to kick someone, but they probably won’t teach you when or why to kick someone and they also probably won’t tell you all the steps you can take to avoid having to resort to that Once you understand the self defense piece, then almost any martial art will enhance your skills (by definition, that’s what martial arts are) it’s just that they do it in different ways, and almost always require a number of years to develop the amount of skill someone your size would need to fend off a much larger and stronger attacker a grappling style like bjj or judo would help you to avoid being held down on the ground, so you could run away; a striking style would help you fend off someone long enough to run away; the advantage of sport styles, is that it gives you the experience of physically struggling against someone, which you can’t get from going through the motions the disadvantage is you don’t get to practice your most useful self defense techniques which neutralize the size difference (eye gouges, biting, hair pulling, groin strikes, etc.); the opposite is true for more street/reality oriented styles: you get to learn all the most dangerous techniques, but can never really try them out because they’re so dangerous in short, take a self defense course, then take whatever style you enjoy training

  34. Dear Colin,

    I am the author of the book, “Krav Maga – Real World Solutions To Real World Violence”. In regards to keeping your fingerprints of the knife. This obviously comes from the more covert operations where Krav Maga is used in Israel, where the person dealing with an assailant will want to go unknown – this is not how it is intended, or described in the book, for civilian application.

    As you will have read my basic decision tree is to, acquiesce to an assailant’s demand if they want things I own, and only fight if I believe they are going to use the knife against me e.g. they don’t leave after mugging/robbing me, or they want to move me to another location etc. I fight to survive, not because of ego. Because the assailant is intending to use a certain level of force, I must be prepared to use an equal level of force and violence; there is no nobility in a real-life confrontation – I chose to describe the solutions of using the knife against an attacker to illustrate the importance of this mindset. In my second book I show other options.

    The point of not leaving your fingerprints on the knife from a civilian perspective, is to make sure that it is clear who the assailant is. If you were to disarm and then end up using the knife (which happens in most situations where knife disarms occur), you put yourself in a tricky position arguing you did so in self-defense. If your fingerprints are never on the blade it is a much cleaner and clearer story for you to explain. The goal here is not to try and do this without the authorities never knowing what happened i.e. I am not training ninjas here, but to follow a path which identifies who the sole “aggressor” in the situation is. This is no way acknowledges that I believe it is “wrong” to do this – in a survival situation where somebody is going to use the knife against you, this is a legally and morally permisable option.

    Kind Regards

    Gershon

  35. kung fu are the best, go to learn Ba Ji quan , Shao Lin quan, Xin Yi Liu He quan, Chen Tai Chi, Wu Dang quan, all of them are very good. For men, go to learn Ba Ji quan, For women, go to learn Wing Chun

  36. i agree that aikido can be a very efvictefe combat art if done in a non water down fashison. i’m not aikido artist but i have use a couple of techiques.

  37. This is a good move. As for any discipline, the basics should not be lost or forgotten.

  38. Incorporating gymnastics in martial arts creates awesome tricks. It would be fun to show tricks for beginners so they’d be more enticed.

  39. The self discipline that the martial arts has is what I like most. It gives you confidence and self control too.

  40. I’m one of his fans but I’d say Jackie Chan is not a martial arts master but he is a master in doing stunts involving martial arts. Indeed he has greatly influenced and brought martial arts into the spotlight.

  41. kalari is the oldest and best martial art in the world…