Hey all! Thanks for taking the time to read this post, and thanks in advance for whatever advice you have.
I'm a 20yo student taking time off of college to figure out what I want to do with my life. I'm spending April-September in Washington D.C. and want to explore martial arts while I'm there. I'm hoping this forum can give some style and dojo recommendations.
I'm male, 5ft 8in, 145 lbs, and currently out of shape but willing to condition my *** off. I've done a couple months of BJJ, Judo, Krav, MMA, FMA, and Amok (not all at one time), all long enough ago to have forgotten everything. I don't have a grappling vs striking vs throwing preference.
My criteria, in order of priority, are (1) skilled instructors and community, (2) an emphasis on non-choreographed sparring, (3) physically demanding sessions, (4) styles interesting to study in their home countries (e.g. muay thai), and (5) styles based more on kinesthetic memory (e.g. BJJ) than repetitive technique training (e.g. Judo). I'm willing to spend some money and have a car/flexible work schedule, so I'm lucky in that money/time/distance aren't huge concerns.
I'm not sure about Tae Kwon Do or Judo. I'm pretty sure I'm not interested in anything with weapons (FMA, Amok, Ninjutsu), anything flashy-but-nonfunctional (Kenpo, Wushu), or anything focused on katas (Karate).
All together, this boatload of context makes me lean towards Muay Thai, BJJ, Boxing, or MMA.
So, some specific questions:
I'm a 20yo student taking time off of college to figure out what I want to do with my life. I'm spending April-September in Washington D.C. and want to explore martial arts while I'm there. I'm hoping this forum can give some style and dojo recommendations.
I'm male, 5ft 8in, 145 lbs, and currently out of shape but willing to condition my *** off. I've done a couple months of BJJ, Judo, Krav, MMA, FMA, and Amok (not all at one time), all long enough ago to have forgotten everything. I don't have a grappling vs striking vs throwing preference.
My criteria, in order of priority, are (1) skilled instructors and community, (2) an emphasis on non-choreographed sparring, (3) physically demanding sessions, (4) styles interesting to study in their home countries (e.g. muay thai), and (5) styles based more on kinesthetic memory (e.g. BJJ) than repetitive technique training (e.g. Judo). I'm willing to spend some money and have a car/flexible work schedule, so I'm lucky in that money/time/distance aren't huge concerns.
I'm not sure about Tae Kwon Do or Judo. I'm pretty sure I'm not interested in anything with weapons (FMA, Amok, Ninjutsu), anything flashy-but-nonfunctional (Kenpo, Wushu), or anything focused on katas (Karate).
All together, this boatload of context makes me lean towards Muay Thai, BJJ, Boxing, or MMA.
So, some specific questions:
- Can anyone recommend good Muay Thai, BJJ, Boxing, or MMA dojos in the DC metro area?
- Should I look more into Tae Kwon Do or Judo, given what I'm looking for?
- What other styles I should look into?