What is the best martial art?

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I used to do Kempo Karate back in middle/high school and it was a lot of fun. I enjoy fighting and sparring with people even though I'm a total pacifist. I'm not sure, but I'm thinking of starting something back up but I don't know which style I should do (or even boxing or kickboxing perhaps).

Just wondering what people's thoughts were on this...

Also, which is the cheapest? (this might be a factor for me)

― Colin_C., Wednesday, 25 April 2007 03:15 (nineteen years ago)

Wing Chun Kung Fu.

Next question, please.

― kingfish, Wednesday, 25 April 2007 03:17 (nineteen years ago)

ninjutsu, duh

― latebloomer, Wednesday, 25 April 2007 03:21 (nineteen years ago)

Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon

― mercurialblonde, Wednesday, 25 April 2007 05:21 (nineteen years ago)

"Sounds like something Seigfreid and Roy do on vacation."

wokka wokka

― kenan, Wednesday, 25 April 2007 05:25 (nineteen years ago)

I enjoy fighting and sparring with people even though I'm a total pacifist

Judo, Brazillian Jujitsu and some of the harder forms of Aikido are all good for pacifists who like friendly scrapping or want to learn to defend themselves, but have no desire to pound friends/training partners in the face.

Pride and the UFC have pretty much proven that no one traditional martial art can be considered "the best", which is why MMA is so popular.

― Shorty, Wednesday, 25 April 2007 06:34 (nineteen years ago)

I can recommend kickboxing. A lot of fun, if you can find a club with a healthy attitude and interval-training. And you could probably use it sucessfully to defend yourself. I couldnt, but that was due to lack of aggression and drunkness i believe.

― jonperson, Wednesday, 25 April 2007 15:46 (nineteen years ago)

I've messed around with taijiquan and shuai chiao.

Taijiquan is the fighting version of slow-motion dancing in silk pajamas that you sometimes see in the park. It's actually really fun and effective when trained 'live.' Shuai chiao is more or less a chinese variation on judo and sombo style 'throwing' arts where the goal is to pick up your opponent then dump him upside down on the floor.

I recommend both if you can find a good teacher. It'll be a lot easier to find a decent judo club, though.

From what I know about BJJ, it's a lot like a ground wrestling approach to taijiquan, and I'd love to give it a try sometime.

― Oilyrags, Wednesday, 25 April 2007 16:35 (nineteen years ago)

two years pass...

What's the best martial art for

- people who are not naturally coordinated, AT ALL
- getting very slowly fitter and more coordinated without looking like an arse in the process

― ljubljana, Wednesday, 10 February 2010 01:24 (sixteen years ago)

western boxing or muay thai unless you like rolling around on the ground

― all yoga attacks are fire based (rogermexico.), Wednesday, 10 February 2010 01:29 (sixteen years ago)

Krav Maga - very intense physically, but it's designed to teach self-defense to a wide range of people (like, everyone in the IDF)

― FIST FIGHT! FIST FIGHT! FIST FIGHT IN THE PARKING LOT! (milo z), Wednesday, 10 February 2010 01:53 (sixteen years ago)

I don't mind rolling around on the ground as long as there's a sloooow learning curve, i.e. I can make some easy initial progress and not get too discouraged early on.

Krav Maga sounds pretty hardcore self-defense oriented rather than coordination-making, but I can see that the former might lead to the latter.

― ljubljana, Wednesday, 10 February 2010 02:46 (sixteen years ago)

krav maga is great once you've got a little more confidence and as you advance you will learn things like proper eye gouges and grenade disarms.

i recommend boxing because you won't be asked to spar until you're ready and there's a lot of emphasis on conditioning no bullshit pseudomilitary "discipline" like you'll find in the storefront belt-factory karate/tae kwon do joints but you'll also have great "aha!" moments right from the start. like, the first time you throw a really clean cross where the power really does come from your legs and hips you're going to grin so much you'll immediately forget how you did it.

plus the gear is awesome:

http://www.ringside.com/images/SBG_2_m.jpg

― all yoga attacks are fire based (rogermexico.), Thursday, 11 February 2010 00:40 (sixteen years ago)

Man, pink gloves. Yeah. And I love the idea of 'aha' moments. I never even thought about boxing.

Should I be looking for anything in particular in place that offers this? Sessions geared specifically to women? Any keywords for the type of approach to training I should be looking out for?

― ljubljana, Thursday, 11 February 2010 01:24 (sixteen years ago)

what city are you in?

― all yoga attacks are fire based (rogermexico.), Thursday, 11 February 2010 02:12 (sixteen years ago)

― ljubljana, Thursday, 11 February 2010 02:38 (sixteen years ago)

oh nice! there should be a good mix of fighting gyms (can be a little intimidating at first, can be very homey if you stick around) and white collar health clubs that offer fitness boxing (nb if they don't have heavy bags, it doesn't count, srsly).

you'll probably want to ask around a bit but should be able to find something that fits. this place seems potentially groovy - muay thai is definitely more "practical" than boxing, and they also offer women-only Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu classes: http://www.betamuaythai.com/washingtondcthaiboxing.html

dunno if it's geographically convenient tho...

― all yoga attacks are fire based (rogermexico.), Thursday, 11 February 2010 06:21 (sixteen years ago)

Half-hour walk so definite possibility. Thanks, I will check out this and look for some other options... I'm more up for the white collar health club option, if they have the right gear - fighting gym might be a bit of a stretch for someone who's gone this long without exercise!

― ljubljana, Thursday, 11 February 2010 13:24 (sixteen years ago)

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