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T O P I C R E V I E W
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Stibbons
Member # 2515
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 posted June 15, 2006 04:08
In an aim to get fit, increase my self-confidence and self-defense abilities, and just because I've always wanted to, I'm going to take up a martial art. However, I'm not sure which one! The ideas I have so far are
- Ju Jitsu - good for simple self defense, which given the amount of trouble I seem to run into would be very very useful
- Aikido - Again, the self defense factor comes in with the training being concentrated on dealing with multiple attackers
- Taekwondo - energetic so good for keeping fit, and of course the coolness factor
![[Smile]](smile.gif)
Just wondering if any of you have experience with martial arts and would recommend for or against any of them?
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Spoongirl
Member # 2143
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posted June 15, 2006 04:51
I did taekwondo for a couple of years and found it to be a fantastic way to get fit, but when I actually found myself in a fight situation it wasn't that useful.
Increases strength and discipline, but doesn't really teach how to deal with sponaneous attack situations where they've got a knife or something. Very structured.
I have a friend doing Aikido who's become fantastic at it. I tried sparring with her, and even though I was stronger, she was more fluid and did quirky little things like do a twisty forward roll and stand up behind me in one movement. I was pretty impressed It's also pretty spiritual, which may be a good/bad thing for you.
I know nothing of jujitsu, except of it's high cool-factor ![[Razz]](tongue.gif) I'd suggest doing aikido, and goint to the gym a couple of times a week to build up the physical strength with it.
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Jace Raven
Member # 2444
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posted June 15, 2006 05:01
They all suck. Learn the throatpunch. It's all the disclipine and fitness you'll ever need.
I usually practice my ThroatPunch about 7 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a week.
Training is usually so grueling I have to take a nap between ThroatPunches, but in the end, the benifits of ThroatPunching are worth the extensive training.
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Elvermere
Member # 2456
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posted June 15, 2006 05:13
Phew, someone else mentioned that Tae-kwon-do isn't the best for a fight. All flames about that should be directed to Spoonie ![[Wink]](wink.gif)
I'll second her opinion though, TKD isn't the best for self-defence. Fitness YES! You get to swing your legs around in the air, giving you a fantastic workout.
Aikido is probably more spiritual than commercial, at least the better run ones are. Don't expect to pick this up and be able to defend yourself immediately. This one takes dedication! However it is good for learning self-discipline and mental toughness. The physical factor isn't necessarily high though, everything is pretty low impact (even being thrown! Assuming it's done right).
Ju-jitsu is my preference for any type of controlling situation, think nightclubs, pub brawls etc. Fantastic use of locks, throws, takedowns and develops self-confidence! However, again, for fitness you should take something in partnership with this to up the cardio!
Other martial arts to consider
- Ninjitsu
- Karate
- Judo
- Boxing
Here you need to think about your needs. I used to do boxing classes and your fitness really jumps right up. Sure, if you want cool, it may not be the best, but with the repetition training if you do hit someone they generally either don't get up or decide to pick on someone that doesn't hurt quite as much.
Any MA that you pick up WILL increase your fitness! It's just by how much and how quickly. And do you want strength, muscular endurance, cardiovascular fitness or all of the above.
So my advice is that, rather than get into a flame war of "my style is better/cooler/more effective than yours", it is a lot more about each dojo, instructor and training group than it is about what moves you learn. Take a good look at each one and don't commit until you have seen a few! Even a few different places of the same style!
Having said that, don't be afraid to change styles if you want to do a bit more. I've done Karate, TKD, Ju-jitsu, Aikido, Ninjitsu, Judo and a freestyle system. Were any better than others? NO! Were there instructors that I liked better than others? YES!
All in all, just find one you want to try and try it out. Give it a year and then if you think another way is better move.
Finally my pet peeve about martial arts and "sports". If you want to learn how to defend yourself, pick one that has the most full-on sparring sessions. I've seen well trained people get taken out very quickly because they haven't really been hit. Generally this goes
- Lucky punch
- OOOOO that hurt
- Get hit again
- OOOOOO that hurt
- Get hit again
rinse and repeat ad nauseum
You have to learn how to deal with the pain so that if you do get hit, you take it and deal with it. Or, in my case, take a good hit and move into a grapple. It's amazing how many people can't deal with a fight that ends up on the floor.
