ThaWholigan Posted December 29, 2011 Share Posted December 29, 2011 I have been unfit for a few months now and my belly has grown quite large . However, My father (who is very fit for his age) has been persuading me to get onto a rigorous training regime (kettlebells and all), and recently said that I should take up a martial art as it would be perfect for me. Now, I have never fought much, probably due to my size (I'm 6 foot 3, and about 200lbs, been told I look intimidating more than once which is odd as I am far from it). However, the idea appeals to me, and I was wondering what martial art would be good for someone like me with my size? I thought of Wing Chun and Muay Thai as good starts, but I am a big fan of Jeet Kune Do, which I have been reading about. The problem would be, is it better for me to learn a structured discipline (Wing Chun/etc) as opposed to a free form martial art (Bruce Lee's Jeet Kune Do)?? Link to post Share on other sites
tman666 Posted December 29, 2011 Share Posted December 29, 2011 My personal belief regarding martial arts is that it's less about which art you choose and more about the instructor. Your quality of training will have a much bigger impact on your experience than the nuances of each art. Obviously, there are major stylistic differences between the various martial arts, and each have their strengths and weaknesses. You need to decide whether you want to specialize in self defense, stand up fighting, ground fighting, etc. A good fighter will be well rounded, but that doesn't mean that you should seek out your local MMA gym immediately. A solid base in a traditional art would probably serve you best. If your goal is to be able to hold your own in a fight, I would recommend making sure that whatever art you choose holds regular full or moderate contact sparring sessions. I would advise you to attend or observe classes from each option you have available BEFORE signing up. If the instructor won't let you at least observe classes for any reason, chances are that he's not reputable. Also, be wary of long term contracts, "Black Belt Clubs" (or other "fast tracks" to getting a higher rank), or anyone claiming that they have "secret" knowledge or lineage tracing back to "ancient secrets". All that is crap. Find someone who will charge you a fair fee, not try to lock you into a contract, and who doesn't proclaim to be some sort of secret ninja warrior. Make sure you do some background checking on the school and instructor before signing up. 2 Link to post Share on other sites
tman666 Posted December 29, 2011 Share Posted December 29, 2011 Double Post Link to post Share on other sites
Seneca Posted December 30, 2011 Share Posted December 30, 2011 What tman says. The best way of knowing which one is for you is by going to a class. Most martial arts classes offer a free trial for a day, or even a week. I was interested in learning Jeet Kune do. But after trying it out and then trying Muay Thai. I like Muay Thai better...at least for now. Later on I may plan on giving JKD another shot. Link to post Share on other sites
Cypress25 Posted December 30, 2011 Share Posted December 30, 2011 Krav Maga. It kicks ass in every way, and a lot of its techniques are taken from Muay Thai. For strictly fitness purposes, you can't go wrong with CrossFit. Link to post Share on other sites
Author ThaWholigan Posted January 18, 2012 Author Share Posted January 18, 2012 Thank you everyone for your responses! I did think about Krav Maga, I may still do that at some point. Tman had a great point about the instructor, that will factor in my decision. I found a dojo not far from where I live which is based around Ninjutsu. I'm tempted to do cross training in martial arts, but need a solid base in just one for now. I think I may go with Ninjutsu, it was the most interesting one to me and seemed to prioritize discipline and self-defence. Link to post Share on other sites
Emilia Posted February 17, 2012 Share Posted February 17, 2012 Try white collar boxing. I have just taken it up and I love it. You will get toned within an inch of your life and you don't even have to spar if you don't want to, let alone fight. About 60% of the training I do is anaerobic and it is an incredibly effective way to build strength without bulk Link to post Share on other sites
