Obviously, martial arts are designed for fighting and making your opponent submit, but some are more decisive and deadly rather than being used for points as a sport. With the vast range of martial arts throughout the world and history, several stand out as the most brutally effective.
Here are the top 15 deadliest martial arts in the world from least to most deadly.
15. Systema
Origins
Systema is a Russian martial art with many varieties often named after their instructors. Its origins go back to the 10th century as a natural, unregulated style of fighting that was quick to learn so that Russians could use it to aid in repelling the many invasions the land saw throughout its history.
What Makes it Deadly?
Systema is designed to be versatile, playing on each individual fighter’s greatest strengths and allowing it to be employed effectively in a wide range of settings. Modern Systema has “non-destruction” as a core principle, but these techniques are based on real-world combat for the defense of home and country, and with its emphasis on practicality and following your instincts, it can be used with deadly force when necessary.
14. Taekwondo
Origins
Taekwondo was designed in Korea in the mid-twentieth century by combining techniques from a number of Asian martial arts, including Karate, Kung Fu, and various indigenous Korean martial arts like Gwonbeop, Subak, and Taekkyon. It includes strikes with both the hands and the feet. It emphasizes fast spinning and jumping kicks as well as kicks to the head
What Makes it Deadly?
Taekwondo’s high, flashy kicks can be brutal if delivered efficiently. Most of Taekwondo’s deadliness comes from the proper use of its theory of power. Taekwondo masters emphasize the importance of speed and proper use of tension and relaxation of the muscles coordinated with the timing of techniques to make each block or strike as powerful as possible.
13. Wrestling
Origins
Modern wrestling’s origins go back to ancient Greek pankration. Grappling comes relatively naturally to human beings, so this general style of fighting has been seen all over the world throughout history. Greco-Roman wrestling was incorporated as an Olympic sport all the way back in 1904 and still enjoys great popularity today.
What Makes it Deadly?
Although wrestling’s goal is not to severely injure the opponent, it is a challenging sport. The joint locks and especially chokes employed in wrestling can cause severe damage to the opponent’s body if they are performed forcefully enough.
12. Karate
Origins
The name karate includes various styles of martial arts founded in Okinawa and heavily influenced by Chinese White Crane Kung Fu. In the early 20th century, karate was taken and modified by the Japanese and standardized for teaching to school children. After World War II, karate’s popularity spread quickly to the West and it has become established as one of the most recognizable martial arts in the world.
What Makes it Deadly?
Some varieties of karate are more deadly than others, with the varieties derived from Shito-Ryu being harder and based more on straight lines than the softer, rounder techniques of Gojo-Ryu. Out of these, Kyokushin Karate is one of the most aggressive straight-line forms.
11. Savate
Origins
Savate is a French style of kick-boxing that combines elegant kicks with traditional English boxing to create a martial art that is both graceful and deadly. It began as a form of street fighting that used open-handed slaps combined with kicks, but in the early 1800s, Charles Lecour combined traditional savate techniques with English boxing to create the modern version of the sport.
What Makes it Deadly?
Modern Savate is much safer than the traditional street-fighting it is based on, but its powerful kicks can still be used to cause some serious damage to an opponent. There are three levels of savate fighting which get progressively more intense: Assaut, Pre-Combat, and Combat. In Combat, Savate fighters fight at full strength and are only allowed mouthguards and groin protection.
10. Judo
In the West, Judo may be most familiar as an Olympic sport with a fairly restrictive ruleset, but the potential of this grappling art is much more deadly.
Origins
Judo originated in 1882 in Japan with Jigoro Kano. Kano was only in his twenties when he developed this “gentle way” of using body mechanics to pin the opponent.
What Makes it Deadly?
As a sport, judo may seem relatively harmless, as it focuses on throws and joint locks, but on the streets without the protection of padded mats, judo can be very dangerous. Slamming your opponent onto their back on the concrete from hip height can be devastating, not to mention landing on their ribs at the end of a throw onto hard ground. Many judo moves can break a bone when done at full intensity against a resistant combatant, making it possible to end a fight in seconds.
9. Kung Fu
While Kung Fu movies may give the impression that this ancient martial art is a supernatural power, it truly is a dangerous skill set.
Origins
Kung Fu is an umbrella term for Chinese martial arts. It includes many practices, including Wing Chun, Tai Chi, wushu, and quanfa. Shaolin Kung Fu is one of the most popular varieties. Kung Fu’s speed is one of its most dangerous traits.
What Makes it Deadly?
Of the many styles described by the term Kung Fu, Xing Yi is probably the deadliest. Designed to create able infantry in a relatively short period of time, it focuses on straight lines and efficient body mechanics to produce extremely hard strikes. This is the origin of Bruce Lee’s famous One-Inch Punch, and when used with accuracy, its force can be deadly. Practitioners train to strengthen their hands and arms to withstand incredible levels of impact, allowing them to punch with full power and deliver massive damage with each strike.
8. Brazilian Jiu-jitsu
Brazilian Jiu-jitsu is a fairly widespread martial art, easily accessible for training. It may have a reputation as a relatively soft form of martial art because it does not include striking, but the potential for deadliness is there just under the surface.
Origins
Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu was developed by the Gracie family in Brazil. In 1917, young Carlos Gracie saw the Jiu-Jitsu master Mitsuyo Maeda perform his art and dedicated himself to its practice and development. Less than a decade later, he opened his family’s first school of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. Typically called BJJ, its name comes from a Japanese phrase meaning “gentle art,” and as such, it focuses on ground techniques rather than punching. It uses a lot of chokes and joint locks, and its practitioners hold that with proper technique, a much smaller combatant can dominate a larger, stronger person.
