So you've decided you want to be a
martial artist. Maybe you saw that new
martial arts movie and want to be able to do all that
fancy stuff. Maybe you've been
bullied a little too much, and want to
defend yourself. Maybe you want to
better yourself, physically, mentally and spiritually. Maybe you just want to get a balanced
workout.
Whatever. So you look in the
phone book for a
martial arts school in your area. And then you stop. There's a lot of them isn't there?
Kung Fu,
Tae Kwon Do,
Aikido,
Karate,
Capoeira,
Judo,
Jiu Jitsu, and so on. How on earth are you supposed to choose one thats right for you, one thats going to give you what you want? The first thing you have to do is sit down and think about
why you want to train in a martial art in the first place.
"I want to be able to do the stuff they do in the movies"
This is a very common
reason. My suggestion to you is Tae Kwon Do. A
Korean martial art that concentrates on
kicks, Tae Kwon Do's
popularity has exploded in recent years do to the fact that it does, in fact, look very cool. It's all high, fast kicks, and has even become an
Olympic sport.
Another possibility for you is
Capoeira, or
Brazilian Combat Breakdancing. Less mainstream than Tae Kwon Do, which is good for those of you who pride yourself in going against trends, Capoeira is a
Brazilian martial art, developped by
slaves who had to disguise their art as a
dance to keep their
overseers from figuring out what they were doing. Due to its dance foundations, it is a very
graceful and
flashy style, although it lacks the
combat effectiveness of other martial arts.
Breakdancing is a direct
descendant of Capoeira.
The third option for someone who wants to be able to do the things they see in the movies is Kung Fu. This is actually the style in which almost all major martial arts
film stars are trained.
Jet Li,
Jackie Chan are both practitioners of Kung Fu, and
Bruce Lee was originally trained in Kung Fu before creating his own style,
Jeet Kune Do. The only problem with suggesting Kung Fu for someone who wants to look cool, is that it has a very strong
internal, or
mental foundation, which tends to be frustrating to people who only want to learn how to
kick ass with style.
"I want to be able to defend myself / beat people up"
Yet another common reason. My suggestion for anyone who falls into this category depends on the nature of their
desire for
fighting prowess, and their general body shape/size.
One of the most common
demographics to fall into this group are
women who feel
vulnerable, and want to be able to
protect themselves. The most obvious suggestion is a
women's self-defense course, which will teach anyone the
basic tricks to get away from someone who is holding you, and how to do quick immobilizing
damage to an
attacker to give them a chance to run away.
Groin kicks,
eye gouges,
wrist locks, and
ankle stomps are
trademarks of womens self-defense classes. For a woman who want more
in depth training, I would suggest someting like
Judo,
Jiu Jitsu,
Aikido, and other arts that specialize in
throws and using an attackers
force against them. The simple fact is that the
average woman is not as physically
powerful as the
average male, so it's best for a woman
to choose a martial art that
negates that
disadvantage, instead of one that
overcomes it.
The other main group is the group of people who want to
kick ass, for whatever reason. They want to learn how to beat someone into the ground, and they don't want to bother with any
spiritual shit. They want to
fight. If you
are one of these people,
fear not, there is a martial art for you. It is called
Krav Maga, and it was created by the
Israeli military. Practitioners of Krav Maga don't even consider it a martial art, instead calling it a
unarmed combat style. Its is a
brutal,
ugly way of fighting,
concentrating on
winning at all cost. It also includes
improvised
weapon fighting, teaching its practitioners how to use almost anything as a weapon.
Fun stuff.
If you're having trouble finding a Krav Maga
school in your area, your next best bet is to go with the old standby,
Karate. While some
styles of Karate are every bit as mental and spiritual as any other martial art, some of them are exactly what a
wannabe ass-kicker is looking for. The best alternative for Krav Maga that I can think of is
Uechi-Ryu, an almost masochistic style in which the practitoners spend almost as much time learning how to not feel
punches as they do learning how to not get punched.
" I want to better myself physically, mentally, and spiritually"
Now you, my
friend, are my kind of person. You also have the most
selection available to you. For sheer martial arts
purity, nothing is better than
Tai Chi. One of the oldest martial arts, Tai Chi appears to be slow and
graceful, an exercise routine for old people who want to stay
flexible. And it is. But sped up, that gracefulness and flexibility become
dangerous and very effective. Tai Chi was designed to imitate the
fighting style of a striking
snake. It is a very
internal, or
mental martial art, and is what
most of todays martial arts
evolved from.
Another possibility for someone looking for a pure martial art is Kung Fu, a first generation descendant of Tai Chi, which can be looked at as Tai Chi with an attitude. Made famous by
David Carradine, Kung Fu is the most represented martial art in
Hollywood. It includes various animal stances and styles, such as
tiger,
dragon,
snake, and
monkey, as well as the ever impressive
Drunken Boxing style.
Moving away from the
Chinese martial arts, we come to the
Japanese /
Okinawan styles, most famous of which is
Karate. Karate comes in many different flavours, from the aforementioned
Uechi-Ryu, to
Shotokan, to
Tsuruoka. Each style has its advantages and disadvantages, and its difficult if not impossible to choose a good school based on the style it teaches (
Master Lee's School of Samurai Ninja Asskick-Ryu Karate should probably be avoided). Your best bet is to look into the school's
history, see how long they've been around, and to watch a few classes before commiting yourself.
I just want a balanced workout
Now you are easy to please. Depending on how
athletic you are, and how much your body can take, just about any martial art would be good for you. Some styles, like
Krav Maga and
Uechi-Ryu might not be the best idea though, as
frequent minor injuries tend to interfere with regular
workouts.
Tai Chi would be a good one if you want to take it easy on your body, and
Tae Kwon Do is on the opposite end of the spectrum, and is good for anyone who wants a
high-impact aerobic workout. The rest of them fall somewhere in the middle. If its a balanced workout you want though, maybe the martial arts aren't the best thing for you. Another alternative, that gives as good, a workout, or better, without as great a risk of injury is the
Pilates system of stretches.
Thats all for now folks. I know I couldn't have possibly covered all of the
reasons to learn a martial art, so if you're having trouble deciding,
/msg me with your reason, and I'll add it to this writeup, along with suggestions.