What martial arts will be suits for my son?

Question

He's 16 and his height is only 5'4. Im just wondering to all of you experienced martial artists what kind of art would you recommend for my son especially for self defense because I think he always getting bullied in school and I know it. And can you explained to me also why is it best for him? tnx you guys.

and how about certain types of kung fu?

Answer 1

There's a lot of data missing in your question, so it's hard for me to give you a straightforward answer. A lot of people would say their art is best, but it all depends on the person. What you might want to start doing is go to the library and pick up a couple of books on different martial arts so your son can see what they're all about. Then, he might feel inclined towards one more than the other and usually, I think people should go with that instinct.

Otherwise, some artial arts (Karate, Tae-Kwon-Do - and boxing, actually) have a sharper learning curve, so this might be a good idea to get some basic self-defense skills quickly. Others, such as Judo, Ju-Jutsu and Aikido take more time to learn to be proficient with. It never happens overnight, but some arts are just faster that way.

Otherwise, all martial arts will help a person develop confidence, a knowledge of their body and a sense of what they can and can not do. With bullies, that's more than half the battle - since bullies go after people who won't put up any kind of fight (physical or psychological).

And watch out for Mcdojos. Google the term for more on this.

Answer 2

I would recommend Songham Taekwondo with the American Taekwondo Association. I began Songham Taekwondo at the age of 13 with the height of 5'4 and a weight of 90 pounds. I was a shy girl with hardly any friends. I had been bullied, pushed around, beaten up, and etc. at school. Songham Taekwondo helped me gain the confidence to stand up for myself and what I believed in. It taught me that just because someone says something about me doesn't mean it is true, and I grew to know that through my training. I am currently 16 with the height of 5'5 and a weight of 115 pounds and that is mostly muscle. I have more friends than I can count and I have not had anyone bully me since I began. I am now teaching other children about Songham Taekwondo, and I have saved a few lives with this teaching. The physical parts of Songham Taekwondo include self-defence, ground fighting, weapons training, forms, sparring, and pressure point areas. Songham Taekwondo not only teaches self-defence though, but also includes life skills such as integrity, respect, confidence, discipline, spirit and goals. It also helps with everyday situations such as communication, danger recognition, public speaking, and study habits. I do not know where I would be today without Songham Taekwondo. The American Taekwondo Association has really changed my life. I hope it can change your son's.

Answer 3

A lot really depends on where you live and what's available.


The martial art that I involve myself with is Kuk Sool Won. It's a hybrid martial arts system based on traditiaional Korean martial styles. The founder of the system is still alive and very active.

The system itself involves hand techniques (punching, blocking), foot techniques (kicking), joint locking, grappling, throwing, falling, and traditional Korean martial arts weapons (staff, sword, etc.). It's for the most part a 'soft' style of martial art (at least the way that I am taught) that emphasizes fluid motion and is not hard on the joints. The young people in my school take to the style VERY well and typically show us old timers up.

Although I don't think that teaching a young person martial arts in order to get even with schoolyard bullies is the best idea, there are a number of things in Kuk Sool that might help him defend himself it it comes to that. The grappling and joint locking might be especially useful.

I am 35 and just started this year...I wish I would have began this training when I was 16...it would have been a life-changing thing for me.

Answer 4

Boxing will be good because he is short which will allows him to weave and bobs with lot more effective and deliver destuctive upper cut just like as Rocky Marcaino.

Judo is prett good since he can use his shortness to advantage to throws his opponent off balance.

Wrestling is also a great style because if he take someone down on ground and know how to control them, he'll not have much problems.

Brazilian Jiu Jitsu is good because he'll be able to take opponent to ground and apply locks.

You want to avoid styles that stress heavily on kicks because his reaches will not allows him use distance with great effective.

But overall, martial arts will not make people stop bully him. It'll just most likely lead to a fight that he may or may not win. It doesn't matter what everyone else here say, martial arts does try to teach people to not fight and resepct others. But in the end, it's all up to each own to actually decide if they truly want to follow a such belif or not. So you may want to reconsider this whole things over.

Answer 5

Judo, Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, or if his school has it, wrestling.

