Can anyone recommend a martial art to learn?
Discussion
Hi all,
Apologies if this is in the wrong section.
A couple of situations over the last 6 months have made me want to learn some self defence, something practical for real world situations. I’m also a bit out of shape so no doubt a class of some sort will also help my fitness.
From what I gather, the likes of Karate are more suitable to learn if you want to compete, but in real world situations where you’d need to defend yourself, they’re not great.
I’ve read lots of great stuff about Krav Maga, it does seem a little... brutal, but effective. However, nowhere local teaching this.
There are two options I’ve found locally which seem decent; Jeet Kune Do, there is a well regarded place nearby, I gather this is a little more use in the real world, based on Bruce Lee taking the useful bits from kickboxing etc.
And the other is Muay Thai. There’s a gym round here with a well regarded instructor. Seems effective but I’ve heard you can leave the lessons a bit battered and bruised.
By all means, I’m a bit of a wimp, I would like my confidence to grow and sort out my doughey 27 year old body a bit. I’d like to be able to defend myself and my girlfriend/family if it came to it, and I understand it’s best to get out of situations where possible, but where not possible I’d like to have a good chance of being able to give someone a good hiding if required.
Any advice on the above much appreciated as I’m not the best informed on the subject.
Cheers
Swede
Apologies if this is in the wrong section.
A couple of situations over the last 6 months have made me want to learn some self defence, something practical for real world situations. I’m also a bit out of shape so no doubt a class of some sort will also help my fitness.
From what I gather, the likes of Karate are more suitable to learn if you want to compete, but in real world situations where you’d need to defend yourself, they’re not great.
I’ve read lots of great stuff about Krav Maga, it does seem a little... brutal, but effective. However, nowhere local teaching this.
There are two options I’ve found locally which seem decent; Jeet Kune Do, there is a well regarded place nearby, I gather this is a little more use in the real world, based on Bruce Lee taking the useful bits from kickboxing etc.
And the other is Muay Thai. There’s a gym round here with a well regarded instructor. Seems effective but I’ve heard you can leave the lessons a bit battered and bruised.
By all means, I’m a bit of a wimp, I would like my confidence to grow and sort out my doughey 27 year old body a bit. I’d like to be able to defend myself and my girlfriend/family if it came to it, and I understand it’s best to get out of situations where possible, but where not possible I’d like to have a good chance of being able to give someone a good hiding if required.
Any advice on the above much appreciated as I’m not the best informed on the subject.
Cheers
Swede
Join a running club and learn to run fast.
He who runs away, lives to run away another day.
You're right about the traditional ones. I did Taekwondo for a bit. 2 sessions a week and we would probably do 3/4 of a session a month on self defence techniques. Rest of the time was on getting fancy coloured belts .
He who runs away, lives to run away another day.
You're right about the traditional ones. I did Taekwondo for a bit. 2 sessions a week and we would probably do 3/4 of a session a month on self defence techniques. Rest of the time was on getting fancy coloured belts .
Hello
I do taekwon-do to a fairly decent level, but primarily as a structured means of keeping fit. There is a fair amount of focus on learning patterns (combinations of moves done in sequence), but the rest - different types of sparring etc. - are applicable to some degree in the real world. This is ITF rather than the Olympic variant so includes various strikes, grabs, punches and kicks (the Olympic type, WTF, is much more kick orientated).
Having said that, there’s plenty of ITF stuff that you wouldn’t dream of trying to use outside the class. A lot of the kicks will leave you open to a take-down and TKD offers almost no floor work - so if you’re on the ground, you’re in trouble.
So if I was looking for the most effective discipline with the primary objective being self-defence, I would look at boxing, possibly in combination with BJJ.
Cheers,
UV
I do taekwon-do to a fairly decent level, but primarily as a structured means of keeping fit. There is a fair amount of focus on learning patterns (combinations of moves done in sequence), but the rest - different types of sparring etc. - are applicable to some degree in the real world. This is ITF rather than the Olympic variant so includes various strikes, grabs, punches and kicks (the Olympic type, WTF, is much more kick orientated).
Having said that, there’s plenty of ITF stuff that you wouldn’t dream of trying to use outside the class. A lot of the kicks will leave you open to a take-down and TKD offers almost no floor work - so if you’re on the ground, you’re in trouble.
