Beginning Martial Arts

If I'm fair and try to avoide being biased I'll tell you what I tell everybody. Check out what's in your area and try a few things out.

To get you off to a good start head down to the Kelvin Hall ISA on Sunday night. There's an Aikido class there that has only been running for just over a year so there should be plenty beginners and low grades. If you don't mind travelling theres a totaly new club in the Pollokshaws area. All the students there are beginners.

You can find the details for both clubs here www.aikido-uk.org/clubs.html.

 

I'm going to be biased here, but the Bujinkan Tao Dojo on Glassford St. should definitely be worth a look. City centre location, and a complete martial arts system (striking, grappling, weapons etc) taught by a fine instructor.

 

Muay Thai???

 

Weeelll, I kinda did that and I found two things that I kinda could like. One is Aikido and the other is Karate. But if I choose Karate I want to find a dojo that either teaches Shohei-ryu (I think I could really love this one) or Shorei-ryu (maybe, just maybe Isshin-ryu).

*EDITED*

Well, that's it... no dojo teaches those styles around me. Actually I couldn't find anyone in my whole country who would teach Shohei-ryu (at least not officially) :cry:

Maybe Gojo-ryu...
Could anyonwe help on the different styles?

 

Twitch-

First some bad news: There is no martial arts training that will give you a reasonable chance of beating up a mugger in under six months. There are no quick and easy solutions.

Now, if you're searching for an unarmed art, a combat sport seems to fit your needs perfectly. You will gain real self defense ability with "alive" training against noncompliant, resisting opponents and you'll develop a high level of physical fitness, both through the sparring itself and the supplemental conditioning. I have known very few women who I felt confident in, self defense wise. All of them regularly sparred with the men of the class and all were in good condition.

In your case, I would reccomend a grappling art. Standing striking is more strength dependant and instinctual than grappling. Grappling requires less strength (though strength is always a factor, and anyone who tells you otherwise is feeding you a line) and is not at all instinctual.

Try brazilian jiujitsu, judo or sambo.

If your heart is set on a striking art, try Muay Thai, Boxing or Kyokushin-Kai (full contact) Karate.

Obviously, it's possible to find other martial arts that train "alive", i'm merely listing your best bets.

If you don't think you can hack that, buy and learn to use a weapon.

 

Ok first off, I might be going blind but I don't remember seeing this in Twitches post. Lets not put words in peoples mouths.

Secondly and more importantly. DO NOT EVER ADVISE A MEMBER OF MAP TO GO OUT AND BUY A WEAPON FOR USE IN SELF DEFENCE!!! The carrying of a weapon has varying legal implications depending on the particular country you happen to be in.

Within the UK it is not acceptable and weapons will be conficated by the Police. In Scotland anybody caught carrying a knife or other offensive weapon can receive a prison term. I personally do not wish to see anybody behind bars because of some irresponsible advice handed out by one of our members.

 

I was not implying that twitch said those things. Rather, I was anticipating the slew of responses to Twitch's post, stating that she should do such-and-such art because it "doesn't require strength because we use our attacker's force against them/strike vital spots/etc.".

Going to a school that claims such things can give one a dangerously inflated sense of their abilities.

 

Well in that case I think I'll just go give up Aikido after over eight years of practice since I have a dangerousley inflated sense of my abilities. And while I'm at it I'll go and tell all the Aikidoka who have used their training in self defence, (some of whom, like my good self, post on MAP actually), they are all liars and fantasy prone and should probably seek professional attention. :bang:

 

Twitch, there are certainly no quick and easy solutions, particularly ones that will allow you to "beat up" a mugger, but if you want to quickly learn some basic options for disabling/escaping an attack, then you might look into Krav Maga or any kind of women's self-defense. A part of reacting effectively to that kind of threat is getting over the adrenaline dump you get when you are threatened, which can give you that cement shoes feeling.

I am biased by my training but I think that a woman of your stature will always be disadvantaged in grappling by your small stature, and grappling is a bad choice if you wind up facing more than one person. That said grappling is a critical part of being able to fight. I'd stay away from any martial arts gym that puts a lot of emphasis on sport or competition, unless you are more interested in sport than learning to fight. If you want to learn to fight make sure whatever gym you join includes a lot of fighting (sparring) in the training, because that's the only way to learn to fight, the fewer rules the better.

