Returning to the art

Hivemind187

Hi,

I have been out of the scene now for about 10 years but I am desperate to go back.

I previously studied TKD, Wado-Ryu and a selection of weapons styles with a religious fervor. An unfortunate birth defect in the shape of my nakles put the kibosh on the whole thing.

You can probably guess that I have a bunch of questions about how things have changed over the last decade but I'll cut to the chase.

Can anyone offer some advice to someone looking to get back into martial arts?

Specifically I am looking for something that doesnt focus to heavily on floor work and stiff stances like traditional ITF style TKD. I want something with a lot of close quarters work, locks & holds, hard strikes and some pressure point/low level nerve destruction thrown in for good measure. Weapons styles would be good too.

I was thinking of Silat or Krav Maga but I dont know enough about them and their emphasis. Aikido is another option and has most of the emphasis I am looking for but I worry that it will be stance oriented which will mess up my ankles again like Karate did.

Any advice folks?

dlofnep

Would you be interested in Judo? It's not stiff, has alot of locks, throws and holds.. very functional too. Will require that you spar in class, but only to really test what yourself so you can get a true assessment of what you learn.

judo: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YBZEuJAG3AQ

pardon the angry music, it's quite a relaxed art in most part

MaeveD

Hivemind187 wrote:

Aikido is another option and has most of the emphasis I am looking for but I worry that it will be stance oriented which will mess up my ankles again like Karate did. Any advice folks?

Hi Hivemind187.....Where are you based? The emphasis on stance in Aikido all depends on who you train with...

Nothingcompares

where you based? give judo or bjj a go (more so bjj) cos it has ground work which wouldn't require too much agility on your feet.

arybvtcw0eolkf

I'd suggest Judo or BJJ (Brazillian Jiu Jitsu) also.

But I think a good coach in any style should be able to accomodate you and make allowances for your ankle.

Roper

Yo!

As pointed out, your best bet is to go to a club near you and see how you fit in, both in the atmosphere and in the training with your ankle. I don't know much about how your ankle will hold up doing anything but BJJ would seem to be ideal given that you'll spend very little time on your feet.

So post up where you're living and maybe some of the guys can point you to a local club.

Hivemind187

Hey guys,

Yeah, it probably wouold have helped if I said where I was lol. I'm out in greystones so I'm looking for something along the Dart line, 84 bus corridoor and the Bray/Greystones area.

MaeveD

Ahhhh best Aikido is northside (of course)