What martial art is right for me?

Question

Im 15 and want to take up a martial art. Im pretty strong but can a girl really to good against guys?

Answer 1

The first rule is you don't pick a Martial Art that is "right" for you. There is no such thing. You pick one that interests you or one that your friends are already training in and that is the one you study. It is up to you to train hard and mold yourself to the style you choose, not the other way around. You have to make yourself right for it. That takes hard work and dedicated training no matter what style you choose.

I won't say you could never beat a boy, somewhere, sometime, somehow, but most boys, if they don't hold back because you are a girl, will clean your clock.

Answer 2

A girl will train with guys, but in competitions you wouldn't be put up against guys. If your technique is good, you shouldn't have trouble competing against guys. Strength isn't the most important thing. Endurance and technique are much more important because competitions count points, not the strength of the blows.

I've tried a number of martial arts. Depending on your taste you could chose different ones. If you like a very structured style, where you will do a lot of your training by going through specific motions (called 'katas' for japanese martial arts), try something like karate or kung fu. If you prefer a style that's more dynamic and combat oriented, I recommend muay thai.

Good luck :) All of them are good and great fun to train. You'll just feel a little sore after the first few practices so it's really important not to let yourself get discouraged at the start. It's good to have a friend to go with who also wants to do the same martial art. That way you sort of force each other to go even when you're feeling a little lazy. :P

Answer 3

I'd recommend Kenpo Karate---admittedly, I'm biased, having taken it for some ten years now, but I'm also a fifteen year old girl and fighting against /practicing with boys twice my size (or age, I'm in an adult class) hasn't proven to be a problem yet---in fact, none of them can take me down in the simpler ways if I don't want them to.

Kenpo is a traditional Japanese style of Karate, though there are Americanizations. In all of the studios I've been to (the current count is four), you start class with basics, which is usually a really good workout, and then practice slightly more individual stuff for the rest of class, which ranges from short techniques (about 30 seconds to do correctly), forms (about two minutes to do correctly, once you've learned them), and sparring. From my experience in Karate, being a boy or a girl has nothing to do with how well you do, just whether or not you like it and are willing to work at it.

Another thing about Kenpo that is pretty cool is it is supposedly really useful in actual fight situations (at least the basic strikes are, some of the forms are a little too showy to be useful). It basically shows you how to ward off all sorts of attacks (punches, knives, grabs, and, though this is probably an addition, guns) without having anything to fight with except for your hands and feet. Plus, most studios (3/4 of the ones I've attended) will have actual sparring classes to show you how to transfer what you practice in class to an actual fight.

But, if Kenpo doesn't sound right for you (I'm not you, so I don't know), a lot of studios that teach Kenpo also teach different martial arts (my current studio does jiu jitsu, Kickboxing, and Fitness Kickboxing,) and will give you a trail membership to try out a few before picking the one you want to go with.

It probably won't do you much good if you don't live in the greater Boston area, but my studio's website is:

http://www.nskenpo.com/index.html

Hope you find something you like!

Answer 4

Girls can definately be good at martial arts. In fact I think ALL females should learn a little martial arts and/or self defense.

I am 30 yrs. old and a green belt in American Kempo Karate (see the link listed under resources). I chose American Kempo Karate mainly because of how close the school was to my house. I'm glad I chose American Kempo Karate because it is very physical. I am a larger person and need the exercise.

Most of the "how to choose a style" articles focus on body type. For example, "Because judo concentrates on throwing techniques, it is a good choice if you have a short, squatty physique." Check out the rest of Bill Wallace's article using the link listed under sources.

Another thing to consider is wheter or not you want to use weapons, board breaking, or participate in tournamnets. For example, we do not start weapons until green belt at my school and we do not do board breaking (for which I am grateful).

Some schools progress faster than others. My school takes 4 or more years to achieve a black belt. While some of my friends became black belts in two. I like the slower track though. There always seems to be too much to learn.

Final thought, do a test trial and check out the school. See the article by Moore listed below.

Also there is a wiki on Martial Arts listed.
Good Luck!

