Advice - Starting Martial Arts

jcb33

jcb33

jcb33

Soldato
Joined
11 Apr 2003
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Hello All, For many years I have wanted to take up Martial Arts, but with one thing or another I have been unable to.

When I was little I did one lesson of Karate, And then my wind pipe closed and I had to be rushed into hospital and take a lot of steroids, antibiotics etc. However This I think was more my ashma, as I use to have atacks daily. Now *Touch Wood* Its been a very long time.

So Now Im at uni, I have decided its about time to start doing things, I want to learn French, so I have joined a French language class.

I Want to learn Martial Arts, But The reason for this post is, I do not know anything realy about Martial Arts, I know there are many different forms, however I do not know what they are, or what they are like, I do not want to be doing something that will cause me to break my or my classmates body parts as an example.

I want something that will help me focus my mind, Improve my fitness, and teach me a way to defend myself if ever the need arises. Both fitness and the ability to defend myself are important to me as in 3 years (The End Of Uni) Im going traveling for a couple of years and I dont know what could happen, but I do know I will need to be fit for all the walking and traveling I will be doing!

I Also want this to build up my confidence, As atm im quite low on that, So any advice on what kind of Martial Arts would be best for me would be very greatfully acepted.

As Would any tips on how to improve my general fitness, over the next 3 years!.

*EDIT* I should also mention I would like to be able to run, At the moment If I run for about 1 min I have to sit down for about 20 mins to get my breath back, Even taking my inhalers I cant run for much longer and its very anoying, I love to run, I can run realy realy fast, But Im unable... Any way to build it up so my ashma would not disable me from running?
 
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I did a small stint of Chow Gar last year before having some kidney problems, now they have gone I'm planning to go back as I found it most enjoyable.

I did Karate as a kid and whilst at the time it was fun now I'd find it far too regimented and not relaxing at all.

Whist I did come home and ached for day or two after, I learnt a lot doing the Chow Gar stuff and it was actually fun.

Not saying you have to do that particular one, but I think now I'd find this type of art more enjoyable than the textbook karate/judo type things.

Most places let you go along to watch/first session free, just try a few and pick one you like, it's all about doing something you want to do. If it's something you don' tlike you'll not enjoy it and, well, that'd be a bit pants wouldn't it?
 
Your uni should have several clubs which should be open to you. Find out what they offer. Its always best to join a club whilst at uni, as it will be cheaper, as well as flexible and you wont have pressure on you to always attend classes (as they know that students need time to study etc).
 
you should take up Tai Chi it is a great defensive martial art and fantastic for relaxation / meditation.

You should also consider your general level of fitness before taking on a martial art Tai -Chi will be perfect for you due to the low impact it will have at the start but you will see over the course of 6 months you will get some great cardio conditioning.

After that then maybe take some boxing lessons (you will get fantastic conditioning from the above 2 forms) which will really help with your confidence m8
 
ninjutsu, u can just flip out and kill people whenever they start something. youll also be very fit and able to jump over large walls in a single bound


seriously tho...pretty much any, they are all designed to be very effective at self defence, try and get a hold of Mind, Body and Kickass Moves tv show for inspiration :p
 
Have a look at what your uni has got on offer.

Mine has Karate, Ju Jitsu and Taekwondo. I went along to the first karate session today and I enjoyed it a lot. Im a complete beginner but its something I have been interested in for a while and I am definatley going back.

I may also look in on the jujitsu session next monday and see how that compares.
 
I was thinking of trying martial arts would either be wing chun or jiu jitsu they seem to be the most popular / effective from what I've heard.
 
hmmmmmmmmmmmm

I have been doing kickboxing for a few weeks now. I wouldnt recommend it though as it is very intenstive stuff. I see quite a lot of overweight people doing Karate. So i assume karate isnt that physically intensive.
 
If your just starting Uni then some may have some taster classes so get along to them till you find one you like.

I have done Karate(Shotokan) & Kung Fu(Pak Mei Wu Chi Yun) for three years. The latter had some elements of Kick Boxing thrown in as well as our teacher also taught Kick Boxing after our lesson. Personally I found the Kung Fu to be better from a practical point of view and from a defensive point of view. It was a lot more enjoyable as well.

