need help choosing a martial art to take up

[MadMerc]

mainly for fun and fitness, as i hope to never have to use it in a real situation, but...

anyway, the choices available to me are -

freestyle kickboxing
taekwan-do
jujitsu
renshinkai karate

anyone got any opinions/feedback on these?

 

[lupin]

it all depends on the instructor.

but as far as effectiveness in a bar fight, kickboxing #1, karate #2.

 

[TheDennis]

Well I took Shaolin-Do for several years. Now I know that's not in you list but it very similar to Tae-Kwon-Do. So that would be my pick.

 

[Netopia]

Very good friend of mine is a Green Beret. Very quiet, humble sort of guy that you wouldn't expect would be what he is... guess that's part of what makes a "good" spec-ops sort of person.

Anyway, he says that the best defence he's ever seen, unable to be overcome by any other art is ching-ching-pow. He then raises his hand in a pistol shooting position and pulls back the loader of an imaginary .45 pistol and says Ching,ching... pulls the trigger... POW!

Just thought maybe he was on to something!

Joe

 

[RGN]

jujitsu
renshinkai karate

one of these. keep yo feets on the ground

 

[harpomx]

I took Kenpo for a few years, loved it. Out of your list, I'd say it is most similar to Tae-Kwon-Do, although I've never heard of Renshinkai.
Jujitsu is the "ground-sparring" art, right? The two styles I would love to learn more than any other are Kung-Fu and Capowaya (spelling?)
My Kenpo class was in a tournament in Quebec - Kenpo vs. Kung Fu. We got our clocks cleaned!!!

I agree with lupin about effectiveness in a bar fight.

 

[guyver01]

I took Jun Fan Jeet Kune Do for 3 years... it's a tad expensive... you get a good workout... and it also helps tons in real life combat.

FYI for those who don't know, JFJKD is the martial arts developed by Bruce Lee.


My favorite part of the class? Kali-Escrima combat... or Stick Fighting... WOO HOO...

 

[guyver01]

<< Capowaya (spelling?) >>



it's spelled Capoeira... for a good history check out http://www.capoeirasj.com/caphist.html

I agree... this is also a martial arts i want to learn... the movie &quot;Only the Strong&quot; showed it in a good perspective... and good music... Zoom zoom zoom... paranaue... paaranaue na na...

 

[MadMerc]

anyone know anything about silat?

 

[Daniel]

Check out everything that is available in your area, they are very right in saying the instructor has a lot to do with it. If you can find places that let you take a trial class or month or whatever also do that.
As for styles, jujitsu or most flavors of it won't keep your feet on the ground, it usually will keep your back on the ground Is it just for fitness, I mean you say you don't want to have to use it, well that is always the plan and a good outlook but do you also want something that you can use if you were forced to?

 

[Daniel]

Also check here for loads of info and links on different styles, might help clear up a bunch of things.

 

[MadMerc]

Daniel - yes i want something i could use if i was forced to, its just not the primary reason for doing it

 

[BoberFett]

My preference is Jeet Kune Do.

Edit: For those who don't know Jun Fan is Bruce Lee, Bruce is his American name, Lee Jun Fan is his Chinese name.

 

[Daniel]

Yes JKD is very nice, but harder to find a local decent school in a lot of places, maybe check a few kempo/kenpo schools, overall I would visit as many as you can to help see what makes you feel comfortable.

 

[madmacks]

i agree jeet kune do is awesome. i have bruce's book and it shows you how to get out of getting mugged and being tripled teamed. really cool stuff that is practical if you like to take strolls down dark alleys. it doesnt bore you with the nice &quot;esthetics&quot; of the art. tells you to go straight towards the eyes, throat, nads... whatever works

 

[MadMerc]

the nearedt jkd school is miles away from me (there arnt many in uk) and would take at least 90mins to get too, so a little impractical

i'll keep looking in my local area, see if i can dig up anything else apart from the 4 i mentioned previously

 

[dopcombo]

I learnt Taekwondo for a good 4 years and finally got my black belt the hard way.
The amazing thing is that i still remember how to kick and punch someone now... 6-7 years later.

I found that TKD gave a very good workout and it limbers up your body. you really learn to stretch and loosen up your body, not to mention the nice post-exercise feeling you get. However, with respect to self-defence, TKD isn't really that useful compared to some of the other arts. In fact, it is more considered an art form nowadays than a self-defence kind of thing.

Silat is a Malay form of martial art. It's form is much more violent than most other martial arts i have seen because it is &quot;less developed&quot;. Taekwondo and karate and other such examples have been in practice since a good many centuries ago, and their form has been gradually improved and perfected, while silat is comparatively &quot;new&quot;.
Yet, if u learn silat and u meet a tiger in the woods, then silat is the best thing u could ever know

 

[CQuinn]

I'd have to disagree slightly with the &quot;Ching-Ching-Pow&quot; technique;
as one of my past instructors put it:

&quot;The best defense is to stop going into that type of bar&quot;

No martial art beats a healthy amount of paranoia. Going for fitness is
also a great idea, as being fit enough to react properly is one of the
foundations of self-defense.

guyver01, it was always my understanding that Jun Fan Kung Fu, or Jeet Kune Do
(The way of the intercepting fist) was developing as a fighting philosophy to
be learned *after* one had already mastered another style of martial art.
Even Bruce Lee believed it was not something that you want to teach beginners.

madmaks, IMO all martial arts can teach you those types of defensive techniques;
the trick is to find a school that teaches you what you need to know to
get by.


