Help Choosing A Good Martial Art?

Question

Hey everyone, I'm around the Philly area, Delaware County, and was looking for legit, authentic martial arts school suitable for my style that focuses on education rather than money. I'm 19, asian, 5'10," 145 pounds, somewhat skinny. I'm not that strong, but I feel that taking one of the following classes will build up some strength so I'm not concerned about it. I'm not too sure what to take, so far jeet kune do, kung fu, hapkido, and muay thai seem like the most interesting and effective styles for self defense and self improvement of body and soul. I am interested in an art that has good offense & defense, maybe even weapons training. Striking interests me more than grappling, but if I do feel the need, I would join a jiu-jutsu class. Speed, power, and the ability to take down multiple opponents (if need be, was robbed at gunpoint once, I'm not looking to beat people up) seems like a good choice.

Also, Cambodian Bokator seems really interesting, but not available stateside. =/

Answer 1

Try practising Wushu, Kung Fu. I am learning Martial Art in Nam Wah Pai and i live in Singapore. There are also many countries with Nam Wah Pai training centres. You can try visiting: www.namwahpai.com ... Good luck!

Answer 2

I think all those choices are good, though hapkido is maybe a little less effective for your body size.

Answer 3

of those options i would recommend jeet kune do, the version bruce lee created.. as said its kind of mma. but muay thai/kick boxing is good too, altough mt/kb are sports. krav maga/defendo are purely for self defence.

-frormer taekwondo, jiu-jitsu, kenpo-karate, muay thai, krav maga, bjj practioner-

Answer 4

I don't really think it's a mater of which martial art to choose but which martial art school to choose. I know this may not be the answer you're looking for but choosing the right school is very important aswell. You don't want to end up in very low standard one just becuase you chose to do their style:

A couple of things that are important parts to look at in the process of choosing a school:

The environment where you'll learn and train

The people that will be your partners

The instructor

The logistics of the school

(a) The environment where you will learn and train

Don't get impressed by the size of the place - just be sure that you feel "ok" in there.

Also don't necessarily be impressed by huge number of trophies. They may indicate a very successful competitive school (if that is an aspect you are interested in) or they could be all show. Check carefully.

If you are not allowed to watch any classes, you may not want to invest your time and money. Without seeing a class you will not be able to get a good feel for the school.

Ask questions - don't worry about looking stupid or asking the "wrong" question. They are going to be teaching and training you- you want to get any concerns or considerations you have out before you commit to anything.

If you feel bullied or threatened in any manner, look somewhere else.

(b) The people that will be your partners

Go, watch some classes (without participating), then ask to participate- see if the behavior of the students changes by the fact that there is a new person in their class.

What follows is a quick and dirty check list, to which you can add your own points, based on what you consider important. Remember: these questions and suggestions are just guidelines, not hard and fast rules. There will always be exceptions. But if you look in these domains you will have a solid ground to choose from.

How good are the students?

This is more of a measure of the quality of the students as students than their skill at martial arts. See if you can picture yourself with these people. Are they attentive, respectful, interested in being there? Those are all good signs...

Is there a mix of upper and lower ranks?

This is not always obvious in the styles without belt rankings, etc. It is generally a good sign if advanced, intermediate and beginning students are practicing together. Check the approach the higher ranked students take to you- their help will probably be very important in your advancement in the Art you choose.

Some schools have classes separated by rank though. Ask.

Is there a mix in the type of people in the class?

Although this doesn't necessarily mean anything if it is not present, it is a good sign if there is a mixture of males and females, older and younger people in the class. It is a pointer to the efficiency of the Art if it can teach a wide variety of people together.

Do they move the way you would like to?

This will give you some sense of what you can achieve. Look to the senior students and see if they move the way you want to move.

Do they help one another?

In a small class this may not apply, but in larger classes it is a good sign if the senior students support and assist the junior students. This kind of personal attention will aid you greatly in your training.

Do the senior students seem fit and relaxed?

This will give you a sense of the atmosphere of the school. If the senior students are uptight, nervous, unfit, out of shape, or unhappy, it may be a sign to move on. However, do not be put off by a single occurrence, i.e. because on THAT day the senior student was in a poor mood. It should at least prompt you to look carefully though...

How common are injuries?

As most martial arts involve vigorous physical activity and contact, injuries will occasionally occur. However, if injuries are common and/or serious, there is likely a problem in how training is supervised, and you will probably want to look elsewhere. It will be difficult to tell what the frequency/severity of injuries in the class is in one or two visits. Ask the instructor.

(c) The Instructor

You'll need some basic trust in the individual, as a beginning.

