simplegirl asked:
I am 26 year and really out of shape. I have always wanted to take a martial arts class and so for my 2008 new year resolution i have decided to sign up. My goal is learn self defense, get fit and have fun. I dont knwo how to choose from all the options (Karate-Kung Fu- Tae Kwan Do and so on).. what’s the best one ?
I am 26 year and really out of shape. I have always wanted to take a martial arts class and so for my 2008 new year resolution i have decided to sign up. My goal is learn self defense, get fit and have fun. I dont knwo how to choose from all the options (Karate-Kung Fu- Tae Kwan Do and so on).. what’s the best one ?
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15 users responded in this post
I took Kung Foo and loved it!
Ask for the advise from a martial arts teacher.
He or she already covered that ground years ago.
As a martial arts instructor, who has experience in many different fighting schools, to find your best martial art you have to look at yourself.
Are you strong, muscly? Then you’re looking for something like boxing or MMA. Are you not very strong, quite small? Then maybe something like aikido’s better for you. As a beginner I’d look for Aikido, Kickboxing, Taekwon-Do or Kung Fu. Whatever you choose make sure you enjoy it, dont just do it because I’ve said!
Suggestions:
For striking: muay thai, boxing, sanshou, kyokushin karate.
For grappling: judo, brazilian jiujitsu, wrestling, catch wrestling.
For a mix of grappling and striking: combat sambo, shidokan karate, kajukembo.
For self-defense: krav maga
good luck!
By the detail’s of your elaberated question…………………….
KARATE…..it’s perfect for self defense, fitness, and fun
IT IS best overall-
simple=the perfect (buiginers)training
effective=less time comsuming
(because you are focusing on one or should i say the STANDARD or BAsic of martial art.
Fun=hell yeah fun youll’ eventually spark a flame of competition and be officially addicted to martial arts
all martial art’s are different -many different trainings for many different goals.
DONT even dare give second thought to the other martial art
there more complicated only works with advence martial artist.
HELL-TRY IT YOURSELF
and you will learn and Stay in KARATE
second stage is TAk Kwan DO
I have a slightly different take on this.
Most martial arts will accomplish what you are looking for (I do not recommend tae bo, or ti chi).
What is important is that you ENJOY the classes. So go to various schools that would be an acceptable distance for you. Watch a class or two and see if it looks like fun. Most importantly, do you like the instructor and his teaching style?
Kung Fu is the most complex. It has more moves so if you ever get into troble you have hunderds of options unlike all the other arts who only about 20. Its actualy easy to remebr the hundereds of moves. It like learning a new language, its not imposible.
There is no ‘best’ martial art. Each has it’s own advantages and disadvantages. What you put into each of them is what you will get out. So you should look around and find the best one for you.
The best thing for you to do would be to go to several different schools, and see which one fits you personally. Most schools offer an introductory class, so you wouldn’t have to pay to check out several of them.
Things to consider:
1. Location - is it going to be convenient for you to attend?
2. Schedules - most schools offer differ level/types of instruction at different times, find one that offers what you want (beginner courses) at a time you can make it.
3. Class make up. Who else is in the class? You can get a general ‘feel’ of the environment better by attending yourself, rather than taking someone elses word on it.
4. Focus. What is the main goal of the school? You might not want to attend one that is focusing more on getting it’s members into competition if you are never planning on competing. Also, if you think you may be interested in competing one day, you may want to reconsider joining a club at the local rec center that’s focused more on the casual fitness aspect of martial arts.
The best suggestion I can give you is to find a training partner. This is someone who’s going to share your interest, keep you interested, push each other to attend on the days you’d rather slack off, practice outside of class, have a little bit of competition with as far as learning techniques, etc.
Good Luck!
take tae kwon do, the rest are very complicated
For striking, take Muay Thai
For grappling, take Brazilian Jiu Jitsu.
I learned Wushu at Nam Wah Pai. Its a well-known Wushu Martial Art Association Worldwide … I learned it in Singapore. There are also branches of Nam Wah Pai in other countries such as China and New Zeland. Visit this website to learn more: … Good Luck!
Just do alot of research..decide what you want out of the martial art..self derfense, fitness, fun whatever
I chose Systema
Almost all martial arts will get you fit by it’s workouts. Just make sure you’re not learning at a McDojo.
For the style, there are many options to start at, preferably Tae Kwon Do because it is easy to find a TKD Dojang, Karate is also easy to find. Kung Fu, however is hard to find since not many people practice Kung Fu. And remember, there is no bad styles, there is only bad practitioners. You may hear rumors that TKD is a bad style because it neglects the self defence purposes, but TKD is actually effective, it just depends on how you use it.
If you want to have fun, perhaps some slow martial arts is not your choice, it is however effective and will get you fit but for the fun and competition purposes, martial arts like tai chi is not the option.
For in depth study GOJU RYU OKINAWAN KARATE or WHITE CRANE KUNG FU .
Avoid teachers who toss a bunch of techniques at you to handle each attack .There are no multiple choice responses to a sudden attack just the one you have put most work into so it occurs without thought or debate .There is no time for choosing or guessing .
As for systems that call themselves martial arts but are actually just derivatives I would say SYSTEMA or KRAV MAGA are good.
Most dojos give a few free classes for starters.
Try a few and decide which one you like the best.
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