Can you suggest of a good martial art (rest below)?

Question

I do not want it to be completely/only defensive and I would like it to have weapon (sword) use, also preferably Japanesse martial art.. I am planning to start a martial art but I am not sure which one. So, any martial art you are aware of that fits that description?

Answer 1

Hi there

There have been some good answers so far. Cnote and Beatchanter have made some good points.

If you want to learn a Japanese martial art that uses unarmed techniques as well as the sword then there are some styles that do just that. The problem with unarmed schools that use weapons is that most of them will only teach you weapons once you have mastered the unarmed techniques. Some schools of Karate let you advance onto Okinawa Kobudo once you obtain your 1st dan. Kobudo has a list of specialist weapons including the sword but again the forms are quite complicated so it’s better to have a good understanding of the basics first. Aikido is the same. This too has weapons such as the Jo and katana. There’s also the Bujinkan which covers both Samurai and ninja biken arts. The samurai sword techniques come from Kukishinden Ryu and the ninja techniques come from Togakure ryu biken jutsu.

Then there are the arts that just practice the sword such as Kendo (sports fencing) and iaido (Drawing and cutting practice). Kendo belongs to quite a large federation but iaido has many styles and it can be difficult to find a school because it is considered to be koryu (pure samurai) art. Nearly all the modern Japanese arts are not koryu such as Karate, Judo and Aikido which aren't even 100 years. One iaido school that springs to mind is muso jikiden eishin ryu which is a very good ryu.

But just like cross training in the martial arts the sword arts are no exception. To fully understand its use you really have to train in kenjutsu, iaido, kendo, muto dori and daisho sabaki.

This is what the samurai of old would have done.

I do agree that most arts are defensive by nature. But not all of them. I do believe that in order to be able to defend yourself from any weapon you must first know how to use it.

Best to try a few styles and see which one speaks to you the most.

Good luck in your training

idai

Answer 2

Any classical martial art would do you nicelu. I'm 60 and shotokan karate suits me fine. KM does not resemble Muay Thai much though. One is a crash course in self defence, the other a fighting sport. Neither will last a lifetime. I don't know about "defeating 2 muggers", but I know I am safer than without the training, and so are others around me. Read tjhios, and best luck: When you decide to begin training in martial art you have some questions you have to answer for yourself. Are you looking for a sport to play, an art to dedicate a lifetime to, or a quick fix method of self defence? Some combination of that perhaps? Most of us are, or were all three at times. Where do your priorities lie? You must first decide martial art , or fighting sport. The two are worlds apart, although they overlap in several areas, their mindset, and intent are opposite. You have to know also what is available to you. If you have Uechi-Ryu, and Bak Mei in your area, wanting to do TKD would not help you. Of the available options you must decide which one(s) interest you. Then you have to decide (take your time, it's important) which available instruction is the one for you. You can change or quit if you don't like it, but better to stay with the program right through (providing the program is a good one) for the best training. Style-hopping has in my experience cost many a martial artist their potential, so choose wisely, nobody here can tell you what to do for you. So do your homework well. Talk to instructors and students, watch classes, take 'free introductory' classes, make your decision. One more thing, good luck

Answer 3

Most traditional styles have weapons - that's what it makes them 'martial arts'. Weapons are usually come up in the agenda quite late - you're usually expected to master the weaponless part of the curriculum before weapons are introduced at all.

If you definitely want swords, then iaido and kendo is for you, but those are swords only.

Depending on the school Chinese styles 'shaolin kung-fu' usually has a lot of different weapons, and in 'wu-shu' schools (if it is the 'Chinese martial arts for demonstration' understanding of the label) usually start weapons early. 'Kobudo' can be the Japanese version of these. (I put the style names in '' because these are not stand-alone styles but rather a collection of weapons and weaponless fighting styles - as they are taught openly in the West)

Be warned though, even mediocre weapons instructors/masters are rare, and the less formal the style is the less proof you can have before joining in (and spending some money if it's a commercial school). Then again - there's only a minor chance for anyone to test weapons skills live (I'd say it's better so...)

Answer 4

Many martial arts loosely fit what you are looking for but not all schools teach the sword for instance. So I would shop around and look for a school and instructor that best fits what you are looking for. Go and watch some classes at each, talk to the instructors, and students, and which ones give you the best value for your money. Schools and instructors are like cars-they are all alike but yet different. By picking one that best fits your interests you are more likely to stay with it and be relatively happy. Also if you can find one that fits exactly what you are looking for then that's even better but that will be the hard part-irreguardless of style.

Answer 5

you probably wont find a style that will teach sword and and hand to hand both in great detail. it would most likely focus on one or the other. most generic karate places will teach you SOME okinawan weapons such as bo sais nunchuckus kamas tonfas etc...but it will focus more on hand to hand(considering karate means empty hand), on the other hand kendo is a very popular sword art that will teach you how to strictly use a sword

japanese weapons
kobudo-will teach you all the okinawan weapons
kendo-sword
kenjutsu-sword
iaido-teach you how to draw a sword

japanese hand to hand
judo-throws and grappling
kyokushin-strikes(and my personal favorite form of karate)
kempo-strikes
shotokan-strikes
aikido-grappling some strikes more of a defensive art

now jujutsu would probably fit you perfectly if you can find TRUE japanese jujutsu this is the art the samurais used therefore swords were used, they also used strikes and grappling, however grappling was more often used because fighting another samurai punching metal armor isnt too practical. its the parenthood of many other martial arts like judo, aikido, brazilian juijitsu, etc...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jujutsu

this isnt a complete list just some of the more popular japanese arts for a closer to complete list look at
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_martial_arts

p.s. technically karate is not a japanese art it is okinawan

Answer 6

I would recommend the Filipino Martial Arts. You can do a search for Arnis, Eskrima or Filipino Kali.

Some FMA styles blend Japanese Jujitsu into their empty hand curriculum.

You can visit my site http://www.kuntawkali.com/
or these other links;
http://www.imafp.com/
http://kaliarnisinternational.com/

Regards,

Rich Acosta

Answer 7

I would recommend Tae Kwon Do or an Iado class. I know this because the TKD school i go to offers and iado sword class hosted by Master John Suarez. I go to Sheroan's Tae Kwon Do Academy and its website is http://www.sheroantaekwondo.com/ .

Answer 8

I personally do a style of kung fu that incorporates many other styles include weapons such as escrima, staff, kris knives, nunchaku and goes onto teach Japanese katanas. The style teaches self-defense but also teaches how to handle multiple attacks.

Depending on where you are in the world you may be able to do this style.

I wish the best of luck finding your own style.

Answer 9

Maybe Kendo, or Aikido, or Japanese Jujitsu, or even there are some jitsus that teach sword and empty hand, as well as sometimes bojitsu, and naginatajitsu.

Answer 10

kendo is probably the most common form of japanese sword training you can get. however there are many forms of japanese martial arts (and weapon training). check out this wiki page to learn about them.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_martial_arts