Martial Arts

[salty mud]

Is anyone on this forum trained in martial arts? I've been thinking of joining a club recently, for the dual purposes of keeping me fit and also for the obvious protection benefits. The most common self-defence system near me is Krav Maga; taught by two or three institutes very close to where I live. Unfortunately I haven't heard much good about it. At the end of the day though, all I want is some fitness, fun and a way to defend myself. Alternatives include Muay Thai, kickboxinig and karate. Krav Maga just seems the most... useful, so to speak.

Has a knowledge of the martial arts come in useful for anyone? Managed to escape tricky situations because of it?

 

[Bad Player]

What bad stuff have you heard about Krav Maga - I don't know anything about it but since it's taught for self defence by a 1st world defence force who is actively (and for some time now) engaging enemies, I'd say it would work.

 

[Tee Kay]

In a different life I would've been trained in taekwondo and muaythai.

 

[dusters]

Kung Fu. All around philosophy. HAs changed my life A LOT. Practical in every situation, because it has improved my character, my attitude towards life.

 

[GenMarshall]

I'm mainly a lapsed Karate Practitioner.

Has a knowledge of the martial arts come in useful for anyone? Managed to escape tricky situations because of it?

"For to win one hundred victories in one hundred battles is not the acme of skill. To subdue the enemy without fighting is the acme of skill" - Sun Tzu

Mostly it's granted me more awareness to my surroundings so I can avoid the situations in the first place.

 

[Takhisis]

Black belt in Origami!

 

[galdre]

I took tae kwon do when I was younger. I was thinking of getting back into martial arts but blew a disk so that idea is on hold for now.

Any martial art will help with self defense, fitness, reflexes, and flexibility, so it's more a matter of what style you like best.

 

[salty mud]

Is there anywhere what gives a quick and clear introduction to each martial art? I really don't know where to look.

 

[christos200]

I practice Wing Chun.

 

[galdre]

Is there anywhere what gives a quick and clear introduction to each martial art? I really don't know where to look.

Not that I know of

What style you study depends on what you want - do you want to put people in holds, or keep them at a distance? Do you want something more traditional, or modern? How important is self defense to you vs the physical conditioning?

 

[salty mud]

Traditional would be good; I know Krav Maga is relatively new, from the 1940s. Also I'd say distance is better to holds, that way the assailant can't get a crafty punch in.

 

[galdre]

Traditional would be good; I know Krav Maga is relatively new, from the 1940s. Also I'd say distance is better to holds, that way the assailant can't get a crafty punch in.

Don't knock the holds - those styles are very effective. However, if you prefer to keep people at a distance take a look at tae kwon do or karate (they're pretty similar). Kung fu is good too; very traditional, but some don't like the unnecessary movement (it can be quite showy). Kick boxing would work too, although I've not looked into that one as much.

 

[dusters]

martial art must fit you, not other way around. See Jeet Kune Do if interested.

 

[IdiotsOpposite]

Tae Kwon Do, 1st Dan Black belt, although I haven't actually practiced in over a year. I should really get back into that.

 

[Leifmk]

Don't knock the holds - those styles are very effective.

Also if you don't know anything about grappling and you come up against someone who does, you're almost certainly boned.

Me, I have about 11 years total training, off and on, spread over about 20 years. Couple different karate styles, some BJJ, kickboxing, even a little Aikido way back. Originally took up karate the first time when Reagan was president of the USA and we were all going to get nuked any day; back then I had two motivations:

1. I was tired of getting my butt intermittently kicked by the school bully.

2. I wanted to get in shape.

Success on both fronts, as it turned out; the number of fights I've been in since 1987 is less than one. This probably has some indirect connection with my martial arts training as I'm sure it helped me be more calm and disciplined (I was pretty hot-headed as a young teenager). It also probably has some connection with the fact that I hit my real growth spurt around then.

A word on self-defense: Do not overestimate the value of martial arts training for this. Violence is pretty random to begin with and you also never know if the other guy has brought three friends, or a knife. Used to do simple "knife defense" drills back in the day where you use a magic marker (preferably red) for a knife so you could see where you got cut and those are pretty sobering.

 

[Kozmos]

Yup, any knife disarms techniques will most likely end with you bleeding from your forearms in the best case.

 

[Save_Ferris]

I used to do martial arts like you. But then I got a black belt and decided to stop.

 

[CELTICEMPIRE]

Black Belt in Tae Kwon Do, taken it for 5 years.

 

[Arwon]

Karate (shotokan) for about the last 18 months. I'm not really in it for self-defence and wouldn't expect it to be useful for that for a few years yet. It's good for fitness and self-confidence and generally being aware of my body and suchlike.

 

[Loppan Torkel]

I'll probably join a colleague for some BJJ this week, just to try it. He's a few years younger, probably 6 inches shorter and 20kgs lighter than me. He's been practising this several times a week for over a year now and I've kind of been a bit cocky about me still being able to take him down.
I think the training ends with some sparring.

Who'd win a match?