I think for Hand to Hand the two I would pick would be Muay Thai or Jujitsu. I would consider doing kendo myself as well, just because I like swords, and kendo seems pretty decent for a hobby.
Suggestions as to Martial Arts to choose?
- Thread starter J-meMalone
- Start date
the other fun part about BJJ is that because the sport is so small, you can easily meet and hang out with some MMA guys and a few UFC people with little difficulty.Cakes said:
I've been doing Martial Arts for about nine years now, and have sparred against people of all sorts. I myself do mostly Shotokan...yeah, I know, we generally aren't renowned for doing very intense sparring, but there are exceptions to every rule. There is one Kyokushin Karate place in my area (they're the ones known for tough-as-nails sparring) and it's a complete fucking joke, so really, you need to use your own judgement sometimes.J-meMalone said:
I'm admittedly no expert as far as boxing goes, so you should probably speak to someone more qualified than I in that regard.
It's more or less common knowledge how badass BJJ is, and I've been doing Judo for about 4 years.
I assumed you were something of a beginner, so a warning against McDojos seemed in order.
And yes, I would definitely recommend Judo. It's fairly cheap to do, and can be damn effective. However, if you want to be well-rounded, I recommend you take a striking art with it as well, preferably Boxing (though I don't do it myself, I recognize how amazing it is) or some kind of full contact Karate.
I also forgot to mention Muay Thai (Thai Boxing), which from what I hear is a great striking art as well.
But, as you said, you just want a hobby to fill your spare time, so maybe getting the shit beat out of you for the sake of effectiveness isn't something you'd be interested in, in which case you shouldn't be doing any full contact striking, though Judo would still be A-Okay.
So, like I said, if you really just want something fun to do, there is absolutely nothing wrong with something flashy like many kinds of Kung Fu, but for the love of god, don't think you'll be kicking anyone's ass from a cat-stance.
Good point about kendo, it does seem like another interesting option and I know there is an at least fairly good kendo school in my area as I know someone who did it for a number of years. I may have to track him down...GodsClown said:
Jujitsu is beginning to sound tempting too now.
Oh the choices!
Krav Maga (Israeli) and Brazillian Jujitsu are both useful martial arts to understand since they are actually useful unlike many others.
Boxing. Practical, simple, and fun. If you go for boxing, though, go to a gym that looks like the one from Rocky. I don't know why, but boxing just feels better in a re-purposed warehouse lookin' place. If you go to one of those expensive joints it just feels too bland.
Kali or stick fighting can be very practical if you get in a fight on the street. you just pick up any long blunt object near you and you've got a giant advantage.
http://www.veoh.com/collection/fight-quest/watch/v9576260JDm8zByt
Otherwise, if you're only doing it for fun; i would recc karate or BJJ. if you already have wrestling experience go BJJ, if you don't try karate.
TKD is lots of fun, but it can be hell on your joints after years.
http://www.veoh.com/collection/fight-quest/watch/v9576260JDm8zByt
Otherwise, if you're only doing it for fun; i would recc karate or BJJ. if you already have wrestling experience go BJJ, if you don't try karate.
TKD is lots of fun, but it can be hell on your joints after years.
Krav Maga would be a fantastic form to learn.
I would also recommend Kenpo (shaolin boxing). I took it for about 4 years and it was probably the most engaging form I have taken part in, it's also very effective and devious if you want to take it to that level (lots of join locks and breaks and painful pressure point attacks).
Good times, unless you're the one getting attacked!
I would also recommend Kenpo (shaolin boxing). I took it for about 4 years and it was probably the most engaging form I have taken part in, it's also very effective and devious if you want to take it to that level (lots of join locks and breaks and painful pressure point attacks).
Good times, unless you're the one getting attacked!
