Some type of martial art??????

Question

OK, I don’t want to sound vain or shallow or anything. I am in high school and I am thinking of starting some type of martial arts. I would like to get by black belt in something before I go off to college. The reasoning: I will not have time to study MA in college, or at first when I enter "the real world" after college. I know a black belt is when you are supposed to be able to start working by yourself, or it is at lease a good half waypoint. If I only got part way through my training, I would have to start over after college so everything was still fresh in my head (I would like to pursue a black belt later if I do not get it now), I think it would be easier to get a black belt if it was fresh in my head
So my question is: what is a good MA that I get a black belt in 3-4 years, and I mean REALLY TRULY LEARN IT, not just buy it? How often would I have to practice? Any help/suggestions are appreciated….. Thank you

Maybe I should add that I am a female, I do not get into street fights, I do not want to join the military, and I do not want this to kill me.

I want to do this as more of a sport than a way to protect myself in war zones.

Muay Thai and Krav Maga sound too intense. They sound like something I would take before joining the army.

Plus, I do not think that I could find any place near by that would teach me Krav Maga .

I was looking for like karate, TKD, things that I could find in my area, etc.

I really appreciate the answer, but they just would not fit my life style.

Good answers but how often would i have to attend classes, and for how long? Thanks

Answer 1

At the end of the day a black belt means that the colour of the belt that holds up your pants is black.

I understand what you are referring to though, if you are looking for a style that is good for a woman you could try Wing Chun, it was designed by a woman.

Karate is a mainly sport focus as is taekwondo and Judo so they may be up your alley, also you could try Wu Shu which is mainly sport focus these days.

Really nearly everything is sport focus though unless you train it otherwise and not many people train things in a realastic manner, even most that think they do are kidding themselves.

Just try a bunch of classes close by and chose whichever is the most fun.

Personally I started with Wing Chun over 5 years ago and still love it, teach it and base my fighting style on it, but I have also branched out into Boxing, BaGua, BJJ, Submission Wrestling and Thai Boxing.

Answer 2

Shotokan is a good one, but I'm not sure that you could get your blackbelt. If you train hard and practice some everyday, you could do it, but it depends on how dedicated you are. I have been taking shotokan since I was 6, (I'm almost 17 now) and I'm a girl. I have had my blackbelt since I was 12, and that's a little bit on the long side. My older brother started when he was 7, and he got his when he was 11, but that's on the short side. It's usually somewhere in between there. It's a really good sport, it'll keep you in shape, and it's not extreme or really intense. It's very good for beginners, because you start out slow, and work on form. I don't know where you live, but if you can, try to join a club that's with the ISKF. (International Shotokan Karate Federation) I really think they are the best, and as long as you put something into it, you'll progress, but you will have to work for it. The other thing is that even if you don't get your black belt, you can always practice and improve. There are no weapons, (in fact, Shotokan means "Empty Hand") so you can always practice, and you can practice just about anywhere, you don't need a whole lot of room. In my opinion it's the best way to go, but I'm kinda swayed. I hope this helped you, and if you need any more info, please feel free to e-mail me.

Answer 3

Go around to all the Martial Arts schools in your area.... watch a class from each one... find the one that you like the most, and the one you are willing to apply yourself to, and go for it... I started taking TKD when I was in 7th grade... I had to quit when I moved away for college.... And I still miss it to this day.... A black belt only means that you have an understanding of the mechanics and the application of the basic techniques... not that you are a superhero haha :) On a side note... I am now taking Muay Thai it is great, but it seems that most people think that MT is the best and TKD is junk... its just not the case.... And dont count out looking at a Muay Thai gym... There is no belt system, to hang on your wall, but it is a great workout.... No one there is going to knock you out, and the actual sparring with moderate contact, with men could save your life someday (again, not that TKD wouldn't, but it does take a few years to become proficient enough to be effective) The BB in TKD took me a little over four years attending 3-4 days a week and it was worth every drop of blood and sweat.. Good Luck

Answer 4

If you don't want it to hurt, then don't get involved.

There is always going to be an accident or someone who has no self control.

