Blue_Phoenix
White Belt
Hi all, my wife and I are looking to start martial arts training. I've had a short period of training several years ago with Shaolin kung fu (had to stop because of cost), so I know that would work for us, but I'd like to know what other martial arts might suit us.
What we want:
What we want:
- Group physical fitness. We are middle-aged and very out-of-shape. We both enjoy group exercise. I have a history of chronic fatigue syndrome (not severe, thankfully), and my wife is very overweight -- neither of us is a high-energy being, so we want to get in shape in a way that will not push us beyond what we can sustainably tolerate.
- Some degree of self-defense competency that covers a variety of combat modes. Neither of us expects to be the neighborhood bad-*ss, but we'd like to be able to stand up for ourselves if needed. I'm a scrawny guy, so I'd prefer to end a fight before it goes to the ground, but I'd like to be able to fight on the ground if needed. The opportunity for weapons training at some point would also be nice, but not essential.
- Personal development. We want a practice that will help us get more grounded in our physical bodies (not our screens!), and help us develop a good balance of strength, speed, flexibility, balance, posture, and graceful movement. I enjoyed the spiritual aspect of kung fu, but that's not necessary.
- Competitive events.
- Rapid rank advancement.
- Disciplines that only focus on one realm of combat, such as jiu-jitsu which is almost exclusively ground fighting.