Boxing, Judo, Muay Thai etc... - thinking about starting a martial art.

Caporegime
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Its been about 2 years since I left the TA due to a knee injury and I've been looking at doing something to keep fit other than simply going to the gym.

Knee is a better now though I'm not sure I'd want to risk put too much strain on it yet so am thinking about taking up boxing initially though eventually if I'm still not getting any knee issues through running etc.. I'd quite like to pursue judo and maybe also try some muay thai or similar.

Basically I'd like to take up something that will not only keep me fit but also would be realistic for self defence - less of the jacki chan nonsense more physical fitness and competing against people who are actually fighting back.

I was wondering - if anyone here has done any boxing before, how often you'd train, amount of fitness training in-between sessions and how long it took until you were able to spar and/or compete in fights? Ditto to Judo or kick boxing etc...


I previously did karate (wado-ryu style) up to blue belt - but tbh... although some of it is useful a lot of it involved unrealistic pair work (essentially defeating attacks against zombies, people punching once etc...), going up and down a room punching and kicking the air in a rather traditional and unrealistic fashion - essentially the few times where we did do light sparing (points based) all the traditional technique went out of the window anyway - wide stances and punching from the hip was pretty much useless against a live opponent.

I also had a go at some supposed 'ju jitsu' at uni - which turned out to be a mix of judo and some slightly dubious self defence - again against zombie opponents who only strike once.... sometimes with or without a plastic bottle, knife.
 
Man of Honour
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For use on the street and self defence, isn't Ju-Jitsu hard to whack ?

I used to do boxing as a keep fit ( couldn't box amateur as I wore contacts at the time ) and it really is the best way to keep yourself fit I found.

Dabbled in Wado-Ryu karate as well although only for a couple of years.
 
Caporegime
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Brazilian ju jitsu is supposed to be very very effective for MMA type fights etc.. but most of it seems to involve taking your opponent to the ground which might not be ideal in a self defence type scenario.

the 'traditional' japanese ju jitsu taught in the UK is basically based on judo and involves the whole - zombies attacking with one punch, plastic bottles, knives etc...

I guess krav maga is supposed to be good for defending against weapons too - but also has dubious schools/instructors. Frankly I'd rather just run away or hand over my wallet if confronted with a knife.

I'm seriously considering taking up boxing for a few months mostly from a fitness perspective - I guess going twice a week in addition to running/going to the gym should get me into shape fairly quickly again.

I'd quite like to do Judo eventually though both as a fun thing to do and as a very efficient form of self defence. With the added advantage that, if I am ever attacked on say a night out, throwing an attacker onto their back is going to be looked upon a lot more favorably by the authorities than simply retaliating with kicks, punches, strikes etc...
 
Soldato
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I've been doing Ju Jitsu for the last 2-3 years and it can be nasty, basically anything goes out on the street. I wouldn't exactly say it's zombies attacking with one punch etc
 
Soldato
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Ive been doing Krav for almost 2 months and whilst it isnt a martial art, its very focused towards real life street situations. Im happy with my instructor but ive heard the quality of tuition can vary lots. I've learned more in the 2months doing Krav than I did doing 2 years of karate (although I was much much younger).
 
Soldato
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I train and compete in MMA. But to be honest i'd say do whichever one you enjoy the most.

In a self defence situation just run, these days it's hardly ever 1 on 1 and it's not worth it.

Before MMA I did Judo and I have a brown belt and still train sporadically, it's awesome fitness and one of the few martial arts where you can actually practice with damn near full force

I love Judo, but as I say whichever suits you the most and the one you will stick at go for.
 
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Soldato
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do what you enjoy

try a few and see which you like

boxing, kick boxing, krav, Jujitsu will all be good for fitness and learning control and discipline
 
Associate
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I did some kickboxing for a year or two and loved it. Fittest ive ever been too.

It didn't love my knee though, I had to give it up as i was missing too much football.
 
Associate
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I train traditional Ju-Jitsu and Muay Thai, if you want to train for fitness (based on my experiences) I'd say you can't go wrong at a Muay Thai camp. However Muay Thai probably isn't the best for "self defence", yes you can defend yourself but you'd probably end up being in the wrong for hurting someone too much. Ju-Jitsu on the other hand has plenty of techniques to disable someone without causing too much "harm" but again (from my experiences) isn't as good fitness wise.

a lot of places offer free "intro" lessons so you could always preview a couple of different martial arts and see which one you prefer, you can always train for fitness in between classes and if you're proficient in any you're probably capable of defending yourself.
 
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Soldato
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Bujinkan ninjutsu is another good one. It is completely anti-flair and is very violent. You may have trouble finding a teacher near you though.
 
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Soldato
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I am doing Muay Thai and it is very easy to start picking up. Absolutely awesome for fitness also (I am doing it for weight loss)

If you can find a teacher who knows Old Style MT also that stuff is BRUTAL. Some locks, breaks etc from defending blocks and checks.

Some of the experienced foreigners here in Thailand doing it and the Thais themselves are absolutely insane, the strength and speed is just scary, cannot image being anywhere near them in a ring.
 
