If a retired healthy person wants to learn martial arts for the first time, what is the best kind?

Answer 1

i agree with the guys.. taijiquan is an excellent martial art for a beginner, it's not only an exquisit martial art, but excellent for maintaining your physical and mental health.. taijiquan has be found to lower stress, which intern lowers blood pressure, and not only that but it is a lower stanced martial art so it strengthens your hips and knees gently to give them better mobility. it improves your balance, which helps to keep you coordinated and prevents falling injuries. it's great in improving and preventing arthritis. and because it is a circular martial art the movements help to massage the internal organs helping them to release toxins, extending the life of the organ.. and when you extend the life of the organ, you extend the life of the organ user ... ; D

and it's not only a moving meditation.. it is an actual martial art, which many people don't realize, it's actually one of the oldest martial arts in the world.. it's about 85% shuay jiao, which is chinese grappling.. it has a lot of hard throws, locks, and breaks, all very effective regardless of strength or size.. taijiquan is all about leverage, an opponent might be stronger than you, but he's not stronger than gravity.. ; D

each taijiquan movement has 4 potentials, which means each movement can become a strike, sweep, throw or lock.. if it doesn't have that potential it's not true taiji...

so in conclusion.. it takes years to master, but minutes to begin to reap the benefits...

hope this helps, if you'd like to learn more just give me a buzz..

~*good luck*~

Answer 2

That's a hard question to ask. It's like asking people: "What's the best ice cream flavor." It's a very personal thing. Every style will offer you diiferent options. Also it is up to you to do some research that will be a better fit for your personality. If it's geared towards weapons, hard rigid movements or smooth and flowing. Kicks, punches, ground fighting, etc.
Also there are some that combine more than two styles into one. Pull your phone book/keyboard and check what's avaliable to you within driving distance and check them out. Once you find one that you like, stick with it, don't switch around.

Answer 3

Tai Chi does come to mind.
But again I have to say, scope out all the schools in your area.
A good teacher will be able to work with your age and any difficulties that come with it.
I have tought some older gentleman, their biggest hurdle was getting over the fact that they had to learn something new. Do not be to hard on yourself, acknowledge on the front end that you don't know anything about what you are going to learn,this makes the process much smoother. Many people refer to this concept as "The empty glass".

Answer 4

I would look into Tai-Chi. It's an old Chinese art that has slow movements that build muscle and helps blood flow. It is practiced all over the world and people do it into their 90's - 100's.
There is no contact, no sparring, no throwing or locks. It's a beautiful art to watch and do.
Here is a link to some video.

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-6518383681807169940&q=tai+chi

P.S. My mother (65) and Grandmother (83) are starting class this week.

Answer 5

Learn PSTD-Pencak Silat Tenaga Dalam

Where does PSTD Comes from? Indonesia

PSTD is based on breathing exercise, you'll be surprise how breathing exercise will make your body solid, as solid as a rock. You'll be able to break a brick, wood, iron on your stomach without feeling anything. Its all based on breating, meditation and self defence.

If you find this hard and dangerous-which is not but may intimidate beginers do Tai Chi, thats good for relaxation.

Answer 6

Definitely Tai Chi.

Answer 7

Try some kind of Shaolin Gong Fu. Internal art maybe Wing Chun. Very effective yet soft easy to learn, and did I say effective.


www.wingchunassociation.com
www.wingchunassoc.com

Answer 8

I recently started Tang Soo Do (I'm 18), and got my parents to start a few weeks later (they're in their mid fifties). They haven't had any real physical problems with it and our instructor tells us that this style is very easy on your knees and back; and I believe him because I usually feel a lot better after a work-out than before!

check out the website: www.tsdmgk.com if you want to locate a school look under ''dojangs" on the left

Answer 9

Choi Kwang Do, the martial art designed with you in mind.
It's designed for maximum impact while doing minimal harm to the practitioner.

Answer 10

Taichi-it works pretty well for about 10 million retired folks in China.