Which form of martial arts should I take?

Question

I want to take a martial arts class that can actually help me against attackers. I am also looking for something that involves lots of energy because I'm extremely hyperactive...specifically a martial arts that involves lots of kicks, backflips, etc. I know that tae kwon doe has this but i've heard it is more a showcase martial art than one actually used for self defense. Any ideas? thankyou!! :]

Answer 1

Taekwondo could be the answer depending on what style of Taekwondo you have in the town/city you live. All styles of Taekwondo are not only showcase - most styles can be used for self defense as well.One must also remember that there is a place for all martail arts and most will comply by helping you against attackers. If you only want to be instructed on the way to defend yourself without the traditional ways and means you should have a look at MMA - mixed martial arts. Most of the decisionmaking of what you should take up depends on the needs you have as well as what is available where you stay.

Answer 2

Unfortunatley the back flipping martial arts are only good in movies.

TKD as a self defense sucks (I know because I did TKD). All martial arts are good to burn off your energy. If you want something that you can actually depend on to SAVE YOUR LIFE, is

JEET KUNE DO CONCEPTS:

Made up of Various Gong-Gu styles, Kali, Savate, Muay Thai, Dumog, Judo/Jiu-jutsu, various other wrestling styles & something unique: Kino Mutai (the art of biting & eye gouging).

http://www.progressivetacticalsystems.co...

TRUST ME THIS WORKS! By the way that website is my instructor's, if you want it from his point of view call him or give him an email, you won't regret it!

If there is no JKD school near you

Krav Maga

Combat Hapkido

Lotar

Isshin-Ryu & Kyokushin are good but it's better if they also taught judo or jiu-jutsu at their school.  

Answer 3

http://img98.imageshack.us/img98/9315/te... <--- take a quick look and decide for your self.  If the facts aren't good enough do your own research and you'll see the truth for what it is.

Answer 4

Sadly, I think you've hit on a bit of a contradiction. See, expending copious amounts of energy is a bad thing. If you expend too much energy fighting one person, then what happens if there are more attackers? Most arts that are good for personal defense focus on using less energy, not more.

That said, you could take what you learn in class and increase the intensity. Using weights while practicing your punches will expend more energy, as will forcing yourself to do more repetitions of kata or forms at higher speeds (remember to maintain proper form).

The other thing is, though, that martial arts training has a way of slowing people down. You train at an intensity that's safe for you and your partner and sometimes it means being patient.

You might try a good kung fu academy. You'll have some of the acrobatics that you seem interested in, and good instructors will be able to teach you how to apply it to self-defense. Good luck.

Answer 5

besides mma, find a good muay thai gym, the workouts are ace and high energy, its all quite practical as well,  

Answer 6

i think you want to pick more on how you find the instructor, mixed martial arts teachers are generally quite agressive perhaps thats what you are looking for.

It's generally not so much the style that you pick, but the people you train with that will push you to be a highly skilled fighter.

Ultimately, street fighting will teach you ALOT more

Answer 7

Any martial art will be helpful but you need to find a good instructor and school.  

BTW, backflips are quite useless in self-defense.  That is pure showmanship much like you accuse TKD of being.  There is nothing wrong with TKD so long as you have a good instructor.

Answer 8

Having watched a lot of MMA and practicing a few things myself, I safely say that you wont find all that your looking for in one martial art. There are self defense ones, which are not as demanding as taekwondo, but do teach some useful strikes and pressure points. Aikido is one of them.. I could go on about others.. but..

Taekwondo is great for flexibility and kicking mostly, and I think there are some other strikes too. Just remember that if you are good at any martial art, chances are you will be able to hurt an attacker.

Self defense classes are good too. you will learn things like slashing attackers in the throat with your credit card :S

Ive also heard that karate is good for self defense.