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

[Seldon2639]

The differences between styles is going to be (for the most part) cosmetic. If we're talking about simple self-defense, or as an exercise regimen, there's little that would distinguish the ass-kicking you can dish out as a practitioner of Shotokan from the ass-kicking you can dish out as a practitioner of Krav Maga, Muay Thai, BJJ, or anything else.

It depends on what you enjoy doing. Krav Maga (which is based on Aikido, which has the same origin in Shoto-Ryu as Judo and Karate) is very focused on grappling. Lots of locks, lots of submission moves. Shotokan is based in striking (mostly with the hands), and Tae Kwon Do is based on striking (mostly with the feet). Interesting, the major distinction is between gaining power from ones hips (in a side-to-side motion, sort of) and gaining power from ones legs (in an up-and-down motion, sort of). The actual kata of TKD and Shotokan are surprisingly similar.

But, unless you're planning on getting in a lot of fights, or fights with people who've trained in a martial art themselves, it's kind of six of one, half-dozen for the other. But, even then, an equally-skilled practitioner of any style will be able to hold his own against any other style.

 

[wall5970]

Basically, you're gonna want to find out what you're more comfortable with and what you're good at (or what you want to improve). I took boxing to improve my strikes (because I can't punch worth a damn) but I've always been quite good at locking people up and throwing them about (which is why I wanted to improve those skills with Jiu Jitsu).

Height has very little to do with what technique you're going to want to use. At that point, you can simply afford to be a little more offensive in your maneuvers because of the reach issue.

At the same time, if you get too offensive, someone smaller could bring your face directly from full standing into the floor, which (if you're paying attention) is actually much worse if you're taller. So, let's not say that Muay Thai would be good because you don't have to be stable, because you do. You learn stability in whatever form you pick.

So, what do you want to concentrate on? Grappling? Striking? Offense? Defense? Short range? Medium range? Long range?

If you're not using it to fight, are you gonna use it for cardio? For strength? For meditation?

 

[Malyc]

This is totally faked, and was an ad for a cell phone... however, if there is ONE person I can even think could possibly do this, it'd be him.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SncapPrTusA

That was... AWESOME!

I could have believed that was real if I didnt already know it was fake...

Same here, but that could have been real, and the cell phone company found it, and decided that since it looked so bitchin, it would make a good commercial. Also, the video is rather grainy, which makes me wonder if it wasnt made back when Lee was still kicking.

Yeah... because playing table tennis with nunchucks and lighting cigarettes with nunchucks doesnt really have anything to do with phones, only with the Bruce Lee phone and it seems like a bit of a push to create fake videos of him doing something amazing when he was already recognised as being able to pull of some pretty astonishing feats...

But apparently it was tested on some German show and its a fake.

Those damn Germans... always ruining everyones fun.

 

[Kathinka]

I think you are giving WAY too much credit to thugs.

i take it you were never in a situation to defend yourself?
well, i have stated my standpoint, and i am shure you can read up with from many experts on the "effectiveness" of martial arts in practical aplication. but i don't think i will be able to convince you, your mind is all set in the awesomeness and effectiveness of martial arts you see in tv..

 

[Kinguendo]

Lol yes, well truth be told he doesn't exactly brag about it, or even speak about it, I heard it off the guys who've been going for years, and even they just said 'special forces', so it could just be marines or paras. But he does drop references to when he trained soldiers in krav maga, i.e. "The army are very big on the neck choke, but you guys on the street should try to avoid lethal shots."

Hmm, he could have been training people in Isreal as Krav Maga is an Isreali fighting style and we Brits did train the Isrealites... but we do also train quite alot of the worlds special forces, so it is quite likely that he did train a group in Krav Maga.

 

[Kinguendo]

I think you are giving WAY too much credit to thugs.

i take it you were never in a situation to defend yourself?
well, i have stated my standpoint, and i am shure you can read up with from many experts on the "effectiveness" of martial arts in practical aplication. but i don't think i will be able to convince you, your mind is all set in the awesomeness and effectiveness of martial arts you see in tv..

On the contrary I have been jumped by a group of thugs and came out unscathed, I have also been punched in the face a fair few times, had one of my teeth CRUSHED whilst still inside my mouth and been stabbed by a broken bottle to list a few.

