What Martial Art should I choose?

[Mephisto]

Do what ever interests you but don't overlook the more competitive arts as a good starting point for building a base skillset. If you're interested in striking Muay thai or boxing will ensure you know how to be a formidable striker and will teach you to deal with aggressive strikers. If self defense ability and fighting prowess are what you're after train in a system that regularly spars. The best way to get good at fighting is to actually fight, preferably in a controlled setting with qualified professionaks who actually have been in fights themselves (and not just a street scuffle or two).

Ninjutsu and krav can be decent add ins once you already have the ability to control an aggressive attacker. But a lot of these schools don't emphasize sparring and won't teach you the nuances of timing, controlling distance with an aggressive partner. For self defense it's good to have some knowledge of more aggressive and combative options but you can't throat punch and knee stomp every person that gets physical or threatens you. If you have a solid base you can dodge and avoid punches and maybe even the fight all together, but you don't want to rely on highly aggressive techniques for every scenario.

A lot of ninjutsu, traditional jujutsu, and aikido uses compliant training as the main form of technique transmission. It may have its value but it's very far from reality. If a class spends most of its time on compliant technique I'd seriously consider what you're after.

 

[WaterGal]

I'd suggest finding a couple schools convenient to you that look like they have programs geared towards adults and going to watch a class. Even within a single style, different schools are going to have different training methods and intensities, some teachers are going to be boring and others interesting, schools may focus more on one part of the art than another, etc. You might find a ninjutsu school where they teach a bunch of BS and the teacher's boring and the class is easy, and you might find a karate school where you leave every class a pile of sweat and learn how to punch through a concrete slab. It's tough to generalize.

 

[BeeBrian]

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!

I would swear on Judo even though I've never trained in it YET.

Judo combat philosophy is basically this... Capitalize on your enemy's lack of balance to smash his face against the surface of a planet.

Defending yourself using Judo is much more justifiable through the eyes of a court judge than pugilizing someone to submission. A martial artist once said that grappling (such as Judo) is terrible for true self-defense, but it's perfect for controlling people. Think of how law enforcers deal with aggressive people. If they don't use their batons, they grapple, not strike.

 

[donald1]

out of those two choices personally id choose ninjutsu, but im sure both are great schools. if they are both good schools then its a matter of personal preferences and whichever you prefer is going to be where to look into

 

[Mephisto]

out of those two choices personally id choose ninjutsu, but im sure both are great schools. if they are both good schools then its a matter of personal preferences and whichever you prefer is going to be where to look into

I'm curious why? Why would you recommend ninjutsu? BeeBrian gave a pretty good explanation of why he recommends judo. Can you elaborate on why you recommend ninjutsu?

 

[BeeBrian]

I'm curious why? Why would you recommend ninjutsu? BeeBrian gave a pretty good explanation of why he recommends judo. Can you elaborate on why you recommend ninjutsu?

YOU FIRST! lol

If you ask such a question, the answer will be, YOU FIRST. It's an odd common courtesy popularized by Meg Griffin.

 

[Mephisto]

YOU FIRST! lol

If you ask such a question, the answer will be, YOU FIRST. It's an odd common courtesy popularized by Meg Griffin.

Well, I wouldn't recommend ninjutsu based on what I've seen. I hear there are legit hard training clubs out there but apparently they're hard to come by. Based on the lack of quality control I would not recommend ninjutsu. In my earlier explanation I told the op not to overlook competitive arts to build his martial arts base of skill. Judo would fall under the criteria I mentioned. Like you I haven't trained judo, or ninjutsu for that matter but I know many people who have, and I've trained with them. I figured Donald might be able to add a little more to his recommendation, heck he might even change my opinion. I have my preconceptions but I'm open to new knowledge.

 

[Tez3]

However, all of us giving our personal preferences doesn't really help the OP who may find he loves Ninjutsu. I'd caution the OP to keep an open mind and not be influenced by any of our preferences rather look for the style he finds makes him excited even if one of us finds it dull or not something we feel we want to do.

 

[Drose427]

Style isnt nearly as important as your personal ability and quality instruction.Checkout the different schools and watch their classes. Full contact and competition doesnt always equal quality training, and weight classes aren't realistic for SD. But, neither is doing SD or one step sparring and not actually punching full speed for the face. Someones personal achievements in the ring, or out of the ring, doesnt always make them a good instructor either.

