Martial arts are a great way to improve both physical and mental health by providing a full-body workout that enhances physical fitness, flexibility, and strength. It also helps reduce stress. To make martial arts a part of your life, you need to be a consistent learner and go with your gut. For example, if you want to practice kung fu, seek out a kung fu instructor that touches a place in your heart and nourish it.
Being a consistent learner is essential for progressing in martial arts. Go with your gut, go with what you want, work with limitations, and make sacrifices. Set goals and break them down into steps, get your basic needs right, start small, build momentum, journal your training, block out time in your schedule, and schedule workout days on a physical calendar or app.
To develop a sustainable and efficient training approach, strive for balance, measure training intensity, prioritize warm-ups, master your breath, and fuel your body with quality. Mastering a martial art requires knowing how to apply what you have learned in a real-life situation or organized combat.
When training at home, it is important to follow these seven essential tips: strive for balance, measure training intensity, prioritize warm-ups, master your breath, and fuel your body with quality.
Training martial arts, including strength and fitness, should be done at least three times a week. Avoid drinking alcohol to access or use drugs, and commit to the martial arts lifestyle. Your entire lifestyle will change if you allow yourself to be fully immersed and committed to the martial arts way.
Plan to spend a few moments every day in reflections, always get tuition upfront, and have two contracts for students to sign: one is a financial contract and the other is a behavior contract. Accept where you are now and prioritize technique over power.
Being a good partner in life and in martial arts involves trust, respect, shared goals, positivity, productive feedback, and good chemistry. By following these steps, you can create a successful martial arts journey and become a strong partner in your life.
📹 How To Master Any Martial Art From Home (no bs guide)
How To Master Any Martial Art From Home (no bs guide). I know a lot of you guys can’t go to marital arts gym, so here’s a full …
How do I get my martial art recognized?
To receive martial arts founder certification, one must hold a 4th Dan in one style or three black belt rankings in separate styles, with one being a 2nd Dan or higher. Candidates must provide a complete syllabus, curriculum, written essay, letters of recommendation, and a physical examination. System Founder Recognition grants the honorable title of Soke, but does not award the rank of 10th Dan. If granted, the individual is not eligible for rank recognition in the same system. Fees for System Founder Recognition may vary, and more information on how to get your martial art recognized can be found by contacting the organization.
Which martial art is best for real life?
Muay Thai, Thailand’s traditional martial art, is renowned for its powerful strikes and is considered one of the best and most effective martial arts for street fights in 2024. This traditional martial art is rooted in tradition and tailored to address the unique challenges of the 21st century, such as petty crime and unforeseen altercations. Muay Thai practitioners are trained to use different body parts, such as elbows, knees, and clinch work, making them effective in close-quarters combat.
Muay Thai’s versatility and realistic training make it highly adaptable to various street fight scenarios. It often involves sparring sessions that simulate real-world situations, enhancing practitioners’ ability to think and react quickly. Muay Thai is also known as one of the best self-defense martial arts in the world, as it emphasizes powerful and direct strikes. Overall, Muay Thai is a versatile and effective martial art for street fights.
Is 30 too late for martial arts?
Starting martial arts training in your 30s is not a bad idea, as martial arts are not only for the young but also offer numerous benefits beyond physical health. These benefits include physical fitness, mental discipline, and spiritual growth. Martial arts are a philosophy of continuous improvement and personal development, making age a less significant factor. Starting your training at 30 allows you to bring a level of maturity and focus that can accelerate your learning and enjoyment of the discipline. In addition, martial arts can provide a sense of accomplishment and personal growth, making it a worthwhile investment for those in their 30s.
How do I create my own fighting style?
This book outlines a systematic approach to creating a fight style that suits your unique talents. It considers factors like body type, goals, inclinations, and training history to create a system tailored to your unique abilities. The book identifies your best attacks and creates combinations based on these. It also considers your strengths and decides on the themes of your style, such as counter striking or out boxing. The book aims to combine these elements to create a coherent system that enhances your strengths, turns weaknesses into strengths, and enables you to reach your full potential in martial arts.
What martial art makes you the fittest?
Krav Maga, also known as the art of eight limbs, is an intense cardio workout that uses fists, feet, elbows, and knees to strike opponents. UMF Academy offers a unique curriculum that develops coordination, upper body and core strength, endurance, and balance. Krav Maga, developed for the Israel Defence Forces, teaches practical knowledge like disarming attackers and punches and kicks, making it an effective and effective self-defense tool. Both martial arts are designed for real-life combat situations.
How do you develop martial arts?
Martial arts can be beneficial for individuals seeking to build strength, agility, or mental prowess. Start with basic techniques and focus on precision and form over flashy moves. Incorporate strength, flexibility, cardio, and recovery into your workout regimen and maintain a healthy diet. Martial arts can boost self-respect, help define and overcome weaknesses, and provide a sense of self-awareness. People may start learning martial arts for various reasons, such as feeling out of shape or wanting to avoid being picked on.
What body type is ideal for martial arts?
Individuals with a mesomorphic physique, characterised by muscularity and a well-developed musculature, are well-suited to Kung Fu styles that require a high level of strength and power. The style of Hung Gar Kung Fu is distinguished by its robust stances and deliberate movements. Choy Li Fut, which incorporates both long-range and close-range techniques, is particularly well-suited to individuals who possess the requisite strength to execute powerful strikes and agility for rapid movements.
How many years does it take to get black belt in martial arts?
The average time to achieve a black belt in traditional martial arts is around five years, while in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu it takes around ten years. It is advised that students and instructors should not rush to advance to the next rank level, but rather focus on developing and growing at each level to ensure their belts reflect their true skill levels. This article provides an overview of belt-ranking systems and advice from experienced instructors.
How to find your martial art style?
To choose the right martial art, consider your goals, interests, physical abilities, preferences, availability and accessibility of classes, and seek guidance. Martial arts require a deeper level of commitment, discipline, and personal development, and there is always a risk of harm. To help you navigate this decision, follow these eight essential steps:
- Figure out your goals and interests. Martial arts are a broad term that encompasses various systems of combat arms defense. To determine which martial art is right for you, consider your goals, interests, physical abilities, preferences, availability and accessibility of classes, and ask for guidance. By following these steps, you can make an informed decision about which martial art to learn and develop your martial arts skills.
How to live a martial arts lifestyle?
The martial arts lifestyle is not only fun and fulfilling but also prepares individuals for the fight. Those who dislike their self and want to be under the influence of drugs or alcohol may think that this lifestyle will take away their fun. However, the side effects of heavy drinking and overeating are not what one will find happiness in. A martial arts lifestyle requires a clean, healthy diet and moderate alcohol consumption.
Regular training is crucial for a martial artist’s success, as it helps them perfect their martial arts, build up speed, endurance, strength, power, and cardio, and become more confident. This confidence deters criminals from picking them as victims. The training also affects other aspects of life, such as physical and mental productivity, stamina, energy, and strength.
Living a martial arts lifestyle also makes individuals a better husband, father, employee, and employer. There are no downsides to these qualities and strengths, making it a win-win situation.
Some tenants of a martial arts lifestyle include training at least three times a week, not drinking alcohol to access or use drugs, staying vigilant and alert, eating a healthy, clean diet, never adolescent, and being a protector of one’s family and community. By following these principles, individuals can join the Ohana community and enjoy the benefits of a martial arts lifestyle.
