
Ask HN: What martial arts do you practice? What do you recommend? - joshuacc
Given some of the recent discussions of fitness/exercise on HN, I've decided to try taking up a martial art. Aside from a couple of years fencing in my late teens, this will be a new experience.<p>What martial arts do you practice? Do you have any recommendations? Advice for beginners? How did you get started?<p>Thanks!
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gotrythis
I am a Yoshinkan Aikdio sensei.

I began training almost 20 years ago when I was still a major nerd programmer.
With seven Karate schools in town, it was the philosophy of Aikido that hooked
me.

My take on the philosophy is that we are all in this mess together and someone
who is attacking us is reaching out for help in the only way they know how.
They are damaged and need help. Hurting them will increase their damage and
add more pain into the world. As a responsible person and martial artist, that
is not my goal. Aikido provides non-violent ways of protecting yourself as
well as your attackers. The founder called it the martial art of love.

It's also handy when someone you care about gets triggered, temporarily loses
their mind, attacks blindly, and needs to be controlled without being hurt.
(That's happened to me.)

Nobody mean or aggressive tends to stay in Aikido. It's taught cooperatively
and is a very good environment. Nobody is out to hurt anyone in Aikido classes
making it a lot of fun, whipping people through the air and having them
laughing and coming back for more. It also seems to attract intellectuals.
Many of my instructors had PHD's.

What it comes down to though, is the individual teacher, more so than the
martial art. I would avoid teacher's who are on a power trip. Nice, confident,
warm, instructors in any martial art are people I'm honored to train with.

I also highly recommend joining a yoga class.

John.

~~~
jollojou
I have been practicing ashtanga yoga 4-6 times a week for several years now. I
must say that it suits well to a programmer. Even though I sit by the desk
about 8 hours a day, I never have any aches or pains. The daily practice kind
of moves the body to the background, since the body becomes quiet and it does
not complain. Practicing yoga postures also involves meditation, so its a good
way to relax.

I suppose this can be achieved by practicing martial arts as well. The main
thing is to have a regular exercise that you find meaningful.

------
thomaspaine
I've been doing brazilian jiu-jitsu for about 5 years, and would highly
recommend it to anyone. I know a wide range of people who practice it, from
professional fighters to little kids to a guy in his 60s.

I think it fits especially well for the HN crowd, because there's generally
very little mystical bs that goes on, and although this analogy gets abused,
it's basically human chess. There's a very analytical approach to learning
jiu-jitsu as opposed to most striking arts (I also do muay thai and recommend
that as well if the idea if touching people grosses you out) which are largely
reflexive.

~~~
huherto
I started practicing BJJ a few months back. I loved it. It is like chess, but
physical. Unfortunately, I was in the receiving end of a neck crank. I was
injured (cervical hernia). So if you practice BJJ make sure that you are
always safe and don`t hesitate to tap.

~~~
bdickason
That's really horrible :( It sucks to train with someone who is also a
beginner as chances for getting hurt are much higher! I was rolling with a guy
who was also new (and twice my size) who loved to lean on me when in my guard.
We weren't going that hard but I started to notice a pain in my side and
assumed it was a cramp. Turned out to be a fractured rib :(

To answer the OP's question, I take a mixed martial arts class that combines
muay thai/kickboxing with bjj and has a cardio class as well. It's very well
rounded, and our instructors compete in some of the smaller MMA leagues like
Bellator.

Overall, it's a great experience and amazing workout when you combine
kickboxing and mid to high level bjj. Just note that early BJJ (your first 6
months or so) will not work you too hard until you can start to free grapple.

------
David
The quality of any martial arts training will depend much more on the teacher
than the art being taught. A bad teacher can ruin any art, but a good one will
teach you important things about yourself (your limits, your strengths and
weaknesses, and _how to change them_ ) under the pretext of any art.

Personally, I've been training Isshinryu for ~9 years. It's been great for me,
in terms of keeping me in shape, relieving stress, and learning confidence and
discipline. Isshinryu is a striking art, but we also practice judo and
grappling to a lesser degree. I actually wish we did more of those two,
because many fights end up on the ground, and I feel underprepared for that --
though many of the people I've trained with have learned judo or wrestling
separately, so it's possible I'm better prepared than I realize. (The evidence
is still there, though. I rarely won on the mats. =P)

As far as starting a martial art, just find a dojo and go. Most will welcome
you to watch a class so you can get a feel for the style and the instructors.
Your first few weeks practicing can be embarrassing for some. Don't quit.
Nobody there is expecting you to know what your doing, and you'll adapt to the
dojo's norms pretty quickly.

The main thing, though, is to find a teacher who knows what they're doing.
Also important: make sure you respect them. As long as you have these, your
martial arts training will definitely improve you. No guarantees about making
you into an unbeatable street fighter, but you won't be disappointed.

~~~
tachibana
Agreed; the teacher and the students in the dojo are much more important than
style. The things I would look for would be:

\- a relentless focus on safety

\- something you enjoy (weapons vs striking vs grappling, etc.)

\- instructor who communicates in a style you understand (I'm an engineer, so
I use physics to explain concepts)

\- senior students who help the newer students

Since effective use / sparring is really more about game theory, there really
is no one "superior" art to rule them all.

My personal experience:

\- Volunteer teacher for various youth groups

\- 2nd degree kendo, co-captain of varsity team, regionally ranked in Japan

\- 1st degree karate, varsity team

\- beginner aikido

------
silentbicycle
Another data point - I trained in Aikido for several years, and enjoyed it
tremendously. I eventually moved away from my dojo and couldn't make it often
enough, so I stopped, but I highly recommend it.

It's been particularly helpful in defending me "on the street" - it taught me
to be really good at _falling without hurting myself_ , which is an incredibly
practical self-defense skill. It's come in handy many times on icy Michigan
roads. I'm not looking to start a fight, and I've never been ambushed by
ninjas, so striking arts haven't really appealed to me.

