Choosing a Martial Art Form

[LuNoTiCK]

Depending on what you want. Do you want to do it as a hobby, exercise, self defense, there is so much. But realize the ones that are really good for self defense or fighting are not easy. It will be tough, difficult, make sure you can handle it. The people who recommend Muay Thai have no idea how intense that is. Brazilian Jiu Jitsu is easier, may be harder at first because you actually spar right away, but you don't get hit, and it's more effective against someone who doesn't know how to do takedown defense.

 

[Ilmater]

I'm... pretty good with a bo staff... if that helps.

 

[Dabappa]

Rec.martial-arts has a good Newbie Guide that might help in selecting a school. They also have a large FAQ that will answer many questions about styles, etc.

The instructor(s) probably matter more than the system. Definitely stop in and check out a few places before making a choice. Make sure you feel comfortable with the instructors and type of students they teach. The sport requires very close contact/interaction, and your well being may literally be in someone else?s hands at times.

One thing you might ask/look for, is how many students continue training beyond black belt. Martial arts can be a lifelong pursuit, so you may not want a school that loses all of their advanced students.

I study a Kempo based system and recently earned my Black Belt. Training is a blast, especially after Black Belt as we step up the contact level and spend more time with "fun" things like ground fighting, clinches, defense against weapons, takedowns, etc. It is so much more fun to "fight" in real life than in video games. I'm in my mid-late 30's, and this realy makes me feel like a kid again.


I hope this helps, and good luck,



P.S.

Don't go to this guy.

 

[Vich]

muay thai and brazilian jiu-jitsu

 

[AyashiKaibutsu]

I recommend just looking for a place with a good instructor (good at instructing not just good at martial arts) and going with it. I've been lucky that I've the schools I've joined have had very dedicated instructors. One was a open style with it's core roots in shorinryu (mixed shorinryu with judo, kenpo aikido and a few others). The other was a TA (Tae Kwon Do America) based college club that was into mostly all around striking (hands and feet slightly more focused on feet). Just because someone teaches a certain style doesn't mean it's a good school. If you're looking to directly improve your street fighting then you might have to think about style a bit more, but as long as you don't try directly applying something like TKD to a street fight (heard many funy stories of guys who strike a stance and their promptly get beat down cause they can't street fight) it will improve your street fighting ability just because you'll be faster and stronger than you would normally. To sum it up focus on getting a good teacher not a good style and don't confuse stuff like TKD with street fighting.

 

[cressida]

Humble pie has good answers. I studied karate when I was younger but I sucked at it. Now I'm taking American boxing, but I don't know how that will hold in a street fight.

 

[Schadenfroh]

drunkin boxing

 

[cheesehead]

Originally posted by: Schadenfroh
drunkin boxing

Ha. Ha.

I'm more of a "speak softly and carry a big shotgun" type of guy, but there's much to be said for karate. The dojo I went to (can't remember the name; it's a student-oriented dojo in the basement of a Taco Bell in downtown Madison, WI) taught some rather useful methods of attack and defense. That said, I only went there for a few weeks.

A buddy of mine has also come up with his own martial art form. It revolves around breaking your opponent's windpipe as fast as possible, while using a mixture of a half-dozen martial arts to keep your opponent from even touching you. Needless to say, I doubt we'll see many competitions based around it.