MARTIAL ARTS
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Your choice of martial arts depends on your aim.
Self defense? Judo, Krav Maga, Jeet Kune Do, Sambo, Systema, Aikijutsu (not Aikido)
Full contact sparring? Karate (Kyokushin, Shidokan, some Shotokan dojos), Muay Thai, Kickboxing, Boxing, Kempo
Grappling? BJJ, Wrestling (Greco, Catch, Freestyle), Judo, Sambo
Sports? Judo, Tae Kwon Do, Karate, Boxing, Kickboxing
MMA? Mix any of the above and see what works
Although in general, it's up to you, and any of those martial arts are always beneficial, especially with the right teachers. So long as you don't sign up for those "McDojos" that give out black belts like happy meals, and whose so-called "black belts" get creamed by true legit black belters
Took up some TKD, Boxing, Karate (Kyokushin), kickboxing and BJJ although I didn't last long in all but kickboxing and boxing, since I change location a lot.
Although for my personal recommendation, any Bas Rutten certified places (there's on in Thousand Oaks, CA, but I forgot the name of the place), martial arts used by the military (ie Systema, Sambo, Krav Maga), or good ol' wrestling/boxing/kickboxing/muay thai.
Self defense? Judo, Krav Maga, Jeet Kune Do, Sambo, Systema, Aikijutsu (not Aikido)
Full contact sparring? Karate (Kyokushin, Shidokan, some Shotokan dojos), Muay Thai, Kickboxing, Boxing, Kempo
Grappling? BJJ, Wrestling (Greco, Catch, Freestyle), Judo, Sambo
Sports? Judo, Tae Kwon Do, Karate, Boxing, Kickboxing
MMA? Mix any of the above and see what works
Although in general, it's up to you, and any of those martial arts are always beneficial, especially with the right teachers. So long as you don't sign up for those "McDojos" that give out black belts like happy meals, and whose so-called "black belts" get creamed by true legit black belters
Took up some TKD, Boxing, Karate (Kyokushin), kickboxing and BJJ although I didn't last long in all but kickboxing and boxing, since I change location a lot.
Although for my personal recommendation, any Bas Rutten certified places (there's on in Thousand Oaks, CA, but I forgot the name of the place), martial arts used by the military (ie Systema, Sambo, Krav Maga), or good ol' wrestling/boxing/kickboxing/muay thai.
For Self Defense:
I have a friend, former MMA competitor, current police officer, currently rewriting the "use of force" manual for his branch, who thinks that being able to punch, kick and grapple is good, but grappling is most important. Unless you get a lucky shot, or have a massive punch/kick skill advantage on your opponent, you will get to grips with them. So you better know what to do. And against multiple opponents, it's much more likely.
For Fitness and Fun:
Anything that you like and makes you sweat!
I have a friend, former MMA competitor, current police officer, currently rewriting the "use of force" manual for his branch, who thinks that being able to punch, kick and grapple is good, but grappling is most important. Unless you get a lucky shot, or have a massive punch/kick skill advantage on your opponent, you will get to grips with them. So you better know what to do. And against multiple opponents, it's much more likely.
For Fitness and Fun:
Anything that you like and makes you sweat!
Fencing is a martial art, and it actually has the decency to arm you for combat.
That said, it is also the LEAST useful of the martial arts since the odds of finding ones self in a sword duel is quite small.
That said, it is also the LEAST useful of the martial arts since the odds of finding ones self in a sword duel is quite small.
Aikido was fun. Kendo was expensive. Tae Kwan Do was cheap.
Take your pick, you'll get what you're looking for... One way or another.
Take your pick, you'll get what you're looking for... One way or another.
My belief is to find an art/arts that makes you effective in all fighting scenarios. Be good at striking/standup, clinch and ground. I personally take Muay Thai for the striking and clinch, and BJJ for the ground. Judo is also a good art to study for the clinch and ground. BJJ starts out standing so learning about kuzushi(unbalancing) and ukemi(falling) from Judo can be very beneficial in jits.
If it's weapon-based, I'd say Arnis, since they not only teach you weapons, they have a load of techniques on disarming an armed assailant, whether you're armed or not. Self-defense based martial arts adapted a lot disarming techniques from Arnis.Veilside said:
But yeah grappling is definitely necessary for self-defense, particularly in a one-on-one scenario . If it's more than one person though, you have to rely on a certain degree of striking. Never hurts to learn both though. (If you're grappling with someone who always punches and kicks to keep you at bay, your striking offense defense will help you slip by and hit them, then close in with a takedown to end the encounter using grapping. that's one scenario)
But yeah like one poster said earlier, anything from the east is not necessarily better. We got good ol' boxing and wrestling, and guess what's the most popular martial arts in MMA right now?
