Suggestions as to Martial Arts to choose?

[DigitalSushi]

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.

actually Wing Chun is very effective, its one of the top tier Martial Arts.

The problem you have is that you did Tae Kwon Doe which is a Korean martial art created for the sole purpose of set pieces, its useless in a fight... its all flashy moves to impress the King and things like that, now since you want to do it as a hobby just stick with the "fun" type of Martial Arts such as Tae Kwon Doe or Capoeira.

Since anything like Tai Chi or Wing Chun would require a huge investment to them in order to get the best out of them.

 

[cleverlymadeup]

Looks like I need to research more before saying things. My Jujitsu class is very street fight orientated, and less traditional so chances are you're right about it not being that close to tradition.

the whole "street fight" thing is an illusion and a great marketing gimmic but ultimately bullshit

one of my coaches, who also trained Forrest Griffin, Rory Singer and still trains the 2009 4th place winner of the ADCC absolute division, had a thing about training for a "street fight." he said that there is no difference between training for a fight in a ring and training for one on the street, if you just train, then everything will work out in the end. if you rely on stuff like groin strikes and eye gouging, you will fail.

his philosophy was there is no difference between a street fight and a ring fight except the location of it because the defense for any of the moves is exactly the same. he would equate it to the difference between sitting in a wooden chair compared to a plastic one, the only real difference is the type of chair as you'd do the exact same thing to sit in both chairs

 

[The Salty Vulcan]

Theres nothing wrong with any of the styles the other posters have recomended but since your hoping to pursue Martial Arts as a hobby, may I suggest styles such as Tai Chi and Baguazhang. They are internal styles, which means they have a greater focus on mental developement but they are pretty fun once you get started and done with Yoga can help you with your breathing, flexibility.

Also, though people usually perform Tai Chi in slow motion, when masters do it, its a sight to behold. Same for Baguazhang.

 

[Rolling Thunder]

Boxing. Because there's nothing more simple, fast and brutally effective than a bareknuckled punch to the head. Oh, you can spin-kick, dodge, grapple, knee-strike and so on all you want, but all these are relatively complex, and thus more dificult to perform even with training that punching your opponent's lights out. Put simply, if it's defence, it's either this, or Krav Manga.

 

[Cakes]

actually Wing Chun is very effective, its one of the top tier Martial Arts.

Oh, I'm aware that Wing Chun can be effective...but what this guy is doing is obviously bullshit. As I said, unless you do at least light contact continuous sparring, you may as well just stay home.

Since anything like Tai Chi or Wing Chun would require a huge investment to them in order to get the best out of them.

Again, I'm not saying any art is inherently bad. But if you're just dancing about and not actually sparring...why fucking bother. Unless you just do Martial Arts for fun, which is fine.

Now, I'ma sum up the good parts of this thread:

No martial art is inherently bad. However, some have far better reputations than others. The ones with the best reps are Muay Thai, Brazilian Jujitsu, any type of Karate that does full contact, Boxing, Judo and the like.

However, the choice is ultimately up to you. If you find a, say, Aikido place that actually does free sparring and seems realistic, go for it. You're going to have to use your own judgment here.

 

[Rolling Thunder]

Someone has clearly never ended a fight with a well-placed headbutt.

 

[Koeryn]

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.

Capoeira, if you can find a school for it would be awesome (and something I would love to learn). Really, the best thing I can suggest is look at what schools are available in your area, and go to a a couple of classes just to see if it's something you'd be interested in. Most schools will let you sit in on a class, and it gives you a good idea of what the teaching style is like.

and most will give the first sesion free from what ive seen.

Exactly what I was trying to say but was too sleep deprived to think of. =p

 

[BladesofReason]

I've done Tang Soo Do for years now and I've enjoyed it. It's like Tae Kwon Do but for practical use rather then tournament fighting or being pretty.

It's also not too brutal on the practitioner. Unfortunately it's one of those styles where you find crappy chain schools everywhere so you should look for a smaller, independent school if you're looking into it.

 

[NoriYuki Sato]

i've always wanted to learn how to combine Tai Chi and Shao Lin...i plan on learning eventually....i'm 20 now...so hopefully soon lol so i would recommend those

 

[Asciotes]

I have heard good things about aikido.

