Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) or Traditional Martial Arts (TMA). Sport systems vs. reality-based systems. When it comes to picking a martial art, which is better? It’s a debate that fuels many an Internet forum.

When I was reading Low Tech Combat’s 25 Best Comments of 2010, a couple of the best comments came from a posting LTC did about TMA vs. Modern Systems. A couple snippets of those comments.

From Marc G.

I agree as well. There is something of value in many of the martial arts. And they all have their strengths and shortcomins. There is nothing wrong with absorbing what is useful from many…as long as you are actually training and learning reliably, not just to pad a martial resume youmight say. It is the intent and intesity of the training that make a superior martial artist…not a “superior art”.

From Ed:

We are not talking about “TMAs v. MMAs” here. What we are talking about is separating the “Sports” or “Hobbies” from the path of warriorship. A warrior wears no label. He honestly inventories his surroundings and threats and compares them to the tools he already possesses. If his arsenal contains an effective response, great, he works to perfect the employment of that tool. If it does not, he MUST (becuase he is a warrior, not a student of a specific style) seek out an answer to the problem. If that search crosses the TMA/MMA border in either direction, so be it.

It’s not what you choose to train in, but how and why you choose to train.

The first part really is why. You have to know why you’re training in martial arts to know if you’re getting what you want. I know many people who train in martial arts that couldn’t fight their way out of a paper bag. Is that bad? So long as they are meeting their goals and honest with themselves about their path, no it’s not. I know these people do it for exercise, for recreation, for the social aspect. There’s nothing wrong with that.

The second part is how. You could train in the best combat art style there is, but if it’s not trained towards combat, what good is it? A lot of people dig Krav Maga, and on paper it’s a great combat art. Trouble is, a lot of places teach it like “martial aerobics”; if you want a hard workout great, but if you’re actually wanting to defend yourself, that’s not going to help you. Take an art like Aikido, which when properly used does have real world applicability. But if it’s trained too compliantly, it’s not going to be of much use to you unless your attacker cooperates with you (and how likely is that?).

The third part is what… but really, it’s not. What you train in really doesn’t matter that much. Sure it matters some; if you want become a better puncher, Judo isn’t going to help you as much as western boxing. But for the most part, style isn’t that important. You need to know why you want to train, set your goals, then know how the training needs to be to get you there. Some style might be better served than others, but I’d say what might matter more would be the teacher. My old Kuk Sool instructor, Dewain Perry, may have all this TMA behind him but I know he can kick some ass. Other Kuk Sool instructors I’ve experienced might be able to do one hell of a backflip into a 360º spin kick, but they couldn’t fight one lick.

Don’t get too caught up in styles. They have their place, but it’s more about you and your training. It’s more about a good school, a good teacher, and the ability to set and meet goals. Focus on what’s important, discard the rest.