Madmerc, of your choices:
(and without knowing about the particular schools/ instructors)

freestyle kickboxing

Fun, good for workouts, good for learning basics that can be applied to
street fighting. Unless the school has an emphasis on self-defense may not
teach actual techniques for certian situations.

tae-kwan-do

As good as kickboxing for cardio-vascular workout. Tends to emphasize kicks,
which may not work as well in tight spaces, but are good for learning to
move fast in and out of situations. Traditionally includes self-defense
as part of basic training.

jujitsu

Good for close-quarters style self-defense, good for learning falls and
recovery from throws, emphasis on upper body stretching exersizes

renshinkai karate

Same as Tae-kwon-do, emphasis can be more on punches and blocks, but
good instructors tend to balance upper and lower body strengths. Some
Karate-do schools tend to place strong emphaisis on formality and
proper decorum inside the class.


All of these choices are good; try to see if you can sit in on a class
or two, to decide which style fits your personality best.

Other advice I can offer:

If the gym / dojo doesn't have a changing room, pick someplace that you can
get to and from home easily after changing. You don't want to advertise by
wearing your fighting togs out on the street.

If you're just starting out, or starting up again after being away for awhile,
get a tube of Ben-Gay and make sure to spend some extra time stretching. Your
body will thank you for it.

Try to find out what interested the other students into joining that class.

 

[Davegod75]

go with jujitsu it kicks ass

 

[jsm]

Silat is an Indonesian style of fighting. It has been mixed with Kuntao (a Chinese martial art prevalent on the Indonesian islands). Instructors for Silat are pretty hard to find. A lot of the Silat fighting techniques are definitely aimed for killing people, more so than Kali, Eskrima or Arnis (all Filipino stick fighting styles).

I really think that the kickboxing class would be good for you. Check to see if they use any muay Thai techniques (front push kick, shin kick, elbows). If they don't - run away from it since it is most like some kind of Tae Kwon Do &quot;kickboxing&quot; class.

As for jujitsu, you may want to check out what specific type of jujitsu style it is. There is a big difference between Japanese/Okinawan jujitsu and Brazilian jujitsu.

If you really want to a be a good all around fighter, I recommend checking into a number of styles at once: judo, Brazilian jujitsu, freestyle wrestling (great for shoots and balance), muay Thai kickboxing and one of the aforementioned Filipino stick fighting courses.

I would stay away from Tae Kwon Do and any type of Karate or Kung Fu. In fact, you may really want to check out some of the earlier Ultimate Fighting Championships to see how effective any one of the above mentioned styles are.

Anyhow, I am not speaking out of my ass when it comes to martial arts. My school sent a guy to the UFC and he did okay considering his lack of martial arts prowess.

I have studied Brazilian jujitsu and I taught muay Thai for a while and I can tell you that both arts are very brutal and very effective. Bruce Lee considered muay Thai to be one of the most complete arts in the world. Unfortunately, he has never fought a Brazilian jujitsu practitioner.

 

[homerj]

depends on how your definition of &quot;fit&quot; is, really. Like, if you wanted to take Judo/Juijitsu, endurance is a big part in it[as it is every other art, I'm sure], but in my opinion, you'd want to start lifting and getting some bulk on ya if you wanna get good, but with TKD, especially if it's WTF[olympic-style] you'd want to try to work on your speed and not weightlift all that much[if you lift, you lose speed/flexibility in exchange for power] and I'd recommend looking at Collegiate Dojos for membership. Generally,[I don't know all the dojos in the world, so I can't say for sure, but mostly, this is true] collegiate clubs accept members that aren't students and are much cheaper[private clubs=$70-120 a month/collegiate clubs=$60-100 a SEMESTER], and aren't hung up about making money, like a lot of private dojos. [But, I'm in a dojo outside of school, so there are exceptions.] And they offer a lot of variety on campus - for instance, U of I Champaigne in Illinois has ~40 martial arts clubs on campus, and there are collegiate competitions [if you're into that kinda thing]. Personally, I want to take TaiChi[stop laughing], but they don't teach the right style here in the US, apprently. If you want to learn some straigt-up fighting, take Wing Chun, that's what Bruce Lee learned when he was young.

 

[MadMerc]

well the head instuctor for the kickboxing is a former WKO world kickboxing champ - see here.

 

[saxman]

its all about
kung-fu fighting
as fast as lightning!

 

[ManSnake]

mainly for fun and fitness

Take a ballet lesson, before you know it, you will be as fit as ever!

 

[TravisBickle]

Kama-Sutra is lethal in the right hands