How do you build your body for martial arts?
Martial arts training is a great form of physical fitness for both children and adults. Strength conditioning is essential for maintaining top shape between training, with significant improvements in movement and skills. The choice of weights for exercises depends on whether the goal is to strengthen for power or endurance. For strength, heavier weights and fewer repetitions are common, while for endurance and conditioning, lower weights and more repetitions are recommended.
Push-ups are a core part of strengthening and conditioning for martial arts training. They require tucked arms, with hands beneath shoulders and elbows along the rib cage. Proper push-ups require tucked arms and can offer numerous benefits as individuals build their strength. The available variations of push-ups still offer numerous benefits as they help build overall strength.
📹 How I Would Learn Martial Arts (If I Could Start Over)
Here are 9 martial arts tips for what I would do differently if I could start over starting from beginner tips, moving on to intermediate …
Good guide but first ask you how professional people get good at fighting? 1. Have a really good coach 2. Have very good training partners 3. They train with a ton of volume a week (60hours or more). 4. They enter as much competitions as possible and win as much as they can. How can you do it by yourself: 1. Do your research on the best coaches of your combat sport, and study them, analyze them, if they were good fighters at there time copy them, take all their tips / training routines etc… and apply it into your training if not just have fighters as a reference and copy their training and every aspect of them, related to the combat sport you do (don’t forget to record yourself and correct your mistsakes so you don’t develop bad habits) 2. You don’t have a training partner, but try to get some sort of external resistance to practice, instead of sparring focus on the ways of winning that are available to train by yourself, for exampel in judo doing an ippon or in boxing knock out. 3. If there are competitions that don’t ask you your gym or any clips of your training at the gym or previous fights go, if not travel your country to as much gyms/schools of your martial art as possible and fight against the best, focus on win as much as you can and learn from your mistakes, if you want to compete professionaly create a social media account (instagram the best), copying what the best fighters of your martial arts upload and do and focus on upload all your fights putting tags of self-taught, any famous fighter, fighting organisations etc.
The problem for me is I’m a bolcked up 13 year old wouldn’t say fat but like I look like someone who goes to the gym Wich I don’t but for month now I wanted to get a physicque like Charles olivera,Leon Edward you know like these lightweighs so I’m asking you should i start to learn martial arts now or get better fittnes then
I was a boxer 3 year back but due to some health issues had to quit. I worked really hard and was a city level gold medalist and fought for state but lost in 1 year of training. 1 thing I can say is the most important thing you need to learn any form of plenty of open space, not necessary but helps alot, ALOT. Also I don’t recommend using online guides and stuff you can only learn through experience and sparring if you’ve never been in a fight you’re more likely to lose.
Agreed 100% on trying multiple gyms. I went to a bjj school which was clearly the biggest in the region. I threw up in 6 out of the 8 sessions I went and never came back after (I work out since 2016, I’m not sedentary, I just was suffering from spending too much energy during the roll and not enough cardio atthe gym). I recently decided to try bjj again on another gym and wow the atmosphere is so much better, people don’t get offended/angry if I got into a good position and sometimes even let me for me to be able to train the positions correctly (during practice, not rolling). I like it so much now that I might even compete in the future
Quick correction on a great article: kendo is heavily combat oriented and pretty much not “solo practice” focused, so much that some will argue that it’s so much of a competitive sport that it now looks very different from what a sword fight should. It’s definitely not a good pick for self defense, and quite heavy on the cultural side, but it’s definitely a combat sport. Iaido, on the other hand, is a kata-centric mostly solo focused MA. Cheers!
Aikido was my first martial art too. I started training in it just cos there was a teacher along the road from me when I was a kid. After 8 years training in it I also became disillusioned by it when I realised it didnt really work. I’ve now bee trying Jiu-Jitsu which I’m really enjoying, but I am also coming back to Aikido for its philosophy for peace and finding the flow in everyday life. Something my Aikido teacher always said, but I just didnt understand cos i was too young. Thank you for sharing your learning journey with us! 🙂
I started training in martial arts (Shotokan karate) when I was seventeen years old, over forty years ago. If only I had had access to such excellent advice! To anyone looking to start training (or who feel that their training just isn’t working for them), watch this article, and have a good think about what is being said.
If I had it to do all over again.. Whatever I chose, I would learn grappling in a related setting first as my base. Before Karate, I’d have taken Judo. Before KungFu, I’d have found Shuaijiao, or at least San Da. Before Wing Chun, I’d have found a Muay Thai school with an instructor who is also particularly really good at the Thai Plum and preferably with BJJ in the same building. Before Boxing, I would get into Wrestling. Grappling gives you an entirely different appreciation and understanding for the Traditional Martial Arts / striking arts and grappling arts almost always have really widespread competitive opportunities. Also, I would have kept something on the side that I strictly do for fun. I probably would have went and taken Shaolin Kungfu.. not for fighting, but, because I got the book, “Supple Leopard”. Flexibility, athleticism, and natural strength are so important, especially as you age. Shaolin is like the most fun way of getting some stretching and cardio in, and hitting those full ranges of motion, without getting bored. With good flexibility, strength, joint health, and a strong grappling background… from that point, WHATEVER you decide to do, you are going to naturally elevate it. Even MMA has proven that a Wrestling / Grappling foundation, with strong striking added on, gives them the ability to dominate and dictate the fight with a high percentage of success and the longest list of champions.
Awesome article Rokas ! I’m an aikidoka for years now and I started taking boxing classes this month. I loved and still love the cultural aspect from aikido, but now at 30 I wanted to take a more “contact-oriented” art. Very extremely different vibes but I like it and I’ll be practicing both arts in parallel 🙂
Great article, what I see as complete realistic self defense is much more that punch and kick. I see 8 elements: 1.Situational Awareness 2.Pre Attack indicators 3.Effective self defense tools (flashlight, pepperspray, knife, gun-training) 4.Sprint Interval Endurance 5.Grappling art (judo, BJJ, submission grappling, wrestling) 6.Striking art (Boxing, Kudo, Thaiboxing, etc) 7.Stop the bleed first aid 8.Knowledge of the self defense law and what elements in the law to adjust to Self defense is more a body guard mindset then a mma mindset, more about de-escalate, escape and evade then fight, confront and win
I like that Rokas states that the best martial arts for you may depend on your personality (I’m like Rokas, I’m not the most aggressive person but I can be because I was trained to be); Goju Ryu works best for me because of the cultural experience and the continuative contact sparring. I love the Bajiquan kung fu style because it gives the cultural background, gives decent application and helps with health
I started Judo almost a month ago, at 44. Best decision ever! The dojo is awesome as the people in it and every training is a wonderful exprience. It’s challenging but the satisfaction I’m getting in learning new things every time is immense. The only thing I would change if I could would be starting judo before 🙂 but everyone’s path is different, I dedicated a lot of years to another passion of mine (volley) and other sports and I don’t regret it, and maybe if my past had been different I wouldn’t appreciated Judo so much now, who knows! But if you’re struggling making the decision to start practicing a martial art, don’t wait and just do it following the awesome suggestions of this article and you’ll have the time of your life 🙂
Today is exactly 1 year after I started my journey, started on boxing and now I am a Muay Thai practitioner that spars fighters and guys 10 years younger and its so much fun but I am 6ft and 210lbs and I did not loose any weight exercising every day for that year just toned my body into lean mean machine. Knees, Elbows and sweeps Love it.
