So, over the past few days I’ve been thinking about learning a martial art. Last night, out at the bars, I told a really cute girl that I was planning to begin training soon. We ended up hitting it off, and as I don’t feel like starting something off with one lie already in the books, I might as well get started!
I’m not particulary looking for something that will be incredibly useful for defensive (or offensive, for that matter) purposes. I’m more interested in the discipline and physical control that is developed through the process.
This new desire to learn a martial art stems in part from an event about a month ago. My band was playing and important show in Akron; at the beginning of our last song I succeeded in tripping over a guitar stand and nearly faceplanting in the middle of the stage. Amazingly, I managed to stay on beat and sonically the song still sounded great on the live recording, but the bruises are still healing, and my right wrist still doesn’t feel right. Even something as simple as knowing how to fall down would be a good start.
Little about me: I’m 6’, 135 pounds, and generally a pretty agile and graceful guy. Analyzing the way I generally carry myself, I’ve noticed that I tend towards continuous, elliptical movement; if I can perform 3 tasks (e.g. set down a book, pick up my keys, open a door) in one smooth motion, I will, and plan my movements accordingly. I also have a lot of issues with joint pain (especially in my knees), so low-impact is a good thing.
I think the most important thing is to find an instructor/dojo/fellow students that you are comfortable with. There are a lot of different styles out there. From your brief description, it doesn’t sound like one of the hard styles would be a natural fit for you. Especially with bad knees - you don’t want to be involved in a kick style.
Tai chi is pretty much pure exercise. Akido might be interesting as well. If you wanted to do something more martial, then Kenpo might fit.
Go see a couple of schools and watch some classes in session. You’ll probably know which one feels the best for you. Oh ya, if they won’t let you watch a class, then it’s not a school you want to attend.
I agree with China Guy on all points.
Most important thing is a school/instructor you are comfortable with.
Also, location and times are important. As with most activities, if it is inconvenient, you are less likely to stick with it.
Tai chi and aikido are the 2 I first thought of. Of course, tai chi is a very general term covering a broad family of styles.
I’m not sure what you mean by “elliptical motion,” but hapkido uses a lot of circular motion.
Also, many Filipino Martial Arts (FMA) are taught in a no/low contact manner, and are very graceful. Very good for smooth footwork.
Have fun!
You might want to check out this school in Cuyahoga Falls. They teach Karate, Ju-Jitsu, Judo and Tai-Chi in a circular schedule throughout the year. My friend used to go there and he loved it - although he was a bit of a loose cannon when it came to fighting so he let them beat him up pretty good for manliness’ sake. But I was always impressed with the way the school was run - the types of arts they offered and the way they went about it. No reason why you can’t go talk to them (their site kind of sucks, you won’t get too much info from it) and see if you like it. And they do have a big picture window so you can watch
If you’re interested in ju-jitsu and kenpo and are willing to come up to Macedonia, I am currently going to this school which, if nothing else, is great for the price. I’m using that as a supplement to my other school, which is straight up Tracy’s Kenpo but not very good in practice (meaning: the instructor has sort of lost his luster for running a tight school).
If you want to learn how to fall down both judo and aikido would be excellent since both styles do tons of throwing - you have to learn how to land safely (it’s much easier than you might think).
Based on my (admittedly limited) experience with both and your height & weight you might find aikido easier, at least to begin with. Aikido places a lot of emphasis on throwing by redirecting your opponent’s momentum against them, wrist techniques and so forth. Judo also uses a lot of strategies for breaking your opponents balance but I would say that in many ways it is closer to wrestling, in that being able to put a lot of muscle and mass into play is very useful. I’m not saying that a lightly-built person can’t do amazingly well at judo (at 5’ 10", 200lbs I was thrown all over the place and pinned down for extended periods of time by people literally 50-100lbs lighter than me), just that aikido seems to stress that less.
Both are a lot of fun, great exercise and very handy from a practical self-defense standpoint.
Thanks so much, everyone, especially ZipperJJ - I spent some of the morning researching the styles mentioned, but having recommendations of actual schools is fantastic! The one in the falls is only a 10 minute drive from my house, so I’ll probably drop by there on Monday and talk to them about my goals and how things work there.
Valgard - that was why I posted my height and weight, because I am a very slender person. Thanks for the advice!
There’s many sites on the Internet you can look up on how to choose a good martial arts school, but let me give you a few thoughts to help evaluate them:
Don’t sign up until you’ve at least viewed, or even participated in, one class. If the instructor won’t let you even view the class, forget it; most will let you try out one class for free or a very nominal charge.
When you meet the master instructor, take a moment to think about his claims. If he says he invented a new martial art, it’s probably crap. If he claims extraordinarily high ranks, especially in several disciplines, and he’s not that old, he’s a liar. (Eg, 7th degree in taekwando and also in shotokan at age 35 is impossible – and it’d be weird that someone would study those two arts. 7th dan in hapkido at age 50 – much more realistic.)
