Poll: So I am thinking of learning a fighting style...

[OldManProdigy]

Muay Thai & BJJ are great, i'm planning on doing those two myself.

Sambo's cool as well, my fav MMA fighter Fedor Emelianenko is a world class champ in it, & he kicks some incomprehensible amount of ass.

i would STRONGLY advise against Krav Maga, don't get me wrong it's really cool & all but i wouldn't unless you want to end up in Jail...

In saying that however I'm sure it teaches great self-defense techniques which could be invaluable... any of this could land you in jail if you don't use it in self-defense really, but yeah.

 

[omega 616]

He was in a game, UFC '09. Not what you were thinking of I know but it's better than nothing.

I would still say Mauy Thai, I am not an expert on all the fighting styles but it seems rather offensive and they say "a good defense is a good offense".

If it's good enough to be used in the UFC then it's good enough to be used anywhere, I guess.

Yeah that isnt what I was thinking...

And the UFC Muay Thai used a boxing stance so it makes takedowns harder to pull off, because the traditional stance puts most of the weight on the back foot and that can be easily tackled in a ring.

Actually, UFC fighters put most of there weight on the back foot due to leg kicks, they aim for 70% on the back and 30% on the front. More weight on the leg that gets kicked hurts more 'cos it's more rigid to support the weight.

If they want to stop take downs better they lower there body and open up there stance, for example, in a fight between Chuck Liddell and (I think) Tito Ortiz, Chuck knew Tito would try to take him down so he lowered his body and widened his stance.

If there legs are further apart it's harder to grab both legs and it's common sense that a one leg take down is much harder. Lower centre of gravity means they can sprawl quicker.

 

[blarghblarghhhhh]

Capoera if super awesome, but hard to find a teacher.

 

[Icecoldcynic]

I'm voting for Muay Thai. That has always interested me, but sadly there's literally nowhere around where I live that teaches it.

 

[Lonator]

I got up to yellow belt, green tip in Tae-kwon-doe, loved every minute of it, but then I moved, so havent done it since.

 

[OldManProdigy]

Sorry for the double post but i forgot to mention, this one's not listed but Hapkido is also a real cool martial art that might be worth checking out.

 

[Mozza444]

I'd recommend Muay Tai, especially if you are mainly doing this for fitness.
Muay Tai you use "The deadly eight limbs" Fists, feet, elbows and knees.
This will give you more of a full body work out (In my opinion)
Currently i am doing Kickboxing and have done for quite a while now, it's perfect for me as the teacher also teaches beyond just the kickboxing "rules" and teaches us how to take people down, leg kicks to avoid a fight if we are out and various other MMA techniques.

EDIT: If its the first time your going to start practicing martial arts, i'm sure that it is not too important. You can always change when you realise the capabilitys of your body and what you enjoy.

MMA all the way.

 

[Wilbot666]

Karate is a really good starting art for most people, it'll teach you solid stance and powerful, direct blows. After doing a belt or two I'd then recommend trying some kung fu or possibly muay thay, as one is a mixture of dexterity and precision and the other is an exercise in brutal, well-aimed limb and body blows.

Just my two cents

 

[Deviluk]

I do Krav Maga. Its very useful, very natural-feeling, and ultimately its a prized self-defense method. The guy who teaches me was in the British special forces.

 

[Noogai]

It depends really, all the styles have their positives, but as far as self defense goes, I would recommend Tae Kwon Do (Which I practice myself) Or muay thai. Muaythai would be used for close-up-tight fighting, while if you prefer to keep a little distance, choose Tae won Do.

 

[Kinguendo]

I do Krav Maga. Its very useful, very natural-feeling, and ultimately its a prized self-defense method. The guy who teaches me was in the British special forces.

The SAS?

A lot of people claim to be in the SAS, most who are arent allowed to talk about it and most who used to be dont talk about it.

The only person I can think of who talks about it is Sir Ranulph Fiennes, but he wasnt in the SAS very long before he was discharged for blowing up part of a village... no one got hurt, he was doing it to stop a movie crew from rolling in and ruining the village so he blew up a bridge.

