Martial Arts Anyone?

[chiggins83187]

I was wondering if anyone could suggest some martial arts courses for me. I've never done anything before, so I'm a definite newbie! I am hoping to get into personal protection once graduating college (Dec '10) and would like to have some type of self defense training on my resume. Any suggestions on what I should take? A friend of mine suggested aikido. Any thoughts??

[stony]

I would suggest Karate or Judo.

[Gaudard]

I take Jeet Kun Do and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. Lot of fun, and I think they have good self-defense applications.

BJJ is what most of your UFC fighters take because it is the ground game, and most fights end on the ground.

JKD is Bruce Lee's martial art, it is a varied martial art.

[Shay]

If you go to a school and they never wear mouth pieces, don't go back. If you don't wear a mouth piece it's because you don't plan on ever getting hit. If you don't plan on getting hit, you probably aren't training to hit or be hit.

Most of what is taught out there is play acting.

Here a good intro video for the concept of Aliveness:
MATT THORNTON, ALIVENESS - martial arts most important thing! Straight blast

[Gaudard]

Pretty good video there.

Also, probably want to wear a cup.

[42769vette]

my favorite form is juijitsu. but thats for the cage in a real fight its difficult to use because if there is multiple attackers the ground isn't the best place to be. i would recomend more of a striking form like kempo or jeet kun do. in a cage i dont have to worry about his buddy kicking me in the teeth while i have him in a armbar

[mercop]

Ju Jitsu and Judo. Then add it edged weapons, impact weapons, and firearms. Be sure to check out the background of the teacher. Too often you will find a trophy collector who owns a school and has his underlings teaching the classes. You would be much better off finding a few guys with experience and training witht them. Focus on what the arts have in common, not was seperates them. You are going to have a rough time getting into the personal protection thing unless you are former LE or MIL.- George

BTW, good comments Shay.

[Scutter01]

I would also suggest that you make it absolutely clear to the instructor what you hope to accomplish. Because adults are often looking for after-school activities for their kids, many dojos have a lot of kids as their clientele and tend to shape their curriculum around them. However, the instructors can generally teach you a LOT more and will change what and how they teach you based on your specific needs. If they don't know what you want, though, you'll generally get the "default" curriculum.

My instructor loves to fight. If he could get away with it, he'd do nothing but fight. The reality is that most of his students are there for physical fitness, though, and not necessarily self-defense. Because of that, you don't really get to go full-on with him unless you make it clear that's what you want. Most of the schools you'll find will be along those lines.

Most schools will have a two-week free trial, but don't usually advertise it. Talk to the owner. Tell him what you're looking for. Ask if you can try out their school for a couple of weeks to see if it's a good fit for you before you commit.

[haldir]

From what I have read, Aikido would be a great choice. It doesn't work well for competitive matches because of its emphasis, so it is not in style any more.

[Cygnus]

BJJ and basic wresting wil go a long way. For striking some boxing to learn to throw real punch (think from the inside).
Also an Okinowan art called Ishin Ryu. Combines 2 Japanese styles. They allow groin strikes and limited head contact in sparring(safety equipment on though). Also no kicks above the waist.
After WW2 the marines used this to base hand to hand combat on . Not sure if that holds true today though.

Well that's my take. YMMV