Capoeria looks like a lot of fun, too.

~~~
David
I have a friend through Karate (he's my age, 18/19) who went to boy scout camp
a couple years ago and was screwing around with some friends. They were free-
climbing a cliff. He fell from around 40 feet up. He broke many of the bones
in the left side of his body, but a few months later he was fine. He actually
owes his _life_ to knowing how to fall correctly.

If that ain't a reason to pick up a martial art that trains falling... (Or you
could have common sense. Either way.)

------
PieSquared
I logged in just to post this. Try Capoeira. It's not as well known as many
other martial arts, but it's a _lot_ of fun.

It's a Brazilian martial art which originated with the black slaves
transported from Africa. In the 1800's, around 1880 or so, slavery was
abolished, and due to massive former slave unemployment and gang activity,
capoeira grew steadily more violent. It was soon outlawed, and any found
practicing it were jailed. However, around 1930, a movement grew to found
capoeira as a "modern" martial art, with a formalized training and graduation
system, as opposed to a very advanced form of street fighting. Since then,
it's been getting less violent and more popular throughout the world.

It's very different from the other martial arts. The closest Asian martial art
would be Wushu; capoeira is equally "showy" at times, utilizing flips, jump
kicks, and so on and so forth. A lot of the movements you see in breakdancing
actually originated in capoeira. Headspins, 1990's, butterfly kicks,
backflips, the "baby freeze" are all movements in breakdancing, but also find
their place in capoeira.

Capoeira is played to music and singing on the traditional instruments. A
berimbau, drums, and a pandeiro (tambourine). The speed of the game (the
fight) is set by the music. Finally, capoeira is a game of _strategy_ : it
requires quick thinking, because every movement by your opponent can be
countered and used to gain the advantage. At higher levels, the fight becomes
a mental one - you must anticipate what your opponent will do before he does
it, and, at higher levels still, you can _lead_ your opponent to do what you
want him to do, so that you know in advance what will happen.

It's a very dynamic martial art. It's beautiful and incredibly fun, as well as
incredibly tiring. It really does a wonderful job of combining "martial"
aspects with "art" aspects: some styles of play emphasize fighting and
defense, while some emphasize beauty. Some do both.

Here are some links to videos of capoeira games:
<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z8xxgFpK-NM>
<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=51q1VB_dDik>
<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FQl3iInVd0Y>

Feel free to email me for questions. My username at gmail. There are multiple
groups; I would suggest joining Abadá capoeira if you have them near you, as
that is the largest and most organized group, from what I've heard.

------
mdda
I've already added a comment about a particular martial art. But I think that
you could also narrow it down through a kind of decision tree:

Do you want to be 'badass'? Do you care whether there is a philosophy side to
it? Do you want to have a grading system (belts, for instance)? Is it
important to have a 'pure' art - or would a school that 'takes the best from
different arts' sound better? Can you just sit on the side at a school to
watch a lesson (call first so they can suggest a suitable lesson)? Do you want
to be able to demonstrate to your friends? Do you want to be able to do a
'form' (solo, regimented practice)? Do you want to be taught 'weapons'?

Is the school run for love or money? Are the other students people who you
feel comfortable with? Can you respect the teacher(s)?

Of course, other people have asked all the above questions better :
[http://everything2.com/title/Things+to+consider+when+choosin...](http://everything2.com/title/Things+to+consider+when+choosing+a+Martial+Art)
\- but I must emphasise the importance of making sure the school is right for
you ...

------
dpapathanasiou
I practice aikido.

As someone else here mentioned, it's a _soft_ style in that it's less about
striking than speed and timing.

It also consists of mental training: quieting your mind and removing
unnecessary thoughts and distraction (it's been described as " _meditation in
motion_ ").

Some downsides: it takes a _long_ time to get to any level of proficiency,
it's non-competitive (so unlike fencing, there are no tournaments to compete
in), and only really useful in defense.

As with any martial art, the critical thing is to find a good teacher.

The best advice might be to visit several dojos of the different forms people
have mentioned here, and see which one suits you best.

------
Qz
My suggestion would be Tai Chi (also spelled Tai Qi and Tai Ji depending on
who you ask...).

You might not even think of Tai Chi as a martial art, and that's because
although Tai Chi is in fact a martial art, it is also something of a
meditative practice akin to yoga. Similar to the aikido suggestions below, Tai
Chi is not a striking art, but is mostly about redirecting the opponent's
energy, as well as moves that hinder or disable the opponent from attacking
you in the first place. Tai Chi focuses on sensitivity and receptiveness
rather than force or strength, so even if you do it for years, you won't come
out of it looking like Bruce Lee, which may or may not be a positive for you.

I don't have a lot of experience with other martial arts, aside from a few
random Karate lessons when I was young, but I've been going to a local Tai Chi
class for about 6 months now and I highly recommend it.

~~~
mdda
There are many different approaches to Tai Chi - from the 'spiritual', via
'health', the 'form', 'weapons', 'push hands', ... , all the way to
'tournament fighting'. I've just come home from a lesson where we had to wear
chest protectors...

But one thing that I've heard, and I kind of agree with : I don't recommend
Tai Chi to anyone. If someone wants to do it, then I'm happy to point them in
the right direction. But I don't want to push people into something that
they're only going to try because I've persuaded them. They've got to have an
inkling that it's something they'd enjoy.

I had previously do some Jiu Jitsu (cool), and Aikido (v. nice). But what's
kept me doing Tai Chi is the fact that my shoulders don't get dislocated so
often (YMMV - but it's notable that many of the students at my school are
musicians that have consciously chosen a martial art that won't damage them).

