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PaperclipPerfector  2d ago (text post)   2138 thread views

Small-Scale Question Sunday for September 6, 2026

Do you have a dumb question that you're kind of embarrassed to ask in the main thread? Is there something you're just not sure about?

This is your opportunity to ask questions. No question too simple or too silly.

Culture war topics are accepted, and proposals for a better intro post are appreciated.

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Anybody familiar with Systema? Looks like such a cool martial art.

Martial arts is a solved problem. The optimal fighting style is MMA.

Any style that can't prove itself in the octagon isn't worth looking at, if your goal is to actually fight.

Hmeh. MMA does impose certain parameters that do not generalize. Like the octagon itself - flexible walls and a soft floor.

But I agree that competitive fighting is a good heuristic for detecting nonsense martial arts.

And it's one-on-one, and you can't grab your opponent by the clothing, and you have no shoes on and no stomping is allowed. All this means that grappling is generally more efficient in the octagon than it's in a real fight, where ending up on the ground is much more dangerous.

Although I should read more about the new meta now than 12-6 elbow strikes are legal again.

And I agree that competitive fighting is a good heuristic for detecting nonsense martial arts.

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