Quality instruction is one of the most important things. Without it, you may as well be training with some neighborhood guys in your garage.

 

[donald1]

I'm curious why? Why would you recommend ninjutsu? BeeBrian gave a pretty good explanation of why he recommends judo. Can you elaborate on why you recommend ninjutsu?

Me? Personally it just seems interesting... maybe the judo school is a better school and that's fine too

 

[Mephisto]

However, all of us giving our personal preferences doesn't really help the OP who may find he loves Ninjutsu. I'd caution the OP to keep an open mind and not be influenced by any of our preferences rather look for the style he finds makes him excited even if one of us finds it dull or not something we feel we want to do.

I agree, at the end of the day we're all just disembodied opinions on the Internet. That's why I think it's good to explain why you think a certain way or prefer a certain art. Simply saying "do x art, because I like it" doesn't really give the op or anyone else much to think about.

Style isnt nearly as important as your personal ability and quality instruction.Checkout the different schools and watch their classes. Full contact and competition doesnt always equal quality training, and weight classes aren't realistic for SD. But, neither is doing SD or one step sparring and not actually punching full speed for the face. Someones personal achievements in the ring, or out of the ring, doesnt always make them a good instructor either.

Quality instruction is one of the most important things. Without it, you may as well be training with some neighborhood guys in your garage.

I agree with a lot of what you're saying but I disagree that style isn't important. It's a common cliche that holds some truth but you have to look at all of the schools within a style. If the majority of a systems schools cater mainly to children or only do compliant one steps than that style on average won't be as solid as a system that is known for more serious training. There may be isolated schools that train hard, but if most schools within a system are belt factories that system is not as good. Sports do a good job of quality control due to their competitive nature and some competitive schools will be better than others. In the grand scheme of things you can be at the best school and half *** your way through training, or you can give your best at a bad school and never reach your potential. The individual is an important factor but so is the system.

Me? Personally it just seems interesting... maybe the judo school is a better school and that's fine too

Thats great. I'm an advocate of people training what they like.

 

[ShortBridge]

Training teaches you a lot about yourself. You are most likely going to have to try a few things and places and instructors until you really know what your thing is. There are systems that move you along quickly and keep you from being bored and others that bring you along more slowly. It's tough to even know early on what you're into. Tougher still to know what is right for you.

Boxing or Muay Thai are great for people who want to work hard and get their adrenaline up and come home feeling tired and satisfied every time. More traditional styles won't always be that way, especially in the beginning.

If possible, try to find people in Toronto to talk with about their experiences in the local clubs. Maybe the local craigslist social forum? Visit a few places, take a few introductory classes and maybe do a month here and there. Ask questions and be respectful and gracious every single time, because remember, you don't know what you're looking for yet and you may want to circle back to some place that you're not feeling right now. When you are in a club, look at students who have been there for 1 yr, 3 yrs, 5 yrs. That will tell you more about what to expect that looking at the instructor. The instructor will either be good or know how to convince you that he's good. If you don't like thinking of yourself being where his senior students are after x years of training, it doesn't matter.

As others have said, the quality of the the instructor (and the student) and the construct of the operation are major factors in "which is best". I came to my current style not because of the style, but because it was the gym that felt best to me in the town at that time. I was going in a completely different direction. But, I am so at home with what I do now that I can't imagine being without it. I'm glad I didn't miss that by choosing a style based on a description or other people's opinions of it.

Good luck with your search. I'll look forward to reading your updates.

 

[Drose427]

I agree with a lot of what you're saying but I disagree that style isn't important. It's a common cliche that holds some truth but you have to look at all of the schools within a style. If the majority of a systems schools cater mainly to children or only do compliant one steps than that style on average won't be as solid as a system that is known for more serious training. There may be isolated schools that train hard, but if most schools within a system are belt factories that system is not as good. Sports do a good job of quality control due to their competitive nature and some competitive schools will be better than others. In the grand scheme of things you can be at the best school and half *** your way through training, or you can give your best at a bad school and never reach your potential. The individual is an important factor but so is the system.

