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When I was a teenager, I took karate lessons for a few years. In retrospect, I think the training could have been better. Some techniques looked good in a staged demonstration, but they would not work in a real fight. In free sparing we would pull kicks and punches. short of the target. This does not build the power one needs to make a technique effective. It can also become a habit. Once I read of a karate student who got into a street fight. Out of habit and nervousness he continued to pull his punches and kicks.

Boxing builds power, but boxers are not trained to counter techniques a street fighter would use, like kicking and kidney punching.

I think the best martial art is mixed martial arts. A mixed martial arts contest is as close as one can get to a real fight and still have an athletic contest.

If I had stayed with the martial arts I would want to emphasize full contact sparing with protective equipment, a few techniques from aikido and ju jitsu, physical conditioning, and punching and kicking a heavy bag. I would warn my students not to enter mixed martial arts contests because protective equipment is not used, and they can get seriously hurt. I would advise them to watch mixed martial arts contests to learn from them.

Mixed martial arts contests combine techniques from each of the martial arts, eastern and western, and they are effective because they are tested in competition.