I like computer games and I am quite intelligent and I am unashamed of those facts, traits that people link with natural weakness. And given the fact that I live in an area that isnt exactly going to win Britains best town anytime soon I think it is fair to assume people around here might start a fight at some point in the future.

EDIT: And my mind is most certainly NOT set in what I have seen on TV... if it were I would be defending Wushu like a bastard because that is the style the majority of martial arts films are about... I am not.

The same above goes for Karate, except I know a person who took Karate lessons for about 8 years until he went to college.

I have not seen one film about Muay Thai which is the style I have started doing.

I know a boxer and trained with him a few times, his nickname is "Psycho" and he earned that nickname.

I dont know anyone who has taken Tae Kwon Do or Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.

And I know someone who weightlifts but isnt trained in any martial art so I guess he would qualify as your agressive person who isnt trained to fight, and I can tell you without a doubt he certainly THINKS he can beat anyone in a fight and tries to start fights every so often... he could not beat either my boxing friend OR his twin-brother (the one that did Karate) in a fight.

The difference between people trained to fight and aggressive jerks is the aggressive jerks THINK they can win any fight whereas the trained fighters KNOW how to win a fight.

 

[EeveeElectro]

I used to do Tae Kwon Do, so I'd say that...
Did a bit of Karate too, I liked it because it wasn't all about the fighting.

 

[Therumancer]

I am learning for defence and exercise, I dont plan on fighting in the UFC.

Also, there is a reason why boxers fight in weight classes. Generally martial artists arent gigantic like a lot of heavy weight boxers and I know Ali wasnt in comparison to some BUT Ali was not a small man, he was a heavy weight. And if you are going to take an exceptional athlete like Ali then you have to compare him to an exceptional athlete like Bruce Lee, I am pretty sure that Bruce Lee would have beaten Ali.[/quote]

Bruce Lee wouldn't have had a prayer. While he was good, I don't think he was really that good as a fighter. People talk about him beating Chuck Norris but that was only in a movie (not a real fight) where Chuck played a bad guy for him because they were buddies and sparring partners in real life.

Chuck Norris would have done better against Ali, simply because he had more experience with actual fighting, but still probably would have lost. All of the "Chuck Norris" jokes are because he's an aging tough guy, who not only did movies but was a multiple time world martial arts champion at a time when that was fairly unique. He was all over publications like "Black Belt Magazine".

However weight classes still matter, and that has a lot to do with why Ali would destroy them. My point was more along the lines that skill wise Boxers are not in any way inferior to other martial artists.

 

[Guttural Engagement]

I pick Other, even though it was not on the poll. I reccomend learning Akeido (Or however it's spelled). It's actually more of a defensive style; but at higher levels of skill you will know ways to inflict large amounts of pain (eg: broken bones) with little effort (you often use your opponents moves against them).

 

[Therumancer]

Lol yes, well truth be told he doesn't exactly brag about it, or even speak about it, I heard it off the guys who've been going for years, and even they just said 'special forces', so it could just be marines or paras. But he does drop references to when he trained soldiers in krav maga, i.e. "The army are very big on the neck choke, but you guys on the street should try to avoid lethal shots."

Hmm, he could have been training people in Isreal as Krav Maga is an Isreali fighting style and we Brits did train the Isrealites... but we do also train quite alot of the worlds special forces, so it is quite likely that he did train a group in Krav Maga.

Krav Maga is not Isreali it's jewish and pre-dates Isreal. It started around the same time as World War II where you had a Jewish boxer who developed his own fighting style where he basically combined techniques from a number of fighting styles. Basically learning how to punch from boxing, kick from kung-fu, and grapple from wrestling. Legend says he beat some nazi champion. It's been a long time since I did any reading on it.

Generally speaking it's more of a hybrid self-defense system that is based on theory that is taught differant ways in differant places. This is not to say it's ineffective however. It's mostly become well known recently because of the whole "Jewish Empowerment" drive.

Being a Jewish invention it is however taught to the Isreali secret service and military and forms the backbone of their hand to hand training.

