Deciding on a martial art?

S

Shmackey

New member
Decided to get serious about martial arts classes of some kind, but I want to make an intelligent decision -- not just between arts, but also between schools once I decide on one practice.

Are there any links or is there any good advice about (1) how to decide what to study; and (2) how to pick a school?
 
What are you looking for? Do you want to compete, meditate, or fight?

For competition there are any number of schools, take your pick. T'ai Chi or whatever for meditation. To fight, I'd recommend a ground fighting school based on Brazilian Ju-jitsu (some good ones in the Denver area), and possibly some Aikido.
 
For Fighting, I highly recommend Jeet Kune Do and Kali/escrima for weapon.
GoodLuck on your search..
TACTICALDUDE :cool:
p.s.
Be careful now a days on some schools that teach this two styles..be careful on wanna be instructors who just know it from video tapes or just went in some seminars :mad:..make sure they are legit and the right instructor..its going to be expensive and time consuming but it will be worth it :).
GoodLuck again..to u ..Grasshoper :p :D ;)
 
What are you looking for? Do you want to compete, meditate, or fight?
Click to expand...

Good question, Morgan. Of those three choices, I'd say "fight." I was thinking of it more like "taking care of one's self" or something philosophical, but yeah, fight.
 
I'll also share the answers I gave to some good questions on BladeForums, my home away from home:



I'm a little guy (5'7" and 145) in pretty good shape. I used to be a gym rat with less than 10% body fat and all...I'm back in the gym these days about 4-5 times a week and I plan to be about 155-160 by the end of the year with not much fat to speak of. I can do that.

I very much like hard workouts. When I go to the gym I usually spend about two hours and I don't leave until I've satisfactorily kicked my own butt.

This would be primarily for self defense. My only physical limitation is my size -- there's only so strong I can be.

No previous exposure to martial arts.
 
This is a tough question... My own martial arts evolution has included: Tae Kwon Do, Wing Chun, Aikido, submission type wrestling, iaido (this probably won't help your self-defense), and boxing. I kind of roll it all together to form my own way of movement, defense and attack. As for kick based arts. I would stay away from them unless you practice constantly. They can be devastating techniques but if you don't master them, they can get your butt beat in a real fight. Any ground fighting- good track record in no holds barred fighting... But, you cannot under any circumstances wrestle more than one attacker at once. And if they have a simple pocket knife and they pull it out when you're wrestling with them, you will get cut to ribbons. Aikido- great art for developing body movement. At the school I attended, they taught a small middle aged woman how to throw her 275 lbs. husband. Its very traditional. You also really learn how to take a fall! If striking is your thing, don't go to an Aikido dojo. Wing Chun- probably the best way to develop your striking skills. Your timing and coordination will be honed to the extreme! One definite piece of advice that I have is: If you learn to strike, do it with hand weights to work your body. Your punches/elbows will be so much harder after you train this way. Any specific questions that you have?

Dan
 
I agree about staying away from kick-focused arts like Tae Kwon Do for me... I suppose I'm just wavering between any number of versions of Karate and something less strike-oriented like Judo. Acutally, I'm leaning toward Judo for its practicality, but I know less about it than almost anything, including Akido. As for Akido, my novice understanding is that it takes a huge amount of time, dedication, and even faith. I think I'd be interested in Akido after I learn something more down-to-earth. Or have I misunderstood Akido completely?

What are the different types of Judo, their strengths and weaknesses, etc.? Surely Judo incorporates *some* striking, no?
 
Aikido at first is just as any art- all physical. But later on it gets more spiritual. Not religious, but spirtual. You learn to take on people much larger and smaller than you. Basically you take the opponent's momentum and let it keep going. Only you redirect it in a fashion so they'll be toppled on their backs, heads, or whatever. We do this thing called Randori where you have a 3-8 people attack. At first you all take turns attacking the person but as it progresses you can attack simultaneously. I've had little experience with Judo. It can be a deadly art like any other. But you will have to throw people and wrestle them sometimes. Whereas in Aikido, you throw them and at the same time snap their arm or just toss them on their head. I've practiced hip throws and shoulder type throws and I really can't see me getting to the point where I could toss a big guy reliably. Maybe I'm just not too good at Judo type movements, but I don't really study it too much either.
 
First off, what is available in your area? I'd hate to opine prolifically on a particular style, only to find out that the only thing available in your area is tae kwon do.

This is my opinion, and only my opinion...

I started my LEO career in 1993, and I spent two years bouncing off-duty at a ganger club and one of the many things that fighting in alleys, dance floors, trailer parks and bar parking lots has taught me is that grappling is all well and good, but it should only be a last-ditch, OhMyGodBecky, HolySPIT last resort kind of thing.

I find myself using striking techniques -- particularly elbows and knees -- more than I use grappling.

The best advice I can give you is to visit the dojos in your area, talk with the instructors and chat with the students. Ask your local LEOs what teachers they study with. See if they'll let you attend a couple of classes to get a 'feel' for the style. Find the one that seems to 'click' with you and go with that one.

