Suggestions as to Martial Arts to choose?

[J-meMalone]

Can anyone recommend any interesting martial arts I could try?

I used to study Taekwondo however I stopped when I realised I had not progressed in a long time as the teacher would focus literally all his attention on a select few students and mostly ignored others.

I'm not really looking to marial arts for self defence, but rather as a hobby.

Any suggestions would be greatly apretiated.

 

[SomethingUnrelated]

Go with Karate. I did it for a while, and it was enjoyable.

 

[FinalGamer]

I do taekwondo but it is all about the mentor you have in how good it will be for you, but I suggest trying to find another taekwondo class if you still have interest for it.

Or perhaps...well just go and find what's in your area you can find.

 

[A Weary Exile]

Kung Fu, when I took it I enjoyed it quite a bit. Plus, it's not as rigid in terms of style compared to the other schools of martial arts.

Krav Maga.

If you don't enjoy learning how to brutally cripple people, there's something wrong with you.

Or this, a very merciless style.

 

[Cakes]

First of all, avoid McDojos like the plague. I don't feel like giving you a definition, but figure out what they are and stay the fuck away. Anyone promising you a black belt in a couple of years is an asshole, and you should shit on his lawn.

Now that that's out of the way...

Striking: Boxing is about as good as it gets. Full Contact Karate is always good, but for the love of God, make sure it is full-contact, you cannot realistically prepare for a fight if you do not do full-contact.

Grappling, Throws and the like: Judo is quite effective and very cost-friendly. Brazilian Jujitsu is very popular and very effective, but a crapload more expensive.

Weapons: Eskrima is one of the few, realistic weapons defense martial arts. Do it.

Now, in the name of all that is holy, stay away from flashy, look-at-my-dance-moves bullshit like many forms of Kung Fu.

 

[Cakes]

Then again, since you just want to do it as a hobby, there's not necessarily anything wrong with flashy stuff, but I personally can't imagine a better hobby than one where you get to beat the shit out of each other.

 

[blankedboy]

There are three forms of Taekwondo, only one of which is any good. There's World Taekwondo, which is basically just kick-punch-HOLYSHITURABLAKBELTCONGRATULAYSHUNS, shitty Korean government Taekwondo, which is like the last one, but the stripes go horizontally on the belts, and International Taekwondo, which I'm doing right now.

 

[cleverlymadeup]

i'm going to say brazilian jiu jitsu, it's a ton of fun AND it's overly practical and the vast majority of guys i know that take it are really awesome guys

 

[Visulth]

I'm a huge fan of Wing Chun (sometimes it's known as Ving Tsun). It focuses primarily on self defense and is totally no-nonsense. One of my sifu's say that it's just about impossible to "play fight" with Wing Chun because most of the moves end up crippling people (i.e. breaking knees, elbows) so it's only good for actual fighting situations.

 

[Cakes]

I'm a huge fan of Wing Chun (sometimes it's known as Ving Tsun). It focuses primarily on self defense and is totally no-nonsense. One of my sifu's say that it's just about impossible to "play fight" with Wing Chun because most of the moves end up crippling people (i.e. breaking knees, elbows) so it's only good for actual fighting situations.

Hate to be the bearer of bad news, but it sounds like your Sifu used the old "Too deadly to train" line, which is the telltale sign of a bullshit martial art. Unless you do at the absolute least light contact continuous sparring, you are in no way prepared for a fight.

i'm going to say brazilian jiu jitsu, it's a ton of fun AND it's overly practical and the vast majority of guys i know that take it are really awesome guys

Oh God yes, a thousand times yes. I'm no expert at BJJ (I prefer punching the shit out of people), but with what experience I have, it was damn fun.

 

[zidine100]

I have heard good things about aikido.

 

[J-meMalone]

Or perhaps...well just go and find what's in your area you can find.

You do have a good point there, I should probably begin researching what actually IS available...

And Cakes, may I enquire as to how you know all this?

You do raise some good points about the McDojos though I am well aware of them. I always try to stay away from that kind of thing so no need to worry there.

Judo sounds interesting, and the cost-friendly part only makes it more tempting.

Though I must admit I am now curious as to what other Escapists think.

 

[Valiance]

Jeet Kun Do.

 

[Ishnuvalok]

Systema or Krav Maga. I'd like to learn Krav Maga myself....

 

[anthony87]

Man i'd love to try Jeet Kun Do or Krav Maga but here in Ireland it seems to be nothing BUT McDojos.

 

[RavingPenguin]

It really all depends on what you want out of your martial art. If you wanna the most practical for self defence, Krav Magna is the way to go. If you want a peaceful stress reliever try karate or kung fu. If you want an all out work out try Muay Thai.
EDIT: About your teacher, I would learn the basics and then get a private trainer.

 

[bcponpcp27]

For practical self defence, Krav Maga all the way. For fighting, (like in a ring) Muay Thai. For discipline and philosophy, Kung Fu.

 

[hotacidbath]

I do Taekwondo and I think it's a good beginner/learning martial art, but it really depends on who your teacher is. I go to a great school with lots of outside opportunities for extra help so I find I learn things very quickly. I'm also thinking of taking up Krav Maga once I move to a place that has a school for it.

So much depends on who is teaching though and while there are a lot of good schools, there just as many (if not more) bad schools. So no matter what martial art you decide to take up, make sure you do the research and find a good school that cares about teaching it's students rather than one that just wants your money.

 

[Anarchy In Detroit]

Not for self defense? Well then what's the goddamn point?