Thinking of taking up a martial art of some sort...

Flyboy

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Hi guys,

didn't really know where to post this, but given the subject I guessed there would be plenty of people well versed on the question here...

Basically I'm thinking about taking up some sort of martial art, but i really have no clue what would suit me best.

Basically I'm looking for something practical, preferably not requiring the flexibility of a russian gymnast (I don't do bending lol), and fun! I could do without having my bones snapped every other week too because i doubt my employers would appreciate it... so we can strike "crazy indian bone snapping mumma humba" off the list right now.

If anyone could suggest some things to look into I'd appreciate it - there's so many different types out there that frankly i don't even know where to start.
 
poison

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Go buy/watch/download all the Fight Quest and/or Human Weapon episodes. They give a nice look into lots of unusual martial arts, and you can find what appeals to you.

What are your goals? Self defense? Fitness? Finding a lifestyle to be a part of?

<<I chose judo 5 months ago.

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FlkAeYbNjEg&feature=related"]YouTube - Extreme Judo (HQ) - High Quality[/ame]
 
Flyboy

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cool, i'll have a look for those thanks...

as for the q's - a bit of all the above really. It definitely needs to have real world self defense applications, and the fitness aspect of martial arts would compliment what i do in the gym quite well. Life style isn't such a biggy, but it's all good.

I actually did judo for a few years when i was a kid, was good fun but i kept on getting put up against people older, bigger stronger and more importantly a couple of belts higher when i went into competitions. I got sat on a lot.
 
poison

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Well, now you're older, stronger, and wiser. You'd probably pick it up quicker than a lot of stuff because you did it already.

If you want self-defense, it's tough to beat krav maga, it's the shortest distance from victim to victor in real life situations. It's not going to make you a good fighter, though, necessarily.

I was looking for realistic full-force training, real life applicability, and a high level of instruction. I wasn't even considering judo, but it found me, and all of those apply, for $20 a month.

I was also considering kyokushin karate (full-contact karate which is quite *****in), and muay thai. If you want a striking art, you can't beat either.

I stayed away from BJJ, even though there are many GREAT schools in my area, both Machado AND Gracie; I hate their Koolaid, it's $200/month, and the ground is the last place you want to be in a self-defense situation. BJJ was derived from judo, so they have similar techniques, but judo has excellent standup, which BJJ lacks.

Good luck in your search!
 

futurepilot

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i have a friend who is a Brown belt in Hapkido, he loves it.
 
CryingEmo

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Well, now you're older, stronger, and wiser. You'd probably pick it up quicker than a lot of stuff because you did it already.

If you want self-defense, it's tough to beat krav maga, it's the shortest distance from victim to victor in real life situations. It's not going to make you a good fighter, though, necessarily.

I was looking for realistic full-force training, real life applicability, and a high level of instruction. I wasn't even considering judo, but it found me, and all of those apply, for $20 a month.

I was also considering kyokushin karate (full-contact karate which is quite *****in), and muay thai. If you want a striking art, you can't beat either.

I stayed away from BJJ, even though there are many GREAT schools in my area, both Machado AND Gracie; I hate their Koolaid, it's $200/month, and the ground is the last place you want to be in a self-defense situation. BJJ was derived from judo, so they have similar techniques, but judo has excellent standup, which BJJ lacks.

Good luck in your search!


LOL, biased much?


BJJ > everything you listed.
 
poison

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LOL, biased much?


BJJ > everything you listed.
Biased? No, not really, as I was recently in his position, and had no idea what to choose. Judo wasn't even on my list until I found my school.

BJJ>everything else? In what situation? And pass the Koolaid when you're done, I'm thirsty.
 
glg

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The first thing that you need to consider is...what's available in you area.

I am a retired TKD instructor and I found over the years that it needs to be a school/club within an easy travel distance for you (only you can decide what that is). students who wind up having to travel very far (Usually a max. of 1/2 hr) tend to drop out due to the amount of time = travel + training x several days a week, that it takes. So look to see what is around you, go watch a class or two or try a calss or two to see how you like it, the instructor(s) and the other students. all of this is important.

I love my TKD but for fun I do filipino stick/knife .
 
1ArmMan

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Tae Kwon Do >>>>> BJJ in real life action. C EMO > GSP+BJ.
No way. 99% of fights hit the floor and once it did that tae kwon do is damn near useless.


I've been kickboxing for 3 years and I love it dearly. I'd look into that.

It's great cardio and teaches good defense and great offense.
 
poison

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****, yeah, I always overlook boxing and wrestling when looking at 'what to do'. Both are excellent.

As for the 99%...floor. :rolleyes: That's a load of **** propogated by the GRacies. Good marketing, but it doesn't mean ****. Just because *many* fights go to the floor doesn't mean you should go there. 99% offights are by untrained *******s who are drunk, of course they roll around. But if you train in a good self-defense system, you'll learn to stay the eff off the ground.

Learning what to do *if* you hit the floor is great, but training for that solely, IF self-defense is your aim, is not smart.

