Which martial art should i take?

Question

Hey guys,

I went on this trip and we did a class in tai chi which i really liked and i want to start taking up a form of martial arts. You know judo, ju-jitsu, tai chi etc.

I was thinking about doing tai chi but i looked in to it and people say it isnt a very good self defence?

I`m interested in the meditation part but i want to learn a self defence to.

I`m thinking about taking a selection of them all you know like jackie chan did but i dont know what to do.

Any suggestions?

Answer 1

In my opinion a good combination between self defence and mediation is Aikido. (the way of harmony)

Though it is very difficult to learn.

Answer 2

Martial arts doesn't always mean fighting, a lot of people do martial arts because of the spiritual side rather than combat. If you enjoyed Tai-Chai I recommend you do that :-)

I have done a bit of Tai-Chai, I really enjoyed it. It's all about channeling energy and you can apply it to anything that you do. It's also a martial art that anyone can experience so you will no doubt meet loads of people too.

Answer 3

To a degree they are correct on the tai Chi thing. The thing is is that a good Taijiquan instructor is hard to find as most focus on the health aspect and very little or not at all on the martial aspect. If you find one that does focus on the martial aspect then I recommend it.

Judo and Jujutsu are also good, but I don't think they have any meditation in them. Like Taijiquan they do tend to focus more on close-quaters grappling.

It really depends on what's in your area

Answer 4

Tai Chi IS a martial art!

Find a school that teaches push hands and weapons as well as the empty hand forms.

You really don't get into the martial applications of Taiji until you start doing push hands.

The first suggestion is to find out what is available in your area. Check the Yellow Pages under "Martial Arts."

Whatever you choose, I would suggest that you stick with it. A person who knows one discipline WELL can defeat a person with a mediocre knowledge of several disciplines.

Anybody who tells you that Taiji doesn't work for self defense doesn't know very much about Taiji.

Answer 5

If you want to learn self defense, I reccomend Ishinru (sp?)  Karate. You learn different teqniqes to defend your self and it builds confidence. When you're practicing a certian type of Martial Arts, you can't take another type at the same time. Its "against the rules." But, it is really fun getting new belts. It's really great because you accompolished something big.

Answer 6

well if you want to  learn stand up self defense i suggest karate or if you want on the ground slef defense i suggest ju jitsu

Answer 7

Take whatever martial art is good for you. It would be best to take multiple ones like I do. Tai Chi will help you build and strengthen your chi. But for self defense you'll have to decide which one is best for you. Start by finding out what martial arts you can learn in your area. Maybe pick from some of the martial arts I've taken. I only take the ones that work.

Tai Chi sucks in self defense.