not wise at all. Obviously, if you are backed in a corner with no chance of escape, it's a no brainer, but if there is an option of escape, that is wiser. Cowards often resort to weapons for a reason; they are effective. No amount of skill will deflect a bullet. No amount of skill is going to repair a severed artery from a knife. Martial arts skills will improve your chances, but it is still the absolute last option you should take unless you have an absolute opening to safely disarm.

Personally i would think its too dangerous. then again if you were brilliant at martial arts you would have to weigh up the risks and decide if it was more worth fighting or not fighting. In most cases there would be a better way to resolve it. if you want adrenaline there are other sports you could try out which involve hard core fighting with people that some people do practice, obviously not to the point of death though :P

Unless you have no escape at all, its not wise. I am assuming the opponent is at least armed with a true weapon, and skilled in its use. An unskilled opponent with a staff, sai or similar weapon would be no match, and likely to injure himself with no intervention.

Only if you are bulletproof monk.

I have an orange belt in akido, judo, and ju-jitsu. You could take me out with a well aimed rock. There were 3 people in my old class that I think would actually be successful in fending off an attacker if they came at them with a weapon (as long as it wasn't a gun). I really don't think it would be a wise move at all to take a fist to a knife fight.

Not wise at all ... but still wiser than just standing still and letting an attacker use a weapon on you, without fighting back ... having a high skill may mean you are able to do so with success, but it is never wise when there is another way ...

If they are armed you run, there is no shame in running from an attacker who uses cheap tactics.

As a general rule of thumb, fighting isn't at all wise unless you don't have much choice.

Fighting unarmed against an armed attacker is a matter of necessity that arises from being ill-prepared. Neither fighting unarmed against an armed attacker, nor being ill-prepared is wise. There are too many an-cun (hidden weapons) available to be caught unprepared.

Note that martial arts ***includes*** the use of classical weapons (read "classical" as "not firearms"). I assume you mean: an unarmed martial artist vs. someone who is armed. Obviously you avoid such a confrontation if circumstances permit. An unarmed expert in martial arts can fare well against someone using a classic weapon who is NOT expert. But against a classical weapon in the hands of an expert, the unarmed martial artist is obviously at a disadvantage.

Its never wise to fight... at all!

never wise

How skilled is your opponent? Why would you assume the person you're going against can't use that weapon effectively? The human body is one of the weakest and least athletic among meat eaters. We're total sh-- in a fight. That's why we use weapons. They're force multipliers. You should never take them for granted.

never wise

avoiding any fights are best

As a Sensei, I always tell my students not to fight and run if they can but if the fight is eminent, fight to the death.

9 times out of 10 you wont win, usually when weapons are involved people are seriously hurt .

Generally speaking: avoid combat with 1) any distance weapon if you are at a distance from the user 2) any hand-to-hand weapon in the hands of well-trained user. *** Naturally you might not know the capability of the user, and so it's best to avoid unarmed combat with an armed opponent. Most forms of unarmed martial arts are meant for when you MUST DEFEND yourself against an attacker. I.e. when you have no other choice. Most forms of unarmed martial arts were developed in regions in which, historically, weapons were outlawed for the general populace, and so these arts were meant to give the commoner/student a chance to defend themselves even against an armed opponent without having to carry an illegal weapon. Some of the weapons most closely associated with martial arts were also designed with this in mind. I.e. they were not classified by the authorities as weapons (which, generally, included anything sharp and pointy). Nunchaku (possibly originating as a farmer's flail), sai (despite movies, traditionally no sharp point), etc. In fact: sai were designed specifically to allow the user to defend and overcome an opponent wielding a sword or other bladed weapon (again: something that the martial arts user would NOT want to attempt bare-handed).

Run if you can and live to fight another day. If running is not possible, fight to the death. This is what I tell my students.