I’m not sure Kendo is mostly focused on tradition. I guess we could say that about Kenjutsu, but Kendo, not necessarily. It seems to me that what they did with Kendo is something similar to what Jigoro Kano did with Judo. It’s still a modern form of fighting with samurai swords with a specific set of rules.
There are a lot of articles popping up about BJJ injuries, A lot of people drop out after blue belt and did not reach purple belt because of the injuries. A lot of people talking in those articles saying that’s their experience and the no.1 topic with BJJ or Judo. We screwed up our bodies and dropped out without learning any standup or takedowns even after doing BJJ for a couple of years, and this is for a Martial arts that’s famous in MMA. If I could start over again, I don’t have a good answer right now but it has to be some kind of no-competitive boxing/MT and watered down Wrestling/Greco that gives you longevity. Sounds like a stupid answer but I did boxing non-competitively for 2 years in my 40’s without any injuries, granted I didn’t get into any hard sparring but the cost benefit is high.
The sword and the boxing glove is a really good mix… You would learn striking in the grappling behind the sword (Jiu-Jitsu) you wouldn’t be an expert on the ground, but you wouldn’t be a pushover down there either. In the whole journey of Martial Arts soft styles are harder to learn than hard styles they become more valuable the more skilled you become.
Cheers from Brazil Rokas! Great article btw. I’ve been studying Taekwondo for 21 years, and today i am 3rd degree black belt, and red belt on Hapkido. Since 2022, i’ve began questioning myself if all i’ve been trying for two decades was the right thing, based on what Taekwondo is today. So, for the last 8 months, i have studied everything i can about Taekwondo and korean martial arts. From what i’ve learned, Taekwondo was meant to be an effective martial art, even so i can say that if Kukkiwon and WT decided to, Taekwondo could be sort of a “Korean Kickboxing”. Instead, for political influence, Taekwondo droped it’s combative roots to be developed as a high-performance sports-based martial arts. So this is the point were i’ve decided do change things in my dojang. Instead of teaching only the common style of Taekwondo, i’ve decided to develop in myself what this style lacks: the effective system. So i will now learn both Muay Thai and Jiu-Jitsu, to develop myself as a more complete martial artist, and i will teach a more effective form of Taekwondo, based on self-defense and effective combat, not abandoning its traditional martial, mental and spiritual training. I know i can’t change the world, but at least i will change something to my students lives with this. Your story with Aikido inspired me to do this, so keep up the good work man! And thanks for the tips on this article
Another great article! All good tips! I know that trying out multiple styles is very popular these days. There are two ways to do it: 1. Dabble, this is where you take multiple styles for 1-12 months, and 2. Extend, this is where you take a single martial art to Black belt and beyond and go to other schools to learn a specific set of skills to improve yourself and remove blind spots. It’s common for instructors to not like either, but the best instructors know that they can only keep advanced students engaged if they help them extend what they know. The very best martial arts organizations have extension of their art in the DNA of the organization. I would look for a school like this regardless of style! You find it by asking the senior students in the gym. If most have taken another style, that’s a good sign! If the people in the gym look like boxers when they punch and like BJJ / wrestlers on the ground that’s a good sign! I have seen this in JKD gyms, kali gyms, HEMA gyms, MMA gyms, Wing Chun etc. I am sure there are gyms in virtually every style that are like this; fighting is fighting and it all leads to the same place. People try to say “pressure testing” and sport is the ONLY way to achieve this outcome. That’s false, it’s necessary but not sufficient. Training is improvement through problem solving. Sparing is a simulator that can give you good data, what you do with that data is equally important. Also, how you collect the data, e.g. rulesets is equally important.
I can’t speak for everyone who has done TKD, but based on my experience TKD is more focused on competition and fitness than cultural experience. The most culture I got from it was learning how to count to ten in Korean. I also never thought I was learning it for self-defense, and the instructor never gave me that impression.
Great messages to be getting out to the community. I remember trying out several different karate schools and being able to tell the difference in quality as well as the difference in how the teaching style works for me. My initials school is still probably one of the best for me, I accelerated quickly through the lower ranks, because I was young and had nothing but time to dedicate to training. I remember when I moved away from that school, someone in my new location accused the school of just being in it for the money because I’ve gone through for belts in a relatively short period of time. The Sensei was my uncle’s friend, I paid $35 a month and $10 a belt Canadian. For that I had a literal open-door policy to the dojo and went three or four days a week on top of my training at home oh to be that young. These days I have settled in at an Arnis school, where we regularly invite instructors of other schools and styles from other gyms to come and train with us and lead the class. I have attended classes now with guest instructors in American boxing, wing chun, judo, bujinkan, I’m sure you get the gist of it. Have fun, learn everything.
Learn MA which fits your character, value and situation. If your believe prohibits to hit the face, boxing is perhaps not your first option. If you dont have much money, Krav Maga or BBJ are perhaps not in your top rank. If you have knee problem, Taekwondo or Karate are perhaps not the first you want to try. That says, practicing any MA is better than doing nothing.
I don’t think you wasted any time. I’ve never trained aikido. But from the outside looking in. It looks like a more cerebral style. The focus on flow, strategy, tactics with minimal effort is not something for a beginner to hone on. So I just think you started from the end. Now you are filling the gaps. In my case I’d like to try aikido and japanese jiu-jitsu after completing a deep dive in the 3 phases of unarmed combat and some degree of proficiency in armed combat. Thanks for the content 🙏
I often think about what I would have done differently if I had the chance to do it over again, and that includes Martial arts. This was a truly great discussion of that topic. And I think tip #9 is the most important of all, and not just for martial arts, but for everything. I basically quit playing Golf because I got pretty good too quickly and started to put way too much pressure on myself, making the experience more stressful than fun.
Folks, I’ve been devoting a significant amount of time and energy to martial arts since I was a teen. I’m in my fifties now. Please keep this in mind: Your primary goal should be to seek truth and then to practice it. I absolutely love traditional arts, through which I’ve achieved not one, but two black belts. I still practice one of them. ☯️ However, please give this some “ego-less” thought: Without a minimum skill of BJJ and/or boxing; kickboxing (sanda, muay thai etc) your traditional style will not take you far. Again, they are excellent for health of body and mind, and a lifeline in a lockdown scenario! I spent the pandemic working on my broadsword! But if you truly wish to acquire realistic fighting skills, you also need to do what is best for that purpose… not try to protect your ego or that of your Teacher, however incredible they may be as an educator or person. Teachers and styles must serve the student, not the other way around. Power to you! 👊🏼🌍
What practical advice. I wish I knew these things when I first started martial arts. I also took aikido early on, and I was told it would take 15-20 years to learn to defend myself. I balked and only continued a little bit longer, but I became discouraged because I really wanted to learn how to defend myself. I grew up being bullied and physically assaulted, and I wanted to learn how to not be a victim when two or more people were ganging up on me. 1v1 wasn’t so much of a concern because I could mostly psyche people out but the whole psychological/social dynamics are different when two or more kids egg each other on to increasingly higher levels of violence.
was it really a waste. Martial arts are more than just about fighting. While you didn’t learn the most effective fighting skills, you did learn the most effective lesson… Budo. When you finally graduated to more pressure-tested arts you were much better prepared to learn as compared to a novice. Its all about the journey, not the destination. Most importantly you have a very valuable skill-set… how to be dangerous WITHOUT causing much harm. If all you have is a hammer, all the world is a nail.
