What do you think is more effective?

[Revolution911]

I have found that...ya know...all that punching and kicking I did in my karate class....I was really never gunna use. So I joined a kickboxing class. Cause like..its not all these difficult counters and special punches and stuff. And unless it taught me how to do a Haduken, I was gunna quit anyway. Just go take a boxing class.

[DragonBlaze]

Learning one style or another won't make much of a differance. The only thing that will make you better is sparring, the person teaching you will make a big differance as well. The more practice you have with fighting, the better off you'll be.

I used to go to Tie Kwon Do, and there were sparring classes every week, and ususally there was sparring in the other classes as well, as soon as they stopped that though, it wasn't worth going anymore.

As for actual techniques, you won't use them. All you're ever going to really use is punches and kicks, and wherever you go, you'll learn that. All the throwing crap you'll learn, you won't ever use. The only technique I've had to use was one to get out of a full nelson, and for fun I've used one where you do stuff to a guys wrist and it brings them to the ground.