As far as British Special Forces, we won't go there since it will turn into a giant arguement about US Vs. British special forces and whom trained which group, etc... and totally derail the thread. Strictly speaking though the Isreali military is based off of American training, just as the Iraqi military is though they also adopted techniques from The Russians when they broke their alliance with us, allied with the USSR for purposes of conquest, and started Desert Storm.

Right now it's politic to claim ties to anyone but America due to global anti-American sentiment where it used to be a point of pride.

 

[Kinguendo]

Bruce Lee wouldn't have had a prayer. While he was good, I don't think he was really that good as a fighter. People talk about him beating Chuck Norris but that was only in a movie (not a real fight) where Chuck played a bad guy for him because they were buddies and sparring partners in real life.

Chuck Norris would have done better against Ali, simply because he had more experience with actual fighting, but still probably would have lost. All of the "Chuck Norris" jokes are because he's an aging tough guy, who not only did movies but was a multiple time world martial arts champion at a time when that was fairly unique. He was all over publications like "Black Belt Magazine".

However weight classes still matter, and that has a lot to do with why Ali would destroy them. My point was more along the lines that skill wise Boxers are not in any way inferior to other martial artists.

Hmm, except Chuck Norris was a student at one of the schools Bruce Lee set up and while being trained by Bruce Lee along with 2 other guys they won every martial arts competition in the United States in that year.

And Ali would have been restricted by the fact that he is only trained in fighting with his hands and not even grabbing with his hands, just blocking and punching.

 

[Lieju]

For me, it's fencing. Since I just enjoy poking people with pointy things. I chose it mainly because of that, as the idea of hitting and touching and wrestling was just... uh.

I like it. It's simple; poke the othe guy before he pokes you.

 

[Kinguendo]

Krav Maga is not Isreali it's jewish and pre-dates Isreal. It started around the same time as World War II where you had a Jewish boxer who developed his own fighting style where he basically combined techniques from a number of fighting styles. Basically learning how to punch from boxing, kick from kung-fu, and grapple from wrestling. Legend says he beat some nazi champion. It's been a long time since I did any reading on it.

Generally speaking it's more of a hybrid self-defense system that is based on theory that is taught differant ways in differant places. This is not to say it's ineffective however. It's mostly become well known recently because of the whole "Jewish Empowerment" drive.

Being a Jewish invention it is however taught to the Isreali secret service and military and forms the backbone of their hand to hand training.

As far as British Special Forces, we won't go there since it will turn into a giant arguement about US Vs. British special forces and whom trained which group, etc... and totally derail the thread. Strictly speaking though the Isreali military is based off of American training, just as the Iraqi military is though they also adopted techniques from The Russians when they broke their alliance with us, allied with the USSR for purposes of conquest, and started Desert Storm.

Right now it's politic to claim ties to anyone but America due to global anti-American sentiment where it used to be a point of pride.

The people who practiced the Jewish faith were known as Israelites LONG before the founding of Israel... and the name Israel was chosen because of their religious texts. So yes, it is an Israeli fighting style. Dont believe me? Search Israeli Ju-Jitsu, thats the other name for Krav Maga.

Israel has had close military relations with the US since 1967... however the British were training them back in 1948 during the Arab-Israeli war, we trained them, armed them, recruited them and funded their security and intelligence forces.

 

[Burningsok]

muay thai, A friend of my family who is a part-time mma fighter said the traditional muay thai kick, when mastered; is the most punishing of all other kicks, or at least most.

plus since you are tall, a fighting style that deals with keeping your distance would fit you well, and it also if it does get close being tall can give you some advantage with submissions.

but all that is just basic knowledge compared to how much there is to learn.

 

[iyaerP]

I have only three styles that I can comment on with any feeling of psuedo-accuracy.

1: Wushu: A guy on my Ultimate team was very much into this. I don't know anything about the actual fighting style, but he ended up with abs that were SCARY.

2: Tae Kwon Do: This is what my brother does(he is an army Ranger), and most people that I know who do martial arts do. Primarily involves kicking, but teaches most everything.

