I'm too fat to withstand the exercise of Martial Arts but i say go with Jeet Kun Do..it's what Bruce Lee practiced after all.
MARTIAL ARTS
- Thread starter keillord
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I did Judo and Kickboxing for a reasonable length of time, I would recommend Kickboxing as a relatively good entry point for martial arts in my opinion.
Judo is not very helpful in real world situations, although you get the odd tip here and there which can be helpful, other than that I found it semi-interesting, but not for me I suppose. It revolves heavily around holds and throws as someone mentioned above, which I have a rather minor interest in.
Kickboxing was a lot more interesting for me, you can take the knowledge used from it and apply it in a practical manner if you ever get in a real fight, which came in handy a few times for me.
I also found it rather useful as while I'm not exactly without any muscle at all, I can hardly say I'm a beastly muscle-bound juggernaut, and Kickboxing is rather based on HOW you throw your punches and kicks, and the technique involved to make them effective, instead of brute force (even though the force behind it is still an important aspect), which again applies to real life situations, as after a while things like technique will become second nature to you.
Along with learning such things, you have to be quite physically fit to do Kickboxing, which is why I say it is a relatively good entry point into martial arts, as the techniques you will be learning (at first) are rather simple but effective, and it forces you to be in good shape as it will push you quite hard at some points. So if you take up a different martial arts at a later date, you will have a good foundation to work from and will be in good shape.
In any case I suggest doing something like watching demonstrations of different martial art styles and seeing which you find most interesting, that's most likely the best thing for you if you are interested but unsure where to start.
Either that or just dive into whichever martial arts classes are locally available to you headfirst to get a good feel before sticking to one or two for the long run.
Judo is not very helpful in real world situations, although you get the odd tip here and there which can be helpful, other than that I found it semi-interesting, but not for me I suppose. It revolves heavily around holds and throws as someone mentioned above, which I have a rather minor interest in.
Kickboxing was a lot more interesting for me, you can take the knowledge used from it and apply it in a practical manner if you ever get in a real fight, which came in handy a few times for me.
I also found it rather useful as while I'm not exactly without any muscle at all, I can hardly say I'm a beastly muscle-bound juggernaut, and Kickboxing is rather based on HOW you throw your punches and kicks, and the technique involved to make them effective, instead of brute force (even though the force behind it is still an important aspect), which again applies to real life situations, as after a while things like technique will become second nature to you.
Along with learning such things, you have to be quite physically fit to do Kickboxing, which is why I say it is a relatively good entry point into martial arts, as the techniques you will be learning (at first) are rather simple but effective, and it forces you to be in good shape as it will push you quite hard at some points. So if you take up a different martial arts at a later date, you will have a good foundation to work from and will be in good shape.
In any case I suggest doing something like watching demonstrations of different martial art styles and seeing which you find most interesting, that's most likely the best thing for you if you are interested but unsure where to start.
Either that or just dive into whichever martial arts classes are locally available to you headfirst to get a good feel before sticking to one or two for the long run.
I wouldn't worry about particular styles to much and asking random people won't help because the reality is that different styles exist because people are not physical similar in size, strenght, speed, flexibility, rhythmkeillord said:
For instance I am 5'2 so trying to learn kickboxing would be entirly inapproiate for someone of my build
A brief physical description would help these people advise you
This is mostly right, though I take slight issue with what you say about "flashier" martial arts. They do help, just not quite as much, and you sort of have to adjust what you know away from the sport side of things for real world applications. I for instance do Taekwondo, and while there would be some similarity between sparring and a real fight, I'd have to adjust my game a bit - in many ways making it more like Muay Thai - incorporating things like grabbing and kneeing that TKD doesn't allow. Still, the most important things in a fight are vision/awareness and footwork and TKD will certainly provide for those. Also, most martial arts training will involve some basic self-defense, just because its such a big draw for business.Cakes said:
On the whole though, it's as you said. It all comes down to the teacher, and of course the student.
Because everyone on the street carries a gun..The Austin said:Seriously, Martial Arts has been totally outdated sense 1885.