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Demosthenes
Member # 530
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posted June 15, 2006 06:34
Muay Thai a good, speedy martial art that works brilliantly in real-life fight situations and will whip you into shape before you even figure out how to pronounce it. It ups your reaction time and teaches you the most effective ways to elbow your opponent in the head repeatedly. ![[Big Grin]](biggrin.gif)
(I've got a few years of it under my belt and it comes in fantastic handy when I get into scuffles with the housemate.)
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Steen
Member # 170
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posted June 15, 2006 08:07
Jace Raven wrote:
365 days a week.
Now that's what I call overtime.
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Spoongirl
Member # 2143
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posted June 15, 2006 09:14
*shnorf*
I've been thinking lately that I'd like to pick up a martial art again, but I'm going to Vietnam in September. I'm thinking they might not like a girl doing martial arts though.
I guess I'll see when I get there. Are there any martial arts that are easy to learn with books? I know it's much less efficient, but at least I'd be learning a bit.
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David Rogers
Member # 1373
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posted June 15, 2006 10:39
I agree wholeheartedly with Elvermere on this. Any martial arts style will work if you are just doing it to get fit. Then again as I rediscovered recently, taking up golf will help your fitness. If learning self defense is an important concern then find a dojo where the instructor is open to you learning from more than one martial arts style.
For example, back in the early 90's I was studying Isshin Ryu, an Okinawan martial art. My sensei regularly brought in guest instructors from other styles to demonstrate and sometimes teach techniques that complimented what Isshin Ryu had to offer. My Shaolin Chuan Fa sensei in the mid 90's did the same and even brought us as a group to other dojo's to observe other styles being taught. As a contrast I took Tae Kwon Do briefly and the sensei insisted that I unlearn everything that I had learned in my previous martial arts studies and had a rule that if a student so much as went to observe another martial arts style and he learned of it that they would no longer be welcome in his dojo. From talking to other current and former Tae Kwon Do students, at least in this area that is not an uncommon attitude.
On the other hand, if you are planning to get into Tae Kwon Do, or any other specific martial art, as a sport it is not a bad idea to isolate your training to what can be used in that sport.
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Stereo
Member # 748
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posted June 15, 2006 10:55
quote:
Originally posted by Spoongirl:
I've been thinking lately that I'd like to pick up a martial art again, but I'm going to Vietnam in September. I'm thinking they might not like a girl doing martial arts though.
You might want to inquire before making such a judgement. For the little I know, in (most?) Asian countries, girls aren't discouraged from taking up martial arts, far from it. Sometimes, women may no be allowed to inerit a familial dojo, but that's about it. Here's a little page I found about Vietnamese martial arts.
Hey, that could be a wonderful opportunity to learn their culture!
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CrawGator
Member # 392
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posted June 15, 2006 11:31
My son takes Tang Soo Do; Korean martial arts. He is 11 years old and an advanced student. He is 4 belts from his black belt. If you are serious about a martial art this is an excellent one for self defense and self confidence. I watch him spar sometimes and I can't believe how fast he is.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tang_Soo_Do
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Xanthine
Member # 736
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posted June 15, 2006 13:02
quote:
Originally posted by Elvermere:
Aikido is probably more spiritual than commercial, at least the better run ones are. Don't expect to pick this up and be able to defend yourself immediately. This one takes dedication! However it is good for learning self-discipline and mental toughness. The physical factor isn't necessarily high though, everything is pretty low impact (even being thrown! Assuming it's done right).
Um, even if you land right, I wouldn't call a high fall low impact. Low pain maybe, but years of falling take their toll on knees, backs, and shoulders. Mangled wrists and elbows are also common. I've dicked up my shoulders, my back, both my elbows, and had weird shit happen to my knees in the years I've been training. I also tweaked my back. And broke my foot when I dropped a very large man on it. Fortuntaely, I am young and bouncy and I've developed enough flexibility that I really don't get hurt anymore.
Most of the work-out in aikido comes from the falling and getting up again. If you're appyling the technique right you aren't doing much work at all.
I like aikido. Aikido is fun.
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maybe.logic
Member # 5014
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posted June 15, 2006 13:47
Thai chi is probally the most advanced form of self-defense arts in the world, and it does wonders for your health, gathering all of the chi flow into your body, but it is quite hard to find trainner over here in the UK, don't know about about other countries...
