I want to get into a martial art but am not sure what yet..

[princeshock]

Alright I don't know if this belongs here, I don't know where else to talk about this though. I am a muscular guy and I haven't seriously fought anyone before. It's mainly because i try hard not to get into any fights and avoid people that look like they are looking for trouble or groups of guys that look like they are going to pick a fight with someone and try to beat the living hell out of them. I want peoples opinion on If I really should learn a martial art or something. I have 3 good friends that take Tae Kwon Do and one of them is fit guy and into bodybuilding like me and a black belt. I'm kinda the only one of my long time friends that doesn't know a martial art. Should I be taking Tae Kwon Do as soon as possible at my nearest Dojo? Whats your guys's opinion on Tae Kwon Do. I'm starting to worry about being able to fight people back and able to successfully kick there ass.

 

[cane corso]

MMA would be my choice but each to their own

 

[cryptosporidium]

it depends bro, are you going strictly for practicality? or is this something youd like to do for fun?

it sounds like you want self defense plain and simple. for that, i would always suggest muay thai kickboxing or like cane suggested an mma program which is basically a hybrid between striking (typically muay thai) and grappling (such as judo and juijitsu.)

when i started martial arts, it was well before mma was a popular concept. i started out in muay thai and then trained in submission wrestling as well as picking up techniques from greco roman and sambo. there are also plenty of street fighting instructionals out there that can sharpen you up if you already have a solid base program. i love muay thai, so i would start there. the average joe blow trouble maker has absolutely no answer to it.

 

[princeshock]

Well I don't know about just self defense. I want to be offensive too. And its something I think i want to do for fun. I don't know if thats the right word for it though.

 

[cryptosporidium]

"self defense" is just a practical term. muay thai is as aggressive as it gets.

 

[Ezekiel]

i teach jits so I am a bit bias. however, i agree w/ crypto. Muay Thai or MMA is the place to start.

There is a saying "never wrestle a wrestler and never box a boxer". So Mauy Thai being the clear choice for boxing, and some form of ground game being the choice for wrestling, you'll be able to do both.

No offence to your friends, but outside of sport karate Tae kwon do is possibly the worst in regards to real world application. Unless your always fighting drunk idiots.

 

[skyling35]

MMA workouts and training are the most fun ive had working out. From a skills point of view you want to find a good reputable school that has been training for many years. I'm currently training boxing kickboxing wrestling jiu jitsu and absolutley love it. Great cardio & confidence in the skills that i have learned and gained over the time ive been training.

 

[princeshock]

MMA sounds good. And what ezekiel said about Tae Kwon Do, is it really in regards to real application one of the worst if your not fighting drunken idiots? They seem like they can kick my ass six ways from sunday because i've gotten physical with them before and i couldn't do anything really. lol

 

[Ezekiel]

MMA sounds good. And what ezekiel said about Tae Kwon Do, is it really in regards to real application one of the worst if your not fighting drunken idiots? They seem like they can kick my ass six ways from sunday because i've gotten physical with them before and i couldn't do anything really. lol

It's true bro... tae Kwon do doesn't do any takedowns or ground work at all... They certainly aren't going to outstrike a boxer!

Have you seen any Tae Kwon Do guys in the UFC?

 

[princeshock]

wow that fight was brutal !

 

[HugeLifter]

I would start with BJJ or Muay Thai.

 

[JakeXL]

Years ago when the Rorion Gracie started the UFC and had his brother fight in his event. He was just trying to build the Gracie Jiu-jitsu club. You did have every style of fighter coming out at that time. Now you see a hybrid style fighter. I am business partner with Dan Severn and he is still a great fighter but he is not the whole package, he isn't the best stand up person. Anyhow, my thoughts is to get into a MMA training facility and have a good boxing coach to help you out. If you didn't wreslting in Highschool, the ground work will take more time to learn. But just remember most fights end up on the ground, if you knock the other guy down or if you trip and he jumps on you. So you need to know how to finish to win. Taekwondo is a good place to start, but a lot of the kicks they practice are not likely to be used against a real opponent. There again this is just my opinion, but hopefully it helps.

 

[Ezekiel]

I'm in a similar position to princeshock (not meaning to steal this thread bro!) just wondering how long it would take to become effective when learning MMA? by effective i mean be able to handle the average asshole looking for a fight for no particular reason.........

A year or less depending on how hard you train and how athletic you are!

Taekwondo is NOT a good place to start.. It is not an effective art period! It is sport Karate!

