Which Martial Arts?
 

As part of my new years resolution, I'd like to take up a martial arts. I used to practice Shotokan Karate when I was younger. I loved it, but have stop now for many years.

At my Uni, I've got the following choices.

Aikido
French Boxing (?)
Fencing
Ju Jitsu
Qi Dong (kung fu?)
TaeKwonDo
Viet Do Dao

The main purpose of me doing one of these is basically to get fit. I don't see myself ever becoming a "master"!

EDIT: Viet Do Dao has been added!

All of these sports will get you in to great physical shape of course each will have you using different muscles more than others. Me personally I would suggest Aikido, Fencing or Ju Jitsu. Aikido is great for maintaining a sense of discipline and for self defense in a non violent way, there's a lot of emphasis on falling and being physically fit. Ju jitsu also is great for discipline but teaches you techniques that allow you to disarm your opponent and "put them out of commission" so to speak. And Fencing is great for balance, speed etc. You'll be feeling the burn each class especially in your thighs.

I would also suggest Judo if you looking to get fit. I took this art for a period of time and found myself becoming stronger and fitter in no time from the intense training.

I hope this somewhat helps. ^^;

Jiu Jitsu will (ime) make you more fit than most MA's, but really its all about personal preference. Go and sit in on a few of the classes before you decide.

jiu jitsu :D

If I had that choice, I'd do a combo that'd be Fencing with either Tae Kwon Do or Jiu Jutsu.

This is regular Jiu Jutsu, right? Not Brazilian Jiu Jutsu, which is very different.

Fitness is about consistency, Noodle. You want to be exercising 5 days a week to see decent results. Don't be shy to take up 2 or 3 different styles to work them into your own 5 day routine. I used to do Kung Fu on Mon, Tue, Wed, Karate on Thur and Sat, and Brazilian Jiu Jutsu on Fri. They were all about 1:30 - 2 hour lessons. It gives you a broader perspective, more skills, and you'll get very fit.

What a lot of styles do, only training 2 or 3 times a week, it is not enough for your fitness needs. You'll find dojos with more skilled teachers, however, train about 5 days a week. If one of those styles is only teaching once or twice a week, it may not be a very good class.

Also, Qi Gong is an internal style of Kung Fu. It'd be better if your goal was relaxation rather than fitness.

TaeKwonDo hasn't put it's lesson times up yet.

Aikido; Two 2hr lessons per week

Fencing; Three 2hr lessons p/w

Jiu Jitsu (not Brazillian); One 2hr lesson p/w (unless I go to a private dojo... there are a few around the area)

No one's said anything about French boxing, so I'll totally cross that out of my list lol.

I was actually looking at doing several at a time. A friend of mine, who has some, yet very limited experience in martial arts suggested I do TaeKwonDo for all the fun and fancy stuff you might see in movies, Jiu Jitsu for close contact fighting and Fencing for speed. Now, I don't trust my friend as he's never really stuck with any of his martial arts for longer than a year... Is what he told me accurate at all?

Qi Gong sounds like something I might need, no? Viet Do Dao has also been added. Any thoughts on this? I've never heard of this martial arts before 2 minutes ago!

Actually, Noodle, you might find French Boxing, Savate, to be the best for fitness. If they're training to actually compete in the sport, then they'll be doing a lot of conditioning, which means good fitness. But I always thought Savate was a joke compaired to Muay Thai, so...

As for what I think of all those other styles:

Aikido - More likely to be a lot of technical stuff, and only basic acrobatic motions thrown in. It can be good for a hobby, but I doubt will give you much fitness or practical skill.

Tae Kwon Do - Kicking uses energy, and thus TKD is good for fitness. Also, given it's a sport style, there is likely to be more conditioning thrown in there which is good. It is moderately practical style for real fighting, but you may need to work on your hand skills more than what they'll offer.

Jiu Jutsu - A lot of practical training and wrestling. Wrestling is great for fitness. The throws and locks you'll find very useful for self defence. Again, it has a sport to it, so is probably okay for fitness.

Fencing - More of a hobby, really. I've never done it, so I don't know how they train. You need agility to be good at it, which means fitness, but I don't know what they do. Though, using a sword I think would be fun, and no doubt the moving around will be basic fitness.

I suggest you do try 2 or 3 styles.

One thing to note, styles like Tae Kwon Do and Fencing take a long time to do anything decent in. But Aikido and Jiu Jutsu will teach you a cool throw on the first day.

I can't join any of the classes for competition... You need to start in September and there are far too many lessons!

Thanks for the brief descriptions. I'm going to try out the following.

Monday 7pm - 8pm = Tae Kwon Do
Tuesday 6pm - 8pm = Jiu Jitsu
Wednesday 5:30pm - 7pm = Gym, weights.
Thursday 4pm - 6pm = Fencing (but this class is very unlikely due to it's time)
Friday 4pm - 6pm = Fencing
.........6:30pm - 8:30pm = Tae Kwon Do

With the shape I'm in, I'm sure I'll be dead within the first week, but this way, I'll get to try out a few different things!

That's a very good routine. If you actually did that for a whole year, you will show some serious improvements. Not just in fitness and fighting skill, but also character and self discipline that will help you in the business world.

Good luck. The most important thing is, the first week or two might be hard. If you get tired and have to take a day off, it's okay and it's normal. Do not get disheartened and do not give up. Just try and do better next week and again until you get it right.

Determination and perseverance; the true Way is not found in constant success, it is found in hardship and failure in which you're capable of keeping yourself together within. Thus, may the Demon find you and you shall become strong.