Question on martial arts.?
116750
There are many different styles of Martial Arts.  The 2 main factions or most popular are  Tae Kwon Do ( Closed Fists and Feet)  Koreign  and Karate ( open hand and feet) Japanese.\n\nThere is no age aspect of when to start Martial Arts or a I am too old to start.\n\nWhen looking to join a Martial Arts program, the first thing you should do is visit a few different places where it is taught.  Get a feel for the Instructor and what is being taught.  Observe a few classes form beginners all the way to the advanced stadges.\n\nWhatever style you pick, make sure the instructor is someone you will be able to learn from, that you can afford the cost associated with the training, and are comfortable with what is being taught, and expected.\n\nBe aware of the Hidden cost, Belt Testing Fees, Reguired Uniform purchases, Training gear costs.  Ask about these before signing any contract.\n\nMost training locations are Run like GYM memberships, you pay X amount for a certain time period, wether you attend or not.  They make you sign a contract.  To advance to the next level or Belt level their is usally an additonal fee.  As the ranks increase so does the fee.\n\nBeware of all these issues when you look for a Martial Arts Class.\n\nYou can check out one of my sites and ask in the forums for more information as well\nhttp://www.blackbeltdomain.com\nPs.  you don't have to be a black belt to participate in the forums :)
1103333
Kung fu's not a martial art. It's the generic Chinese term for martial arts in general. So no, I don't think that martial arts are overrated. Some styles are, some aren't.\n\nUnless you had a specific one in mind?
401260
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_martial_arts should help.
965598
Hey Now...\n\nGo take either a Wushu or Taichi class and \nthey will teach you...\n\nSmiles
17159
You spelled it correctly in your question above.  It is Jujitsu.
33384
Go to a martial art class.\nAfter that he will come here and ask the same question.
711130
LOL...  Well I have certainly come a long ways since TKD.  I mean, my "kick you off your horse style" is still quite effective, but I have more to learn.  I actually went back to my old dojang last night.  haven't been doing TKD in a few weeks.  Everyone asked what the hell i was doing since i was one of the best students there (not ego, just fact).  I told them the new styles that I was learning and they were interested.  I waited through class to the end to spar with some of my friends.\n\nI waited through the 45 minute run around cones drill.  The 30 minutes of Tap dance tag (also known as sparing).  And then got the chance to spar with a few of my friends.  They said that any style was ok.  One of them is a boxer so of course, he just boxed.  He was the only one I had real trouble with.  Hard to get in tight on someone to throw em, if your face keeps getting pounded!  Anyway, I made short work of the TkD "studs" (black belts), and eventually got the boxer to the ground.  \n\nIts funny to watch someones eyes as you go to full mount on em and start to Tee-off on their face!  I spoke with my old master, whom I still consider a really great guy.  I gave him ideas on what to do to turn TKD from Crap to Martial.  He has all the knowledge, the dudes a 4th degree from Korea under the best there, and a 4th degree in Hapkido from the same place.  Skill is NOT something he lacks.  But I told him what people thought about TKD and why i left.  He is making changes to get more reality based training and is now open to cross training.  Who knows.  I just might start to train there again if they mix things up.\n\nP.S - Hey nine... if you ever make it out this way dude.... I'd roll with ya any time!
472300
I took Karate(Tae Kwon Do) for a short while, but it will probably not help that much against a skilled fighter.  Karate is mainly used to denfend yourself against someone who doesn't know that much about fighting, but it is still helpful.  You take belt tests which are not very difficult as long as your dedicated.
873148
I have to say that Aikido would be my choice, though it is a mostly defensive art. You can perform offensive moves, but they are usually in response to someone else's aggression and normally in order to incapacitate the opponent/halt the attack; which again, makes them defensive moves. \nThere are some rather intricate kill-tactics employed by practioners of Dim Mak, which follows a series of meridians that control the ebb and flow of the body's energy and if employed correctly, cause series injury leading to death, but I won't go into those here.
1129994
How refreshing to see that some still hold the same belief I do about "traditional" martial arts!\nWould it be a no holds barred match, or include the increasing in numbers rules doled out in UFC matches that limit more "vicious" tactics? I notice those guys like to wear pads on their fists and roll around on the floor with one another...\nI don't hold any disdain against so-called "mixed martial artists", I mean, after all, most traditional systems are mixed in one regard or another, but I dislike the idea that they take bits and pieces of what would otherwise be "whole" systems to become more "well rounded". But I ask how they can take the best of any one system if they have not mastered it?\nTo them, I say they are jacks of all trades, masters of none.\nLittle old Buddha man wins!
637122
It all depends on the person. Any martial art can be deadly in the hands of the right person.
1083758
Not sure what you mean by "real fighting."  The martial arts you mention as well as others can teach you a lot about technique as well as very useful moves and combinations all while conditioning your body and mind.  There are also hapkido or aikido for grappling and joint locks.  So, there is nothing "fake" about any of those.  An individual who is proficient in any of those arts would be a very good fighter.  You could also take the route of someone like Bruce Lee who found those arts limiting and developed his own style by transforming what he learned into something he found more useful.  In any event, there is no "most effective" style of fighting in my opinion.  It depends on the individual's skill in whatever style he knows.