I did Taekwon do for 5 years and while the techniques I get taught aren't very street effective, it was a lot of fun. I did comp sparing so my fitness went through the roof, my flexibility was great and my reaction time is still pretty dead on. Did I mention it was fun?Cakes said:
If I wanted to do a street effective Martial Art I would of done boxing.
Anyways.
I just started at a new gym, doing Wrestling, Muay Thai, BJJ and MMA. But I can't recommend anything for you because it really depends on your body type and stuff like that. Good luck in your search =)
Judo. Took it for a while, will get back once my shoulder is better. There are a few good things about Judo that make it a more suitable choice than many martial arts.
First, it's regulated. Every state, province, country, whatever has a Judo governing body. This means that if you find a "Judo Canada" approved school, you know it had to pass some sort of test. Very good for avoiding McDojos. Seriously, avoiding a money-making scam is the most important thing in picking a martial art. Seriously. If you find that they want to teach you the "next level" for only $25 a month more, you know you're being ripped-off. Most Universities will have a Judo group (different classes for different ages) with a trained and experienced instructor, and it'll cost peanuts compared with the local Kung Fu Hustle.
Second, it's a sport too! Goes with the first. If you like it, you can compete. Travel around your area throwing people for fun!
Third, when you practice it's all-out. When I tap out in Judo practice it's because my vision went blurry or I thought my arm was about to break. You don't do forms in class. You fight.
Fourth, it's not douche-baggy. I've never met dicks in Judo classes. I know they have them, but they seem to flock to other types of martial arts with more regularity.
So, take a look through your local phonebook, look for schools and groups that have been around a while and are registered with your local governing body. Then go hang out for one class (wear sweats, they'll give you a gi and force you to participate). Don't judge the facilities too harshly. The best class/instructor combo I ever had took place in a basement multipurpose room at my University. And make sure you're having fun. If you don't have fun, you won't stick with it.
First, it's regulated. Every state, province, country, whatever has a Judo governing body. This means that if you find a "Judo Canada" approved school, you know it had to pass some sort of test. Very good for avoiding McDojos. Seriously, avoiding a money-making scam is the most important thing in picking a martial art. Seriously. If you find that they want to teach you the "next level" for only $25 a month more, you know you're being ripped-off. Most Universities will have a Judo group (different classes for different ages) with a trained and experienced instructor, and it'll cost peanuts compared with the local Kung Fu Hustle.
Second, it's a sport too! Goes with the first. If you like it, you can compete. Travel around your area throwing people for fun!
Third, when you practice it's all-out. When I tap out in Judo practice it's because my vision went blurry or I thought my arm was about to break. You don't do forms in class. You fight.
Fourth, it's not douche-baggy. I've never met dicks in Judo classes. I know they have them, but they seem to flock to other types of martial arts with more regularity.
So, take a look through your local phonebook, look for schools and groups that have been around a while and are registered with your local governing body. Then go hang out for one class (wear sweats, they'll give you a gi and force you to participate). Don't judge the facilities too harshly. The best class/instructor combo I ever had took place in a basement multipurpose room at my University. And make sure you're having fun. If you don't have fun, you won't stick with it.
Taking karate right now, its okay and seems somewhat practical for a real world situation, and its the only martial art to learn where I live. I'd recommend trying it out for a while before searching for a different martial art.
I did shotokan for around 6 years or so, got myself a first dan...thenr an out of money and university time rolled around. I was quite good at the time though, I had a lightning fast round house kick and reverse punch =) Competed in the Scottish championships a few times too.
Seconded on the Kempo. Very fun. I enjoyed it. It's actually pretty easy to learn and fun to use.Julianking93 said:
again, it all depends on what you want. no style is better than the other or any more effective than the other. Seriously, my old Kenjitsu/Chamubara (katana sparring) teacher was once asked what a good hand-to-hand combat style was. he said it really doesn't matter, he would suggest the best basic unarmed combat would be Western boxing despite western belief that East=better (he is in fact Japanese/Korean for those who are curious).
