I’ve been thinking about martial arts and how really it is useful these days since a lot of places will have criminals hiding firearms or in the U.S. some states have conceal carry.
Whilst it contains discipline and it is enjoyable to train in a club for, say Karate, I just think it might not be that useful in places where firearms are commonly held, all it really takes is for someone to take safety off, aim, pew pew and that’s it.
I suppose I probably get this thinking from kung fu where it’s seen more of an art form then actually being a serious bone breaking form of combat
My two cents having practiced several.
Almost all of them are useful in that they are a form of physical activity. They can keep you in good shape, and can also help you develop discipline.
Many are more art than practical. Arts like krav maga or kali are more geared towards practical use (self defense).
There is also a thing you can generally think of as “energy” that arts may have that often trend to make them not very practical against arts outside of themselves. For example, if a wing chun practitioner attempts to trap with you, and you’re a boxer, it just doesn’t work. It’s somewhat about range, but also the general “feel” of the art as well. JKD attempts to deal with this by teaching different arts that can be used within different ranges.
My one instructor also likened martial arts to technology, saying that they must evolve over time or just end up becoming ineffective for self defense.
The best thing to do in a situation, if you can, is to just escape. Your wallet is not worth your life.