Muay Thai. (Thai boxing - which is like kickboxing on steroids, basically) I have been taking it for about 7 months now and it is loads of fun. It is more practical than Kung fu, etc, and is designed for actual use in the ring rather than pacticing forms. It doesn't have the same spiritual mumbo jumbo as some of the rest but the training is intense and accordingly instills a lot of self discipline. A lot of kids do it too. RR you are never too old to start, I'm around your age. There was even a guy in his 90's who trained at the place I did every now and then.
I'm in a system called Chayon-Ryu founded by Grandmaster Kim Soo right here in Houston. Its a traditional martial arts system but its a combination of Taekwon do, Chu'an fa(Kung Fu), Judo, Jujitsu, Akido, Hapkido and others that I cant recall of the top of my head at the moment. Anyway its a great system and I love it, not to mention u get a wide varitey of training in the different styles. Heres the link http://kimsookarate.com
Sure. There are very few rules in an actual muay thai fight according to traditional rules (no hitting in the back, no groin shots, that's pretty much it) anything else, knees, elbows, low kicks, clinching, hitting or kneeing on the clinch, goes. THerefore it is EXTREMELY versatile, unlike some traditional martial arts. Also unlike Karate or Kung Fu, which was more of an art, Muay Thai evolved as a sport in Thailand (and still is today) rather than an art. Accordingly the techniques that it adopted as it evolved were based on effectiveness in the ring rather than tradition (example, many western boxing techniques were/are incorporated). By the same token, some traditional martial arts now use MT techniques (kicking with the shin and not the foot is the major one) Finally, it is a full contact sport that is develoed for 3 minute rounds in 3 to 5 round fights and hence conditioning and knockouts are on the menu more than in point fighting like a lot of other martial arts. Correspondingly, most professional MMA or NHB fighters will study some Muay Thai as a part of their standup skills. IN addition, the K-1 league (the mega-huge Japanese kickboxing league) which is open to all martial arts, is dominated by Fighters who study some form of MT or at least incorporate MT techniques. More info here: http://www.muaythaionline.net/ http://www.muaythai.com/ http://www.usmta.com/ And here's one by a muay thai fan boy explaining why it kicks the crap out of other styles (to be taken w/a grain of salt) http://www.arach.net.au/~burnie/muay.html But this is not to denigrate Karate, Kung Fu, TKD, Aikido, or anything else. They are all fine arts in their own right and worth the time to study. In the end, it's the fighter that makes the style and not vice versa.
I did aikido for a little while and it was really cool. It has kept me from having to fight a few times also whcih I think is the ultimate goal. Someone puts their hands on you or shoves you usually to start a fight. The moment they put their hands on you and take (painful) control of their most delicate and / or complicated joints, the ones in the hands, wrists, to some degree, elbows. The fight is usually over at that point. Their brain starts to remember that they might get hurt in a fight and they usually back down. I also liked it because I am not a big man (5'9" and 160 lbs) and it allws you to control someone of almaost any size with the proper technique. My sensei was smaller than me and whooped up on fools big time. In fact the original Aikido master O'Sensei Ueshiba Morihei (1883-1969) was under 5 ' tall. "Aikido is non-resistance. As it is non-resistant, it is always victorious. Those who have a warped mind, a mind of discord, have been defeated from the beginning." "When an opponent comes forward, move in and greet him; if he wants to pull back, send him on his way." "The Art of Peace does not rely on weapons or brute force to succeed. Instead we put ourselves in tune with the universe, maintain peace in our own realms, nurture life, and prevent death and destruction. The true meaning of the term samurai is one who serves and adheres to the power of love." - Morihei Ueshiba I would like to get back into it but I am hurting for time with full time work and part time law.
Did anyone mention the Break Dancing Martial art that Eddy from Tekken does. That stuff looks pretty cool.
some of his stuff is capoeira, which is what i used to do. When you get good at it, its very flashy and impressive, and since I don't intend to fight in my life, i guess i'd want to master capoeira. however, if you want to fight, forms of jeet kun do, jiu jitsu and grappling are known to be the most successful. also want to note that the korean taekwondo olympian was simply amazing.
Yes, and it was refreshing to see this style used in the final scenes of Zoolander, when Hansel was break-dance fighting the DJ. I think Owen Wilson had to study the technique for a long time. -- droxford
Whatever martial are you choose, unless you train like you will fight, it will be useless. What I mean is that most martial arts avoid full contact sparring. You just practice moves over & over, but never gte to really "hit" someone. Unless you know what it feels like to take a punch or a kick, you're gonna be in a world of pain, surprise, and **** when you get into a real bar fight or street brawl.
Although I completely understand the desire to have a funcitonal martial art, I still think of it as an art. The two I'd love to take are Kendo and Iaido. I'm less interested in the sport aspect of Kendo and more interested in the forms and kata of the two, especially with the metal swords instead of the wooden practice ones. But I guess I romanticize the whole thing and don't really want to hurt anyone. ^^
I took wan hwa do (hybrid of karate, judo, and kenpo) in my youth and took Kung Fu later on. Kung Fu seemed to be more about self defense and dispatching multiple opponents quickly by concentrating on striking vulnerable points of the body with various techniques. Kung Fu seems like the way to go, however a little judo/jujitsu thrown in would make one a more complete fighter.
Then talk to this guy, he can point you in the right direction. http://bbs2.clutchfans.net/showthread.php?s=&threadid=83023 edit: too funny. I just noticed that you were the one that posted that thread.
hmmm. For the most part, they are all predicated on defense. If you want to attack.... I would suggest boxing! From my experience, the best FIGHTERS are boxers!
Not after they get low kicked to death by a Muay Thai fighter! They don't teach you this in boxing school, as Vince Phillips finds out here: http://216.40.244.4/k1/k1botrs/k1botrs_masato_vs_phillips.zip
