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I've been interested for a long time in trying a martial art, and am finally close enough to having a stable location that it's time to gather some information so I'll be ready to give it a try. I know there are a couple of threads about martial arts from a while back, but I decided to start a new one because I'm approaching the question a little differently. The difference is that I'm not going to ask which martial art is best for getting into a bar fight, or which one will make me invincible. I've lived long enough to know that it's best to avoid getting into bar fights in the first place, and to understand that no martial art will guarantee that you will never be defeated.
In fact, I am interested as much in pursuing a martial art for the sake of the activity itself, and for the various personal gains that are possible, as for self-defense. Don't get me wrong here. Although your best bet for staying safe from physical attack is not to go looking for trouble, it's also true that trouble may come looking for you, and it never hurts to have whatever improvement possilbe in your ability to defend yourself, or others. Also, my gut feeling is that a martial art needs to remain true to the complete range of the art's original goals in order to offer all possible benefits, as the original goals are intertwined. If any of those goals are left out or watered down, the other possible benefits are weakened.
Okay, enough philosophizing. Now for some information on me and what I'm looking for. First, I do have a little martial arts background. I returned to college a number of years ago, and took two semesters of Goju Ryu as a gym class. Two semesters was as far as the gym classes went, and the student budget was too tight for me to pay for classes, so I did not pursue martial arts further. The gym classes did give me some idea of what might and might not work for me in a martial art. For example:
I'm fairly good-sized, six feet tall, and about 210 when in my best shape, and a bit chesty and top-heavy to boot, so that narrow stance in Goju Ryu didn't work so well for me. I always felt kind of wobbly. I think that an art that emphasizes more of a natural stance, or perhaps a low, wide stance, would suit me better.
I'm not interested in full contact, but I did find that the degree of physical contact in the Goju Ryu bunkai did enhance a sense of physical confidence, so I would prefer something with a similar degree of contact. In other words, I don't want to get involved with full-contact striking, but I do want something vigorous, with some real practice of blocking and/or holds, etc.
In those gym classes we practiced two throws, a forward roll or forward somersault kind of throw, and a clothesline throw. I'm somewhat prone to pulls in the lower back, and had trouble with this when being thrown in the forward somersault kind of throw. I never had this kind of problem with the clothesline throw. I think that part of the problem with the forward roll throw may have been rushing into things too quickly and not thoroughly learning how to land properly, but I do feel that I would probably do best to avoid styles with a lot of acrobatic throws.
Beyond what I learned about my preferences while taking those classes in Goju Ryu, I also know that I'd like to try a martial art which has a traditional approach, rather than one that emphasizes tournament competition. Following up on the fact that I found the Goju Ryu bunkai practice to be fulfilling, I would prefer to engage as closely as possible as often as possible in realistic moves, short of full-contact strikes. To give you the idea, if not for my feeling that it would be best not to be involved in an art that heavily emphasizes acrobatic throwing, I would be very interested in pursuing aikido, for the combination of traditional goals and teaching methods and actually performing moves in ways similar to the way they would actually be done in a real self-defense situation.
Something else worth mentioning is that I'm 53 years old. Don't get the idea that I need to really take it easy. I'm still involved in vigorous physical activity. However, I'm going to guess that I might have to work into new levels of intensity more gradually than I would have in my twenties.
Putting all this together, after doing some research, a few of the martial arts I've found that seem that they might suit my needs would be Shorin Ryu, Shotokai--if I were able to find a school--and Tai Chi--if I were able to find an instructor who taught the full martial arts system. In the case of Tai Chi, I'm guessing that the first priority would be to find a good instructor who tuaght the complete system, rather than choosing one style over others, but that, all other things being equal, the Chen style might especially suit me, because its system includes quite a few moves that are fast and vigorous.
It might be difficult to locate instruction in some of the arts that seem like possible fits. Unfortunately, the traditional approach I seek seems to be less popular than the tournament-oriented styles. However, knowing the arts that would best suit me is a good starting point. I would appreciate any thoughts from those in the know about any of the styles I've mentioned here, or any others that might work well for me.
Well, after I became semi-retired in Sumo, I moved to Judo. There are competitions of course, but you can go through an entire career in Judo without competing once. I have participated in many arts, but I like Judo the best, not just because of its grappling/throwing/pinning/groundwork, but also because of the community-focused ethic it promotes.
I practiced Aikido for 3 years and to tell you the truth it was the best martial art I personally had experienced.Before that I had tried Kung fu and win chun.Those are really great martial arts but Aikido was "me".It combines a lot of throws,holds,arm locks,head locks etc.There is also weapons training too,which you start off with wooden weapons first like the "jo"which is the staff,the "bocken"which is the sword and the "tanto"which is the knife.Its been a while now since I last practiced but from what I can remember it was a lot of fun.It also involves a lot of breathing techniques too which helps.They teach you how to use the enemies body weight to throw them or disarm them.Its a very good martial art that when you get the hang of it the techniques are very effective.You do a lot of rolling around the matts and break falling,energy techniques and in some lessons I had we did a bit of meditation.Its a very relaxing art and in some cases need to have a lot of patience.This is the name of the founder of Aikido,Morihei Ueshiba,if you look him up on the net i'm sure you will find information on him and the art.I have one of his books called "Aiki-budo" and I think that one is the most informative.Also this is the martial art Steven Segal is 7th Dan black belt in and he owns his own dojo in Tokyo.Well I hope I have been of some assistance,I hope you find a martial art that is you.Good luck!
If you want something even easier on the body but still fun to learn try aikido
I would suggest Aikido too, but there is a lot of throwing involved.