Another discipline you may consider for a holistic approach to physical and mental wellbeing is Bujinkan This is the closest you will find to Ninjitsu. Its very disciplined Martial Art but the focus is on self defence self discipline
 
Some people will disagree with me on this but I'd reccomend learning Krav Maga if you have the chance. There are very few instructors about though so it may be unlikely there is a class close to you. I only had 14 1.5 hour lessons and I learnt a lot (unfortunately the classes have now stopped for 6 months - 1 year as the instructor has moved to London). It is a very aggressive system but it would be ideal for someone travelling - if someone held a knife to you then do you want to take the chance that they won't stab you when you hand over your wallet/phone etc. I wouldn't and krav maga gives you the knowledge to save your life in that kind of situation. The moves are based on instinctive human reactions (there are no 'fancy' moves) and are very effective. Palms and elbows are often preffered to punching and the aim is to adhere to the 6 second rule - that means you should be capable of disabling your attacker and be in a position to escape to safety within 6 seconds of first contact.) Krav Maga is an excellent martial art to study for fitness - proper KM training sessions should be intense and put you under pressure (my classes always ended with a 'pressure drill' which basically involved splitting the group in two and kicking the crap out of each other!)
 
Well just had a look, My uni offers many things, American football, History, Sci-Fi Club where we can "Talk about sci-fi" "Watch Movies" and get this! "Have regular games of Dungeons And Dragons"...

http://www.lincolnsu.com/DisplayPage.asp?pageid=14647

So none of the clubs are usefull to me. Having a search there are many kinds of Martial Arts avalaible in Lincoln, Sadly however no fencing which I was also thinking of taking up :rolleyes:

http://www.lincolnshire.gov.uk/organisationResults.asp?sterms=martial+arts&catId=3152

# Changs Hapkido Club (Korean Hapkido Wol Ge Kwan)

Venue: Lincoln Birchwood Community & Leisure Centre

# East Midlands Wado-Kai

Venue: Lincoln Birchwood Community & Leisure Centre

Ko-Fu-Kan Karate Club - City Sports Complex

Venue: Lincoln City Sports Complex

Ko-Fu-Kan Karate Club - Lincoln University Sports Complex

Venue: Lincoln University Sports Complex

Kumiuchi Bugei Kais Martial Arts Group (Lincoln)

Venue: Lincoln Ermine United Reformed Church

# Tae Kwon-Do Association of Great Britain - Lincoln

Venue: Lincoln - No Specified Venue
 
A guy at my work is into his martial arts, always coming in with some kind of face injury...

On a completly unrealted note - does anyone have that gif of a girl posting in a forum and the guys getting excited? Thanks
 
I would reccomend judo, it's a great sport and really teaches you how to control someone if you do ever get into a fight. It will keep you fit aswell.

Muy Thai (Sp?) Seems to be good aswell.
 
I have studied shotokan karate, kickboxing, tae kwon do, aikido and ninjitsu in my time and frankly I can recommend them all. However, I have learnt that for me the best style is karate. That's just a personal thing. It is hard to explain but it fits me better than all the others. I know a lot of people will say that "style x in the best for defending yourself in the street" but frankly most people in the street will be completely hopeless (and often, drunk) and anyone with training should be able to defend themselves to a reasonable degree - in my experience, mainly because the training instils discipline and teaches you to think during a fight which is a huge advantage.

My advice would be to go along to each club for a session or two (you might just want to watch rather than take part) and see what takes you fancy. Be realistic about yourself and what you think you can achieve (I am just too big and inflexible to really be any good at TWD, I've discovered). The most important things though are:

Don't think you'll be Bruce Lee after one lesson...or ever!
Have fun and enjoy it.

HTH

C.
 
I too was an Asthma sufferer, took up Wing Chun when I was 19 and I think I have had to use my inhaler twice since and I'm now 27!

I would advise you take up Wing Chun or Muy Thai, two quite different styles but both known for their effectivness.

I did Karate as a Kid it was fun at the time but for me there was too much emphasis on Kata and robotic regimented movements. Karate is great if you have a good teacher who undertands realistic fighting but sadly many do not.

Finding a good open instructor who trains intelligently and realisticly and enjoying what you learn is more important than the style.

Just go and watch a class, if the people seem friendly and open then it's probably a good club.
 
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