I will suggest Jujutsu. Not the Brazilian stuff. It's great but it is geared more towards competative sports.

A good Japanese Jujutsu Dojo in your area that also does Judo would be great for you. You would like the curriculum.

Most street fights end up on the ground and these arts will teach you how to fall properly if knocked over or pushed.

3 to 4 years is kind of a short time to earn a black belt in my opinion but this is the norm. Heck, some schools get you to black belt in 2 years!

Answer 5

First off attaining a black belt in a martial art is actually getting to beginner level.

To explain: The different grades up to black belt teach you the 'moves' associated with the particular discipline you're studying. Once you get to black belt your learning really begins you can now start to get a greater understanding of the style as you now know all the basics (moves etc.) - this might sound wacky but it's true.

I'd suggest you go for either Kung Fu (Lau Gar is particularly good, very fluid and mobile) or one of the Taoist martial arts like Bagua, Hsing-i or Tai Chi (and yes Tai Chi is a very effective martial art if you find the right teacher).

As far as training is concerned it depends on your own dedication. Practising every day will increase your muscle memory which will help build speed and reflex action to incoming blows. But this is only useful if you practice the moves correctly - hence the need to practice as much as possible.

A great Tai Chi practitioner called Christopher Pei said this during a seminar I went to (well something along these lines anyway):

Understanding martial arts is like climbing an endless cylinder, with a spiral staircase going around the outside with each successive 'level' of steps numbered 1-10, 1-10, 1-10 etc.. If you ask a master where he is on a scale of 1-10 he will say 1, but as the beginner looks directly above themselves they see that the Master stands on a step marked 1 on a much higher level. This illustrates that the master is continually learning too and he is simply further along the path that both he and the beginner choose to walk.

Answer 6

Any traditional martial art discipline would be a potential candidate for your goals, but honestly, while your goal or earning a black belt is a ludible one, it really should be the journey, the experience, and the people you meet along the way that are the purpose.

Everyone will approach training differently, everyone will apply themeselves differently, and as such, everyone's journey to black belt will be different. I would suggest the most important thing for you would be to find an instructor and school in your area that you like, enjoy training in, and look forward to attending classes, that will give you the best opportunity of progressing as far as possible within the time you have.

Certianly something like TaeKwon-Do, HapKi-Do, some styles of Karate and so on will offer an opportunity for 1st Dan in three to five years depending on the time you devote and your progress.

Good luck!

Ken C
9th Dan HapMoosaKi-Do
8th Dan TaeKwon-Do
7th Dan YongChul-Do

Answer 7

Well it depends what you mean by truly fully learn it, alot of the times your are not even close to learning everything by the time you are blackbelt and getting to black belt is only the begining

To me, a good sence of mastery would be to know all the moves, its japanese/other language translation, all the kata and its bunkai or meaning, and be at the point where you can do a kata and visualize all the bunkai and do it so smoothly you dont need to think about the moves, you just do them

Its impossible to say exactly how long it will take you to master it because it all depends on the art and you, karate is probably your best choice though

Answer 8

From what you are saying you want to master something in short time. for whatever reasons.

I won't get into any points about how useful or realistic it will be, but I think you will find If you look in your local business directory you can probably find about 200 local schools, most of which will grant blackbelts and 'mastery' quite quickly.

The easiest option is a tradtional style, either being taught in a large academy, or by a single instructor who has changed a traditonal style into his own new branch.

Like kensryu or however it is spelt. The martial art started by antonio inoki( jap wrestling fame) that has a few clubs in Tokyo and another couple world wide.

He had world champions who had only been doing it a year or two.

Answer 9

U could try taekwondo... it's really fun and well... it's not that tough and u have a higher chance of obtaining a black belt in 3-4 years than most other martial arts.... i starting taking tkd 1 and a half years ago (almost 2) and i now have a brown belt... u could make many friends too.

Answer 10

You could always consider training in something that doesn't have levels associated with it.
Muay Thai is one of the most intense martial arts in the world, and doesn't really have belts. I would look into it.
Another good one for self defense in real life situations is Krav Maga used by Israeli special forces.