Which martial art?

C

cian

0
I'm off to University next year and the place where I'm applying has the following clubs: Judo,Karate,Taek Wan Doe,Aikido and Kung Fu.
Which would you reccomend as I know very little about martial arts, but I think it would be a great way to burn all the excess energy I have. What does each of those arts entail. Ideally the art would be a good self defense art: not taking on loads of enemies etc but enough to defend myself and others in case I'm unable to run.
Thanks
Cian
 
I have not studied any, but if I were going to based on those choices, I would choose kung fu. So many of the tkd and karate in my area are geared towards kids that the adults get watered down training. Aikido, in my understanding, is one you need to fully devote yourself too.
 
Pay little attention to the art and more towards the school.

Visit the schools and pick one that fits you. Most quality schools will allow you to try a lesson or two for free.
 
I agree, the teacher is more important than the art. Look for a teacher who has your best interest in mind and knows how to teach. Also look for a school that is geared towards self defense and not tournament or sport martial arts. Trophys are neat shelf fillers and bragging pieces for a school/club, but the techniques that allow you to win tounament matches are usually not the techiniques that will protect you on the street.
 
Good advise from the others.
Also,

If there is nothing stopping you then go to all the clubs and see which is best.
Go with the club which has begginers of your age. In my experiance, these are the people you will be training with for a long time, so try find like minded and friendly people.
 
What are the fundementals of each one? Is it something like:
Karate-strike
Judo-throws
Kung-Fu-Strikes and throws
I'm probably wrong so correct me if I'm wrong
 
basically that is correct, but a lot of karate schools incorporate a little bit of aikido (at least around here) in the self defense part of the art.

You got the jist of it though.
 
Judo is mainly throws and take downs.
but there are far to many types of karate and kung fu to say.

My karate is actually white crain kung fu. It was named as a karate when it came to Okinawa because the japanese hated the chinese. But infact its the same art, even the syslabus is the same.

Both karate and kung fu have the same strikes, throws and take downs but they are done in different ways.

If you find out what styles of karate and kung fu they are I can tell you a bit more about them.
 
Honestly have no clue mate.I'm a quick,skinny ****er so what would you say is better for my body type, or which is better for self defense?
 
Mate, seriously. Just go to all the classes. The one thats best for self deffence will be the class you enjoy the most with the best teacher.

Ive been to 100's of schools, Ive seen some great schools and some crap schools. In the 1st couple of years your gonna be learning basics anyway.

Karate, Kung fu, it makes no difference. They are just different ways of getting to the same place. One is not better than the other. Ive been doing both for years. the only reason I do both is bacause in one class the teacher is much more knowledgable and in the other class I like the students and the format of the lessons.
 
Not that it really means anything, but I always enjoyed my Aikido classes. It was not something I really had to devote my life to and I learned techniques that were easily integrated into nearly any other martial art.

But yeah, shop around.
 
i have a question but i didnt want to start a new thread..but im almost 18 would you consider that too late to start martial arts..im really interested in it only problem is i dont know if theres any places around here besides grappling type martial arts..i want to learn a more striking based martial arts...not too many places like that around here..i live in south east U.S not too big on martial arts mostly nascar lol
 
Well maybe you could try the grappling.
If thats what ppl do down there, then thats what you'll be dealing with if you get in a fight, so its best to know the style.

You would have to look up all the classes that you can travel to and just go to every class.
If you can afford it, then get personal lessons to learn the basics.
 
how much on average should i expect to pay for a lesson? and private lessons? i cant really see myself getting into a fight down here im interested in it because ive wanted to learn about it since i was little, but it was never available where i lived and i was worried that 18 was too old to start getting into it
 
If you're interested in self defense and health, the closest to it in your list would be Judo.

Look for a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu school near you!
 
Be careful not to get involved with a “Belt Mill”, if that is what one would call it. My son’s school passes out belts like a schoolteacher passes out cookies.

My son has been taking TKD for several months. I have come to find out that they are turning out Black Belts at a very rapid rate. None of the Black Belts from this school could fight their way out of a wet paper bag.

I watched the belt tests one night. I was shocked. They have everything under a Black Belt out on the floor taking tests at the same time. It is a joke.

I have a deep concern that these people, including my son, are getting a false sense of toughness. I am about to pull my son out and get him interested in another sport. I don’t want him thinking that a having a Black Belt means being able to defend himself if this is all that this school is going to turn out.
 
What about other schools or styles? I think its really hard to find legit schools, especially in the karate/tae kwon do market.
 
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