Suggestions as to Martial Arts to choose?

[Cakes]

If possible, try Kung Fu (Wushu). Avoid Karate like the plague-It's an awful excuse for a martial art.

Err...what? Karate is an awful excuse for a martial art? And you are recommending Kung Fu?!? I'm pretty sure you have McDojo Karate mistaken for beat-the-hell-out-of-someone full-contact Karate.

Wushu? Are you fucking kidding? If you want to learn how to dance, maybe. Now, San Shou/San Da, that's something great.

something something Judo

At least you've got Judo covered. Judo is great.

EDIT: Tae Kwon Do isn't bad. Didn't do it that much myself though.

Taekwondo isn't necessarily bad...but it is a solid 99% of the time. Taekwondo is absolutely filled with McDojos and five year old black belts.

 

[GrandAm]

Somebody mentioned the McDojo concept to avoid. There are good and bad. They just tend to be expensive. They often charge for every little thing.

Since you mentioned "hobby," I would suggest going to your local college and junior college and see what is offered there.

At my local colleges campi I have seen MMA, Akido, Long Form Kung Fu, Karate, Kendo, Judo, Tai Chi, and Budotaijitsu. Plus many have just good old fashion boxing.

Their cost is usually less because the instructors have no overhead of renting space. The college gives them the space as a community service and some are used for course credit. In their chosen art they are all certified to teach. Since they are there for just the art and not a store, they usually don't sell the equipment you will need. This can be fun. I made all my training weapons when I took Aikido years ago instead of being forced to buy them at the school.

In short you do not have to go to a dojo to find quality instruction in your area. Also if you take the bus, you can bet there is one going to the college.

 

[martin's a madman]

Krav Maga or Systema.

 

[dududf]

Krav Maga.

When I was learning Karate, I stumbled upon this form and i've been practicing for a while.

To sum it up, if you want to cripple or hospitalize someone it's the way to go. Draw back being that it isn't the best when being grappled. @_@





Or you know... Learn Hadouken and mix it with Shoop Da whoop =]

 

[Julianking93]

Wing Chun or Kenpo. Thats what I do.

 

[Cakes]

Somebody mentioned the McDojo concept to avoid. There are good and bad. They just tend to be expensive. They often charge for every little thing.

I would disagree. A McDojo is any place that puts money over actually teaching anything, and hands out black belts like candy...and it often falls into the category of bullshido as well. Being expensive isn't always a bad thing (BJJ is usually quite expensive, but is almost always great) but this...blegh.

 

[Toaster Hunter]

Hapkido- A martial art similar to Aikido, but much more brutal. I hold a black belt in this. Most schools teach a flashy jup up and down and kick high style Hapkido. Avoid these schools. Original Hapkido is simple, direct, and no high kicks

BJJ- Great for ground fighting, but limited on standup. 90% of fights go to the ground, but 100% start standing up.

Krav Maga- one of the best self-defense arts in the world, especially against armed attackers.

Sambo- only if you have a death wish http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=85Q_GrZnlzY&feature=related
These guys are going easy.
see also:
http://www.cracked.com/article_16595_6-great-martial-arts-killing-man-with-your-bare-hands.html

 

[cleverlymadeup]

Sambo- only if you have a death wish http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=85Q_GrZnlzY&feature=related
These guys are going easy.

that's not sambo, that's systema, tho systema is based on sambo it's a lot different.

 

[ejb626]

I currently regularly attend a Tae Kwon Do class twice a week mostly because its not too strenuous and it keeps my mom of my back about acitivities. Going at this pace its taken me three years to get a gold belt at least I know I'm not going to a McDojo. Its fairly enjoyable but if you do nothing but attend class like me and trust me the torunaments are hard I tried going to one once and failed they're really picky, it gets kind of repetitive

 

[Captain_Caveman]

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.

you spelled jiu-jitsu wrong.

also, jiu-jitsu is practical for 1 on 1 fights. BJJ (brazillain jiu-jitsu) is better for no gi fighting & probably the best style for helping the smaller man beat the bigger man. Watch the first UFC where Royce Gracie completely dominates guys twice his size who box/brawl/wrestle. they have no idea what's happening.

MT can also be practical for 1 on 1 but it's a horrible MA to train for fun. Very hard on your body & joints; probably the most injury prone MA there is.

kyokushin karate is more of a points system sport karate. shotokan is the karate you want to train for real self defense. it's not taught a lot anymore, but the current UFC 205lb champ uses it very well. He's the son of a Shotokan master who moved to brazil from japan. Lyoto Machida, he's also undefeated & i'm guessing will remain that way after his fight this Sat night w/ Shogun Rua (who used to be considered the best 205lb fighter in the world).

Personally, if you want to improve speed and pain tolerance, I'd go with Muay Thai. Very fast, very powerful, and a great all around workout. If you want something for self defense and only self defense, I'd go with Judo.

MT wont increase pain tolerance, it will just KILL all the nerves in your forearms & legs LOL.

Judo is the standard MA for the japanese police. It's also the main high school & college combat sport. Sort of like wrestling is in the U.S. Judo throws are probably the most devastating attacks in all MA; but the only problem is you gotta clinch your opponent.

