I think that all martial arts are useful to a certain degree, but not equally. Once you train under the most functional methods and techniques out there, learning the less functional MAs beyond just picking up a few things or ideas would be pointless. For example, I'm sure traditional style karate training will make you more coordinated and given enough time, will give you somewhat of an increase in your fighting skill level at a particular range. But if you already know boxing and kickboxing or train under a method that offers full contact, practical technique and no kata crap or obsolete/nonfunctional techniques at all, then why bother learning karate? It's unnecessary. There are many reasons people learn martial arts so if i were you I'd pick whatever style appealed the most to me for whatever my particular reasons are. But if you are first and foremost interesting in developing good fighting skills, then go learn the most functional styles in an environment that offers the most functional and realistic training methods. Don't learn kickboxing at a place where no one spars. Don't learn "grappling" at a place that doesn't do serious amounts of rolling and a good deal of standing clinch/takedown sparring. As for what the most functional arts are, look at all the evidence that is available to you and decide for yourself. Not to bad mouth other styles or come off sounding like an arrogant know-it-all, but I have a feeling that if you do this kind of research, aikido is not going to come up at the top of your list. I understand the theories behind aikido and all that, but no matter how good something sounds in THEORY, the only true test is to see it in actual application, as well as seeing whether or not they TRAIN through actual application, which brings me to my next point...any style or school that trains through technique accumulation, theorizing and dead drilling (instead of live sparring where you learn technique through applying it on a resisting opponent) will NOT teach you how to fight...plain and simple. They might give you a good workout or show you how to hit a pad hard and look good while moving around, and they may even teach you all kinds of interesting theories about MAs and fighting...but if you think this equates to being able to fight, you're fooling yourself. That's my two cents. Think about your goals, think about what you've seen, think about the things other people have told you...and make your decision.
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