The skills from the books you recommended, I think you need to pressure test them. I also don’t like your advising to take up a sport martial art for self defense. You need to train in a self defense system, like Krav Maga, Urban Combatives or Defence Lab. Sport or traditional martial arts should be a supplement to your self defense training
As a Taekwondo practitioner of 4 years I have to disagree, Taekwondo is a GREAT starter depending on your age, yes it depends what your looking for but you really have to pick out a good dojo. Luckily my dojo taught a lot of sparring and also taught some judo, boxing, escrema, akido and even nun chucks. I have defended myself greatly with Taekwondo and some basic boxing and judo but that doesn’t mean every school will teach you Taekwondo efficiently for self defense. Pick wisely 💪
Very good article. Only did boxing for a couple of months, myself, but I want to try again, maybe with a different martial art. You’re very straightforward and that’s what I enjoyed most about your article. Honestly hadn’t given some of these tips much or any thought until you mentioned them. Thank you for your advice! I wish you good luck in your journeys, in and out of martial arts!
After some reflection on this, I feel good about my choice of a traditional martial art. I’m mainly in it for the fitness and cultural experience angles. Real-world fight capability is very low on the ranking of what is important to me. And I think people like me are a much bigger portion of the martial arts community than internet discourse seems to realize. We do it because we enjoy it, not because we plan on stepping into a cage.
Thanks for the article, Rokas! I just feel sad you didn’t overcome your trauma with aikido and generalized the art as a whole again. It’s not totally USELESS for self-defense and that was an in the article of knife attach when you used 4kyo to do the attack for a while when other guys couldn’t. I started “Tomiki aikido ” recently and have enjoyed the way they practice and convert, which is improving my aikikai style in the sense that I’m finding techniques I used to practice ona different way. By the way, I got a black belt in aikikai and I feel it had helped me in my judo ( also got a black belt this month) and even karate practice, because my karate style (gojuryu) has aikido techniques. If I were you I’d try Tomiki aikido, but I know they’re not in Lithuania. Maybe the closest dojo for you would be in Finland. I am already doing what you talk about different martial arts, because my journey started with judo, then I started aikido but stopped both for about 30 years but got back to both 2 years ago and got black belts in both. In the mean time I also decided to start karate to learn to punch and kick other than throwing with and without joint jocks ( aikido and judo), pinning, choking and using armlocks. I’m practicing 4 martial ( aikikai aikido 2 times, gojuryu karate 3 times, judo 1 times and Tomiki aikido 1 time)arts and enjoying the ride! Forget your trauma with aikido and try different styles or even better, do aikido in Japan, which is what I’m doing.
Hey Rokas, could you please take a look at Nihon Tai Jitsu and make a article about it? It s not very known but I think you will like the experience. It s a very interesting french martial art that has a base of tai jitsu, karate and aikido. One of the founders, Jim Alcheik was a french counter terrorist agent (the Barbouzes) during the Algerian war and his mission was to eliminate all the far right military personnel (pro french colonial Algeria, the OAS) who were attempting to make a coup and take over the French government
I lucked out Rokas. I am in a small town – and my reason for joining martial arts was something different – while self defence and challenging myself etc are important reasons and nothing I would scoff at, I was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. I therefore needed to exercise to control my blood glucose and I’ve tried – I won’t be caught dead in a gym.. D-E-D ded. My martial arts school happened to be two blocks down from my place. My studio focuses on both grappling (a combination of BJJ, judo and wrestling) and striking (boxing, kickboxing and Muay Thai.) and has a separate MMA class daily where they blend everything in. They spar and roll every day and this is what they say: “We have had constant success in producing proficient martial artists quickly. We measure our success with metrics including, how well we fight in competition and on the mats every day.” The benefit of this kind of training is that my blood glucose is WELL under control. My concentration is SO much better and my sugar pains have gone away. This is like the elixir of life for me.
Now that I’m in my mid 40’s, I have transitioned more towards training for health. The Daoyin of Baguazhang, a Taoist-Yogic system good for mobility and recovery, combined with combat conditioning systems like DaruStrong and MMAShredded, give me the confidence that I can combat two of the greatest enemies in life: stress and old age. I sometimes miss the combatives and sparring that I did for so many years, but I deeply appreciate the change in focus towards visualization and the meditative principles that make me better at navigating life. Being involved in TCMA for many years, it is unfortunate that many schools which tout their lineage and masters are also the top contributors to advice #6. Its better to be your own lifelong student
Just one more thing you could add. Your reason for doing martial arts can change. Look at me i started karate because i wanted to be like an anime character (Yes I know karate’s not the right martial art for that but i was young). But now I keep doing karate because I love the challenge and I love practicing karate.
Thank you for your response, Rokas. Follow-up: If you had your current wisdom starting out, and you lived ten minutes away from a dojo teaching hardcore post-WW2 Iwama-style Aikido under a sensei (Stephanie Yap, in my case) who is one teacher removed from O’Sensei himself, AND you were able to practice Jiu-Jitsu or Muay Thai at the same time, would you do it?? …This is my situation, and I would really like to know what you think.
Cant agree on approach to self defense. There are many McDojos teaching bad self defense and a person with zero experience in martial arts wont know they are being taught bullshit. My advice? Start with boxing. It requires no stretching, its easy to wrap your head around the basics but difficult to master, its good for self defense and its amazing cardio. Do boxing for 1-3 months and then you will know better what you wanna do. Boxing is also crazy popular and widely available. Its fun and useful for almost every other martial art, pretty much no one will say “damn, I really wasted my time with all of that boxing”
I’m actually glad my father chose karate for me when I was young. He wanted me to defend myself and karate sure did that. I built strength, muscle, confidence, concentration AND fighting skills. Karate dojos differ. A few years later I decided that I also wanted to join the judo dojo right next to my karate dojo. So it was a great combo. Karate does sometimes get the ‘no contact’ rep but it’s not all like that. We do contact and non contact but judo was an amazing way to keep the balance. Overall, choose your dojo correctly but don’t stress too much.
I’ve been wanting to get into a martial art for years, but I’ve always been full of excuses. Too scrawny, too inflexible, too old, etc. But understanding that my goal is TO get in better shape, learn more about myself, and feeling more competent in an area I’ve never felt competence, I’m trying to find a local boxing gym and see how I like that after a year.
One of the oldest martial arts Pankration. It’s also probably one of the most effective it’s basically MMA wrestling so I would suggest probably learning boxing and wrestling or some form of grappling maybe do some kickboxing as well like, taekwondo or Muay Thai.Just so you know how to kick Muay Thai would probably be the better of the two, because then you can learn how to clench and how to throw elbows and knees while learning how to kick.
The other goal of martial arts are: choreography fighting for stage performance, solo tricking, meditation & competition career. By having set clear goal, the students can achieve the target. Capoeira & taekwondo are best for solo tricking, Taichi are best for mediation, Boxing are best for competition career. But what is the best martial arts for stage performance?
