Best martial art for me?

Question

How do I determine whats the best martial art for me?

Here are my statistics:

Pros:

-Fast

-Agile

-Strong

-Good abilities

-Good dodging

-Energetic

Cons:

-Afraid to get hit

-Doesn't block a lot

-Isn't aggressive

-Avoids contact

I guess I'm looking for one that will improve my aggression and defense. Got any tips on which martial art is best for me?

Answer 1

if you are afraid to get hit then karate and tae kwon do are for you. if you want the best, then check out "vee arnis jitsu" and "krav maga".

Answer 2

Shaolin Kung Fu man.  Being "not agressive" is something good Kung Fu teachers look for, because of the pacifist nature of the art.  From your "pros" list, you sound like a shaolin type through and through, you should try it.  As far as the fear of getting hit, a competent teacher should be able to overcome that.

peace out.

Answer 3

This is the most frequently asked question from people wanting to join and train in the martial arts for the first time and are clueless on what to do or which art to take.

First and foremost, the internet is full of keyboard ninjas, MMA poseurs, and other fledging psuedo karate masters  who thinks that they have all the answers you'll ever need.  The problem with this is that they don't know you, so how can they determine what's good for you ?  

The FACT is only YOU can determined what's good for you.  

I can easily say “oh, take Shorin ryu karate because….blah, blah, blah..” but I won’t. Why not ? Well for one, I don’t know anything about you. Second, trying to get you to join my art would be a lot like selling you a used car over the phone.   Would you buy a used car over the phone ?  Of course not !  You need to go to the car lot or dealership and test drive the car you want.      

Finding the right school, style and instructor can be a very discouraging and perplexing endeavor. However, I can suggest the following steps to assist you in your search:

1) First thing first, Ask yourself .

- Am I willing to spend the time and money to venture into this “new” lifestyle ? Or Am I just having a Jet Li , Jackie Chan,   Power Rangers, The Last Samurai , Randy Couture or BJ Penn moment  ?  In other words, you had a spur of the moment enlightenment and desire to become a martial artist / Ultimate MMA fighter after watching these guys on TV.

You really need to seriously think about this.  Why ?  Because training in the martial arts is a hard long and often time a frustrating journey !  It requires patience, guts , determination, perserverance and don't forget good finance.  Sorry, but this is the harsh reality of the facts !    

  

Secondly, What style is good for me ?

Some martial arts styles may or does depends on your height , weight, build etc...etc.. While I don't believe in the "one size fits all" mentality. It would be hard to picture a sumotori weighting 400 lbs ( person who trains in Sumo) doing a 360 jump spin triple kick in Taekwondo.  My underlying point is that  YOU have to find an art that fits YOU. It does not matter which art. Just find an art that will make YOU feel comfortable and satisfied.

Martial arts does not descrimate on the basis of race, religion, national origin, color, s*x, age, veteran status, or  disability or age.  



So let your journey begin with what I have encouraged others to follow.  .

Get a phone book ( Available FREE from your local phone company ) , Take it home and start looking for the listing under “ Martial Arts Instruction” or “ Martial Arts”. You should find about 2-3 pages of Schools currently doing business in your area. Some schools have big ads that grabs your attention the moment you opened the phone. Don’t neglect schools that are simply on the basic two lines listing. You will never know what hidden “treasure” you might stumble upon.

Next step is to list the schools and their styles that appeals to you. Since you are new to the Martial Arts it is also a wise idea to check out a style or system that you have never heard off, as I am sure you have never heard of arts like Matsubayashi Ryu , Kobayashi Ryu, Shito Ryu..etc. List them as well and find out more about them.

Then click on this link: www.google.com type in the styles that you listed. I am 100 percent sure that google will give you detailed information of the type of martial art styles that are being offered in your area.

Do not read one website as the only source of that style. Read as many as you can. It pays to do your homework before you do your legwork.

2) Finding the Dojo

Once you narrowed down your martial arts style search and still feeling enthusiastic about training. Now comes the hard part. To begin with, return to the primary source ( the phone book). Now that you have a clear fundamental understanding of what style of martial arts maybe good for you. List all the available dojo with their address and phone numbers.

Now don’t rely of the phone books alone as the only source of locating dojos in your area. Utilized the power of the information superhighway (AKA the internet). Click on www.Google.com and type in keywords such as Karate ( type in city) or wushu (type in city)..etc

There are dojos that do not advertised or used phone books and the internet to acquire new students. Often these little schools rely of words of mouth or basically are non-commercialized schools.

Just because they are small does not mean that they aren’t any good. Funakoshi’s ( Founder of Shotokan) first dojo was his backyard.  Just remember one thing, many great martial artist did not train in a muli-million dollar dojo.  

So by now you probably have list that are now 2-3 pages long. The next course of action is to give the Dojo that appealed to you a call and see if they give out try-outs for free or pay the minimal tryout fee’s.

I would strongly suggest to try out these schools for a least a month before you make a commitment. Trying out for one day training session is not enough. If you have to pay for a monthly fee ( Hopefully very small indeed) Just do it ! It is worth the investment.

One last thing, I don't mean to sound abrasive, but If the above suggestion is too much work for you, then the probability of you being serious in joining a martial arts school is less than zero.   I am sorry to say this but, there's plenty of answerer's here that wants to sincerely help you in your quest, but you have to do your part.

Answer 4

Russian Sambo.

http://www.youtube.com/watchv=hIWMaaosff...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=36u7Krjp4...