What Martial Art should I choose?

[hatem.d]

Hey guys! This is my first post on martialtalk, hopefully it'll be the beginning of something beautiful :')

Anyways, so I have become extremely interested in learning a martial art and have been researching and have found Krav Maga and Ninjutsu to be very interesting, however I very open to other martial arts. However I am not sure which one is the best for me

I am interested in martial arts that would be effective in a real life situation, and ones that will be fun and give me a sense of confidence (and maybe even discipline?).

My only problem is that I do not want a martial art that is very slow or boring, or one that isn't effective in a real life situation. I also know myself and know that I wouldn't be able to stand a martial art that for example, is like in karate that it spends a fair bit of the beginning of time punching air, etc. (No offense, karate is a very nice martial art, just that it's not my kind of thing.

If you guys can tell me what martial art I should look into based on the criteria above, I would greatly appreciate it. Thanks!

 

[Blindside]

What is available to you? It doesn't matter what I recommend if you only have two choices in your town.

 

[Buka]

Welcome aboard, bro.

I think what be best for you would be to visit every place in your area a couple or three times each, then decide where you would enjoy it the most.

Don't go too far away from where you live, because all though your intentions may be good, practical travel will dictate how long you can actually train.

 

[PhotonGuy]

I also know myself and know that I wouldn't be able to stand a martial art that for example, is like in karate that it spends a fair bit of the beginning of time punching air, etc. (No offense, karate is a very nice martial art, just that it's not my kind of thing.

What kind of karate have you seen? I train in karate and most of the punching we do is on makiwara pads. Anyway you've got to find out for yourself which style works best for you and to do that you might want to try a bunch of styles. You say you don't want anything slow and boring. Boring is really a state of mind, some of the drill work I do some people might say its as boring as heck, especially since I keep doing the same thing over and over again, but I really love it. If you don't want something slow than I would recommend a "hard" style like JKD or Hapkido or a style of Karate although you said its not your thing. I would not recommend Tai Chi. While Tai Chi can be just as effective as any other martial art it is practiced slow and it usually takes longer before you can effectively use it.

 

[Paul_D]

Buka's advice to decide which one you would enjoy the most it the best advice, but just to expand on it a little the reason is that the art you enjoy the most is the one you are most likely to stick at, and therefore become good at it.

As for "effective for self defence" learning martial arts to become good at self defence is like taking table tennis lessons because you have decided to enter Wimbledon. If you want to learn self defence read Dead or Alive the Ultimate Self Protection handbook by Geoff Thompson if you are in the UK, or The Little Black Book of violence by Lawrence Kane and Kris Wilder if you are in the U.S.

Also listen to The Martial Map podcast by Iain Abernethy, that wil help you understand why Martial Arts, Figting and Self Defence are three different things (which are often confused as the same thing).

Personally if I had to chose between Krav & Ninjutsu, I would personally go for Ninjutsu, as I woudl just find it more interesting, and more fun, in the long term.

 

[hatem.d]

What is available to you? It doesn't matter what I recommend if you only have two choices in your town.

Welcome aboard, bro.

I think what be best for you would be to visit every place in your area a couple or three times each, then decide where you would enjoy it the most.

Don't go too far away from where you live, because all though your intentions may be good, practical travel will dictate how long you can actually train.

I live in Toronto, so basically there are many many options for me.
Thanks for answering!

 

[hatem.d]

Would you guys recommend Krav Maga, Ninjutsu, or Muay Thai as a fun and interesting martial art to start?

 

[smiller2144]

You should try MMA or maybe a really good krav maga school. Although the one time I went to Krav maga it was a bad experience personally.

If this is your first time doing martial arts, I reccomend Aikido.

 

[Blindside]

Toronto Muay Thai Toronot MMA Jiu Jitsu Boxing Mixed Martial Arts Judo Wrestling Savate

I don't know about the rest of the school, but I met their FMA instructor Tyler a couple of years ago, good guy and good instructor. I guarantee you that you won't be "punching air."

