As for MMA — it is as coherent a framework as any traditional martial art, provided you find a good instructor.

I would argue that good MMA instruction would *generally* offer more “bang for the buck” than traditional arts if combat/fight-effectiveness is a key concern.

Of course, the key is finding a good instructor — and that pretty much holds true for any martial art.

Humor aside, I titled this post as I did for a reason. Whether MMA is “good” or “bad” is not at issue here. The core question is whether someone with limited resources and an interest in self-defense, should start learning within a coherent framework, or attempt to assemble their own from spare parts.

* Warren Buffet’s company Berkshire Hathaway is heavily and highly diversified. He does certainly advocate “buy what you know” and knowing your investments and businesses well, but he is hardly “anti-diversification”.

* “Tradition” is ultimately a misnomer (though it’s hard to avoid) as far as martial arts go. Many arts considered ‘modern’ predate many arts that are considered ‘traditional’.

* Effective training is derived from training methods more so than styles. Training that is focused on drills and sparring and working with partners is ultimately going to yield more practical martial skills than training built on punching and kicking the air while holding a horse stance.

I’m not down on traditional arts — I’ve trained in multiple arts for 25+ years. But there’s no reason to regard MMA training as something ‘less than’ or ‘inferior’ to traditional training.

We believe that a policy of portfolio concentration may well decrease risk if it raises, as it should, both the intensity with which an investor thinks about [their traditional style] and the comfort level he must feel with its characteristics before buying into it.*

We don’t get paid for [mixing styles together], just for being right. As to how long we’ll wait, we’ll wait indefinitely.*

Wouldn’t you say it’s a little arrogant to assume that you “know what you’re doing” in a self-defense situation? Even members of the police and military, whose entire careers and livelihoods surround these kinds of situations, don’t always come out okay. Are you saying that training in traditional martial arts would give you a better knowledge than them? MMA, krav-maga, and other “hybrid” styles may not cover all the bases, but it’s getting as many as possible. All the eggs are in one basket: survival.

And I’m a fan/follower of all three of those things, by the way.