If only it were that easy, if only... Life would be just a tiny bit more dangerous with fire balls flying everywhere... Although it COULD be fun...Grand_Pamplemousse said:
Nihon Jujutsu is good. I did that for about a year, then had to quit for financial reasons. It's a very precise and yet destructive art. Precise because rather than strength training (which my Tang Soo Do instructor focused on) it trains the proper use of leverage and reversal of your opponents energy. I'm 5' 10", 140lbs and I've thrown a 250lbs guy over my shoulder.
I call it destructive because the idea behind the art is that a single proper application of a move should put someone down for good. Nearly every move includes at least one opportunity to break something on your opponent, typically an elbow or shoulder.
The problem is that it is a fairly new art, the guy who developed it, Shizuya Sato, is still alive. This means that it is very hard to find a place that trains it. You could try traditional jujutsu, but that also tends to be hard to find.
Oh, and bear in mind that jujutsu is primarily a grappling art. It doesn't focus much on ground grappling like judo does (primarily because the idea is for you to remain standing), but most of the techniques are focused around either taking your opponent down while their trying to hit you or escaping from being grabbed and reversing it. So if you're looking to break boards or learn how to do a tornado kick or some such it's not for you.
Also it takes a long time to learn. It's definitely not something that you can pick up and master in a couple of years, but it is a good one to devote a lifetime to learning.
Side Note: The last thing you want to do is grab someone who knows jujutsu, because the escapes and reversals are pretty brutal.
I call it destructive because the idea behind the art is that a single proper application of a move should put someone down for good. Nearly every move includes at least one opportunity to break something on your opponent, typically an elbow or shoulder.
The problem is that it is a fairly new art, the guy who developed it, Shizuya Sato, is still alive. This means that it is very hard to find a place that trains it. You could try traditional jujutsu, but that also tends to be hard to find.
Oh, and bear in mind that jujutsu is primarily a grappling art. It doesn't focus much on ground grappling like judo does (primarily because the idea is for you to remain standing), but most of the techniques are focused around either taking your opponent down while their trying to hit you or escaping from being grabbed and reversing it. So if you're looking to break boards or learn how to do a tornado kick or some such it's not for you.
Also it takes a long time to learn. It's definitely not something that you can pick up and master in a couple of years, but it is a good one to devote a lifetime to learning.
Side Note: The last thing you want to do is grab someone who knows jujutsu, because the escapes and reversals are pretty brutal.
Been training in Aikido for 6 and a half years, really enjoying it still. Its a completely defensive martial art i.e. you dont attack people you just destroy their joints when they attack you. Also you can be nice and put them to the ground or a bastard and break their wrist elbow then dislocate their shoulder. If you just want to puch and kick people in the face its not for you but if you want a martial art for those without a massivly aggresive mindset its pretty good. (Also there's lots of similarities with juijitsu but without all the ground grappling stuff)zidine100 said:
Fitness and fun?Anarchy In Detroit said:
Thats why I did it.
It didn't take me long to realise Taekwon Do isn't that effective in a fight, but I was having a blast doing spinning back kicks and jump turn side kicks. Plus the fitness stuff we had to do was pretty intence.
I was also pretty good at sparing comps.
Its hard to find a good martial art. If you want to learn practical fighting go for boxing/kickboxing/krav maga/muay thai
If your not sparring your not learning simple as that.
Avoid technical styles like akido and ju jistu, they look good but 90% of clubs wont train you to deal with a real fight.
If your not sparring your not learning simple as that.
Avoid technical styles like akido and ju jistu, they look good but 90% of clubs wont train you to deal with a real fight.
If some guy's "mates" (heh, you Brits and your adorable slang) are an issue, would you seriously be fighting in the first place? Do you think you are prepared to take on multiple opponents? I'll answer for you: probably not. You're screwed from the get-go, pretty much no matter what MA you do. Get-the-fuck-out Fu is probably your best bet.MaxMees said:
I'm not trying to put you or Jujitsu down or anything (Jujitsu can be fucking awesome), but pulling the "well grappling won't work against multiple opponents" line really pisses me off, since striking really isn't going to be any more effective against a bajillion people.
