Keep fit, learn martial arts

[The Dentist]

Ok guys need a bit of advice here. putting a bit of a belly on lol so im looking for something that will be fun, bring some zen and help me keep fit.

Been looking at whats around my area and theres so much with so many different names. tae kwon do, karate, kickboxing to name just 3. What are your experiances?

Just to add, im a complete beginner so its kinding of a daunting decision.

 

[Seedy_r0m]

Eat less. move more, that's a sure way of losing weight.

I'm a deft exponent of Tae Wan Shoe.

 

[zad]

Eat less. move more, that's a sure way of losing weight.

I'm a deft exponent of Tae Wan Shoe.

Is it Tae Wan Shoe because you only have Wan Foot.....

 

[Evastar]

Ok, well a few of the guys go to the gym or run, tbh it really depends on your age and stuff like that.

If you are a bit older and totally unfit i would recommend walking or swimming first for a month or so, just to get you used to doing some form of exercise. If you start a karate class or gym from doing absolutely nothing you are going to find it very tough and probably not stick with it.

 

[The Dentist]

i aint totally unfit lol only got a 32inch waist and im 26 years old so aint so bad...just want to take action before going downhill. pro-active, not reactive

 

[Evastar]

lol ok just checking!

They are all broadly similar in that they will achieve your goal. What i would recommend is either go to one that a friend goes to cos you are more likely to go if you have an arrangement, or else see which clubs let you go watch for free or else pay for a month, so you can try and see if you like it before committing yourself financially.

Another thing to remember is that you are more likely to go when it's freezing cold and pissing rain in the depths of winter if its close to home, if you have to get a bus or drive for half an hour, forget about it.

 

[The Dentist]

lol ok just checking!

They are all broadly similar in that they will achieve your goal. What i would recommend is either go to one that a friend goes to cos you are more likely to go if you have an arrangement, or else see which clubs let you go watch for free or else pay for a month, so you can try and see if you like it before committing yourself financially.

Another thing to remember is that you are more likely to go when it's freezing cold and pissing rain in the depths of winter if its close to home, if you have to get a bus or drive for half an hour, forget about it.

Mates just spend time in the gym which i dont find appealing...all them guys in front of the mirror lol.

I'd rather learn something while keeping fit and martial arts has always interested me.

 

[Evastar]

Well then my advice is look for a local club with a good rep and ask if you can watch for an evening or two, check out all the local clubs like that and see which instructor and club you like best

Let us know how you get on

 

[The Dentist]

Well then my advice is look for a local club with a good rep and ask if you can watch for an evening or two, check out all the local clubs like that and see which instructor and club you like best

Let us know how you get on

Cheers mate will do. Problem is, im in central london and very spoilt for choice. Kind of a good thing but hundreds of clubs around here. Gonna see which is closest and give them a ring tomorrow.
Thanks for the advice.

 

[Seedy_r0m]

Is it Tae Wan Shoe because you only have Wan Foot.....

That is true, but the ladies love it.

 

[Kruger]

M8 if motivating yourself to enter a gym, which i can understand or motivstion in general i would recommend taking up a team sport. Play regular as you your with mates and you wont try and dodge as you will know you will be letting the rest down plus the others will be there to puch u on.

but if however your set on wanting to do a martial art in my opinion and might get flamed here. i would recommend Jiu Jitsu, Brazillian Jiu jitsu or Maui Thai as far as i am concerend the only ones worth bothering with, stuff like TKD are total pish and utter shite lol

Jiu Jitsu translate to The Gentle Art but it anything but lol but dont let that put u off, if you watch two seasoned pros then it looks sweet smooth and fluent.

 

[oneman]

Best thing is to find a friend to train with. If you can't manage that then best thing is to do something you like else you will just give up.

If you are interested in martial arts then all of them can be taxing, just depends on how much you effort you want to put in and what you are looking to get out of it skill wise.

Assume that you can walk up a couple of flights of stairs without getting out of breath.

From personal experience, karate is the easiest and initially involves the least contact but to be honest on the street you will slaughtered. Tae kwon do, kick boxing, kung fu, jkd, mauy thai, etc as all striking based. a good dojo will get you sparing fairly quickly. Expect a lot of repetitions of basic moves. Out of those mauy thai and kick boxing have the most self defense value.

