What martial Art should I choose? (A Typical question, I know.)?

Question

I am in high school.
I am reasonably fit and I play tennis for my school.
I used to play soccer.

I want three things out of a martial art.

#1 (Ideally) The ability to get past lots of thugs with assorted weapons (in a self defense kind of situation)

#2 The ability to just stop someone from moving without hurting them at all (causing damage).

#3 A sport that won't hurt me. I'm sure there aren't any that causee excessive damage to your own body, but I thought I had to mention this point.


I've looked up Aikido, mainly because of #2.

I want a martial art to which there is no sport, only reality.
For example I don't want to know how to do tricks that will get me "points" in a tournament. I want a martial art that will teach me only how to fig

I want a martial Art that is good against anything, even other martial artists of different arts.


Please don't answer without some explanation.
If you're not sure what to reccommend, just give me the best options.

I want one art.
I don't want to have to cross train.
What one art has all of this?

Answer 1

Aikedo all the way. Its aim is not to hurt people, just to disarm them. If the people you practice with are good, they will never hurt you. Its great, its the only purely defensive martial art. Research in on wikipedia.

Answer 2

I would still choose a Grappling type Art.
I guess one of the many variations of "Brazilian Jujitsu".

#1 of your needs from an Art is quite unrealistic.
In that situation you would stand little hope of coming out of it unscathed.
NO MARTIAL ART WILL TURN YOU INTO A JUGGERNAUT.
However, a while ago a brilliant martial artist named Bruce Lee noticed what I like to call, "Natural Progression".
If you have seen any Boxing matches (or if you've seen 2 drunken idiots fighting in an alley) you would notice that as they punched, scratched or whatever they would move closer together...close the distance until they grappled.

They would "naturally progress" to a close quarters fight.

Bruce Lee realized this and knew his art (a Gung-Fu style) had no answer to this because it was strike-based.
So, he integrated grappling/groundfighting to his own Martial Art, Jeet Kune Do.
Bruce Lee is who I consider to be the prototype of the modern fighter and JKD the prototype for modern fighting arts.

When the UFC debuted, it was thought martial artists would kill each other in the octagon.
That, and several other misconceptions about the fighting arts were dispelled as myth.
It did make 3 things very clear:
1) No single style was the best.
2) Natural Progression.
3) Groundfighting was extremely effective against the mainstream, strike-centered fighter.

In other words, the majority of people HAVE LITTLE TO NO KNOWLEDGE of fighting on the ground...which is why Royce Gracie seemed to be the greatest fighter on Earth.
He wasn't...he was exploiting the weakness that his opponents had, the lack of competitive grappling skill.

My advice, in the situation you described, run or take the fight to the ground...where statiscally, you would fare much better.

Your other needs (#2 and #3) can also be met with choosing a BJJ variant.
It's not an oxymoron, you can fight someone AND defeat them WITHOUT hurting them.
Both in the ring and in the aforementioned alley.

Don't forget, you need the mindset, first.
Please consider reading, "The Tao of Jeet Kune Do" by Bruce Lee.
His philosophy is echoed by modern Champions, knowingly or unknowingly.

Answer 3

capoeira is one that provides amazing stamina, a good hard work out, along with a strong offensive and defensive arsenal. another i recommend is Muy Thai. it is an art of strength and devastating attacks that allow you to subdue an opponent with one or maybe two strikes without causing serious damage. it provides you with a strong defensive set that are in a way defensive attacks. such as kicking an attackers leg when he tries to kick you and so on. they are both powerful ways to go however nothing will always work. a martial art that is good against anything does not exist. i say this because the ability to defend against anything is a matter of the creativity of the one learning the art. also you should understand that the first premise of any martial art is to only fight when it absolutely necessary. in all other cases if you run you live to fight another day. if you believe there is shame in running most any master you have will either beat it out of you or just remove you from the class. i have also heard good things about cong go do (spelled wrong) just make sure you are getting into it for the right reasons. i was in Muy thai for 7 years and it was great but i only ever use what i learned when i absolutely have to.

Answer 4

You are confused because you have not thought about why you want to study a martial art. You have not determined your goals, so you have no idea which directions to go. There are over 100 styles of various martial arts and each styles can be taught or studied for different reasons. But in the end, it is not the style that matters - it is the quality of the teacher and the dedication of the student. You cannot dedicate yourself to something unless you have a reason to pursue it. So, start at the beginning - what is your goal?

Answer 5

Aikido is great for #2 and #3 but it wont help you with #1.

Judo is good for #1 and #3 but if you're faced with more then one attacker you will have to hurt someone in order to survive. In reality the safest way to defend yourself is to drop the enemy with one hit. The thing with Judo is it can be used against multiple attackers OR can be a non-lethal/non-injuring art.

Ju Jitsu is similar but focuses on 1-on-1 combat.

Kempo may be a good one but you always run the risk with any punching art of breaking your hand or wrist. kempo teaches you to use the fastest and easiest way to defend yourself so it's great for #1.

Wing Chun is a great one for #3 because it doesn't teach punches but rather palm strikes which you are less likely to hurt yourself with. It's also great for #1 because it's very fast. However it doesn't fit #2 at all, it is very damaging to the enemy.

