Which Martial Art is "Effective?"

Wrong question, really.

“What martial arts are really effective? I think most boxers can destroy most “martial arts.”

I am a boxer, and have studied other martial arts for forty years. I taught close quarters combat in the military. I also made my spending money throwing drunks out of bars in many places for many years. What “works” in a self-defense situation is what you have practiced most thoroughly and with commitment. A great boxer will have an excellent chance of defeating a mediocre and poorly trained martial artist, and visa versa. It has been said that you shouldn’t fear someone with ten thousand techniques, you should fear someone who has practiced their technique ten thousand times. I would only add that they have hopefully practiced with sincerity and effort.

I have seen black belts destroyed in bars by rednecks who knew one technique - a sucker punch, but that redneck had perfect confidence in his technique since he had done it many times successfully. I have seen a 130lbs woman wreck a 250lbs man because her technique was perfect, and she unbalanced him effortlessly again and again.

There are many other variables - size and power matter, as does where the fight is and how it started. In a competitive environment, there are rules, and those rules shape what is “effective” in winning the contest. But a fight is not a contest. All those people ridiculing the effectiveness of “old school” martial arts would change their tune, I think, when a mantis practitioner gouged one of their eyes out. A lot of MMA warriors might think twice about pulling guard when some drunk on a barroom floor chews their nose off their face.

It’s not a question of what you practice, it’s a question of how well you practice, and how well you are instructed, along with other things such as situational awareness, and fighting spirit.

I hope this was helpful. It was a long answer, and I apologize for that, but it is a complicated question.