Question for martial arts people

[Danny Ocean]

You call yourself inflexible, but flexibility is never a bad thing to improve and it doesn't take long to do so either. It'll help you out in Judo and other ones focusing on locks, and in the strike orientated ones because your joints will feel more supple and be less inclined to hurt if you snap your arm out quickly.

Plus if someone gets you in a headlock you can do all sorts of crazy stuff with bendy legs.

 

[Beowulf DW]

Not to steal rossatdi's thunder, I have the same question but instead of being a big guy, Im 5 fot 10 and 125 pounds. Im about as slender of a build as you can get what martial arts should I look toward.

As far as height and weight go, I'm pretty similar to you. I'm little bit on the lanky side; what I mean is that I have long arms and legs. A striking style that focuses quite a bit on punching and kicking fits me like a sword fits into its sheath. I've trained in Tang Soo Do for quite some time. It took me six years to achieve black belt, which is the standard time for the association that I was involved with. We also studied knife defense and a little bit of grappling.

My master always entouraged his black belts to study other styles like Judo, so once you become proficient in one style, it's usually a good idea to study other styles with a different focus.

 

[Akas]

Mmm, Aikido for me was always fun. Good memories of random "technique swapping" with my two other friends (one was Black Belt Certified teacher of TKD, the other was Black Belt of Kung fu and practicer of Jiu-Jitsu). It's RIDICULOUSLY useful in most situations since it's more of a "counter-art", but the main weakness is it has little to no defense against ground-game. Good for practical use, and GREAT to start out with because you learn how to roll pretty quickly (I'm surprised that many martial arts don't even talk about rolls until mid-level).

 

[boredbootneck]

Had to sign up for this thread because I feel I have something to offer.
Ive trained for years in lots of different arts and have been unfortunate enough to have to use them on a number of occasions. I have also trained quite a few people to successfuly defend themselves.
First off fitness and self protection go hand in hand despite what ANYONE says. If you dont have the fitness to run away, or end a fight you are going to fail so make sure your sport specific fitness is kept high in whatever class you go to.I would say most arts I trained in were insufficient in this respect.Some places are a little too intense though, if you get too many injuries in training you are more vulnerable outside obviously.
If you dont like the spiritual aspects then something like krav maga is ideal but hard to find classes in many places. Boxing, muay thai , and MMA are all fantasic arts and very effective but for some people they are a little too intense. The hard work definatly pays dividends though as long as you keep your goals in sight (ie- self protection)
I really have to say that success often depends on the instruction method, the students natural aptitude for dealing with bad situations and the situation they find themselves in. So really any art can be effective for the right person but in all arts like TKD, aikido and alot of traditional styles do not offer realistic techniques or solutions. I rarely found any of the things I learned in these arts to be very useful when dealing with real, violent, resisting opponents. High kicks have VERY limited applications, and small joint locks while intoxicated, scared, angry or even wet from rain are extreemly difficult and high risk without years of training.
I think rinrlk has the right idea in looking for something that suits his physique and definatly seems to have a good idea as to what is practical and not. Stick with that and you wont go far wrong.
I know I seem to trash traditional styles here but I am a traditional martial artist myself and know that they are certainly not for everybody and good instructors can be very hard to find and progress overly slow.

 

[Phillosophic]

Had to sign up for this thread because I feel I have something to offer.
Ive trained for years in lots of different arts and have been unfortunate enough to have to use them on a number of occasions. I have also trained quite a few people to successfuly defend themselves.
First off fitness and self protection go hand in hand despite what ANYONE says. If you dont have the fitness to run away, or end a fight you are going to fail so make sure your sport specific fitness is kept high in whatever class you go to.I would say most arts I trained in were insufficient in this respect.Some places are a little too intense though, if you get too many injuries in training you are more vulnerable outside obviously.
If you dont like the spiritual aspects then something like krav maga is ideal but hard to find classes in many places. Boxing, muay thai , and MMA are all fantasic arts and very effective but for some people they are a little too intense. The hard work definatly pays dividends though as long as you keep your goals in sight (ie- self protection)
I really have to say that success often depends on the instruction method, the students natural aptitude for dealing with bad situations and the situation they find themselves in. So really any art can be effective for the right person but in all arts like TKD, aikido and alot of traditional styles do not offer realistic techniques or solutions. I rarely found any of the things I learned in these arts to be very useful when dealing with real, violent, resisting opponents. High kicks have VERY limited applications, and small joint locks while intoxicated, scared, angry or even wet from rain are extreemly difficult and high risk without years of training.
I think rinrlk has the right idea in looking for something that suits his physique and definatly seems to have a good idea as to what is practical and not. Stick with that and you wont go far wrong.
I know I seem to trash traditional styles here but I am a traditional martial artist myself and know that they are certainly not for everybody and good instructors can be very hard to find and progress overly slow.