Another point is that while one can feel 'dangerous' more quickly doing other
martial arts, that is usually an illusion : being an over-confident beginner
is much more likely to get you in trouble. Tai Chi students doesn't suffer
from that so much - since for the first few years, they're only directing
traffic in the park :-)

I originally started in 1999 because I figured I needed some external activity
to take my mind off my startup - and the health stuff has been a pleasant side
effect. Mostly I do Push Hands now, with a dash of mornings in the park
helping others 'tuck in'. ( ChuTaiChi.com )

~~~
Banion

        Tai Chi has been a great experience for me as well. I think because of its strengthening and stretching, balance and control as well as low risk of putting me out of work with an injury. It has been awesome for my lower back. 
        It can be very calming and has a spiritual side which you can explore if that's your thing. Tai Chi contains the roots of all other chinese martial arts so you could use it as a stepping stone off the couch. 
        I personally hope more people will find and benefit from Tai Chi. 

"It's like Yoga without having to roll around on the floor :)" - me

------
waterside81
Systema - the martial art practiced by the Russian Elite Force (Spetsnaz) and
since taught to many military special forces. It combines breathing techniques
and relaxation techniques with the ability to disarm and kill an individual. I
cannot say enough good words about how Systema has helped me become a better
athlete and person.

<http://www.russianmartialart.com/>

~~~
vgurgov
I never practiced systema, let me ask you this. What is a point of studying
lethal army tricks for geek? Ok if your are on battlefield in Iraq attacked by
terrorist or in spetsnaz forces, that might be one thing, but if drunken guy
in bar will say that you are asshole are you going to kill him by punching in
neck or make him blind for entire life by punching in eye? Are you serious??

~~~
waterside81
It's about confidence and internal strength (I know that sounds kind of
fuzzy). I don't take Systema so I can go around murdering people - I take it
because I feel great knowing that I'm more in control of my body than I was
before. One of the drills in Systema is having your partner hit you for 5
minutes straight and learning how to breathe through this and take the blows.
At first you're afraid and tense up which is what leads to bruising and pain,
but as you learn the system, you get more relaxed and don't bruise anymore. I
used to come home looking like an abuse victim but now I don't.

I really, really recommend that you read up on Systema and try to find a local
chapter. Or if you're in Toronto, come by for a free lesson. Vlad (the head
instructor worldwide) will be more than happy to show you the ropes.

~~~
DennisP
Interesting. Turns out there are a couple instructors in my area, one
certified and another working on it. Is it mostly young fit guys, or is it
doable for a skinny oldster with nagging injuries?

I've been thinking about tai chi too, for somewhat different reasons. It
sounds like they might dovetail kinda nicely.

------
aeontech
I've been doing Wing Tsun kung fu for over ten years. If you find a good
school, it's a very methodical, highly intelligent and very technical martial
art. There's a lot of depth to it, and as you get better, it gets more and
more subtle (as well as a lot more effective). Unfortunately, there's also a
lot of schools that are not very good (as with any martial art), so your
experience may vary. In my experience, the german (Leung Ting) branch of the
art is the best at this point. We have a few ex-fencers in our class, and they
seem to enjoy it a lot.

The style itself is a soft style, relying on speed and sensitivity to deflect
the opponent's attacks and triumph. A lot of the training is partner-training,
a lot of it is playing role games. As you get better, we also work on the
psychology and tactics of the fight. I've been doing it for a long time, and I
have never gotten bored with it - there's always people who are _measurably_
better than you to serve as a reminder of what you're striving for. In many
martial arts, once you hit a certain plateau, there's not much difference
between someone who trained for five years versus someone who trained for 10 -
here, the difference is clear as day.

The other thing I really enjoy about our school is a very well structured
curriculum - you always have very specific goals and targets to work on, you
get tested every 3 months, and the teacher always keeps track of where you are
at and that you're making progress.

If you're in the SF Bay Area, send me an email (my username @ gmail), I can
give you an introduction or an invite to class.

Most martial arts schools offer free or discounted introductory lessons. You
can attend a class for a month or so to decide whether it's something that
suits you.

How WT compares to other martial arts (that I have any familiarity with):

Aikido - softer, more traditional teaching style, so it can take a lot longer
to get good at it. Similar concepts in terms of deflection and redirection of
opponent's attacks; not as aggressive as WT.

BJJ - focuses on tournament-style fighting with certain rules - great for
locks and ground fighting, but there's a reason that most people who take BJJ
also take Muay Thai or another striking art at the same time - BJJ doesn't
cover those areas well, if at all.

Muay Thai - amazing cardio, amazing for working on your balance, but more
brutal and simple, not much technique or sensitivity involved.

Krav Maga - another very physically strenuous workout, but focuses on a set of
very simple techniques. Not much depth to it, after six months or so you
probably know most of what they have, after that it's just about getting
stronger/faster.

~~~
coryl
_Muay thai - not much technique or sensitivity involved."_

What. Have you ever been thai clinched? Have you ever had your kick blocked,
shin on shin?

~~~
aeontech
Yup. That hurts like hell. I try to catch the kick with my calf and turn it
away, but it's difficult. Timing and distance is everything.

I probably spoke rashly though, I don't really know enough about it to make
generalizations like that. I take it back.

~~~
coryl
It's all good, muay thai respect has been restored :)

It's easy to forget what real muay thai is, because of the mindless training
we condition our bodies to. Hitting the pads or hitting the bag is not
fighting. Coach always use to say, "be conscious of your body at all times.
pretend your pad holder is your opponent. otherwise, you're just
masturbating...hitting something to make slapping sounds to feel good about
yourself."

training != sparring != fighting

~~~
christonog
Yes. You can look really good on pads, but when it's time to get in the ring,
your technique and endurance goes to shit.

------
albahk
Living in HK and having seen a few Bruce Lee movies I studied Wing Chun when I
was young.

The appeal to me was the sifu (Ng Chun Hong) was an older kung fu master who
had trained since his childhood. This guy had forearms like iron bars and
could easily have kicked my ass with a blindfold and one arm behind his back.
The training was old-school tough - my first few weeks were simply 2 hour
sessions of squatting to train my leg muscles.

------
lionhearted
What's your goal? Asking, "What's a good martial art for me?" is like asking,
"What's a good car for me?" Well, do you want a very reliable car that you
never have to do maintenance on, do you want a really fast car you can race,
do you want some sort of luxury or prestige?

There's a few different goals you could have with martial arts:
Fitness/athleticism, competition/camaraderie/sport, philosophy/balance, and/or
practical self defense. Of the last one, there's also a few considerations. A
highly trained martial artist in any art is going to fight very well, but how
long do you intend to train and when if ever do you think you'd need to be
proficient?

For me, I don't care about the sport aspect, the fitness aspect, the
competition aspect, or the philosophy aspect. I sometimes travel through
dangerous places, and I needed training that would get me proficient to
protect myself in a variety of common situations. I researched into this some,
and if you want rapid proficiency at self defense - to the exclusion of the
other elements I mentioned - then I'd recommend a martial art that's been
refined and taught by a successful military.