I am actually at his height and was bullied alot at the time as well because I was short and relatively short. It royally sucked.

But what helped me to protect myself and allowed me to now get my behind handed to me consistently was wrestling. I did it for a few years in highschool and learned to hold my own because of the simple fact that wrestling makes you, pound for pound, ridiculously stronger than the people around you. It is a day in, day out workout that seeks to, as quickly as possible, get you into fighting shape. And since wrestling teaches you how to throw, trip, takedown and hold, it allows you to de-escalate a situation by only taking someone down and sitting them only if you wish to. Which is ridiculously important in a high school confrontation.

Judo is basically wrestling except it emphasizes throws versus penetration step takedowns and it uses the gi. The gi is a good training tool and will allow him to defend himself very well as well because a jacket or a vest can be substituted for a gi quickly and easily. If some guy throws a punch, he can come in and throw him and walk away no problem, and once the guy's thrown, if he doesn't know how to breakfall, the breath will be knocked out of him and the situation can be de-stressed.

BJJ for the simple reason that most fights will end up on the ground. Especially in highschool fights, with one guy trying to sit on the others' chest and throw punches downward. BJJ will help him avoid the takedown if he wishes to, the grapple range that /all/ fights with untrained fighters inevitably goes toward. And if it should hit the ground, he'll be fine. He'll be pressure tested enough in sparring that he will be able to handle himself on the ground and sweep and take the top where he will be able to pin or hold down and de-escalate. Or punch.

Do /not/, I repeat do /not/ put him into a striking art. It doesn't help a short person that much and should only be emphasized after a period of relative proficiency in grapple ranges for the simple fact that he's short and it will be difficult for him to use his tools for the task. And it takes longer to be a good striker than it does to be a decent judoka, wrestler or jiu jitsu player.

Do /not/, and this is emphasized to a ridiculous degree, put him into any martial art that de-emphasizes sparring or teaches "deadly" techniques. If you want him to be able to defend himself, put him into a school where he will be able to spar. This will teach him to use his techniques in a stressed environment and not in a cold vacuum. This will equate out into better self defence for obvious reasons.

Answer 6

Kajukenbo is a street effective system. It covers all ranges of fighting and also teaches how to handle multiple attackers. Some other good styles are freestyle karate, CHA 3 kenpo, choy li fut kung fu, and hung gar kung fu .

Answer 7

The most popular martial art is the us is tae kwon do. (at least in my area). I took it for five years and did not learn a whole lot of self defense skills. Mostly forms and standard sparring. Talk to the instructors at the different schools in your area, tell them exactly what your son seeks.

Answer 8

You should go into a dojo and talk to a sensei, tell him what you told us and see what a guy has to say about it, tsalk to a few local ones and decide who is the best fit, I would recommend weight training, it would be best if you started to lift with him together, so join a gym together, get him into a fitness routine, that will build his strength and confidence, and then jui jitsu is good for defense, but I would get him into a boxing form, like pugilism or like a kempo karate.

Answer 9

I think I can help you. I'm only 5'6" and was also picked on in school. I've been studying Shito-Ryu for 13 years and it has helped tremendously. For being a little guy like myself, I'd reccomend some form of Okinawan karate. There's a lot of Americanized junk out there that call themselves "karate", but avoid them. They train people to score points in tournaments, but they do little to help people actually defend themselves on the street. A lot of that fancy stuff looks pretty, but it will get you killed out in the real world.
For your son's sake, I hope he never has to fight any of these people that are picking on him. Should never fight unless there's no other choice. Find a good traditional school. Most of them wear white uniforms (gi's) and emphasize kata (forms) and two man drills rather than sparring and tournaments. Tournaments themselves aren't a bad thing-I've been in two. But, they shouldn't be the main focus. If you have anymore questions, you can e-mail me at [e-mail] My name is Evan. I hope your son finds what he's looking for. Remember, karate isn't just about learning how to fight. It's about learning how not to fight.

Answer 10

A lot of people usually pick karate if their first timers, but trust me, it is the weakest type of martial art out there. Since your son is 16 try having him try taijitsu; it is a strong hand to hand combat course and it will prepare him for any trouble