Martial Arts Recommendations

bcorden

Hi,

I did Tae Kwon Do on and off for quite a few years but I've not done any real training for maybe the last ten years and I'm keen to go back into some form of MA.

However I'm trying to find something that will help from a defense perspective as opposed to a keep fit perspective. Several MA styles are focused on training for competitions and therefore they spend quite a bit of time working on your stamina as opposed to techniques. I'm just not as fit as I once was and I find this level of training is just too much. :eek:

So any suggestions on a style that might be worth looking at?

I'm based in Carlow which might limit my options, however we have a Wing Chun school nearby?

pablohoney87

Martial arts geared towards competing are the only ones that will help you defend yourself

ikku

you should go and have a look at the wing chung ,class the instructor is also a karate instructor who also did lots of full contact kick boxing , certainly worth looking at.

kirky1404

Hi. try Aikido, as a defensive martial art it is quite effective. Aikido is a non agressive /attacking martial art. The idea is to use the attackers momentum against them to neutralize the situation using defensive blocks, footwork & joint locks. Worth considering i think.

HammerHeadGym

kirky1404 wrote: »

...as a defensive martial art it is quite effective...

citation needed.

kirky1404

http://www.aikidofaq.com/introduction.html

bcorden

I like the look of Aikido, but it's seems the nearest club is quite a distance away from Carlow. Read somebody was thinking of setting up a club in Carlow so you never know.

Mellor

kirky1404 wrote: »

http://www.aikidofaq.com/introduction.html

Any chance of the author being biased.

bcorden

I'd suspect most people become biased about whatever martial art they happen to take part in!

pablohoney87

bcorden wrote: »

I'd suspect most people become biased about whatever martial art they happen to take part in!

yeah but some martial arts are actually put to the test.

Others are tested by doin a bunch of flashy moves against a compliant partner

bcorden

I think with any of the martial arts styles as you advance and improve you have an advantage of the average guy on the street. However I'd agree that some styles appear to be more realistic in terms of self defense, say KB, or MA.

Always wondered with some of the take down styles such as BJJ what do you do if your faced with a group? Once you go down on the ground your very open to attack.

However saw this video on Aikido http://youtu.be/kvTxSZ9Y7D4

Anyway I get the impression that your saying Aikido is not useful in a real fight situation?

What about other styles that practice moves on a compliant partner? Say krav maga

pablohoney87

bcorden wrote: »

What about other styles that practice moves on a compliant partner? Say krav maga

Try 90% of Martial arts. Practicing against a somewhat compliant partner is step one. Unfortunately 90% of martial arts stop there.

Krav Maga is most certainly guilty of this.

Thanks for that video though. Gave me a good laugh

bcorden

So which ones do you think are realistic?

Mellor

bcorden wrote: »

I'd suspect most people become biased about whatever martial art they happen to take part in!

There's nothing wrong with promoting your chosen martial art, that's not the bias I was referring to.
Somebody asked for proof of his claims about aikido, he linked to a website called akidofaq.com. That's not proof of anything imo.

The only proof that a technique or martial art works is to test it against a fully resisting opponent. Even better if it is a competition setting.

Dyr

Mellor wrote: »

The only proof that a technique or martial art works is to test it against a fully resisting opponent. Even better if it is a competition setting.

Does actually using it in the really real world count too or did you just overlook that?

bcorden

I always felt with any style of MA that it took several years of practice before you could realistically stand a chance of putting what you’ve learned into practice in the real world an even then it would depend on the circumstances you came up against.

I did TKD for quite a few years and I fought chaps who did KB and TMA and the fights seemed fairly balanced. I.e. no one seemed to have a huge advantage over the other style.

However we did very little focus in TKD on breaking out of holds, such as headlocks etc. Now unfortunately age is becoming a factor so Aikido looked like it could be a good balance. However I've never seen it in action so it's hard to comment.

pablohoney87

bcorden wrote: »

Now unfortunately age is becoming a factor

BJJ is probably perfect then. Low Impact, High intensity

Mellor

Bambi wrote: »

Does actually using it in the really real world count too or did you just overlook that?

I'm not sure what you are asking tbh.
Surely a fully resisting opponent also includes the real world?

kirky1404

It is difficult to prove how effective a martial art is just by reading about it. There is only one way to really know if it is for you and that of course is to practice it for 4 - 6 weeks.

I provided a link to where info could be found on Aikido, there are several thousand such links, hundreds of You Tube Vids etc. I picked the one that in my opinion provides the info required.

Choosing a martial art is up to the individual, what they want to get from it, fitness, self defense etc. also what is available that is convenient , location, training times etc.

Each to their own I suppose

Clive

bcorden wrote: »

Always wondered with some of the take down styles such as BJJ what do you do if your faced with a group? Once you go down on the ground your very open to attack.

BJJ (as the example I'm most familiar with) for self defence is a very small subset of the whole art. The strategy against a group is simple - don't go to the ground, and use your stand up grappling skills and common sense striking to look for a chance to run. If you do end up on the ground- reverse the position, regain your feet and as above.

For a control and restraint situation or a match situation the strategy reverses.