I train in Hapkido which contains strikes, kicks and grappling as well as an array of joint manipulations that are very good at negating size differences (i.e. lots of cops use it for compliance holds). I highly recommend it, and there should be some good schools in Glasgow.

Other than that shotokan or kyokushin-kai karate would be good, esp. if you can learn some jiu-jitsu at the same time, I believe win-chun was originated by buddhist nuns, so it should be effective for women.

Whatever you decide I would definitely not recommend you start carrying a weapon.

 

Good point, whatever the art look for a school that includes rigorous physical training. A high level of fitness is the basis for skill in any martial art. And anyone that tells you they can quickly make you proficient in things like pressure point attacks is full of crap. Fighting is difficult, always more difficult when you are smaller than your opponent.

 

ooo I just started tai chi! Who can give me some tips on that?

 

You should probably check out the Tai Chi section.

 

well, goju is, quite honestly, the best style you can train in, so I wouldnt rule it out.

j/k, but karate is fun, Goju-ryu, or any style (from what I hear). You should really go to the bookstore or use google to find some good info on the different ma taught at schools in your area and pick what you want to do, be it striking, grappling, or both, then pick a style.

 

Thanks Gojo

I already read all I could and checked out all schools in my area. I really wanted to learn Shohei-ryu, but there's not a single dojo in my country that teaches it

So I picked Goju-ryu

 

cool, im sure youll enjoy it.

 

I´m looking for a martial art also.
I am 17 years old, 83 kg, 1.83m (umm.... 6´0, 183 pounds).
Im in reasonable good shape (good at sports), and i live under the 8 buddhist precepts, of which the following is relevant to sports:
Eating 1 meal a day, sometimes 2, but always between 8:00 and 12:00 in the morning.

This doesnt affect me alot with regards to exercise, but it limits me to 3 hours a day of exercise.

Looking for a MA that relies on speed and technique, and not on force. It must be a traditional MA.

 

I wouldn't say Aikido relies on speed but it does relie on timeing and technique.

 

hey

hello, i know you dont really say to new guys that there is a matial art for them, so ill try not to go to that avenue,
i havent done sports for a very long time, my cardio is crap , im still quite powerful, im naturally strong, used to do rugby so very physical is not a prob. im not that tall, 5 6", 90 kg about 180 pounds, 21 years of age. - oh im a guy and a med student, so i know anatomy, and phsiology and im quite a religeous guy so the philosiphical aspect of MA shouldnt be a problem either...

i found a few places that are near me, from this very site i beleive, all of these are in the west midlands area, i live in birmingham

Zanshin-Kai Aikido Club, Aikido,

United Kingdom Shin Gi Tai Aiki Ju Jutsu Schools, Aiki Ju Jutsu,

Solihull Lau Gar Kung Fu, Lau Gar Kuen,

Red Dragons ZFKMAC, Chinese Karate/Kickboxing/Total Fighting Grappling,

Quinton AIGMA, Goyararu,

Midlands Academy Of Chinese Kung Fu, Lau Gar - Kung Fu,

JUN FAN JEET KUNE DO ACADEMY UK, JUFAN JEET KUNE DO / DOCE PARE
MULTI STYLE SYSTEM,

Cheng Long, Freestyle

i dont know about these places, and about the styles nor about the instructors. so what do you guys think?
so which one is the best one out of these lists, which one is best for me?

i can try and improve my cardio over time, maybe get a bike or do some runing or somit?
thanks..

 

I alread opened a thread, but i understood that this is the right place for this kind of question so hopefully you'll be able to help me out:

Hey everyone.
I'm 16 years of age, 55KG, haven't done any sports for about 3-4 years, so my heart-lung endurance is pretty crapy, but i'm pretty buildy and naturally strong.
I want to start my training, never been to any MA before.
Basically, i'm looking for MA style to develop my fighting/defensive skills, a style that will come in handy in street fights aswell, and not just in trainings and will include both offense/defence training - doesn't have to, but preferable.
Also, i wanted to know where i can find the phone numbers and info about MA classes? I live in Victoria, Australia and believe it or not, i never came across any MA advertisement at all.

Thanks a lot in advance!

 

did you read the whole thread from the beginning?