You watch the movie kickboxer and pick the one you think is coolest.
Edit: jokes aside, owls post is unironically the best answer. If you want to learn a particular martial art style for tradition/cultural reasons that's one thing, but basically the reason Bruce Lee is a hero to a lot of people is he was one of the people saying "the emperor is naked" and that 'styles' get too bogged down in tradition and doing things a certain way regardless of what's viable or practical in actual combat.
I want to learn Sanshou for this exact reason-it looks cool. That, and I think learning how to fight is just pretty important in general.
If OP wants to be able to punch really well, boxing would do just fine. Punch and kick? Kickboxing (or Muay Thai, MMA, Sanshou, and probably plenty of others). I know less about grappling and wrestling, but there are plenty of Judo and Greco-Roman wrestling clubs around, which would probably make you a better fighter than most people you encounter on the street.
You watch the movie kickboxer and pick the one you think is coolest.
Edit: jokes aside, owls post is unironically the best answer. If you want to learn a particular martial art style for tradition/cultural reasons that's one thing, but basically the reason Bruce Lee is a hero to a lot of people is he was one of the people saying "the emperor is naked" and that 'styles' get too bogged down in tradition and doing things a certain way regardless of what's viable or practical in actual combat.
I want to learn Sanshou for this exact reason-it looks cool. That, and I think learning how to fight is just pretty important in general.
If OP wants to be able to punch really well, boxing would do just fine. Punch and kick? Kickboxing (or Muay Thai, MMA, Sanshou, and probably plenty of others). I know less about grappling and wrestling, but there are plenty of Judo and Greco-Roman wrestling clubs around, which would probably make you a better fighter than most people you encounter on the street.