Are Martial Arts Useful in a Street Fight?

Many martial arts like taekwondo, Kung Fu, and karate work nicely in a fighting ring, cage, or dojo. But how effective are these arts in a real-world situation where there are no rules? Are martial arts useful in a street fight?

Generally, martial arts are useful in a street fight. However, some martial arts styles are more effective in a street fight situation than others.

For example, Mixed Martial Arts, Boxing, Wrestling, and Krav Maga are more useful and effective in a street fight than some other arts like Aikido, Kung Fu, and Karate.

How Useful Are Martial Arts in a Real Fight?

Generally, martial arts are useful in a real fight as they aid an individual to better attack and defend themselves against a street fighter.

The question regarding the usefulness or effectiveness of martial arts in a real-world situation is an interesting question that can be chewed over for hours in a bar or pub.

To better answer this, it is important to note that people often take one of two extreme views.

First, they might claim that their martial art (kung fu or karate) master can kill someone with a single strike and that by harnessing the chi, he could easily knock out a street fighter.

Well, as interesting as this may sound, this is almost impossible to achieve especially in a street situation.

Some of these so-called wise old masters think they are great because their students throw themselves down in the dojo or walk onto their punches.

Kung fu movies don’t reflect real life and that old Shaolin monk could be beaten to a pulp by a fit, vicious thug from a bad neighborhood in New York or London.

Secondly, they might argue that all martial arts are useless in a street fight since a street fight is completely different from the dojo or ring situation.

This is a blind conclusion since there is no such thing as a typical street fight or typical opponent.

For example, kung fu would work fine against a drunken idiot who can barely throw a punch or kick.

Conversely, kung fu might not be as effective if you are up against a strong, young, and violent opponent who is used to pain and blood.

My point is that the usefulness of martial arts in a street fight depends on the martial art style in question.

For example, proper Mixed Martial Art is deadly.

Krav Maga, Wrestling, Boxing,  Muay Thai & Kickboxing are also effective (as long as lots of proper sparring have been done).

There are however some martial art forms out there that teach techniques that may not be effective in real-life combat situations.

Many in the modern martial arts community argue that traditional martial arts belong to this category.

Some of these traditional martial arts are Kung Fu, Aikido, Tai Chi, and other Internal Energy Based Martial Arts.

I am also not sure of the effectiveness of other martial arts like judo, and taekwondo (though they are a better option than the energy-based martial arts). Anything is better than nothing.

This means that occasionally hitting a punching bag would at least enable you to strike someone, then run away. The key is spacial awareness when it comes to real fights.

A street fight often begins with one person going close and yelling in the other person’s face. You then have an explosion with a quick exchange of punches.

An expert martial artist who knows what they are doing would never allow that to happen.

In the first place, they wouldn’t let the other person get that close.

To succeed in a street fight as a martial artist, it is also important to maintain body fitness, strength, balance, and speed. Luckily, these can all be improved in a martial arts gym.

In addition, fear management is a crucial component as well.

This means being able to control your fear even when faced with real-world danger.

In my experience with both street fighters and martial artists, the martial artists may have superior physical fighting skills, but may not be tactically or psychologically prepared for ambushes.

To overcome these fears, it is recommended that you do something every day that scares you by exposing yourself to these situations in controlled environments.

By practicing facing small fears (hard sparring), the bigger fears (street fights) will start to feel a little smaller.

There is no preparation for real violence, which is often hideous and terrifying, but sparring will help.

Even if you feel prepared for a real fight, be reminded of this saying from the legendary boxer Mike Tyson, “Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the face”

If you are not training with aliveness and getting acclimated to getting struck and grabbed, your belt won’t matter in a street confrontation.

That is why sparring is so important during martial arts training since it is a way of teaching students to apply the techniques they learn within their training.

Sparring is the nearest you can get in training to a real-life fight situation.

You need to be hit repeatedly in the face. A bruised and bloody nose is necessary.

Constant sparring helps to reduce or eliminate panic if you ever find yourself in a street situation.

I mentioned earlier that some martial arts are more effective than others in real-world situations.

But how do you truly determine which martial techniques are effective?

Principles to Knowing Which Martial Arts Are Effective

To better determine which martial art style is effective for a real-life situation, you should consider these 2 principles:

Simplicity

Techniques that involve complex moves or sequences are unlikely to work under pressure, especially in a street fight.

On the other hand, techniques that are simple, efficient, easy to apply, and can be used in a short amount of time are the best for a street fight.

Efficiency

 A finger jab consumes less energy than a fancy flying spinning kick.

A common problem however with martial arts techniques is their inefficiency.

It is easier to deal with a threat using few and simple attacks if one is free-flowing in their movements.

What Is the Most Useful Martial Art in a Street Fight?

Mixed Martial Arts is the most useful martial arts in a street fight situation as it is the most versatile combat sport closest to a street fight situation.

MMA combines the most effective striking and grappling techniques from different martial arts that work well in real life.

It is an all-around system when compared with other arts, and it prepares you to fight in any place and against any style.

When you train in MMA, you won’t just learn one martial art style. Instead, MMA combines grappling and striking techniques into one combat system.

In MMA matches and real life, all of these techniques have been proven effective.

When you train in MMA, you won’t just learn one martial art style.

MMA is effectively a combination of Boxing, Wrestling, Muay Thai, and Brazilian jiu-jitsu.

This mix of four different styles prepares you for any type of street situation.

As a trained MMA fighter, you will have plenty of weapons at your disposal whether you must defend yourself in a room, club, or parking lot.

For street fighting, MMA might be the ideal choice. However, it is limited in certain areas.

It won’t prepare you for dirty techniques like eye-gouging or how to defend against multiple attackers.

