Martial Arts Training

[Walzber813]

I'm a 20 year old college student, and I stay very active in the gym. Through high school I played a lot of team sports, but I've always been interested in martial arts, especially with the influence I've had from my Dads involvement in Karate and Judo. I really want to start practicing soon, but I really don't know which area I should begin in. I've looked into jiu jitsu, judo, and some mixed martial arts gyms. I wanted to see if anyone had any recommendations, or opinions on a good place to start practicing? Thanks guys!

 

[apac]

I'll plug Enshin Karate, which I've been taking for a year and a half. If you have a dojo nearby I suggest you check it out. It's a very physical style, a combination of karate and judo.

The pro competition - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6c_nz-VLCKw
local tournament, my friend fighting (he's the one that almost got KO'd) - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w1T4iHgYnMk

 

[dakels]

I think martial arts is a very personal thing if given the choice. Many have very different disciplines with different focuses from passive, relaxation and meditation, to more combative themes. Some focus on specific areas of physical prowess, while others may be more rounded.

I think you should ask your self what you want out of it. Then look at different classes and teachers. Most if not all will let you observe their training/teaching/exhibition sessions. Talk to them, talk to the students. You can always start slow before commiting.

 

[irishScott]

Depends on what you're looking for.

If you're just looking for a general all-around good time/workout and just enjoy martial arts, pick something and go with it.

If you're looking for practicality, I'd recommend Krav Maga or Systema. I've personally got a decent bit of Krav Maga under my belt and it's awesome, but unfortunately many of the techniques are so brutally effective you can't effectively spar with them (groin kicks, eye gouges, breaking collarbones, etc). There's a reason there are no Krav Maga competitions.

Also, Krav Maga has no uniforms, no rituals, no nonsense. It's used by the Israeli Military (it was actually invented by an Czech Jew to fight nazi street gangs during WWII, who later moved to Israel upon it's formation), and many parts of it have been integrated into the USMC Martial Art.
http://www.kravmaga.com/locations.asp (ignore the red dots on the map, they're mostly inaccurate)

Kali/Eskrima is also good, focuses on sword/spear/knife defense and stick fighting.

If you want to get ripped/in ridiculous shape, I'd go with Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and/or Muy Thai.

Some background:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Krav_Maga
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Systema
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eskrima

In any case, take a look at the bottom of the wikipedia pages and click "show" under "martial arts by focus". Nice database with lots of information on each.

 

[conorvansmack]

Where are you located?

Are you looking to learn something new or competition?