What type of fighting style would you suggest?

Question

Looking for:

-something that's primarily based on power and striking with both fists and legs
-not alot of wrestling or grappling
-nothing too fancy. For example, none of those Bruce Lee flying kicks or superman flying punches
-something where I can freestyle and the opponent doesn't need to be in a certain position for the attacks to work
-something that I can grasp within a shorter period of time (6 months at most). That doesn't mean that I plan on being a black belt in 6 months. It means that I'd like to see some progress within six months

I thought about boxing but that's too vague. I want something more complicated than boxing, that includes kicks, knees, elbows, and more options. Boxing is all about punching and that's about it. Not fun. I want something else that's more creative.

PS. I'd like to do this as a hobby, something fun, not a carrer. I don't plan on being the next Bruce Lee or whatever. I've been practicing hitting the bag and shadow boxing for some time but I'd like to go further with it.

Answer 1

What many people fail to realize about Martial Arts is that there isn't a particular "brand" that is a "best fit".

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 to learn” has 2 major problems:

1st: these questions just beg for the majority of people here to start blurting out names of disciplines that are probably not even available in your area.

2nd: Just because they recommend a Martial Art that they may (or worse MAY NOT) have studied and it just happened to become THEIR favorite Martial Art because they’re interested in studying it or it worked for them** doesn't mean that it's going to work for you or that you’ll find it interesting.

(**this is due to the pride they have in their discipline, which is a good thing; but should be looked at more realistically about what YOU need to get out of the discipline and not what THEY want to tell you about what they've studied)


First of all, what YOU need to do is research local schools by looking in the phone book or internet search engine to find out if there ARE any Martial Arts schools in your area.

Second, 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.

Third, 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 and that the instructor(s) are going to help you become the best Martial Artist that you can become.

The discipline you may wind up studying 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 and not the discipline itself) can properly teach you self defense without the "smoke and mirrors" .

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. This is a Red Flag

They may also try to get you to commit to (by signing) 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 or competitions their students have entered and placed in or won a trophy, which is NOT a necessity in Martial Arts. Tournaments/competitions can be good to test your own skills at point sparring but again, 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

Uechi Ryu Karate Do. Centered around the Sanchin stance, a shorter stance than in traditional karate and therefore more useful in the real world. Sanchin teaches good body mechanics that increase striking power tremendously. Uechi also utilizes strong knees and elbows great for real world confrontations.

Everything in this system is meant to be translated into a real fight, not tournament point-sparring. As such techniques are easier to begin to grasp, are useful from the get-go in and situation and do not require you to be an athlete to perform.

Answer 3

All your requests fall upon the Muay Thai approach.
I suggest to anyone wishing to learn an extremely effective art to try it out.

you wont be any good at karate or tae kwon do in 6 months, perhaps never. you will never need to kick a head in a street fight.

Muay Thai doesnt have moves that arent going to be used. why train for years with hundreds of moves to only use the basics that work. plus in Muay Thai you will learn to effectively use your ELBOWS and KNEES.
being 6'2" I use my knees to my advantage.

if you go 3x a week, in 6 months you will be better than a karate guy who did it a year or 2. its trains constantly with sparring and bag work. it IS great.

Answer 4

First of all: you should look into MMA or Muay Thai. Hung Gar would be good for you too if its in your area. Look around, call the instructor and ask as many questions as you'd like. You should also go observe a class to make sure it's what it's cracked up to be. Muay Thai/MMA fits all your desired requirements.

Second of all, and this is just inresponse to the previously stated 'best fit' comment: There is most deffinitely a best fit martial art in reference to body type/body characteristic/disability. For instance, the low tail whips of Dragon wouldn't work well for a 6'4" 300 LB man as compared to a 5'7" 170 LB man. Bear however would be much mroe useful to the big and burly. Obviously, Mantis would be recommended for the hard of sight/blind considering it's known as the blind Kung Fu. Likewise with Tai Chi. However, I would not suggest Leopard or Dragon [[two styles with absolute precise striking]] for someone with no speed, or troubles with eyesight. Mongoose would work better with smaller, more compact fighters, while Crane would work better with lanky fighters. Money would work BEST with slim short fighters. There's a best fit for both body type and interest.

One of the reasons there were more than 500 styles of Kung Fu created, and I'm only stating one because most others are innane, is there was a need by those whose body types didn't work well with other styles to learn MA and be able to defend themselves. So many styles were created in part to help assist with specific, personal requirements, desires, and limitations due to personality and body type.

Wing Chun is an example.

Jeet Kune Do was specifically for Bruce Lee and his body type/personality. It was built off of his fighting principles and abilities. Each person who studies JKD learns what can be considered their OWN style based off of physical limitation and personality.

Answer 5

Muay Thai Thai Boxing (Elbows, knees full contact)none of that Kickboxing rubbish(sports Karate)

Answer 6

You have several options. Tae Kwon Do (more kicking) Okinawan Karate (more punching) or Japanese Karate (in between). What's most important is to find a good instructor.