Just my krav maga/Israeli Military $.02.
 
jas123

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No way. 99% of fights hit the floor and once it did that tae kwon do is damn near useless.


I've been kickboxing for 3 years and I love it dearly. I'd look into that.

It's great cardio and teaches good defense and great offense.

It was a joke. TKD is one of the least applicable ones out there, sorry glg.
 

Rogue Drone

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MT and/or Boxing classes would be my recommendation for fight instruction, if that's the objective. Vicious linear striking inside at gyms that work on the foundations of anerobic fitness and some real sparring.

Ferocity, fitness, simplicity and learning how to take a punch or three and then the high probability of ground grapple to gouge their eyeballs, beat 'em down and get out of there before the cops show up.

Weapons>>>Unarmed.
 
poison

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Weapons>>>Unarmed.
A guy I worked with asked me what gun I shoot.

Me: ??? (thinking: I shoot whatever the F you put in my hand) You mean what kind of gun do I carry?

Him: Uh, yeah.

Me: A Glock 19.

Him: :silence:

Me: What do you carry? (we were working high level celebrity security)

Him: I don't carry, I'm a martial artist.

Me: : puke :


:lol:
 

Rogue Drone

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I have a high confidence in my get in first ability with my hard achy breaky limbs, but a Sig and a Push Knife tucked into the V of my Pelvis is my first choice when the meanness is too near and dear for comfort. Nothing like a T handled Push Knife in your clenched fist when you can smell the other's guy's stankin' breath/intent coming at ya.
 
poison

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You ever do edged weapon training? Southnarc, or something?
 
Condition1

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****, yeah, I always overlook boxing and wrestling when looking at 'what to do'. Both are excellent.

As for the 99%...floor. :rolleyes: That's a load of **** propogated by the GRacies. Good marketing, but it doesn't mean ****. Just because *many* fights go to the floor doesn't mean you should go there. 99% offights are by untrained *******s who are drunk, of course they roll around. But if you train in a good self-defense system, you'll learn to stay the eff off the ground.

Learning what to do *if* you hit the floor is great, but training for that solely, IF self-defense is your aim, is not smart.

Just my krav maga/Israeli Military $.02.
Or go for the clinch, take him down, full mount, donkey kong country time. Dominant position>>risk of getting KO'd. You don't have to go for a flying armbar.

Muay Thai or BJJ are both fun and applicable in real situations, IMO.
 
bla55

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Ok, so here goes my 2cs...

There are a few things that would help you out, depends on where your mind's at.

BJJ is a great choice, yeah, I practice it and wouldnt give it up for anything in the world. It's awsome. You get a good part of Judo and you learn how to handle yourself on the ground better than any other MAs. You also learn a lot of self defense, such as protecting (if you need to) yourself against weapons or multiple attackers. It's cool, but it does take some flexibility and commitment.

Muay Thai. AWSOME. I also practice it occasionally. Kicking and punching, god, its great. You can handle yourself very well in a street fight, you'll learn how to throw possible 1 shot knockouts, you'll tuffen up and so on. But the downside, if you're on the ground, you're fkd. AND you may get a bruise or two here, a black eye there, which may be bad for you at work.

Taekwen-do, well, as I see it's good for cardio, you learn how to throw kicks but it's not street efficient. It's nice and complicated but you will get a nice workout of it.

And last but not least, if you want to keep it simple, BOXING. I can't begin to describe how much a good boxing gym will change you. Boxing conditioning is awsome, you'll get in shape, fast. You'll learn to throw punches, to deal with people, its good. Again, ground, youre done. But still, its a nice thing.

Just see the descriptions, gather up some info and ask for opinions, that'd be my advice.
 
poison

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Or go for the clinch, take him down, full mount, donkey kong country time. Dominant position>>risk of getting KO'd. You don't have to go for a flying armbar.

Muay Thai or BJJ are both fun and applicable in real situations, IMO.
I agree, and I'm not knocking BJJ, it's pretty much the pinnacle of groundfighting. However, if you look at it from a self-defense position, you do not want to go to the ground, ever. That's when you get stabbed, his buddies or GF jump in with a chair to the back of the head, or you simply can't get away as you're tied up. The standard single or double leg takedown that BJJ guys love will get them a massive elbow to the spine IRL. Not that there aren't other options, but just an example.

If you're opponent has knowledge of grappling, you'll be tied up, even if you eventually dominate. In krav maga, it's all about extreme and immediate offense, dirty fighting, incapacitate then run the eff away. You want to remain close enough to respond to a gun, but far enough to break at any point and ASAP, and far enough to control YOUR position in the case of multiple attackers.
 
poison

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Muay Thai. AWSOME. I also practice it occasionally. Kicking and punching, god, its great. You can handle yourself very well in a street fight, you'll learn how to throw possible 1 shot knockouts, you'll tuffen up and so on. But the downside, if you're on the ground, you're fkd. AND you may get a bruise or two here, a black eye there, which may be bad for you at work.
:lol: That's a good point, and something I considered when looking at Kyokushin and MT. I would've gone with with MT if there had been a good school in my area, but the injuries would've been an issue. I get hammered in judo, had a concussion already, but mostly it's legs and toes, big bruises on my body, stuff you can't see at work.
 

