Though we hear mainly of judo and karate as forms of martial arts, thanks to the many films made based on these styles, there are various other styles of martial arts as well. Essentially there are four main styles of martial arts which are: Japanese, Korean, Chinese and Philippines styles. Though some features are common amongst all these styles, there are wide differences as well.

Let us discuss these four essential styles of martial arts in greater detail:

1.    The Japanese style of martial arts: Based essentially on the philosophy of creating perfect harmony of mind and body, the Japanese style of martial arts would focus on self defense. It relies on the knowledge of being aware of the attacker’s strength and using the same against him. It uses throwing and twisting techniques and even when the opponent is mightier than you, you know how to use his strength to your favor.

Considered to be a mild form of martial arts it is never taught to attack or hurt any opponent, which is the essence of other forms of martial arts. There are various techniques used in this art form where the nervous system is pressurized to do some action during the self defense activity.

2.    The Korean style of martial arts: This art form was initially developed for the soldiers in war field. They perfected the art to the extent that they were at one point in time known as the best soldiers in the world. As is evident, this art form is purely combative unlike the Japanese form, which is aimed more at protecting oneself more than attacking an opponent.

3.    Philippine style of martial arts: In this style of martial arts, a small weapon is used like a short stick. This art is practiced both as a sport as well as for self defense purposes and is not as popular as other styles of martial arts.

4.    The Chinese style of martial arts: This style of martial arts is also known as Tai Chi which is used both for sports as well as for self defense reasons. Some schools teach this art using a weapon whereas some do not preach the use of weapons. Learning and practicing this art style is considered to bring about a certain amount of mental peace and quietness to the practitioner.

While there are plenty of different types of martial arts to choose from if one wishes to learn the art, karate is perhaps the most popular form of martial arts known to the world. It was originally created to attack and subsequently kill the attacker; modern day karate is used mainly for self defense. Learned and practiced by people of al ages, karate is again broken up in various techniques like Judo, kendo, etc. Developed in Japan, Judo is today used more as a cardiovascular workout which helps people to remain fit and healthy.

The main purpose of Judo however is self-defense as with other karate styles. Kendo on the other hand uses a sword. This art was used by soldiers who needed to attack their enemies. Brazilian Jiu Jitsu is considered one of the best forms of self defense which centers on ground fighting. Not popular till the ’90s, this type of martial arts is practiced by people of all ages. It focuses mainly on using the opponents’ strength against them and in your favor.

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In cinema, everything is larger than life, to create an impact and increase its box office returns. Display of martial arts skills is no exception. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon is a memorable movie in this genre but if you get yourself down to earth, trust me, no one can catch a flying bullet or defy all laws of physics and gravity to fly into air.

Another impossibility often shown in movies is an old Asian man killing or maiming an opponent using a technique called ‘death touch’ or ‘dim mak’. Though the movies will want to make you believe that such a ‘death touch’ is possible, where you simply ‘touch’ someone at a particular spot and he drops dead, it is a pretty absurd idea.

Think about it. If it was really possible, would everyone not learn and use it? If it was true, many people would learn this and start building defense against it too. Just for the records, you can check out the police records of our country to find how many people died of ‘dim mak’!

While there is no ‘deadliest style of martial arts’ in existence in modern times, there are many extremely effective lessons that can be learnt from schools which teach martial arts so that you could develop your self defense skills in the event you are touched ever by ‘dim mak’!

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Most practicing martial arts exponents claim that the martial arts style which they specialize in is the deadliest style of all. Like in religion, there are the usual fanatics who profess that their own style is the best and deadliest of all.

For a lay person who is new to the world of martial arts, the terms and arguments used by martial arts experts can be very confusing. Most likely, you will end up wondering which of all the styles known, is truly the deadliest style of martial arts?

Let me first assure you that anyone who claims to know the deadliest style of martial arts is a big brag. If you use your common sense, you would realize that if indeed there was a style which was the deadliest of all, most people would die out on the streets and the field. Not only that, there would also be combative techniques developed to counter such ‘deadly’ attacks by another group of innovative researchers-cum-fighters.

The truth of the matter is that while certain martial arts moves can injure and kill, there is no style in existence today which can be termed as ‘deadly’. If there was, the world would not be a safe place to live in. if you are keen to know which of the many martial arts style was the most effective in a combat situation, you could study the history of this art and find out which of these styles were used in street fights and battle field which can be extrapolated to modern times.

Of course, all forms of martial arts began as a combat technique but how many of them remain as effective today as they were centuries ago? All these arts today are ‘diluted’ or ‘civilized’ forms which are governed by various safety rules and principles.

Take the example of karate which was originally created to kill or disable the opponent, can you imagine such a form of art being taught in karate schools in the country today? Most of the potentially hazardous moves have been ruled out to prevent injury or harm to the opponent. While karate might have been created with deadly combat in mind, it may not remain so today.