The two that I was deciding between to learn first are Krav Maga, the Israeli
Army's martial art, and Systema, the Russian one.

<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Krav_maga>

<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Systema>

I was in Los Angeles which has the flagship American Krav studio, so I studied
there and enjoyed it a lot, and I feel capable of defending myself in a
variety of situations after only a few months of training. Eventually, I'd
like to round myself out by studying a variety of martial arts, but for very
practical fast learning curve self defense (to the exclusion of philosophy and
sport) I was looking at Krav and Systema.

Regular boxing also seems to have a quick learning curve - I don't know if
it's true, but I've that pure boxers will be ahead of the learning curve of
most martial arts that use punches and kicks for about two years before the
martial artist passes the boxer.

------
sayemm
I studied Ninjitsu for 2yrs a long time ago and I did amateur boxing in
undergrad.

If your goal is to get fit and also learn how to kick someone's ass, start
boxing.

Don't get me wrong, martial arts are a great discipline, but I've never ever
had a workout session in any sport or martial art as intense as my boxing
practices. Hitting the bags or sparring with someone tests your
stamina/endurance real quickly.

------
giardini
Since you have practiced fencing, you might be interested in studying at an
ATT (American Tire Tool) dojo. We generally drink a few beers, then either
beat on each other with our tire tools, or go find some geeks to beat up for
practice.

Our dojo held an initial advanced class in American poleaxe hachetry, but the
defensive sparring suit didn't work very well (sorry, Chuck, hope you get out
of the hospital soon). American medicine is really the best in the world: they
can re-attach entire _limbs_ these day!

Honestly, this discussion is inappropriate for HN and went downhill from the
get-go. It's a question that dozens of other more appropriate forums have
discussed ad nauseum.

------
lukefabish
If you have no prior affiliation or interest in a particular martial art,
choose a school based on the master and the school's culture, rather than the
type of martial art.

A good master will make any martial art learning experience great. A poor one
will ruin any school.

Go watch a class - are the students training diligently, treating each other
respectfully, and being taught firmly but carefully by their instructor?

The master sets the tone, culture, and norms of the school. In a sense the
master is the school.

I've been training Hapkido in Melbourne, AU (www.hkd.com.au) for the past 12
years, which ticks all the above boxes.

Congrats on everyone so far avoiding the 'martial' as 'marital' typo :)

~~~
Evgeny
Luke!!! You're on HN! Small world indeed. Luke's my instructor who taught me a
lot already and keeps teaching, so here's one more vote for hapkido I guess.

------
St-Clock
There are many dimensions to consider when choosing a martial art and it may
be wise to try a few if you never had experience beside fencing. I practiced
Karate (shorin-ryu) for three years when I was young and I was never really
happy. I've been doing flying white crane kung fu (fujian, not tibetan style)
for many years now and I love it. It just depends on each person. Some
dimensions to look for:

Soft (use the opponent strength) vs Hard (punch and kick hard!)

Traditional (deep historical background, traditional forms that have been
taught for hundreds of years, at least some sparring without any equipment,
spiritual dimension) vs Modern (sparring is almost exclusively done with
equipments, more acrobatic moves)

Martial Arts vs. Combat Sport. I don't want to get too much flak on this one,
but IMHO, the more rules you have, the more it looks like a combat sport.
Which is perfectly fine if this is what you like!

Each school will favor some of these dimensions over the others, even among
the same style (e.g., karate, kung fu, and even boxing vary widely across
schools).

But the most important aspect is probably the teacher. If you are afraid of
your teacher, if you are stressed every time you are on your way to the
school, it won't do you any good, because clearly, you are not going there to
become the next Bruce Lee or to learn how to save your family from burglars.

------
diggum
I trained in Eskrima (~aka Kali or Arnis) for several years and loved it. It's
a Filipino art most commonly recognized as stick fighting or knife fighting,
but is a complete system of hand-to-hand combat. After having sticks flying at
you for awhile, suddenly hands aren't nearly as threatening. To get the most
out of it, do expect to get a little bruised and sore. The bruising stops as
you learn the relaxation aspects of the art, though you still get a good sore.

Most schools do not train eskrima as aerobic exercise, as might be typical of
other arts, but generally are strictly technique and drill oriented. If you're
looking to lose a lot of weight through martial arts training, another art
might be better suited. But if you want to learn basic, effective techniques
for self-defense and can handle the exercise and fitness aspects on your own,
then I highly recommend looking for a good school near you. Doce Pares is a
very well-respected organization that I can't say enough good things about.

------
wushupork
I have been practicing wushu for 12 years. I find that it is a sport that
constantly pushes me. I focus mostly on sport wushu forms. I do not generally
enjoy hitting other people and wushu has a performance focus that resonates
with me. I grew up watching Kung Fu movies so it was a good fit for me.

I think saying one style is better than the other is like saying orange juice
is better than apple juice. I think you need to find the style that suits your
body type and personality. Any school worth their salt will let you at least
try a free class. You should try the class. Also another important factor is
the skill of the students regardless of style. You should pick a school where
your classmates will challenge and push you. Trying out the class will also
let you see if you will get along with those people. After all if you are
serious you ilk probably be spending a lot of time with them. Location is
another factor. Ideally it should be close so that you go often.

~~~
grillmaster
I've did wushu in college for half a year and i think its great though my
intentions of joining is wrong (to get to know a girl, which then i found our
half of the class had similar ideas). Had a lot of fun with it, the patterns
are not that boring or emphasized on and the partner exercise are great. Even
played tag sometimes instead of the usual jogging for cardiac exercise/warm
up. Plus you get to play with weapons!!

------
sabalaba
Disclosure: I've practiced Bujinkan Ninjitsu 武神馆忍术 for 5 years now.

I recommend, especially for the brainer types, a well rounded martial art like
ninjitsu, aikido, gong fu, qigong. Something like Boxing or BJJ will give you
the physical fitness that you can get from most forms of exercise, but they
lack the mental and spiritual refinement that comes from practice of a "true"
martial _art_. The emphasis on art there implies that it is a true art form,
taking years of discipline and practice to grasp just the basics. Ninjitsu is
deadly efficient in combat, combines spiritual refinement (meditation,
mindfulness, discipline), survival techniques (herbalism, meteorology, etc.),
combat techniques and strategy into a complete package.