Okay, look… I have practiced karate, taekwondo, muay thai, and kickboxing, being more versed in the first two rather than the latter ones, and, sure, when I fought the way the muay thai and kickboxing practitioners fight, I had a hard time standing my ground against them, but when using my taekwondo footwork, and shotokan lunges, they had a hard time even touching me, and speaking from the perspective of self-defense, being able to dodge attacks and flee the scene sounds way better than standing around and inevitably receiving kicks and punches. I know, sometimes you can’t do that because you are blocked on all sides, but good, fluent footwork will still give you a better chance of outmaneuvering your opponent and get to a safe place.
00:00:00 In this section, the speaker emphasizes the importance of deciding why you want to learn martial arts before choosing a specific martial art. They suggest that the three most common reasons for learning martial arts are self-defense, challenging oneself, and experiencing the culture. The speaker advises that if self-defense is the main goal, it may be wise to start with a self-defense course or read books on the subject. They then discuss different martial arts that are effective for fighting and self-defense, such as boxing, kickboxing, Muay Thai, Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, and Judo. They also mention martial arts that focus more on cultural experiences and self-development, such as karate, Taekwondo, Kung Fu, Aikido, and Kendo. The speaker suggests trying out different schools or gyms to find the right fit, as teaching methods, atmosphere, and quality of instruction can vary greatly. 00:05:00 In this section, the speaker emphasizes the importance of researching and questioning martial arts schools before committing to one. They note that different schools have different focuses, with some being more competitive and intense, while others prioritize community and accessibility. The speaker advises visiting multiple schools, observing classes, and choosing the one that aligns with one’s preferences. Additionally, the speaker warns against potential scams or questionable practices in certain schools, such as exorbitant fees or instructors without clear lineage or experience. They encourage researching the reputation of the martial art and specific school before making a decision.
You don’t know what your talking about mate. When you referenced kendo as not teaching combat skills your pretty wrong there. Kendo amasses multiple ways and styles. I myself have been practicing swordsmanship for 12 years. In that time I have used my martial arts which includes multiple disciplines to win against gangs where I live, I even joined special police gang unit to finish them off. Just because geeks “learn” martial arts doesn’t mean they have what it takes to face a gun to the face and having your friends and family greenlit. Anyone that comes for me, Anyone that tries to steal what I protect will die. That’s it. That is martial arts. Oh and this isn’t up for debate. All childish comments and judgements go away when you realize you could die, then and only then can I take you seriously.
I´ve tried 5 different martial arts in my life. Unless you are planning to become a professional mma fighter, a bodyguard or an instructor, there is no wrong martial art. Self defense might be a reason, but in the US most homeless will have a knife, most perps will have a glock with xtended magazine… best defense is not martial arts, it is being aware and know how to get out of situations. My advice to most people: do what you like, and it will follow you throughout your life. I started with karate as a kid. During my teens, saw tkd and fell in love with it. Went to tournments, lived the tkd life. When I got older, some of my friends said muay thai was more useful as a self defense tool. Enjoyed it for about a year, then went back to tkd. During the height and hype of bjj, tried it as well. After a few classes, figured I did not enjoy hugging sweaty man for long periods of time. Recently I´ve been trying boxing. Kinda like it, but still did not quit tkd. Gonna try keeping up with both and see how far my old body can take it. In the end martial arts is my stress reliever, my hobby, my physical health indicator.
This is why I loved my first gym (had to leave because i moved) because they had several martial arts in the network. There was a thick culture of doing multiple martial arts. Krav Maga for quick and dirty self-defence with no rules (except the law). Mai Thai and Boxing for the sport, Karate for tradition, athleticism etc, BJJ for grappling and I think a couple clubs do Akido. I did Krav Maga and so by nature most people who hung around would pick a second and third martial art so supplement. Now I’m doing Taekwondo because it is available and targets my weaknesses.
Experience with tip #8 – I trained Krav Maga for a year and absolutely loved it. However there was a female instructor who encouraged the students to hit the hard pads as hard as possible bare fisted, continually for most of the session. Even when we hit them real hard she said to do it harder! I ended up injuring my knuckles. Doctor recommended to just let them heal without treatment and it took several years until my knuckles stopped hurting. The bone is a different shape now. Now finally I’m going to enroll in martial arts again, this time probably in MMA (jiu-jitsu, kickboxing mix) but just for fun with more padding. Be aware that you can get injured more in martial arts training than from an actual attacker, if you give in to instructors who push you beyond your body limits.
This article is great. Particularly, I think parents need to watch this article. This allows for parents not to get sucked into a mcdojo. This also allows for more critical thinking for any student but I think particularly for children, who may very much admire the singers in the school but might be getting scammed. So I guess the only thing that I would add is that because some of these mcdojos can be run in a very cult like manner, the more that people can publicly warn against certain mcdojos, the safer we can ensure our fellow practitioners will be.
Thanks for the great advice! 26 year old from Turkiye here. I started practicing taekwondo in my childhood. Then, I did greko wrestling at university, then MMA practice as I believed it is the most practical branch. HOWEVER, fighting is not cost effective for a person who doesn’t put martial arts at the center of his life. I got multiple broken ribs, a broken ankle during greko match and so on. Now, I decided to go for my black belt in taekwondo to age healthily and not to fight like a pitbull in octagon anymore. For young people reading this comment out there, do your best to protect your body as there might happen irreversible damage even in light sparrings in fierce fighting styles.
If you want to give bjj a try, be careful with joining a Gracie Barra gym. They can be very accepting, but only if your loyalty is 100% with them because cross training will 100% cause some issues, unless if you see yourself as a hobbiest that doesn’t really care about the politics of jiu-jitsu, then you should be good there, because gracie barra will most definitely make you believe in jiu-jitsu “politics”even though most old fashion politics in jiu-jitsu don’t really exist anymore. I have a shit load of other reasons to be careful with joining a gracie barra gym but to sum it up, gracie barra is great for hobbiest, NOT competitors.
Please, Kung Fu is NOT one thing. It’s 400 different styles and systems. Some like modern Wushu and Tai Chi have little to no fighting, some like Fu Jow Pai, Hung Ga and certain lineages of Wing Chun is directly teaching combat sports and street fighting through pressure testing and constant sparring. It is a mistake to say Kung Fu is one thing, please specify which form of Chinese martial art are you talking about before you say, Kung Fu does not teach fighting, because it’s a misleading statement.
I did a little wrestling in school, but i began studying 2 different Karate based systems on my 21st birthday in 97′. One had a strong Filipino influence and had lots of weapon work, and the other had no forms, and focused on body conditioning, sparring, and was influenced by Muay Thai. I did this for about 5 years, going 3-5 days a week and mae to Brown Belt, until i had surgery, and went back for my black belt years later. I had the luxury of seeing the whole rise of the UFC and Gracie Jiu-Jitsu, and i have taken a bit of BJJ a bit, but injuries prevent real study. There were about a half dozen schools i tried for several months as well so i had plenty of exposure to different instructors. If i had to do it over again with hindsight, i would have still gotten my black belt in Karate. But i would have immediately started BJJ when i could find a school, and maintained realistic knife training. I would also focus on preserving my body more so i could be more effective later in life.
