What Martial Arts Should I take ?

Question

I want it to be acrobatic and yet still kicking and punching and to learn how to control my bodies power and movement? any suggestions?

Answer 1

An acrobatic striking art that teaches self control... it depends on how acrobatic you want.

If you are looking for tornado kicks, jump spin kicks, 540-degree aerial kicks, and techniques like that, you want Tae Kwon Do. Your best bet would be the Chung Do Kwan style of Tae Kwon Do, which most closely follows what the Kukkiwon (hq for Tae Kwon Do in Korea) teachers.

If you are looking for aerials, flips, twisting flips, and cartwheels incorporated into forms (kata/poomse), then you are looking for XMA, a style of martial arts popularized by Mike Chat. This is usually incorporated into Japanese Karate-Do although there are some schools of Tae Kwon Do who have started incorporating "extreme" movements into their training. For more information on XMA and to locate an XMA school near you, go to http://xmarevolution.com/ .

Capoeira is very gymnastic, but it has a totally different philosophy. It is more a dance, a cultural thing, rather than a striking, fighting art. You "play" capoeira ("jogar capoeira") and the whole point of playing is to match your movements so closely it's a dance, with no actual contact but fluid, rhythmic movements. It doesn't sound like this is what you are looking for.

I recommend XMA first, then Tae Kwon Do. Good luck!

Answer 2

Martial arts ans sport are 2 totally different concept. They by no means are equal. The 2 look different and are practiced different. Unfortunately many today do not know the difference. Many are being taught a sport and never learn the art. Therefore people with no knowledge of the arts see a weak version of a true art and gauge everyone according to their knowledge of martial arts and they don' have any knowledge. I love how pugspaw, sensei scandal, stillcrazy put it. I have nothing against those that play games. That is great for them. However, I am interested in having the knowledge and ability of self defense. I'm interested in budo. I do not even want to use the term martial with sport. The 2 does not go together. One is a game. The other is war. There is nothing better than when attacked knowing how to position yourself in a manner that the attacker can't do anything, but is exposed to everything that will stop the threat immediately. When I was a child I played tag. I don't play that childish game anymore. We used to trade punches in grade school. I don't trade punches anymore. If I hit you I mean to stop you. I do not look for a referee to say you tapped out. I'll know you are out when the lights go out and you go limp. I'll know that you surrender when I hear or feel the joint snap. I'll know you can't use that limb right now to attempt to harm me or my family.

Answer 3

Tae Kwon Do or American Karate. A lot will have to do with the instructor more than anything else. Some traditional instructors will not teach the "show" aspects of martial arts or don't know what the difference is. Wu Shu and Kung Fu also would be good but legitimate instructors for those styles are harder to find. Shop around and inquire what they teach and use for promotion purposes and do they offer anything else in addition to those things. Also if they have a demo team would be good. "Show" martial arts-what looks good through a camera or on television-is often times not always the same as what would be effective or well suited for self-defense or is needed for promotion in a lot of schools.

Answer 4

Wushu, also known as modern wushu or contemporary wushu, is both an exhibition and a full-contact sport derived from traditional Chinese martial arts. Created in the People's Republic of China after 1949, wushu has spread globally through the International Wushu Federation (IWUF), which holds the World Wushu Championships every two years; the first World Championships were held in 1991 in Beijing and won by Clark Zhang.

Wushu is composed of two disciplines: taolu ( forms) and sanda ( sparring) Taolu forms are similar to gymnastics and involve martial art patterns and maneuvers for which competitors are judged and given points according to specific rules. The forms comprise basic movements (stances, kicks, punches, balances, jumps, sweeps and throws) based on aggregate categories traditional Chinese martial art style and can be changed for competitions to highlight one's strengths. Competitive forms have time limits that can range from 1 minute, 20 seconds for the some external styles to over five minutes for internal styles.

Answer 5

If you have a friend that is currently training somewhere, go there. It is always nice to have a friend to workout with. If not, then find a school that is near your home or work and go there. It is also good to have a school that is convenient to get to.

The style of Martial Art you choose is totally up to you, so choose what interests you. There is no single Art that anyone can honestly recommend to you. Most will obviously recommend their Art and hype it with words. The truth is all Arts are beneficial and it is completely up to you to make whatever Art you choose a success for you.

The most important thing is get started and keep going. It will be tough at first, but it will get easier very quickly.

Have fun!

Answer 6

for acrobatics with kicking and punching, I'd choose capoeira. I myself am a capoeirista. You can see videos on you tube of how acrobatic these guys can be, just with capoeira. Pay attention to ones with sul de bahia or batuque in the name, and to one video called capoeira prodigy.

Most martial arts deal with better application of body power and movement. I take 3 martial arts and yoga, and each of these has been great for me.

Answer 7

capoeira is probably your best bet. there are things like XMA that do a lot of jumping and flipping, but capoeira also focuses on kicking and punching along with the acrobatic aspect. I'm pretty sure this is what you're looking for. Think about Eddie off of tekken.

www.capoeira.com

www.capoeiraarts.com

www.youtube.com/?v=LwyGYb6cuMI

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capoeira

Answer 8

Mixed martial arts teaches you a good stand up with muay thai and judo and teaches you how to defend yourself on the ground with BJJ and wrestling. Its not called mixed martial arts for nothing. All that flashy jumping and doing three spining kicks in mid air doesnt work in real life, it looks cool in the movies but its all crap thats really for movies and not actual usage

Answer 9

Shaolin Kung Fu. No contest. Takes a long time to master but is acrobatic and does work in combat.

If you want a more sport focus then Wu Shu.

Answer 10

um maybe tae kwon do? or if you prefer the ground BJJ is good. I prefer anything Mixed Martial Arts