Which Martial art do you recommend?

Question

I'm interested in learning a martial art but am not sure which one to try but I want one that will help me feel fit and help me be more in tone with my body and know what it is capable of doing and I know it is not a weapon but one that would be good if I were to ever need to defend myself

Answer 1

brazilian jiu jitsu...only da best

Answer 2

Hi.

I'll go through a few of the more popular martial arts for your consideration.

When you say 'fit' in the context of martial arts I usually think of Tae Kwon Do.  This is a style that utilizes primarily kicks and is sure to keep you in shape.  However it is also a sport and may not be so practical for self defense.

Wing Chun is a great art for combat and therefore self defense, though the specific emphasis placed on the self defense applications will vary from school to school.  This style will likely get you in better tune with your body but when it comes to fitness it may again vary from school to school.

Jujitsu is a grappling style that is great for one on one self defense.  However its weakness lies in that it utilizes tangling yourself with you opponent on the ground to subdue them.  If he/she has a friend close by there is little you can do to defend yourself against them.  So for multiple attackers this style doesn't fair so well for self defense.  It will however keep you in shape and get you in tune with what you body is capable of.

Kenpo Karate is a well rounded, versatile style that primarily uses stand up combat in combination with some grappling.  There are many different styles of Kenpo Karate, in many of them the emphasis is placed on self defense.

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Any martial art will help you get in tune with you body but rarely is that the emphasis.  Same thing goes for fitness, any martial art will keep you in shape but not all schools will force you into fitness.

You will get out of martial arts what you put in, if you’re lazy then you won't get anything out of it, if you work hard you can use whatever style you take to keep yourself in good shape.

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As for which one you should take my personal recommendation is Kenpo Karate.  If you are interested look for a Tracy's Karate Studio, if you can't find one look for schools that teach American Kenpo or Shaolin Kenpo.  There are scores of other similar styles but these are the most common.

Really what you should do though is look around your area for schools rather than picking a style only to find out it's not available in your area.  Go and visit these schools, ask to sit in on a class to see what it’s like, some of them may have introductory classes than are relatively cheap if not free, take advantage of these.  

Whatever school fits you best may have little to do with the style it teaches and more to do with how the style is taught.

I hope this helps and good luck finding a school :)

Answer 3

What is your body type?

What is your personality like?

What is available in your area?

What are your goals?

We don't know any of this information. How are we supposed to give you an educated answer to your question if we don't have any facts? Any person on here that suggested a specific style even if it is a good style is just shouting at the wind.

They are not putting any real thought into their answer.

Go to a local school and check it out. If you like the instructors methed of teaching, then go for it, have some fun, and learn some neat stuff. Make sure that the prices are comparative for your area, and don't be suckered by contracts or hidden fees.

Good Luck.

Answer 4

wing chun

Answer 5

Quite honestly Prince has given you the best answer. Any martial art if taught and trained correctly will give you what you want.

Answer 6

I would say Kravmaga, a very good martial art. It is what the military even uses, its great well rounded, unlike most. The back fall of this is that it is more of a external martial art. I would say pick this up with a internal martial art, like Wing Ching or Hsing-I, ether of these would work good. Absolutely stay away from TKD, its a mess of money down the drain, seriously.

Answer 7

Krav Maga is very good for physical conditioning, and we are all about bringing out the best in each person.  In Krav Maga we spend more time doing than going over things, as we know refinement takes work and many repetitions to get it right.

I don't think I have ever given a class that is not a sweating mess by the end of the class, as part of our job is to push you beyond the point of fatigue and persist, so everyone sweats, everyone tones up.

I teach Krav Maga so I am biased, but I know what I have to do to bring out the best in my students.

Answer 8

Whichever one you like best!

Answer 9

Totally AIKIDO!

IF you are a girl it is a great way to protect yourself

and then it will show you ways to be intune with your body and learn things like you are not trying too hurt your oppent but you are guiding his anger and taking him too the floor

and there are art's that if they grab your shirt(in that area) there are defensive moves that i can do really fast and clan

Personally i like this martial art because you learn things out of the dojo and fighting like you learn what each hand shake means and like body movements and ill tell you a quotes that i love in aikido

I put harm in harmony

a focused mind can break stone

There are no contests in Aikido. A true warrior is invincible because he or she contests with nothing. Defeat means to defeat the mind of contention that we harbor within.  