That whole “don’t blindly take life advice from your instructor” bit is important. I’ve seen folks get wrapped up in treating their instructor like a mentor and get real messed up in the head. Adopting whatever weird personality traits and beliefs the instructor has like he’s their dad. Straight up Cobra Kai stuff. Much more common with teens being influenced by an adult but it can happen with grown men taken in by charisma too.
That’s what I liked about my Guru. I sat in on a training session. one for my step son and one for me (Kids/adults) and we decided to join. He told me about the fee’s and family plan (which isn’t expensive) and decided to join. The following week I went in to pay for everything and he refused the money and only charged me for the shirts (We don’t wear Gi’s). Said to come the rest of the month for free (two full weeks), and if I enjoyed it and wanted to continue. I could start paying the following month.
Your article is already some months old and tbh, I already watched you some time ago and thought that you were harsh with your judgement of several Martial Arts. I didn’t like that at all, since you had an great Expertise in Aikido and just seemed to throw that Knowledge to the trash because of yout own struggles because it simply seemed bot functional. So I dropped you totally. After I’ve seen this article and your thoughts on your Journey, I have to say that I’m really Impressed. You didn’t throw your art away, you simply went on and looked whats better for you, what was wrong, how I could be better. I agree with you: The most things you are taught in many Martial Arts isn’t effective. But that’s okay, as long as you know it and are not longing for effectivity. My father once asked me if I feel ready to defensiv myself with Aikido After all the years of Training I put into it. I amswered vvery clearly no. I would also answer in my Karate times that I would not be able to use my skills in a Real Fight. Because an uncobtrollable Situation is simply not the Same. The mindset is not the Same as in a dojo. Now tbh, I’m striving to become a better Martial Artist. Because of my knee Problems, I’m solely Training Iaido, and I’m trying out Kendo a bit. Now I’m Sure, that I want to strive for moee effectivity in my techniques, in my body and mind alike, to go the way of the sword. But tbh it is like you’re saying. Trying out different schools is crucial to become better. It’s what my father always said.
Although I enjoy a lot of your content, you are doing the same mistake you advice us against. The amount of “trust me, I know from experience” rhetoric, is something that would be smart to not over do or rely on. This is what many instructors does. It doesn’t earn trust. Trust is earned over time. Your long time followers might trust you based on having followed you for a while, but new guys will feel as if this is the very approach you are advising against. It’s like indirectly saying “Don’t believe non experts that claim they know, btw I’m not an expert either but claim I know”. I like your overall message other than that. But a bit more humble approach will rub people the right way. In my humble opinion.
I think the problem is not about karate or kung fu, or some other martial arts, it’s about the lack of sparring practice. There are many karate movements that would break a boxer, but of course, that could happen just if the movement can be executed, and in real life that’s almost imposible unless sparring experience teach you how to do it. Kick boxing, box, muay thai, karate, wing chug, everything is the same. A kick is a kick, a punch is a punch.
Rokus, I have some advice for YOU! WATCH you article back at 3x speed. DO you notice how at the start of each sentence there’s a big injection of energy? BUT there’s much less at the end? MOST people subconsciously don’t like that and prefer a more consistent energy level in a broadcasting voice. THEY find a more consistent voice engaging, even if they don’t know about it. IT’S not so obvious at 1x speed, but I listen at 2x speed and it’s quite unpleasant at times. It doesn’t help as well that each sentence is a separate clip that’s been edited together, it makes everything feel less natural. (YOUTUBE doesn’t allow you to do 3X in their player, but I assume you can do this in your editor) NOTE: I think your content is some of the best martial arts stuff on youtube so I just want you to be an even bigger website than you are now, and little things like this add up to create slick experiences.
Dear Sir, you have started well by analysing the reasons to chose a martial art, either for defence, or cultueral change. Let me stop you fro two reasons. But Your idea No.1 Why do you want martial arts is the worst question to mention. Having spent over 3 decades doing, teachin and even coaching martialrt teams, some coma after a hard beating, some out of curiosity and some for new experiences in health benefits of martial arts., like Tai Chi. The second one, saying 01:42 – Martial arts, in general are lying. . With which I deeply disagree.From this point of time there is no reason to continue perusal your article. Tu sum pup., Martial arts ar for self defence, but also physical training or even healing. If one is unable to choose, i his problem not the master of any school. Of course, they are different in quality, but first doing it helps anyone to discern it. Kidding on martial arts and style is problably a good business. Stay in it, but leave us the normal practitioners alone. Paul,69, insturctor of MA
Combination of skills and training in Ground Grappling Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, Kicking Tae Kwon Do, Striking Karate, Weapons (Sword — Staff – Nunchuk – other cool weapons) and maybe some other softer skills, meditation, yoga & stretching. Also lots of things like respect, discipline, consistency in training AND REAL SPARRING!!!! Kicking real things, punching real things, grappling with real people. oh ya and cutting and hitting real training objects with weapons.
I would start with Basketball and soccer, Hockey if possible and table tennis/tennis, Basketball teaches teamwork (Working with a manager, teammates, coaches, etc.) teaches shelling and distance management, good contact sport. Soccer: Footwork, teamwork/sociability, angles, leg placement, quick feet, macro game plan, and also the best cardio. Hockey for high level movement, energy transfer/efficiency, agility, core/leg focused, and reaction time. Tennis/table tennis/badminton: for 1v1 mentality, precision, micro strategy, body positioning, and discipline. Then follow up with Taekwondo, Wrestling/Judo and Jujitsu, bit of boxing for fun at home, basic defenses etc. 13y+ Muay thai, boxing, Wrestling.
Well…in think i wont agree at Tip 2 where Kung-Fu doesnt teach you how to Fight/Defend I am practicing Wing Chun and later Green Dragon Kung-Fu since i was 5…and while the whole Traditional Techniques wont give you what you need in a Streetfight when you adopt the Tradition with Modern Concepts you are very effective at ending a Fight in Seconds If trying to deescalate failed.
Gosh people are still so stuck in “the martial art” mindset. It’s not about the art, it’s about how you trained. I have been to BJJ McDojos classes where you almost bought your belts and Kung Fu full contact classes where you learned to spar from day one. Don’t search for a good martial art, search for a good instructor that knows to apply well the things you want to learn to do. I learned to take what I need from any martial arts at all that can help me improve in any way the thing I’m focusing on at the moment. I would even say that your own Aikido was sadly not trained the right way for what you wanted, but you could have gotten very useful things from it had been taught to you accordingly. I have known someone who was an Aikidoka that knew to fight with it. He definitely trained it differently than most. One thing I would do if I started over would be to start with grappling before learning to strike.
Er Karate not great martial art?? Yet you claim in your previous article that karateka Peter Consterdine hit you harder than anyone has ever before !! Peter although a top self defence instructor in U.K. and head of the BCA with legendary Geoff Thompson also is a big fan of Wing Chun and has worked the doors for many years as well as being a Bodyguard for I believe at one time David and Victoria Beckham. So your information spread is actually false and not 100% correct. Oh yes also Geoff Thompson has 8 black belts in various arts but still calls himself a Karateka and his view on BJJ or any art that goes to the ground is suicidal for self defence.
