What types of martial arts use knees and elbows?

Answer 1

Elbows in Martial artsMost striking oriented Martial Arts (esp. the "hard" arts) that are based more in combat than competition utilize the devistating potential of elbow strikes. In fact, the reason most competition oriented or sport martial arts consider them illegal is because of their effectiveness.

Traditional Japanese and Okinawan striking arts such as Karate and Shotokan train to use elbows when appropriate. Combat oriented Taekwondo schools, of which there are unfortunately few, also use them to compliment their hand and foot striking techniques, though they are not legal in tournament competition. If there were one art in particular to highlight for its expert use of elbows, it would have to be traditional Thai kickboxing or Muay Thai.

The striking techniques in Muay Thai are all centered around impacting the target with brutal force using highly conditioned surfaces of the body. As a western kickboxer has excellent hands and feet, a Thai kickboxer also brings to the table elbows and knees that have been conditioned, condensed and hardened through training specific to that end (see also "Wolf's Law" of bone density).

There isn't many martial arts that don't use elbows

Answer 2

Most martial arts incorporate the knees and elbows to some degree. Some styles, such muay thai, just emphasize those certain areas more than others.