Which are the best striking martial arts styles in the world today?
The answer is likley dependent on the individual and their intentions with martial arts.
The best striking martial arts for you may just be dependent on your goals and striking martial arts available to you in your area to train.
Whether you are considering a striking martial art for competition in the ring or octagon or for self defense; also will dictate which is the best style for you.
However, overall most fighters/martial artists/spectators and fans would probably agree with the top 9 striking martial arts below in no particular order:
- Muay thai
- MMA
- Boxing
- Karate
- Taekwondo
- Sanda
- Wing Chun
- Kickboxing
- Krav Maga
Muay Thai
Muay thai is probably the striking martial art that is growing in popularity more than many others today.
This is largely due to the effectiveness and simplicity of the techniques of muay thai. Muay thai is another staple of any MMA or UFC fighter as an essential of any mixed martial artists game.
Utilizing the eight limbs, a well developed clinch game and a variety of takedowns trips and sweeps, muay thai is a complete striking martial art.
Technically gifted muay thai strikers such as Joanna Jedrzejczyk, and Yodsanklai Fairtex currently compete and showcase muay thai in the ring and octagon well.
Legendary fighters such as Dieselnoi, Samart, Somruk, Saenchai and Buakaw are well respected muay thai fighters who show the heart of the muay thai fighter well in the ring.
Without a doubt muay thai is regarded as one of the best striking martial arts in the world today.
MMA
MMA is now a style on its own with many well respected MMA specific trainers sharing knowledge out there such as GSP’s trainer Firsa Zahabi.
MMA striking is a unique style of its own that also needs to consider defending and executing takedowns.
Duane Ludwig as UFC Coach of the year has developed his own brand of striking that is labeled “Bas Ruten Inspired Bang Muay Thai”. It has a complete belt system.
Duke Roufus is another well respected UFC coach with his own belt system under Rufus Sport Kickboxing.
Each of the top striking coaches in MMA have a solid background in a traditional style but have developed a unique MMA style of striking.
A main advantage is that an MMA style could be more effective for self defense with integration of grappling within MMA. Striking against the cage and striking on the ground are also trained extensively as part of MMA.
Boxing
Boxing is a well renowned and respected striking art.
Useful in the ring and in self defense if needed, boxing is also a staple of any MMA fighters training program.
Nick and Nate Diaz have showcased boxing in MMA and the UFC specifically and use boxing effectively on its own to land continuous punches on opponents and wear them down.
There are also many self defense stores of boxers who have used their boxing in self defense to safely get away.
Legendary names in fighting include boxers Muhammed Ali and Mike Tyson who exemplify the beauty and brutality of the ‘sweet science’.
Karate
Karate is another well known and respected striking style. With a long history that traces it roots back to the Okinawan Islands in the South of Japan, Karate is a complete martial art that focuses on striking.
Historic names in martial arts contemporary history include legendary Karateka, Gichin Funakoshi, MAs Oyama and Miyagi.
Kyokushin utilized by GSP and Shotokan used to great effect by MAchida in the UFC display the effectiveness of karate.
Current UFC fighter and exponent of Tetsushin-ryu Kempo karate is another excellent karate striking style fighter.
As a traditional Japanese martial art with a long history, Karate is definitely one of the best striking martial arts styles popular today.
Taekwondo
The effectiveness of Taekwondo as a striking martial art have been showcased in the UFC by Bas Ruten as well as former UFC champion Anthony Pettis.
The signature kicks of this striking and the power and damage they can cause make this style very dangerous when landed.
Great fighters who have competed at a high level including K-1 and similar striking competitions have shown Taekwondo can be very effective as a striking art in the ring as well as in real life combat.
Serkan Yilmaz is an example of great Taekwondo striker with spectacular and powerful kicks that show the beauty and effectiveness of this style.
While Taekwondo is taught mainly to young children, few would argue that it is one of the best striking martial arts in the world today.
Sanda
Sanda or Chinese kickboxing is another style of striking that was popularized by former UFC fighter and world champion Cung Le and upcoming exciting UFC fighter Muslim Salikhov.
This style of chinese boxing was developed for competition and removes the more ‘deadly’ techniques from traditional chinese kung fu.
It is a highly developed striking art that is also well respected. As well as powerful punches, kicks and knees, Sanda also utilizes effective takedowns.
The powerful and effective techniques and training in Sanda make this Chinese style one of the best striking martial arts out there.
Wing Chun
As probably the originator of much of modern day martial art, China has also produced Wing Chun made famous by Ip Man and Bruce Lee.
Before to worldwide fame wing chun was an effective self defense and fighting art based on boxing with low kicks and trapping.
The famous sticky hands is a signature component of wing chin training to train reaction and feeling to take away an opponents balnce and strike efficiently.
The wooden dummy is another distinct training tool used by wing chun that is recognizable by anyone.
The most recognizable wing chun exponent in modern competition is probably Tong Ferguson who is a former interim UFC champion.
Krav Maga
Krav maga is a globally recognized effective real world martial art for self-defense, in particular close combat and military use.
Krav maga is known for applying effective striking in real world combat situations. The techniques are proven to be effective in real world combat this proving a lot of the effectiveness of krav maga as a striking martial art.
In the ring or octagon there is yet to be a well known krav maga practitioners – prbbably becausie competitive world championships are definitely not the goal of krav maga or its students.
This definitely does not take away from the real world effectiveness of krav maga striking.
Kickboxing
Kickboxing is a powerful and effective striking based martial art.
It is a distinct style of its own that evolved out of the historic muay thai vs karate fights of the ealry part of the 1900s.
Developing as a hybrid of karate and muay thai it has also evolved to include Dutch style as a distinct style of kickboxing also.
A famous and popular exponent of a ‘kickboxing’ style would be Ramon Dekkers who displayed strong punch combinations with punishing low kicks, knees and more punches to the body to devastate opponents.