730374
You can never tell which one is the best just by saying this is a better art then the other.The arts you are mentioning are very different in style and not to compare with the other.\n\nIt depends a lot on a couple of matters.\n\n1.Everybody is different and has a different way of moving, to find the right martial art for you is just a matter of trying them for a while.\n2. what do you want to reach with the sport, do you want it for self defence, to become fitter and more flexible or to become good in a art.\n3. do you like the classes in the first place, every school and every teacher is different so it has to fit you.\n\n \nThe best thing to do is try all of them for a couple of beginners classes, most of the better schools will recoment that to you any way.\n\nTae kwon do is a fast moving and high kicking art, use to be powerfull and fierce, but lately very focust on competitians mostly( Depends on the school of course)\n\nKung fu can be a very good and fierce way of self defense, but not really easy to learn the basics.\n\nKarate can be a very static way of defending, but happy to say they have very various way of practising it, \nAll of them have many styles so enough to  choose from.\n\nthe problem with all of them is that they do not teach you how to break your fall if you are in a ground fight.\n\nI am a martial arts teacher for 10 years now in 4 different arts.\nKarate, tang soo do, Aikido and tae kwon do.\nI practiced about 10 different arts in a period of 22 years and enjoyed them all.\nI alway recomment my students to combine at least 2 of them to really become self confidence.\n\nMy advice is to look around.\nGood luck and enjoy what ever you choose
984965
Iv'e been doing MA for 39 years and i've never heard that hard syles of MA are only good for attack and fighting?\nany martial art that you make a lifestyle out of and stick to is good whether it be for self defense or whatever.you dont need to swallow a dictionary and a bucket of b/shit to give a good answer.
489518
There is a very old and very true saying... \n\n"The Jack of all trades is a master of none."\n\nI believe it is a good thing to learn multiple martial arts. The issue is that many martial arts are fundamentally so different that it is hard to learn them together.  Arts like Tae Kwon Do and Aikido are so different from one another that learning them together is not a problem. Other martial arts such as many forms of Kung-fu are do conceptually different from Tae Kwon do that learning the art will be very difficult, if not virtually impossible. \n\nFor instance. Aikido uses circle to enter into your opponent and bring him down with any number of throws, pins or locks. Tae Kwon Do uses strait lines to enter into an opponent and then either attack with a strike (Kick or punch) or block their strike and then counter strike. Many forms of Chinese Martial arts don’t block, but rather parry attacks. They also use circular or more common angular movements to enter into an opponent and prefer multiple rapid attacks using chi as power rather then the one or three step sparing drills used in Tae Kwon Do.  Furthermore, many forms of Chinese martial arts are as much mental (philosophical/strategical)  as they are physical. It will be hard to do one thing one way in one class and another way in another class. Also, traditional Kung-fu instructors will not train a person who is studying another martial art. Not because they think there are is the best or some such nonsense as that, but because they are afraid that if you divide your thoughts and energies between their art and the other art(s) then you will not be able to give 100% of your time to their art. \n\nRemember, many Martial Arts, (Unlike Tae Kwon Do) take many, many years to become even the least bit proficient in. Learning forms is not the only goal. In a traditional Chinese Martial Arts school it often takes several moths to learn a single form and then a year or more to get to a level of proficiency that the Sifu thinks you are ready to learn another form. I've known more then my share of people that have dropped out of Chinese martial arts schools because they felt they weren’t learning anything new after working on the same form for six months. \n\nThe problem you will face is that Tea Kwon Do is linear and hard. Most of your forms are Move, then strike. Step left into a front stance, then perform a down block, followed by an upper block, step right into a right front stance and then do an eyelevel front punch. Chinese martial arts forms are different. As you step into a stance you are striking and before you settle into the position, you are already moving again. It is much more fluid. Everything flown one into the next. TKD is more Choppy. In fact, if the forms are not performed in a Step by step fashion, you aren't doing them right. (I have a 2nd Dan and use to judge at tournaments) \n\nAll I am saying is that is would be hard to master an art that requires your undivided attention if you are not giving your undivided attention. It's something to think about.
796715
Hood_12, you have escaped the cult with your common sense still intact. awesome. TaeKwon Doughnut... ROFLMAO. that art is true BULLSHIDO\n\ngiving black belts to kids shows that it isnt a realistic thing. a black belt only shows you that they are good at TKD, not of reality. I ask parents to think about the illusions they will be feeding their kids if they put them into TKD. as a competitive sport, sure. as a self defence, no. we all need hobbies, but I prefer mine to include elbows and knees, throat chops and joint manipulation. not only punches and kicks. \n\nto limit yourself is to limit your potential. believing that a limited number of moves can be better than more is dumb, and I dont mean more moves, like kung fu animals, I mean other body tools like elbows, knees, and other target areas like knees. if you laugh at knee kicks, get one. \n\nstay safe in the McDojo, for that is the limit of your limitations power.\nno mystery there.
1129525
O.K. This question comes up about every couple of days.\nMy standing answer is that there is no one martial art that encompasses everything. The best thing to do is to learn two different arts and use them together. Pick two that have opposite movements and yet compliment each other like...\nKarate - Linear aggressive attacks using your own body movements for power. (punching and kicking)\nAikido - Circular non aggressive movements which use your opponents momentum as the power base. (Throws and locks)