I need to determine which martial art I should get involved with.?

Question

I've decided to learn a martial art this year at my school. My school only offers tae kwon do, jujitsu, and two forms of karate (Okinawan Goju and another one I'm not sure about...Ryukyu Kenmpo?). I would like to learn martial arts for self-discipline and self-defense, and I'm not sure about tae kwon do because I had knee surgery and I'm not sure my knee could handle all the kicking. I'm in my mid-20s, 5'8'', female, and not slender (very big-boned and I've been strength training). What would be the most logical choice?

Answer 1

Rebbecca, I have a 3rd degree black belt in tang so do and I think you should try to tae kwan do even with your bad knee you should be able to handle the work and if you dont want tkd then try Kempo

Answer 2

jiu jitsu is probably the greatest art for self defense and does not incorporate kicking.

but if you want to go for a seriously disciplined art go for okinawan goju

Answer 3

Ask each instructor for advice regarding your knee, as even jiu-jitsu can put pressure on the knee joint when throwing and its vital to keep the knee properly aligned ie: moving in its natural motion not twisting.

Best wishes and good luck whichever you choose :)***

Answer 4

Jujitsu, is a practical martial art,its core is real life self defense.I think due to your knee injury,your size and your strength training, it would be your best choice.

I have trained in Tae Kwon Do and Hapkido(a close relative to Jujitsu).The Tae Kwon Do was very taxing on my knees,and although I love it,I was attracted to Hapkido more.

Hope this helps and good luck!

Answer 5

All the forms of Karate involve kicking so the best choice for you might be Ju-Jitsu.  All are good for self-discipline and all are about equally poor as self-defense without years of dedicated study.  If you are looking for self-defense training, consider something like Target Focus Training.

Answer 6

I am definetly biased in what I like, because I have trained an Okinawin karate style for 18 years. I really think that either karate style could work well for you, but so could the others depending on how they are taught and trained. All can definetly teach you good self defense.

Okinawin karate works for me, but then again you are not me. I would check out each class and see what looks most interesting to you, and what you think you might enjoy most. Be aware that while TKD can be an excellent form of self defense, if it is through a University chances are it will be the Olympic style, which does not train very realisticly, at least that was my experience when dealing with the TKD clubs at Michigan state and the University of Michigan.

Like Judomofo says if you don't eenjoy it you wont stick with it.

Answer 7

Ask the instructors, which one would be best for you and why!

Answer 8

I would tell you the same thing that I tell most women on here looking to choose their first art. As a woman I would suggest you go jiu jitsu. I have been involved in martial arts for 32 years and respect and appreciate all different styles of martial arts, I have also worked with local police on self defense and rape prevention courses. The self defense courses I have helped teach have borrowed techniques from many styles and may have been 15 -20% jiu jitsu, the rape prevention courses on the other hand have been more like 90% jiu jitsu, and particularly the changes in guard usage that Brazilian jiu jitsu has made to traditional Japanese jiu jitsu. I think it is top of the line when it comes to that particular application. Not really something that we like to think about or hear about, but facts are facts and it happens everyday throughout our country and the world. I feel so strongly toward the application of Brazilian style jiu jitsu for rape prevention that despite the fact that I am qualified as an instructor in other styles I have my 14 year old daughter doing BJJ. I think it should be taught to our daughters in middle or at least high school for just that purpose.

Of the other arts they offer I would say if you don't want to go the jiu jitsu route then either Goju or Kempo, nothing wrong with TKD, but having had knee problems myself I think it will be harder on your knees. Accidents could happen in any of these classes that could put your knee n danger, but with all of the high spinning kicks that TKD is so famous for I think it is going to put undo stress and strain on your knee and be more likely than the others to cause you to suffer a reijury of the knee.

Best of luck!!!

Answer 9

Tae Kwon Do is a great place to learn Self-defense

Jujitsu is a great place to learn how to Attack

And the others are self-defense

I would take Tae Kwon Do  

Answer 10

Explain, to your instructors, your situation . They may be able to tailor the training to your condition.  

TKD emphasizes kicking.  Goju emphasizes kata,  Jujitsu is grappling, Kenpo styles tend to emphasize hand techniques.

All will have kicking,  maybe not jujitsu. But even if you roll the wrong way, put too much pressure on one leg during a throw, or accidentally have a person land on your knee,  it can put as much stress on the knee as kicking.  

Answer 11

Rebecca -

I teach Okinawan martial arts. One of the things you will notice is that they are not stiff like the Japanese karate or weak like others.

Okinawan arts are strong but supple - powerful and loose. I studied Goju Ryu but I am incorporating Shorin Ryu also - which Ryukyu Kenpo is a lineage of. If the Ryukyu kenpo is from Master Seiyu Oyata, and the teacher is a long time or senior student, you will learn the body mechanics - Tenshin, that makes karate work.

If you don't learn the Tenshin, you might as well go do something shallow like kickboxing.

Who are the Okinawan arts teachers? If you can give their name, it would be helpful.

The importance of learning the inner works of the art are of the essence to me. You will see folks on here saying that they want to learn "karate for striking", "jujutsu for grappling"... if you learn the inner works or the Bunkai as it is commonly known - then you would not need to learn one art for this and an other for that.

The kata contain everything you need to defend yourself, from - grappling, throws, strikes, pressure point techniques, energy transfer, etc.

Advise your instructors to be of your surgery and as one of our old Dojo Kun (precepts) teaches - Hitotsu! Train Considering You Physical Strength!

You will be paying to learn martial arts, not injure yourself. Okinawan arts training is hard but the benefits are manifold.  

Answer 12

Honestly, what matters most is what you would prefer doing.

Everyone can give you answers about certain arts, some are biased some are sound advice. But all in all, what is actually important is which class/instructor you like the most.

As far as limitations on you knee, any one of those arts are going to be understanding and sympathetic towards that, and aren't going to force you to do something beyond your comfort zone or risk injuring you. Some of it will just come with time of you realizing what you can and can't do, and no one is going to hold the things you can't do against you.

Any of these arts can be great for you, and you can gain a lot out of them. All of them are going to put some sort of stress on your knee, as does walking or strength training. But that is how you help it to get better.

But more importantly than any style mumbo jumbo, or what what style does... (this is a moot point, because it is a Goju school doesn't mean it won't use throws and locks from Jujitsu, or kicks, vice versa for all of them) the only way to really find out what a place is about is to check it out first hand.

Take a class or two and see which one you want to come back to, see which instructor you like the most.

Because in reality that is what is important, isn't the style, or the name of the art, but how you enjoy it. If you hate going somewhere, then it doesn't matter what they teach. If you love it, and it is fun instead of just feeling like exercise you can go much further, and really get something out of it.

That would be my advice.