<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ninjutsu>

------
terryjsmith
Taekwondo. I highly recommend it (and any martial art really) that have a
good/regular schedule that will help you to be motivated.

The most important thing is to do it for the fitness, for weight loss, or for
something else goal oriented that isn't belt levels or rank. Make sure to set
attainable goals, meet them, re-evaluate, repeat. I went into taekwondo
wanting to lose some weight. I lost 30 pounds. Then I wanted to make the
competition team, so I started training harder, running and doing interval
training. Last year I won 1 gold and 1 silver medal in competitions. My
current goal is to be able to do single leg squats.

Just keep mixing it up on yourself. You would be surprised how motivated you
will find yourself even outside of class.

------
doron
I used to practice KravMaga and systema as a full contact martial art for more
then 10 years, both are practical martial arts, if you do not mind getting
black and blue from time to time, it will also improve your physical fitness,
conditioning, and instincts very fast.

For the last several years i am practicing Iaido, which is generally speaking,
the martial art of drawing, striking, shaking off the blood, and sheathing
back the sword.

It has no practical use as a martial method,and is highly ceremonial. I find
it to be the most demanding martial art i ever practiced in terms of mental
requirements. The simplest forms take years to master, it is a humbling and
often frustrating experience, I highly recommend.

~~~
vgurgov
Iaido is great, my first Aikido sensei (I recognize him as a man who had a
biggest impact on my life) used to gave some lessons of it.

I probably dont recommend it to newcomers, you have to come to Iaido, after
you have some understanding of life (and some martial arts as ultimate
simulator of it)

------
staktrace
If you just want fitness/exercise, might I recommend parkour? Most people
don't consider it a martial art, but they do consider it a discipline rather
than a sport. It requires the same level of dedication and practice to be good
at, and enhances your world view in a similar way to martial arts. The real
benefit, I find, is that it is far more social than martial arts; there's a
great community of traceurs around the world who are constantly trying new
things and helping each other out. I'm not going to go into much more detail
unless you're interested, so reply here if you are.

~~~
staktrace
Actually you should watch the documentary on Youtube called "The Nature of
Challenge" - if that doesn't convince you then nothing will :)

<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Poph6Jmc688>

------
selenamarie
I've studied judo, karate and kung fu. My favorite was kung fu! Here's the
school I attended: <http://leungmartialarts.com/>

I'd say finding a place to train with students I knew and got along with and
an instructor I liked was the most important thing for me. I tried out a few
classes at different schools before settling on this particular one. I liked
the emphasis on cooperation, incorporation of tai chi practice, and that the
leader of the school spent a lot of time with new students like myself, making
sure we mastered each technique.

------
presidentender
Practicality is important to me, and difficult to judge without some
experience. Properly practiced Jujitsu, Sambo and Krav Maga are practical.
There are useful lessons in Muay Thai and hard American kickboxing. Judo is
acceptable, particularly if you are not possessed of great strength. Wing
Chun's pitch sounds reasonable, but I cannot speak to its efficacy.

Avoid most schools of Karate (Kenpo especially), Capoeira, Aikido, Tae Kwan
Do, and most of Kung Fu.

In any case, there are bad instructors to be found for every art. Caution is
in order.

~~~
sberder
Why would you provide such a definitive advice on the arts to avoid?! I can't
even believe this answer was upvoted. I'm not a big fan of Kenpo Karate myself
or of capoeira-under-the spotlight but I wouldn't say to avoid them, there is
interesting learnings in any martial arts. You don't even know what this guy
is exactly looking for and you make a selection of very MMA oriented arts.

I don't understand how you got upvoted on this one.

~~~
LiveTheDream
He stated arts to avoid based on his personal preference of the martial art
being practical, which I take to mean as being practical for self-defense.
Modern karate-like martial arts tend to optimize for point-fighting, which
won't do you much good in a physical self-defense scenario. OP implied he
wanted to train for fitness with no comment on self-defense, so the practical
nature doesn't apply, but regardless, the parent comment is valid.

~~~
omnigoat
It depends on which dojo you train at. In our (Shotokan) dojo, every couple of
lessons or so, someone will ask "but that's illegal in a tournament, right?",
to which our sensei laughs and says in a real fight there's no such rules. We
are taught to end any fight in one strike. We are taught to destroy the three
weak areas of the human body (can't fight if you can't see, can't fight if you
can't breathe, can't fight if you can't walk). We're also taught judo, because
most fights end up on the ground. We're taught a wide variety of self-defence
moves, most of which end with us taking a joint or two or theirs.

I'm sure there's plenty of Shotokan dojos that don't have such a good sensei
though. YMMV.

------
waru
I have tried Judo, Aikido, Kendo, and Muay Thai, and done Karate and Tae Kwon
Do extensively.

Personally, I'm doing it for the physical training and the sense of
accomplishment more than practical fighting abilities, since I don't plan on
getting into a street brawl.

Aikido didn't really feel like exercise to me (I barely broke a sweat in
training), but it's a lot more focused on energy and focus, which is also
cool. Judo is great if you are short and stout, but I'm too tall and skinny.
Muay Thai was a little too harsh and physical.

For me, Tae Kwon Do and Karate combine strength/stamina/flexibility training
with the calm, focused side of things that I also like about martial arts. Tae
Kwon Do focuses almost only on kicks, while Karate includes both kicks and
punches. I have really stiff legs, so Tae Kwon Do actually turned out to be
great training.

The beginning can be the hardest part to get through if you start in really
poor condition, so my advice is don't give up! You will get stronger and
surprise yourself if you stick with it.

Overall, learning to have control over your body and move swiftly, powerfully,
and efficiently is a great feeling. Martial arts groups also tend to be open,
supportive, and a great source of stress relief, in my experience. Good luck!

------
Gentleman_Ryan
I would personally recommend boxing, or fisticuffs if you're feeling fancy,
since it requires just as much discipline as any Eastern martial art (I also
did kenpo karate and Taekwondo for 2 years) and I've found works better for
actual defence. Besides that, there's very little of the mysticality that is
often found in Eastern martial arts. But remember, to each their own. Try out
different ones. Find which one fits you.

------
iterationx
My favorite is wushu, but its hard to find a studio if you're not in a big
city. There's a lot of focus on leaping and spinning kicks, its not the most
deadly martial art, but I think its the most fun and the prettiest to watch. I
used to train here, <http://www.extremekungfu.com/>, until I moved to
Minneapolis. There's a video on the main page.

