What martial art would you advise that I do?

[mitchell271]

If you're planning to learn multiple martial arts, start with Karate. It's a relatively easy one and gives the basics for other marital arts. If you're going for fitness, kickboxing and TaeKwonDo are good. For self-defence, learn Muay Thai, Judo or Jiu Jitsu.

 

[Lt._nefarious]

Ninjitsu... Because ninjas...

Or Pencak Silat the martial art of Indonesia. Just watch the Raid Redemption if you want proof of how awesome it is...

 

[bl4ckh4wk64]

Motherfucking Wing Chun. Probably some of the most effective self defense martial arts I've ever had the pleasure of watching. There's also Krav Maga if you really just want to kick people's asses up and down the street.

 

[JochemHippie]

For self defense just go do Kickboxing or something.
Just don't get the illusion that any of those elegant martial arts are of any use in a fight.

What they are good for is peace of mind and being more balanced with yourself, so if you want that, by all means go get that hard to pronounce sport you saw so much about on You Tube

 

[Zen Bard]

Play to your strengths, Grasshopper.

I'm not very flexible and when I was younger, had a very direct, straightforward approach to fights (i.e. "charge in with fists raised"), so Muay Thai really worked for me.

It's great for conditioning, there are no katas and with a relatively limited set of tools you really learn how to think on your feet.

But I've mellowed with age and am seriously considering Aikido. Love the concept of using the attacker's energy against him.

And lately, I've actually been training in parkour (the French art of "running away"). Yeah, it's not a combat art, but the approach and philosophy are reminiscent of martial arts, the community consists of a lot of martial artists and it will definitely get you in shape!

Point is, find something that works with your abilities and seems interesting and fun for you. Once you're narrowed it down, research some good places to train.

 

[grey_space]

Judo. get fit and learn a functional way to defend yourself. also it's pretty much everywhere and the classes are always fairly cheap with a standardised curriculum and coaching levels. Same for Boxing; as olympic sports they are just more established.

Tae Kwon Do is pretty gay for self defence, but allright if you like jumpy spinny kicks.

Krav Maga or wing Chun or any of the variants of Silat = bullshit unless the instructor is genuine. too many cowboys in those styles. Never mind them and stay away until you've learned a bit more.

Combatives or any kind = bullshit also.



Karate...well...unless it's an offshoot of Kyokushin, don't bother.

Muy Thai tends to be well harsh on the total beginner and is a bit intense but will get you in shape...

Tai Chi is not a martial art.

It all depends on what you want out of it really....

 

[irishda]

It's best if you choose based on your preferences and body types. External martial arts focus on strikes (Tae Kwon Do, Karate, most kung-fu styles)and therefore are more well suited to larger, stronger people, but they're also simpler to learn and are much better exercise. Internal martial arts focus on grappling and exploiting weak points (tai-chi, aikido, judo), making them excellent self-defense styles for smaller, weaker people as you learn to exploit your opponents' strength instead of using your own. However, its much farther in your training before you can begin using the style for practical defense. The training is much more relaxed and less strenuous, but this also means you won't become very strong practicing it.

 

[Calibanbutcher]

For self defense just go do Kickboxing or something.
Just don't get the illusion that any of those elegant martial arts are of any use in a fight.

What they are good for is peace of mind and being more balanced with yourself, so if you want that, by all means go get that hard to pronounce sport you saw so much about on You Tube

Well, I gotta disagree here.
Kickboxing does jack-all for preparing you for self-defense.
You don't learn to block correctly, you don't really learn how to throw a punch without breaking your fist and wrist and the clinches are completely useless.
And you don't learn to fight dirty
Kickboxing is not a good self-defense sport.
It's great for fitness and everything and a lot of fun, just not great for self-defense.

 

[Woodsey]

I hear ISIS agents learn Krav Maga. Goes great with a spin-class on Thursdays, too.

 

[jake557]

Why not try running as a hobby? It'll keep you fit and get you out of trouble much more reliably than martial arts in the event of a fight.

 

[RickyLill]

I would recommend Kali Sikaran, it combines different punches and kicks that are most effective in self defense, not to mention countless grapples and counter attacks. Also teaches you how to defend yourself against a knife or bludgeoning weapon if you cant run. Not to mention its a hell of a good workout.

 

[Semudara]

Tai Chi seems cool. It's more for health / meditation than fighting. Also, it served as the basis for waterbending in the Avatar series (which is awesome).

I've been meaning to take it up myself, actually.

 

[Folji]

If you want to learn it just for show, I recommend Taolu Wushu and Tai Chi. I'm in a Wushu club together with a friend of mine that teaches both, and even how to use them for Sanshou (i.e. actually fighting), and it's great fun. Great training, too!

 

[Silkyn]

For self-defense fitness, and lifestyle I'd strongly consider Parkour. Not a martial art no, but probably a way better way of defending yourself is to outrun people. And if you do any parkour, you will win in a chase.
It's really not as hard to get into as people think, just google the parkourpedia and get a general understanding, then google [yourcity]Parkour and sign up for a class.

 

[chris11246]

Judo. get fit and learn a functional way to defend yourself. also it's pretty much everywhere and the classes are always fairly cheap with a standardised curriculum and coaching levels.
snip

I agree with judo I took a class in college with it, it was fun, and it seemed like something you could actually use.

However, where do you live because I wanted to find a place to do it out of school and I cant seem to find any where that teaches it. If you know of a site that shows places I would like to see it.

 

[CrazyCapnMorgan]

For practicality, whatever suits your needs.

For the nerd in me, the art where you can suplex a train.

 

[DoomyMcDoom]

I'm thinking of taking up a martial art, but haven't decided on anything yet. Can you guys help me out in deciding a good one to do?

Escrima, it's all about using sticks to hit people, REALLY fast, and extremely hard(due to the mechanics of the swinging techniques) it can be adapted to the use of a variety of weapons, and if your teacher knows bagua(I think that's how it's spelled) you can learn an unarmed style along with it that uses many of the same principles, also, it's incredibly effective at building speed and coordination for other martial arts, armed or unarmed.

Also Tai Chi while most people associate it with old people excersize, you can beat people up quite easily once you get the flowing motion and technique down...