Martials Arts, where to start?

G-Money

Currently I don't participate in any kind of martial arts. I used to do Karate when I was in my teens, but I didn't stick at it past the yellow or orange belt. And since then, I've not went near it.

I considered learning Kung Fu a number of years ago. I can't remember which style it was.

I have to admit, I don't know much about martials arts. I know it looks good on TV and the idea of being able to defend oneself is always appealing.

I guess I have a few questions though. With regards the sparring, is it full contact? By full contact I mean really having a punch or kick or whatever? Or is it like the sparring I did at karate where you are only supposed to lightly touch the person? I have to admit the thought of it being full contact sort of put me off doing it again.

Also, I'm currently trying to get thin but unfortunately until that happens, I'm still overweight. I'm a 32 year old male, 5ft 10 and I weight a tiny bit under 18 stone. A healthy weight for me would be between 11 and 12 stone.

Would there be a good martial art for me to pick up now? Or should I hold off until I get my weight down a bit further?

I always thought the best sort of martial arts/self defence to learn would be something that would help you in a real world scenario. I mean if you are out on a night out, if someone is going to attack you, they're not going to do a karate stance and go to do a roundhouse kick. It's more than likely to be some drunken yob doing goodness knows what.

So I suppose I was just thinking about different techniques I could learn? It's not something I've decided to definitely do, but I'm looking at clubs and stuff that I could get involved in and things to take up.

Sorry if this is a bit vague.

Furious-Dave

Sparring depends on which style you pick. But don't let the thought of a bit of contact put you off. I trained in Kenpo for years, which has the light point sparring. I knew it was useless but it was only when I started Knock Down Karate that I really appreciated just how useless.
Any combat sport - Boxing, Kickboxing, Knock Down Karate, Muay Thai, Judo, Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, MMA etc - are great for fitness. The striking styles do have "full contact" sparring, but people will take it easy on beginners, and even then when you get experience it's not just kicking lumps out of eachother.
For self defense though you should be looking at Urban Combatives, Krav Maga etc. These are developed specifically for self protection, and even if you decide to go for a combat sport you should suppliment the training with one of these systems.

Also don't misunderestimate the Karate stance and a good solid roundhouse kick. Always remember, if they work for Chuck Norris, they will work for you (just not as well as they work for Chuck Norris).

--amadeus--

I'm really inexperienced at MA but until the experts get here...

It sounds like you are still trying to get your head around what it is that you actually want. I would suggest that getting that squared away is step one. Do you want a system that will help you out against a drunk in the street? Do you want a system that will "look cool" with impressive stylised moves (no harm or shame in that)? Or do you want to mainly get fitter and lose weight? And how bothered are you by full contact sparring?

Once you sort out in your own mind your priorities then people on here will be better able to advise. From my limited experience the more realistic and effective the art in self defence the more intensive and full on the sparring will be and the less showy and impressive looking the techniques are. So work out whats important and go from there, really.

And call down to a few classes in your area - no point in identifying the perfect style if the only classes are a 2 hour drive away. Call in and watch a class, chat to the students and instructors and get a feel for the vibe. Often what you see in teh blurb or read online and what you get in the class are very different and if you haven't trained for years then there is no harm in going in and seeing what has changed and if teh reality is the same as your idea.

Zen65

grandmaster wrote: »

Would there be a good martial art for me to pick up now? Or should I hold off until I get my weight down a bit further?

Grandmaster,

It is most likely that you would find it easier to manage your weight if you had already started training. Apart from the benefit of the exercise, doing a MA gives you the motivation to control your calorie intake.

Since you identify your weight as an issue, I would suggest your first approach should be to find a club which is near you, has training times that suit you, and which is run well so that you enjoy going to classes. This is much more important for you than choosing a "realistic" MA. Any MA training should improve your ability to defend yourself, and especially so if the training helps you manage your weight and fitness. Worry about the fine details later.

grandmaster wrote: »

I used to do Karate when I was in my teens, but I didn't stick at it past the yellow or orange belt. And since then, I've not went near it.

If you only went as far as a low karate grade as a teenager, then you should not let this shape your view too much. Karate, like any of the striking arts, is a good system for self defence but only if you stick at it long enough to learn more than the very basic exercises. Wrestling arts can also be useful in self-defence, but it can be more difficult to use this style of MA against multiple attackers. You can do "pure" self-defence classes, but these tend to run for only a limited period of weeks, and quickly become repetitive, which will cause you to lose interest.

So I'm back to my original suggestion..... pick a good club which suits your lifestyle, and start training ASAP to help you better manage your weight. Focus on enjoying the classes, and be patient about developing your self-defence skills. This will come in time.

Have fun!

G-Money

Thanks for the replies.

Yeah the full contact thing does bother me a bit. I'm not exactly sure why, maybe I'm a bit of a sissy

Although I've often thought I could do with a bit of toughening up so who knows.

Anyway I'm sort of just looking at different activities I could pick up (not just MA) and it was one that popped into my head.

Scramble

Grandmaster-

It's probably a good idea to try and get down to as many clubs / schools / classes as you can manage and either watch or try out. You've got a better chance of assessing whether you'd be interested in participating that way, and getting a sense of what the coaching and atmosphere are like, and so on.

Best of luck!

Lab_Mouse

Grand master like yourself I was a good bit oer weight when i took up muay thai(and Im nearer to 40:o).

Its great for fitness and the weight will literally fall off you.I found the first month really tough fitness wise but you do notice the difference even 2 weeks make.

Its full contact and it is a ring sport.When your sparring,your sparring partner(and yerself of course)hit just hard and fast enough that the punch lands and that you basically learn not to fold over on a tap to your stomach-basically get used to getting punched in the head and to the body(and dont forget the kicks..the knees and elbows come later:D).Coming up to a fight(whether its amateur or full thai rules)you tend to spar a bit harder.

The gloves you use are 16oz(imagine 3 toilet rolls stuck your fist)so the punchs dont hurt all that much:D.Basically dont worry about the full contact.

Having said that like some poster above said try as many of the arts as you can before deciding on what you want to try..use youtube to narrow down what you want try and good luck.Which ever one you choose enjoy it