You’ll probably enjoy classes more if kids and adults are separated into different classes, not just different sections of the room in one class.
See who actually teaches the class. If the head instructor does, that’s great. If a 1st degree does most of the instructing for beginners classes, eh.
Look at the higher ranking belts and how many of them there are. Folks who stick around and seem like the people you’d like to hang out with is a better fit for you. If you went to a school and you got the impression that only those who are interested in ultimate fighting stay in classes, it sounds like that’s not your style.
Bosda, he’s not looking for strength and stamina. He’s looking for balance and physical control. And how to fall down gracefully. Boxing rules but it’s not really got what the OP is looking for.
If you want to learn how to fall without hurting and something defensive, any one of the ‘grappling’ martial arts would probably be good. Hapkido, Aikido, Judo, and Jujitsu are some examples. Though I don’t practice any of those, what I gather from talking with practitioners is that it focuses on using their opponents energy against them. And falling properly is fairly important since I assume that students practice on each other. I’m sure someone who knows more can offer more information, but those are my recommendations.
I like taekwondo for the underlying philosophy: it is about self-discipline and being quietly confident that you can defend yourself if necessary (not be the one to start a fight).
However, it is the only martial art I know anything about. Others may be equally good.
Since you’re not interested in defense/offense then I would suggest something like Tai-chi. It’s poetry in motion and has a meditative quality. Beyond that I would recommend that you review them all. You could take a single class in all of them to see what floats your boat.
When I was young I took Judo and found it helpful playing soccer. The fluidity of motion I learned was useful in avoiding injuries. I played in an adult league as a teenager and was up against much larger players. When push came to shove I was able to nudge an opposing player away from me.
The only art I practice is Shotokan karate, and although I’m not sure if it would fit you as well as Tai-Chi or Aikido, it might be worth a try. Shotokan is a high-impact (might be bad on your joints) striking style. Striking I say as compared to grappling.
It has a high value on discipline and strictly controlled body motion. Forms, called kata, are very important. There is a heavy element of combat training though, which you may not like.
It does teach one how to fall and roll properly also, so that’s a plus. I guess I cant say anything more, but I would recommend giving it a try.
And as an aside, 6’ and 135 lb? Daaamn man, you need some meat on them bones
Might I suggest Capoeira? It is a fighting martial art based on making it look like a dance so that slaves would be allowed to practice it, but once the going gets tough there are a lot of moves that can be translated into sparing moves. However, this is unnecessary, and the style teaches you a lot of grace and acrobatics. It is done mainly one-on-one in a game against someone else, but there is little to no contact in the game, it’s all about making the moves and seeing which moves your opponent is making. It might be harder for someone of your height, but I imagine it would be doable, if you can find someone who teaches it.
Tang Soo Do, Moo Duk Kwan practitioner here. I agree that any of the hard styles (Tang Soo Do, Tae Kwon Do, Shotokan etc.) are not what you are looking for. Aikido, Judo, Jujitsu, and perhaps the southern chinese kung-fu styles are more what you would be interested in.
I also second what Ravenman said. Check out some styles ahead of time. Beware of anyone who won’t let you watch a regular class and demands that you join first before seeing their, “Secret” techniques. Look at an instructor’s background and take it with a grain of salt. Something else to look at is how advancement in the style works. Does the instructor promise you will make black belt within one year? Beware if they do. Also, what are testing fees? Some clubs promote people who are not deserving, then charge them a huge testing fee, thus diminishing the quality of the training.
Good luck in whatever you decide to go with. You will thoroughly enjoy it when you find the right style and instructor for you.
I’m surprised that we’re this far in and no one has mentioned Kung-fu. It’s not a style you find everywhere, but at the studio where I trained, it was one of those offered, and I found it to my liking. One thing I found particularly interesting compared to other styles I had studied (Kenpo, Tai-Chi) was the emphasis on double-strikes, and knowing how to focus your attention in more than one place.
We learned falling as well as striking, but because many of the motions were circular and not intended to surrender energy to your opponent, I think it would be easy on your joints.
Last night I checked out ZMA in the falls, and loved it - there was a real excitement that just radiates from everyone who was training there, and Shihan Zahand talked with me & my friend (who has studied martial arts in the past, I figured she’d be a good resource to have along) for about half an hour while we were observing the adult class through the big picture window. I discussed my joint issues and some of my other problems (such as anhydrosis - I don’t sweat) and he said that he would be mindful of that if I studied under him. He also pointed out one of the other students, a brown belt, who has a lot of joint issues and was training somewhat differently from the rest of the students.
I visited one school a week ago, that I felt really uncomfortable with. There was just a general sense of negativity to the whole place, and I didn’t feel at ease speaking with the Soke. I’m going to be visiting two other schools, one tomorrow, one sunday (both of which teach Aikido, so I’ll be able to get a look at that) but at this point I expect I will begin at ZMA on Monday…
In fact, my friend who had previously studied liked ZMA enough that she will likely be training with me! It’s only a 10 minute drive from each of our places, so that will be convenient.