 

[hatem.d]

You should try MMA or maybe a really good krav maga school. Although the one time I went to Krav maga it was a bad experience personally.

If this is your first time doing martial arts, I reccomend Aikido.

I'll research about Aikido
However, of you won't mind me asking, why was Krav Naga a bad experience?

 

[Tez3]

Welcome to MT. I would look at martial arts with a completely open mind, my experiences, indeed anyone experiences aren't actually going to be very useful to you when choosing something you enjoy and want to continue. Not all karateka punch into the air, not all styles compete, not all styles want money and only that from you. The only way is too have a read up on the different types of martial art that is available to you in your area, then rule out those that you don't like the sound of then visit those places who do like from reading about them. When you are there, see how you see yourself fitting in, do you think you would learn from the instructors, does it make you want o jump into the class? That's how you will find your martial arts, don't take notice of whether others found it bad or didn't like it, you aren't them. Good luck with your searching, I'm sure you will find what you are looking for.

 

[Brian R. VanCise]

Buka made a very good point about going to check out what is local to you. Take some free classes and then decide which one you enjoyed the most as a good start. Personally, being in a place that you enjoy is very important in the long run. Having a connection and training with an instructor that you like is essential for long term study!

 

[jks9199]

What is available to you? It doesn't matter what I recommend if you only have two choices in your town.

To build on this... We could recommend Sinanju... but unless you happen to live in a small village in Korea, or work for an emperor named Smith -- You'd be SOL. So, since that's out of the question (one presumes), I might suggest Sumito. Of course, except for one special dispensation at a special bodyguard academy on a planet several light years away, that's only taught to the Siblings of the Shroud on a small island. (Both are fictional martial arts, if you didn't pick up on it.)

So, what to do?

Start by looking at what's available to you, or in a reasonable travel distance. And don't limit yourself to storefronts and the commercial places; check in Ys, gyms, community centers, and so on. Look on the web. Then visit some of the schools. Some may have schedules that don't work (if you work every Monday night from 6 PM to midnight... my club wouldn't work for you, for example.), or be in locations that aren't practical for you. You might not like the atmosphere or focus of others.

Having visited, then you can think about what you'd like to try. Which school felt welcoming to you, and like a place you'd want to spend a lot of time? Which class format seemed good to you? Which one's pricing was OK?

Then, try it out. Seek to avoid contracts that lock you in too fast; you want a fair chance to try it out before you're stuck paying for years.

 

[smiller2144]

I'll research about Aikido
However, of you won't mind me asking, why was Krav Naga a bad experience?

Just a bad school I beleive, it was extremely expensive for a basic boxing workout

 

[Rev Az]

Hey guys! This is my first post on martialtalk, hopefully it'll be the beginning of something beautiful :')

Anyways, so I have become extremely interested in learning a martial art and have been researching and have found Krav Maga and Ninjutsu to be very interesting, however I very open to other martial arts. However I am not sure which one is the best for me

I am interested in martial arts that would be effective in a real life situation, and ones that will be fun and give me a sense of confidence (and maybe even discipline?).

My only problem is that I do not want a martial art that is very slow or boring, or one that isn't effective in a real life situation. I also know myself and know that I wouldn't be able to stand a martial art that for example, is like in karate that it spends a fair bit of the beginning of time punching air, etc. (No offense, karate is a very nice martial art, just that it's not my kind of thing.

If you guys can tell me what martial art I should look into based on the criteria above, I would greatly appreciate it. Thanks!

Based on your post, I would have to recommend either Aikido or Jujitsu. However as stated by some others, "boring" is a mindset. You have to try out different styles and schools to find the right one for you

 

[Hanzou]

Would you guys recommend Krav Maga, Ninjutsu, or Muay Thai as a fun and interesting martial art to start?

