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Mixed martial arts are great. Uses the best of different traditional forms. I've considered trying MMA, but I'm comfortable with traditional arts atm.

MMA seems more realistic for street combat, it is less complex and more savage of a fighting style and requires less technique, we are using it in our academy now.

Traditional is better in my opinion, I have used it on the street and it has been very effective.  I am thinking that the choice is kind of like, do you like Ford or Chevy.  If it works for you, train hard, train for reality, train often and it should be there when you need it!!!!!

KSP494 says ...

MMA seems more realistic for street combat, it is less complex and more savage of a fighting style and requires less technique, we are using it in our academy now.

Thats very true. I've used my traditional Aikido in real situations and found the joint locks and pressure points to be extremely effective, but we also never went to the ground. In Aikido, we do have some good ground work, but nothing compared to BJJ (for example) and I can totally see where good MMA groundwork would come in very handy. I've never tried BJJ. There's a point I'm trying to reach in my Aikido before I branch back out into other forms, but I can hardly wait to give MMA a shot.

As far as using martial arts on the job, I like traditional martial arts. If you use what you have been taught to use in competitions on the streets you could really injure a person. We all know what comes after you injure "the right" person, Law suit. I study US Ju Jitsu, not BJJ so not all of our technique is ground work. We have other techniques like a vertical wrist lock (4 diiferent ways), Gi, T-shirt, jacket, or coat chokes so on and so forth. US Ju jitsu comes from my instructor who was in the Marines during the Vietnam era. The guy spent several years in Japan and learned Japanese Ju Jitsu. I have only been taking this form of martial arts for about a year. I also took Tae kwon do as a kid and Wado Ryu Karate as a teen.

Or maybe some people really do enjoy martial arts and like to have conversations about it like some guys do cars, guns, women, work or anything else that makes life enjoyable. I see what you're saying though.

Traditional ... I studied Ed Parkers Kenpo, Wally Jays small circle jiu jitsu, and Remy Presas modern arnis...All three have served me well

I am a traditionalist when it comes to my arts. I have earned a black belt ranking in two forms of the Korean arts. For me it is more of a respect for the tradtion and for exersice than anything else. I like to watch the MMA but to me there is no comparision. I am becomeing a fan of the style of Bruce Lee's. Use what is good for you and throw out the rest. This is good for a practical use on the streets.

Both have advantages and disadvantages. MMA is, in my opinion of course, more practical in today's world. You learn Ground styles, the clinch is valuable if someone grabs your wrists or tries to take you down with a bear-hug, and stand-up can be more effective in hand-to-hand combat.

I've been involved in mixed martial arts since 94, I think before it was called that. My instrucor Robert Ryan called it MFA  Multi-culturaly Fighting Arrst. Same concept as todays MMA. Done alot o' boxing, Jeet Koon Do, thai-boxing   which is my fav (thai).

currently i'm trying the Krav-Maga... Good stuff

I def like the MMA better.. It's more suited for Law Enforcement.. Most fights go to the ground hahahaha

I only went to brown in Judo. I did find the come-alongs more effective than the in house training.. 

As I reread the posts, I am finding it a bit odd that people say they train TMA.  Go back and see how many say I train TMA with two or more styles listed.  Folks, that is MIXED MARTIAL ARTS.  Putting 2 or more systems together makes it mixed, which is the exact arugement for mma.

lavamarine says ...

I personally prefer Brazilian ju-jitsu over any other discipline but as LEOs we should be well rounded on the ground and standing. Any practice of martial arts is good for all the obvious reasons.

Brazilian jiu-jitsu is the best. This coming from a life long practioner, I just felt like giving all you MMA guys a hard time. However I am moving more and more interested into kung-fu. I'm real interested in the southern mantis style. i like the intensity it expresses. maybe i'll swing and start moving a little MMA.

MMA is just that Mixed Martial Arts.  It takes different traditional styles and compounds them into a functional fighting style.  While I think this style is awesome for sport, tradtional has been around for years and years to come for a reason.

lavamarine says ...

I personally prefer Brazilian ju-jitsu over any other discipline but as LEOs we should be well rounded on the ground and standing. Any practice of martial arts is good for all the obvious reasons.

I couldnt agree more. As LEOs we need to be well versed in both standing offensive/defensive tactics as well as ground fighting.