A big piece of advice I have for anyone is pick something that compliments your body type. If you are somewhat short and chubby then something like tkd or karate may not be the best for you but judo and BJJ you will probably do very well at. If you are tall and lanky it’s the opposite, you will thrive being able to use that reach
“..best for you..” likely depends on many factors, including age, size, physical condition, life schedule. Fortunately I live somewhere with many different kinds of MA schools close by, and while closest should not be the only consideration, it often determines how much you are motivated to show up and train consistently. I like Icey Mike’s advice about how important to find something you enjoy and have fun doing. It took me 6 years of trying different things to discover what was “best for me”, and that is likely to change over a few years.
I laughed when he said karate doesn’t work in selfdefense though, like what gym u go to lmao, it’s about how u train and what u also do with it outside the gym, if your local gym lacks sparring, why not spar outside the gym with a friend etc, you already have great flexibility, body awareness and probably the best kick techniques of all martial arts
My take over the years has become like this: Judo for the kids, teaches them throws and body control while benefiting flexibility. Boxing for the teens, teaches them the best upper body martial arts and teaches them to deal with taking damage and sparring heavily. A krav maga school that actually does high stress scenario training for the adults. To be fair, I have gaping holes in knowledge when it comes to kicking.
The theory I go with is that the term “martial art” can cover a number of different emphases – which is totally fine, as long as you understand what those are. Which may include: 1. Self Defense (“I want to defend myself”) 2. Combat Sport (“I want to compete”) 3. Physical Fitness (“I want to get in shape”) 4. Performance Art (“I want to look awesome”) 5. Cognitive Development (“I want to learn discipline”) 6. Cultural Exploration (“I want to connect to my roots/learn another culture”) 7. Professional use of Force (“I need to learn this for my job”) Note that 1 is different than 7, as #1 is usually civilian strategies and tactics for conflict avoidance and de-escalation, whereas #7 may be actual “I need to learn how to stab someone with a knife/hit them with this stick”. (I do escrima, and we’ve had a number of cops and soldiers train with us long-term.) Also note that the associated legalities for #1 and #7 are significantly different.
Very good, honest article. Having studied eight martial arts and taught some of them, my advices are to choose a martial art or arts that are suited to one’s body and personality. For a short, not flexible person, for instance, to choose Taekwondo that relies mostly on high kicks is totally useless and frustrating, For one who wants to know only practical self-defense, Aikido or soft Tai ch styles are also not ideal choices. Another like for everything is to read through the hype, claims, myths, and propaganda that abound in martial arts. In other words, take them with a good pinch of salt. There are no supermen in martial arts in spite of all claims. Bruce Lee, Usheiba, or the creator of Yang style Tai chi, for instance, had non unbeatable superpowers. They were just innovators. Another is to study one hard martial art and a soft one such as karate or wing chung and maybe Tai chi or ba gua or whatever one fancies in order to have a panoramic view of the subject. Also, avoid teachers or schools that take donkey years to teach techniques because they only want to squeeze the students’ money for as long as possible.
Hi after checking your article i still have some question. I hate felling helpless and weak but im someone with a lot of empathy so i dislike hurting people most of the time i just running away or just talk way throught and prevent fight. Im getting old i have some disability (stoma) and also live in a small town away from big center. I know im gonna have to move out eventually im from North of quebec any tip for me helping my choice. I also need to do something since i am an addict kinda personnality and im better being addict to something healthy and usefull thta any other crap?
A great example of questioning the instructor I heard of was there was a group of students that came from a related school but were not tucking their thumb in when doing open handed moves. Nobody really questioned it but apparently it was noticed by my teacher and others. It was just a thing. Then they met their sensei and saw he was doing it and asked him. He badly broke his thumb years ago.
Kendo is really mostly a sport. I call it a martial art too, but it is closer to fencing than anything else. That being said, if you belong to a good school, you train rigorously you will develop tremendous athleticism, so in that regard I kind of take offense with you lumping it in with aikido. You should have good knowledge before making such claims. Furthermore your position on Karate and Tae Kwon Do is a bit reductionist. For example Kyokushin Karate is absolutely a contender when it comes to the combat sports and Tae Kwon Do on the Eastern Hemisphere (Particularly Australia ) has a huge influence on MMA fighters I.E. Adesanya training with Van Roon Martial arts (7th dan Tae Kwon Do instructor). These traditional martial arts sometimes have more application than you think and absolutely should not be considered the same as Aikido in terms of its efficacy.
Rokas – @MartialArtsJourney I wanted to express my sincere appreciation for your articles, particularly the one titled “How I Would Learn Martial Arts (If I Could Start Over),” which I found to be truly excellent. It succinctly encapsulates many insights I’ve gleaned throughout my years of practicing various martial arts. Regarding your mention of internal and external martial arts, my perspective aligns with the belief that these distinctions are somewhat artificial. It seems to me that in all MA it’s all about achieving a harmonious balance, maintaining proper structure, understanding energy dynamics, and utilizing one’s physical capabilities optimally. On the topic of Tai Chi, I resonate that a significant portion, around 80-85%, is often taught with a focus on health benefits (good selling option). Additionally, a substantial portion is treated as gymnastics (about 10-15% and you see it mostly in China competitions), leaving only a small fraction, approximately 5% or so, where instructors delve into its foundational aspects as a comprehensive fighting martial art—encompassing grappling, kicking, punching, throwing, and more. It’s indeed a nuanced narrative that extends beyond the limitations of this space so I will not take more “space”. Thank you once again for your insightful content.
If Self-defence is the main reason what would you suggest? I was really hooked by the fighting style you showed in the article of Batman’s Fighting skills. A mixture out of Krav Maga, MMA, Muay Thai, Boxing, etc, and of course all kinds of Grabbling would be needed to round up a well-developed and for worst-case prepared Fighter, I guess. The cultural side is of course very interesting but there is not much use for it if your life is in danger. Who teaches the most effective ways to defend properly even under the worst conditions?
Great advice, great website! Icy Mike said it best: the “right school” is close to you, one you can afford, and one you enjoy doing. 😂 i wanted to learn traditional karate, but the closest gym (10 minutes away) is a boxing/kickboxing/MT gym, so i go there. Whereas the karate school is like a 40-minute drive, no thank you, lol 😂😂😂😂
As far as styles go… I’m a Kickboxing, Muay Thai, and just regular Boxing guy here, started getting to Grappling arts now in my later 20s.. If I could go back and restart, with my focus being my Health, Physical Fitness and Self Defense.. I would get into grappling early and transition into striking later.. maybe start with Judo, from child to preteen, and dabble in Capoeira during those years.. As soon as I hit highschool.. Wrestling, Wrestling, Wrestling all day baby (I’m not even a wrestler), maybe frequent the Judo gym to keep the technical practice there, but my training would be from wrestling… trying to get into Wrestling in your late twenties is not like getting into Kickboxing in your late twenties, the demands placed on your body are very intense, the exercises and training those guys go through range from Gymnastics, Olympic Weightlifting, and Yoga, and to really get into the competitive scene you need to have very good mobility, conditioning, flexibility, and strength/power output.. After highschool, I’m going into Muay Thai.. I would stick with Muay Thai through my 20s and I would get into BJJ in my 30s and 40s, seeing as how that is more of a “gentle” martial art mainly involving rolling and floor based grappling, and i would safely assume my stand up game is pretty solid after Judo, Wrestling, and Muay Thai.. One mistake I made was I dabbled in Traditional Chinese Kenpo/krav maga, not that its bad or anything.. but my gym focused on the drills and kata aspect of Martial Arts, where we would simulate an attacker and go through a set of activities, or drills based on that “attack simulation”, or we would practice a dance (Kata) form where we go through a set of procedures and techniques on an open mat, there wasnt a lot of conditioning and serious exercise or even stretching for that matter.
