5 steps to choosing the right martial art for you

[BlackDragon]

A common topic that I usually see in martial art forums is threads where people interested in the martial arts, or trying to get started in the martial arts, are threads asking what style is best for me...or need help in finding a good style. Somtimes even the question on which style is better for this this and or that...Or somewhere along those lines.

I hope this article will help all those in search of the right style for them look deep within and chose the style that will best match them. I hope this guide is helpful and good luck in your martial quest



5 Steps to Choosing the Right Martial Art for You - By John Moore




One of the questions I get asked most frequently, in several different variations is about which martial art an individual should study. Generally which martial art, and more importantly which school to choose are fundamental decisions someone should make. My answer is usually something along the lines of, “choose the school and the system that you are going to stick with and stay with it for the rest of your life.”

The reality is that the answer is going to be different for every person. What I will attempt to do in this article is give you a set of general guidelines. I will talk in very broad terms about different martial arts, and what to look for in a school. Ultimately every teacher, at every school, in every system is going to be completely different.

1. Dispelling a common myth

Just like with religion and politics, many people honestly believe that what they do is the best thing in the world. One only has to make a cursory study of the psychological principle of cognitive dissonance to see why this is so. So many schools out there claim to be teaching, “the ultimate, deadliest, most secret, guarded system of self defense ever invented by the gods of combat.” To be quite blunt – they are full of crap.

In one respect, much of this stuff is a marketing stance. Heck, everybody wants to study the best thing in the world. If such a thing existed everybody would study it. Some martial arts schools can become very cult like as well, and this is where the cognitive dissonance comes in. The practitioners actually believe their marketing stuff.

The truth is that style is not going to fight for you – you are. Every person is different and there is not one best system for everyone. It would be quite scary for me to face a sumo wrestler in combat, but it would also be silly for me to expect to take up Sumo and be good at it.

Claims of superior systems that can make you as deadly as a Navy SEAL in 24 hours also stem from American culture. It is unfortunate that we of the MTV and Internet generation are always looking for a shortcut, a quick fix. It makes many of us miss a lot of very valuable and important stuff.

2. Let’s start with you

If I can help you answer a few key questions about yourself and your interests, you will have done most of the work toward picking out a martial arts school that is best for you.

First and foremost, what do you want to get out of martial arts training? Yes, yes, I know you want to learn self defense – put that on the list. But people study martial arts for a variety of reasons. You want to get some exercise, you want to meet new people, you want to get rid of stress, you want a new hobby, and you think the uniforms look cool. Really think about it and write down your reasons. Everything is valid and your reasons are your own. Then I would prioritize your reasons – which ones are more important than others. Maybe getting into shape is your main goal – if so, that may help determine a place to study.

3. What style?

Now, let’s talk a little bit about systems or styles. A system is just the type of martial art you will be studying like Karate, Kendo, or Kung Fu. The differences between styles may also help you to determine where to look.
The main difference between most martial arts style is focus. Some arts like Tae Kwon do focus on large kicking movements, while others – like Kendo focus on a particular weapon. Body type and interest (as we discussed before) will help you think a little about style focus. For example: I am built like a fireplug – short and wide, am somewhat slow and am very interested in the self defense aspect of training. Ketsugo Jujutsu turned out to be the best style for me as it focused on unbalancing the opponent, the kicks were low to the ground, and the fighting in close where we short guys excel.

Beyond focus is a scale of formality to informality. To me formality is a measure of emphasis on things like training etiquette, ceremony, style of dress, method of addressing seniors etc. Many Japanese and Korean styles are very formal. On the far end of the informal scale you might have a cardio kickboxing class at local gym. On the far end of the formal scale you might have a style like Kendo which places a lot of emphasis on appearance and etiquette.
Neither formal nor informal is better or worse; it is a matter of preference. I personally enjoy some of the formalities of traditional Japanese martial arts. For me they build character and shape a strong state of mind that carries over into day to day life. For others, the formalities may be difficult to grasp and they may wish for something less formal.

The following is a list of styles I have arranged from most to least formal. This arrangement is from my own best knowledge and is neither absolute nor inclusive. Many would rightfully disagree with where I have placed things on the list, but this is meant to be a general guideline. Again, every single teacher in every different school is going to be different. This is meant as a starting point:


-Formal
Kendo / Kumdo
Aikido
Tae Kwon Do
Karate
Jujutsu
Kung Fu
Silat
Ninjutsu
Tai Chi / Bagua / Hsing-yi
Arnis / Kali / Escima
Capoeira
Kickboxing
Boxing
-Informal


While you’re on the web already, it would pay off to do some research. Look up a few sites for a few of the styles I have listed here. Get some general information about focus and formality. See what strikes you as interesting. Make a small list of styles you might be interested in pursuing.

