Which martial art???

[chloe]

hey there folks, im getting interested in taking up a martial art, but dont know which one to choose, im interested in kicky punchy stuff(years of -Tai Bo- at the gym got me going...)but actually not necessarily fighting other people, more the discipline work out of it (does that sound crazy?)
any suggestions???

[GenTDuke]

If your not interested in fighting anyone semi-contact is for you, just dont expect to be able to apply most of it in real life circumstances.

You have a few options:

Karate (not shotkhan though lol)
Tai Kwon Do
Savate
Capoeira (not realy an ma)

There are probably loads of other semi contact styles but that style of training hold little interest to me anymore.

Tai Kwon Do is a lot of fun and mostly kicking and Karate is more rounded except in the dynamics department.

Check out your local clubs, I always say choose your sensei not your style, as you will no doubt find out: there are a lot of shit "teacher" out there.

[FormicaLinoleum]

Tom, I'm curious--what is it about Shotokan that you hate? I met a Wing Chun instructor here who also really disliked Shotokan, and I was wondering what it is about it that folks don't like. I studied it in college... I ended up much preferring Northern Shaolin Kung Fu (like Chloe I enjoy martial arts for the discpline and beauty of it and don't care about practical applications), but I can't say my experience with Shotokan was in any way negative.

[GenTDuke]

Tom, I'm curious--what is it about Shotokan that you hate? I met a Wing Chun instructor here who also really disliked Shotokan, and I was wondering what it is about it that folks don't like. I studied it in college... I ended up much preferring Northern Shaolin Kung Fu (like Chloe I enjoy martial arts for the discpline and beauty of it and don't care about practical applications), but I can't say my experience with Shotokan was in any way negative.

Its just the worst style of karate, its the "origional" style which is suppoes to be based on all line work and kata, but they stole from other styles and still claim to be shotokahn, which is irritating.

The main issues I have with shotokahn are the ridiculusly long and very very low stances. Also I have seen fronts kick being exexcuted and taught by back belt from a one leg squat! what the hell is that. Thats about it really, but like I have said its my pet hate, there are probably like 1 or 2 good clubs somewere lol. But seriously shotkahn can be good, it depends on the sensei.

[GenTDuke]

Also I forgot to metion wado people and shotkahn people traditionly dont get along so maybe dont pay to much attention to my opinions.

They are a hard style which focuses on power, my style is soft and focuses on speed and evasion(jitsu principles)

[Cuguacuarana]

Muay Thai is really awesome. Its just a bare bones, really effective standup art. But as tom said, pick your sensei not your style. If you have a good teacher, it really doesn't matter what style you study.

[Daniel]

I agree, Thai Boxing is great stuff. I'm not into kicking and punching arts, but I did like Muay Thai more than any other I tried.

Chloe, if you liked Tai Bo maybe you should try Kickboxing. A lot of people do it for the workout, and because they joy of training. Check out some kickboxing dojos and talk to the sensei; some are set-up for fighters, and others are focused on the workout.

[thom]

I do thai-boxing.
At our club it's mostly about getting into good shape and the people are really nice and not into kicking your butt. It's a sport and should in the first place be fun to do. I did also tae kwon do. My experience isn't at all that it is a semi contact sport. Rather full contact. The only difference is that you wear a lot of protection so maby that rules it out as full contact...it still got pretty rough sometimes.

[chloe]

hey thanks for the replies,.
I think im going to check out tai kwon do (oops spelling..)
because theres a school right around the corner.bit worried about the full contact thing though, but i'll see , and how do you know a good teacher before you start?
Capoira would also be very cool, thats beautiful but i cant find a school at all in this city.
Theres a free trial at the Karate place aswell, so im off to do the rounds,. My boyfriend is worried,he thinks im going to come home and make him spar with me!!

[GenTDuke]

how do you know a good teacher before you start?

Thats a hard one to answer, from my experience humble teachers usual turn out to be best.

You may have to do a few lessons to find out wether a teacher is crap or not, alot of student get brainwashed becasue they beleive all the crap that comes out of there teachers mouth, dont beleive everything your told; critical thought is the sign of a good ma, just dont back talk or get smart with your sensei.

[Scott]

I do Shorinji Kempo. Not related to any other Kempo forms as far as I know, but it's my favourite.

Why choose this one?

I looked at many martial arts before and took [a form of] Karate before, but found it quite impractical; more of a discipline than something I could really use to defend myself. I needed something that really made sense to me.

I found the basics of Shorinji to be very practical and based upon commonsense. Having a very athletic background I found that it utilized all of the principles which I innately learned over the years doing all kinds of different sports. I see it as really no different than something such as tennis, in that that same principles of physics, kinetics, leverage, etc. are the same.