Imeniaan

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The Israeli Combat System of Krav Maga ;) Even Hezbollah (Israel's arch enemy) is teaching this to it's own fighters. But make sure it's the Military version, not the Civilian one.
 
Australian made

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The judo at the olympics was the most boring "sport" of all. Taekwondo looked pretty cool though.
 
Flyboy

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In krav maga, it's all about extreme and immediate offense, dirty fighting, incapacitate then run the eff away.

sounds exactly my style lol.

Krav maga sounds interesting, just reading up on it some more now. The advice about whatever is nearby is a good point though, hopefully there will be somewhere near me.

Boxing is an astoundingly obvious one isn't it, plus I'm sure there's a million places near me that will offer it.

There's some really good suggestions in here guys, I'm just trying to go through some of them now and see what they are about. Then I'll make a short list and see if any of them are in my area!

As for the talk of packing a trusty glock, not an option in the wonderful UK! Shame really because I can already shoot pretty damn well lol. And getting caught carrying any sort of weapon would instantly lose me my career, so no go on that bad boy... i'll have to stick to the old trusty knuckles for self defense purposes.

Cheers guys - really appreciate the suggestions!
 
poison

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Krav takes weapons, multiple attackers, fighting while injured, fighting in the dark on uneven blood-soaked terrain lol, surprise, and the fear of being hit into account.

It's used effectively every day in Israel by civilians and some of the worlds best soldiers.

One nice thing is that many KM centers also have Muay THai, BJJ, or other classes you can cross train in for a nominal fee. If you do it for 6 months, you'll be light years ahead of where you are now. Then go take a 'real' fighting art, and apply the techniques through your KM filter of what is good for life and death battle, and what isn't.
 
Flyboy

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awesome, there's two places relatively near me that do krav maga... going to rock up next week and see what it's all about.

Cheers!
 
poison

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Good deal, man! Post back with an impression, and a teachers name, if you can. I know some of the big instructors names, if they're Israeli.
 

Rogue Drone

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Uneven blood soaked terrain?! That's flippin' medieval, Gaza style.

My instructor,works by invite only, did a carbine course with him last month, was trained by Jim Wagner, Sammy Franco of CFA and Gabe Sarez, works as one of Blackwater's trainers after leaving the USMC.

Now it's my fusion TEOTWAWKI paranoid blond mullet method, rolled into an industrial size can of whoop ass.
 
poison

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Haha, Gabe Suarez, that guys a nut job I hear. SWAT mag took his course, and reamed him a new one for gross safety violations. I like his aggressiveness, though.

Is this your martial arts instructor, or firearms instructor?
 
Flyboy

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these are the guys with locations near me http://www.institute-kravmaga.co.uk/index.asp

Could you take a quick peek and tell me what you think? I've noticed I actually need to take an "induction" which is run every 3 weeks before i go to an actual class... the induction isn't especially cheap either so i'd like to know i was spending it on a worthwhile organisation!

Cheers again!
 
poison

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Yeah, there's two KM organizations worldwide; both claim to be 'the original, official' deal.

It comes down to the specific school and instructors. I say try it out. The tools you learn are invaluable, and will translate to anything else you do.
 
Flyboy

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Yeah I think it'll be worth it... just hope there's an induction soonish.

I'll let you know what I think, if it's rubbish I'll be coming after you for my £20 back! Bet that scares you!

Cheers again for the help bro
 
poison

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It just depends on what your expectations are. It's like with anything: UFC fighters would kick a KM practitioners ass in the ring. Step outside the ring, and it may be a different story: even though the UFC fighter is a better fighter, the KM guy trains to incapacitate quickly, or kill, using any means necessary.

So don't show up expecting flashy ****; expect rudimentary techniques, designed to be simple and easy to learn and apply under extreme duress, with minimal instruction time. Gross motor movements and dirty fighting that'll keep you alive.

You can go learn technically difficult stuff later; this'll make you a problem for a potential attacker much faster than anything else.
 
Flyboy

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what you just described there is everything i want out of a martial art.

I couldn't care less if I would get ripped a new one by UFC fighters in the ring, I'm far to pretty to ever step foot in one. (where I wrote pretty, read soft and squidgy).

You've sold me on it, I'm sure I'll love it!
 
poison

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Cool!

Be aware that you will be hit, there's lots of full contact stuff, with pads in the civilian version, and they'll do everything they can to put you under pressure/fear at times. The more you bleed in training, the less you bleed in battle. ;)

The aim is to remove as many surprises as possible, in a controlled environment, so when it's go time you can say ":deepbreath: I've been here before", instead of panicking.

I did the military version, and it was awful. :lol: I got beat 6 hours a day, 6 days a week, for 11 weeks. I spent a lot of time with my hands behind my back being punched and kicked in the solar plexus with no pads, or fighting 20 guys for 30 seconds each to failure, or doing all kinds of ****ed up **** blindfolded.

Let us know how it goes!
 

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