Thinking about martial arts, only...?

Question

I'm 15 and a cross country runner. This will sound funny, I watched Kung Fu Panda and it made me want to learn martial arts for self defense.

I have strong legs and abdominal muscles but I have incredibly weak arms, I can't even hold myself up for push ups unless I go incredibly slow.

Is 15 too late to start? Would I look stupid being the oldest in the class? Also, if I do start, what kind would be the best? Karate? Kung Fu? I don't really know much about it.

Advice would be appreciated! :)

Answer 1

15 is not too late to start.

however, you are in for a rude awakening if you think that what you saw in kung fu panda is any indication on what martial arts are really about and training is really like.

I haven't seen the movie but in an animated comedy, even in a real MA action film, realism is not what directors are going for as realism is not as entertaining to the majority of the population who don't study martial arts and won't be able to see the subtilities involved in a fight.

odds are in a REAL school that trains realistically and is really teaching you something- 15 might make you the YOUNGEST in the class.

see in order to learn martial arts, and to learn to apply it you need to learn to hit and be hit. there is no magical formula for it but you need to drill hard to learn to apply movements against a fully resisting opponent.

in a real life scenario do you think your opponent will let you do something to them?

a track star must run, a football player must play football, a pianist must play in order to learn to do what they are training to. So if you think that in order to learn to fight, you don't fight (drill hard and spar) then you got a rude awakening ahead of you.

if you don't want to get hit or hit, then I would suggest you look into more grappling oriented arts like judo, sambo, bjj, chin na, etc.

otherwise sportative arts tend to on average train more realistically, but this is a rule of thumb to find a school if you don't know what to look for- nothing more nothing less.

many other more traditional martial arts train realistically but it depends on the shcool and the teacher and on average its harder to find one of these than a sportative art like muai thai, boxing, sanda/sanshao, etc.

Answer 2

15 is not too late to learn. In many schools you will not be the biggest or oldest in the class. There is no best style. All styles have their strengths and weakness. Don't worry about arm strength. You will build that as you train.

You should check out some classes near you. Get some pricing. Take some I repeat some trial classes. Be honest that you are shopping around first before you make a decision. Don't allow any school to pressure you into joining right now. After doing your homework you can make an intelligent decision on which school is most affordable and best able to help you reach your goals.

Always start with a good school and good instructors. Some schools have the appearance of being good. They have excellent facilities, but some not all lack good instruction. They are only there to make money. Be very careful and very selective.

Good Luck

Answer 3

LOL, I was a runner in high school too, and I was pretty much in the same situation as you except my inspiration was from the Jackie Chan drunken master move.  My lags were like bricks and my abs made of steel, but my arms and chest were a sad sight to behold.  I ended up starting when I was 19, and I'm loving it.  People come into the classes I attend all the time, some of them are 15-16 others are 32-33.  If you're interested in something that will help your running, and something which running will help, tae kwan doe and capoeira are two good choices.  If you want to try a type of kickboxing, there is american kickboxing, sanda, savate, and muay thai.  Normal good old american boxing will build your upper body a substantial amount I should think.

Answer 4

I'd recommend kung fu over karate since I like the fluidity and deceptiveness of the kung fu techniques,  but that's just me.  Wing Chun, Southern Shaolin, Northern Mantis are all excellent styles of kung fu. The tough part is finding a good teacher. Big Dog and Katana  gave great advice in their posts.

Once you join a class your arms won't stay weak for long. If you want,  you can start strengthening your arms on your own.  Push-ups, chin-ups and bicep curls will certainly help.

Also, I doubt you'll be the oldest in the class.

Answer 5

No 15 yeras old isnt too late. Your never to old to start martial arts. I have a friend in my dojo that is 50 years old and he just started.

No you would not look stupid. Actually starting in your teens isnt really old. That is still pretty young.

Even if your weak, if you start a martial arts, you will become strong. You said your arms are weak, if you start kung fu, you will condition your arms by practicing kung fu, which will make your arms stronger.

Any martial arts would do. What do you like striking? Grappling? Groundwork? Both?

Here is a site that list a lot of martial arts.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martial_art...

Just scroll down and open the purple box that says "Martial arts by focus" and it has a whole bunch martial arts listed by type.

Answer 6

Not to old to start. I started when I was 20, and wish I would have started when i was your age.

I really am not going to suggest a certian style because most people who recomend a certian style either recomend the one they train or recomend one based on whatthey read on here or see on tv. Rather then style, probably the most importent things to consider are:

1) How good and knowlagable is the instructor?

2) Does the school train realisticly?

There are many good answers on here about what to look for and what to avoid in an instructor and school, just use the search feature.

Wait I'll do it for you.

http://answers.yahoo.com/search/search_r...