3: Boxing: This is what I do. I stand 6'2" and weigh 175lb. I took up boxing as fighting style of choice due to having a gimp knee. I am obviously biased towards this one, but from a purely exercising standpoint, I feel that this would be the easiest one to do, due to many gyms having punching bags that you can practice on at the same place you do your normal workout, rather than going to a separate dojo.


From a fighting standpoint, I will say this. As a boxer, sparring against my various friends who practice Tae Kwon Do, I will get wrecked at range and if I try and wrestle/throw them. I basically can win if I get inside of effective kicking range where I can still punch quite effectively, but they can't kick well.


As for what you want to learn, do what you would feel you have the most fun doing. When it comes down to it, anyone trained in self defense will win a fight over someone untrained, so you will almost always be safe there. Just go with the one that has the people you want to hang out with while you learn it.

 

[kalakashi]

Do Tai-Chi
Apparently it is very calming, and also, the fact that you are always reacting to what others are doing, it makes you look fucking awesome. Honestly, so much cooler than any other I swear.

 

[Therumancer]

Bruce Lee wouldn't have had a prayer. While he was good, I don't think he was really that good as a fighter. People talk about him beating Chuck Norris but that was only in a movie (not a real fight) where Chuck played a bad guy for him because they were buddies and sparring partners in real life.

Chuck Norris would have done better against Ali, simply because he had more experience with actual fighting, but still probably would have lost. All of the "Chuck Norris" jokes are because he's an aging tough guy, who not only did movies but was a multiple time world martial arts champion at a time when that was fairly unique. He was all over publications like "Black Belt Magazine".

However weight classes still matter, and that has a lot to do with why Ali would destroy them. My point was more along the lines that skill wise Boxers are not in any way inferior to other martial artists.

Hmm, except Chuck Norris was a student at one of the schools Bruce Lee set up and while being trained by Bruce Lee along with 2 other guys they won every martial arts competition in the United States in that year.

And Ali would have been restricted by the fact that he is only trained in fighting with his hands and not even grabbing with his hands, just blocking and punching.

Again, Ali challenged and defeated tons of martial arts masters. Also again, they tried to ban boxing in martial arts tournaments a while ago. You can find the stuff on Ali by looking him up without much difficulty, the stuff about the attempted Boxing ban is harder to find (I was just looking).

The thing about "boxers are limited to using their hands" and "can't counter things like this" makes for good martial arts movie logic, but doesn't stand up in reality. Don't confuse rules of a boxing match with reality.

-

As far as Chuck Norris goes, there was a boxed set of some of his lesser movies called "Fists Of Steel" that talked about his backround. Chuck Norris was not a student of Bruce Lee, but did train with him and they were sparring partners. The two had a rivalry where they believed they were the better fighter, however Chuck Norris is really the only one that held any serious titles and championships as far as everything I've read.

 

[BlackWaltz3]

If staying alive is your prime concern then Sambo or Krav maga is the way to go.

 

[Kinguendo]

Again, Ali challenged and defeated tons of martial arts masters. Also again, they tried to ban boxing in martial arts tournaments a while ago. You can find the stuff on Ali by looking him up without much difficulty, the stuff about the attempted Boxing ban is harder to find (I was just looking).

The thing about "boxers are limited to using their hands" and "can't counter things like this" makes for good martial arts movie logic, but doesn't stand up in reality. Don't confuse rules of a boxing match with reality.

-

As far as Chuck Norris goes, there was a boxed set of some of his lesser movies called "Fists Of Steel" that talked about his backround. Chuck Norris was not a student of Bruce Lee, but did train with him and they were sparring partners. The two had a rivalry where they believed they were the better fighter, however Chuck Norris is really the only one that held any serious titles and championships as far as everything I've read.

I know about Ali fighting different Martial Artists... but he never fought Bruce Lee. And as I said, they were both exceptional fighters within their fields.

Oh and I didnt say "limited to use of his hands" I said trained in fighting with his hands, and I never mentioned anything about countering or not countering certain attacks.

Here, bottom paragraph of that section: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bruce_Lee#Certified_instructors

And on this list: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bruce_Lee#Martial_arts_lineage

Showing not only did Bruce Lee instruct Chuck Norris but Chuck Norris also learned one or more of Bruce Lees styles.