 

[goldenfist]

go to a mma school jiu jitsu and muay thai are not good enough on theor own you need both to be a total ass kicker.avoid tae kwon do its not practical.6 months of mma training in bjj and muay thai would make you tougher than the average guy.

 

[SARMS Search]

MMA would be my choice but each to their own

agreed

 

[liffalot]

I'll tell you right now: 95% of fights will go to the ground at some point, whether by youre choice, or lack of balance. Take some submission grappling classes (brazilian jiu jitsu, submission wrestling), these will be your best defense/offense in a fight. I do a lot of jiu jitsu and I'll tell ya that number 1: You wear around a shirt that says BJJ on it or if rep gets around that you know it, people dont fuck with you, number 2: a good blood choke or joint submission is fifty times more effective than a attempted knock out punch. Not to mention witht he positions you learn, you can reign down on someone pretty well.

A good stand up to learn if youre into that is muy thai as well. Most effective and recent styles that i have see and practiced.

As far as Tae kwon do goes, its essentially the joke of the MMA world. things like outward crescent kicks and other stupid moves make it seem "useless". All I have to say about it is that if you want a quick and easy black belt, and want to learn how to punch someone (which you can do watching a youtube video) take tae kwon do. If you want to really learn how to defend yourself from a martial art that developed from street fights in brazil, start with Jiu Jitsu.

Obviously from the perspective of a BJJ junkie, but thats my 2 cents.

 

[Nomadic Dreamer]

I've been doing martial arts since I was a little kid. Trained in Tae Kwon do, Tang so doo, kung fu, kenpo, wing chun and a few others...For the last 5 years I've been doing more Muay Thai, MMA and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. I'm a purple belt in BJJ and I've fought pro MMA for a few years. I'm also a part time bouncer.

In my opinion, I would definitely train muay thai and some jiu-jitsu or other grappling art.

TKD is great for fun, and has some great moves that can win once in a while, but some of the theory is a bit colorful and unreasonable for a street fight. In all honesty, it really depends on who is teaching. I learned TKD from a very hard style of TKD designed to break and destroy, but not every style is like that. Some try to teach elaborate or moves that work in theory without ever being put in to practice.

Muay Thai and Jiu-Jitsu are very practical for any type of combat situation. The power and technique associated with good muay thai is ideal for self defense. Jiu Jitsu is an excellent combination to this since most fights end up on the ground. Being on the ground is very dangerous on the street and being able to effectively defend yourself and quickly get back up to your feet is essential. Also, being able to put a guy to sleep with a choke is better for you from a legal standpoint, then tuning someone up with kicks and punches.

Trust me, you don't want assault charges on your record. They carry weight on them

 

[liffalot]

Note that you can also get assualt charges from a choke.....hehe

 

[Nomadic Dreamer]

Note that you can also get assualt charges from a choke.....hehe

touche

 

[liffalot]

Just dont want people going around choking homeless people and thinking theyre scott free

 

[elcrisp76]

Wing chun is pretty good if you're not the biggest guy... Basically chinese boxing, fast, efficient, and well thought out.. Be careful of who you go to for instruction, make sure of their reputation.

If you just want to survive it's ideal, if you want to crush maim and destroy go for something else.

 

[Academy780]

Alright I don't know if this belongs here, I don't know where else to talk about this though. I am a muscular guy and I haven't seriously fought anyone before. It's mainly because i try hard not to get into any fights and avoid people that look like they are looking for trouble or groups of guys that look like they are going to pick a fight with someone and try to beat the living hell out of them. I want peoples opinion on If I really should learn a martial art or something. I have 3 good friends that take Tae Kwon Do and one of them is fit guy and into bodybuilding like me and a black belt. I'm kinda the only one of my long time friends that doesn't know a martial art. Should I be taking Tae Kwon Do as soon as possible at my nearest Dojo? Whats your guys's opinion on Tae Kwon Do. I'm starting to worry about being able to fight people back and able to successfully kick there ass.

MMA so tha tyou are well rounded.

 

[azntomahawk]

Avoid TKD at all costs. Take it from someone who was stuck doing it for 6+ years growing up. I think the only things I got out of it were balance and good hips which helped with wrestling. Id say Muy Thai and BJJ. Wrestling wouldn't be the worst thing either because of the conditioning and the ability to control who you are fighting.

 

[liffalot]

I agree man, TKD is a hobby, not a fighting style. If you do BJJ, I'd also do judo for some stand up too. You'll get great on the ground with bjj, but I've had problems in the street trying to shoot takedowns on 300 lb monsters. Thats where your striking and judo comes in.

