martial arts

[renski]

i did karate and judo when i was younger. i have to say that the karate seemed useless in a streetfight. i start BJJ next week but might attempt to take something else afterwards.

[JoOner]

if youre picking up BJJ definitely learn something that teaches you how to strike

[mizanation]

haha whys that?

makiwara training is not important to becoming a good fighter. the hand is a very complicated bunch of small bones and when striking a moving, hard target--like a human skull--makiwara training is not going to save your hand from possibly breaking. there are many people who've trained with the makiwara and can break layers upon layers of bricks with their fists BUT break their hands when they hit someone's head. your time is better spent working on real skills like wrestling, clinch-work, combinations, conditioning, etc...

i did karate and judo when i was younger. i have to say that the karate seemed useless in a streetfight. i start BJJ next week but might attempt to take something else afterwards.

where are you going to train bjj?

[solidricin]

everyone pretends to be so up in jiu jitsu...

[wEstSidE]

I know ka-razor.

[seemeugly]

Shank in my mouth, now.

[MrFrizz]

Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and Muay Thai seems like a good mix.

thats vale tudo

[mizanation]

bjj + muay thai without wrestling is useless.

[Angry Inch]

ASo, should I go for the style that atracts me estheticly or go for something more practical?

It depends on what is most important to you. There is no 'wrong' art to study; it just depends on what you want to do.

Do you want to practice a style that you enjoy, that is good for health, that has some sort of tradition that you are interested in, or that has some aesthetic appeal? Those are perfectly good reasons to practice a martial art. You could look into different styles of kung fu, or modern wushu, aikido, or bagua. Some traditional styles, such as hapkido or kuk sool won, have joint locking and throws in their curriculum.

Or do you want to focus primarily on self-defense and fighting? Then practice some combination of muay thai, BJJ, and wrestling. Keep in mind, though, that to develop any real skill in fighting, you have to spar and grapple. Some people love that; for others it's not worth the constant bruises and risk of injury.

[Angry Inch]

bjj + muay thai without wrestling is useless.

I see your point, but it's a bit of an overstatement.

Many years ago, I saw one of my former teachers, Ganyao Fairtex--who never did a day of wrestling--take out four guys in about four seconds when he was working as a bouncer at a club.

I also had three former female students, one in Buk Sing Choy Lay Fut, the other two in Muay Thai, successfully defend themselves against attacks, two of which involved multiple attackers. And none of them had any wrestling training.

I would agree that BJJ + muay thai + boxing + wrestling is the best combination to train for MAA. But none of them are worthless in their own right.

[aho]

All the whole style vs. style talk is useless (not that anyone here did) IMO. It really depends on the practitioner him/herself, and how they train, and how hard they train. All styles have different things to offer, but this doesn't mean that it's all quality. Again, this depends on whats being taught and if its taught and trained realistically. So basically do what you enjoy the most. I recommend taking whatever the best is in your area regardless of style. And of course things like Boxing, Muay Thai, BJJ, wrestling, etc. are sure ways to get you kicking ass faster than most styles because they tend to focus more on the combative aspects of applying and testing their skills (ie. sparring) on a regular basis.

I myself am into the "internal" arts (Taiji, Xingyi, Bagua) which will outright suck if your not blessed with a good instructor who knows what their doing, which is sadly the state of the arts as good instructors are hard to come by....

[turcy.]

i used to do kung-fu and judo as a kid, and then took a 6 year hiatus from martial arts, now i'm into capoeira, and i'm into it HARD, its stance is very unconventional, and it emphasizes acrobatics like no other martial art i know

the dance elements keep it interesting whilst the low stance and monkey-like movements keep you stronger and more flexible than any other martial artists out there, i'd SERIOUSLY recommend checking out your local capoeira academy

[JoOner]

dont get me wrong i love traditional styles for their aesthetic value and they are very potent when combatingthe same or a similar style but all my suggestions were based off of what im looking for personally. My main focus is self defense and an effective efficient and modernly practical offense. If youre looking for a martial simply for excercise then by all means have a go at something traditional that youll enjoy plus they all look pretty bad ass in their own rights.

[mizanation]

I see your point, but it's a bit of an overstatement.

Many years ago, I saw one of my former teachers, Ganyao Fairtex--who never did a day of wrestling--take out four guys in about four seconds when he was working as a bouncer at a club.

I also had three former female students, one in Buk Sing Choy Lay Fut, the other two in Muay Thai, successfully defend themselves against attacks, two of which involved multiple attackers. And none of them had any wrestling training.

I would agree that BJJ + muay thai + boxing + wrestling is the best combination to train for MAA. But none of them are worthless in their own right.

sorry, let me clarify. i was talking about in mma competition. the clinch/wrestling range is often the deciding factor in how the fight will turn out. it determines whether the fight will stay standing or go to the ground. today, it's a prerequisite to have an excellent clinch/wrestling range to be successful in mma, whereas before, you could get away with being good in just one or two ranges.

also, for self-defense purposes, muay thai has a great clinch. if you add a sprawl, it should be good enough for self-defense.

[grandnash84]

muy thai will probably be most practical for the street and it will get you into shape the best. i wouldnt worry about mma unless u want to fight.