I would add this: ” the name of the art is not that important, pay attention to the kind of person you have in front of you”. Arts like, kungfu, karate and taekwondo can be very good for self-defense and fighting purposes. The mindset of the instructor regarding those aspects is key. Even though I get why most people say it, I can´t fully buy the “only box, kick boxing, muay thai, jiu jitsu and judo work” statement. Look at wonderwoy for instance (karate) or Xie Wei (kung fu). They both had a traditional martial arts background. Yes, they made have adapted it, they also added elements from other arts, that´s for sure, but the root was a traditional background in old martial arts.
it pains me that you count training aikido as wasted time. It is possible the most difficult art to master and you’ve done it, what 15 years ? Maybe you don’t appreciate it but you have learned a ton about body management, aligments, timing, distance, movement and gravity for example. Nothing’s wasted.
When i said somethin in our messenger group and my trainer didn’t agree i thought i was wrong… When he said He did research and admitted to be wrong in front of all his students i knew i’m in the right place with right teacher. He never said “you are doing it wrong”, he always says “as long as it works on Your opponent it’s right, if it doesn’t work, adapt”. And i adapt and learn and i can see progress. I started my journey pretty late (in my early 40ties) but i’m sure i’m on the right path. I would like to add, that Your content pushed me on that path (i trained Aikido in my youth and became very angry with matial arts in general). Your Journey started mine. I started to watch Your website, Icy Mike, Sensei Seth, Metrolina, Street Beefs, Jeff Chan, Ramsey, Wonderboy and more “no bullshit approach”. Now, after 3 years of experience (i know it’s nothing in martial arts) i know it was best decision i’ve made in my life. I’m training boxing, both my kids train Shotokan Karate. Ite became our lifestyle and i’m happy about it. Keep up good work, You are beacon of litght for many people.
Start with boxing. Incredibly effective and teaches one what it’s like to get hit and stay focused, important in a real confrontation. It’s great for self defence because a straight left jab to the nose will deter a lot of attackers and footwork and bobbing and weaving will protect against many attacks. Then maybe do a grappling art like jujitsu or Ninjutsu. I like Ninjutsu because it’s very adaptive and condenses the best parts of Japanese martial arts into direct, effective application, wirst locks, arm bars, debilitating strikes, low kicks and throws all compliment the striking art of boxing well, it also teaches weapons. Ultimately MMA is best which is basically striking art plus grappling art (like boxing and Ninjutsu). If you want purely self defence, steer clear of all the overly stylistic arts that are more for cultural experience and meditative like Kung Fu/Tai Chi. Their techniques can work but require great precision and ideal circumstances and opponents. Just my opinion so don’t hate on me 🙂
I don’t know what Kung Fu schools you’re talking about, but my school had regular sparring as part of training, and only started wearing heavy gloves and other protective equipment after several lawsuits… and I know of another Kung Fu school that got entirely shut down due to the constant injuries. There should be restraint and control in training… you shouldn’t be trying to mush your partner otherwise that’s what happens.
Perfect advise. Thank you very much sir. That thing about different schools teaching the same thing in different ways, is so relatable to me. It happened to me when I changed from tkd ITF schools during a break in my official school. And there they made me fight against people twice my zise and age at full contact and no mercy (I was a 15 years old, skinny and without clue about nothing in life, fighting against brutes with steroids).
Great article mate, i just wanted to add a point here about traditional and modern martial arts, i come from Tunisia and i trained kung fu for 5 years, all the martial arts traditional and modern do fight, we have 1 day a week where its only combat (gloves and no gloves) self defense and endurance, a day for stretching and physique and a day for traditional kata/ tao This is not kung fu only, even karate and kickboxing share the same program its just modern arts do no have a day for traditional kata/tao. And we do have interclub fights, doesnt matter what martial art youve been training. My point is maybe in the west traditional arts are useless/not very effective as modern martial arts. But where i come from it doesnt matter, because all martial arts are agressive and you will get hurt training/sparring.
Personaly, I used to do martial arts when I was at high school years, and I mean I tried most of them then, even going from events, to workshops, to trial programs. I tried out many things like kick boxing, muaythai, sotokan karate, kendo, tae kwon do, iaido, hema, tand soo do, tai chi, paguachang, and even a bit of capoeira. In the end I choose Hapkido as the one I prefer the most, and it was the one I liked the most. I began after I had just got my green belt in Tang Soo Do. It was then when the dojo that I was practicing introduced traditional Hapkido. Hapkido was more of an MMA style of fighting that also had blocks, throws and even submission techniques and even had bo staff and sword techniques. It is a full fledged martial art’s fighting style. It reminds me of Crav Maga some times but with the circling movements of Aikido. I really liked the more defensive techniques, and using the force of my oponents egenst them. But also to win without striking. Also the concept of weapon wielding was very appealing to me then and still is today. Especialy bludgeoning and non-leathal and improvised weapons. Like how you can use a single everyday object or item as a defensive weapon. So yeah, for me Hapkido was the one that got me invested back when I was still young.
3:30 it really completely depends on the style of karate and imo any karate that doesn’t do a lot of sparring isn’t proper. My father was multiple times national champion in kumite in my country, practiced full contact, and had multiple times where he had to use it outside of competition in a real life situation, to give two examples once a guy several times the size of his kept sexually harassing a friend so he stepped in to protect her, the guy attacked my dad and got knocked out cold. Another time he saw people selling drugs in the bathroom stall of a pub, when they came outside they didn’t like that he saw it, one pulled a knife on him, he broke the guys hand and just told the other one “don’t even try” and that was enough of a threat to the guy. So again it depends on how it is practiced and taught, which is where trying out different schools comes into play, maybe even doubly so with karate and its different styles
I just yesterday signed for a M.A. school. M.A. is totally new to me and I’m gonna do it for the first time, before this I’ve only seen m.a. in movies lol. Initially article created a doubt in my mind if I’ve signed for the right school or not….. But later on things aligned with the tips like I asked my coach if they are going to tell me any diet plan or not and he said we only teach m.a. and diet plan is not their forte and they teach both grappling and striking with MMA so yeah seems school is good
This last weekend I borrowed a GI for a jujitsu tournament. As a Fat 40 yo man with no training in almost 20 years I took second out of 40+ In a white belt tournament. Going to start training with a couple friends and enter as a blue belt a couple months. Interesting that even though I am fat, slow and lack a lot of flexibility. 16 years of chasing national level wrestling is still down there. What you learn when you’re young is never a waste because when you’re hitting that midlife, it just isn’t as easy to build those skills!
I came from germany and I make this experience this year. I have Visit a krav maga school with a great Instructor (ex cop) after a Bad experience on the Streets . After 1 year i realize that many Things he told us are good but we did no sparring and the most of the Students dont train siriously. Now i’m make traditional okinawa karate that includes grappling,striking and Our Sensei Teaches some mma basics all of the students train seriously i wish i have found that class earlier. Ive made the wrong choice because i think i have to learn to defend myself, but i have to learn to fight and have a calm mind in stress Situations…