When you decide to begin training in martial art you have some questions you have to answer for yourself. Are you looking for a sport to play, an art to dedicate a lifetime to, or a quick fix method of self defence? Some combination of that perhaps? Most of us are, or were all three at times. Where do your priorities lie? You must first decide martial art , or fighting sport. The two are worlds apart, although they overlap in several areas, their mindset, and intent are opposite. You have to know also what is available to you. If you have Uechi-Ryu, and Bak Mei in your area, wanting to do TKD would not help you. Of the available options you must decide which one(s) interest you. Then you have to decide (take your time, it's important) which available instruction is the one for you. You can change or quit if you don't like it, but better to stay with the program right through (providing the program is a good one) for the best training. Style-hopping has in my experience cost many a martial artist their potential, so choose wisely, nobody here can tell you what to do for you. So do your homework well. Talk to instructors and students, watch classes, take 'free introductory' classes, make your decision. One more thing, good luck
every style is effective no matter what martial art you choose if you train hard and keep on practicing you will be able to beat any martial artist. its all depends upon how you train. i would advice you to go for kung fu because it is the most old and vast kind of martial arts with masters keep on updating it from time to time. every other martial art has been originated from kung fu. but you have to train hard and need alot of time to master the moves. the other option is jeet kune do. to me its the best martial art made by bruce lee. it is more of a philosophy then a martial art. you will find people here cursing and saying Chinese martial art sucks and is gud for nothing n all but a true martial artist will always tell you that no martial art is good or bad. it depends on how much dedicated you are and how much love do you have for that particular martial art. you have to love it like you love your favorite subject and you should enjoy that martial art when you practice it.
Indeed. Agreed with Jim R. But of course you'll need to do a thorough research for a better choice. You might not wanting to do one but then regretted after a few months. If you like martial arts which is more into feet movements, please try to look at Muay Thai (or Muay Boran), Capoeira, Savate and Sanshou (since you already figured the Tae Kwon Do). For the more balanced martial arts, you can try to look at Krav Maga (Israeli Self-Defense Arts), Russian Systema (really good, I lost once), Karate, Pencak Silat (South-East Asian Martial Arts), WuShu (or any form of KungFu), Shorinji Kempo, Ninjutsu and JeetKunDo (well.. of course you know Bruce Lee right?). For those which are focussing on striking with hands movements, you can try to look at WingChun, Boxing (it's also can be considered as 'martial arts' although it's more to 'fighting sport') and else which I refrain to put it in here since I'm not sure if it's really good and can be useful. Oh.. and of course if you prefer the slam and grappling styles, please consider Russian Sambo, Jujitsu (Brazilian or Japanese.. your choice), Judo, etc. I'm not quite into grappling.. So I guess I can't help much with it.
And.. there are some which specialized on weapons techniques, Arnis, Krabi Krabong, some WuShu (again), etc. Somehow you'll need to learn to use weapons afterwards. But better to start with unarmed styles.
Ps: I did TaeKwonDo (2nd Dan, trust me I really know about Tae Kwon Do), MuayThai, Aikido, Kuntao, and JeetKunDo for years. But now I prefer Kuntao Silat because of it's soft movements. Maybe because of my age (secret :D).. But you'll need to learn (just for experience) more than one but be focussed (to expertise) in just one. You'll need to find your passion through experiences for that.
Dr. Jwing--Ming Yang has 4 schools in MA. Here's his webpage - http://ymaa.com/
Point on TRAINING and select Locations from the drop down menu and you will get a list of all the schools in the world include ones in MA, USA.
Find a dojang or kwoon with a good instructor. They should let you try a few classes for free. Decide what you want to train in, join and strat training.
How to start: Sign up for class, show up, and keep showing up.
train
say your prayers
and take your vitamins
I am a 16 year old male in MA. Any tips on how to start learning some martial arts? I am particularly interested in tae Kwon doe and Kung fu
