I'd say it what best suits the needs of the individual, or what's available in the area. Guro Dave

Thats a tough question to answer it does depend on area etc. I can speak for the North East region since I've been involved in karate from the late 70's to now,I would have to say that MMA is probably the most popular martial art at the moment. Even more so with non-martial artists. Almost every karate school now offers some form of "Mixed Martial Arts" program. On the east coast there has always been a strong TKD presence as well as Kenpo. From what Ive seen for the past 30 years these 2 ran very close with styles like Shotokan and Uechi Ryu coming up. I guess overall it has been Sport karate that has received the most publicity.(TKD and now MMA). Sorry for the long answer ;)

Sorry guys. I re-read my question and see how vauge it was. Thank you for the answers so far. I was speaking more about FMA styles and if there was a certain "style" or lineage that is most popular or has the most following in the states. I run a sport karate team and see so many different styles, but we all have one thing in common. That is what I am liking so far about FMA, so many different backgrounds but the same brotherhood. Rick Team Full Circle