Couldn't agree with you more. High kicks are useless/dangerous only to the person doing them in a real fight. You start doing crazy kicks & you are telegraphing all your movements, any kick above the knee area can be seen from a mile off before it's even started. If you want to learn a Martial Art for fitness any should do you. If you want to learn how to defend yourself, pick n mix is the way forward. Boxing, Muay Thai & Wing Chun elements have served me well in the past. Although different things work for different people. I practice Tai-Chi nowadays though, tons of health benefits & it's calm & relaxing too. Always fancied trying Drunken Boxing because it just looks fun but I am too lazy nowadays.

 

[rossatdi]

Basically looking like I'm going to need to find a Krav Maga class!

 

[boredbootneck]

http://www.thebestof.co.uk/lewisham/38233/1/1/the_best_of.aspx
This was what I found after a bit of googling. Dont know how close to you it is or what the quality of instruction is like but might be worth a look and Ive always thought a good class is worth going a little bit out of your way!
The word commando in the title makes me a little wary but I would still give it a glance.
Alot of larger organisations have really crap marketing but do employ some good instructors at ground level!
Failing that there are quite a few similar systems of various names that offer very similar training but they are hard to find or hard to evaluate if you dont know what you are looking for, at least krav maga is a good brand name so to speak. And hey, it worked for Tom Cruise in Collatoral!
Best of luck anyway! I hope you find what you are looking for!

 

[rossatdi]

http://www.thebestof.co.uk/lewisham/38233/1/1/the_best_of.aspx
This was what I found after a bit of googling. Dont know how close to you it is or what the quality of instruction is like but might be worth a look and Ive always thought a good class is worth going a little bit out of your way!
The word commando in the title makes me a little wary but I would still give it a glance.
Alot of larger organisations have really crap marketing but do employ some good instructors at ground level!
Failing that there are quite a few similar systems of various names that offer very similar training but they are hard to find or hard to evaluate if you dont know what you are looking for, at least krav maga is a good brand name so to speak. And hey, it worked for Tom Cruise in Collatoral!
Best of luck anyway! I hope you find what you are looking for!

Appreciate it but Lewisham is a little away from where I live, well, a lot away actually! There's a class that operates from quite near where I work so I might hit that up. Thanks for looking though.

 

[Beowulf DW]

Had to sign up for this thread because I feel I have something to offer.
Ive trained for years in lots of different arts and have been unfortunate enough to have to use them on a number of occasions. I have also trained quite a few people to successfuly defend themselves.
First off fitness and self protection go hand in hand despite what ANYONE says. If you dont have the fitness to run away, or end a fight you are going to fail so make sure your sport specific fitness is kept high in whatever class you go to.I would say most arts I trained in were insufficient in this respect.Some places are a little too intense though, if you get too many injuries in training you are more vulnerable outside obviously.
If you dont like the spiritual aspects then something like krav maga is ideal but hard to find classes in many places. Boxing, muay thai , and MMA are all fantasic arts and very effective but for some people they are a little too intense. The hard work definatly pays dividends though as long as you keep your goals in sight (ie- self protection)
I really have to say that success often depends on the instruction method, the students natural aptitude for dealing with bad situations and the situation they find themselves in. So really any art can be effective for the right person but in all arts like TKD, aikido and alot of traditional styles do not offer realistic techniques or solutions. I rarely found any of the things I learned in these arts to be very useful when dealing with real, violent, resisting opponents. High kicks have VERY limited applications, and small joint locks while intoxicated, scared, angry or even wet from rain are extreemly difficult and high risk without years of training.
I think rinrlk has the right idea in looking for something that suits his physique and definatly seems to have a good idea as to what is practical and not. Stick with that and you wont go far wrong.
I know I seem to trash traditional styles here but I am a traditional martial artist myself and know that they are certainly not for everybody and good instructors can be very hard to find and progress overly slow.

