What is the best Martial Art for smaller people?

Answer 1

There IS NOT a Martial Art that works for people with SPECIFIC body characteristics (height, weight, body type, gender, etc.)

Because the fact is that when people ask "what's a good Martial Art for me to learn" or "what's the "best" Martial Art?" has 2 major problems (especially here in the Q& A forum):

1st: that kinda question just begs for the majority of people here to start blurting out names of disciplines that MAY NOT even be available in the area that you live in.

2nd: just because they reccommend a Martial Art that they may (or worse MAY NOT) have studied and it just happened to become THEIR favorite Martial Art because they it interests them and they want to study it or they studied it and it worked for them doesn't mean that it's going to work for you or interest you.

what YOU need to do is research local schools by looking in the phone book or internet search engine to find ANY kinds of Martial Arts schools in your area.

next, if you can find at least 3 schools that interest you, watch a few classes at each one and decide which one out of those 3 schools that interested you the most.

Then the next thing you should do is find out if they have some trial classes (up to a weeks worth to help you make a decision, hopefully without being hassled to join or sign a contract to join the class), and if you find that you like the school, then enroll in the class.

You just need to find a Martial Arts School that will provide a safe, "family like" environment for you. The discipline you study DOESN'T MATTER because there is NO discipline that is better than another, because they ALL have their strengths AND weaknesses

What matters is that you feel comfortable in the classes (and like the classes) and feel comfortable that the instructor (and the instructor's TEACHING style) can properly teach you self defense without the "smoke and mirrors" aspect. the instructor should also like to do it more for the teaching aspect rather than the "making money" which it is a business to make money after all; but it should not be the only reason for teaching the discipline.

The biggest problem you should worry about in finding a school is being aware of schools that're a "McDojo's" or "belt factory" type of school.

these schools usually do a lot of boasting; particularly about how soon their students make their 1st degree black belts. A prime example of this: having several "young black belts" that're usually 9 or 10 yr old kids, which should be a rare thing to see unless the child started learning the discipline when they were 4 yrs old, or promising that as a student you’ll be making your black belt in about a year’s time (the average should be between 4 to 5 years or better) which often means that they have a high student turnout rate. RED FLAG

They'll also often try to get you to commit to a contract, usually one that's 6 months long or more or try to get you to pay down a large sum of money for that kind of time period. This is a BIG red flag

And don’t be fooled by these schools telling you about how many tournaments/competitions their students have entered and placed in or won a trophy in; Tournaments/competitions are good to test your skills at point sparring, it’s not necessary because they are the LEAST important aspect to concern yourself with in Martial Arts.

Long story short, these schools will basically "give" you your belt ranks every few months as long as you are paying the outrageous fees per month, and you won't really learn self defense.

Answer 2

Bushido- quit being a part of the problem. You seem to know enough about Martial Arts that you should know better...
Belbiz6- Ads can say pretty much anything they want to try to get your business. Including someone who evidently thinks that they know everything and everyone else knows nothing. This is usually called a SCAM. "Everyone else is teaching crap, but I can teach you something no one else knows...for only 5 easy payments of....."
Now, as far as I know, there are no Martial Arts that are specifically designed for smaller people. None that are specifically designed for bigger people either. Martial Arts are- or should be- just as effective for people of any body type or stature.
However, I will say that Shotokan karate was founded by a man who was like 5'4". It has very LOW stances and generally seems to be better for smaller people. Investigate it and see what you think. Overall, though, any martial art should be just fine for you.
Hope this helps...
Sensei Cox

Answer 3

Hey friend...
don't be discouraged by what this Bushido character is saying...
He's no Martial Artist.

As a few of the other answers have stated, it really isn't about the art form, if form is what you want to call it, it's about the artist, and to what strengths that artist has and how the strengths are used... and of course the utility will be different from style to style.

I just suggest that you try something out, be careful of the attitude and philosophies of some, and if it does not work for you, there is always your choice to try something different.

Answer 4

Size of the student is not what you should be concerned about with respect to what martial art. Look at the school and instructor and carefully observe the lessons and classes. A good, knowledgeable instructor will teach you techniques that favor your abilities and stature in addition to the ones that all the students learn. Also students best develop their skills when they have a multitude of students to work or partner up with-all shapes-all sizes.

Answer 5

Aikido is great for shorter people because the techniques are more effective the lower your center of gravity is in relation to your opponent.

However, it takes much longer to develop the skill to be used in self defense situations than other arts. Best thing to do is figure out if you want to learn an art for practical defense or as a hobby and go from there.

Answer 6

Street Fighter And Ex-Con Reveals The Truth About Self Defense Once And For All And Says..

"90% Of What You Learn In Strip Mall Dojo's, Martial Arts Schools, Self Defense Seminars And DVD's Will Get You Killed In A Real Attack On The Street.."

Former "Bad Guy" Reveals A Simple And Effective System For Reality Based Self Defense, Protecting You And The Ones You Love, Quickly And Easily In Any Violent Encounter..

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There is a violent crime every 22 seconds, 24 hours a day in the U.S.
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In the year 2000 there were over fifteen thousand murders, almost two per hour!
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90,187 forcible rapes, one every six minutes!
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Over 3,600 aggravated assaults and robberies every day! One every 24 seconds!
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49,000 car jackings and attempts of car-jacking!
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One burglary every 15.4 seconds!

With over 20 years of martial arts experience, a blackbelt in Judo, a Blackbelt in Taekwondo, spending 4 months in a maximum security jail at the age of 20 and being a bouncer for over 2 years..

I can easily tell you that all the stuff they taught you in martial arts schools, strip mall dojo's, self defense seminars and DVD's.. WON'T WORK IN A REAL LIFE OR DEATH ATTACK ON THE STREET!

More on the links...

Answer 7

doing martial arts is just a waste of time...on the street you don't Kata's or the other crap they teach you in martial arts schools, the only thing you need to learn is how to box..i would suggest you that you go to a boxing gym and learn how to use your hands...because the van damme kicks wont work in a real fight...and boxing is pretty much straight forward..no muck in around.

Answer 8

It really doesn't matter how big you are or the style. I'm 5'3" and have never had a problem with any style I've studied. You should check out the school and decide based on what they are teaching. If you are looking for self defense then find a school that will place an emphasis on that.

Answer 9

Define smaller, define body type, define personality of said person etc. Then maybe I could reccommend.

Answer 10

gnome can do.
leppri caun do.
mid jet kune do
mid jet tos sing.
dwa rfthro wing.
ps.ask shitfabrains or whatever you call yourself your full of yourself.(excreta)
PPS.yes you are right h.cox my original answer was intended as humour maybe you need to loosen up a bit or read my answer again.