 

[elcrisp76]

TKD is a sport... MMA is a sport.. Takedowns are totally impractical unless you are guaranteed a fair one-on-one fight on some matting..

Do you want to learn how to fight, or how to survive? If you want to learn how to fight, go learn kickboxing or some other mindless idiocy and start looking for trouble.. You will win some fights, and that might make you feel good, but eventually you WILL come up against someone who can outfight (or simply shoot) you, and you WILL get hurt...

If you want to learn how to survive, learn something practical and flexible... Many "martial arts" are simply for thugs looking for trouble.. Whatever you choose, make sure you've completely sussed it out before wasting a lot of time and money learning possible bad habits, and make certain that your instructor has a good reputation. And for god's sake just because he's a 26th dan or has trained tournament winners DOESN'T mean he's any good. Tournaments and street fights are like chalk and cheese. A good brawler will hand a grandmaster his teeth and thank him for the good time in most situations.

Chinese styles in general are fast and standup, Japanese styles are more powerful, but also slower, Korean styles normally involve lots of pretty (useless) high kicks, Brazilian styles are generally strong on the floor but not so much when upright, Thai styles were designed to be used in a ring... the list goes on and on..

Look into the heritage of the art you are thinking of dedicating your time to... How/why was it invented? Who used it? Was it a sport, or something else...??

 

[liffalot]

Takedowns are totally impractical unless you are guaranteed a fair one-on-one fight on some matting..

Are you afraid you might skin your knee shooting a takedown in the street? I've used takedowns as well as judo throws on concrete before and yes: it hurts the next day. Did the guy charging at you end up getting hurt a lot worse? Indeed.

So I agree completely, if you have a bleeding baby gap between your legs, it is impractical to use a takedown in a fight.

And if youre looking for a fighting style that will do more for you than claim that they can teach you to defend yourself against multiple opponents, keep looking, youre not going to find one.

If your worried about getting shot by a guy with a big gun and a small dick, then either dont stand up for yourself or carry a bigger fucking gun. End of story.

 

[Nomadic Dreamer]

TKD is a sport... MMA is a sport.. Takedowns are totally impractical unless you are guaranteed a fair one-on-one fight on some matting..

Do you want to learn how to fight, or how to survive? If you want to learn how to fight, go learn kickboxing or some other mindless idiocy and start looking for trouble.. You will win some fights, and that might make you feel good, but eventually you WILL come up against someone who can outfight (or simply shoot) you, and you WILL get hurt...

If you want to learn how to survive, learn something practical and flexible... Many "martial arts" are simply for thugs looking for trouble.. Whatever you choose, make sure you've completely sussed it out before wasting a lot of time and money learning possible bad habits, and make certain that your instructor has a good reputation. And for god's sake just because he's a 26th dan or has trained tournament winners DOESN'T mean he's any good. Tournaments and street fights are like chalk and cheese. A good brawler will hand a grandmaster his teeth and thank him for the good time in most situations.

Chinese styles in general are fast and standup, Japanese styles are more powerful, but also slower, Korean styles normally involve lots of pretty (useless) high kicks, Brazilian styles are generally strong on the floor but not so much when upright, Thai styles were designed to be used in a ring... the list goes on and on..

Look into the heritage of the art you are thinking of dedicating your time to... How/why was it invented? Who used it? Was it a sport, or something else...??

LOTS of disinformation here.

Brazilian Kundote is the brazilian equivalent of muay thai...it's very similar to traditional muay thai, therefore, it is a striking art and not a ground art. Capoeira is also a striking art, albeit an artful dance, but still a striking art....your claim that the brazilian martial arts are only good on the ground is extremely unfounded.

Traditional muay thai or the ancient art of mae may muay thai is NOT designed to be used in the ring and was in fact created for soldiers of the thai army. A sport spawned from that teaching that is used in the ring because mae may muay thai is too dangerous....most techniques were designed to kill and maim the combatant.

Ofcourse anyone can get shot....that doesn't prove anything in terms of the argument which style should one choose. Most martial arts still teach to use your fighting for competition or self defense...not be a tough guy in the street. Those types of clowns will look for trouble whether they had trained in a martial art or not.

 

[Nomadic Dreamer]

Are you afraid you might skin your knee shooting a takedown in the street? I've used takedowns as well as judo throws on concrete before and yes: it hurts the next day. Did the guy charging at you end up getting hurt a lot worse? Indeed.

