what martial arts would suite me?

Question

i got short arms and long legs. i want it as a sport and self defense pls help?? im 23 yrs old by the way and i dont know if i cant be flexible enough. thank you!

you guys are very helpful im confused whom shall i give the best answer award!
yeah ill try kick boxing for now. i hope it works for me.. taekwondo is nice too coz its a popular sports but not really useful in CQC and actual threaths.

Answer 1

First seek a good teacher that teaches realistically (Ie: with fully resisting opponents). Point sparring is martial tag so it is not with full resistance.

depending on where you live it might make it harder to find a good teacher but they are there.

generally certain styles are more susceptible to bad teachers and training than others. This is not every case but if you don't know what to look for you can get really taken for your money or worse end up seriously injured because your training was crap and you tried to defend yourself. Any teacher that overemphasizes katas or forms is just taking your money and teaching you that crap to invent something else to teach to keep you there longer.

arts you should be suspicious of are:
Aikido- known for overly compliant partners and telegraphed attacks in demos that make things look effective but are not against a fully resisting opponent.

Chinese Martial arts (except San Da or San Shou)- there is good and bad, but it is very difficult to tell as many concepts of CMA are alien to the way you have seen fighting so far. there are many many frauds out there promoting "chi" and such and just teaching without resistance.

Tae Kwon Do- TKD might be a sportative art, and practiced with intensity under its ruleset, but therein lies the problem. The vast majority of it is point sparring which leads you to land the first hit, not worrying about someone's counter. It basically is a game of tag the way most tkd schools spar.

Ninjitsu- don't even bother, anyone claiming to teach ninjitsu is most likely a fraud. Those schools that actually teach you something, are teaching you something else but calling it ninjitsu to attract unwary students.

Pressure points- They don't work the same as they do on a resisting opponent or an opponent with adrenalin. best to avoid a school that focuses heavily on pressure points.

As I've said, there are exceptions, but unless you keep an eye out for them and have some background, it is more likely you will be led into a bs school.

Answer 2

Because you have long legs the natural answer would be Muay Thai. If you like to strike, as it doesn't require long arms as most of the strikes are kicks knees and elbows in the clinch.
If you like to grapple go for Judo as short arms will help you keep your opponant in close and your long legs will help you with sweeps. It has throws, chokes and armlocks. It is a full body martial art that offers a great workout and lots of self defence.
It was actually derived from Ju Jit Su so all the chokes and armlocks are virtually the same but it added throws and takedowns and modified some things to make it more effective. Judo is also a great competative sport so if you like to compete you'll get alot out of it. Also a solid 3 day a week schedule will get you in better shape and stronger than almost anyother martial art. Because of the variety of techiniques. Where as Tae Kwan Do is primarily stand-up, kicking, punching you don't really get to train hard against a partner.

over 13 years of Judo and 5 years of wrestling

Answer 3

Ok. When you say that you aren't that flexible then you should rule out anything like Tae Kwondo because this requires lots of stretching and flexibility to be able to perform all those high kicks.

A Martial Art like Wing Chun kung-fu would suit you better. This is primarily close combat hand techniques. There are kicks but the highest kick is to the groin. This martial art will train power and speed and control. The strikes in Wing Chun are primarily aimed to disable an opponent qick by hit areas that cause most damage such as knees, elbows (breaks), eyes and throat.

This is also a useful martial art because you are more likely to be able to use it in situations where trouble may break out and you don't have room for those big kicks. I have found it very useful in pubs and clubs.

Aside from that I have friends who study Ju Jitsu and they recommend this.

Answer 4

Spidertiger got it right. While these forums can offer useful information, in the end you are limited to what is available in your area. TKD does focus on kicks and that would seem to favor your long legs, and most cities have at least 1 TKD school. The trick is finding a good instructor that you feel comfortable with.

Be wary of TKD as a sport though. Matches are divided by weight class and points are scored not just by making contact, but by causing 'trembing shock' or enough force to dislodge your opponent. Sometimes shorter, heavier fighters are better at generating that kind of power. Other styles like Kung Fu award points for making contact. If your kicks have enough speed, you could do well there as well.

Good luck!

Answer 5

you may want to dig a little deeper into the type of self defense you would like to learn.

do a wikipedia search on the arts mentioned by the other people here and you should be able to narraw down your choices, as each of these arts have their subtle differences, strengths and weaknesses.

then you should follow the advice of another person here who answered saying to check out what's in your area. you don't want to be traveling 2 hours to a school if your schedule can't handle it.

being 23, your flexibilty will definitely improve with work and time and all the arts mentioned will provide you with the sport aspect you seek.

good luck!

Answer 6

My reccomendation is Bujinkan Budo Taijutsu. It is a martial art/self defense system that will help increase your flexibility and uses natural movement instead of difficult and painful conditioning. It will build lean muscle and get you moving very fluidly.

The length of your arms and legs should not choose the martial art, your heart should. You can use your arms and legs with the techniques that go with them, but a martial art with a long history has been used by many people of different sizes.

Answer 7

Please do yourself a favor and go to these Taekwondo schools before you sign up with anything. I want you to see the difference between a martial art and a sport. THERE IS A DIFFERENCE. If you are looking to defend yourself or to be an *** kicker, then TKD is NOT for you. It teaches sparring, and THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS TRADITIONAL TKD.... I can't stand it when people try to say its anything but 200 years old.

TKD is a sport, for the olympics, that is that. ITF trys to make it "traditional" by adding punching.... LOL ATA is a joke and WTF is the olympic culprit that has all of us cringing when you hear people say "I KNOW TKD"

Please.... for the love of GOD... and all that is holy.... Try ANYTHING before you try TKD..... OMG

Try Ju Jitsu or MT or Enshin Karate.

Answer 8

only do tae kwon do if you want to bullsh!t yourself. seriously. as a green belt in Kempo I whipped a Black belt in TKD. sh!tty limited style with exaggerated and telegraphed basics as its only backbone.

sh!t, cant believe these TKD peeps really believe they are the shizzle. belts mean sh!t anyway, and only reflect your knowldge of your own art, not of self defense or life skills. and a black belt in TKD isnt worth the certificate your name is on.

shop around man, and give all the clubs in your area a go. find what works for you, even if it is TKD. sad, but some peeps think it is complete, with no need to cross train or extend their thinking.

Answer 9

Find those which are virtually you with a handy time table and fair costs. Then decide upon the only final that has the quality trainer. Your measurement or weight do not subject. Neither does the title of the form at the door.

Answer 10

Starting young, you can gain quite a lot of flexibility. A style that emphasizes kicking (Tae Kwon Do, Tang, Soo, Do or northern Shaolin) will enable you to take advantage of your long legs.
If you learn a style that emphasizes hand techniques (southern Shaolin, Karate, esp Okinawan) you will have to get in close to be effective.