What type of martial art would best benefit me as an American Football runningback?

Question

Ive heard of many football players that enhance their game by learning a martial art, but which one, if any would help a running back the most?

Answer 1

Hello dude, I am a martial artsist myself, and I love it. I do Tae Kwon Do. It is the best martial art of all. It provides you so much training...mind control is one of its main keys, and it makes you very aware of your surroundings. ?Through meditating evry day, I learn how to listen to my body, and put it together with my mind as one. We also learn how to control our breathing, which is the most important part of any training(football too) ......And that is why you should really take Tae Kwon Do classes. Hope my advice helps you somehow.......good luck and good hunting!!!!

Answer 2

hmmmm......for foot ball it is important to be very fast, yes? It would probably also help to have good grounding and to be able to fall down/ get tackled without too much injury. Also, endurance is important. For all of these qualities i would recommend ki-aikido and capoeira.

ki-aikido has taught me to fall without getting hurt too much and its a good class. You also learn some wierd stuff i can't explain, and, as previously mentioned, it helps you get out of the way.

Capoeira is a very fun martial arts that will give you great endurance. I myself have had some football training before, didn't stick with it, but capoeira has exhausted me far more than my experience in football practice. You will exercise muscles that you didn't know you had and wouldn't be aware of it for a while. You'd also learn some acrobatic stuff and it doesn't matter what your shape or weight is. I've seen all body types learn to do some of the insane stuff in this martial art very well. My teacher also tells of people who are 400 pounds with a big beer gut who can do: back-flip, back-flip.....double-flip with a spinning roundhouse off the wall kick, or some other madness.

Answer 3

Sounds like you may enjoy American Kenpo. Consists of hundreds of counters for any type f attack you may face, and employs punches, elbows, a few knees, kicks, throws and takedowns, and elementary groundfighting, as well as some joint-locks and a couple of chokes, and even includes a bit of weapons and weapons defense work, which should only be attempted if you absolutely feel it's necessary. American Kenpo, meaning "American Fist Law" is often called "The Ultimate in Self-Defense" and was in fact developed specifically for 'street self-defense.'The only downside to Kenpo, and other standup arts like karate, Tae Kwon Do, Kickboxing, Boxing, and even Muay Thai, is that they don't really have a grappling or ground game, meaning if you are taken down in a fight by a grappler, bigger or stronger opponent, you will most likely (99.9% of the time) lose. To remedy this, take up Kenpo if you like, and cross-train in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu or Japanese Jujutsu, and you will be a complete martial artist.

Answer 4

Ignore all the answers above and just go to Japan and learn the Ancient art of Sumo. Just think of it this way...Football = Big beefy guys ramming against each other, Sumo = Humongous fat guys slamming against each other. Nuff said!

Answer 5

all kinds of martial arts focus on mental and physical so if you do any martial arts they will all benefit you in different ways. all should go towards running of course

Answer 6

Good question

Judo is very good for the balance the only fear I would have is a judo injury hurting your football career. Judo though has balance, speed, power in a stand up position very good for football.

Boxing would be good for mental toughness.

Answer 7

Ba-Gua Zhang footwork is designed to weave in and out of the way of multiple opponents, since footwork and evasion are a running backs greatest asset.

Answer 8

Start learning a martial art that emphasizes "rooting", and establishing connection with the ground.

Answer 9

JUDO OR KENPO \\ judo would not be too much more diffrent the you tac football move,s \\ kenpo would tougfen you up and give you a bit more of a edge on the field

Answer 10

It depends really on what you want to enhance.

For example boxing and muy thia will give you more endurance while something like brazilian jiu jitsu will give you strength and balance.