Couldn't agree with you more. High kicks are useless/dangerous only to the person doing them in a real fight. You start doing crazy kicks & you are telegraphing all your movements, any kick above the knee area can be seen from a mile off before it's even started. If you want to learn a Martial Art for fitness any should do you. If you want to learn how to defend yourself, pick n mix is the way forward. Boxing, Muay Thai & Wing Chun elements have served me well in the past. Although different things work for different people. I practice Tai-Chi nowadays though, tons of health benefits & it's calm & relaxing too. Always fancied trying Drunken Boxing because it just looks fun but I am too lazy nowadays.

I agree that crazy kicks are useless in a real fight, but they help to increase strength and flexibility in your legs, and relieve boredom that may creap up during training, so they're not completely useless in that context. I try to stick to low- to mid-level kicks. At those levels, I can deliver kicks just as fast as punches. And if you have a great oppurtunity to deliver a powerful kick to your opponent's head, it's usually a good idea to take it.

 

[Wellby]

Personally i study Gojuru and Shotokan (hard and soft style/house of the willow) but judging from what by what your looking for i'd say you should check out Krav Maga. It's a truly brutal style used by Israeli Special forces but is now being taught practically everywhere. It's a style built for modern day combat.

 

[Spinwhiz]

Krav Maga... for if you'd just like to mame the stupid S.O.B. that tried to hurt you or your friend.

Krav Maga is one of the best actual self defense martial arts around...especially if what you are looking for is take down and subdue. Knives, guns, etc can be used against someone trying to hurt you. If you want to learn how to strike, I would take up boxing. It's a great workout, plus for a bigger guy that is what you want. Jiu Jitsu is a great addition for taking someone down and subduing them, plus there are very few martial arts that I have seen that can defend against someone proficient in Jiu Jitsu if they can be grappled. It's like wrestling on crack.

I took American Karate and liked it. It was more like kick boxing with a lot of striking.

 

[cleverlymadeup]

Krav Maga is one of the best actual self defense martial arts around...especially if what you are looking for is take down and subdue. Knives, guns, etc can be used against someone trying to hurt you.

actually the few krav guys i've run into end up going to other places to incorporate different arts or to learn specific things, so not the best thing to learn if you go to a judo or bjj for other things, why not go to the judo and bjj guy in the first place?

as for knife defense, i can teach anyone practical knife in about 20 minutes and it works

If you want to learn how to strike, I would take up boxing. It's a great workout, plus for a bigger guy that is what you want.

thai is better than just straight boxing, it has both kicking and punching

 

[Drift-Bus]

Hap Ki Do

 

[Spinwhiz]

Krav Maga is one of the best actual self defense martial arts around...especially if what you are looking for is take down and subdue. Knives, guns, etc can be used against someone trying to hurt you.

actually the few krav guys i've run into end up going to other places to incorporate different arts or to learn specific things, so not the best thing to learn if you go to a judo or bjj for other things, why not go to the judo and bjj guy in the first place?

as for knife defense, i can teach anyone practical knife in about 20 minutes and it works

If you want to learn how to strike, I would take up boxing. It's a great workout, plus for a bigger guy that is what you want.

thai is better than just straight boxing, it has both kicking and punching

From what I've been told krav is "in your face" practical defense. If a whole country chooses to teach this to their special forces, it must work.

As for thai, it is a great workout, but the original poster asked for martial arts that wouldn't necessarily have to use kicking. So to maximize striking potential, boxing is amazing.

 

[Saskwach]

Personally I see a "perfectly rounded" fighter is based on 3 different martial arts, although in all honesty "the more you know the better": Muay Thai, Jiu Jitsu and Tai Kwon Do.