There will be a lot of stupid answers, but you should be able to weed them out fairly easily.

After you know what to look for, find all of the availible schools in your area. Go and watch a couple of classes at each school, and ask questions. Many schools let you try out a class or more for free.

Don't worry about your arm strength, the school itself and the training will build that up.

this will take some time and research on your part, but the fact is that if you don't have the drive to do this research, chances are you wont have the drive to stick with any style, although being a runner I don't see that as a problem.

Answer 7

No age is to late and 15 is a good age to start. Shop for a good school rather than a particular art. A lot of the stand up fighting styles overlap any way. I probably should not say that and offend any or everyone. An investment in time spent on finding the right school will avoid you being disappointed  and turned off in a few months. I always recommend a book I bought some years ago and found to be unbiased and informative for a complete novice. Martial Arts for Dummies is a good overview of various styles and advice in what to look for in choosing a school. Many replies you will get here will offer good advice. Some will be off the wall. Some will want to steer you to their favorite art.

Everyone does martial arts for different reasons. We are all different in strengths and weaknesses, size, and attitude. No one style works the best for everyone. A school that teaches realistic self defense and has a family atmosphere can be found. Just shop thorough and wisely.

Good luck and welcome to the Martial Arts community.

Answer 8

Well its always good to dip your hands in multiple martial arts until you find the best one suited for you.  No one martial art is better then an another technically.  

Well if you run cross country thats important.  Endurance and stamina is important in any Mixed Martial Art.

Answer 9

No 15yrs old is certainly not too late as I personally never started until I was 17yrs old,regarding karate or Kung fu the best advice is to try a few styles of each first and see what you prefer as everyone is different and what works for some doesn't mean it works for others ,but don't give up gave yourself a chance and I'm sure you'll find a style that will suit you.

Good luck and best wishes :)***

Answer 10

it's never too late to start  martial arts my friend! it would be good to cross train martial arts but we will start with one. i think that a good martial art for you would be tae kwon do just because it focuses alot on kicking. but you should strengthen your arms and possibly take up kung-fu or kempo as well. good luck and have fun!

Answer 11

15 is definitely not too late to start.  You are still very young and presumably healthy since you run, so you'll probably advance quite quickly.  

I think a great start for you would be Tae Kwon Do.  This is a korean martial art that focuses on kicks much more than punches, so it would mesh nicely as cross training for running. Focusing on your leg, ab, and cardio strength would give you a great head start.  And there are decent Tae Kwon Do schools in most cities.

For self defense purposes some people say that TKD is not the best art - probably true.  But if you are assaulted, running will be better than fighting anyway.  TKD will help you kick, punch, block and in some schools grapple a little. That should be enough to get you in a position to run away from an assault.

Good luck

Answer 12

Well I think enough people have answered your question but when I was 15 I was doing cross country and when I got into mma I was 16 and cross country helped alot with stamina ... just remember to relax when your are doing a martial art it'll really save alot of energy.

Answer 13

yes ,you are the chosen one, now watch kung pow,it will make you wanna learn even more,then watch white ninja and then it`s off to Tibet you go.

Answer 14

no you are not to late. In my class their are people that are in their twenties. I think you should take isshun ruy karate.

Answer 15

classes are usaly by age. no age is too late. that depends on your health. what you are looking fore. check out the different schools in your area.then go from there.

Answer 16

It is never 2 late 2 start At my dojo I have people in their 50's start

Answer 17

First off you are plenty young enough to start. Martial arts is a life long thing. You can't learn it all in a few years.

There is ton of information on the web with descriptions of every martial art you can think of. We can't tell you what you are going to like, it's only our opinions. There are major categories each art falls into. For example, striking, grappling, hybrid.

Striking breaks down into punches, kicks, knees and elbows for the most part. a TKD or tang soo do would primarily be a kicking art, where as boxing is a punching art.

Grappling breaks into 2 main categories in my opinion. Getting them to the ground and grapples once on the ground. Judo and Jujitsu are great examples of grappling arts, each with their own techniques and proficiencies.

There are many different arts and each of us have our own opinions about which works for us better. Figure out what type of art interests you.

Read up on what different arts fit into the type you want to take. See about availability in your area for the art you narrow it down to.

Go see the school and meet the instructor. Ask him or her questions. Sit in and watch a class. See how the students act. Are they acting in a way you find acceptable? They are a reflection of the teacher. If you like what you see ask if you can come by to tryout the class.

Lots of arts out there, and lots of teachers. Taking the time and doing the research can help you avoid the bad teachers. Learning the history and lineage of an art can help you in asking the right questions and seeing if the teacher is legit. Go into it prepared and you'll do fine. Come back and tell us which you decided to go with. I'm sure we are all rooting for you.

Answer 18

NOOOOOOOOOOO. I wish i started at 15.