Ju Jitsu is based on blocking, locks, chokes and throws. Quite technical, you will be in physical contact from the outset and believe working with a 18 stone guy will quickly wear you down even though its based on using your opponuts energy against him.

Brazillian jujitsu is the 'in' martial art now with its popularity in cage fighting, I still have my doubts about its use on the 'street' but its mostly ground based and using your weight and positioning to control your opponut. Its also VERY cardio based, even 15 minutes will live you knackered. I would also be careful if you have a bad back with JJ.

I would say all good place welcome beginners and will offer at least one or two free lessons. Look for a place without ego, class size of at least 10 if possible (more varity keeps it interesting) but instructor to pupil ratio of 8 or less if possible. Everywhere I have trained, they have cross trained in more then one art. They should be open to any questions you have.

I would definately say try and find somewhere where you are going to have fun.

 

[huggi]

i dont want to hijack the thread but my questions similar.

i was thinking of getting the kids into kick boxing has anyone got any feed back such as the best choice for kids, or would boxing be better etc...

 

[Evastar]

Well i would say not boxing myself, you hear too much about older boxers having brain damage etc; kick boxing is very popular, or tae kwondo etc, again it depends on what's local and what their friends do, if they like it they'll stick with it, otherwise they wont.

 

[The Dentist]

What do you think of wing chun?

TBH something physical is what im looking for, bit of a challange. not too worried about street cred and that though.

 

[Evastar]

What do you think of wing chun?

TBH something physical is what im looking for, bit of a challange. not too worried about street cred and that though.

Don't know anything about it compared to any other type of martial art, it's a type of kung fu isn't it?

Maybe some of the others know more about it.

 

[eder]

Just do this 3 times a week and you are sorted m8...

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8I7PMeoE2c0&feature=player_embedded]YouTube - Handstand push-ups one arm 90 degree on a floor youmove[/ame]

 

[oneman]

very high level overview of my understanding of the different styles.

Kung fu often refers to a range of style from southern china. Wing chun is one of these styles which focuses on close distance fighting. It has emphais on speed over power (which is difficult to generate at short range), often you will see chain punching with a lot of low power strikes aimed at centrelines as opposed a big 'knock out' strike of say something like karate or boxing. As with most styles, wing chun can be good excerise.

Japanese styles such as karate and TKD are influenced on the southern chinese style but are much more 'ridged' with more emphasis on forms or kata's. Kung fu movement is based on circular motion and thus appears more fluid.

Traditional Ji Jitsu is a basis for lot of japanese styles and developed into Judo amongst others. Others have taken it and formed their own style from it, e.g. brazillion JJ and krav maga.

Europe had catch wrestling / grappling which developed into styles such as sambo and american wrestling (the collage stuff, not WWF). Cage fighting has shown that wrestling can be very effective in controlling your opponent the match.

For best self-defense, I would say that there are different situations that suit each style. TBH, to get to the point where a style can really help takes a lot of practice. Funnily I would say something straightforward like boxing where they teach you to throw one to two good punches fairly easily can often be enough to end a fight.

 

[oneman]

i dont want to hijack the thread but my questions similar.

i was thinking of getting the kids into kick boxing has anyone got any feed back such as the best choice for kids, or would boxing be better etc...

I would say that kick boxing offers wider range of motion and excercise and potentially better for self defense in the future. Both should be safe when done under instruction.

Level of sparring is up to you, unless you are training for competition then all sparring should be light.

The best thing would be find a local place that caters for kids and something the kids are going to enjoy. Don't take it to seriously else that is the easiest way to turn kids off.

 

[snapman]

Martial Arts is one of the best all round exercise-type activities you can do, as most of your muscles are being used, plus for cardio-vascular it's also good.

If it's for the fitness-side, just about any one of them will do.

I practiced Shotokan karate for many years, and was great for all round fitness.

It just all depends on what you're after. If it's just physical one-on-one fighting, most, or all of the time, boxing, judo or kick-boxing's what you're after.

But as I've said, any of the Martial Arts requires a high level of fitness, so you shouldn't go wrong with most of them.

You should visit some Martial Arts clubs near you when a class is on and maybe even ask the Instructor about their style of Martial Arts after the class. Definitely one of the best sports to get into.

If my memory serves me right, only swimming is better for all-round workout of your body muscles. I'm sure if I'm wrong someone will correct me though.

On that note; Kung Fu didn't appeal to me as much, but each to their own, as the saying goes.