redhighheels Posted February 17, 2012 Share Posted February 17, 2012 Krav Maga, hands down. Most martial arts are just that..arts, with very little real life applicability. Even sports like Muay Thai or boxing, despite giving you a good foundation, are limited by rules and aren't complex enough to deal with knives, sticks, chokes, guns, etc. If you want to increase your endurance and truly learn how to fight in a real life situation, Krav Maga is your best bet. Some organizations put more emphasis on fitness than others, but at the end of the day most classes will kick your butt! I've had students so out of shape that they threw up during the most basic warm-ups in their first classes It gets better in time, though. Like others have said, most often you are given a free class to try it out. Do your research and go for the large and respectable federations (IKMF, KMW, KMA, etc) and stay away from the bogus ones (Commando Krav Maga). Link to post Share on other sites
marycorbitt Posted February 20, 2012 Share Posted February 20, 2012 I tried it once and I find it very interesting. Aside from being fit, you can also learn how to defend yourself. Link to post Share on other sites
Emilia Posted February 21, 2012 Share Posted February 21, 2012 Krav Maga, hands down. Most martial arts are just that..arts, with very little real life applicability. Even sports like Muay Thai or boxing, despite giving you a good foundation, are limited by rules and aren't complex enough to deal with knives, sticks, chokes, guns, etc. If you want to increase your endurance and truly learn how to fight in a real life situation, Krav Maga is your best bet. Must admit along with boxing it's something that interests me too partly because of the job I'm looking to do it will probably help a great deal. Link to post Share on other sites
Author ThaWholigan Posted December 20, 2012 Author Share Posted December 20, 2012 I've given it thought, and I've found an instructor in Jeet Kune Do a 10 minute train ride away from my house. He is also an instructor in the Filipino Martial Arts (Kali, Escrima etc) and Muay Thai. This is something I'm becoming more serious about doing and I'm definitely leaning towards JKD as my base martial art. It's not a traditional MA, but I feel that it likely complements me more, going off of what I know about it. Link to post Share on other sites
Harradin Posted December 20, 2012 Share Posted December 20, 2012 You're mostly looking at offensive martial arts (I did a bit of kick boxing but illness etc has prevented me from doing much, but wanna get back into it after xmas.) But to give you an alternative, I did 6-7 years of judo. Judo's a growing sport, plus there's associations where you can do competitions etc, and it really is challenging and tires you out. Judo is a defensive martial art, its more about using your opponent's momentum ie (using throws etc.) I can't say anything really about the real life situation, as I try to avoid fights (I'm 6'2, 180-190lbs, I get told I look intimidating all the time when I'm the complete opposite,) its useful when playfighting though and people don't realise throwing someone onto concrete is actually far more damaging then punches/kicks. The groundwork is pretty useful aswell, you can hold someone down and there's not much they can do about it! I personally enjoyed it, you do learn how to disarm people and keep an attacker away from you. I guess its not what you're looking at but just to give you another option. 1 Link to post Share on other sites
todreaminblue Posted December 20, 2012 Share Posted December 20, 2012 i used to kick box...havent for a while ....i think any disciplined martial art teaches more than just fighting skills it gives a confidence....i have always loved capoeira....because of the element of dance...i also think if you started doing it against an attacker they might piss themselves laughing therefore easy to get the advantage.....anyway i think the dance and music element is what peaks my interest .....i do have a beat i hear music in my head when i have fought...so maybe thats why i like it...the music is a side track to possible voilence..i actually hate violence....martial arts is disciplined and should only be used by people with strict moral codes...or taught......they should have psyche testing.....deb Link to post Share on other sites
Lillyfree Posted December 22, 2012 Share Posted December 22, 2012 I started a MMA based on kickboxing a couple of months ago - and loving it! In fact, i got my yellow belt on thursday I find MMA to be more appropriate for those of us who are adults and don't have time to get black belts in a range of traditional matrial arts Link to post Share on other sites
Author ThaWholigan Posted March 1, 2013 Author Share Posted March 1, 2013 Having some money problems so haven't been able to afford getting started, but I am undergoing fat loss and have my heart set on JKD/Kali - they also offer separate Muay Thai and BJJ alongside the class as well as Silat if you progress far enough. So, JKD it is. Link to post Share on other sites
