Which martial art should i begin learning?

Question

i have the choice of kyokushin karate, muay thai, boxing, arnis, tae kwon doe and brazilian jiu jitsu. right now i'm thinking muay thai, kyokushin karate or brazilian jiu jitsu, but i honestly have no idea.

I'm not exactly strong, but i am fit (cardio vascularly). I don't really wanna start any fights unless i have to, its more for self defense. oh and my legs are really strong!

Answer 1

if your perpes is self defence i suggest muay thai

Answer 2

Kraz Maga or Russian combat sambo, among others. Why learn just one?

Look at what works in the UFC, Pride, etc.

Sorry Katana, besides Chuck Liddel (who is cross trained), when was the last time a karate guy did anything in the UFC: Keith Hackney, maybe

Answer 3

try this Karate, then Kung Fu, then Slap Boxing, then Kick Boxing, then Ninjitsu and then finally Jeet Kung Do and become A Master of self healing and use the art of fighting without fighting  and keep a clear mind and never fight without thought but with mind body and soul all in sync and then ur Chi forms a barrier protecting nothing but urself

Answer 4

If you're not set on the more traditional martial arts you might look into Krav Maga... It's a no-nonsense self defense system that could prepare you for a lot of modern day situations.

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

Answer 5

the best one is brazilian jiu jitsu. an the hole thing about martial arts is to be graceful and to shoe pride in what you do.

Answer 6

You should choose the sensei in your area with the most experience and who can help you achieve your personal objectives. As a beginner you should be less concerned about which style is best and more concerned about which teacher is best for you.  A sensei in your area with experience in more than one style and who can train you in practical, real world techniques is the way to go.  I studied Ishinryu from a master who trained police officers in my city.  I think I learned as much from the police officers as I did from my sensei. This is Not to say that I think Ishinryu is best, just the best for me.

Answer 7

Kickboxing. I know u didn't want those in particular, but you can learn a lot quickly, it sounds perfect for you because you aren't "strong" but have strong legs. I have done karate and it starts to get a bit same old, same old and ju jitsu might not to be to the taste of a beginner.

Answer 8

What do you hope to gain from Martial Arts training, this is your first question.  If you want to learn to fight quickly and efficiently, than Krav Maga or Combat Sambo is worth consideration. As a Krav Maga instructor and Combat SAMBO student, I speak from experience.  I enjoy Combat SAMBO, it is fun.  I like the instructor, he is amazing.  I like Krav Maga, it is what I was trained to do.

If what you are looking for is a lifetime pursuit, I'd go with a Chinese Martial Art, as a good sifu will make it a life time adventure.  Explore the resources in your area, find out how long the school has been in business.  Find out how long students stay.

I spend my days teaching people to quickly dispose of opponents.  But I am again spending my nights dividing between Combat SAMBO and Taijiquan, as I felt that my 3 years was not enough.  

Many who were trained like I was, IDF Sayaret (Krav Maga is a part of our training), frequently go to the Chinese Arts, as they are evolved and after many years you can still practice without the assistance of a Physical Therapist.  The best Krav Maga based fighter I have ever met had many years of White Crane and Yang style taijiquan when he came to the USA to study under Dr. Yang, Jwing-Ming.  The man is amazing.

I can train a person to protect themselves in about 3 months if they show up 3 times a week. CMA takes much more time to learn, but it is an adventure, one that unravels itself over time.  It takes about 5 years to train a Taijiquan fighter.

Honestly what you choose is up to you, but I know of very few fighters at my age who have not had an injury or a few.  Personally, I think that it is good to learn both sides of things, Krav Maga will teach you to defend yourself quickly, it's the way we teach and what we teach, but for the long lasting stuff, I'd go with a CMA, maybe not now, but in a few years.

Answer 9

If you like to kick people hard then choose tae kwon doe, but if you wanna know something more about self-defence with no kicking then use brasilian jiu jitsu.

If you don't wanna kick other then if I were you I'll take jiu jitsu.

Have a wondreful training!!!!!

:)

Answer 10

Hellow Firespin,

i would suggest to you to beggin with muay thai because as you told us, you have very strong legs and in muay thai use very often their legs in order to kich. There you can learn how to kick and punch correctly, arm-breaks and other techniques that can help you to win on a street fight. In my opinion, this martial art from Thailand is the most effective from the above. But for me the best martial art is the Wing Chun.

If you want to know more about wing chun or have a friend who wants to, i found a nice webpage about it. Take a look at http://www.wing-chun.ws and about muay thai i found this http://www.muaythai.com/

Answer 11

The fact is that most of the people who have answered your question do not know what they are talking about. For instance "karate is more simple to learn". Obviously this person has never taken karate at a good school. Karate is every bit as complex as any of the other styles listed, however it takes a long time to get past the basics.

My advice is do not get so hung up on style, but rather find the best instruction that you can afford. All of the style's you mention are excellent if taught and trained correctly, they just have different strengths and weaknesses.

For instance BJJ is great in a one on one encounter, but loses a lot of effectiveness when faced with more than one opponent, or a attacker with a weapon. I am not talking about puffing out your chest street fighting, I am talking about self defense which is all about survival. The fact is any art or combination of arts can be made to work for self defense, it is all in how it is taught and trained. There are many good answers on here about how to find a good school and instructor, and what to watch out for, just use the search feature.

Think of it like this...You can take any car for a trip, and they all will get you there, just in different ways. IE Dodge Viper Vs Pickup truck. In the end the style will not defend you, you will by using the style.

Edit for KJV- The UFC is not the be all end all for what works in self defnese. I donot see Krav Maga in there and it serve's the Israli army very well, probably one of the most hardcore armies out there. Mayeb most traditional practitioners have nothing to prove. Keith Hakney took down a giant man with one strike, you should think about that.

Answer 12

If you are into self-defence,try Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu,Muay Thai,or Aikido

Answer 13

UFC and MMA are rules based, one-on-one and weight-matched fighting scenarios.  If you are looking at real-life self defense, many aspects of those arts become insufficient.  

BJJ will not work for you against multiple opponents (this is the norm, people are out with their friends), sliding around on the hard concrete with broken glass and who knows what else on the ground.  

Muay thai is sufficient as long as your opponent isn't stronger or faster than you (lets be realistic, size will matter and if you are seriously considering martial arts you probably aren't a 240lb football player).  Also, if you are relying on kicks you will only get one chance to lay the guy flat so consider carefully (and if you don't lay him flat, what do you do next?).

Chinese martial arts was invented for brutal, life and death scenarios but finding a qualified instructor who has fighting experience and who will not keep techniques and applications from you is a rarity so I suggest plenty of research (does this Sifu have a lineage?  How long did they study?  Do they have demonstrable skill?  Have they ever been in a street fight?).  

The newer self defense systems such as krav maga and systema may also be good options if you are dealing with a short time line, but they are nowhere near as comprehensive (as CMA).

Answer 14

judgin by ur discrpition of yourself, i really think u should go for taekwondo. It's a lot of staying fit and u need cardio power. Strong legs are important and even though strong arms wouldn't hurt they are not a necessity.

Answer 15

I Suggest Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. It promotes the principle that a smaller, weaker person using leverage and proper technique can successfully defend themselves against a bigger, stronger assailant. BJJ can be trained for self defense, sport grappling tournaments (gi and no-gi) and mixed martial arts (MMA) competition.

Answer 16

u should probably start with karate. its more simple to learn but very affective unlike jiu jitsu which is quite complex. karate is great for defense.