 

[Kinguendo]

Try learning how to use a gun.

Obvious troll is obvious but I will indulge your ignorance anyway.

Not all places in the world allow guns, I live in such a place. And even if it did legalize guns I wouldnt use one, not that it takes any special training to use a gun anyway.

And remind me how using a gun gives you excercise? Excluding the obvious running away from the police.

 

[NIHILHATE]

I'd suggest learning Kung Fu, Muay Thai and Capoeira (easily the most useful, apart from Capoeira which is pretty useful when fighting a corrupt Brazilian govornment who don't allow combat but mostly just looks nice), and then developing your own style using these. 'S'what I did, anyway. Or about as much as I could without spending any money.

 

[Flames66]

for you I would probably recommend Muay Thai as you already seem to be interested in it. I personally have done Chi Yau Seak, Aikido and Ninjutsu. I'm considering trying Muay Thai my self.

 

[Queen Michael]

My brother trains Krav maga; he says it's good.

 

[Switchlurk]

Ninjitsu!

 

[zen5887]

i hope the toppic creator does not get the wrong picture though...most of the stuff here listed are sports, made for competetive reasons and recreation. no matter how good in in karate or whatever you are, an experienced thugh or violent barfighter will still hand your ass to yourself on a silver plate...

the only ones of those listed really usefull in actual self defense would be krav maga and sambo. everything else might help due to improved fitnes and such, but it's techniques will get you smacked to the ground by old-fashioned knee-to-groin^^ unfortunately it is not easy to find schools for krav maga and sambo outside isreal / russia.

<== 7 years krav maga

Its pretty much impossible to doubt the effectiveness of Krav Maga, but not everyone is looking for something like that. I don't do Martial Arts to learn how to fuck up anyone who looks at me wrong, I like learning Martial Arts for the fun of it. I'm really into BJJ (Mainly 10th Planet stuff) right now because the techniques are enjoyable and challenging to learn. I'm not saying the Krav Maga stuff isn't enjoyable for some people, I am just not into the brutality.

 

[Mako SOLDIER]

Tai Chi Chaun, hands down. It's the only martial art short of shaolin kung fu that adequately covers the internal aspects needed to be effective in any style. The difference is that with Shaolin you will be learning the physical aspects first and only moving on to the internal after a few years, leaving you a bit of a 'moves' robot for a while, whereas Taijiquan (anglicised spelling of the correct pronunciation) teaches both at the same time. You'll need to search pretty hard to find a teacher who doesn't ignore the martial aspects in favour of the watered down 'dance for health' that so many people think is the entirety of Taijiquan, but it'd be worth it when you find them. It's also one of the few martial arts that provides a defense against pretty much any attach, not just other attacks from the same martial art (judo, kickboxing, karate, etc, mostly teach to defend against themselves. Getting up close to get someone in a judo hold, for example, is going to be the last thing you want to do if the person has a knife.).

I recommend Chen Style if you want something that will feel more like you're learning to fight from day one, whereas Yang style will feel more like meditation in motion for your first few sessions. Taijiquan also cultivates a sense of internal peace, which while sounding like tree hugging hippy crap is extremely important, as most people with martial arts training still lose to random attacks in the street because their adrenaline starts pumping and they pretty much forget half of the techniques they've learned and are in no state of mind to apply them. If you can remain completely calm while some psycho is shouting in your face, then A) you're already doing better than most people, and B) you're already half way to safety.

However, the best way to win a fight is, of course, to run. Sure, the other guy doesn't get beaten up, but they don't get the chance to get lucky with a knife or to pull a gun on you either.

 

[ironduke88]

I wouldn't suggest judo if your tall, having a low centre of gravity is pretty imperative for grappling arts. If you want to make the most out of your height do a striking style. If you want discipline just do regular boxing, within a month of proper training you will be the fitest you've ever been in your life. Mauy tai is good as well