I wanna take up martial arts. Can anyone help me with choosing an art form ?

Question

Thanks for the reply ! I was into boxing 9 years back, heavy weight category. I want to take up martial arts for mental peace and my well being. I am not looking forward to fights or competitions. I am also into Yoga and Pranayam. So suggest me something that will help me channel all my chi so that I can use it constructively. I have "zero" knowledge about martial arts. Also I am a business analyst by profession and I spend long hours working in my office.

Answer 1

Hey,

I do Martial Arts. I can't help you much with choosing a style- I don't know much about that. I do Tae Kwon Do.

If you ever need help or anything, email me.

[e-mail]

I am a green belt- my AIM is xglitterxstarsx

Also you might wanna check out karateforums.com

Good luck!

Answer 2

Since you are not really into the fighting aspects of martial arts, you may want to look into Capoeira, which is a really fun acrobatic Brazilian martial art with drumming, dance, and a heavy spiritual component; or perhaps Chinese Wu Shu -- a general term but one used to describe the more traditional Chinese Kung Fu arts such as Northern Shaolin or Eagle Claw --many of which have strong roots in Taoism. Both of these styles can be street effective, but the emphasis is often more spiritual.

If you are already taking yoga, you might be overlapping a bit by doing Chi Gung (of which Tai Chi is a subset) or any art meant primarily to control, build, or channel the chi, prana, or whatever your spiritual beleif system defines as the life force.

Overall, go to the schools in your area and find one where you feel comfortable - with spirtuality and the martial arts, it is quite often a matter of who is teaching the class.

Answer 3

First figure if it is self-defense or for sport.
Sport would be Judo and Tae Kwon Do.
Defense would be Muay Thai, Kung Fu, Hapkido, Akido, Kempo, Karate and others.
Sport is sparring for points while defense allows for sparring for points but focuses on low kicks/strikes and fighting beyond the points.
Second consider your size. If you are big, then stregth on stregth will work which could include any form. If not, think closer to Kung Fu, Hapkido, Muay Thai, Krav Maga.
Why is Jujitsu not in there? A good school will also teach joint locks that can be used in jujitsu. For sport JJ is great, but in a real street fight, you will likely use eye attacks, biting, etc. if you are on the ground fighting. I would consider JJ as SECOND art to pick-up later on.
More important than the style is the school and the instructor. Get your money's worth and be pushed. Spend at least 6 hours in the school per week and about 4 hours practicing at home. Lift weights, run, etc.

Answer 4

Just watch the UFC, Ultimate Fighting Championship and you'll see that Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu is very effective and more practical than most other styles of fighting because most fights will lead to the ground.

But to be a well rounded fighter one has to cross-train in many different styles of Martial Arts.

You can look on the internet and see that the other Martial Arts suggested are not that effective when matched against even a novice in Jiu-JItsu.

Answer 5

An assortment of martial arts are currently out there in the mainstream public. I chose Brazilian Jiu-jitsu, because, well there was the first UFC's and Royce was tapping dudes out from left to right. In essence I wanted to be a fighter. Now things are However, if I wanted to start all over again, then I would ask myself some questions:
1. What are my goals if I choose a martial art? (i.e.-Exercise, physique, flexibility, self-defense, ecetra)
2. What martial art will I fill comfortable with 10 years from now? (i.e.-training or teaching)
3. What martial art can I be committed to with my current work schedule?

These questions and others like it need to be seriously thought out. The question of family come in to play as well.

Answer 6

I have been practicng and teaching martial arts for 17 years have my own program that I teach for a Park and rec department. When people ask me, I tell them go to the different studios and watch 1 or 2 classes to see how the class is run, the way the instructor interacts with the students. By looking around you can get a feel what intrigues you. All the styles mentioned are very good and it depends what you are looking for. It may take several schools to find one you like or you might find one right away.

Answer 7

Hello.
I have been doing Martial Arts for some 30+ years. As I have progressed and a higher rank I realize how little I still know. But I will share with you my very small piece of wisdom. I started out in Tang Soo Do, Made Red belt (brown) before my instructer was called to serivce. Then I went to tae Kwon Do for several years. As I progressed in that system all I learned was a different technique to get a higher belt. Went to American Kenpo, got real fast hands but again Memory & redundancy work. then I got in to a Japanese/Okinawan style of Kempo. I was progressing along until I saw this ad in Black Belt Magazine. How to knock out a person using pressure points, New Orleans seminar. I purchased it out of partialy boredom with my style and wanting something new. It opened up a new world to me. You learn how to defend yourself, you learn healing, body anadamy, true meaning of Kata and how to think for yourself. Kyusho is an endless art that takes more wisdom & knowledge to learn than naught. You say you are a business man that can analyse things. I would go to http://www.dillman.com and get the new orleans seminar, then look at his site for an affiliated school in your area. You wont be sorry.
CharDonn

Answer 8

Go visit a bunch of schools in your area, ones that are actually close enough that you would go there regularly. Then look at the head instructors. If you stay there long enough, you will become more like that person. Decide which person you most want to be like.

Me? I wanna be the nice guy who's not a show off, but knows how to take care of himself when all else fails. That's why I study where I study.

Answer 9

There is no one martial art that is the best or right for everyone.
Here is a list of the major ones and what they are like.
Karate - Linear (straight) forward movements. Teaches you to use your body to produce power in punching and kicking (the most like boxing)
Judo - Groung art, alot of throwing, locks and holds
Aikido - Circular movements that uses your opponents movements against them. (very cool non-agressive art)
Ju-Jitsu - Sort of like a cross between Judo and Karate
Tae-Kwon-Do - Alot of kicking and yelling, not known to be very effective in real life situations.
Kung-Fu - Very artistic and beautiful. Does very well at tournaments. Has alot of weapon arts.

Hope this helped. Go and watch some classes until you find one that interests you. Most Dojos will offer you a free class to see if you like it.
HAVE FUN!

Answer 10

Hello there. I see, my friend you are in the same state of mind with me. I too want to do a martial art. Out of all thorough (in my point of view) research that I have done, I found out that ninjutsu would do just right for me. You see, in nunjutsu you don't just learn to fight, you learn to adopt yourself to your surroundings and atmosphere, use your inner energies, use everything around you. Besides the physical part of ninjutsu, there are spiritual and most famous philosophical part. So there is a lot to learn, but hey, it's always interesting to learn more about yourself. From what I have heard of, people who do ninjutsu find out so much about themselves, they get to the point where they are able to control such things as headaches, being cold or hot, etc.

If you are interested in meditation or yoga, I strongly suggest reading good books. I have taken up reading a lot of Japanese and Asian in general philosophy ... well, to tell the truth, it really helps. Try such books as, Hagakure, Unfettered mind, or my personal favourite Sun Tzu's "The art of War".

Well, good luck to you. Hit me back with e-mail if you want any more help or information. e-mail is [e-mail]