First things first: Any martial art has considerable value when it comes to self defence. When chosing what to practice you have to determine what best suits you. For me its about increasing my toughness and standing a better chance if I ever end up in a fight i cannot run from. But for a large group of martial artists its about recreation. I did practice krate (goyu ryu) for a few years but i felt i was spending too much effort in learning katas compared with learning to fight. I train in krav maga now, which is every thing I wanted in a martial art, but I have almost passed out for the second time of exhaustion yesterday so its not recomended if you just want to a workout.
Martial Arts
- Thread starter Aldan9
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I did Kendo for a while, that was really fun and calming, I wanted to keep doing it but my family moved to Scotland and there was nowhere that did it. Damn my Father and his job. *shakes fist*
Firstly, allow me to agree with the common theme. Different martial arts have different things to offer, same goes for the teachers.
Now, on wing chun. Personally, I studied shao lin. Wing chun was developed by a shao lin nun, it's a very direct, agressive form of kung fu. Fast, furious. NEVER let an angry wing chun person near your wrists.
On practicality, having studied traditional wing chun, I can say being good at it made me a serious handful in a fight. It's not as effective as muai thai for 1 on 1 face-front fighting but is FAR more adaptable. Having said this, I learned a lotof moves you'd never use on anyone... well not unless you MEANT to kill them anyway.
It was brilliant for flexiblity and fitness. I reccomend studying a martial art form, so long as you aproach it maturely, for the right reasons.
On a side note: Jackie Chan's style is wing chun. HE'S AWESOME!
Now, on wing chun. Personally, I studied shao lin. Wing chun was developed by a shao lin nun, it's a very direct, agressive form of kung fu. Fast, furious. NEVER let an angry wing chun person near your wrists.
On practicality, having studied traditional wing chun, I can say being good at it made me a serious handful in a fight. It's not as effective as muai thai for 1 on 1 face-front fighting but is FAR more adaptable. Having said this, I learned a lotof moves you'd never use on anyone... well not unless you MEANT to kill them anyway.
It was brilliant for flexiblity and fitness. I reccomend studying a martial art form, so long as you aproach it maturely, for the right reasons.
On a side note: Jackie Chan's style is wing chun. HE'S AWESOME!
Martil arts aren't much good if you plan on fighting anyone in a serious fight, learn combatives. Martial arts have rules that a mugger won't know or care about, so it's best to learn the things meant to actually put people down for the count, not win a competition.
I'd recommend Krav Maga, since as I recall it's designed for you to fight at a disadvantage, but any combative will do.
I'd recommend Krav Maga, since as I recall it's designed for you to fight at a disadvantage, but any combative will do.
Although it's not an officially recognized martial art, SCA Armoured Combat is an excellent competitive sport, and a good work-out. The only problem is that it requires a stick to be pratical, outside of standard practices and tourneys.
It's fun, a good workout, but I don't know how practical it is.
It's fun, a good workout, but I don't know how practical it is.
I studied Kempo until I didn't have time for it thanks to my job. Learning an art is fun, but unless you can devote the time to it, it's best not to plunk down any kind of money into long, on-going classes. And you'll really hate it if you don't connect with the teacher or like the other people you're training with. I was lucky; my experience was really good.
I took a self-defense class at one point. The instructor began by telling up that he was teaching a combination of street fighting and Wing Chun. He specified that the class was not a martial art, because there was nothing artistic about the fighting style - it was all about practicality, and beating the other guy no matter what he's bringing to the table. The explanation was that most martial arts eventually focus on how to fight other martial artists resulting in a more dramatic spectacle, whereas Wing Chun is more focused on simply surviving real-world situations without fanfare.
Mind you, this is what my instructor said, not my own observations. HE stopped showing up to class after three classes.
Mind you, this is what my instructor said, not my own observations. HE stopped showing up to class after three classes.
- Mar 31, 2010
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I'd recommend checking out the dojo first, as that can make a big difference regardless of the style. I've done karate for a couple of years, the first dojo I went to for about a year and a half and I very much enjoyed that. The second dojo however, the one I've been at for about half a year since I started uni and moved away from home, just doesn't suit me at-all in the way which we learn stuff and I'll be quitting it as soon as I can.
Whatever martial arts you decide to take, make sure you're serious about doing it. Do your research on the dojo and make sure they're serious about teaching. I've come across many dojos that are just in it for the money, and you pay for your black belt, and get it without being properly trained. My sensei is from the old school and would not advance you until he was sure you were ready. He taught us a mixture of karate, akido, and jiu-jitsu. I considered Wing Chun after seeing the IP Man movie, but I'll probably just stick to what I know for now. Good luck with whatever decision you make and try to stick with it