4. Practical Issues

OK, now you’ve done some soul searching and some research and you have a list of styles you might be interested in learning. Now we have to talk a little bit about lifestyle. If Kendo interests you, but the nearest school is 200 miles away – it may not be a practical choice.

You can certainly look through your yellow pages to find schools close to you or ask people you know if they know of any schools. A word to the wise: friends will always try to get you to come to their school and may get offended of you don’t or if you visit and then don’t want to sign up. That’s definitely something to consider.

Some practical things to consider are school location and proximity to home / work, costs and your ability to pay dues and other fees, class schedule and how it fits into your schedule. Other things may also be important to you like parking, and facilities – write them down.

You should narrow down your potential list of schools based on your criteria, but you should still plan on visiting more than one to give you a sense of comparison.

5. Choosing a school

The following are a list of things I suggest you look for when choosing a school or instructor. To me, these factors are more important than any other of the above factors and can make or break your martial arts experience.

•When you call the school, are all your questions answered, and answered honestly? Sometimes someone will answer the phone that may not be able to answer all your questions. They should pass you on to someone who can , or have someone call you back.

•Every school out there should offer at least one free trial class before you sign up. How else can you determine if you want to study there? Your best bet is to try out several different schools to give you some comparison.

•When you visit the school, is the practice safe, or are students allowed to train in dangerous ways or without proper supervision?

•Is the school itself hygienic and free from unsafe conditions?

•Do students and teachers show respect toward everyone? This extends beyond formal bowing and address to making sure everyone is learning and nobody is being abused.

•Be prepared that many schools these days require a contract like a health club. Make sure you are clear on the terms of the contract if you do decide to sign one, and do not be afraid to walk out if you are uncomfortable with the terms.

•Be very wary of cult-like schools that try to up-sell you to intensified black belt programs and the like. While some of these may be legitimate, there are many scam artists in black belts out there. You should be very clear about what you are paying for up front.

•Do the teacher and senior students display a lot of skill in the art they are teaching? This may be hard to determine since great martial artists are often very subtle. However, the teacher and students should display knowledge, skill, and balance which might be more obvious.

•Most importantly, trust your instincts. If something about the school doesn’t sit right with you, then it probably isn’t right. Look out for the fast talking salesman who tries to sweep your concerns under the rug.

Remember that choosing the right teacher and the right school is more important than the actual style. If you choose a school that you enjoy, study with a teacher you like, and train with students that inspire you – you are likely to stick with your martial art. The longer you stick with it – the better you’ll get. Hopefully you will discover a very positive lifelong journey that will shower hidden benefits on you as my martial art has upon me.

[SuperCrew]

This is a very useful tool. I wish I would have had it a year ago when I was looking for schools. But for me, I'm not sure if this would have changed my mind, but I am happy to know that my own instinct led me to carry out some of the recommendations from the article. I still think I made an excellent choice on style and school as my son and I are both very happy and learning alot.

Great find! Thanks for sharing.

[47MartialMan]

Other links;

http://www.wikihow.com/Choose-a-Martial-Art

http://www.natkd.com/selecting_a_school.htm

http://www.ehow.com/how_5714_choose-martial-arts.html

http://www.kimsookarate.com/contribu...oseSchool.html

http://www.freespiritactivewear.com/...oseschool2.htm

http://www.nononsenseselfdefense.com...alschools.html

http://www.usadojo.com/articles/choosing-style.htm

[Akai Shizuku]

Originally Posted by BlackDragon

I hope this article will help all those in search of the right style for them look deep within and chose the style that will best match them. I hope this guide is helpful and good luck in your martial quest

This was extremely helpful, and thankfully, my dojo is in complete compliance with this.

[living in the way]

Originally Posted by 47MartialMan

Other links;

http://www.wikihow.com/Choose-a-Martial-Art

http://www.natkd.com/selecting_a_school.htm

http://www.ehow.com/how_5714_choose-martial-arts.html

http://www.kimsookarate.com/contribu...oseSchool.html

http://www.freespiritactivewear.com/...oseschool2.htm

http://www.nononsenseselfdefense.com...alschools.html

http://www.usadojo.com/articles/choosing-style.htm

this guy sure does love links.

[kuroitaka]

really great effort and it makes it easy to a new guy who like to do martial arts . keep on the same best wishes to give us more information about other martial arts .

