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.

Taekwondo is the sports that I copied from Shoutoukankarate.


YouTube - SAMURAI CAT

i did karate when i was young too
i think reasons are everything, recently i done aikido for 7 months, and it was an amazing experience. i built trust in my body and in others, also it has strong philosophy attached to it, everything is partner work, so get used to people being in you space :), in terms of self defence it does a few years to get comfortable with using the techniques outside the dojo, and if your only doing 1 class a week for me to move up the ranks to black belt it have taken around 10 years, so don't expect anything too early. aikido is pretty physical, the social aspect is quite refreshing also, but if you are looking to defend yourself quickly then try a more aggressive art. all i can say is go to one session in basic sportsware, you shouldn't need any footware. you could even talk to the sensei before or after a session and just talk. so yeah i hope my experience helps

My little sister got to a blue belt in Tae Kwon Do.
She got really fit from it, and my parents got her a punching/kicking bag.
Plus, it was fun to watch and she had a lot of fun doing it to.



That is when she got her yellow belt ^___^

These martial arts will only be as good as the instructors who teach them. I studied karate and kendo when I was in high school, and with those backgrounds, if I were to choose any of the arts on your list, I would take Aikido.

Aikido was invented by an interesting man, Morihei Ueshiba. He was one of the last "enlightened" masters of the martial arts (there are none alive now), and the only one of whom film and video exist. Karate and Kendo are very physical forms of the martial arts, wheres Aikido tends to focus on profound principles. It is not a martial art for those who like making high kicks, or breaking things, it is an art which exists above the mentality of such people.

Jiu jitsu is a martial art which is good for bouncers, policemen, or prison guards. It's very physical and demanding, but also very effective. I've never seen the point to Tae Kwon Do, it is high in style, but low in substance. French boxing simply sounds gay, and fencing is completely irrelevant.

The principle behind the martial arts is efficient self defense. After years of study, and earning the rank of shodan in kendo, I had learned a great deal about self defense, and began practicing the most efficient form of self defense; I got a gun permit and a handgun.

You mean Blast Fu. I dabble in it.

I used to be in a Kenpo class. The sparring is fun, but it does seem like more show than self defense. In the sense that you might hit somebody pre-emptively, but that seems like you're looking for trouble. And in fact, every time I've actually seen this sort of thing, the so-called self-defender was borderline looking for trouble, if not surely.

Jujitsu is a lot of work, and also a knife can render it useless. Now, my favorite martial art style by far is Stayoutoftroubletsu.

Well, I just had my first TaeKwonDo class... I'm not too impressed right now... it knackered me out, but not because it was hard, but because I'm very unfit. I saw some of the others that were there for longer doing exactly the same things as me, no one broke a sweat... Karate when I was younger was much more intense... With that said, I am going to continue because I did learn things and it was good exercise... Ju-Jitsu tomorrow :)

French boxing? Are you referring to Savate?

I'm not sure of it's effectiveness or quality in discipline, but I do know Bruce Lee implemented a couple of their moves into his repertoire.


Do they have (regular) Boxing? If you're looking for a work-out, I understand boxing will give you a pretty good burn.

savate
 

Just try go in savate school and you quickly change your opinion.

quality
 

Frankly, I don't know much about style of Bruce Lee but an ancient savate was nothing short of a street fighting. I think that a good kick by leg in heavy footwear is enough effective.

quote :

Savate takes its name from the French for "old boot" (heavy footwear that used to be worn during fights). The modern formalized form is mainly an amalgam of French street fighting techniques from the beginning of the 19th century.

Wiki

I know from experience, savate kicks are deadly. They might not be as strong as traditional muay thai kicks, but they are incredibly hard to get away from or counter because of the way the arm is held forward instead of swung back. They are also harder to perform. Actually, some muay thai trainers resort to savate style kicks over the traditional kick.

Kyokushin
 

If i had to take one of them i would go for the Aikido,but only if i had to take one of them, Is there no Kyokushin school nearby ? or if not perhaps a shotokan school ?