The ‘deadly’ image of martial arts which rest in our minds is mainly created by dream merchants of Hollywood and filmmakers of other Asian countries. ‘Deadly’ martial arts specialists like Chuck Norris and Bruce Lee might have displayed some ‘killing’ moves on camera, but remember they were movies where the more important aspect was to create a ‘dramatic’ effect in the minds of the audience.

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Martial arts is gaining popularity among people of all ages. One key reason could be that learning martial arts can open one to many key benefits. One of the top benefits of martial arts training is that you have learnt the art of defending yourself.

Self Defense
For most people, this is the most popular reason why people learn martial arts. When you learn how you could defend yourself and your family, this could be your best investment to come especially in today’s violent times.

Of course you must remember that martial arts as portrayed in movies like Charlie’s Angel etc, is filled with dramatization and in real life, martial arts is not just about jumping, kicking etc. It is a combination of mind and body control which can be mastered after years of dedicated practice and devotion to the art.

Physical Health
Of the many benefits of martial arts, maintenance of physical fitness is another benefit for which people learn and practice martial arts. Karate, Tae Kwon Do, Kung Fu are some of the martial arts styles which are excellent for cardio fitness as well as improving the muscular system of the body.

These exercises are useful for strength building as the several movements involved in martial arts training but may not be as effective as workouts with weight lifting. Since martial arts’ training makes you learn the effective use of strength, these exercises definitely improve your overall body stamina and power. The other important benefit of martial arts is that the exercises help in improving the body’s flexibility.

This is because martial arts training works with the entire range of body motions. Martial arts styles like tae kwon do, Thai kickboxing as well as some schools of karate and kung fu uses high kicks which helps in the improvement of balance and sense of coordination as well.

Mental Health
One other benefit of martial arts which one can never get in any other form of physical sports or activity is the improvement of mental and sometimes spiritual faculties. Mind control is one of the key elements of martial arts training and it helps the practitioner by enabling him to control several emotions like anger, fear, anxiety etc.

A few martial artists even find mental peace through the practice of this art. If you consider modern life with its due share of stress and anxiety which envelop most of us, developing such mental skills can help us get natural relief from many stressful situations as we are better equipped with stronger stress management tools. Being a thoroughly engaging activity, martial arts can make us forget most of the daily worries and tensions – and you could emerge a fresh, energized and enthusiastic person after a martial arts training session.

Self Confidence
Another good thing that come from learning martial arts is the gradual build up of self confidence and stamina. Since the art has to be learnt in slow and steady steps, you get the feeling of accomplishment and pride as you move on from one step to another. This aspect of the benefits of martial arts is especially applicable for children who are shy and reticent.

Martial arts training could bring out the best in such children as they grow up to be self-confident adults through the many changes which these training sessions bring forth. Of course it can improve the levels of self confidence in adults too.

This art also teaches you how to face the several challenges in life, be it mental or physical with greater fortitude and lesser fear and apprehension. One other benefit of martial arts is that it induces a tremendous sense of discipline in the practicing individual.

While there are plenty of different types of martial arts to choose from if one wishes to learn the art, it is always advisable to seek out the right martial arts for oneself. Visit http://www.martialartsmagic.com right now to find out how you can ignite your fighting skills.

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Instead of focusing on learning the best martial arts for self defense, you should focus on determining which self defense strategies would be appropriate for yourself.  Presently, there are plenty of thoughts and opinions on the issue of the ‘best martial arts’ be it for self defense, or otherwise.

Some believe that when it is a matter of self defense, there should not be any pre-set strategy but simply putting to use some of the best karate moves, known as kata. A successful self-defense strategy is aimed not at winning any competition but involves some strategic thinking used by many commanders.

If you are structured in your thinking then it could be possible for you to know which of the martial arts techniques to use when. Firstly, there are essentially two lines of approach in martial arts when it deals with self defense.

They are the karate or kata approach and the free response approach. While the kata approach involves learning a host of pre-determined karate moves called ‘kata’ or ‘forms’, the free response approach involves learning how to get the ‘feel’ of the attacker and the combative situation through the effective use of intuition. Here you are allowed to develop your own and unique ’style’ to handle any self defense situation.

Strategic thinking using martial art techniques in self defense involves getting more ‘result oriented’ rather than concentrating purely on the perfection of techniques used. It is not getting any competitive edge by using trickery or force. When you are dealing with intuitive tactics, the strategy involves knowing the exact way a fight or attack progresses – from start, escalation; progression and so on till it comes to a defeat of the attacker.

These are not based on any one’s imagination but the observation of a real attack situation and gauging the strategies which should be put in place for effective self defense. The truth about self defense is that one has to respond to what the attacker is going to do, and then control the assailant’s options and perceptions to prevent any harm to self.  For more information, you can check out the Underground Ninja Secrets which gives quite an in-depth explanation on this.

The 5 phases of any self defense strategy using martial arts involve the following: