What is the best type of Marital Arts I should take?

Question

I am a female, 5'7", 155lbs.

I am looking for self defense as well as a good workout.

Any clue or suggestions?

Answer 1

Find out what is available in your area.

Sit in on some classes.

Take whichever one you think that you would enjoy the most.

You are more likely to learn more in a class that is enjoyable than you would in a class that is a chore to attend.

Answer 2

beware of fake schools that will only raise your confidence up rather than skill. itz quite sad for someone to train people and make them believe that they win a fight.

itz sad to say, but there are MANY martial arts schools that have NO discipline and usually the instructors are out of shape

pick watever hybrid martial art there is. Hybrid meaning they teach you how to fight with your WHOLE body such as strikes from legs and arms, ground fighting, and weapons (practical weapons such as a knife or club). give your self to train at home a half hour minimum. be competative and remember concepts like wat works and wat not, wat can you do and can't.

now to staying in shape come with the package at sum schools (i think). but remember to do some running, sit ups, and push ups everyday. Do wat you can, dont over stress, starting slow and easy is ok. Running increases stamina and speed, sit ups strengthens ur abs from impact (trust me, you'll always get hit in a fight, strong abs reduces pain), push ups for arm power. do wat works and ALWAYS question your teachers if you manage to get into a school

try kick boxing (serious kick boxing), KaJuKenBo, Hapkido, Sambo, Jeet Kune Do, etc.

hybrid martial arts:

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

check the hybrid martial arts section on page

Answer 3

bjj

Answer 4

Orlando is probably going to have quite a few options. It sounds like you might not be in the best shape, but then again I don't know your build so I couldn't really say one way or another. However, if you are out of shape, then don't worry about the workout aspect, because most martial arts are going to give you a good workout. If you are in shape you might consider martial arts with a bit more intensive training. However, while some martial arts, I.E. Kung Fu are somewhat known to be a bit more difficult in terms of strength training and conditioning, others, like Taekwon-Do, are somewhat more difficult in flexibility conditioning.

The best thing for you to do is sit in on a few classes at a few different schools. Use the yellow book to call around and see what their monthly fee is, find out some things about the instructor, the school, and how many classes per week the school offers. These things can all play an important role in which style you choose. You can even use the internet to some extent, and with you living in Orlando which is a fairly large city, I would assume you could have more luck than I do living in rural Missouri.

As long as you're open to work hard, almost every martial art is going to have something to offer you.

Answer 5

Quite honestly you are going to get basicly 3 types of answers here:

1) You will get answers from people recomending the style they take.

2) You will get the MMA/BJJ/Muay Thai answer from all of the UFC nutgrabbers, wanna be's, and posers that think if it isn't reperesented in the UFC it must be no good. Most of these people do not train. You will see them answer all of the best style question, what style should I take, any of the UFC questions, but very rarely ever see them actually answer about how to do a certian movement or technique.

3) You will get answers like I am about to give, which if you notice will be basicly the same as the answers given by the top contributers, many of whom actually answer questions about how to do an actual technique.

Rather then recomend a specific style, mainly because I don't know what's availible in your area, or how good the school is, this is my suggestion:

1) Make a list of all of the schools and classes availible in your area.(that's the problem with people recomending styles, not everything is taught everywhere)

2) Go here www.bulshido.com. They have an excellent list on what to avoid and what to look for in a good school, regardless of style. You could also do a search on here, as there are many good questions and answers about finding a good school.

3) Visit all of the schools/styles that have an interest to you and watch a few classes, and maybe even participate if they have free trial classes.

4) Figure out which school is the best according to the list you have, and the questions you will ask of the instructor, and if it fullfills what you are looking for.

Any martial art if trained well will meet your chriteria. Be aware that some like karate, kung fu, TKD, will take a little bit longer to put into actual application. This does not mean they are worse, it is just the way they are designed to be taught.

It really doesn't matter if you iwnde up in one of those, or Judo, or Akido, or BJJ, or Muay Thai, or Krav Maga, or MMA etc.

I would rather see you get training at the best school or gym avalible that you can afford.

Please don't even bother following the link Mark s provided. Can you say snake oil salesman, crook, rip off, well you get the idea.

Answer 6

Just check out http://www.selfdefencemadeeasy.com they have some excellent free downloads.That may give you a better idea forwhat you are looking for.

Answer 7

Hapkido or judo.

That`s my pick.

Answer 8

Tae Kwan Do as it is a killer workout.

Hey, kicking is hard.

Answer 9

Judo is best for females. The reason is their hips are almost as strong as males. Judo uses hip power mostly