I took it for a while as a kid. Pretty diverse class. A few of us young kids, a philosophy professor, an old hippie who changed his name to something Japanese, a disgruntled middle school counselor, etc.
Anyways, I think Aikido kind of has the philosophy and style you're looking for. I'd check out a class if you can, it's fairly common.
the major drawback to lack of physical contact is it becomes a headtrip and mostly fiction. to get a real sense of this you can read some of the books available on dr kano in the establishment of modern judo in japan. look on amazon.com or better yet just go down to a judo "dojo" and find out for yourself how much "inner mystic powers of the white dragon" actually help out. dr kano's story is mostly about throwing off the superstitions about martial arts secret societies. mostly baloney. but to be fair his original pre olympic style inc kicks and blows to the privates and throat. please do not take anything that i have said here as a suggestion that this stuff is good on the street, a 9mm trumps any martial art.
Last edited by Huckleberry3911948; 01-26-2009 at 10:43 PM..
For combat or self defense there is no perfect martial art. The effectiveness of a martial art depends on the skills of the person in a real life situation. If used by a real fighter any martial art can be effective. You will only get out of it what you put into it. Find a style that works for your physical condition and make it work for you. Just don't take up gymkata. Did I bring back memories of that horrible movie? hehe
I'm somewhat prone to pulls in the lower back, and had trouble with this when being thrown in the forward somersault kind of throw. I never had this kind of problem with the clothesline throw. I think that part of the problem with the forward roll throw may have been rushing into things too quickly and not thoroughly learning how to land properly, but I do feel that I would probably do best to avoid styles with a lot of acrobatic throws.
Beyond what I learned about my preferences while taking those classes in Goju Ryu, I also know that I'd like to try a martial art which has a traditional approach, rather than one that emphasizes tournament competition. Following up on the fact that I found the Goju Ryu bunkai practice to be fulfilling, I would prefer to engage as closely as possible as often as possible in realistic moves, short of full-contact strikes. To give you the idea, if not for my feeling that it would be best not to be involved in an art that heavily emphasizes acrobatic throwing, I would be very interested in pursuing aikido, for the combination of traditional goals and teaching methods and actually performing moves in ways similar to the way they would actually be done in a real self-defense situation.
Putting all this together, after doing some research, a few of the martial arts I've found that seem that they might suit my needs would be Shorin Ryu, Shotokai--if I were able to find a school--and Tai Chi--
I wonder how many people who responded here actually read all of your post. Sounds pretty clear to me that you DO NOT WANT and grappling art because of your being prone to pulls in the back and not wanting to do any acrobatic throws. Understand that any grappling will involve not only you throwing/grappling your opponent, but also your opponent throwing/grappling you.
I myself am a Sensei in Kenpo, and Sifu in Yang Style taichi and am a private student with one of the top Wing Chun masters in the U.S. and have been teaching martial arts since the early 90s. Based on what you're looking for, I think you are dead on with wanting either taichi or an Okinawan martial art.
Looks like you are in Boston so try Yangs Martial art in Hyde Park at 617-524-8892 or www.ymaa.com. Looks like he specializes in Yang style but he definitely teaches the combat application of it. Chen style is more aesthetically pleasing with more fajing movements, but I think you would do fine at this place.
I am assuming that you mean Shotokan instead of Shotokai in your post. This also would be perfect for you and what you're looking for. Wide low stances, usually taught in traditional manner and most places include the system of ethics that was espoused by its founder Gichin Funakoshi.
If you can find a good Kenpo school that is NOT American Kenpo you should try it as well. Okinawan Kenpo or Kara Ho Kenpo is preferred. Stay away from b.s. places like United Studios Of Self Defense - you will learn NOTHING there. American Kenpo schools stress tournaments too much and as such, the training better suits tournament "tag" sparring than real life save your A$$ fighting. If you find a school that doesnt stress tournaments you should be good.
Dont do judo, dont do MMA, dont do Ju Jitsu as those are against what it sounds like you are looking for.
Ugh. CD Crashed just after I typed another long post and the post was lost.
Here are a couple more tips:
1. Visit any potential schools and ask to watch the beginners class, and ask to watch the black belt or advanced classes. You want to see how they treat new students and you also want to see what level of skill the advanced practitioners have. If they wont let you watch, politely thank them, then leave and continue your search.
2. Ask if they offer contracts or if they are month to month. Contracts are bad news and its what a lot of schools use if they have big problem with student turnover. Its their way of almost forcing you to keep training. Be especially wary of any school that offers "Black Belt" contracts or something similar.
3. When talking to the head guy at any potential school, ask if he actually teaches the class or if he has other students as staff that teach for him. Find out how long he's been teaching, who taught him, and who taught those who taught his teacher.
4. Ask about lineage. While this may not seem to be a big deal initially, you want to find out if this guy is actually teaching a pure martial art that hasnt been diluted with his "experience". You especially dont want to sign up if they have a mix match of different arts. This is usually a sign that the instructor may not have finished his training in one art and is making up for it by incorporating forms/principals of other arts.
You may also want to look into Indonesian Pentjak Silat or Filipino martial arts like escrima as well.
Two great posts by DaBeez, Ogre, he obviously knows what he's talking about. I have little to add except that I trained in Shotokan Karate for about four years, and it was the best condition I was ever in in my life. The techniques that you learn there, if you have a good teacher, and in fact, the learning of technique, of breaking down complex movements bit by bit will focus your mind and enable you to learn any physical technique after that. I went into full contact kickboxing then and I went to a good gym. Most of the teachers were ex-champs and known around the world, and I was able to hold my own mostly due to the technique I learned from a Japanese master in his 60's.
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