So I agree completely, if you have a bleeding baby gap between your legs, it is impractical to use a takedown in a fight.

And if youre looking for a fighting style that will do more for you than claim that they can teach you to defend yourself against multiple opponents, keep looking, youre not going to find one.

If your worried about getting shot by a guy with a big gun and a small dick, then either dont stand up for yourself or carry a bigger fucking gun. End of story.

You don't have to shoot a double to put a guy on his back.

A combination of a judo or muay thai sweep works lovely when you are in the street. A nice hip toss on to the concrete could very well serve to end the fight. I've used them before.

Or my favorite is double unders, lift and sweep out the legs....dump the guy right on his shoulder or back...sucks bigtime....I use it all the time in training as well. Done right, it's all leverage.

 

[liffalot]

You don't have to shoot a double to put a guy on his back.

A combination of a judo or muay thai sweep works lovely when you are in the street. A nice hip toss on to the concrete could very well serve to end the fight. I've used them before.

Or my favorite is double unders, lift and sweep out the legs....dump the guy right on his shoulder or back...sucks bigtime....I use it all the time in training as well. Done right, it's all leverage.

Oh i agree completely, I was including judo throws in the takedowns category. I was just saying that claiming that you wont be able to shoot a takedown on the street is ridiculous.

 

[bgbay]

I have to agree with everyone else, stay away from TKD, you're not going to be trying to throw crazy ass spin kicks in a fight. Although some forms of Karate are good I would go for something like boxing/kickboxing and BJJ. and in BJJ you do learn throws. or if you want, just do MMA. as i think someone said earlier, it's exactly what it says it is Mixed Martial Arts, stand and bang it out, or take them to the ground and pummel them. Either way do something that compliments standing and being on the ground.

 

[Academy780]

MMA is the best because you will meet a wider range of other artists who you can learn from.

 

[elcrisp76]

Are you afraid you might skin your knee shooting a takedown in the street? I've used takedowns as well as judo throws on concrete before and yes: it hurts the next day. Did the guy charging at you end up getting hurt a lot worse? Indeed.

So I agree completely, if you have a bleeding baby gap between your legs, it is impractical to use a takedown in a fight.

Hmm I meant going to the ground as opposed to takedowns.. Apologies..

Yeah throws can be very useful, but going to the ground is just plain stupid. The guy's friend's steelcap boots are gonna make a lovely impression on your forehead..

 

[liffalot]

Hmm I meant going to the ground as opposed to takedowns.. Apologies..

Yeah throws can be very useful, but going to the ground is just plain stupid. The guy's friend's steelcap boots are gonna make a lovely impression on your forehead..

are we talking about multiple aggressors ? Because if so youre fucked straight up. Bring a gun, There isnt a fighting style out there that is going to be able to fend of three angry rednecks. thats just the truth of it.

 

[bgbay]

I always consider "multiple aggressors" whenever I get into a fight outside a bar or a party. Ya never know whos going to jump in, thats why i try to inflict as much damage as possible in a short amount of time, that way i can continue to look over my shoulder (incase any friends aren't around).

But all in all, go to a Beginner MMA class, that way you get a good all-around game.

 

[Nomadic Dreamer]

The only problem with learning MMA is that there is literally too much information for a new guy to take in. It takes a while to get really good and you should train some of the arts individually before you start to try and put them together. Fighting MMA is an advanced system and it is usually for guys who have some sort of base art.

The reason this is an issue is because, you will be trying to learn how to box, kickbox, grapple, wrestle, takedowns, submissions, throws, etc.....there's so much to learn that its really hard to just start in MMA. What will most likely end up happening is that you'll probably won't be that proficient at any one aspect of fighting and will get owned by someone who is somewhat of a specialist in something.

For instance, a great striker will take you out on the feet before you even get a chance to do much because your striking will be sub-par or mediocre at best.

Same thing as your ground. Ground wizadry takes a long time to attain. I've been training BJJ for about 4 years now and just got my purple belt. I train all the time and try to get as good as can...the key to being good on the ground is lots of mat time.

This is ofcourse grappling without punches....once you start adding in punches, you'll see the bigger picture. It's hard enough to hang with someone who is just grappling, but its very hard to roll with someone who knows how to roll and punch on the ground.

I would start with some Muay Thai and some BJJ. Learn those techniques and start from the bottom....be patient with your progression and try to learn as much as possible. Ask questions and grow as a fighter and as an individual.