I’ve seen this argument so many times on so many martial arts forums I thought I’d put my two cents in. 

The argument usually starts something like this: ” I watch all the UFC/Pridefights, the grapplers usually dominate,” or , ” Fights almost always go to the ground so if you don’t know how to grapple your done.”

First of all those competitions, although brutal, are still competitions.  There is a huge difference between a full contact competition and a fight in the bar or on the street.

I would like to see how well a grappler fares say on pavement with bits of glass all over the place.  Also, there is the argument against grappling that most real fights aren’t one on one, but a group of guys mugging someone.  So, unless you can break the guys arm then pop up before you get kicked in the head, being on the ground isn’t a very good idea.

A grappler might then argue that almost all fights go to the ground. 

I think that is total BS.  Maybe in the UFC most fights end up on the ground.

I’ve been in about ten fights in my adult life, out of that only one came close to making it to the ground.

Even if you could somehow get a statistical analysis of all the unarmed fights between men throughout time and it came back that indeed most fights went to ground, that says nothing about how they start.

I’ve yet to see a pair of fighters crawl across the distance between each other.

Fights start standing up.  In my experience they can be ended there as well very easily.

That is not to say that stand up martial arts is better that a grappling art.  In a perfect world someone who was training would be good at both and prepared for both situations.

Theoretically whether which martial arts would win would depend on the situation, assuming the martial artists could deliver techniques as taught.  Since we are talking about which martial arts is better and not if a particular martial artists goofs up or is undertrained.

In a stand-up fight, with no holds barred, a stand-up martial artists should be able to knock an opponent out or break something with a strike, before a grappler closes.

On the ground or in a close clinch the grappler would then have the advantage over a pure stand up fighter. 

Therein lies the weakness of both they both depend on situational strategies.  If the pure stand-up fighter gets clinched and brought to the ground they are done, the stand-up fighter has to remain standing up and at the appropriate distances for the strikes to connect without getting entangled.

The same applies for the pure grappler.  What does he do if he can’t bring his opponent to the ground and  is denied when he shoots in for the take down?  A pure grappler will quickly be outclassed by a striker that trains and knows how to retaliate with snappy combos if it becomes a boxing match.

Now This is all, “what ifs,” and theoretical.

Often times young martial arts students confuse what is going on in UFC type competitions with real world street fights.

Not to say these competitors couldn’t handle themselves in a street-fight.  But, to choose your martial arts based on a full contact sport is ridiculous. 

Street fights do not happen like in the UFC.  No one introduces you and tells you rules or breaks it up if someone taps out or if there is an illegal hold.

If you are learning a martial art for self defense then learn something that has both grappling and stand-up elements.   Avoid flowery martial arts that involve jumping/spin kicks or endless flowery Kata’s, or training with archaic weapons that will get you sent to jail for carrying them.

If the move/technique is hard to physically do, or it takes constant practice, or needs an extreme stretch, it simply will not work in a fight.

Ask yourself, ”Could I pull this off in the street under extreme duress?  If you are not sure, then you can’t. 

My personal favorite is Kenpo Karate.   Why? Because the techniques are made for street fighting, not competition with pads on or point sparring like TKD.  More importantly it’s realistic.  It does not require that I be a gymnast or be able to do a full split.  Most of the move I can do now, I’ll be able to do when I am seventy.

Another question you should ask yourself, “how do I conceptualize fighting.” If when you think about a confrontation, your first thought is grabbing and throwing or doing locks, then a grappling art is probably your first best choice. Myself, when I think of a fight I think of boxing and striking. It does not even occur to me to grab someone, it’s just not how I think about fighting.

So, the real answer to which is better, stand up or grappling arts, is whichever one YOU can make the most effective.

It’s not the martial art, it’s the martial artist.