So if I was looking for the most effective discipline with the primary objective being self-defence, I would look at boxing, possibly in combination with BJJ.
Cheers,
UV
Martial arts are not about learning self defence, or in the main real world situations.
They are also a massive time sink, generally with no reword other than being good at something that is non applicable, that you can't sell, that most people think is a bit weird and that you will lose as you get older.
They are also a massive time sink, generally with no reword other than being good at something that is non applicable, that you can't sell, that most people think is a bit weird and that you will lose as you get older.
As above. No martial art is going to teach you how to beat people up if it doesn't already come naturally. It's also not like the movies; every dojo has stories about the 4th Dan that got his arse handed to him by a scrawny kid who was just willing to hit first and hit harder. And forget anything other than running if there's more than one of them or they have a knife.
That said. Any martial art is great for getting fit, and gaining confidence. I'd say that, much more important than any particular style is to find a good teacher that suits you. Most schools will give you a free taster session so personally I'd go along to a few and see what you like.
That said. Any martial art is great for getting fit, and gaining confidence. I'd say that, much more important than any particular style is to find a good teacher that suits you. Most schools will give you a free taster session so personally I'd go along to a few and see what you like.
deckster said:
As above. No martial art is going to teach you how to beat people up if it doesn't already come naturally. It's also not like the movies; every dojo has stories about the 4th Dan that got his arse handed to him by a scrawny kid who was just willing to hit first and hit harder. And forget anything other than running if there's more than one of them or they have a knife.
That said. Any martial art is great for getting fit, and gaining confidence. I'd say that, much more important than any particular style is to find a good teacher that suits you. Most schools will give you a free taster session so personally I'd go along to a few and see what you like.
Yes. I have a mate who used to be a pretty big deal in kickboxing, former EU champ etc. You wouldn't mess with him because of that though, he just looks dangerous, hes massive and looks fThat said. Any martial art is great for getting fit, and gaining confidence. I'd say that, much more important than any particular style is to find a good teacher that suits you. Most schools will give you a free taster session so personally I'd go along to a few and see what you like.
king hard and he aint afraid of a fight.It would take years to reach any kind of proficiency and as you say more than 1 or they are armed - you've got no f
king choice, even if you are Chuck Norris.Running and avoiding it in the first place are best
Any sport that gets you fitter and into better shape will make you feel better about yourself and improve your self confidence. This in turn will improve your 'self defence' by making a potential aggressor pick on a less confident victim.
Any discipline that teaches you how to hit harder, faster, roll with punches, understand range and importantly gets you used to close physical and aggressive contact with other people will help and will obviously equip you better than if you didn't do anything at all.
The whole MA don't work in the streets line is what beginners are told in an attempt to stop them thinking they are invincible after two or three years training which is peak get you ass kicked time, as they think they know more than they actually do.
The classic mistake in self defence (and you've made it by looking at something like Krav) is that self defence is all about killer moves and techniques. 'Real world' self defence is about soft techniques such as recognition, avoidance, verbal dissuasion, de-escalation etc all based on a fundamental understanding that not all violence is the same and there are specific ritualised behaviours depending on the motivation for it - 'what you looking at' is different to stealing a phone which is different to violent rape for simple extreme examples.
If you understand the psychology of violence, then it puts you in (more) control in a given situation, allowing you to avoid/deescalate accordingly or know when you need to be a little more proactive. This is the actual self defence 'technique'. Any striking if required is simply the last 5% of it.
Outside of 'self defence', MA is a social way of getting fit through learning something new - this removes a lot tedium of going to the gym for example. As with other advice on here, try out a few free classes and pick the one that you feel most comfortable with. The hardest part is getting through the door!
Any discipline that teaches you how to hit harder, faster, roll with punches, understand range and importantly gets you used to close physical and aggressive contact with other people will help and will obviously equip you better than if you didn't do anything at all.
The whole MA don't work in the streets line is what beginners are told in an attempt to stop them thinking they are invincible after two or three years training which is peak get you ass kicked time, as they think they know more than they actually do.
The classic mistake in self defence (and you've made it by looking at something like Krav) is that self defence is all about killer moves and techniques. 'Real world' self defence is about soft techniques such as recognition, avoidance, verbal dissuasion, de-escalation etc all based on a fundamental understanding that not all violence is the same and there are specific ritualised behaviours depending on the motivation for it - 'what you looking at' is different to stealing a phone which is different to violent rape for simple extreme examples.
