Martial art of choice

[Horseradish_5000]

Hey all, I'm avid reader of this site but never had an account until I saw this post and just had to say something...

I've been doing martial arts of over 8 years now, I have my blackbelt in TaeKwon-Do and I have been practicing Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and MMA for 3 years.

I had to comment on this because of the general ignorance that I see in this forum is dangerous to you OP. Just so you know I'm not talking out my arse I have been a bouncer for a couple years in my towns most popular night club and I have won several international competitions in martial arts, I have been in fights, I have been attacked by more than one person, and I have been attacked by people with weapons (broken beer bottles, bar stools, etc).

To preface this commentary I should say that without a proper teacher you will learn alot of bullcrap with many of the traditional schools now being run for profits alone, a term we use in the martial arts community is "McDojo" and it is very apt. You also find that contrary to popular belief there is no one "master fighting style" every style has something to offer none should be disregarded out of hand. That being said some do offer more practical solutions.

For self defense and fitness reasons the best martial art to take, in my humble opinion, is basic K-1 style kick-boxing as most of the fights that you will encounter will be stand-up face to face encounters and knowing how defend yourself from punches and returning them in kind is very useful. Also a kick boxing school will get you in the ring sparring and fighting THERE IS NO SUBSTITUTE for real fighting practice and sparring to become good at defending yourself and "kicking ass".

Now to address the haters of Brazilian Jiu jitsu out there..haha.. While it is true against multiple opponents one would not advise going to the deck (ground) in a fight because you are liable to get kicked in the teeth by his buddy...this is common sense I hope. However! in one on one combat is has been categorically proven that going to the ground against an untrained opponent will increase your chances of winning the fight exponentially, just watch ufc 1, when the smaller and lighter Royce Gracie dominated all of his challengers by drawing them in, taking them down, and submitting them. Brazilian Jiu Jitsu has time and time again been proven to be the most affective grappling style and I would highly recommend checking it out if you want an amazing full body workout.

In conclusion I guess depending on where you live, try looking for an MMA gym in your neighborhood, I mean hey, they call it Mixed Martial Arts for a reason. You will be getting the best of all the worlds Boxing, Kickboxing, Wrestling, Jiu jitsu and the sparring and practice required to test your skills, all of which add up to make you a complete fighter.

You make a great point here.

To the OP I would try a few sessions at the local clubs (most will be free the first time). See which system and mostly what club fits you the best. It's important to be confident with your master and your martial arts brothers and sisters.

But most of all have fun. It's a lot of hard work but with so many benefits.

Good Luck

 

[basic.acid]

i've done tae kwon do, jujitsu, judo and a little karate and if i learned anything its that you have to try more than one to be well rounded. if your an amazing striker but have no ground game, its a weakness. same if you can grapple but can't stand, or kick but can't punch. The problem is when people try to learn all of them at once. You have to focus on them one at a time, because MMA training leaves you weak in all of them, with dangerous gaps in your learning.

look at UFC. the really good fighters are the guys who specialized in one thing before branching out.

 

[Cowabungaa]

From a practical p.o.v I'd go for Jeet Kune Do. It focusses purely on effectiveness, though it's more of a philosophy as the actual fighting style is a combination of all kinds of existing martial arts; instead of focussing on one thing it takes all the good stuff from all the MA's out there, because all of them have sómething to offer, to make sure you're a well-rounded combatant. I think it even uses a fencing stance.

It's all about fighting as energy-efficient as possible, anticipating on your opponent, using his moves against himself, trying to keep yourself out of harms way. Nothing flashy, nothing sporty, pure defence.

That no-nonsense aesthetic always appealed to me, there is a certain beauty in that simplicity. I'd love to be able to practice it.

 

[Duck Sandwich]

I've done Boxing, Kenpo, Muay Thai, and Brazilian Jiujitsu. Grappling has never been one of my strong points. I've also had problems with my balance, likely in part because I have flat feet.

Boxing requires you to "fight short" - that is, lean forward and bend your knees. It makes you appear shorter than you actually are and it makes you easier to recover your balance when you take a punch. Also, you have to stay on the balls of your feet, which makes it easier for you to move around, and also helps with balance. You also have to turn so that the side of your leading shoulder is facing your opponent. This means you're not as wide of a target as if you were to stand "squared up" (the fronts of both your shoulders facing your opponent).

Boxing gives you good balance, power, and defense. While you don't use any kicks, this means you're able to focus better on using your legs for dodging and movement.

Muay Thai will build on both long-ranged (kicks) and short ranged (elbows, clinches, knees) attacks. But I find the stance to be awkward compared to Boxing. You stand tall, with your shoulders squared up, and one leg ahead of, but not directly in front of the other. Being able to kick with your shin is of the utmost importance. If you train long enough in Muay Thai, you will condition your shin to the point where you can kick a pole with your shin and not feel pain. Muay Thai will also improve your ability to hold people by the head and knee them in the face.