~~~
wushupork
I didn't think I'd meet a fellow from EKF on HN.

~~~
iterationx
I actually thought you'd see this.

------
espadagroup
Over the last 4 years I've done two years of boxing, one year of MMA, and am
currently doing Wing Chun. The boxing was through my college and was pretty
good; great fitness and cool people and I learned a lot about the basics,
though I never felt I was actually in a position to feel confident about
defending myself.

Then I switched to MMA and basically got my ass kicked (and kicked a few
asses) for the next year but I figure any pain I get in the ring/dojo is one I
won't get outside of it. With boxing as my base it was an uphill battle to
learn everything else. It's easiest to have BJJ as your base and learn the
rest from there. But I did learn a lot and felt pretty good at the end.

Wing Chun was a decision to try a more traditional style but one I felt had a
lot of promise for being very practical and boy was I right. They are very
efficient and it's basically learning a few moves that they have decided are
the best and doing them a thousand times. Everything in it has a point and a
reason.

------
jiangrongjiao
If you can find a great teacher in your area I highly recommend the Internal
Arts: Chi Kung -> Tai Chi -> Ba Gua -> Hsing I. Once you get the basics of
internal energy work and you get to Ba Gua. It's hard not to become addicted.
Lethal Martial applications if desired, but amazing health benefits as a
meditative art. To truly learn the arts though you must practice the
meditative and martial aspects.

In the best case scenario you will choose an art that you will have the best
opportunity for regular partner sparring/training/drills to apply the martial
aspect. The drills and forms practiced by themselves are just an abstraction
and vehicle for learning. You need to interact with someone to understand an
opponents and your own energy and potential.

By all means go to whatever different classes are available. Good teachers
will usually let you sit in and test the waters before you take the plunge.
Take them all for a spin. The right one will find you.

------
aeontech
Oh, and no matter which art you pick, the most important question is, how do
you find a teacher who knows what they're doing, if you have no previous
experience with the art they're teaching?

Some of the things to look at:

\- If they have been teaching for a while, have they taught anyone to the
point where that person became a teacher? A lot of people call themselves
Sifu's - but technically, a Sifu means 'grandfather', which means it's someone
who has taught someone else to be a teacher, preferably more than once.

\- How long do their students stay with them? Do they keep progressing, or is
there a high turnover rate? Is there a good spread of skill ranges in their
classes (indicating that new people are joining, and old students are sticking
around to progress), or do all their students seem to max out at a certain
phase (if they have been teaching for 10 years, but none of the students in
their class have been there longer than 2, that's a bad sign).

\- What's their teaching style? Do they explain things in detail, or are they
more of the 'do as I do' school? Do they leave you to figure it out on your
own? Do they invite questions? Do they give meaningful answers, or fall back
on mysticism or tradition as explanations?

\- When they give an explanation, try to actually test it and apply it with
another student, and if it doesn't work, keep pushing the teacher until it
makes sense. A good teacher will tailor the answers to the student's
understanding level, you should never leave class confused or unclear about
the proper application of what you're learning - if you are unclear about what
you're training, you are wasting time, because you can't actually tell whether
you're training the right thing, and thus, you can't tell if you're improving.

\- Invite a couple of their students for a coffee and pick their brains about
their experiences attending that class. Listen for things they say as well as
what they don't say.

Good luck.

------
joshuacc
Wow! Wasn't expecting so many replies.

As for my goals, I would place fitness first, and increased mindfulness/mental
clarity second. I like the idea of something very traditional, but don't have
anything against more modern arts.

I'm 6 ft and 210 lbs. Should probably lose 20 lbs. Out of shape, but not
terribly so.

Thanks for all your help. I've learned a lot from this discussion!

------
webgambit
The best piece of advice I can give is to stay away from McDojo type places.
You know the ones. Usually franchises, instructor's with questionable lineage,
'clubs' that will take you from nothing to black belt for a set fee, etc. One
in particular has added several new belts in my lifetime just to keep people
longer. Some teach their own version of an art, so what you learn won't
transfer if you ever move.

Some forums were already suggested. If you're interested in learning about
traditional martial arts I highly recommend <http://www.karate-budo.com/>.
It's a small forum and they don't approve everyone (or, they didn't when I
joined; not sure now). But the people there are serious about their martial
arts.

Others have mentioned researching the schools. I'd recommend researching the
Sensei. Find out who he trained under and research that person as well.

My $.02 worth.

------
onan_barbarian
Geekdom and martial arts seem to be closely related, possibly for painfully
obvious reasons that mostly reflect poorly on the geeks and the martial arts
in question.

If you want to learn to defend yourself and/or get fit, box, wrestle, do Muay
Thai, Judo, Brazilian Juijitsu, etc. That is, something that's practiced live
against people who aren't cooperating. The downside is that the techniques
will also be done to you.

On the other hand, if you want to put on strange clothes and raise your self-
esteem by hanging out with a bunch of dudes in the same strange clothes,
almost anything will work. Aikido, Ninjitsu, and similar arts are very popular
among computing types as they offer the promise of combat effectiveness
without being pounded on in the same way you'll experience if you come up in a
'live' art.

------
znt
I've been practising martial arts for quite some time. First I started with
Capoeira (looks good, doesn't work in a fight) then I switched to Wing Tsun
(looks like crap, very effective in a fight).

I've been practising WT for about 6 years. I basically changed from "the guy
who punches like a girl and can't take a hit" to "the crazy guy who just took
down someone twice his size". Our organization (Avci WT System) is also being
practiced by German Special Police commandos, so I can say it is based on
practical applications & dirty fighting rather than "just dojo" action.

If you really want to get competent in a real life fighting situation you
should definitely go for a heavy contact martial art such as muay thai, krav
maga, wing tsun etc.

Also carrying a kubotan as a keychain helps a lot.

------
kls
It really depends on what you want to get out of it, if you want street
defense then there is really nothing better that Jiu-Jitsu or Aikido. I like
small circle Jiu-Jitsu out of all the Jiu-Jitsu disciplines, but it is hard to
find schools. Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu is a good art just keep in mind that it has
been adapted over the years to focus on competing in MMA tournaments. As such
it has eliminated a good deal of knowledge about small joint manipulation and
breakage, which in a street fight is invaluable. There are others like small-
circle that still retail small-joint along with weapons disarmament.

For sport and limberness Taekwondo is a good choice, as well if you want to
compete at some point but dont like the idea of getting pummeled, Taekwondo is
the largest point sparing art. Point sparing is not fighting, it is a sport
where you achieve points for landing a strike, it is fully padded and once a
blow is landed the opponents reset and start over, it is similar to fencing.
Just keep in mind, it does not prepare you to be a well rounded street
fighter.

Aikido is an awesome art that is very effective in street combat. You do not
see it in UFC style fighting because it focuses on small joint breaks,
pressure points and a good deal of stuff that is outlawed in the sport of MMA
for obvious reasons. None the less it is extremely effective and can be deadly
when mastered. It is also the art that takes the longest to achieve mastery.

Kung Fu is very philosophical and is one of the oldest arts, some of it is not
as practical as more contemporary arts but it has value in exercise and
meditation.

Honest opinion, I think that Judo, Kempo and most of the other arts are not
well rounded enough to focus your time on. Jiu-Jitsu covers Judo and more,
Boxing or Taekwondo or better striking arts than Kempo and its joint
techniques are inferior to Aikido or Jiu-Jitsu. Most of the other Karate based
arts kind of fall into the same trap, other arts have surpassed them.

The only other ones I can think of are muay-thai which is a good boxing art, I
think Taekwondo has better kicking form but muay-thai has better hand boxing
and knees and elbow strikes.

The other would be Jeet Kune Do which was Bruce Lees art and combination of
disciplines. It was a very interesting art but the reality was that it was 1.
unfinished and 2. all of the masters are deceased so the art has for all
intents and purposes died. While Lee documented it, learning technique from a
book never suffices for the real thing, and all of the masters today have
learned from the reconstruction of techniques in the book.

