What martial arts is best for me?

Question

I am looking for a martial arts that practices the art of using wepons like a katana, ( japanese sword, known as samurai swords.) any type of long wepon used in close range combat.( No i dont want to learn fencing and a kendo class is to far from where i live.) I would like something that increases agility and keeps you active and fit. im not a very aphletic person.( hoping for something to do and to keep me active.) Also id like it to be something where you dont give serious ingurys. (ex. hitting pressure points, breaking bones.) And the it dosnt have to use real wepons. im a person that gives a little bit of mercy to the opponent.

Answer 1

eskrima uses simple sticks

they're pretty short compared to katanas and all, but they get the job done in close combat

and plus, most of the time, when you're sparring with someone, youre not really expected to fully hit the person with your weapon

eskrima also teaches you how to use knives

Answer 2

shotokan karate sounds good

Answer 3

-Shotokan- probably the most widely practiced style of karate, which was found by Funakoshi, school focuses on speed and precision of techniques rather than on raw force of a fighter. Bulk of training is kata(forms consisting of movements), drills and sparring.

-Goju ryu- Hardcore school of karate, fighters rely heavily on their physical ability to block and take punches, therefore training consists of brutal endurance exercises, and drills mixed with kata, with full contact sparring introduced later in the menu. Goju ryu karate-ka have always been famous for their endurance, strength and overall toughness.

-Shorin ryu- a mix of the two above, plus a arsenal of evasion techniques is introduced, fighter don’t tend to stand their ground and fight, but evade and counter. Some people say it’s the most balanced and rational style of karate.

Answer 4

+1 for eskrima.

Filipino Martial Arts utilizes techniques from long to short range.  Weapons range from long to short, blunt to blade, hard to soft (stick vs nunchaku or bullwhip).  

The art is combat oriented, effective, and has been tested throughout the history of the Philippines.  It will improve agility and fitness.  Injuries occur only at the hands of inexperienced practitioners..

I've been training for 8 years now and I love it.  This is a FILIPINO martial art, however, and based on your question you seem to be more interested in Japanese systems. Hope my suggestion was helpful.

Answer 5

I used to practice Aikido and it wasn't too, too violent. It's more of a use-the-other-person's-energy -against-them type of combat and it's more self-defense than anything. There's not a lot of emphasis on punching/kicking and more on take downs and groundfighting. Don't get me wrong though, some of the stuff is pretty "athletic". There is sword usage involved also. All in all, I really enjoyed it. Good luck!

Answer 6

Most types of karates sound good. Karate uses sword, nunchuks, staffs etc. It will keep you fit cus we do a lot of fitness and fighting techniques. Also, basic karate techniques, kata/forms and self defence. It won'te give too much injury really, just the occasional bruise but it's rare. Don't worry no bone breaking.

Yes, they do teach pressure points but they don't actually do it on you.

Nowadays dojos don't use real swords so you don't need to worry. Just check out the karate dojos around your area and try them out for a session. See which one suits you.

Answer 7

I purchased a suburito (heavy wooden sword) because I was curious to see what it would be like to wield a Katana.  There are two types of training tools; Suburito, heavy wooden swords, and bokken, Katana sized, but considerably ligher wooden swords.  I chose the suburito because it weighs as much as a real sword.

I purchased Dave Lowry's Kenjutsu book, as I did not wish to hurt my wrists while wielding that thing, or my arms, so more for safety than actually learning anything, and curiosity.  I went outside, did only, barely, 50 repetitions, and I very nearly collapsed.  Wielding a sword, isn't easy, and I found out the hard way about the maxim "a sword, is not a toy."

European knights, and other swordsmen have echoed that maxium for centuries.

I will admit, the experience was rewarding, what little I got, in spite the fatigue.  However, before you get into it, get in shape first, and get strong first, because I found out the hard way that your body has to be strong first before you can wield a sword.  What you will likely train with is a bokken or suburito, the suburito being extremely cumbersome to wield.  You also want to wield it in a relatively open space with no people around; one whack with that thing and you could easily maim or kill someone.  The shape of it makes it so that its more than simply a wooden stick; in feudal era Japan, some samurai actually wielded suburito and bokken in battle, insisting it was superior to Katana.

As far as agility, sorry, Kenjutsu won't do that.  If you wish to learn how to properly use a sword, and develop agility, you should take up Aikido.  Aikido's curriculum has, as part of its training, learning how to wield a bokken, with students above the 5th Dan rank being granted the privelege of training with a live blade.  The instructor will train you with a wooden sword, until they feel you have enough maturity for a live blade, which is usually not after the 5th dan.

Myself personally I'm scared to death of live blades and do not want to go near them.  Occassionally I become frightened of wielding my suburito, and its a wooden weapon.  The idea of wielding a blade that size scares me half to death.  I personally do not feel I have the maturity to wield a real sword, much less an expensive work of art.  Nevertheless, I still love the art and hey, I say go for it.

But get in shape first, and take up Aikido if you wish to learn the art of Kenjutsu.  Morihei Ueshiba, was a descendant of a Samurai family who were allies to the Yagyu Shinkage ryu school of Kenjutsu.  The end result is that Aikido uses Kenjutsu techniques from the Yagyu school as part of its advanced curriculum.  The reason?

The motions to do an overhead slash with a sword, are similar as the motions of doing an overhead throw.  In other words wielding a bokken, a suburito, and later on a Katana, trains the throwing muscles, so your aikido training is incomplete without learning how to use a Jo staff, and a Katana, both weapons of the Samurai.  Indeed O'Sensei meant Aikido to be a Samurai art, albeit a pacifist one.