The instructor is the person who is going to be guiding your development as a martial artist. You need to feel comfortable with him or her, and feel secure in receiving instruction from them. If you have some unease or personality conflict with the instructor(s) you might want to look elsewhere.

Do the students get personalized attention?

This will be a good judge of how valuable your time will be. If there is a good amount of instructor to student attention there will be more value for you.

Does the instructor differentiate between forms and function?

Another good indication is to find out if the instructor(s) differentiates between form and function. In other words do they do it "because it looks good" or "because it works." This may not apply if you are looking for a martial art as a performance art or as an exercise (though then you want to look at the efficacy of their exercises...)

Does the instructor(s) differentiate between tournament and self-defense?

As above, your reaction to this question's answer will depend on what your goals are. However, there is general agreement that tournament training and self-defense training, while highly related, are different. If the instructor does not differentiate the two - that may be a danger sign!

Violence in the class

If you see an instructor hitting students, or a senior student hitting students, be very clear that it was appropriate before you consider that school. Though be aware - if you are unfamiliar with the art, medium or full contact sparring may seem overly violent to you. Violence as discipline is to be avoided.

Are adjustments made for students of differing body types and limitations?

Another good sign is if the instructor adjusts the training of his or her student's physical realities: telling a slow person to work contact, a fast person to work ranges, a heavy person to work leverage, a light person to work speed, or, conversely, concentrating on their weak areas to compensate.

(d) The logistics of the School

Money

This is an important element to be clear about. You don't want to commit to a school if you can't afford it. It is impossible to address what a reasonable price would be here, because the benefits offered, the local economy, the quality of instruction, and the amount of instructor time are all variables in the equation. The best way to determine if a school is being reasonable is to compare what they offer for their prices.

Find out if there are extra charges for going up in rank, find out if there are organizational dues, tournament fees, mat fees, etc.

But do not be upset when a Martial Arts instructor charges money- they need to eat and have a place to stay. In our culture money is the way that happens. We do not feed and house wise old men, and unfortunately the costs of a school, equipment, and insurance are frighteningly high.

Location

If you are intending to spend a lot of time at the school you want it to be accessible, and convenient enough for you to get their after work, on weekends, etc.

Classes

Another thing you want to be clear on is when you can go to the school and when classes are. Some schools are open almost all the time and have lots of classes. In some schools you can only come when an official class is being held. An open school is usually better for obvious reasons- convenience, practice time, access to mats, etc.

Commitments and Promises

This is an important thing to know about any school you will be joining. Be very clear on what they will expect of you and what you expect of them. Some teachers want to teach only people who are willing to commit to them and their style, some are willing to introduce you to their style and let you dabble, some will teach you as long as you show up. None of these are intrinsically better or worse, but you want to know where they are coming from so you and they are not surprised.

Find out if you are required to attend classes, find out about being late, find out what the policy is on school rules of behavior and etiquette. Find out how you are supposed to interact with the teacher and other students. There are many styles for all these things so make sure you find out. The easiest way is to ask these questions.

There may be other questions you want to look at and specific questions you have about an instructor, school, organization, or style you are looking at. Know the questions you want answered and you will find the perfect school for you!

Answer 5

Judging by what you said, I would recommend a good wing chun school. The most important thing is though to get an instructor that you can get along with. I left my kenpo school due to a very arrogant instructor, I put up with him 4 yrs.. Getting back to your question, w / your body style wing chun or JKD would be fine. I would not recommend akido or jujitsu unless you like getting slammed around 90 % of the time, trust me wing chun, kenpo and JKD have falling and throwing just not 90% of the time, kind of hard on the body after a few yrs. Hope this helps, good luck :)

Answer 6

well i'am training hapkido and muay thai

and with muay thai you will get fastest result    if you get the basic kicks, blocks , strikes   technics right you can get good fast at it. You will train on technics , power , determation ,reflexes ( sparring).

Whit hapkido ( this takes years to be rly get good at ) : its  a form of self-defense that employs joint locks, pressure points, throws, kicks, weapons , and other strikes.

just try them both for some weeks if you like them both then do them both or choose 1.

Answer 7

hey man, im from philly too, and I have a place you might really be interested in

go to

www.phillymma.com

I dont go there personally, I play capoeira, but I have heard that daddis fight camps (the place this website represents) will teach you not only muay thai but also western boxing as well, in addition they have jiu jitsu classes if you so wish, as you mentioned you may, and they combine jiu jitsu ground work w/ judo takedowns/throws.

they have 2 locations, maybe 3, so see which one is closest to u and c if u like it, they also give u a free lesson, sounds pretty d**n good to me

plus they do conditioning workouts built for fighters, not just a hodge podge of exercises and they include yoga and stuff for flexibility