[Craig H]

Hello i have read your message, helpful, however i dont realy know my path. i have resently commenced in Theravada Buddhism (if that is even relevant) and i have a interest in tai chi exercises (i know that tai chi relates too taoism, but knowlegde is my main goal), i have learned a little, from books and the internet. i now wish to learn by undertaking lessons/courses in tai chi, but also a martial art, but which one? i know there are martial arts related to tai chi or chi, but after much research everyone seem to contradict each other!
is there really a tai chi martial art of its own? or is kung fu /wushu the closest relation?

I am told that if someones desired to seek a certain martial art it can always be found somewhere close by, however i live in Blackpool, Lancashire, England, and only found Karate or Thai quan do dojo's.

any help on both of these subject would be greatly appreciated, if not, any direction where to look next would also help.

thankz
Craig

[47MartialMan]

Originally Posted by Craig H

Hello i have read your message, helpful, however i dont realy know my path. i have resently commenced in Theravada Buddhism Craig

Theravada Buddhism -

How long have you been a Upasaka?

Do you have a prefect?

[John Takeshi]

One of the great unspokens is belt color. Choose the art that has the best belt color for you.

For instance: if your art has, say, a purple belt, that's kind of effeminate, and I'm not into that, so any art with a purple belt is not for me, because it might be "foofy".

Plus, if they encourage groping one another, and call it "grappling",especially when you're wearing a purply belt...then it might be a homosexual dojo.

BTW, this is just hypothetical. I don't think BJJ or purple belts are gay in any way. Maybe this was a bad example.

[complete]

Originally Posted by John Takeshi

One of the great unspokens is belt color. Choose the art that has the best belt color for you.

For instance: if your art has, say, a purple belt, that's kind of effeminate, and I'm not into that, so any art with a purple belt is not for me, because it might be "foofy".

Plus, if they encourage groping one another, and call it "grappling",especially when you're wearing a purply belt...then it might be a homosexual dojo.

BTW, this is just hypothetical. I don't think BJJ or purple belts are gay in any way. Maybe this was a bad example.

Are you trying to be funny or really serious? We don't need this kind of idiotic advices to be given to someone wanting real answers.

[Akai Shizuku]

I think John was just kidding. It made me laugh. Partly because my dojo has purple belts and grappling. Hah...Foofy...Although the grappling is uncommon at my dojo. At any rate, back to the serious topic, Craig. I would reccomend one or more of the following, considering you want a martial art strongly associated with chi: Ninjutsu, 5 Animal Kung Fu (not as well related to chi in most cases, but it's made to suit anyone), and/or chi kung (AKA Qigong among other spellings, I think this would be perfect for you).

[47MartialMan]

Originally Posted by Akai Shizuku

I think John was just kidding. It made me laugh. Partly because my dojo has purple belts and grappling. Hah...Foofy...Although the grappling is uncommon at my dojo. At any rate, back to the serious topic, Craig. I would reccomend one or more of the following, considering you want a martial art strongly associated with chi: Ninjutsu, 5 Animal Kung Fu (not as well related to chi in most cases, but it's made to suit anyone), and/or chi kung (AKA Qigong among other spellings, I think this would be perfect for you).

I dont think Chi, should be a criteria to study a martial art.

If John Takeshi was serious, this guy has a serious issue.

[Bobbin Threadbare]

I'd like there to be a guide for people who have already thoroughly tested the waters and remain undecided in terms of settling on something. Something like a questionaire that could shed light on someone's instinctual tendencies and how closely they align with one art or another. My initial exposure to martial arts was heavily competitive and that peppers the way I evaluate other techniques. I.E. I'm not easily impressed after "sizing up" a specific discipline in terms of how it would increase my abilities and actually prompt me to change the way I fight. A resource that would allow me to look beyond the obvious would be very helpful.

[47MartialMan]

Originally Posted by Bobbin Threadbare

I'd like there to be a guide for people who have already thoroughly tested the waters and remain undecided in terms of settling on something. Something like a questionaire that could shed light on someone's instinctual tendencies and how closely they align with one art or another. My initial exposure to martial arts was heavily competitive and that peppers the way I evaluate other techniques. I.E. I'm not easily impressed after "sizing up" a specific discipline in terms of how it would increase my abilities and actually prompt me to change the way I fight. A resource that would allow me to look beyond the obvious would be very helpful.

Welcome to the forum....

However, increses abilities for physical applications, fighting, lack much having to do with martial arts as a whole.

There are many mental applications as well as health.

And, being a art, form, it is like a hobby.

[Akai Shizuku]

Originally Posted by 47MartialMan

Welcome to the forum....

However, increses abilities for physical applications, fighting, lack much having to do with martial arts as a whole.

There are many mental applications as well as health.

And, being a art, form, it is like a hobby.

I attempt to use the martial arts to improve every aspect of my being.