What Makes it Deadly?
For competitive purposes, BJJ can be considered a more gentle martial art because of its lack of strikes, but if used in real combat and employed properly, the joint locks and chokes used in BJJ can be extremely dangerous.
7. Silat
Silat’s focus on causing pain is nothing if not deadly.
Origins
Silat is the name for the wide range of martial arts indigenous to areas of Southeast Asia like Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore, among others. Different schools of silat focus on anything from joint manipulation to weapons, but the emphasis is always on exploiting your enemy’s weaknesses to end the fight quickly.
What Makes it Deadly?
Silat is so deadly because it is not focused on self-improvement or spirituality, but rather solely on violence. It is fast and brutal, even encouraging blows to the crotch. Another benefit of Silat is its emphasis on footwork, making it easier to get past an opponent’s guard and mount one’s own defense. Ultimately, Silat’s deadliness comes from its no-holds-barred, win-at-any-cost mindset.
6.Sambo
Sambo is an all-out Russian martial arts style preferred by police and special forces for good reason.
Origins
Sambo was created in the USSR by two men who had studied Judo under Jigoro Kano and was first used by the government’s agents before being spread to bodyguards and private security forces and then rising to world popularity. It was based on Judo combined with wrestling, boxing, kickboxing, and Muay Thai. Today, there is a variety of schools of sambo, including combat sambo, which includes striking, freestyle sambo, self-defense sambo, and special sambo that all incorporate different martial arts styles.
What Makes it Deadly?
Both combat sambo and special sambo are deadly styles of fighting in which almost anything is allowed to defeat one’s opponent. These varieties of sambo in particular are trained to be brutal and effective.
5. Muay Thai
Muay Thai is infamous for its vicious kicks and bloody fights.
Origins
Muay Thai is, as the name suggests, from Thailand. This art of eight limbs, also called Thai Boxing, is found in literature dating back to the 1500s. You may be wondering where a human fighter is supposed to get eight limbs, but Muay Thai counts knees and elbows among the limbs. During a time of great upheaval, the art of Muay Thai was spread to give the people of Thailand an effective self-defense mechanism that could be learned quickly.
What Makes it Deadly?
It uses punches, kicks, knees, and elbow strikes to devastating effect. The goal is to knock out the opponent, so even knees and elbows to the head are encouraged. This heavily increases the risk of brain damage and death.
4. Lethwei
Lethwei, or Burmese Boxing, is similar to its more famous cousin, Muay Thai, but definitely ranks as a little more deadly.
Origins
Lethwei is the martial art of nine limbs, including the eight of Muay Thai and headbutts as well. Its original name is thaing, and it has been employed by various ethnic groups of Myanmar since the Pang Kingdom dynasty in the 1100s. In the mid-twentieth century, Kyar Ba Nyein established rules for a modernized version of Lethwei to introduce the sport to international audiences.
What Makes it Deadly?
Lethwei takes the risk of serious head injury from Muay Thai and just increases it with the addition of headbutts. Part of its danger is the minimal equipment used: only tape and gauze for the knuckles.
3. Ninjutsu
Everyone knows how cool ninjas are, but the truth behind their fighting style is just as deadly as their reputation.
Origins
Ninjutsu, also called Ninpo or Shinobijutsu, is a Japanese martial art that also trains in espionage, wilderness survival, camouflage, evading enemies, hand to hand combat, weapons combat (swords, spears, and various throwing weapons) amongst many other skills. It has been around as long as nearly eight centuries. The most likely origin is that during the Minamoto shogunate, peasants were tired of the harsh rule of the samurai and learned to defend themselves in secret.
What Makes it Deadly?
Ninjutsu is truly an art of survival. Developed by a group protecting themselves against much more powerful enemies, Ninjutsu is unafraid of taking life if that is what is required to bring the practitioner success. It may not be the same as during the Japanese feudal era, but its techniques are just as effective and deadly as they were centuries ago.
2. Vale Tudo
Vale Tudo is a predecessor of MMA, a blend of martial arts styles whose name means “Everything Goes.”
Origins
Vale Tudo was developed in Brazil in the twentieth century as a barebones rule set to allow martial artists of different styles to fight each other. The Gracie family of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu fame liked to hold Vale Tudo matches to demonstrate the effectiveness of their art.
What Makes it Deadly?
Vale Tudo has very few rules and is so brutal that its fights are often held underground.
1. Krav Maga
And number one on the list goes to Krav Maga, the Israeli Defense Force’s bread and butter.
Origins
Krav Maga, literally “contact combat” in Hebrew, was developed by Hungarian-Israeli martial artist, Imi Lichtenfeld, in the 1930s to help his people defend themselves against the Nazis. His goal was to take the most efficient and effective moves from a wide variety of martial arts to create a life-saving discipline that was easily learned. He passed his art on to Israeli paramilitary forces and it has become a staple for militaries and police forces around the world.
What Makes it Deadly?
Krav Maga is the farthest thing from a sport martial art. The techniques include striking, grappling, and defense against weapons. Much of the focus is on dangerous killing strikes to the point that its techniques cannot be practiced effectively due to the extreme risk to the sparring partner. The whole point of Krav Maga and the root of its deadliness is to keep the practitioner safe at any cost without concern for the opponent’s safety.