dichotomy Posted March 1, 2013 Share Posted March 1, 2013 (edited) I've given it thought, and I've found an instructor in Jeet Kune Do a 10 minute train ride away from my house. He is also an instructor in the Filipino Martial Arts (Kali, Escrima etc) and Muay Thai. This is something I'm becoming more serious about doing and I'm definitely leaning towards JKD as my base martial art. It's not a traditional MA, but I feel that it likely complements me more, going off of what I know about it. I am a a big guy too, with similar views.I have been planning for some to join a place just like you describe above. It is a mixture of JKD and others with a focus on the practical aspects. Some medical issues will postpone this for me until the summer. They do offer a free trail and also month to month only commitments which make it kind of risk free. In the mean time I continue to work out in my home gym and read/watch DVD on MA training. My only concern is that I am on the older side to take this up for the first time. Edited March 1, 2013 by dichotomy Link to post Share on other sites
CudLRoo Posted March 6, 2013 Share Posted March 6, 2013 I've been thinking about this too, I'm kind of tall and thin and fast, I wasn't sure what the right one for me might be, thinking that striking/blocking might be more my thing. Actually fancy Krav Maga but good instructors are few and far between - mate says I should try Wing Chun because it can be quite 'explosive' but relatively easy to learn if you keep on practising those 'sticky hands', plus is good for self defence situations. I don't know, I'm closer to 40 than 30 now, I'm pretty fit (bar smoking) but maybe something more entry-level might be better for me? 1 Link to post Share on other sites
aed Posted March 6, 2013 Share Posted March 6, 2013 martial arts are imo one of the greatest ways of working out. Its fun and you feel you improve everytime you go there. I dont know about your area but the atmosphere of the school is very important,when they train up coming gangbangers or train upcoming top sporters its a huge difference in the atmosphere. the first most have an attitude: I will kick that rookies ass. the second will have an attitude: lets learn that rookie the beauty of our sport. Link to post Share on other sites
CudLRoo Posted March 6, 2013 Share Posted March 6, 2013 I'd kinda want to go to a place who teaches the art AS an art, with the philosophy and discipline built in. But I DO have an inbuilt, almost savantish urge to be the very best at something when I like doing it. 1 Link to post Share on other sites
tbf Posted March 7, 2013 Share Posted March 7, 2013 Consider any martial art that can take advantage of your greater limb reach. Tai Kwon Do is one of them. 1 Link to post Share on other sites
CudLRoo Posted March 7, 2013 Share Posted March 7, 2013 ^thanks, I'll take a look into it, think there's classes nearby. Link to post Share on other sites
ooglesnboogles Posted March 8, 2013 Share Posted March 8, 2013 What about me? What about me? I've been curious about martial arts for a while, but never really considered it because of my unfitness. Now that I'm a little more fit, I'm a little more curious haha. Judo was mentioned once or twice, what about sambo? I've seen a few things on sambo before and thought it was interesting. I don't know very much about it (or any martial arts for that matter) but from what I've read, it seems like it might be a better fit for me over judo or something else that's similar. And there looks to be a good sambo teacher or two in my area. Plus it might finally be the reason I've been looking for to learn Russian 1 Link to post Share on other sites
Mr Scorpio Posted March 9, 2013 Share Posted March 9, 2013 If an individual is looking to begin a martial art for the sake of fitness, then any style is better than doing absolutely nothing. That being said, the only criteria I would advise is to pick one which uses legs and hands and involves a fair deal of stretching. Fortunately, pretty much every style involves those things. Wing Chun, which has been mentioned in this thread, is fairly limited in what you do with your feet. Now, if you want to actually be able to defend yourself as a result of your training, stay away from any instructor/style that utilizes a lot of kata. That stuff is absolutely worthless in a real-life scenario. A fine way to make an ass out of yourself by looking stupid before you even get knocked out by someone who has never taken a single class. Or, you could just learn from . Link to post Share on other sites
ooglesnboogles Posted March 12, 2013 Share Posted March 12, 2013 No sambo fans eh? =P Link to post Share on other sites
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