Why? Simple. Muay Thai is the basic "standing-melee-fighting" style, well rounded, very versatile, no bullshit acrobatics. Simple, clean and very effective. Jiu Jitsu for the grapple-based fighting, specially ground-based grappling. In a 1 on 1 fighting it's quite possibly the most effective style. Also particularly good if you're at a significant size and strength disadvantage. And finally TKD, because acrobatics build agility, and TKD also teaches a lot of where to hit your adversary for maximum damage/injury.

Master those 3 arts (...goodluck with that...) and you're very likely to become very close to a perfect fighter.


-----------However--------

...It's somewhat insane to consider your average person will learn, or need, all of that. So if you really just want something you can do as a sport and to use for self-defense, I'd recommend wrestling (not WWE, actual wrestling), Muay Thai or Krav Maga.

Methinks you watch MMA: I hear those are the three arts that the better fighters usually learn. There's always variation though: I've also heard Sambo and shoot-fighting are well regarded for their areas.
I'll throw in Keysi [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keysi_Fighting_Method] Fighting Method [http://www.keysikfm.com/pages/index.php] just to contribute to the fireside debate. It was used in the Batman movies so it must be cool.
Here in Perth, I'm wavering between three different schools; an MMA school that teaches basically the three styles you mentioned all together; a Krav Maga school (problem being it's only once a week); and a Capoeira place (more because it sounds like a cool sport, and looks awesome). It's all a question of what to get out of it: well-roundedness after several years of training; defence capability in less; or kick-ass acrobatics with kicking ass sometimes thrown in. Help me choose, Escapists.
Edit: Holy cripes! The only KSM instructor in Oz lives in Perth! What a snag.

 

[suck it trebek]

I'm joining a Krav-Maga studio about 30 min from my house

 

[Caliostro]

Methinks you watch MMA: I hear those are the three arts that the better fighters usually learn. There's always variation though: I've also heard Sambo and shoot-fighting are well regarded for their areas.

Sometimes. And there's a good reason why those styles and closer variations are generally preferred amongst the "better fighters", as you adequately put.

I'll throw in Keysi [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keysi_Fighting_Method] Fighting Method [http://www.keysikfm.com/pages/index.php] just to contribute to the fireside debate. It was used in the Batman movies so it must be cool.
Here in Perth, I'm wavering between three different schools; an MMA school that teaches basically the three styles you mentioned all together; a Krav Maga school (problem being it's only once a week); and a Capoeira place (more because it sounds like a cool sport, and looks awesome). It's all a question of what to get out of it: well-roundedness after several years of training; defence capability in less; or kick-ass acrobatics with kicking ass sometimes thrown in. Help me choose, Escapists.
Edit: Holy cripes! The only KSM instructor in Oz lives in Perth! What a snag.

Honestly, Capoeira is a bad fighting style. It has some funky stuff, it's definitely pretty, but it has too many weak points (mostly their vulnerable standpoints) that will be exploited by a knowledgeable fighter. How many times have you seen an MMA/UFC/vale-tudo fighter break out his cartwheels and handstands in a match? And if any, how many times did he not got his asshole rearranged by a well placed kick, knee or punch? Exactly.

Personally I think it comes down to availability. If you're on a tight schedule, go with Krav Maga. If you have plenty of time and dedication, go with the "full-MMA-training", so to speak.

 

[Saskwach]

The thing is, if I got into Capoeira it wouldn't be for the kick-ass, it'd be for the kick-ass acrobatics and the weird dancing sport that it is (caution: may or may not kick ass). I actually remember seeing an MMA match involving a Capoeira fighter; he looked impressive - until the other guy got a solid punch on him, and it was lights out (it should also be noted that for all his cool hijinks he didn't land a single blow). But you've confirmed what I suspected for all the styles so thanks for the advice. With the time I have to waste I'll now choose between MMA and Capoeira - or both.

 

[rossatdi]

Personally I think it comes down to availability. If you're on a tight schedule, go with Krav Maga. If you have plenty of time and dedication, go with the "full-MMA-training", so to speak.

Right that's more or less conclusive now. Everyone seems to be ending up with Krav Maga. Tell you what, good on the Israelis. They seem to have come up with something the whole world agrees is pretty badass. I'm sure I can forgive them for the whole terrorism against the British Empire thing pre-1948 but hey, water under the bridge right?