Training in Martial Arts?

Question

So I Pretty much have a couple of questions on "Martial Arts"...yeah, i don't really know how else to put it.

Ok so I'm 14 years old and I have been Practicing Tae Kwon-Do for a while (not that long...say a couple of months) pretty much for self-defense, discipline, physical skill but mainly just to get fit. (I'm rather unfit...not OVERLY obese but kind of overweight.) I have taken a deep interest in Martial arts and i have read in many places that Tae Kwon-Do is more-or-less "flashy" compared to other Styles of martial arts that will help in on the street or in a tournament. I am NOT discarding Tae-Kwon-Do at all, i am not saying i believe that, it is just what i have read, not that i a doubting it, i am just unsure. I am just wondering what other styles of martial arts that i can learn ("that" i can learn" meaning that a style or styles that a 13 year old overweight kid could learn and just get better at) and would be able to find a place to take lessons at. So what DOES it take to be a good martial artist? Knowledge? Power? Physical strength? Heart? Fitness (which i dont have =P)?

Also...will practicing a martial art (or arts) help m physical fitness? Should i train in more that one style? (two or three striking styles on grappling style and one striking etc) I just really want to become a disciplined, fit, able and skilled fighter...would a 13 year old be able to achieve this? (Not WHILE im 13...you know what i mean...=P)

Thank You ForBothering To Answer My Question(s)!!!!

Answer 1

judo is good for people of all ages.

maybe in combination with taekwondo.

it would help with fitness.

Answer 2

I would recommend sticking with TKD for sure. If you would like to round out your training then look into judo or jujitsu to add more ground work.

When I began my training I was 19 and weighed 230 pounds. By the time I was 20 I weighed 185. A couple months into training is a start. If you go to classes regularly and are making efforts to eat properly I would not worry about any weight issues because they will not last.

Good luck with your training and don't let the fear or hard work get in your way of training in any style you want.

Answer 3

You know what?

you don't even have to practice other styles because,

"Any styles takes time to perfect" It just takes perseverance and the will to excel in the art.

I dont know if the five tenets of taekwondo we're already introduced to you

but one of the five are PERSEVERANCE it means you should finish what you started. the other is INDOMITABLE SPIRIT it means you should not give up easily and give up to the obstacles you encounter.

About your physical fitness, yes taekwondo also helps lose weight i know one guy in our country who was very obese when he started in taekwondo and years later he was not the obese kid anymore infact he became a member of the national team!

I encourage you to continue taekwondo, good things may come to your way. I know one Instructor who started when he was 13, some years later he was travelling the world competing in international competitions!!!

Answer 4

I am a Tae Kwon Do/Hapkido instructor so this answer will be strange coming from me, but I would say KEMPO would be your best bet for sombody who is a little overweight and wanting something that would make them a better close range fighter. Its really fast paced and if done right can be fierce. I would try to talk you in to hapkido but alot of places wont teach you untill your 16 because of the damage it can inflict if just played with "Hapkido is deadly". Try to goto youtube and check out a few video's of the Kempo I think it maybe right for you.

Answer 5

How about kumdo, if you want to learn something interesting?  "Kumdo," literally means, "Sword Way." Kumdo is a Korean translation of the Japanese term, "Kendo." "Ken" meaning, "Sword," and, "Do" meaning, "Way."  

It is just completely different from anything else and requires maturity, concentration and dedication.

I myself practise iaido which is the art of Japanese sword-drawing.

Answer 6

If you are fourteen now and have a little fat I would not worry about it as long as you stay active and work out.  Many of my students or former students that were like you at that age are hulks now and anything but chubby little kids.  As for training I would look at a Japanese or Okinawan style of karate to enhance your hand skills.  Boxing and Muay Thai would also be good choices for this to better round out your skills.  I would not train in another stand up style until later though as you need to learn and get the basics of this one down first.  As for being a good martial artist irregardless of style it takes dedication, effort, time, practice, and experience.  Stick with your training and study of it and you will be one.  Give into the sometimes fleeting urges to quit or stop for a while and you will be less likely to ever get to that point.  I sometimes run into a former student who quit and almost all of them say they wished they had never quit or taken that break and had instead stayed with it.