I do Aikido ^.^

What's good about it: It's meant for situations in which you have deal with multiple attackers. The techniques can be a little bit complicated, so you're always learning something new, (like for example, you get a technique down and then your sensei says good, now here's a few more steps to add to it to make it better) and there's not that standard constant never ending drilling that you get with some martial arts. Plus it take a really long time to get you black belt. At least at my dojo, you have to go to Japan to get it. If you want to see some of the moves, watch some Steven Segal movies I like watching them and yelling out the names of the techniques he's doing

 

[cleverlymadeup]

Boxing. Because there's nothing more simple, fast and brutally effective than a bareknuckled punch to the head. Oh, you can spin-kick, dodge, grapple, knee-strike and so on all you want, but all these are relatively complex, and thus more dificult to perform even with training that punching your opponent's lights out. Put simply, if it's defence, it's either this, or Krav Manga.

really and how well do pure boxers do in mma ... oh yeah they fail miserably cause everyone just stays out of range with their kicks OR they take them down

Looks like I need to research more before saying things. My Jujitsu class is very street fight orientated, and less traditional so chances are you're right about it not being that close to tradition.

the whole "street fight" thing is an illusion and a great marketing gimmic but ultimately bullshit

one of my coaches, who also trained Forrest Griffin, Rory Singer and still trains the 2009 4th place winner of the ADCC absolute division, had a thing about training for a "street fight." he said that there is no difference between training for a fight in a ring and training for one on the street, if you just train, then everything will work out in the end. if you rely on stuff like groin strikes and eye gouging, you will fail.

his philosophy was there is no difference between a street fight and a ring fight except the location of it because the defense for any of the moves is exactly the same. he would equate it to the difference between sitting in a wooden chair compared to a plastic one, the only real difference is the type of chair as you'd do the exact same thing to sit in both chairs

He's forgetting that there is a difference between a ring fight and a street fight, one has rules and the other doesn't.

actually no he's not, you just don't seem to grasp that both are the same. you don't change the way you get out of a choke hold on the street than you do in the ring. nor do you perform a punch any different on the street compared to in the ring.

so really he's 100% right and you don't really comprehend what he's talking about.

 

[Bedewyr]

I don't understand why people didn't give the advice to actually check a place out 100% first. Check a place out before you commit to it.

1) If they offer a free intro class this is a good opportunity to see how the classes are conducted and how the Sensei's, Sifu's, Khru's, Teacher's, whatever conduct themselves.

2) If they simply push on you signing up and it's not a month to month thing but, say 6 months or 1 year + equipment or whatever. This is a bad sign of a McDojo trying to cash grab on people who will sign up then never come and they don't care.*

*My dojo will not let people train if they don't have the equipment but, this is simply because it is run like a family. Additionally how the hell are you going to do Randori Gi without a Gi? How do you expect to do full contact Thai training without Gloves or Shin Pads?

3) Make sure you know which martial art you're getting into and what it entails.

You want Muay Thai and the gym you're joining stresses that you'll be climbing the Pratchia ladder? get the fuck out and fast. And remember this saying "The only belt is in the ring."

You want Karate and they stress point fighting. Or worse they don't stress any point fighting or contact and focus solely on Katas.

You want BJJ and there's no Randori. There's also no No-Gi classes. Ask why?

etc, etc. Do some research.

If you want a list of martial arts.

Systemo
Combat Sambo
Krav Maga
Muay Thai
Kung Fu (Wushu just means fighting so the Style or Wushu you choose is up to you)
Tae Kwon Do
Jeet Kun Do
BJJ
Capoiera
Pencak Silat
Savate
Aikido
Jujutsu
Jiu Jitsu
Pankration
Karate (Both Sport and Competition)
Tai Chi
Qigong

You'll notice I didn't add in Boxing or Kickboxing in. That's because they aren't Martial Arts. They are sports. Plain and simple.

Depending on what's available in your area you will not be able to find all of these.

Personally I chose Muay Thai. The body conditioning is absolutely brutal. I've left and had massive bruising on my arms even through the pads holding for kicks. Our Khru's really encourage putting bad intentions into every punch and kick you throw. To throwing your everything into your training. If you don't go home from conditioning absolutely tired and wiped from trying your hardest then you don't train hard enough.

They also emphasis taking your time for new people and making sure you grasp and apply the techniques before you work on speed and power.

 

[cleverlymadeup]

You want BJJ and there's no Randori. There's also no No-Gi classes. Ask why?

well no Gi isn't as important but pretty handy, i'd say if they don't have a Gi class cause some prefer to have only no Gi and ppl think no Gi is the best. i used to fight with a Gi all the time and then went no Gi during the rolling (Randori) at the end and smoked everyone cause i was a lot lighter and had a better chance of doing stuff

Personally I chose Muay Thai. The body conditioning is absolutely brutal. I've left and had massive bruising on my arms even through the pads holding for kicks. Our Khru's really encourage putting bad intentions into every punch and kick you throw. To throwing your everything into your training. If you don't go home from conditioning absolutely tired and wiped from trying your hardest then you don't train hard enough.