Greets

Me favourite Martial arts Aikido,this hard sport :vsign:

Personally there are a few martial art styles that I have interest in and would love to learn here is a bit of a short list hopefully my spelling is ok.

Tai Chi
Daulyn
Soft Fist
Wii Tai

If only it was possible I would study Hokuto shinken.

My brother practice Shotokan Karate Traditional for 5 years. He is so small and thin, but he has a big power in his arms. Is so strong, and he is psyhically changed, isn't that emotional.
I think is a good thing, and maybe I will practice Aikido...maybe XD

Fencing and TaeKwonDo...The combo of speed and power would come in handy!!! and oh yeah you'll be physically fit alright LOL!!!!!

i didnt read all the posts, but if you want to get fit simply go to the gym - lift some weights. since people who are seriouse about martial arts start them from age of 4 and since you are 23 years old then you wont get any benefits - not in fitness and not in skills. sorry but it is over rated when people start these self defense courses when they are basicly grown ups and think that will benefit them in huge way - well 1 out of a 100 who will train for some 10 years will, but the rest will still probably get beat up by simply a larger guy with more muscle.
i did attend karate courses for 3 years (5 hrs a week) and it was pretty usless - for fitness definetly. if you want to get fit and be able to defend yourself then hit the gym. it worked out form me, dont see why shouldnt for you.

There are plenty of professional fighters (or amateurs fighters like myself) who have either began their training at a late teen age (16-18 or older), or were already working professionals before they decided to try on a pair of gloves.
You may not become a professional fighter, but discounting martial arts training because you're "too old" and won't see benefits is completely false. It's not about the age, but the person themself (as in how they learn and adapt), and their training/instruction.

sure there are and im glad for those who were dedicated enough to become ones...but lets be honest - for each of those "late" professionals there are some 100 who havent achieved anything.

Saying that can literally apply to any hobby/activity/whatever that anyone does in life. Why do anything if you're never going to be the absolute best at it? That's not why we do what we do, otherwise we'd never do anything. Just because you're one of the people who felt unaccomplished doesn't mean everyone else does too.

bset MA ever
 

Muay-Thai Kickboxing. I did BJJ too but i felt a bit uncomfortable under guys. There were a few chicks in our class too so that was good. I would go for a combo Muay-Thai Kickboxing/Judo

you got me wrong. im talking about his chances because apperantly he has a goal. he didnt say he needed something to kill time or were to go with friends. he said that he needs to get fit and be able to self defend. well in that case he has far greater chances to achieve both of those things if he were to start visiting gym rather than a dojo were possibility of him succesfuly getting both is slimer.

hello guys ...

its really nice post....

i just liked it....

thanks...

I think the jiujitsu could be good. but tradition jiujitsu as taught in Japan is a bit different than the BJJ(Brazilian Jiu Jitsu) as seen in MMA(Mixed Martial Arts).

BJJ is a subset of Jiujitsu techniques that they concentrate on for no gee street fighting applications.

Traditional jiutjitsu teaches these techniques too, but spend a lot of time covering a huge range of techniques that BJJ practitioners feel are useless for street fighting.

Any one has posted about "Indonesian Pencak Silat" ?

you may go here for action movie about pencak silat.

That's only your own personal perspective. Some think the principle is the exact opposite - mastering selflessness and acceptance of death, overcoming the greed to live so you can become an efficient actor when faced with death.

Self defence is a more modern take on it. I don't think there was any army in the before time which actually told it's soldiers the goal to mastering their skills is prolonging their life... they more so encouraged self sacrifice and these are the people modern martial arts are based on. In that sense, modern MA is vastly warped.

Which ones?

An easy joke in a Muay Thai gym:

"Savate!"

Well i was boxing for 2 years, planing to star MMA. Brazilian Jiu-jitsu take important part in MMA. It's great for ground fighting.

SAMBO = Self-Defence Without Weapon
 

The Art of Hand-to-hand combat

A book of Nil Nikolayevich Oznobishin printed in 1930.
This work was a long-time textbook for Soviet special forces and considered as an early combat SAMBO.

Savate
 

A Leboucher method of training French and English boxing. Printed in 1856