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Originally posted by andreasb
I would see both as very limited as they don't teach you how to fight once you are on the ground - and most fights go to the ground.
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There are MANY forms of kung fu, Even the Shoulin animal styles have been split into differant forms. For instance I train in Mantis but Mantis is broken into 4 forms, the one I study is plum blossom and that is split up into northern and southern chinese with major differances in the kicks and punches used. You have major differances in some forms, for instance a white crane school may have the philosophy "To grapple with an opponent is to lower oneself" or "To block a strike there will be 1000 strikes but to evade a strike there will be only 1" yet study in a Grey Crane school and they teach you how to seperate a tendon from leg muscle while locking an arm and rolling around on the ground. Kung Fu in it entirety of styles and forms is one of the most complete arts having one or more for each body style of individual and the way they wish to fight be it grappling, power hits, evasion, use of chi, joint locks etc. All fights do not end up on the ground, I have seen even limited artists like TKD excecute snap kicks to the face of people rusing into them, but you are right it did end up with the rusher on the ground.
The most useful forms of fighting will have great balance, knowledge of how to use kinetics, have as few limitations as possible and will be UNKNOWN and strange. This knocks out TKD and Karate which are the most common forms of martial arts, you CAN defend yourself with it as long as someone does not know that the TKD guy is useless once you are inside his kicking distance and the karate guy is going over mental equations (IF opponent uses PUNCH A, THEN excecute RIGHT STEP LEFT SWEEP COMBINATION) and you have been practicing for YEARS.
Mui Thai and Dutch kick boxing utilize 5 point fighting (head, two elbows, two legs) better than any other form of fighting but Mui Thai does have a weight distribution problem.
IN ESSENCE jui jitsu and other forms of shoot wrestling are good EXCEPT when you are taught how to fight while using a GUI, the lapel throws and counter locks and chokes used in the dojo are almost useless against cotton T-shirts that rip or against an opponent who removes his shirt and is all sweaty. This is your limitation.
Almost every time i have had to fight i have used a combination of switching shoulin animal styles which immediately amuses or confuses an opponent (in that split second he is open for a barrage of attacks, ESPECIALLY if he has made the mistake of laughing) or Capoeria! The jinga is the ultimate in distractionary fighting, so far never had a person be able to handle capoeria well because so few people know how to even begin to fight against it. Brazillian Jui Jitsu is used to fill the gaps of ground fighting in the system and many schools have now switched to Gracian Jui Jitsu as it has shown itself ot be combat effective.
A boxer is deadliest in the ring, it is very hard for any fighter to beat a well trained boxer who knows how to use the ropes and corner to pummel you. If a martial artist or street fighter can not kick a boxer and has to fight with their rules GOOD LUCK!
Ninjitsu is not a fighting art it is actually the study of the WAY of the ninja such as espianage, mind control, concealment, pole weapons on foot (naginata), the way of the sword, use of the elements, pole weapons on horseback, archery, the use of the basic weapons (shuriken, hand and foot claws, manriki chain etc etc). The fighting styles are the RYU schools which some people have mistaken for karate mainly because their Sensai have led them to believe this. The RYU forms when pure are very scary "A strike should be a block and a block should be a strike" meaning when he is hitting you he is blocking himself and the worst part when you hit him you will receive pain from your hit. I have seen competitions where a "ninja" has blocked a punch and caused broken fingers and wrists. This is one of the most effective arts but is not like karate, you will have to devout a lifetime to the art and take it VERY seriously or you will be asked to leave, there is also usually a phych test for those wishing to enter.
If you are looking for capoeria, kung fu or ryu schools of ninjitsu do not look in a phone book, any school found in them will not be true to the origins of the arts, these 3 forms are not secret arts as much as arts with secrets, get out there and look for them, Capoeria will be hidden within Brazilian theatre or dance troops, chinese martial arts will be hidden within the city and usuallly stand out because they have a red door. RYU schools are very difficult to find and you will probably only come across them by luck, talking to people or MAYBE one of the schools that exposed itself will know of one that did not.