If you understand the psychology of violence, then it puts you in (more) control in a given situation, allowing you to avoid/deescalate accordingly or know when you need to be a little more proactive. This is the actual self defence 'technique'. Any striking if required is simply the last 5% of it.
Outside of 'self defence', MA is a social way of getting fit through learning something new - this removes a lot tedium of going to the gym for example. As with other advice on here, try out a few free classes and pick the one that you feel most comfortable with. The hardest part is getting through the door!
Absolutely avoiding physical confrontation in the first place is king however 6 months of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu will see you dominate 90% of people who are likely to start a fight in a pub or jump you in the street.
Weapons, cheap shots or multiple attackers will obviously put the odds in their favour but if an unarmed, non-trained person attacks you, you’ll be able to control/restrain him until help arrives.
You’ll get fit, make friends and have a lot of fun learning too.
Weapons, cheap shots or multiple attackers will obviously put the odds in their favour but if an unarmed, non-trained person attacks you, you’ll be able to control/restrain him until help arrives.
You’ll get fit, make friends and have a lot of fun learning too.
Krav maga for street defence.
Most of the normal martial arts will be useless in most 'real life' situations.
As mentioned above being a fast runner would probably be your best bet. Even Krav maga teaches you that it should just be used with enough violence to disable your attacker long enough to get away from the situation.
Most of the normal martial arts will be useless in most 'real life' situations.
As mentioned above being a fast runner would probably be your best bet. Even Krav maga teaches you that it should just be used with enough violence to disable your attacker long enough to get away from the situation.
Everyone will have an opinion on the best martial art.
But none of them matters.
It is the wrong question.
The right question is, what martial arts classes are available where you are, and how good is the teacher?
A handy location, and a great teacher, outweigh the best MA in the world taught miles away by a rubbish teacher.
At the end of the day they will all get you fitter more flexible and more confident.
There are some great martial arts ‘lessons’ online. You cannot learn MA online, but they do give you some tips.
My favourites are hard2hurt. https://youtu.be/0iRg4SdvJCM
And fight tips. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=kKoZUOuGsJM
But none of them matters.
It is the wrong question.
The right question is, what martial arts classes are available where you are, and how good is the teacher?
A handy location, and a great teacher, outweigh the best MA in the world taught miles away by a rubbish teacher.
At the end of the day they will all get you fitter more flexible and more confident.
There are some great martial arts ‘lessons’ online. You cannot learn MA online, but they do give you some tips.
My favourites are hard2hurt. https://youtu.be/0iRg4SdvJCM
And fight tips. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=kKoZUOuGsJM
Kev_Mk3 said:
interesting as I was looking at MA for fitness more than anything and seems its a good idea
It's a great way of getting fit as you don't have time to think about getting fit, but you do have time to realise how unfit you are!You learn a new skill that is personal to you, it can challenge you in ways no other sport can and the level of that challenge is up to you (just train, light spar, compete etc) but is also very social as you learn in a group and work closely with other people.
Despite what you may think, there are very few d
heads as they tend to get short shrift. On the whole it is very friendly and respectful. Everybody had to start somewhere, so nobody takes advantage.Have a think about whether you want to do stand up (boxing/kickboxing/Muay Thai), grappling/throwing (such as Judo) or BJJ. I think that in 2019 you have to have a particular mindset/interest to go down a more traditional route such as karate/TKD etc.
Clubs tend to reach from family friendly at one end to fight clubs at the other. The latter can be a shock to the system(!) and they do tend to focus on their fighters rather than the everyday punters. They're always friendly enough though.
As above, don't be shy about trying a few places/style out.
As mentioned above, MA tends to be respectful of newbies. When I rocked up 3 years ago to the MA place I expected it to be full of hard cases who would look down at me as a middle aged uncoordinated idiot. However, could not have been more supportive. Everyone starts as a novice white belt, and everyone appreciates that. 3 years later I am still a novice, but one a stone lighter, with abs and biceps of steel, who can do 100 press-ups and do some half decent punches, kicks and throws.
Ayahuasca said:
And fight tips. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=kKoZUOuGsJM
Fight Tips is a really good channel. Shane Fazen is a great teacher.For the more advanced:
Damien Trainor/Warrior Collective: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3HOUGhau4UA&li...
Gassing Station | Sports | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff