What is the difference? Which one do you want to be?

Interesting question. I guess it is indirectly related to the Law Enforcement/ Security topic?

I started in Martial Arts wanting to learn how to fight. Sadly, I found that if I was really going to develop my skill, I was going to have to train less like a typical Martial Artist and more like a fighter.

I now feel that I am coming full circle. My fight training has given me a valuable experience and perspective that gives me the benefits I had sought in Martial Arts to begin with.

Am I a Martial Artist or a Fighter? Well, I think I can be either one should the specific need arise or I can be both with harmony.

Interesting perspective Fletch.

My instinct is to say that I am a martial artist. To me the distinction is that being a martial artist implies a moral and spiritual underpinning to the use of force. That using force, in the end, is always tempered with an element of compassion. I would define a "pure" fighter as not having these qualities. A martial artist may have equal or superior technical skills as the fighter, but the fighter does not have the same moral qualities as the martial artist.

- KiDoHae

A fighter is just someone who is out to kick some ass but a martial artist is someone who follows tradition and abides by the laws both federal and martial arts. I would want to be the guy who survives the attacked.

I'm 95% martial artist and 5% fighter as needed.

I personally am about 50% 50% as in JKD we r taught always to be ready for confrontation and some of the techniques employed in JKD are the same as any street fighter would use today. for example:
Bil-Jee is a finger-strike to the eyes or a poke but in JKD it is perfectly legal to use which helps to train us in the equal quantity of fighter and martial artist

I feel the best fighter is one who can talk their way out of a fight or walk away from provokation. There are too many knifes and guns out on the streets and people are so afraid of getting their butts handed to them and learning a lesson.
But to answer your question I would have to say that I'm a fighter. Working in the ghetto there are some mean Mofo's who absolutely hate the police and you have to get down right mean and vicious when dealing with these type of people. I always try to use verbal judo and talk them down to cooperate with me but that is not always the case, especially dealing with PCP.

I am both 100% figter and 100% martial artist.

Martial arts is one of my trade crafts. By trade craft I mean. Martial arts is both an art and an exact science, not one or the other.

80% Martial Artist, 20% Fighter.

...at least by how everyone has been rating themselves in this thread. I have never forgotten the mindset, rules and code that each martial arts school taught and try my best to abide by them, but above and before all else if put in a real life situation of sorts where one cannot walk away, then my technique is WIN! and my grandfather always said there's only two ppl in a fight once it's broke out. A winner and a loser.

However, at age 26 I've mellowed out a bit, as it used to be more like 70/30.

i train as a fighter therefore i suppose thats what i am. shootfighting seems to have very little philosophy and things of that nature.

i have seen ppl from my gym destroy others (in nhb rule type setting, i do not mean killing/hurt), from different styles/disciplines.

but this is probably because we spend 2 hours three times a week practicing the full contact aspect.

maybe this means we are therefore spiritually devoid of ma and its benefits....
Kel