If it were me, I'd do Muay Thai. It will teach you how to hit, and how to get hit. You also have a reduced chance of getting scammed due to MT's competitive aspect. There's a lot of fraudulent Krav and Ninjutsu schools out there because there's no public standard to judge them by. If your MT school is competitive, or serves as a funnel for MMA practitioners, there's very little chance that your gym isn't legit.

 

[Rev Az]

If it were me, I'd do Muay Thai. It will teach you how to hit, and how to get hit. You also have a reduced chance of getting scammed due to MT's competitive aspect. There's a lot of fraudulent Krav and Ninjutsu schools out there because there's no public standard to judge them by. If your MT school is competitive, or serves as a funnel for MMA practitioners, there's very little chance that your gym isn't legit.

The easiest way to tell if a ninjutsu school is "legit" as you put it, is to research the school. If they are not in some way connected to Hatsumi Sensei then chances are they are fraudulent. Also ninjutsu schools, the good ones anyway, do not compete.

 

[Hanzou]

The easiest way to tell if a ninjutsu school is "legit" as you put it, is to research the school. If they are not in some way connected to Hatsumi Sensei then chances are they are fraudulent. Also ninjutsu schools, the good ones anyway, do not compete.

Or spar for that matter. But to each their own.

 

[K-man]

Anyways, so I have become extremely interested in learning a martial art and have been researching and have found Krav Maga and Ninjutsu to be very interesting, however I very open to other martial arts. However I am not sure which one is the best for me

I am interested in martial arts that would be effective in a real life situation, and ones that will be fun and give me a sense of confidence (and maybe even discipline?).

Welcome to MT. As others have said, check out all that you have on offer around you. Take any free classes available, talk to the instructors but most of all, talk to some of the senior students.

As to the one you settle on ... it may be one that you haven't even considered. In terms of Ninjutsu, Chris Parker is the one to comment, but I'll plug for the Krav. It is impossible to see all of what Krav offers in one night but the training should be varied and I would hope even exciting. The senior students would certainly be able to tell you about the syllabus.

Karate can be pretty ordinary or it can be fantastic, the same as any martial art. I teach the Okinawan style of Goju and it would fit your requirements to a T. Some schools focus on competition, ours has exactly the same type of training as you would find in Krav, just that it is taught in a different way.

Aikido is another art of which I have first hand knowledge. It can be a great martial art but it can take years to reach a level where it has practical application. The biggest problem with Aikido is getting to the level where you can make the techniques work against total resistance. If you don't mind taking your time, Aikido is an intriguing MA to study.

Good luck with your search.

 

[Tony Dismukes]

I am interested in martial arts that would be effective in a real life situation, and ones that will be fun and give me a sense of confidence (and maybe even discipline?).

Would you guys recommend Krav Maga, Ninjutsu, or Muay Thai as a fun and interesting martial art to start?

"Fun" is in the eye f the beholder. What's fun and interesting to me might be boring to you and vice versa.

You'll find plenty of argument about what constitutes "effective in a real life situation" as well. With the exception of arts purely devoted to performance, health, or esoteric historical weapons, most practitioners will claim their arts to be effective in modern "real life situations." Practitioners of other arts will frequently contest those claims.

Confidence isn't dependent on the art. Discipline is something you bring to your training.

I also know myself and know that I wouldn't be able to stand a martial art that for example, is like in karate that it spends a fair bit of the beginning of time punching air, etc

Okay, that helps narrow things down. No schools that devote most of their time to solo katas and line drills.

Others have offerered the best advice. Visit as many schools as you can and watch the classes. Try any trial classes that are offered. See if you like the atmosphere of the school. See if the senior students demonstrate the kind of skills you would like to develop. See if the training looks like the sort you would enjoy. As Paul noted, the most effective art for you is the one you enjoy enough to keep showing up and training in on a consistent basis.

BTW - Krav Maga, Ninjutsu, and Muay Thai offer very different training experiences. Rather than ask if those experiences are "fun and interesting", which is subjective, you might want to ask about what the training is likely to be like in those arts.