It’s Krav Maga! Over the last 12 editions, ME has presented the history, the greatest masters and the main moves of the most important and popular fighting styles of today. Now it’s time for the tiebreaker! We consulted experts to rate each style, giving scores from 1 to 10 on various criteria. In sum, krav maga is the champion. This, however, does not mean that this fight of Israeli origin goes hand in hand with the others. Also, the most aggressive and efficient fight may not suit everyone! This depends a lot on the biotype and goals of each practitioner.
Compare the martial arts ME introduced you during 2010
capoeira
MASTER – Bimba (1899-1974)
ORIGIN – Brazil, 17th century
PRACTITIONERS – 8.5 million
SCAMS – 39
AGGRESSIVITY – 6
ATTACK – 6
DEFENSE – 4
DEFENSE – PERSONNEL 2
• The ginga of the fight does not match with GOLPES – dry and direct fights like boxing, muay thai and karate
Kung Fu
MASTER – Bruce Lee (1940-1973)
ORIGIN – Mongolia, 2000 BC
PRACTITIONERS – 26 million
SCAMS – 48
AGGRESSIVITY – 8
ATTACK – 8
DEFENSE – 6
DEFENSE – PERSONNEL 7
• To compare the fights, we don’t count the SWATS – with swords, sabers, and even kung fu tridents!
Jiu Jitsu
MASTER – Mitsuyo Maeda (1878-1941)
ORIGIN – Japan, 1600 BC
PRACTITIONERS – 12 million
SCAMS – 42
AGGRESSIVITY – 7
ATTACK – 7
DEFENSE – 9
DEFENSE – PERSONNEL 8
• Jiu-jitsu ground fighting, efficient to block punches and kicks, is fundamental in the MMA style
karate
MASTER – Ank Itosu (1831-1915)
ORIGIN – Japan, 15th century
PRACTITIONERS – 23 million
SCAMS – 44
AGGRESSIVITY – 6
ATTACK – 7
DEFENSE – 6
DEFENSE – PERSONNEL 6
Judo
MASTER – Jigoro Kano (1860-1938)
ORIGIN – Japan, 1882
PRACTITIONERS – 21 million
SCAMS – 52
AGGRESSIVITY – 4
ATTACK – 4
DEFENSE – 6
DEFENSE – PERSONNEL 8
• Judo is the martial art most practiced by children around the world
Boxing
MASTER – Muhammad Ali (1942-)
ORIGIN – Mesopotamia, 5000 BC
PRACTITIONERS – 12 million
SCAMS – 27
AGGRESSIVITY – 8
ATTACK – 7
DEFENSE – 6
DEFENSE – PERSONNEL 4
• No fight kills as much as boxing. Out of every 6,304 practitioners, one kicks the bucket
Krav Maga
MASTER – Imi Lichtenfeld (1878-1941)
ORIGIN – Israel, 1949
PRACTITIONERS – 1.2 million
SCAMS – 72
AGGRESSIVITY – 9
ATTACK – 9
DEFENSE – 10
DEFENSE – PERSONNEL 10
• Some SWATS – can kill instantly and are only taught to police and military
Muay Thai
MASTER – Diesel Noi (1961-)
ORIGIN – Thailand, 4000 BC
PRACTITIONERS – 17 million
BLOWS – 50
AGGRESSIVITY – 10
ATTACK – 10
DEFENSE – 9
PERSONAL DEFENSE – 9
• Muay Thai training involves hitting walls with hands and legs and learning to catch
Taekwondo
MASTER – Nam Tae Hi (1875-1965)
ORIGIN – Korea, c. 1 BC
PRACTITIONERS – 28 million
SCAMS – 51
AGGRESSIVITY – 7
ATTACK – 7
DEFENSE – 7
PERSONAL DEFENSE – 8
• While valuing courtesy and politeness, tae kwon do is effective and aggressive in self-defense
Juice
MASTER – Taihõ Kõki (1940-)
ORIGIN – Japan, century. 2 BC
PRACTITIONERS – 15 million
SCAMS – 74
AGGRESSIVITY – 7
ATTACK – 6
DEFENSE – 3
PERSONAL DEFENSE – 1
• Sumo has a starting ritual of about 15 minutes. The fight itself can last a few seconds
aikido
MASTER – Morihei Ueshiba (1883-1969)
ORIGIN – Japan, 1942
SCAMS – 53
AGGRESSIVITY – 4
ATTACK – 3
DEFENSE – 5
PERSONAL DEFENSE – 3
• Aikido is technical and absolute champion of fair play – strikes are never intended to hurt
MMA
MASTER – Royce Gracie (1966-)
ORIGIN – Greece, century. 7 BC
PRACTITIONERS – 2.1 million
SCAMS – 94
AGGRESSIVITY – 10
ATTACK – 9
DEFENSE – 7
PERSONAL DEFENSE – 5
• The list of possible moves is virtually endless – all those applied by other martial arts
Consulting – Fernando Kallás, commentator on fights presented by SporTV and Combate channels