choosing a martial art (disregard this thread)

[rabidmidget]

For a while now i have been wanting to start learning a martial art and i have now narrowed down to three choices daito ryu, wing chun and hapkido. Please post your opinions of the different martial arts and any information which could help me decide.
Edit: look at post near bottom of page
Double edit: I get it everyone, i see what was wrong about my topic, i was tired and not thinking, stop judging me! (hides in a dark corner never to create a thread again)

 

[DigitalSushi]

are their classes near to you?.
its pretty pointless choosing a martial art with no teacher in the area.

 

[ExodusinFlames]

Its basically going to come down to what you physically and mentally are most comforable with the concept of.
All three really have the ring of a close quarters affair if thats what you're in for.
Perhaps the best way to look at it is, why are you waiting to learn a martial art?

Edit: Why are you WANTING (not waiting) to learn a martial art?

 

[Aries_Split]

It's your own freaking opinion.

We aren't dex.

Use common sense. What's available in your area, cost, and willingness to learn and exert yourself.

 

[Therumancer]

It doesn't matter where you train, effectiveness all comes down to you.

 

[PayNSprayBandit]

I don't know any of those, but if I could I'd pick the Keysi Fighting Method. Hey, it's what Batman uses.

 

[Matronadena]

For a while now i have been wanting to start learning a martial art and i have now narrowed down to three choices daito ryu, wing chun and hapkido. Please post your opinions of the different martial arts and any information which could help me decide.

what it really comes down to is WHY you are taking it.. what are you looking for in it?

Are you looking for it to help in self discipline, and structure?
Are you looking for one for the art?
Are you looking for tournament, more sports like reasons?
Are you just wanting to feel like a bad ass?
Are you wanting to take one for a certain cultural melding, or honouring?

really there is no one answer to that obviously, and many more options...but it's an important question to ask the self....no one martial art is better than another, they all have strong, and weak points in their core...it comes down to an individual warrior and their cunning or skill that defines which wins over which...

that said, in this age I also suggest doing your homework and making sure you know whats expected as far as time commitment, and even costs involved.

don't look at videos and make assumptions on what to expect, or take it as anything you go in " knowing" always go in with a blank mind, like you never heard of that style before and know nothing of it...

 

[irrelevantnugget]

Its basically going to come down to what you physically and mentally are most comfortable with the concept of.

This, basically.

It seems to me that the OP is just wondering what we think is 'the best' martial art, but there is no such thing. Just pick something your comfortable with.
Look up any trainings of all 3 courses, and go there at least once to just check them out (maybe they'll even let you join in on one training for free, this was the case when I started doing capoeira, and I was instantly hooked), and then decide for yourself.

Oh, and an extra tip: bring a friend along. If both of you decide to do the same thing, you'll be motivating each other to keep getting better. There's quite a few healthy rivalries going on at my capoeira training

 

[mangus]

All three really have the ring of a close quarters affair if thats what you're in for.

wait... there are ranged martial arts?

 

[ExodusinFlames]

wait... there are ranged martial arts?

Well, there are longer reach based martial arts. The three that were mentioned are very "In your face" styles involving contact, momentum, and short, quick strikes, whereas some martial arts involve more distancing yourself from your opponent.
Akido is a good example. The whole point of it being to get them away from you

 

[mangus]

I now know more than I did before, yay!

 

[rabidmidget]

after coming back i see the foolishness of my post (i should remember to never post with a tire mind) and using your advice i think i might do hapkido as there is a dojo close to my house, unless i can find a nearby daito ryu dojo. People can stop posting on this thread now.

 

[mangus]

Waffles!

 

[rabidmidget]

Waffles!

dam you!

 

[Seldon2639]

Wow. I'm going to say this for the first time ever:

Use the damned search function. I promise, there are at least two threads of the "what martial art should I practice" in the last couple of months.

Aside from that:

wait... there are ranged martial arts?

Well there are longer reach based martial arts. The three that were mentioned are very "In your face" styles involving contact, momentum, and short, quick strikes, whereas some martial arts involve more distancing yourself from your opponent.
Akido is a good example. The whole point of it being to get them away from you

This. Though, I would say that Aikido is more about grappling (holds, breaks) than about actually keeping range. Which style is best depends on your personal strengths, and what you feel comfortable with. My best friend has a background in grappling, so he trains in taijutsu. I went in and did Shotokan, and another friend does Aikido. If any of us got in a fight with either of the others, it'd be a coin-flip for who wins.

There is no "best" style, the most you can shoot for is a style which meshes well with your talents, and with your mindset.

Even excluding the martial principles, each style focuses on a different aspect of self (aside from the universal need for discipline and self-awareness). Judo is a primarily defensive style, and Shotokan is pretty similar (the former is about using your opponent's momentum against him, the latter is about using blocks as another form of attack). Aikido and Taijutsu are more aggressive arts (Krav Maga, which takes a lot from Aikido is similar) and are about crippling your enemy with the least amount of effort necessary.

Similarly, there are styles focused on redirection of energy (like Daito-Ryu) and those focused on resistance (Shotokan). This opposition is between Aiki and Kiai. Both Hapkido and Daito-Ryu focus on redirection and counters, while Wing Chun is closer to Shotokan in form. So, it comes down to what you're actually looking for

What do you think of when you think of a fight?
Why do you want to study a martial art?
Are you after a deeper spiritual and intellectual connection to yourself, or just out to kick ass?

That'll largely inform your choice. All styles have weaknesses, and if you're fighting an equally-trained opponent from any other style you'll be pretty evenly matched. So, go with whatever you're most comfortable with, and a group of people you'd like to train with.