But that standard isn't set by style. That standard is set by associations, committees, or grand-masters. Poor quality control has nothing to do with style, there are boxing and mma gyms that produce more punching bags than fighters. It's the instructors job to do that, not the martial art.

 

[drop bear]

But that standard isn't set by style. That standard is set by associations, committees, or grand-masters. Poor quality control has nothing to do with style, there are boxing and mma gyms that produce more punching bags than fighters. It's the instructors job to do that, not the martial art.

the martial art does tend to set the training doctrine. So for myself I am ab advocate of resisted training. If the whole style doesn't do that then i am not going to be a fan. Regardless of how well it is trained.

Capoeira is a good example. They train hard and most schools tend to be legit. They even spar. The style itself though is less geared towards self defence. And you would generally have to do something else on top. Otherwise it is probably one of the best arts to learn. You just have to stay out of streetfights.

 

[Mephisto]

But that standard isn't set by style. That standard is set by associations, committees, or grand-masters. Poor quality control has nothing to do with style, there are boxing and mma gyms that produce more punching bags than fighters. It's the instructors job to do that, not the martial art.

A style and organization can be one in the same. If an org only does no touch sparring they are modifying the style and what they teach becomes the style. The bigger the org the more it affects the style. where is your proof if these boxing and mama gyms that produce punching bags?

 

[drop bear]

A style and organization can be one in the same. If an org only does no touch sparring they are modifying the style and what they teach becomes the style. The bigger the org the more it affects the style. where is your proof if these boxing and mama gyms that produce punching bags?

bad boxing mma muay thai do exist the general givaway is if they have a belt system.

 

[Drose427]

A style and organization can be one in the same. If an org only does no touch sparring they are modifying the style and what they teach becomes the style. The bigger the org the more it affects the style. where is your proof if these boxing and mama gyms that produce punching bags?

Watch amateur bouts, local events, etc. Theyre out there just like any other mcdojo.

A style is just the tool. The rules in one place do not become the style. Look at American Kickboxing, the different governing bodies all use different rules. some allow leg kicks, other do not. etc. Does that mean they aren't american kickboxing? Because 2 coaches decided to do something different?

Is MMA no longer MMA because they removed many, many things since it early days and added many more guidelines?

A style and Org are not the same thing. A style simply contains the moves and in TMAs forms. It doesn't decide any of the training methods. Instructors do that.

Karate doesnt decide to do resistance training. Instructors do

TaeKwondo didnt decide to become a sport, the WTF and Kukkiwon did. It was literally born in the trenches, used in warfare, and other men decided to make it a sport.

 

[drop bear]

Watch amateur bouts, local events, etc. Theyre out there just like any other mcdojo.

A style is just the tool. The rules in one place do not become the style. Look at American Kickboxing, the different governing bodies all use different rules. some allow leg kicks, other do not. etc. Does that mean they aren't american kickboxing? Because 2 coaches decided to do something different?

Is MMA no longer MMA because they removed many, many things since it early days and added many more guidelines?

A style and Org are not the same thing. A style simply contains the moves and in TMAs forms. It doesn't decide any of the training methods. Instructors do that.

Karate doesnt decide to do resistance training. Instructors do

TaeKwondo didnt decide to become a sport, the WTF and Kukkiwon did. It was literally born in the trenches, used in warfare, and other men decided to make it a sport.

but that is basically two different tkd,s though. A sport style and a traditional style.

I mean if i train the sport version i will have a different skillset than if i train the traditional version. Regardless if i train really hard am naturally athletic and my instructor is world class.

 

[Tez3]

Is MMA no longer MMA because they removed many, many things since it early days and added many more guidelines?

I think you are talking about the UFC not MMA here, in many places MMA is as it was, the UFC started with very different rules etc than MMA did such as the catchweight thing. The UFC was designed to showcase BJJ while MMA outside the UFC is as it was when it started.

 

[Instructor]

Welcome to Martial Talk. I'll echo the others. When it comes to martial arts buy local! The very best thing is to find every school in your locale and visit each. Most will let you try a free lesson. We can make assumptions about the various styles etc but where the rubber hits the road is when you go to a school do you like it? For most it's less about the style and more about the person teaching it.