What kind of martial art will be better for me?

Question

I am relatively short, 5'6", medium built, and still in college, I also have some spare time to use learning a martial art, but I am not sure whether go with the popular karate or maybe learn another kind of martial art. I would like to learn something that i can use to defend myself better with people larger than I, I can handle pretty well somebody my size, but I don't even try people larger than I. Also an art that can handle defense against weapons such as knives or bats. Thanks

Answer 1

it's a personal choice of which discipline YOU want to study

Only YOU can Make the decision about which one is best for YOU and what you want to get out of studying Martial arts for your personal benefit.

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.

speed, power, agility, balance; these are all atributes that can only be improved upon by training, if you have a good training ethic, then you'll improve them and become a better martial artist, if you have a poor or laxed training ethic, then you won't be a very good martial artist and have learned very little.

one final note: I'm not one for putting the spotlight on particular disciplines but; since you mentioned defense techniques that focus on kinfe fighting, and defense techniques against other possible weapons, I would consider a discipline that employs joint locks and manipulations like the following: Aikido, Hapkido, Jujitsu, Judo, Krav Maga, Kapap, etc and work from there.

Answer 2

For defence against another unarmed person many martial arts would be good, considering of course the quality of the dojo, and unless you've been to a better dojo it's pretty hard to tell the quality of your own. for defence against a knife, most martial arts are failing in this matter, some guy posted a video, and it is true, you can defend yourself against a knife but it will take a lot of training in a specialized from of combat, i am learning chinese military knife fighting from a master of the knife from china, and the more i learn the less confident i become against knives. Every defence i am taught i am taught ten or more ways to circumvent that defence, it is quite often easier to just let it go and give the guy your money or your watch, pretty shitty self defence but unless you're completely ready for the knife and you know exactly what is coming then luck is short for you.

For one on one light defence i would suggest a contact marial art with more sparring, judo is good for larger opponents i have used it effectively many times, boxing/kickboxing will develop great speed and power, muay thai is good when he gets a bit too close to kick or punch, and any other grappling is good, such as jujitsu, judo, even a wrestling takedown can be used in your favour. Multiple opponent means learning a multiple person defence, try krav maga for a hard martial art, or aikido. Krav maga is pretty much good anywhere and is great defence be it multiple opponent or single asshole. Aikido is good, effective in bars with many people, although you can't learn it quickly like boxing. Aikido when used properly can be a great defence against groups but it's not an offencive martial art, you'll find yourself having a hard time trying to attack someone with aikido.
Try wikipedia for more information on any of these martial arts, hope i helped.

Answer 3

Martial arts is only 10% of the fight. The will of the warrior is what matters. Most martial arts will have lessons on weapons attacks if they dont do not go to that school. Do find a style that interests you. And try to get a feel for the instructor, and make sure he is certified to teach.

Answer 4

if your tall muay tai is for you, if your athletic choose karate or take won do , if your not strong and have very little striking skill choose aikido.wing Chung and jiu jitsu is for every one.

choosing the best type of martial art is like choose your dream car some might choose fast one ,some big ,on looks it depends on the person just like martial arts that why there is so much argument which one is the best a short person might argue that bjj is better than muay tai because he can kick as good as the tall people in muay tai and a tall person will get grappled easy in bjj because hes got alot of limbs and bones sticking out . no one can tell you the best martial art they would just tell what there good at.

Answer 5

Any true Martial Art is good. It's not the art, it's the artist. Just find a good school & get going. Good luck!

Answer 6

It depends on where you live. Different cities have different styles available. You should be concerned with a number of things when choosing a style and an instructor; the style is up to you. Watch several discreetly and ask questions. As for instructors, it's best to find one who is just as capable of humility as he is self-confidence. An instructor who loses his temper is not to be trusted. Krav Magaa is excellent, but not for competition. Judo is heavy on competition but doesn't emphasize much multiple-attacker defense. Shotokan and other types of Karate will emphasize physical strength. It all depends on what's available and what you feel is right for you.

Answer 7

Know unarmed combat is a whole different story. Any Martial art will help in unarmed combat. However learning to deal with a melee weapons is a different story. Take a look at this video about defense against a knife.

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-8884586003342147853&q=knife

Answer 8

I would suggest looking into the art of Kenpo, search the web, check out those self defense video clips and enjoy. I have studied some 6 different styles over the past 30 years as not one compares to this when it come to SELF-DEFENSE.

Answer 9

Well, you really want to go and check out as many martial arts clubs as you can, and join the one that you feel most comfortable with. It is really a personal choice.
If you want to learn to handle yourself against people larger than yourself, aikido teaches you to use your attacker's 'energy' against them.
Good luck!

Try the following web-site as guidance:

Answer 10

kung fu has alot 2 do with weapons try 2 find a gym that teachs sang soo it teachs how 2 fight multiple opponents and 2 fight with weapons... but if u really want 2 have fun in martial arts then try 2 get in 2 cage fighting i'm sure if u train in the cage and u fight a bigger guy that has never been in training u will smash him.