 

[metacree]

How about turtle hermit style? .....Just kidding...

Seriously though, I would recommend Ryukyu kempo and Jodoryu jujitsu. If you want to know anything about them just ask.

 

[Joshimodo]

Err...what? Karate is an awful excuse for a martial art?

Most of the time, yeah. It's hardly useful against a large portion of martial arts (due to the amount of grappling/counter based martial arts), and far, far too many treat it as if they're putting on a show.

Plus, there's the awful reputation and arrogance of the students and sensei of karate - The kind who think they're Steven Seagal.

I know that's not always the case, and that it CAN be a great martial art...But it's the situation in the majority of dojo that I have attended.

Taekwondo isn't necessarily bad...but it is a solid 99% of the time. Taekwondo is absolutely filled with McDojos and five year old black belts.

Agreed, which is one of the reasons I didn't attend for very long.

 

[traceur_]

Stab-fu.

 

[Cakes]

Most of the time, yeah. It's hardly useful against a large portion of martial arts (due to the amount of grappling/counter based martial arts), and far, far too many treat it as if they're putting on a show.

That would be a valid criticism, if Karate actually pretended to be useful against grappling, which it doesn't. This is why cross-training exists.

Plus, there's the awful reputation and arrogance of the students and sensei of karate - The kind who think they're Steven Seagal.

This is something that exists in every martial art: assholes who think they're the absolute best at everything. I don't see why you're speaking about it as if it's only Karate that does this.

I know that's not always the case, and that it CAN be a great martial art...But it's the situation in the majority of dojo that I have attended.

Again, you're just describing a condition that exists in every martial art, and harping on about it as if it exists only in Karate.

Go to someplace that does Full-Contact, and you'll see how fucking awesome it is.

 

[GrandAm]

Since you more clearly defined McDojo, I would agree with your definition. I was saying good and bad to point out that some do it just for the business and don't really care about the art or as the OP pointed out show direct preference amongst students. Some sudents will learn faster than others; the same could be said for a math class. I have seen some instructors show more attention to stronger students and neglect weaker ones.

I am not the most coordinated person and it takes me a while to develop motor memory. I am not lazy, it just takes me longer than some others. I have been ignored when I took karate as a kid because I did not learn as fast or get it as quick as the ones the instructor was impressed with. When I took Aikido, the instructors liked me a lot. I guess the soft style better suited my learning style. But because I did well they actually focused on the weaker ones. I only think I did well because it was more like a dance instead of a hard form. Because I did the techniques well I was actually used as uke (agressor) a lot. I didn't mind. I liked flying through the air, hitting the ground and being able to stand up. Actually saved my life in a motorcycle accident. I crashed and rolled through it instead of trying to stop myself. I was still hurt. But I would have died with a head injury other wise.

I agree if the instructor can recognise that some students take longer to develop than others, but share equal time that is worth the expense cash wise. But if I am paying the same $5 or $500 as everyone else, I want the same equal time. All it requires is the instructor understands some students do not have as good an apptitude for this than some others. I am talking instruction time, not rank time. If an average person takes two years to get expert, I expect me to take three. Put a firearm in my hand I will have it down in two minutes though.

 

[Cakes]

I currently regularly attend a Tae Kwon Do class twice a week mostly because its not too strenuous and it keeps my mom of my back about acitivities. Going at this pace its taken me three years to get a gold belt at least I know I'm not going to a McDojo.

What the holy fuck is a gold belt?

kyokushin karate is more of a points system sport karate. shotokan is the karate you want to train for real self defense.

I think you have the two confused. Kyokushin is the one generally known for full contact-ness, Shotokan tends to be less so. Of course there are exceptions to this rule, but it's generally the case.

 

[Arsen]

GUN KATA.

 

[Captain_Caveman]

kyokushin karate is more of a points system sport karate. shotokan is the karate you want to train for real self defense.

I think you have the two confused. Kyokushin is the one generally known for full contact-ness, Shotokan tends to be less so. Of course there are exceptions to this rule, but it's generally the case.

Nope. Kykoshin is full contact yes, but it's still taught mostly for points fighting now. Sort of like TKD is now. Shotokan is better for actual real combat, where the goal is to end the fight as fast as possible and take the least amount of damage.

 

[Borrowed Time]

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.

Krav Maga is insane and I would love to be able to study it. I've done Itosu-kai karate, which is refered to as the "old man's Shotokan" because it's much easier on your joints and the like with much less twisting in their stances. I've also tried aikido and it's quite incredible learning to use your attacker's movements, balance and attacks against them.

Although you did state that you're not really looking for it for self defense, any of those 3 I would definitely recommend. Karate is fairly tame on your joints while still giving you a good workout meaning it's easier to do for longer (as in years into your future). Aikido is just fun as hell as I stated before and Krav Maga is just Krav Maga.

 

[CouchCommando]

well I'm probably gonna get mistaken on this one, but I always enjoyed just plain old boxing, and the training regime that it imparts. Lots of cardio, speed ball, and bag work. Choose the martial art that best suits you I guess. I do also do the occasional wrestling match at the local pcyc. I was impressed by a mate who really took to Akido.