~~~
nandemo
The main reason Brazilian jiu-jitsu doesn't spend much time with small joint
manipulation, striking and other such unpleasant techniques is because live
sparring is an integral part of training. The focus is on techniques that you
can apply to your sparring partners without injuring them.

That is true even for the "old-style" Gracie school, which tends to focus
primarily on jiu-jitsu as self-defense and "no-holds-barred fighting" (a.k.a.
street fighting) rather than MMA or even BJJ competition.

I think live sparring is one of great things about judo and BJJ.

~~~
kls
Sure, I just wanted to note that BJJ, is an adaptation of the JJ art, and has
a heavy focus on the techniques that are geared towards MMA competition.
Therefore, some very effective techniques are not given the attention of some
other forms or JJ or Akiedo.

One I think of immediate is a isolated wrist flip a technique that results in
the dislocation of the wrist, elbow and shoulder in a single technique, but
cannot be applied in a manner that the opponent is afforded the ability to
chose to submit, therefore it is not an applicable technique to MMA
competition. There are a lot of these "instant" techniques that result in too
much injury for it to be acceptable in MMA.

My point is while BJJ or MMA are exceptionally good arts for defending ones
self (some of the most contemporary) the competition aspect of the art has,
like Taekwondo has caused a hyper-focus on certain techniques. Nothing wrong
with it, just wanted the author to have full disclosure.

You can have the utmost confidence defending yourself on BJJ knowledge, far
more than say Taekwondo it is a well rounded art, and MMA competition is as
close to the real thing as you can get without creating grievous harm to
everyone who enters the ring. Like I said though, I just wanted to ensure he
had all of the facts.

------
holychiz
Another point to consider is your physical limitations or advantage. If you're
a 6'2, 200 lbs guy, you can consider wider range of martial arts. if you're a
short and skinny guy like me, TaiKwonDo would be murder. Aikido or JiuJitsu
might be a better choice. I much preferred Aikido with its elegance in
movements and philosophy. I found that Aikido requires you to be very in tune
not only yourself but also w/ your opponent in the same way as you get in tune
w/ the waves in surfing or the snows in snowboarding or your partner in salsa
dancing. It's true that it's like dancing. It is also true that you can
practice this art for a very long time, since it's not very physical
demanding.

------
coryl
I am of the school of thought that believes in practical martial arts (ie.
proven through combat, sport, and sparring).

This includes but not limited to: Boxing, Muay Thai, Wrestling, Brazilian Jiu
Jitsu, Judo. And depending on the quality of teacher, some styles of Karate,
Tae kwon do.

I train in jiu jitsu and muay thai. Some people like the more spiritual /
philosophical side of martial arts, which is totally acceptable and
understandable. I've never tried any of it myself, but if you're into drunken
monkey, 5 animal styles kung fu, go for it.

However, I'd hate to train something for years and only embarrass myself when
push comes to shove and its time to employ that martial art in a no rules
street fight.

------
iuguy
I've tried a few but the ones I liked the most were Krav Maga and Capoeira.

Krav Maga is probably the best multi-assailant self defence martial art you
could do. It only takes a few months to learn the basics and after that you
should be able to defensively handle yourself sufficiently in a fight against
an armed assailant or with multiple unarmed assailants long enough to get
away.

Capoeira is great fun but really really works you out. It's set to music and
is very athletic. I only did Capoeira a couple of times but enjoyed it (then I
did my knee in and haven't been back since, but want to once I've shifted a
few pounds).

------
quattrofan
I've studied various Chinese forms and Japanese over the years. There are
fanboys for every style but the reality is no-one style is necessarily better
than another its whatever you enjoy the most. Make sure you visit the school
and get to try a few sessions before joining, a good Sensei is worth his
weight so checkout their credentials.

Oh and one final tip, going once or twice a week is not going to make you
Bruce Lee. If you want to get really good, you have to practice at home.

------
pbiggar
Martial arts are like religions, in the "religious war" sense. The martial art
that someone will recommend to you will probably be the only one they've
tried, but yet they are certain that Java^H^H^H^H tae-kwon do (or whatever) is
the best editor^H^H^H^H^H^H martial art ever. So do the same thing you would
with a programming language/editor/web framework/girlfriend: try lots of them,
and see which one is right for you.

------
gexla
Lots of people here are mentioning all kinds of different martial arts, but
some of these may not be available in your area. It's pretty simple really,
take a tour of the local martial arts schools and pick one which gives you the
warm and fuzzies. I would say the environment, people and instructors are more
important than anything else.

------
momotomo
If you want to get fit, boxing. Been around a few different arts, and its been
the most physically intense, especially if you train with competition crews.

Served me pretty well self defense wise too, been in a few scraps at clubs /
pubs and things have generally worked out quickly, and in my favor.

------
jusob
I like San Shou kickboxing (<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sanshou>) for a hard
workout.

It's more diverse than american kickboxing. I didn't want any of the other
martial arts philosophy, just a hard workout for the body.