But if you are after an all round art, then Karate is probally your best option.
Though I find that the good old fashions "twist and pull" technique to the gentels works wonders for the forearms, and also an hue of saticfastion when you do it ![[evil]](graemlins/evil.gif)
Although I have'nt quite perfected the "twist and pull" technique if a female were to attack you. ![[Confused]](confused.gif)
But Jace Raven has covered that loophole with his obviously well perfected throat punch ![[Applause]](graemlins/applause.gif)
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Spoongirl
Member # 2143
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posted June 15, 2006 13:54
Thanks stereo.
I'm going there in a few months and i've tried to find out as much as I can. That's how I know that the area I'm going to has had a bit of a reputation for sexist issues, due to traditions and suchlike. Couldn't find out about their martial arts though, so that's really helpful.
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HypedOnMuffins
Member # 3760
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posted June 15, 2006 18:36
ZOMG KARATE IS BEST!!!!!! *flails*
Now that I've gotten that out of my system, (heh) you may want to check out Kenpo Karate, which is what I do. It's done wonders for my health and fitness, and I've gotten really good at defending myself!
But on the other side, I'm completely biased, I've not done any other martial art, but given the choice, I probably wouldn't, I've never felt more at home where I am now, it's like I've been there forever, not just one year. (worst runon sentance ever!)
So I'd recomend karate, but if you can't (or won't, *glares*) just work on getting a friendly dojo. If you don't have an encouraging instructor/enviroment everything will suck.
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nerdwithnofriends
Member # 3773
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posted June 15, 2006 18:45
I'm going to start out by saying that TKD is definitely not designed for self defense.
However, almost all my experience comes from TKD, with a fair amount of judo and aikido thrown in (don't ask me to name moves, i'll fail).
I find that the submission arts (judo, anything that esouses armbars/etc) are useful for the beginnings of fights, but after a while it does come down to being able to punch or kick hard.
I like TKD because it is so focussed on kicking, they have the best kicking technique (Well, in mine and our rival dojo (that does only judo, jujitsu, and kickboxing) opinions). You really can't say that one art is the best, martial arts are a lot like programming languages; everybody has their favourite, and none is perfect in every situation.
Like I said, I personally have experience with TKD and judo/jujitsu mixed together. I consider myself pretty good at defending myself, and I've defused several fights because I know how to manhandle people.*
However, YMMV, IANAL, AATMA**
*I get in a surprising number of scuffles because of how big I am. I'm not aggressive, and I don't think I look very threatening, however, some little guys just have something to prove, I guess.
**Any Acronym That May Apply
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drunkennewfiemidget
Member # 2814
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posted June 16, 2006 07:22
Odd. I find the exact opposite. Because I'm a big dude, 99% of people back down the second I get even a little aggressive.
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ooby
Member # 2603
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posted June 16, 2006 07:38
I recently stopped taking TKD because I'm moving soon. Our class involved a lot of Olympic Style sparring, which toughens a person up. But Olympic Tae Kwon Do is only really useful in competition. My instructor said this quite often. We also grappled and used Hapkido techniques to practice escaping from various chokes. He was quite keen on teaching the difference between self-defense and Olympic Tae Kwon Do.
He summed it up by describing the objectives of the two. Self-defense is to eliminate a threat, while the latter is to score points. He said that it was important to quickly end a streetfight situtation in order to reduce your chances of getting hurt; however, that we should be able to justify our actions when going to court.
For instance, a punch to the throat can be very serious, and could be considered excessive if you understand what injuries it can cause. But knocking someone out by punching them in the jaw is less severe and immediately ends the conflict (executed correctly).
On a final note, the most successful self-defense technique is talking your way out of a fight.
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GameMaster
Member # 1173
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posted June 16, 2006 16:26
My TaeKwando instructor is very clear about it, too. When we are in class going through forms, he makes sure that we know that in a real situation, you wouldn't let the opponent have the time it takes to get through the form. He shows us how it would be applicable in real situations (i.e. Hapkido -- "now in a real situation, you wouldn't let go of there hand until they show signs of compliance.. And then you'd back away slowly, not taking your eyes off them untill your away from the threat").