I am a practitioner of Kung Fu, but I also have a background in Tae Kwon Do. I basically chose what was near me, which may be a little lame but it's the only option I had. However, to me, martial arts is not game or just a hobby. As a kid I practiced Tae Kwon Do because I thought it was cool but now, as an adult, I do Kung Fu because I am enamored by the world of martial arts and I also have a desire for strength and I honestly enjoy fighting (but not killing, let me explain that right now).keillord said:
There really is no "best" martial art style. Everything has it's purpose. Some things, like boxing or MMA, are more made for competitive. There are some styles that used to be true self defense which have now been watered down a bit for more tournament styled usage, like certain forms of Karate and Tae Kwon Do. There are a few that are still a legitimate self defense and, if you can find the more "pure" versions of them, legitimate martial arts. As a martial arts student and hand-to-hand combat enthusiast there are a few things I can tell you for sure:
1. Know what you intend to use it for. As I mentioned before everything has it's purpose and certain styles are not suited to certain situations. THe brazilian capoeria (not sure on the spelling there) is very flashy and is as much a fighting style as it is entertainment. Akido, on the other hand, was made for the purpose of being able to defend and disarm and unarmed opponent, protecting yourself without killing your aggressor. Muai Thaion the other hand, the TRUE version of it, is a KILLING martial art, known for using elbows and knees as contact point for the purpose of inflicting maximum damage ot your enemy's vital points and breaking their bones. So what are you intending to use this for? Friendly competition, self-defense, or being a legitimate lethal force? Or some combination of them?
2. Start with something simple. There may not be a "best" martial art, but if given a choice err on the side of a more practical martial art. Although Kung Fu has some flashy moves not every version of it is that flashy. The variant I practice is very practical, more focused on keeping a firm root and not loosing your balance rather than breathtaking acrobatic feats. The more flashy stuff, though it can be effective, may take too long to learn for your liking. Not everyone is patient enough. BTW, before I go on, in my opinion anything that teaches you how to fight is a martial art which includes boxing, MMA wrestling (the real kind, not like the stuff on ECW).
3. The most important part of any martial art is conviction. Like any sport (or anything in life for that matter) you have to do more than like or have a casual interest in it. You can't just want it you have to have a PASSION for it. If the lessons on whatever style you choose are anything like what I went through you will be ACHING after your first day, even ever there is no sparring of any kind. I'll admit to being a bit out of shape when I started, but even still I had never felt anything like the pain I had when I finished my first lesson. But I WANTED this, I NEEDED it, and I was gonna keep pushing no matter how much it hurt, no matter how much my body screamed to stop. I've been practicing for five years now and it still hurts, but I keep pushing. A friend of mine gave the class a go once. He tried his hardest bet he quit after the first three weeks. Another thing I should tell you is ignore any markers of status. Pay no attention to what level belt you have or what level belt your fellow students have. There should be nothing but you, your teacher, and you own conviction. Basically everything I'v said boils down to this: If you are going to take a martial art because you're trying to impress someone, because you think it makes you look cool, or just as a hobby, don't even bother. Don't waste your time.
I know this i rather long winded (I have a tendency to run at the mouth when I get passionate about something) but I hope you've gotten what is really important out of this. If you decide to truly go for this I hope that one day we can have a sparring match together.
I did Karate for a while many years ago, mainly to build self-confidence which was lacking at the time. I wasn't much good at it because I'm not very flexible and you really need to be, even sitting down on the mat the way they wanted me to do it was a challenge. It did help me as a shy teen to come out of my shell somewhat though.keillord said:
More recently I did Ninjitsu for about a year. I enjoyed the art, the ethos behind it, the fact that it wasn't sport-based and also didn't have high levels of formality or discipline, and also the philosophical angle to it that teacher brought into the room. I left it when leadership of the dojo changed hands to someone who I had less confidence in.
If I were to do another martial art these days I would probably like to give Kendo a try, because bashing people with bamboo swords sounds like it could be a lot of fun plus good exercise, and Ninjitsu for all its positives really lacks a 'real-time sparring' element. Also they surely can't expect much flexibility in all that protective gear, which is good because I don't have any. Not sure if I'll ever get around to this though.
I started learning TKD when I was 20. My college offered it so everyone was around the same age. Don't worry about being too old, I've been in classes and tested with people who had children my age.Zedzero said:Murder is still a crime. Self defense isn't.The Austin said:Seriously, Martial Arts has been totally outdated sense 1885.
Yea I am interested but I feel to old to join in on this awesome sauce. I'm 17.
As for the original post, while choosing the style you want is important, it is far more important to find a good school. A lot of schools just want your money and don't care about teaching you, so be sure to shop around when you pick a style.
Also known as Emimens "YOU LOOKING AT MY WOMAN?". brap brap!Hallow said:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chun_Kuk_Do
Well look at that, I've posted in a Chuck Norris thread, a beard thread and now I'm linking to the official martial art of Chuck Norris... all I need to do know is watch Delta Force and my Chuck Norris day is complete.
On a serious note, I'd say go for Judo, its very good for beginners and teaches you excellent discipline.
You very rarely get Judo practitioners bang on about how tough they are, thats discipline.
I did Tae Kwon Do for three years, and enjoyed it mostly. I'm really interested in Sambo, Capoera, Krav Maga, and Muay Thai, but finding local schools is tricky.keillord said:
The best suggestion I can give you is to look at different dojos. If they'll let you sit in on a class, DO IT. This will give you an idea of what their teaching style is like, and whether it's something you would be interested in or not.