The more advanced techniques are very interesting and challenging and neither size nor strength matters in their execution, but speed, skill, and accuracy are needed. This is what first drew me to Shorinji, as I was amazed at how using such little strength, only leverage, I was able to easily take down a much larger and stronger person.

The philosophy, having roots in Buddhism, focuses on teaching love, respect, humanity, peace, and decorum. The teachers are all volunteers and it is a non-profit society. Therefore, fees are low, there are minimal belt colours (3), and students can be on the board and be involved in the decision making and financial management etc.

One aspect of Shorinji Kempo that is different from any other martial art [that I know of] is that it is a world organization. This means that the teachings are all centralized at the office and teaching headquarters in Japan which allows a standard to be maintained worldwide. It also means that your level of education and belt ranking will be undisputedly recognised everywhere. Headquarters also functions as a Shorinji Kempo school where one may enrol for more intensive training learning straight from the top ranking teachers.

It’s not a famous martial art, but I believe it’s now in 32 countries; widespread in Japan, it is taught at most high schools and universities; there are at least a couple thousand dojos in Japan as a result.

Anyway, I wrote a few tidbits about it here:
http://www.bestbread.ca/shorinji

[mango]

I'd say there are a few factors. Like several people have said, the teacher is the main one. But even that depends on what you're after. Do you want to learn self-defence or a sport? Most people can give you a fun workout. But martial arts can be so much more than that. Learning a self-defence art, the foundation is training the mind. It's about your whole relationship with your body and the world.

It also depends on how much you want to put into it. Do you intend to practise at home? For how long each day? Is it just a hobby activity or a main focus of your life? Your choice of class will depend on this as well.

The thing about hard / soft techniques also depends on what level you want to get to. I can't see there's much point in learning to block and counter punches unless you are going to train really intensively for several years, simply because you won't be fast enough. Ever seen a real fight? It's over before you know it. Bang! Oh, someone hit me. I think learning escape techniques is better for beginners (like myself) because you can actually use them. Also, at a more subtle level, real martial arts training makes you much less likely to get into a fight in the first place.

I'm lucky to have found a class that combines strenuous mental discipline with practical techniques, and a sympathetic and dedicated teacher. But to get there, I've been through a lot of unsatisfying experiences with various teachers who either didn't care about their students or didn't teach the fundamental things.

[infenix]

So Chloe, did you try anything?

My boyfriend is worried,he thinks im going to come home and make him spar with me!!

My gf made my day recently when she said she's going to find a Taekwondo school. Sparring with her at the moment just sends me to sleep .

Rgds,
David

[chloe]

hey, this is a bit old, but ive just got back onto it.
Ive got a trial taekwon do coming up, but also finally found capoeira in this city, now my concern is my not so perfect german language skills, and wether that will be a problem in the classes,thats one of my first questions for when i go for my trials.!

[unbroken]

I do Shorinji Kempo. Not related to any other Kempo forms as far as I know, but it's my favourite.

Why choose this one?

I looked at many martial arts before and took [a form of] Karate before, but found it quite impractical; more of a discipline than something I could really use to defend myself. I needed something that really made sense to me.

I found the basics of Shorinji to be very practical and based upon commonsense. Having a very athletic background I found that it utilized all of the principles which I innately learned over the years doing all kinds of different sports. I see it as really no different than something such as tennis, in that that same principles of physics, kinetics, leverage, etc. are the same.

The more advanced techniques are very interesting and challenging and neither size nor strength matters in their execution, but speed, skill, and accuracy are needed. This is what first drew me to Shorinji, as I was amazed at how using such little strength, only leverage, I was able to easily take down a much larger and stronger person.

The philosophy, having roots in Buddhism, focuses on teaching love, respect, humanity, peace, and decorum. The teachers are all volunteers and it is a non-profit society. Therefore, fees are low, there are minimal belt colours (3), and students can be on the board and be involved in the decision making and financial management etc.

One aspect of Shorinji Kempo that is different from any other martial art [that I know of] is that it is a world organization. This means that the teachings are all centralized at the office and teaching headquarters in Japan which allows a standard to be maintained worldwide. It also means that your level of education and belt ranking will be undisputedly recognised everywhere. Headquarters also functions as a Shorinji Kempo school where one may enrol for more intensive training learning straight from the top ranking teachers.

It’s not a famous martial art, but I believe it’s now in 32 countries; widespread in Japan, it is taught at most high schools and universities; there are at least a couple thousand dojos in Japan as a result.

Anyway, I wrote a few tidbits about it here:
http://www.bestbread.ca/shorinji

I know the thread is quite old, sorry for raising the dead. I just wanted to ask if there is some sort of randori or sparing in shorinji kempo and if there is any groundwork at all. I couldn`t figure it out. It sounds really nice the way you describe it. apart from that: hows tkd in dresden going ? if there are still problems with questions in german I am happy to help as a native speaker.