Hope i helped

Answer 10

well like most martial artists would say is it depends on the teacher but im just going to go ahead and list a few you might be interested it.

-krav maga

-judo

-jujitsu

-savate

-muay thai

Answer 11

Lol,  American Kenpo Karate woman here. I am in great shape and feel comfortable with this very useful, defensive  street smart style that incorporates the defenses of other Martial arts.  I  learn moves from pressure point blocks, Krav Maga, Tung Soo Do, Jeet Kune Do, grappling and kickboxing to name a few just off the top of my head and have an arsenal of weapons to play with!

I do hope you find an art that is comfortable for you and I applaud your knowledge of realistically needing to defend yourself in this world.  Many places offer a trial period or even a couple of free classes.  All should welcome you to visit and observe.

Good luck and have fun with it!

Answer 12

i do teakwondo and its really good exercise!!!! and it teaches u to move more fastter and to be more flexeble

Answer 13

Hello Nalvaren !

Every style of martial arts can give you whatever your goals are regardless.    

Some martial arts styles may or does depends on your height , weight, build etc...etc.. While I don't believe in the "one size fits all" mentality. It would be hard to picture a sumotori ( person who trains in Sumo) weighting 400 lbs  doing a 360 jump spin triple kick in Taekwondo.  

My underlying point is that  YOU have to find an art that fits YOU. It does not matter which art. Just find an art that will make YOU feel comfortable and satisfied.

Martial arts does not descrimate on the basis of race, religion, national origin, color, s*x, age, veteran status, or  disability or age.  

Finding the right school, style and instructor can be a very discouraging and perplexing endeavor. However, I can suggest the following steps to assist you in your search:

Here is what I have suggested in the past:

Get a phone book ( Available FREE from your local phone company ) , Take it home and start looking for the listing under “ Martial Arts Instruction” or “ Martial Arts”. You should find about 2-3 pages of Schools currently doing business in your area. Some schools have big ads that grabs your attention the moment you opened the phone. Don’t neglect schools that are simply on the basic two lines listing. You will never know what hidden “treasure” you might stumble upon.

Next step is to list the schools and their styles that appeals to you. Since you are new to the Martial Arts it is also a wise idea to check out a style or system that you have never heard off, as I am sure you have never heard of arts like Matsubayashi Ryu , Kobayashi Ryu, Shito Ryu..etc. List them as well and find out more about them.

Then click on this link: www.google.com type in the styles that you listed. I am 100 percent sure that google will give you detailed information of the type of martial art styles that are being offered in your area.

Do not read one website as the only source of that style. Read as many as you can. It pays to do your homework before you do your legwork.

2) Finding the Dojo

Once you narrowed down your martial arts style search and still feeling enthusiastic about training. Now comes the hard part. To begin with, return to the primary source ( the phone book). Now that you have a clear fundamental understanding of what style of martial arts maybe good for you. List all the available dojo with their address and phone numbers.

Now don’t rely of the phone books alone as the only source of locating dojos in your area. Utilized the power of the information superhighway (AKA the internet). Click on www.Google.com and type in keywords such as Karate ( type in city) or wushu (type in city)..etc

There are dojos that do not advertised or used phone books and the internet to acquire new students. Often these little schools rely of words of mouth or basically are non-commercialized schools.

Just because they are small does not mean that they aren’t any good. Funakoshi’s ( Founder of Shotokan) first dojo was his backyard.  Just remember one thing, many great martial artist did not train in a muli-million dollar dojo.  

So by now you probably have list that are now 2-3 pages long. The next course of action is to give the Dojo that appealed to you a call and see if they give out try-outs for free or pay the minimal tryout fee’s.

I would strongly suggest to try out these schools for a least a month before you make a commitment. Trying out for one day training session is not enough. If you have to pay for a monthly fee ( Hopefully very small indeed) Just do it ! It is worth the investment.

One last thing, I don't mean to sound abrasive, but If the above suggestion is too much work for you, then the probability of you being serious in joining a martial arts school is less than zero.   I am sorry to say this but, there's plenty of answerer's here that wants to sincerely help you in your quest, but you have to do your part.