What are martial arts classes like?

Question

I wanted to start taking some classes for a few reasons.

Mainly for getting back into shape, I would also like to develop mental and physical discipline, become more limber and agile.

And if I feel that I am progressing at a decent rate I would like to participate in tournaments and possibly MMA, but that is far down the road.

Aside from answering the question, anyone have any advice for me? What martial arts school should I go for?

Answer 1

look in yellow pages for a martuial arts acedemy. i dont know where you licve so i cant reccomend one, well what you do in the martial arts acadmey i go too you can go up too everyday apart from sundays and for about the first 20-30 minutes we do a workout e.g skipping, press ups, push ups.e.t.c. and then for about the next 20 mins we punch the pads e.g like cross,jab,hook e.t.c then for the last 10-15mins they teach us self defense like what too do and how too move/react when someone is trying too attck you and stuff like that. btw this is in a adult class from the age of 14years old (im 13years old but the gurl i go with is 14 so i go in there too) i dont know if any acadmeys will be the same as this but problii will be similar!! it is no particular martial art it is a mixture of them all/ self defense and also a bit of kick boxing. I hope you find a acedmy as good as mine!!!

Answer 2

the first poster is right, taekwondo can be pretty brutal for exercise. I remember feeling like I had to puke lots of times lol.. espescially when your doing body shields and you do like 10 minutes of circuit stuff and switch and then you got a black belt kicking you in the gut constantly. MMA is great too. If you wan't to learn how to fight though I would suggest MMA over TKD

Answer 3

If i were you, I would start with a kickboxing class. Try getting a school that offers Muay Thai. Tae Kwon do is good and all but the punches are worthless. With Muay Thai you would have fewer kicks but they will be A HUNDRED TIMES MORE EFFECTIVE. You learn to kick and punch right - with power.

Once you got a feel for that then you go after some ju-jitsu training. I think going with kickboxing will allow you to figure out if you even have the chin for fighting. Some guys have a glass jaw. You don't want a spend a portion of your life going one route then figuring out you have no chin for fighting. Go with the striking first. It might change the course of what you are thinking about.

If you go with Ju-jitsu you will have a great base for grappling but if MMA is the real goal, you will never find out if you can take a hit. It takes years to reach any kind of mastery in ju-jitsu. So you want to start with Kickboxing it's a little easier to learn.

Answer 4

Taekwondo is a very cardiovascular martial art that would help you get back into shape, give you flexiblity, and instill discipline.

It's a good starting point, however if you are interested in the MMA realm, then you might want to get into jujistsu.

Answer 5

"In my experience" I am qualified to teach a common type of Yoga who took up karate in my early 30's my flexibility and fitness have reached new heights.  Chest and back looking good legs were always good anyway, confidence and safety awareness now exist (they didn't before).  Hard work but the dividends are there.  Good for a school that teaches on an evening you have free, is fairly priced and be prepare to move to get a good spread of techniques.  Enjoying the team spirit has kept me coming back

Answer 6

If your interested in MMA down the road I would suggest brazilian jiu jitsu and muay thai kickboxing. Tae Kwon Do is good for getting in shape but isn't practical for MMA.