TL;DR - Muay Thai has a more well-rounded offense, while Boxing is better for punching, defense, and balance)

 

[itf cho]

A few simple thoughts before you pick a martial arts style/school:

- Visit a few different schools in your local area. Most schools have an area for visitors to sit and politely watch. Walk-ins are a large part of their business.

- Avoid any school that promises a black belt in a specific time frame - especially the two-year wonders. Your rank advancement is going to depend on your learning ability, the number of classes available, and the effort you put into it.

- If you can, ask who the school owners instructor is. Most good schools don't operate in a vacuum.

- Once you've gotten an idea what kind of style you'd like to practice, if possible visit a few different schools for that style. Different schools may have widely varied teaching styles. Find out that feels right to you. If you're not comfortable in class, you can't learn.

- Lastly, be prepared for injury. If the thought of spraining your ankle is more than you want to deal with, don't take up the martial arts. On the flip side, a school where too many students are walking out on crutches isn't a good thing either.

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As for the style of martial arts themselves... as a 20+ year devotee to Tae Kwon Do, I'm prejudiced in this regard. Regarding TKD as a pure sport martial art, that couldn't be farther from the truth. Yes, the WTF (World Taekwondo Federation) promotes TKD as a sport; but that is not the be-all and end-all of TKD. TKD is taught to members of the Korean armed forces as a self-defense art. And the statement that it is only 65+ years old... study some history for the real information. During the Japanese occupation of Korea during the WWII era it was forbidden to teach Korean martial arts and the practice went underground (Many aspects of the Korean culture were ruthlessly suppressed by the Japanese). But the martial art itself, and it's various styles, and ancestry, have been practiced for over a thousand years - some of it's historically best known practitioners being the Hwarang - the warriors of one of the three ancient Korean kingdoms known as Silla.

After the fall of the Japanese, and the eventual reestablishment of the Korean government, the government itself made it an aim to reorganize what was left of it's native martial art. It is this effort which gives rise to the fallacy that TKD is only 60 something years old.

 

[BlumiereBleck]

Northern Shaolin, and Boxing

 

[Counter_Southpaw]

English Boxing.

The best martial art evar.

MMA is just a fad.

 

[AnarchistAbe]

Muay Thai. It is the art of kicking ass

 

[animeconquerer]

I'd recommend doing Karate Go-jyu ryu if you can find it anywhere. It's about as close as most modern types of martial arts get to the original styles.

 

[Cyberius]

Do Capoeira! Just because it's fun. I did it for a while - it's good for fitness (and rhythm), but useless in self-defence...

I agree with the first parts of this but not with the "useless in self-defense" part. Yes, it's more of a challenge to defend yourself if you've only been practicing for a year or two. But after that, it can definitely be used for self defense.

Also I was just wondering, I've noticed that Capoeira gets a lot of hate as far as martial arts go. From what I've heard it's because "that one kick where you're on your hand and you kick your leg over your head is fucking useless, I would just kick your hand and make you fall".

First off, the kick is called an Au Batido, and it looks like this http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MVawFAeK9Co&feature=related

Now that you know what the kick looks like, yes, the person preforming the kick is vulnerable to a sweep at their hand. HOWEVER, the people who hate on Capoeira so much act as if this is the ONLY kick in Capoeira. Yes, it's one of the most recognizable kicks, but it is only one kick. There are many many more that can be used. The Au Batido is a kick only used when the timing is right, say... when your opponent has been knocked down and is attempting to stand back up, you hit them with an Au Batido where your foot connects with their neck just below the ear and BAM, they're out.

So yes, I believe Capoeira can be used in self defense... (and now lets hear all of the people I was talking about troll me about how useless it is.. because they know so much about it..)

All right, I used to play Angola and Regional. I never pretended I was doing anything other than dancing. I don't know many players who do. The problem is Capoeira is built entirely upon low-percentage techniques. Yeah, if EVERYTHING goes just right, of course you're dealing with a lot of momentum there and you could potentially do a lot of damage.

But look at what you're missing: No clinch. No punch defense. No punches, really. No conditioning of striking surfaces.

Yes, we've all seen the guy in MMA who knocked somebody out with meia lua de compasso. That proves it really. It was so unique, such a freak occurrence, that everybody has seen that ONE video. If it were easy to do, it would have happened so often we'd just say, "Meh, another capoeirista winning a fight..."

The ginga isn't fighting footwork and most of the kicks aren't fighting stuff. Enjoy that you do an awesome dance style and don't try to fantasize, amigo.

Axe, camara.

I'm glad to see another capoeirista on the escapist .
And I promise I'm not fantisizing. A blue cordao went up against a dude from the judo class that practiced next door to us and it was an awesome spectacle. Our guy was declared the winner after the other guy finally just gave up. He didn't know what the hell to do against him.