Types Of Martial Arts

There are various different types of martial arts covering a wide array of different ranges. In this image, you can get an overview of how each martial art targets a specific range. Depending on your needs, you could choose for example, Judo which concentrates of throws and controlling balance. It also has ground techniques for grappling. BJJ, or Brazilian JuJitsu is also excellent on the ground because that’s its speciality. However, it doesn’t have standing fighting techniques like traditional JuJitsu. So if you’re looking for self defence from a standing position, you might want to pick another art, such as boxing, or Wing Chun Kung Fu.

Types Of Martial Art By Range

Here’s a quick overview of a few styles of martial arts by their range and tactics:

• Wing Chun – Best for close-quarters striking, trapping, and rapid hand techniques.
• Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu – Dominates once the fight reaches the ground.
• Aikido – Excels at standing control, joint locks, and weapon defences (assuming traditional training methods).
• Kali / Eskrima – Outstanding for knife, stick, and improvised weapon work, while also translating well to empty-hand.
• Muay Thai – Elite striking with punches, kicks, knees, elbows, and clinch.
• Boxing – Exceptional hands, movement, and defensive footwork.
• Judo – Superb throws, balance breaking, and takedowns.
• Karate – Strong at maintaining distance and delivering powerful linear strikes.
• Taekwondo – Long distance powerful kicks maintaining distance
• Ninjitsu – Large number of strategies & broad syllabus including striking, trapping, grappling and weapons

Ideally choose a martial art you will enjoy training in. So for example if you’re not interested in competition, or the sport side of martial arts, you may choose an art such as Aikido, Wing Chun, or Ninjitsu. Although some clubs do offer competition, most of these arts are traditional and do not. Other arts such as Taekwondo and sometimes Karate can have been changed specifically for a sport setting. Aikido too, has a sport oriented style, known as Tomiki Aikido.

Some martial arts excel in the sports setting and in MMA competitions, such as BJJ which favours ground fighting. However, you should consider the self defence aspect of a martial art if that is what you want it for. You don’t always choose the go to the ground but you may also want some expertise in a standing situation – for example with multiple attackers you wouldn’t want to go to the ground.

Summary

There’s many different types of martial arts and all have their benefits and limitations. Certain martial arts are more specifically developed for fighting, and some have been “sportified” to be developed more for competition.

This chart shows the comparison between the various arts and what each brings to the table:

Martial Art	Long Range (Kicks)	Punching	Trapping / Clinch	Standing Grappling	Ground Fighting	Knife / Stick	Multiple Attackers
Wing Chun	⭐	⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐	⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐	⭐⭐	⭐	⭐⭐	⭐⭐⭐
Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu	⭐	⭐	⭐⭐	⭐⭐⭐	⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐	⭐	⭐
Aikido	⭐	⭐	⭐⭐⭐⭐	⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐	⭐	⭐⭐⭐⭐	⭐⭐⭐⭐
Kali / Eskrima	⭐⭐	⭐⭐⭐	⭐⭐⭐	⭐⭐	⭐	⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐	⭐⭐⭐⭐
Muay Thai	⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐	⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐	⭐⭐⭐⭐	⭐	⭐	⭐	⭐⭐
Boxing	⭐	⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐	⭐⭐	⭐	⭐	⭐	⭐⭐
Judo	⭐	⭐	⭐⭐⭐⭐	⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐	⭐⭐	⭐	⭐
Karate	⭐⭐⭐⭐	⭐⭐⭐⭐	⭐⭐	⭐	⭐	⭐	⭐⭐

Legend

• ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ = Excellent
• ⭐⭐⭐⭐ = Very Good
• ⭐⭐⭐ = Good
• ⭐⭐ = Limited
• ⭐ = Minimal