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Stibbons
Member # 2515
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posted June 17, 2006 03:20
Righty, thanks for your advice. I'm going to head along to a Jitsu class this week to try that out, as it sounds like the better one for me due to the emphasis on self defense.
It's weird, I'm not a small guy (>2m), yet I tend to slouch a bit so people tend to go for me whenever anything happens. Think I also manage to draw attention to myself wondering around with a baseball bat during hot weather!
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Elvermere
Member # 2456
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posted June 17, 2006 19:19
Xanth:Being thrown is fine, assuming you have a competent and caring thrower....it's when they stuff up that it really hurts. I'll agree, yes it hurts always, but it's a matter of how much pain.
NWNF:I'm not sure I agree with you about "hitting" being the end of fights and submission only being good in the beginning. I find that a good choke/joint lock will end a fight. I have yet to actually break any bones but if you give your attacker the distinct notion that if they keep going that is going to be the result then I find it ends.
Stibbons:I found that just by knowing what to do to defend yourself you deter many would-be attackers. I guess it's a certain aura of confidence. However given I'm 6' and rather broad across the shoulders I think that this might have some deterrent aspect as well.
I'm a firm believer in avoiding a fight if at all possible. I'll act the coward and back down and get the hell out of there. I value my safety higher than my pride. OTOH, I'm generally the first to step in when I see someone else being attacked. That's because I value their safety over my own. And generally I can look after myself a LOT better than many other people.
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Noah
Member # 5293
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posted June 20, 2006 01:00
Careful - NO martial art will prepare you for a fight until you have mastered it! Until that point you will spend your time 'thinking' about every martial arts move you learn until you have trained the art to the point that it becomes natural, WITHOUT having to think about it. Only when you can act without thinking will you be ready to apply whatever you learn in a Martial Arts class during an attack.
ALSO - the art is not as important as the teacher. Many teachers in western societies have either learned by watching or from videos & books, without learning from a certified teacher who has been trained in the old (Effective) ways. Very often many classes spend hours on 'Kata' punching the air and doing all kinds of cool movements -- yet never practicing those movements on another person. The most effective teaching methods are hands-on, where nobody in the class actually gets hurt during training. (Remember you go to the class to learn how NOT TO get injured!) So plz remember The best art can be ruined by a mediocre teacher! Recommend you try out a bunch of classes and find the one that is best for YOU.
If you are a 'big' type of guy, but get razzed a lot due to slouching, it seems like the problem may have to do with your confidence: the slouch says it all. Predators look for people that will be an easy target; if you are projecting that image with your slouch and baseball bat, it could be your main problem. Any good martial arts class with a good teacher should be able to help with that after a few sessions. After 30+ years of training in multiple martial arts under several 'Masters', that is the best advice I can give you in response to your question. Good luck! Check My Website
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ooby
Member # 2603
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posted June 20, 2006 08:53
quote:
Originally posted by Noah:
Careful - NO martial art will prepare you for a fight until you have mastered it!
I disagree. There are quite a few techniques that are easy enough to learn before mastering any martial art that will greatly improve one's ability to defend oneself. This goes without taking into account the overall improvement in physical fitness that accompanies training.
You don't need to be able to beat a 3rd degree blackbelt because you'll never find yourself in a streetfight with one. If you do, you probably have done something really wrong to pose a threat to him/her.
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Jace Raven
Member # 2444
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posted June 20, 2006 11:32
quote:
Originally posted by ooby:
quote:
Originally posted by Noah:
Careful - NO martial art will prepare you for a fight until you have mastered it!
I disagree. There are quite a few techniques that are easy enough to learn before mastering any martial art that will greatly improve one's ability to defend oneself. This goes without taking into account the overall improvement in physical fitness that accompanies training.
You don't need to be able to beat a 3rd degree blackbelt because you'll never find yourself in a streetfight with one. If you do, you probably have done something really wrong to pose a threat to him/her.
By the time your a 3rd degree blackbelt, hopefully your disclipine has taught you something about self control and to avoid a fight at all costs.
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magefile
Member # 2918
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posted June 20, 2006 15:36
I tried ju jitsu very briefly (before my hips began protesting), and it was great fun - especially the joint locks.
Especially when the sensei tried to lock my wrist - he bent it back, saying "stop me before it hurts", not realizing that my wrist goes *all* the way back.
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