Answer 7

Read up on different styles, one or another will catch your interest, when you narrow it down then ask your self which one has the most interesting components coupled with historical background this will no doubt keep your interest a bit more.

Then go and practice hard, and apply what you learn...

Answer 8

You need to go and try some stuff out for yourself. I personally love Aikido, but that's not what you want. Try Karate of some sort- there are many styles. you might find sometihng there...

Answer 9

Quicksilver gave you some good info. However, I think Muay Thai would suit you very well.

Answer 10

We've all heard stories of the highly trained, highly skilled martial-arts master getting his butt kicked on the street by a totally untrained bar brawler. This has led many people to remark, "That crap doesn't work in a real fight."

So is martial-arts training completely useless for self-defense and fighting? Not really. The problem is, the black-belt spent all his time learning techniques that would be useful in a fight, but he never bothered to train himself to exploit opportunities to deliver them. He knew how to deliver that great roundhouse kick, but not when or why. All three are important. Perhaps, in addition, he failed to develop many important attributes needed to be a skilled fighter (which is not to say that the black-belt wasn't a skilled martial-artist.)

Bruce Lee wrote an outstanding and famous article, Liberate Yourself From Classical Karate regarding this problem. His replies to reactions to his (at the time) controversial statements are also revealing.

Bruce Lee began his formal training in the style of wing chun gung-fu for self defense in his ongoing streetfights with gangs in Hong Kong. His teacher was the legendary Yip Man. Wing Chun is a relatively new, devastatingly fast and powerful style of gung-fu which stresses occupying the center-line, simultaneous parry-and-attack, and developing heightened sensitivity in the forearms. It is especially effective in the middle and close distance ranges.

Growing up in Hong Kong, Bruce was exposed to other styles of Gung Fu; from these, he learned some of the kicks of the northern styles. When he moved, at the age of 18, to the United States, he began to incorporate these kicks into his style. He also modified some of the stances and positions of Wing Chun, moving his right side forward and his left side back a little to create less of a square stance. Bruce's art -- Jun Fan.

In the early 1960's, Bruce met Ed Parker, the founder of American Kenpo; undoubtedly, each of them influenced the other's art to a certain extent. Bruce also met Dan Inosantos, a student of Parker's at the time. Inosantos was to become Bruce's main protege (and currently is regarded as one of the main authorities of Jeet Kune Do). Inosantos introduced Bruce to the Filipino martial arts. (Here is another place with info on the Filipino arts). Througout the '60's Bruce was constantly meeting other martial-artists, reading, practicing, and learning. Among the arts and/or people he came into contact with were:


Fencing
Boxing
Tae Kwon Do, through Jhoon Rhee
Judo and wrestling, through Gene LeBell (aka "the man who gave Bruce Lee noogies!" :-) )
Jujitsu, through Professor Wally Jay
It was Professor Jay who suggested an "all-encompassing martial-art" to Bruce. But, by the late '60's, Bruce was no longer just interested in 'styles' or in simply adding techniques to his arsenal. Instead, he was interested in a philosophy of combat -- a set of principles about the nature of combat -- and how to apply that philosophy. Thus was born Jeet Kune Do. Actually, the process is a little more involved. A little synopsis by Marty here. You can also read these:

Inosanto, Dan _Jeet Kune Do: The Art and Philosophy of Bruce Lee_ Know How Publishing Company, 1980.
Kent, Chris and Tackett, Tim _Jun Fan/Jeet Kune Do: The Textbook_
Bruce Lee believed the effective fighter generally had certain attributes and uderstood certain basic aspects and strategies of combat. To that end, Lee teaches that the most important general aspects of Jeet Kune Do are *simplicity* and directness. Among other things, this involved:
Using techniques that don't involve fancy complex setups, or stances.
Economy of motion -- which includes not telegraphing (using unconcious body language to precede an attack).
Straight line attacks whenever possible (although curves or hooked attacks are sometimes used -- "whatever scores").
JKD also stresses deception and misdirection:

Use broken rhythms to confuse and throw off an opponent.
Stay in constant motion to avoid predictability.
Distraction techniques.
Specific drills were introduced to train students in attributes so that they could effectively implement these strategies. Unlike most traditional MA training, JKD training includes specific drills to improve attributes like balance, reaction speed, technique performance speed, timing, reflexes, sensitivity, coordination, and rhythm. Then students are given protective gear and told to spar, no-holds-barred -- to learn how to employ these attributes and strategies in a real fight. Lee used to say, "You need to jump in the water to learn how to swim ... you can't just stay on dry land."

Theoretically, Lee found that there were four distance ranges and five general methods of attack in hand-to-hand. The Jun-Fan/JKD page describes these.

What was written here is by no means a complete description of Jeet Kune Do ... nor can any written account truly describe this, or any other martial-art. To learn and understand any martial art -- go, look, listen, and DO.

P.S. Bruce Lee only did those flying kicks in movies!!