Answer 5

actually, from what i've seen.. yes

girls are better technicians than guys.. and in turn that makes them better fighters..

of course, it does depend on the girl.. but you're strong and aggressive, sure you can..

women usually have the advantage when it comes to learning martial arts.. because most martial arts are about technique and leverage..

as women we have to learn these things early because brute strength doesn't help us like it does men..

so we learn to improvise... using angles, leverage and technique to make it thru our daily lives..

why do you think you see so many guys with bad backs.. take a man and a woman, give them a fridge to move.. the guy will try to man handle it and pick it up or push it with all his force.. the woman will tilt it and let gravity do the work for her..

so you see, women are better adept to understand the intriquesys of martial arts..

i think it's great that you want to get into martial arts..

there are a number of great martial arts:

kickboxing/boxing/muay Thai are all full contact arts, which means sooner or later you'll start sparring with others and most likely will get hit and sometimes hard... it's a scary prospect to think about, but it gets easier, and real fights don't seem as bad because you have been hit and know how to react..

aikido, judo, shuay jao, hapkido.. throwing arts.. great for smaller people because they take advantage of a lower center of gravity

wrestling, bjj, jujitsu.. grappling arts.. these are very close quarters contact arts. and a lot of times you'll be maybe one of one or two women in the class, which means you'll have to roll with guys.. most schools strive to be respectful and professional in this matter, but most girls get fairly uncomfortable when dealing with the fact that they have a strange guy between their legs..

tkd, karate, kung fu, tai chi chuan.. forms arts.. in these arts you learn a lot of single person forms or katas.. which are a series of movements and strikes to simulate counters and attacks against an imaginary opponent...

krav maga, jkd, self defense systems.. these tend to be reality based, senario training.. different from traditional martial arts in that there are no belts or gi's.. these systems are primarily for survival, protection against preditors, and everyday self defense...

i always strongly recommend that any woman taking a martial art should always take a day seminar of krav maga or some self defense system..

well, if there is any other way i can help let me know!
to give you an idea, i personally take tai chi chuan, shuay jao, krav maga, escrima, kickboxing, boxing, and submissions grappling... it's an interesting mix of internal and external arts but it works well, each compliment the other..

i hope this helps!

~*good luck*~

Answer 6

-in some cases yeah. as long as he is not super bigger than you. there is a lot of factors that play in to it for example if the dued is just a street fighter, if they have actually trained, heaver, height, ext. P.s your a 15 year old girl, so if you know how to fight, you would surprise a lot of people. element of surprise, don't show off and tell millions that you do martial arts (lol, so don't warn any body, before a fight, that you know martial arts).

-okay, what you should do is research dif' type of Martial arts, and when you think you found a the perfect martial art school ask to see one of there training sessions.

-I like hopkido (i haven't done a lot of it, but from what i have, i liked). Even though i like grappling, striking is important.


-ON HOPKIDO. okay just a throwing art, NO. it's best described as a mixture of SMALL CIRCLE JUJITSU AND AKIDO. IT USES PRESSER POINTS TO DISRUPT THE FLOW OF CHI (life force energy) or to use it for good purposes, SOME GRAPPLING, THROWS, AND SOME STRIKING. Close in, YES. oh, yeah down and durty bone braking.

-of course everybody says there style is the best, but if you like any that one lists here, you will have to do some research. LOOK AT HISTORY AND SEE HOW AND WHY THE MARTIAL ART WAS CREATED.

-Y, because look at ninjitsu (some body correct me if i'm wrong) it is quick and is used to kill. ninja (somthing like an assasin) would strike fast, be on the run, and were stelthy (when i say stelthy dont think of a man hiding behind a bush, but a man discised as a you paper boy). didnt matter if you back was turned, just get the job done.

-p.s. take a look at the israyley martial art (hope i spelled it right). i dont remember what its called, but its suposed to be realy good for self defnse. its some hybred style. ho, shi* i think it is krav maga or is it f.i.g.h.t ether one.

HOPE I HELPED.

Answer 7

its depend on you as a girl. do you have the motivation to be better than guys? are you willing to put in the long hours and hard work out to be stronger and faster than guys? you can do it if you turly believe in yourself that you can do it.

which martial arts do you like, that is the question. you have to pick which form of martial arts that you feel is right for you and you can be good at.

good luck!

Answer 8

Wing Chun kung fu, Tai Mantis kung fu, aikido, ju-jitsu, pencak silat, arnis/escrima, Bagua/Pakua, Tai Chi Chuan. The last two are going to take a long time to learn, so if you want to learn self defense in a hurry, you may want to try something else. But they are both incredible arts. I don't recommend hard styles like Shotokan, Tae Kwon Do or Hung Gar to women because they seem to emphasize strength. The arts I recommended will utilize your natural strengths like fluidity and softness.

Answer 9

Girls certainly can - it's not about strength
Whichever you pick I (so many styles can see your problem) - please consider additionally taking Tai-Chi classes - although you may need to shop around to find a real teacher

Doing Tai Chi will teach you so much more about balance, energy and control that you can use in any other contact martial art.

Answer 10

Wing Chun...
Read the story here on this web page...
Especially the part at the bottom concerning
Yim Wing Chun
http://www.shaolinwingchun.com/en/origins/origins_kungfu.html
I believe that the Wing Chun style would be well worth your looking into.