What martial art should I get involved in?

Question

I am looking to get into shape. I also want to be able to defend myself should I ever need to. I want something hands on and that I can put 110% into. Something more physical and not just moves. What do you recommend and why? Thanks

Answer 1

Every person that answers your question is going to be giving you a biased answer based on their own personal martial arts experience. My advice to you is to research some of the martial arts that are of some appeal to you. Then see what ones are offered in your area and see if you can train with clubs for a trial period to see if the art is the one for you.

Best of luck!! I hope you find an art which you enjoy!!

Answer 2

I would look for a Japanese or Okinawan martial art like karate and a school that teaches Ju-jitsu or Judo with it or has a strong self-defense program. That way you are more apt to get good stand up skills as well as some good close in-fighting type skills along with some ground skills. If a school and instructor like that is not available then you may have to look at a few different styles or types of martial arts. Muai Thai is a great stand up martial art and it also teaches some good in-fighting skills but not all schools teach the ground skills of that art so you may have to try and incorporate some Judo or Ju-jitsu into your training from somwhere else. Russian Sambo is also good for this and I would recommed that along with Brazilian Ju-jitsu if either of those are available for you to take. All of these are usually hands on and the amount and type of contact is determined and controlled by the instructor.

Answer 3

Try the knightly arts as you will have not only european weaponry but european armour too, plus a huge community of fencers who are very historically minded, crossing over into re-enactment, ren-fair, sca, and also into eastern martial arts, we have our own wrestling too, including pankration. There's a huge variety of weaponry and armour to chose from, there are no grades to deal with, but you can rise from scholar to provost and onto master, most schools in the UK seem to deal with either german or italian longsword, or Royal Armouries 'Tower Fightbook' called ms. 1.33. - this book dates from 1290ad as was written by catholic monk and an academic friend (going by the illustrations). 1.33 is a deadly sword and buckler fencing art that is easy to do, the sword and buckler are light, not the lumbering weapons of the movies. Have a look if you want to be adventurous, at the links at the bottom of my small webpage. There are some good schools there also armour links and weapon links. Thanks for listening and good luck. I get the feeling that whatever you get into, you'll be very dedicated. ;-)

Answer 4

Must comment first on Jrod's post. There is no such thing as an "easy" martial art. I'm sure I could find someone who claimed to be a BJJ instructor who could teach me the moves in a short amount of time and claim that I was trained in BJJ. Conversely, there are myriad and sundry self-proclaimed "instructors" in any given art, none of which have any resemblance to the actual art they profess to be teaching.

NOW, to your question. Visit as many different schools as you can in as many different disciplines as you can. you will learn quickly to steer away from schools whose biggest selling point is the number of trophies they have in their front window. Also steer clear of schools that require you join this club, that club, pay this fee, participate in this activity, etc, as a condition of your advancement. Case in point: My instructor is currently fulfilling a dream of his to teach Tae Kwon Do in the school system where he lives. He closed his studio and now teaches classes after school in the common rooms, and all proceeds from fees go directly to each school for their use in providing activities and facilities for their students. The only decoration he has hanging in the rooms are the American flag, the ITF banner, the tenets of Tae Kwon Do, and the Tae Kwon Do student oath. his classes consist of students who have been studying with him for anywhere from 5-9 years, and he has both youth classes and an adult class.

While I am partial to Tae Kwon do, I have also studied Kenpo and Tai Chi, and can attest that all of them provided me with at least a better than average workout, and also provided me with knowldege that I could use if I ever found myself in the position of having to defend myself. So look at different disciplines and styles; you will find the one that suits you best.

Good Luck!!

Answer 5

lol... hmmm, now let see... I'd say Wu Shu, Shorinji Kempo or Taekwondo is good... But it's up to you really... It depends on you if you like the martial art or not... It's better if you can learn as many as you can, which you'll make yourself a defence-machine ^-^

Now ok, why I say Wu Shu, cause it's fast, real fast if you truly master it, you'll get to learn a variety of weapons too. ^-^ Well, if Shorinji Kempo, I'm not really sure about it but my dad is into that martial art, and I've done a little research about it and found that it is a deadly martial art, depending on the person who is learning too... ^-^ About taekwondo, lol, it uses mostly your legs than your hands, well of course they'll train you using your hands but it's more on your legs ^-^... It's deadly and fast as well... ^-^

There are many martial arts exist and it's up to you to choose which one you like, it's all up to you really ^-^

Answer 6

If you really want to get in good shape, I say try boxing. Boxing gyms will really push you to get in shape, it's a very hands on art and is effective for self defense.

Answer 7

Everyone should start with Judo, to learn balance and how to use leverage. Then move to more advanced striking in kick boxing or one of the already mentioned disciplines.

Answer 8

i take BJJ (Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu) but it sounds like ur more interested in something like Tae-Kwon-Do which is an easy martial art to learn

Answer 9

boxing or karate it works its easy to learn but hard to master sort of thing

Answer 10

MMA, the best of all worlds that works.