Just an idea but a lot of you seem to be mistaking martial arts for self-defence when the 2 (while similar) have one intrinsic difference martial arts were developed for war and by their nature are offensive and designed to kill. Self-def isn't. Just s'thing to keep in mind. I'd say boxing and Judo ...

I've always held that a regular partner is there to for testing out new techniques and mastering some old ones. They'll be honest about what works and doesn't and gen you'll be more confident to test new ideas and less worried about what they'll throw at you.

New partners are, otoh, there to test ...

I recently wrote a (brief) article to my old TKD club about the almost dichotomy of martial arts (partic TKD and shotokan karate) after training with a few diff groups.

Basically I feel that there are too v distinct sides to a martial art. The "modern" side if you will of sparring and musical kata ...