Choosing a Martial Art/ Combat Sport

[dope540]

To save the same questions being asked, I've decided to create a thread to help people decide which martial art is best for them.

Contributions and advice will be added in from Coma, Comanight2, k.jacko, Cosmicfish and other fellow martial artists from the forum.

1. Decide what you would like to do.
There's a wide range of martial arts and other combat style sports to choose from. From traditional to modern, unarmed to weapons, performance to realistic. Have a good think of what you actually want to do. Do you want to compete in competitions? a new hobby? just to keep fit and add a bit of variety? etc.

Pick something that you are comfortable with. There's always going to be hating going on. A common subject is between traditional arts vs mma.

2. Check out what's available near you. Martial arts magazines, posters, flyers, Google, etc, all have listings of clubs in the area. Magazines have loads of adverts of clubs and associations, so give them a call or check out their website and see if they have a club near you. There's no point in wanting to do *insert style* and finding out the nearest club is 2 hour trek away. Another way is to go from recommendations. If someone you know is getting results and enjoying their training, then check out that club.

3. Cost.
Costs vary wildly between different groups. Those part of a big association will usually have set prices for lessons, or a block of lessons. Although there may still be some variations between the instructors of that same associations due to different factors- rent, special offers, location, etc.

Prices can be 3-5 quid per lesson, moreso in certain areas.

Also remember to budget in travel costs.

Ask the students in the class or look online at equipment prices that you may need to buy, mainly going to be uniform and protection gear. For weapon arts, a training weapon.

4. Head out and visit clubs and speak to the instructors and students. Most clubs usually offer a free trial lesson to see if you enjoy it. Personally, I would go for a few lessons as each lesson varies. Enjoyment and comfort is the main thing. You're paying for a service, you should be getting what you want.

5. The legal stuff.
Check the instructor is fully qualifed and CRB checked. Any honest instructor would be more than willing to show you the papers when asked. Also ask about insurance. Make sure that you are covered in case anything happens.

[Ben]

I would also add under cost about contracts and to be wary of clubs wanting you to sign up for 12 months or pay in advance.

[aBhorsen]

Don't rule out Traditional Boxing , i'd agree with Dope though, find what good clubs are near you first. A good club will keep you motivated and aid you in achieving your goals no matter what they are.

[comanight2]

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I would also add under cost about contracts and to be wary of clubs wanting you to sign up for 12 months or pay in advance.

big big point here. These places fit into the same bag as "health clubs", homeopathic medicine and any exercise that requires you to electrocute yourself.

also choose something with a representative federation or organisation. Homebrew arts are non-transferable....

[FISHSTONE]

hi i need help in choosing a m a that suits my personality, im laid back and mild mannered and im not aggressive in the slightest. im 17st and surprisingly fast on my feet.

so if someone could suggest a m a for me i would be great full.

[Ben]

The type of person you are has less to do with what MA to choose than what you're hoping to gain from it. Are you looking to seriously learn how to fight? Then I would suggest a no-nonsense MA that focuses on just this I.E. Boxing, Kickboxing, Muay Thai, MMA etc. Do you want something steeped in tradition? Something Kung Fu may be good.

It really depends what you want to gain from training in Martial Arts.

[BRUN]

im very laid back/shy, but i do thai boxing (muay thai)

dont let your personality limit you, a good gym/instructor will be very inviting

[bushido]

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a no-nonsense MA that focuses on just this I.E. Boxing, Kickboxing, Muay Thai, MMA etc. Do you want something steeped in tradition? Something Kung Fu may be good.

I see the point you’re getting at but there are martial arts out there that are traditional and still focus on combat/self defence (no-nonsense). In-fact Muay Thai is very traditional, Okinawan karate is traditional but very effective, it's just sad that nowadays all 'karate' gets classed as one modern type style that is largely ineffective for combat as many m.a’s do now. Yes there are many of these types of so called ‘traditional’ clubs out there but with a bit of research you can find a real traditional martial art that is very effective for self defence, sometimes more so, as that is its sole purpose rather than a sport in which attacks to vulnerable areas are banned etc.

Also bear in mind a lot of the time it is the individual/instructor that makes the martial art effective and most suited, you could go to one bjj club and have a great instructor yet you go to another and the instructor is a pleb, however this doesn't mean bjj is no good. Also you will enjoy and benefit from different types of training and have different goals to other people so it’s hard for us to give any advice without knowing more about you and what you want from training in martial arts as many have already said.

It may then be helpful if a user is posting for advice on which martial art people think is most suited for them as mentioned in the earlier dope post, for the user to explain more about their goals, some useful points may be:


1) Have you any previous experience of m.a’s, if so what was it and what did you think of it?

2) A little about what you think you may want from m.a training

3) What you wouldn’t want from m.a training

4) Would you like to compete in a competitive sporting environment in m.a?
- If yes do you think you would prefer full contact fighting competition or point scoring speed/technical/artistic competition?

5) Do you think you would prefer a; mainly striking m.a a mainly grappling m.a a grappling and striking m.a or a weapon/s only/based m.a? note grappling only would include joint manipulation and throwing/submission m.a’s

6) Is there a type of martial art you have seen/heard about that you think you may be interest in? A martial arts encyclopedia may be useful for you to look at, I have a list of most of the ‘main’ martial arts here:http://budoonline.co.uk/forum/viewto...2&p=1391#p1391 all with a brief description on what that m.a is and video showing that particular m.a the list doesn’t have every single m.a but there is quite a few all with vids, from escrima to ninjutsu or mma to tai chi.

I believe if you give some of the above information people may be able to advise more on various suitable m.a's All you will have to do then is choose what style of that particular martial art suits you and which club/instructor, easier said then done but at least you’ll have a rough idea what you’re looking for and using the advice from original post you should be able to find yourself a decent m.a and club/instructor

[FISHSTONE]

I recently got a book on wing chun kung fu as i read that it is a practical form of m. a. but after reading it i felt that there was to much to learn in order for it to benefit me or for me to remember in a real fight situation. They were to many blocks/techniques to remember when really I felt only a few are needed or practical. So I think I'll stick to the wing chun wooden dummy to practice simple blocks and counter attacks and incorperate thai boxing into it. What are peoples thoughts on this?

[Asauka]

Fishstone no martial art will give you immediate benefits, it will take years until it is very natural and subconscious. Most techniques you learn are all about the theory towards a style rather then actual useful technique, doesn't mean you would need to learn and remember all the techniques. For example if a guy came at me with a knife, I wouldn't use any real technique I learnt in the dojo but I would like to believe I could keep a correct distance and would just use the basics in evasion and knock him clean off his feet (or just run!).