------
roqetman
I do 2: Tai-Chi for breathing and balance, and kickboxing for cardio (I just
do the training, no sparring). My advise is to do something local (close to
home), that involves other people; there's more chance that you'll stick with
it (IMHO).

------
savrajsingh
The Sikh Martial Art of Gatka. Ignore the first 15 seconds of this BBC video.
The rest of it is spot on: <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6PllesuGevI>

------
ctdonath
How much "martial" vs how much "art"?

Tai Chi, Iaido, and kata-focused disciplines are more "art". Jeet Kun Do, Muay
Thai, and combat-focused disciplines are more "martial". All are worthy, it's
more a matter of what your goals are.

------
neduma
Aikido - Stands at the top. I'm training at <http://www.jpnarts.org/>

Please stop by if you are around. First lesson is free and each 1 hour lesson
is just $15. Cost effective..

------
davidwparker
I've taken Capoeira in the past, which was a lot of fun. I'm currently taking
Krav Maga, which technically isn't a "martial art", but a "Self-defense
system". It's really practical and a great workout too.

------
duncan_bayne
I've done some Amok (<http://www.amokcombatives.com/>). Challenging,
practical, and with a focus on blade weapons that's unusual these days.

------
micrypt
<http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1156838> I asked a similar question a
while back and got some great replies.

------
nickfromseattle
If you are looking at martial arts that are practical in real life defense
situations, stick to Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, Boxing, Muay Thai, Judo or Krav
Maga.

------
Torvaun
Shooting. Long range rifle especially is excellent for training focus and
concentration, while shotgun is more about snap judgments.

------
varaon
A good way to review a dojo is to search for it online, particularly on
bullshido.net:

e.g. site:bullshido.net dojo_name_here

------
gunmetal
Another Vote for Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. Make sure to find a gym that does not
specialize in tough guys.

------
kreedskulls
Shaolin Eagle Claw Kung-fu or Shaolin Xing Yi Quan!

------
crasshopper
yoga.org.nz

Sadie Nardini's power yoga (Youtube)

------
yc_peter
Broadly speaking, there is no best choice. Everyone will recommend whatever
they study, which also tends to be whatever they started with, which tended to
be chosen by dumb luck. You'll get the most recommendations for the most
popular systems. While there are a few distinctly inferior martial arts (e.g.
ones that focus on mysticism), there are no superior ones. Most of the major
ones have merits. It depends on the person too -- different types of systems
work well for different people. The key is to find a good school. Good school
of any system will beat a bad school of any other system. So what do you look
for in a good school:

* Hard training. You want to be pushing yourself to the limit. Fast-paced classes (a lot of doing, not a lot of talking). The long explanations do help a little as a rank beginner, but overall, throwing a technique a few thousand times is the best way to get good.

* Not too commercial or money-oriented.

* Not cult-like.

* Still, you want good respect and discipline. The former keeps people safe, while the latter lets classes run efficiently. People should be aware that the reason for the discipline is efficiency and safety, and not because the instructor wants to be worshiped.

* Not too competitive. Even full contact sparring when both people respect each other and are trying to not hurt each other is safe. Even no contact sparring with both people trying to score at any cost is tremendously dangerous.

You should also see that what they teach makes sense. Funny looking stances?
Probably not too good. Hands up in fists guarding head, knees bent? Probably
better.

I'd advise you to switch schools after about 2 years. That's about enough time
to pick up the basics. Go into the new school with an open mind. You'll feel
like they do things differently, wrong, and you won't like it. In time, you'll
appreciate about half of what the old school does is better, and about half of
what the new school does is.

Cost doesn't correlate with quality. Size, to some extent, helps. You want
more people to practice with. Avoid things that focus on sport (this is
especially prevalent in Taekwondo schools, but there are good ones, and bad
ones in other styles). You want good form for a fight, not for scoring points
in a match.

Crudely speaking, styles fall into two categories: grappling and kicking-
punching. There are schools that do both, but I've never seen one that does
both well. Pick one and go with it. If you've gotten good at it, you can
eventually try practicing the other. Starting both at the same time usually
doesn't work well. They work very differently, and your body will learn better
in series than in parallel. I'd give 2 years as a minimum time in one before
starting the other, but more may be better.

When evaluating schools, ignore ranks and titles. They're mostly self-
appointed. A tenth dan in one school may be equivalent to a brown belt in
another.

It's also useful to look at the abilities of students after given periods of
training. This may be hard for you to evaluate, though.

------
kvs
Aikido

------
RShackleford
Start easy and get yourself fit and flexible at the beginning. Remember that
until your black belt you are really only getting rid of bad habits in your
movement and reactions.

Oh yeah, I'm a big fan of the Bujinkan... and a 5th Dan...

------
sswam
I suggest to try Aikido, Tai Chi, or Wing Chun Kung Fu. Aikido has by far the
best philosophy of any martial art in my opinon, and it's worth learning for
that reason alone. I like Yoshinkan Aikido.

