you realise that in traditional martial arts , the practice of external and and internal expressions of the disciplines, so kata, or tai chi, yoga and such excersises are part of the whole?
Exactly.
No offense to the OP, but I can NOT stand redundant questions like this. Coming from a true mixed martial artist, asking a martial arts practitioner which martial art style they favor would be like asking someone which eyeball they favor. Both of your eyes are equally important, they both make up the WHOLE of human sight and vision, BOTH are equally necessary to see, perceive and discern accurately/precisely. Without one, your vision as a whole is less effective. This is also true when it comes to martial arts. Without one style, your fighting skills by and large are less effective.
I see guys that" favor" and or only want to learn Muay Thai (or just any one specific form of combat) coming into my local MMA gym all the time. The first thing my instructor does, is put these people on their backs. "So you wanna learn Muay Thai eh"? "You're gonna have to earn that right by beating me in Jujitsu first".
It usually goes something like this. (This is only a WHITE BELT by the way)
Standing Game is virtually NOTHING without proper ground game defense and
VICE VERSA. So you can throw some good punches and good kicks, so what? What good are kicks and punches going to do you if your being rear naked choked or your arm is about to broken in an arm bar? Please, try not to misinterpret me, by no means am I discrediting "standing game" or Muay Thai/KickBoxing/Boxing, I'm just expressing the importance of Martial arts as a WHOLE and that single styles/techniques by themselves are incomplete/inadequate.
Unless of course you're someone that just wants to learn some basic self defense tactics, then by all means pursue whichever style/technique your heart desires. Or your someone that just wants to pursue a career in Kick Boxing and or Boxing, then by all means pursue it! Make that money!
If however you are serious about learning martial arts and your goal is to become the best fighter you can be in all aspects, then you need to dedicate yourself equally to ALL disciplines, external and internal alike. I digress.
All styles(coupled with innovation) are my favorites. (why) Because all styles are important to me and are needed to meet my particular goals as a fighter.
