What is the best martial art class for me?

Question

I am a woman in my mid 20's. I am in great physical condition. I want to learn a martial art for self defense and for exercise. What should I take?

Answer 1

For self defence there is no one martial art that covers all i would reccomend taking wing chun though mainly because it teaches how to defend yourself from larger attackers, for exercise I'd say take taekwondo or something similar.

Answer 2

There is no such thing as a best martial art. Nor Better or worse. Its the person. Arts are abstract, they are not something you can see feel touch, etc.. So how can you compare? You can only compare fighters. Try out gyms in your local area. See which one you like best. Everybody has a different taste.

Arts that I like- Jeet Kune Do( founded by bruce lee) Brazilian Jiu Jitsu (ground fighting/submission art) kenpo karate (modern karate system that works great for self defense)

Answer 3

Any. I highly suggest looking up videos on youtube to see what ones interest you, then see what's available in your area. Visit the schools and check out the classes to see that they meet your expectations, talk to other participants, then try it out.

List of martial arts styles of the world (not all are going to be reasonable or available):

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

If you want recommendations, I personally love Bujinkan Budo Taijutsu. It's no-nonsense and doesn't require me to be a big guy to train in it and be successful.

Any martial art that's taught for the art's sake (what the art was intended for -- fighting) as opposed to competition, sparring, etc. is my preference.

Best of luck.

Answer 4

get the movie ,return of the jedi..use the force...

Answer 5

Brazilian/Gacie jiu jitsu.

This is the best martial art for self defense. It will keep you in shape and is practical for a real life situation in which you need to defend your self.

Go to gracieacademy.com

Answer 6

stslavik and RJ have given you good answers. I totally agree with everything that RJ said in regards to BJJ.

Wefij A- How can you say that the styles you named are the only good ones in America today? Have you fouhgt against every style out there? What about Judo and Sambo? They have people who's main base is in these styles in the UFC. What about Chuck Liddle? Yes he can wrestle but his striking is primarily from Kempo Karate. It is obvious that you are a big UFC fan, and if a style is not reperesented in this sport then obviously in your enlightned opinion it is not worthwhile. Bet you and your buddies decided that while downing beers watching fight night huh? I would guess you are not very enlightened also judging by your outlook on women. I would hazard a guess that you probably resemble a cave man.

I want to see the best BJJ, wrestling, Myau Thai guy  in the world in with 3 people in a no holds barred match, or against two attackers with weapons, with no ref. None of these styles addresses multiple attackers or weapons, either using or defending against them, yet you claim they are the only styles that are any good. They are all good one on one and would all work for self defense, but so would many other styles out there.

Note to everyone- I am not slamming these styles, as they are all good, just trying to prove a point. Any style if trained realisticly with real resistance in sparring/combat situations is good for self defense.

Answer 7

Take Krav Maga, I am a smaller girl too and it has lots of techniques which can be applied easily and be effective.

Answer 8

as a woman, probably bjj since it removes strength a lot.  the only martial arts available in the US that are any good are bjj, muay thai (free stand-up; knees, punches, kicks, elbows, clinch, in a full-contact fight), wrestling and boxing.  however the latter 3 all require lots of strength and athleticism.  not that bjj doesnt, but those more so.  so if youre looking for self-defense, try bjj.

dont be fooled though, youll never really be able to beat up a man unless youre herculea.  women are too weak and unathletic compared to men, so dont get yourself hurt.

Answer 9

For exercise, TKD (Taekwondo) is great. For self defense for a female, I suggest a reality based fighting art like Krav Maga, or a weapons based art like Kali or Escrima.

Answer 10

Brazilian jiu jitsu, Capoeira, Tae Kwon Do or Karate.

Answer 11

a kickboxing class would be good for you.

if that one doesnt work then try traditional karate but i really think you might find a kick boxing class enjoyable and interesting

Answer 12

try gymnastics.So, u can confuse the opponent with ur moves and then defeat him

Answer 13

If your time is limited then I would say an art that combines striking and grappling such as Krav Maga would be best. Otherwise, you can train your striking and grappling seperately.

Now let me qualify something quickly - BJJ is not the ultimate art for self defense. It's strength is in one on one fighting, with the focus being on combat sports. I AM NOT SAYING IT HAS NO MERIT FOR SELF DEFENSE. So for those of you that are flaring up right now about this statement ask yourself this - when was the last time you trained/sparred multiple opponents at the same time, or drilled weapon defenses, or actually sparred on the ground and not a mat? So again I'll say that BJJ is absolutely great for combat sports but only a good grappling base for self defense.