Associate
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Brazilian Ju Jitsu involves a lot of ground work, if it gets to the part where you are both on the ground then you win, simples.

Ju Jitsu is all about self defence. You get tought to dispose of your opponenet, not "score points". If you manage to block a punch and get near it's again win for you. It does look very "zombie attack" at the beginning with plastic bottles and stuff because if they were to make it real you'd get smacked every other punch. :D We take care not to knock out novices at their first session as it's not particulary welcome for the majority of people who just come to see "what is it like". ;)

But as soon as you hit green belt, the stuff starts getting real. People are greatly encourajed to actually try and hit you, stabs are actually in pretty much every possible way, you get 2 men attacking you at the same time, etc etc.

Boxing - if we're talking real punching this IS IT. A proper boxer will sweep the floor with pretty much anyone, the problem is if that anyone does a form of Judo/ Jitsu he will try and after getting a few smacks in the face, get close. Once there, the boxer is in for a very unpleasant surprise as he is expecting a bit too much chivalry and his opponent to step back away after a few short jabs, which is not going to happen.

Kickboxing - very good, bit more distance but again: same problem as boxing. If you do a grappling martial art and get near a kickboxer, it's goodbye for him.

I heard Muay THai is also a very good striking art, but don't know much about it.

If you want to be able to defend yourself I'd pick up boxing/kickboxing/muay thay AND Ju Jitsu (or Judo/BJJ).
 
Soldato
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On a different note, maybe you'd be best off just trying a few and see which causes you least problems with your knee? On one hand impact stuff will obviously shock load your knee, but a lot of arts like Judo etc will put a lot of torsion on it, so it depends what you can cope with.

I used to do Judo and loved it, it's something I miss and would consider picking up again.
 
Caporegime
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Thanks for the replies guys

If you want to be able to defend yourself I'd pick up boxing/kickboxing/muay thay AND Ju Jitsu (or Judo/BJJ).

This does seem to be ideal - having both a striking and grappling art.

I train traditional Ju-Jitsu and Muay Thai,

Just out of interest how feasible is it to do two martial arts - how often do you train? in terms of time commitment I can probably afford to train 3 times a week so perhaps two evening sessions and one at the weekend. So am not sure how feasible it would be to do two (obv I wouldn't start both straight away). I know with karate that it was good to try and do 2 sessions per week so am presuming the same might be true for judo etc..

Ju Jitsu is all about self defence. You get tought to dispose of your opponenet, not "score points". If you manage to block a punch and get near it's again win for you. It does look very "zombie attack" at the beginning with plastic bottles and stuff because if they were to make it real you'd get smacked every other punch. :D We take care not to knock out novices at their first session as it's not particulary welcome for the majority of people who just come to see "what is it like". ;)

That's a fair point, perhaps I was a bit too dismissive as I'd only been to a few beginner ju jitsu sessions where people would throw some wildly unrealistic one punch move or take a big lunge forward with a plastic knife/bottle. I must admit that the akido style wrist locks, pressure points etc.. were fun to learn...
The main reason I'm attracted to judo though is that you're up against a fully resisting opponent - I know with karate that a lot of the traditional style/technique stances etc.. that we'd practice in katas or pair work or going up and down the room punching the air went straight out of the window when it came to sparring so am wary of doing a martial art that mostly involves compliant drills/role playing etc...

Bujinkan ninjutsu is another good one. It is completely anti-flair and is very violent. You may have trouble finding a teacher near you though.

Do you do this? Without wanting to sound ignorant I just had a quick google and from the youtube vids it seems a bit dubious - rather a lot of role playing etc... I'm rather suspicious of anything involving people trying to be 'ninjas' as it more than likely attracts walter mitty types.

On a different note, maybe you'd be best off just trying a few and see which causes you least problems with your knee? On one hand impact stuff will obviously shock load your knee, but a lot of arts like Judo etc will put a lot of torsion on it, so it depends what you can cope with.

I used to do Judo and loved it, it's something I miss and would consider picking up again.

Yeah this is my main concern - I'm thinking definitely try boxing first - aside from the skipping that should have the least impact. I'd love to do judo - it really does seem to be one of the most effective martial arts out there but am slightly concerned about twisting my knee etc...
 
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Associate
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Just out of interest how feasible is it to do two martial arts - how often do you train? in terms of time commitment I can probably afford to train 3 times a week so perhaps two evening sessions and one at the weekend. So am not sure how feasible it would be to do two (obv I wouldn't start both straight away). I know with karate that it was good to try and do 2 sessions per week so am presuming the same might be true for judo etc..

What it will come down to is what days you are available and what sessions you can get to on those days. I train twice a week in each with gym sessions for fitness etc thrown in between. a lot of people do just train once a week and find that they can pick it up easy and enjoy it still (obviously if you're interested in grading training less might reduce the time it takes to advance grades).

If you're not too interested in the grading side of things finding a MMA gym might be a good idea as you'll get a good mix of fitness/grappling/striking and they tend to not be limited to certain training days so it will be abit more flexible for you.
 
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