Martial Arts Advice

[willard3]

I have a friend who is about 6'5" and over 200 lbs, and he has done both muay thai and MMA...I think he liked MMA better, although he did incorporate a lot of elbows and knees into it, so it was basically still muay thai. And though he's big, he's still really fast.

So don't discount faster martial arts just because you're big. Hell, learning a quick style might throw potential opponents for a loop, cause they'll be expecting you to come in for the brawling grapple.

 

[Skalman]

I'd recommend Jiu Jitsu, or if you mostly want the self defense part, Krav Maga.

Though, I'm not really en expert in the subject. Others here are sure to have more educated opinions.

 

[Stormcloud23]

I have a friend who is about 6'5" and over 200 lbs, and he has done both muay thai and MMA...I think he liked MMA better, although he did incorporate a lot of elbows and knees into it, so it was basically still muay thai. And though he's big, he's still really fast.

So don't discount faster martial arts just because you're big. Hell, learning a quick style might throw potential opponents for a loop, cause they'll be expecting you to come in for the brawling grapple.

Yea i can punch pretty fast. My friend who has a lot of experience was showing me some stuff today (trying to grab my fist midair and basically deflect it) and he couldn't grab it at full speed so i might go check out a Muay Thai gym.

 

[KungFuMaster]

Really what i'm looking for is something to do with my friends. A couple of them know some fighting styles and i just wanna be able to spar with them. Not trying to hurt each other, just something active to do. Could you recommend the best thing for that, keeping in mind my size and etc.

Honestly? For dicking around with your boys? I'd recommend Kendo. It's a real martial art, but it also has the added benefit of being one of the few you can train without having to go full force; there's a group of about six us of ("Permanent" members with about another dozen or so who rotate in and out as their schedule allows) who get together every weekend to duel; it's good exercise coupled with decent training that has relatively few casualties (in the better part of a decade we've only made three trips to the ER, and even then, alcohol was a major factor) and you can find the practice swords for around sixty bucks, +/- $10 depending on how scare supplies are, and keeping in mind that we only have one store in our town, it shouldn't be too bad.

Barring that, just ask your homies for some basic instruction on the styles they prefer; this gives you a base knowledge without everybody having to learn a new discipline.

 

[Seldon2639]

Bear in mind that aside from some of the more mixed styles (MMA, Sambo, Krav Maga) you'll probably be better off sticking to one art, rather than trying to mix and match. Some of them fit well together (Shotokan and Aikido, for instance) but even then, I would suggest that you become adept at one style before trying to branch out. Especially as a beginner, it's about getting it down to reaction, rather than any particular "moves". If you try to do multiple schools too soon, it can bog you down more than anything. Most forms have distinct ways to deal with a particular opening, or ways to counter an attack; if you don't have one down pat, trying to add a second slows you about a half-step, which can get you killed (both figuratively in a spar, and literally in real combat)

 

[Lebeau's Bounty]

Stormcloud,

I trained in Muay Thai for a month. It was thrilling because there was so much contact. Literally, you're holding pads and getting kicked. You're doing parry drills and getting popped if you don't get out of the way fast enough. Which can be pretty cool. My class also did about 45 minutes of cardio before hand which really warmed you up, and I'm sure in the long run would make you cut if you are doing it 2 - 3 times a week.

Aikido is cool. What I always liked was the philosophy behind it. That it's two parts: 1.) blend with your attacker's energy, and 2.) don't harm your attacker. I always liked that as a philosophy of life.

 

[ElephantGuts]

I suggest Krav Maga, it's the most useful martial art you're going to find. And you can impress people when you tell them you know a martial art that doesn't just have another stereotypical Asian name.

 

[Baby Tea]

I suggest Krav Maga, it's the most useful martial art you're going to find. And you can impress people when you tell them you know a martial art that doesn't just have another stereotypical Asian name.

This.

Krav is not flashy, it isn't fancy. It's about, essentially, ending the fight in the quickest, most brutal way possible so that you are the one standing and the other person isn't. It literally puts you in a bad situation (Gun to the back of the head, being choked from behind, etc.) and teaches you how to get out of it, while breaking bones and making sure that guy isn't getting up.

As someone who took Karate, I found it to be a lot of memorization. I'm not saying Karate is useless, not at all. I learned a LOT about self discipline when I took Karate. Very very good stuff. But Krav makes using it in a fight more instinctual, and does it faster.

If you're looking for something to actually use if you have to in some situation, I'd say Krav. I personally like it best (Not saying it IS the best, I just like it best) and you'll be able to use it effectively faster.

If you're looking for something to just train and condition yourself and the actual martial art is more secondary to the other benefits, then choose whatever you'd like. Most all martial arts will keep you fit and help teach and maintain self-discipline.

 

[medievalguy]

If you're into swordsmanship at all, look up ARMA ( http://www.thearma.org/ ) They do medieval swordsmanship stuff, it's really quite good. Another group is AEMMA, Academy of European Medieval Martial Arts, also quite good. ( http://www.aemma.org/ )

 

[tthor]

oh, u gotta do Hung Gar Kung Fu!!
...tho i dont think theres a single teacher in the entire US... but STILL lol