However, MMA remains the most effective fighting style on earth in one-on-one situations.

In MMA, the idea is to train to become a well-rounded fighter who can compete in any position.

They use your boxing or Muay Thai if you’re standing, and use wrestling or jiu-jitsu if they end up on the ground.

MMA helps to develop a range of positions and situations whether you are wrestling while lying on your back, attempting to gain the upper hand, or engaging in a full-on brawl with flying fists.

The prime ground for testing fights and martial arts skills is mixed martial arts (MMA).

Many MMA practitioners discovered that they may likely win bouts during contests or survive in street encounters by employing the most practical and effective techniques.

Many MMA teachers will teach you effective fighting techniques that entail using efficient tactics and adopting techniques free of nonsense.

Combat in competitions and on the streets have both been known to put the various MMA fighting techniques to the test.

Can a Martial Artist Beat Street Fighter?

A good martial artist can beat a street fighter so long as he practices and applies real-world techniques.

Practicing to use their skills for street fighting will sure give them an edge over their unprofessional opponent.

There are no rules in a street fight, so the goal of a street fighter is to fight and live.

A martial artist on the other hand tends to work on their mind, self-control, and restraint.

However, thinking a street fighter is not a practiced fighter is ignorance and it can get you killed.

I grew up with a lot of self-taught fighters who couldn’t afford formal training, but they can hang a tree trunk and hit it.

They can also lift weights, and play fight with their friends to build toughness.

They enjoy watching and learning what other people do in fights.

They employ dirty combat techniques including eye gouging, sucker punches, and shots intended to cause actual pain while aiming for pressure spots.

They also know when to employ rocks and dirt to better serve their use when battling several foes.

Some of them became so good at what they do that they controlled the behavior of an entire neighborhood of punks until they get beat up, usually by a well-trained professional (a martial artist).

Is Karate Any Good in a Street Fight?

Modern karate is ineffective in street fights because they are designed for sports competitions with rules and limits. However, traditional karate is practical as it prepares you for real-life fighting where there are no rules and limits.

The effectiveness of karate in a street fight is based mainly on the style of karate one chooses to learn.

Modern styles of karate are designed for trainers to win karate tournaments.

The traditional styles of karate, such as Okinawan karate were designed for self-defense, where you have to defend yourself in real life.

Regardless of the styles, the karate skills you learn are not as effective in a situation as other arts like MMA, Boxing, or Muay Thai.

However, all karate styles at least provide you with a basic understanding of the physical and mental aspects of real combat:

Can Taekwondo Work in a Real Fight?

Taekwondo can work in a real fight and can be effective in defending yourself if you’re caught in the chaos of a street fight. However, it is not an art designed for a street fight.

Taekwondo involves many techniques such as footwork, blocking, and dodging for defending or evading permitted attacks within the sport’s rules.

Taekwondo training provides you with some knowledge of offense and defense that can still use in a real fight.

Just like Karate, this should however not be considered an effective art or discipline for self-defense.

Taekwondo martial art has over the years focused more on performing elaborate kicks to score points in competitions.

Even though these elaborate kicks can be powerful, much-needed time and energy would be wasted which could cost you greatly when facing an attacker.

Any kicks you launch leave you at great risk of being thrown off balance and being hit by your opponent.

Taekwondo is just not the perfect art for a street fight since it greatly focuses on standing fights while most real fights are taken to the ground

When on the ground, the punches and kicks that are taught become effective and you could easily be overcome by a street fighter.

So, experience is needed in other fighting styles to be fully equipped for a real fight situation.

Is Muay Thai Effective in a Street Fight?

Muay Thai is extremely effective in a street fight because the art trains fighters to grab the opponent’s neck and limbs as part of defensive and offensive maneuvers, which works extremely well in a street fight.

Muay Thai is successful in street fights because of the lethal tactics used.

It won’t take many elbows to the head or chin if you plan to knock your opponent unconscious on the ground.

While the knees can be devastating to an opponent’s ribs or liver, elbows are also effective at creating vicious cuts.

This martial art style is used by UFC fighters every day in the octagon because they work well.

The brutal bodily impact associated with Muay Thai is what makes it a more successful and suitable art for street fighting.

Muay Thai techniques are designed to injure or forcefully stop your opponent’s advances.

This is unlike some other martial arts that emphasize shifting body weight to avoid harm while causing minimal damage to their opponent.

The more you know how to punch, kick, elbow, knee, and trip (as in sweeping takedowns or using off-balancing), the greater your chances of protecting yourself.

Is Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Effective in a Street Fight?

Brazilian Jiu Jitsu is effective in a street fight because it allows you to control an attacker without needing to throw punches or kicks, which can be dangerous to the attacker.

BJJ is undoubtedly an effective martial art that works perfectly in a street fight.

However, just like any other martial art, this martial art has its limitations that sometimes affect the effectiveness of the art in a street fight.

However, it remains a suitable martial art for a real-life situations.

Let me explain further why BJJ is effective and has its limitations if you are new to BJJ.

BJJ is great at neutralizing opponents’ strikes. It also teaches you how to fight on the ground which is perfect for a street fight.

BJJ can allow a much smaller combatant to overcome or restrain a larger opponent, therefore, allowing you to safely subdue them.

Conclusion

It is worth noting that the martial art itself may sometimes not be the reason for the martial arts’ effectiveness.

Martial arts effectiveness may be affected by how ineffective the teachers or trainers are at teaching the arts.

This means a poorly trained Mixed Martial Artist may have difficulty defeating a street fighter.

Conversely, a competent taekwondo practitioner with years of experience might be able to take an attacker’s head off with just a single power kick to the head.

So find both good martial art and a competent martial arts teacher or trainer.