I hope this didn't confuse you any. You may have to cross train to get that combination of needs. Also you may not find what you are looking for in an art and if you do may not find the school that teaches it in your area. Good luck.

Answer 6

Martial arts come in 2 basic styles, grappling & striking. Each has advantages & disadvantages. Here is a brief summary:

Striking: Tae Kwon Do. Karate, Shaolin boxing
Good: Can handle multiple attackers, can engage at long range, enables you to be pro active when necessary.
Not so good: Ground, hard to control an attacker without inflicting serious injury.

Grappling: Hapkido, Judo, etc.
Good: effective in close, good on the ground, can control an attacker without inflicting serious injury.
Not so Good: Not good at long range, you must wait for the attacker to make the 1st move. Not effective against multiple attackers.

Answer 7

krav maga.

to answer #1:
-its a martial art which emphasises worse case scenario training (eg what to do if you have a broken arm? in a real fight or what if your opponent has a weapon and you dont?). this martial art has the most practical solutions to a fight.

to answer #2:
- they do teach you how to manipulate pressure points so that you dont have to bruise your opponent(s) too badly. but i must say because this is not aikido where you solely practice this, you will need to be a bit more advanced in your krav lessons. they do share techniques from ju jitsu and aikido, but these techniques are never easy to learn in the first place. in aikido you have to learn to break fall and roll without getting hurt, before you can learn these locks techniques.

to asnwer # 3:
-they emphasise safety during training, so you dont get injured. they only simulate the worst cast scenarios without having you to break your arm of course.

krav is tested and proven. it is used by the police and army. but they do have a civillian syllabus. you wont have tournaments in krav maga because it is a real martial art.

anyways i have shared mostly pros and a little bit of cons here and there. i'll be honest with you and end with one con - that krav maga lessons arent as cheap as say tkd. and it depends but where i live it is more expensive than aikido as well.

if you think krav is unsuitable, i strongly recommend what you already are thinking about - aikido.

but personally, maybe it does not fit you. i do favour Jeet Kune Do. so that is option number 3.

Answer 8

I'm biased towards tang soo do, because its the one i've spent the most time in and actually can say i know about it.

Its a stand up martial arts though. Punches and kicks mostly. lots of initial submission type of moves are taught, like grabbing a punch/pick and taking someone to the ground, but its always followed up with a stomp to the head or something.
Teaches you how to get out of a variety of holds. Officially...until black belt, there are knife defenses. Usually the instructor will teach you some others weapon defense, but stay away from guns normally. Even with knife defnese, they tell you to run away if you can or give a guy your wallet if he's a mugger rather than try to disarm him.

I'm not gonna say aikido is bad....well with all marital arts, you are really looking at years and years of work. I think it takes a bit longer to get half decent at aikido.

I used to do soccer too and i go more of a workout from these classes than the few miles of running in soccer.

Oh tang soo do does teach you some ground defenses, but again mostly striking...not too indepth too, but you're not completley lost if you end up on the ground........but in all honesty, if a half decent wrestler gets a tang soo do practitioner on the ground, they wrestler probably will win.

Now not wanted to hurt people. hell i dont' want to hurt people...thats why i avoid fights. I'm a muslim in central PA...i think you can imagine how often i get called taliban, terrorist...towel head...sand N*gger...etc. Never been into a fight for those reasons. I get pretty irked, but i just walk away.
But if someone is acutally swinging at you or tryign to stab you...where is the harm in defending yourself by hurting them back. You don't have to kill them or break bones...its your call when you stop.

If you get multiple attackers though and are simply throwing people around, besides hitting the ground, they aren't getting very hurt and probably more angry. Thats not gonna stop them from attacking you.

But yeah thats my suggestion. But think like 10 years before you are half decent compared to street thugs.

Answer 9

Capoeira possesses a very unique style that brings together beauty and power, developing mental balance, physical conditioning, self-defense, music and a profound sense of art, all at once. Capoeira can be done by anyone of any age or size. More than a martial art, Capoeira is also a social event filled with tradition and history.

Answer 10

Jeet kune do would be ideal in your situaton, aka the way of the intercepting fist, this style focuses on the ability to stop an opponant from a reasonable distance using powerful sidekicks and attacking ones ego, very effective if confronted againsts large groups of thugs. Good to note this was bruce lee's style.

Answer 11

If you do not want to hurt someone but just want to defend yourself then I would suggest you try jujitsu, judo, or aikido. All of those styles are considered gentle fighting arts, meaning their not geared towards hurting someone, but rather defending one's self.

Now that’s for general purpose self-defense against punches, strikes, kicks, and people grabbing you. Those styles though tend to not be very effective for teaching you how to defend yourself against someone who has a weapon.

For defense against someone with a weapon I would suggest you try learning one of the Kali Filipino Martial arts like Pekiti Tirsia Kali. Their definitely not gentle as those other one's I mentioned but still very effective.

The Kali system style Filipino martial arts focus on fighting with knives and sticks primarily and do incorporate a lot of techniques for defending one’s self against an attacker who has a knife, stick, or gun. This Martial Art is one of the best for self-defense against an attacker with a weapon.