Which is the right martial arts style(s) for me?

Question

I've done a little bit of Judo and Tae Kwon do when I was younger, but was never really motivated or cared about it much...but now I am interested doing martial arts. My boyfriend has done bok fu do and he says it has really helped him mentally and physically, and it has helped him through tough situations out on the streets.

Here's the details: I am an 18 year old female, 5'5", 125 pounds, medium-boned, and very inflexible (I'm writing my body type because some martial art styles are suited better for certain body types). My goals are: increase physical strength, cardio fitness, coordination, flexibility (definitely that), have better mental health (I wanna be more patient, less frustrated, and have higher self-esteem), defend myself from kidnappers/rapists/killers/etc., and to learn more about that particular style of martial art. Which styles would you recommend for me?

Answer 1

well the style that  seems right for you is....... american kenpo or kung fu san soo

Answer 2

BJJ!!

Answer 3

Well, I do Jeet Kune Do concepts. Mentally it's great for philosophical aspects as well as training you to keep your cool when the "you know what hits the fan."

Jeet Kune Do Concepts is an eclectic martial art with Gong-Fu, Boxing, Kali, Savate & Muay Thai standing techniques. Kali also contributes it's weapon techniques as well.

Groundfighting, holds & throws come from Judo, Jiu-jitsu, Brazilian Jiu-jitsu, Sambo, various wrestling styles like folk style & catch.

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

Also Jeet Kune Do has something else that most other arts don't, called Kino Mutai  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kino_mutai

JKD does not have katas & usually (but depending on the school) has no belt system.

Answer 4

Do you have an "American Jiu-jutsu" school near you? Americanized JJ is still heavy into grappling and submission, but also spends a good deal of instruction on proper stand up fighting. It's a great self defence style, and will definetley test your strength, flexibility, endurance and will. It is easy to become good relatively fast, and will challenge you just as much as you want to be challenged.

Answer 5

k well here where you want to go head to missori warren county and look for the martial art style there as hopkido. iv been there for 10years and iv been to korea for extreme training but, there you will become felxiable stronger faster,lighter,mentally able to do anything and not feel pain.

BUT you have to commit to it you have to earn you belts in hopkido more than any martial arts out there hopkido takes the best of every martial out there and put it into one. no one can come them a hopkido student or a professianal martial artist until they have a black belt in hopkido.

Answer 6

I'd suggest Shaolin Kempo... I took it as a self defense class. and I started it when i was exactly your age, size, and weight...   i lost 10 lbs from just 4 months of classes and developed muscle tone.  it also helped my flexibility (though I admit it was very hard to get up stairs after just a few days of training cause my legs were sore from it, but i got stronger) also, you learn cool moves and it really helps deal with stress.

It's taught by United Studios of Self Defense.  http://www.ussd.com  visit the website to find out more and find a studio near you

Answer 7

For self-defense go Jiu-Jitsu.

Answer 8

Jiu Jitsu is pretty good for self defense.

Answer 9

Well, TKD sucks balls in my opinion, but Judo is awesome. Not much any rapist is gonna do to you after you judo throw his *** onto the concrete. Judo is a very powerful and practical martial art, and you have roots in it, so why not start there?

The other guy mentioned BJJ (Brazilian Jiu Jitsu). This would be great for some of your goals, particularly increasing your flexibility, but it would not be the most effective style in the world for practical self-defense from a rapist. BJJ incorporates a lot of ground work, so you can tie people up (i.e. break their arms and legs, choke them out, etc.)

But being on the ground in a streetfight is not a great idea, especially if the rapist has a friend (who decides to stomp you while you're on the ground with the other guy trying to triangle choke him). I'm not saying to not train BJJ because it is a really good art and very user-friendly (i.e. you can become quite good in a relatively short amount of time), plus you can transfer a lot of BJJ joint locks to use while you're standing up with an attacker.

That being said, from a practical self-defense standpoint, I would first train a stand-up martial art and work on your striking. This will be the most effective for protecting you. After you throw a few combos someone's way, he'll head for the hills. I would try either muay thai or classic boxing. I'd say go for muay thai (though I am biased, because that is my favorite art to train). After you get a good solid base in thai-boxing, then work on your ground skills (BJJ, wrestling, etc.) to train for a situation where you may end up on the ground.

That's cool you are taking self-defense seriously. I wish my girlfriend would join my MMA gym with me, but she says it looks too hard.

And to address your other goals, most serious martial arts (judo, muay thai, BJJ, savate, wrestling) are very physically demanding, moreso than most other "sports," so any of them will improve your balance, flexibility (high kicks, etc.), coordination and cardio. DEFINITELY cardio. lol

I understand you do not want to compete in tournaments, but keep in mind that the only way to truly know if your style is effective is to spar or compete. In other words, the only way to really know if your martial art will help protect you from a rapist, is to spar or compete against someone who is actually trying to hit you, and to go at like 80-90%

Just punching the air and doing katas is not going to let you know how "good" you are, if that makes sense.

Hope that helps, and if flexibility is a real problem you can always try yoga to supplement your martial arts training.

Answer 10

Hi.

Taking into consideration your "additional details" I think you should avoid sport arts such as Tae Kwon Do and Judo.  There techniques can be practical but practicality usually isn't the emphasis in those.  That being said don't avoid schools that go to tournaments and have trophies lined up in their front window.  Some styles teach good self defense but also peruse the sport aspect of martial arts as well.

The training methods for most styles do tend to make you stronger but actually becoming stronger is rarely in a curriculum.  The best way to increase strength is to go to a gym, or if you’re not looking for raw brute force simply train hard and make sure you find a school that will push you to train hard.

Cardio fitness is a given for most styles.  While looking for a school, ask if you can watch a class and see if it looks cardio enough for you.

Coordination is also a given if you work at it and/or if you are pushed toward that goal.  You will get out of a style what you put in; you could take the 'best' style in the world and do poorly if you only train half-heartedly.  If you use the tools that martial arts gives you the way you want to then you can improve any aspect of yourself, physically and mentally.

Most schools will have you stretch after a warm up and before the real training begins.  Just set a goal and work toward it not just in class but also on your own.  So flexibility really isn't that big of a factor to take into consideration while searching for a style.

And last it sounds like you want a self defense school.  The techniques taught in any style can be applied to self defense however lest it take you years of training to be able to understand how they can be applied (with or without modification) I suggest you find a school that does that for you.

I can really only recommend what I know and I know Chinese Kenpo Karate very well.  It's taught at Tracy's Karate Studios which can be found in hundreds of locations in America, Canada, Ireland, etc...  If you can't find one look into its sister style, American Kenpo.  There's also dozens of other Kenpo styles with the same roots, Shaolin Kenpo for example, that you may do well in.

The first style that came to mind however was Aikido.  This style, to my knowledge (witch may be rather limited on Aikido) is a very deflective art using your opponents (kinetic) energy against them.  Being relatively short and light I can see this as working for you as using brute force against a 6 foot +, 200 pound +, attacker may not be a great idea.

Wing Chun also could work for you.  It uses trapping and quick, hard strikes.  Along the same lines Jeet Koon Do (the style Bruce Lee invented based on Wing Chun) may be something to look into.  From what I know these styles are practical for combat and therefore self defense, however the emphasis they specifically place on self defense I do not know, this will probably have more to do with the specific school, same with Aikido and most styles out there.

Wow that ended up being kinda long :P

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

Answer 11

thats gross earwax queen? i doubt any rapist will kidnap you.