The closest thing there is to becoming a full-fledged Samurai, with the skills of the Samurai, that is, knowing how to use the basic weapons of the Jo staff, and the Katana, in addition to the grappling, is by earning your 5th Dan in Aikido.  In the modern world, receiving the 5th Dan, which I believe is only granted in Japan, is indeed the closest thing there is to becoming a "Samurai."

The Samurai, like Byzantine Cataphracti, and like European knights deeper in Europe, were well rounded fighters.  The Samurai was expected to learn the spear, archery, the use of a sword, the naginata, and later on the Jo staff, on foor and on horseback.  Morihei Ueshiba's samurai clan, along with many others, realizing that a single fighting art took years to master, focused on but three weapons; the staff, the sword, and the naginata.

The founder of Aikido condensed it further still, insisting, that since the Jo staff (Jojutsu), and the Katana were the most commonly used weapons of the Samurai, in Aikido's curriculum, those are the only two weapons you need to learn.  Aikido is grappling art that focuses primarily on throws and escapes, using physics against attacks done form long range.  Its main weakness, and why as a martial art it is weaker against even the likes of Karate, has to do with the fact that past the kill zone, its inefective.

What is the "kill zone?"  The area around you where any punches or kicks will no longer work, no matter how fast you are, what grapplers call "grappling range."  That area represents the "kill zone."  Beyond the kill zone, Aikido works just fine.  Within the kill zone it is dangerously inefective.  Tai Chi Chuan, its Chinese predecessor in terms of pacifist philosophy, works at any range.  Same with other martial arts.

The reason Aikido does not work in close quarters, is because O'Sensei wanted to instill in his students an attitude of pacifism.  Here's the deal; someone being unjustifiably attacked, will only be attacked by an inefectual buffoon who will use a long range type of attack that an Aikido expert will easily neutralize.  However, someone who uses martial arts for the purpose of hurting others will find himself confronted by an opponent that knows what they're doing.  Hence, to ensure its pacifist stance, and that his students would meditate, because only through the focus of meditation is Aikido at is most effective, O'Sensei deliberately ommitted any Jiu Jitsu moves that worked at close range, opting instead for the neutralization of long range attacks.

If you spend more time meditating, than doing martial arts, odds are O'Sensei would have liked you a lot had he met you.  If you spent more time training in martial arts than meditating, odds are he would not accept you as his student.  From what I read about him, that is the kind of man he was.  Aikido WILL work at close range, despite its physically infective techniques but only if you have reflexes so lightning fast, that physical limiation of the art becomes a moot point.  The only way to develop ultra fast reflexes, is through meditation.  There really is no other way.

Wrestling, Karate, Judo, BJJ, MMA, etc, all those martial arts will work even if you have a distracted, unfocused mind.  If you are athletic you can earn a black belt eventually and even become champ.  You don't need focus in a technically well designed martial art.  You really don't, not on the level of a zen monk anyway, if you are athletic.  However, in Aikido, without constantly engaging in zen meditation, the art simply will not work.  It was not made for people seeking to hurt others, whereas most other martial arts were.

Aikido, is easily the best choice; its still physically demanding, but its not too physically demanding compared to other martial arts.  You still develop agility because of the countless tumbles and rolls they make you do AND you'll get to learn how to wield a Japanese Katana after a time, if you work hard focusing on polishing your technique, rather than constantly asking "when do I get my belt," you'll reach that coveted 5th dan that much quicker.

Just remember though, that east asian martial arts all begin and end with meditation, and regarding the legendary Musashi, ultimately that was his weapon against the Samurai he killed.  All the power Musashi ever had, did not stem from fanatical training regiments.  When he said "I trained day and night" in his book "The Book of Five Rings," he was refering to the fact that he would retreat into the wilderness for days, fasting, meditating practically nonstop.  While not martial arts, the mental strength required to just sit there in zazen, for 14 hours a day, would have to have been unreal.

Any martial artist with that kind of focus is someone to fear.  Even if they don't train too much in their moves.

Do not forget that all of the body's movement begins and ends with the nervous system, and while meditation may seem pointless, mundane or even outdated, it trains the mind to focus upon a single point.  The better focused your mind, the faster your reflexes become.

If you can find an Aikido school, go for it.  It beats the h**l out of learning Judo, Kenjutsu, and Jojutsu separately.

If you are serious about learning the art of the Samurai sword, taking up Aikido is almost mandatory.  The Kenjutsu you will learn there, is authentic Yagyu Shinkage Ryu, with some (but few) modifications made by O'Sensei's samurai clan.  Its as authentic as any sword school in Japan, which you will not find in the large cities.

Not unless you wish to join a Yakuza clan that is, and yeah, some bosses come from Samurai families but..... they're still crooks, and not very nice people.  You're better off learning Aikido.

Good luck.

Answer 8

Try Ninjutsu that's Japanese Ninja  Marital art they use all kind of weapons! Also try Krabi Krabong is a Thai weapon-based martial art ! Thats what the use to fight back in the middle ages to fight off the Burmese for a century! But when they have no weapons they use hand to hand combat called muay thai! That what im taken is pretty simple! Its alot like kick boxing!

Answer 9

So let me get this straight you wanna learn a martial art that uses katana japanese sword . but an art that does not have pressure point striking or focus on bone breaking. I have news for you theres no such art . all of the arts that foucs on japanese swords use pressure point strikes and bone breaking ninjitsu , akido , judo, ju jitsu etc ...

You could do chinese martial arts they teach swords but not katana thats japanese. and they teach spear, daggers etc. like shaloin kung fu , eagle claw .

if all is lost you can call around the dojos in your town and ask questions but I dont think you will find a japanese school that teaches katana with out pressure point teachings and bone breaks

Pressure point and bone breaking are at the heart of the japanese teachings of karate