They also emphasis taking your time for new people and making sure you grasp and apply the techniques before you work on speed and power.

yeah Muay Thai is pretty brutal/good for conditioning. a funny side story is the gym i used to take BJJ shared it's space with a Muay Thai gym. the Kru, who was a cardio machine, came over and joined us for BJJ one day. since BJJ was a different type of cardio, we had him gassed in a short time, tho he loved the work out and came back from more, even tho we kept taping him out. he's a pretty awesome Kru and the Master there is a really awesome guy

 

[Bedewyr]

Yeah the Dojo I train at does both BJJ and Muay Thai. (Renzo Gracie came out an taught a class which was so cool!)

They do both Gi and no-Gi Randori.

They also teach how to mix them to do MMA. Warrior 1 recently happened and two of the Khru's at my Dojo were suppose to compete but, only one did. Shame.

I'm loving it though. It's brutally punishing and after some classes I can barely lift my arms to wash my hair.

Also I forgot. Someone mentioned if there are kids there then leave. That's a stupid statement. My Dojo does morning, noon and night classes for adults. You train as hard as you want and can allows.

My dojo also teaches jiu jitsu striking to kids. It's really adorable actually and it's great for the kids. The learn discipline, they see how far they can go as the can watch the adults after they are done.

There's nothing wrong with kids in a dojo. Everyone has to start somewhere and chance are the kids who started when they were 5-6-7 years old will be amazing as the years progress.

 

[jjofearth]

Full-Contact Kick Boxing. Fo Sho.

 

[cleverlymadeup]

My dojo also teaches jiu jitsu striking to kids. It's really adorable actually and it's great for the kids. The learn discipline, they see how far they can go as the can watch the adults after they are done.

one of the guys i know created a BJJ curriculum for kids called Play As the Way or PAW for short. it turns a lot of the BJJ concepts into games for kids so they don't lose as much focus when trying to do drills

here's a couple videos, sorry couldn't find the youtube links
http://www.onedragon.com/videos.shtml

here's his ISR Matrix Course, in a more friendly form
http://www.youtube.com/user/ISRMatrixLE#p/a

 

[Bedewyr]

My dojo also teaches jiu jitsu striking to kids. It's really adorable actually and it's great for the kids. The learn discipline, they see how far they can go as the can watch the adults after they are done.

one of the guys i know created a BJJ curriculum for kids called Play As the Way or PAW for short. it turns a lot of the BJJ concepts into games for kids so they don't lose as much focus when trying to do drills

here's a couple videos, sorry couldn't find the youtube links
http://www.onedragon.com/videos.shtml

here's his ISR Matrix Course, in a more friendly form
http://www.youtube.com/user/ISRMatrixLE#p/a

They do sort of the same stuff at mine but, they call it Tiny Tigers. it's so friggen cute.

 

[Savage Man]

I'm hoping some of the more knowledgeable posters in this thread can clear some things up for me. Is capoeira any good in a fight? Whenever I see it being discussed it's dismissed as being a poor combat art, but then someone brings up the counter point that capoeira is battle proven by renegade slaves. Who's right? Is capoeira useless, or just hard to find a good school?

Secondly, a lot of people have suggested Jeet Kung Do in this thread. I'd heard that Jeet Kung Do is a half complete mess of various styles due to Bruce Lee dying before he could really develope it. Are modern JKD schools teaching a half finished art, or making up there own thing to cash in on Lee's fame?

 

[cleverlymadeup]

I'm hoping some of the more knowledgeable posters in this thread can clear some things up for me. Is capoeira any good in a fight? Whenever I see it being discussed it's dismissed as being a poor combat art, but then someone brings up the counter point that capoeira is battle proven by renegade slaves. Who's right? Is capoeira useless, or just hard to find a good school?

no it's not, i've never seen anyone use it in a fight. there has been a couple MMA guys that have claimed to use capoeria but much like karate they don't actually use any of the moves, cept maybe a kick or something that can also be credited to a few other arts at the same time

Secondly, a lot of people have suggested Jeet Kung Do in this thread. I'd heard that Jeet Kung Do is a half complete mess of various styles due to Bruce Lee dying before he could really develope it. Are modern JKD schools teaching a half finished art, or making up there own thing to cash in on Lee's fame?

well if you read the Tao of Jeet Kune Do, it's not kung, there's a lot missing to it. mostly Bruce had left out the grappling aspect of it. JKD is more of a philosophy of fighting rather than a style, the main thing that he wanted was one that works. a lot of the schools don't teach it the way Bruce intended, ie throwing out stuff that won't work in a real fight.

one of the few school to actually teach it correctly is the Straightblast Gym and it's affiliates.

http://www.straighblastgym.com