“No martial art is going to really teach self defense. Sure, knowing how to get out of a hold and throw a punch may help, but if anyone claims they’re selling self defense, they’re pretty much wrong. It’s a sport, a hobby, exercise. Something that’s fun should be your number one priority.”
I have to disagree with this. That is EXACTLY what some systems teach. They are not sports, hobbies or excercise regimins. They are structured systems by which students are taught to engage in close quarters combat, with or without weapons. Many students and instructors of martial arts refer to these as “real martial arts”.
This may be a quibble, however. When most people hear the phrase “martial arts”, they may think of kickboxing, Judo or other practices. These are sports. Also, though Tae Kwon Do and Karate are usually martial arts in a general sense. What people are actually taught in the context of most dojos is closer to a sport.
The most important element of selecting a school is to be aware of your goals. If your goal is to become more fit, with an emphasis on cardio-vascular conditioning, boxing (or kickboxing) is almost impossible to beat. If you want to relax a little on that front, but achieve better flexibility and overall physical conditioning, Eastern striking styles work well, while typically not exposing you to the punishment of full-contact*. If you want to learn some basic self-defense, pretty much any martial art or combat sport will put you in a better spot than that of an untrained individual (though I lean toward grappling systems. Most actual fights end up on the ground. Better to know how to avoid that or deal with it when it happens). If you want to turn your body into a weapon, “pure” martial arts like Sambo and Krav Maga were developed in the modern era to do precisely that. While Brazilian Ju Jitsu is technically a sport, it is brutally effective, losing nothing in the fighting pit by neglecting groinstrikes, eye gouging ect., and really not losing that much in real hand-to-hand combat.
So, the answer is do you want to get in shape (cardio-heavy training), learn to “really fight”(combat system) or take up a hobby (in which case do whatever looks fun).
Much good advice in this thread. Definately look for an instructor who is polite, professional, open and sober-minded about their business and art. I’ve known many great instructors who are good people, respectable businessmen and accomplished athletes, but the nature of the subject tends to attract more woo than its fair share.
*Boxing is actually more like “full-contact plus”. Getting hit with an object heavier than a fist, like a fist in a boxing glove, imparts more concussive force than getting pounded, bare-knuckled. It won’t do as much superficial damage, because of the padding, but its especially hard on the contents of the noggin.