LawDog
 
Lawdog said it! Elbows and knees are super effective ways to put a hurt on someone. He also alluded to the fact that grappling can get you seriously hurt on the street. My style has evolved into an "economy striking" style. I train to use elbows, knees, palm strikes, punches to the solar plexus, kicks to the knees, hammer fists, etc. My days of organized martial arts are done. I enjoyed them and I grew because of them. When you go to a school and if they tell you to punch, and you punch, and the instructor says "No punch with your other hand", leave ASAP. While you're training imagine a guy with a broken beer bottle that outweighs you by a hundred pounds and is a foot taller. Then think to yourself if the technique you're practicing will drop them.

Dan
 
I'm leaning heavily toward Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. There's a dojo near me. I've signed up for the intro class in two days.

The idea of minimizing the importance of size and strength appeals to me and my small frame. The idea of "real fighting" makes BJJ more appealing to me than Judo -- not that the latter isn't real fighting, but BJJ appears to trade a little history for some ferocity.

As for weapons...I assume that my nine rounds of .45ACP will do in a pinch...
 
Visit as many local schools as you can and watch classes. Try to find something that you think suits you.

I study Shuai Chiao (throwing/grappling/striking), Hsing I (striking/kicking) and Tai Chi. I have found that these styles mesh well for me and have allowed me to pick and choose techniques that work for me.

This is the key for any style. Find something that will give you plenty of things to learn so that you may pick and choose what works for you.

For general suggestions I'd look into wing chun, jujitsu (careful not to rely totally on learning to fight on the ground), lohan, hsing i, judo, shuai chiao, or hung gar.


Edit: one caution. There are many good people out there in various styles. There are also a lot of losers out there.
 
What worked for me... learning the falls in Judo or Aikido. I have never had to save my life with martial arts against a person -- well perhaps with my attitude of willingness to fight but nothing else. However, I've saved my life several times with being able to fall. There is a greater liklihood that you will at some time in your life have to break a fall -- than that you will have to fight someone, unless you are leading a life prone to violence... That's my viewpoint.
 
I said it once, and I'll say it again: BJJ is good but if there's two guys that want to redecorate your face you're going to get severely whooped on. And if they pull a knife/broken glass/etc. halfway through the fight you're toast too. Jody is right about learning falls. He's also right that we'll likely never see any hand-to-hand. But its good to know its there just like your aforementioned "9 rounds of .45 ACP" ;) Having hand-to-hand skills allows you to more levels of defense other than lethal force.
 
Ronin308 is right. You can't grapple 3 guys at once. But, you do need to know how to grapple. So, start with BJJ. What the heck. Then, later or at the same time, learn to strike. All martial arts have limitations. None are a complete total representation of the real thing. So, learn what you can from each. Remember, that you are there to learn to fight. Period. All the belts and titles don't mean squat. Don't get caught up in the system and forget what you started for.
 
see if you can find a wing chun do school in your area if you want a practical style, wing chun do was the last style that bruce lee developed along with james DeMille, it's all based on body mechanics and they only teach what works for you so you don't get training in a buch of techniques that only work for people twice your size. I was lucky enough to live in seattle when I studied so I got to work directly with DeMille but from what I hear the rest of the schools around the country have excellent instructors. the style is basically jeet kune do stripped down to the bare essentials and focuses on realistic situations including fighting off armed attackers and psychological techniques to both evade a fight or gain an advantage, i.e. you act like you're going to throw up which causes the attacker to shift his thoughts from killing you to getting out of an imminent stream of vomit, this gives you a split second where his guard is down so you can take him down.
 
I agree with Mr. lawdog. You should chat with the instructors and students. Watch some classes.

Find out information about the instructor (s).

I think Brazilian jiujitsu is a good style for fighting.

It's the instructor who makes the ultimate difference.

Michael
 
Martial Art's What One?

My sugestion for picking an MA is to ask yourself why your picking it- what is your goal, etc.

If you want inner development try Tai Chi, Capoeria, or Akido.

If your wanting Flash, do forms pick a traditional Mc Dojo MA.

If you want to something competitive for fun pick an MA that has Sparring like Karate, Kick Boxing, TKD,etc.

If you want a Harder Contact Competitivenes, go Boxing, Judo, Wrestleing, Mauy Thai, or BJJ.

If you want to learn how to Street Fight, go take Military Mauy Thai, Krav Maga, or cross train in boxing, Judo,Mauy Thai, and BJJ. [A striking and grappleing art] and learn the differences.

If you want Eastern Spiritual Development, take a course in it at the local JC, or Buddist Temple. Even go to Borders and buy a book on whatever you seek. Don't try to seek it in a Dojo. You'll be dissappointed. Most of the Dojos that offer Spiritual developments are usually Quasi to Full Blown Cults who exsist to take your money by taking advantage of people who need something bigger than themselves to belive in. In other words be careful on whats out there.
 
Goju-Ryu-Street fighting hard style.No holds barred,ultimately practical FIGHTING discipline,primarily without weapons.
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MUAY THAI

I would have to say muay thai, it is easy to learn and is extreemly effective, For ground fighting take something like Brazilian jujutsu, and you should also learn knife and gun defenses.


Grant
 
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