go to some classes for free. Take as many free classes as you can.
I do grappling and kickboxing and shotokan karate.
You don’t have to necessarily do muay thai for standup fighting. Think about it: if you’re in a bar, you gonna have the room to kick someone in the head? Fuck no. Even boxing is an extremely effective art and you can learn it quickly.
I wouldn’t do BJJ because you learn everything with a gi and that really doesn’t apply. Do “submission grappling” like Sambo or Judo. Those are much more realistic.
Ten not to get critical but Muy Tai is extremely effective up close. Your knees and elbows are extremely dangerous up close when utilized by anyone who knows Muy Tai. Just as well many of the kicks are meant to disable joints like the knee so you don’t need to kick someone in the head.
Since our freind is in the military I will repeat what I said above Crav Maga(isreali special forces) will be good for you to learn. Or you could utilize the resources the armed forces provide and learn somthing along the lines of what the rangers or marine force recon know. Our military(especially the more elite groups) learn the most practical/simple and dangerous techniques from different groups/disicplines.
I’m not disagreeing, but I would rather learn to use my hands first and then incorporate kicks and then do knees/elbows. For a new person, it’s kinda hard to grasp all this in a short time.
The primary thing that muay thai has over boxing in my opinion isn’t the kicks as much as the clinch work. It’s not easy to keep the clinch from happening so it’s good to know some stuff to do from there.
There was a guy who said not to do BJJ, but instead do submission grappling because the gi work is unrealistic, but then he suggested sambo or judo? WTF? Both of those are practiced with a gi, (sambo just with the jacket, and it’s somewhat different). Judo is definitely pretty damn cool, but in my opinion it’s not enough. Many BJJ places will do BJJ with no gi, all the time or at least occasionally, and I agree that it’s a good idea to do so. Hence another plug for MMA, where any grappling training will tend to be no gi most of the time.
In my club we practice BJJ in the gi, and get out of it for Vale Tudo, in which the BJJ also gets used.
A “Gi” is the traditional Martial Arts uniform you see with the belt tied around it.
As far as the best martial arts. I am a grappler at heart. As I have written about previously in here, I have never seen a grappler lose to a “karate” man in all of the fights I have witnessed (used to bounce in a bar).
Also, I have rarely seen a big strong man who can grapple ever beaten. Don’t forget about adding size and strength if you really want to be able to handle yourself!
i want to clarify two things, first patricia, you’re right, never meant to imply Jeet Kune Do was anything other than a fighting philosophy. Two, there are certain advantages to practicing grappling with a gi. If you live anywhere up north people wear heavy coats half the time which can work very well for gi grips and grappling.
Duke0090: In addition to the above suggestions, I suggest Togakure Ryu Bujinkan Taijutsu–if you can find a school with a legitimate shidoshi in your area. It’s the only martial discipline I’ve found where no-one I’ve spoken to felt limited.
Thanks guys I cant wait to get back from boot camp and try a school out. I live in Tennessee so im thinking about the Nashville Mixed Martial Arts Academy. Has anyone heard anything about this school?
I really hate to judge an entire style, but Mr. Bighead does have a point… American TKD pretty much sucks. We like to refer to them as “The Whores of Martial Arts”. Anyway, I hope everything goes well for you, duke. It sounds like we have a goodly amount of martial artists on this forum, and I’d like to say how encouraging it is to see how many of my fellow Shotokan fighters are here on the T-mag forums, as well. Best of luck in boot camp.
I am a member of the Greek Olympic Judo team and i wanted to give you my opinion.
While the advice given to you is excellent i believe that you should make sure you select the right TEACHER before you follow anything. It doesnt really matter what art you choose in the end (anything you do will be excellent) but the selection of a good teacher is extremely important!
Good post all, except the negative ones against TKD. I take that personally but then again so would you if I summed up your entire style of MA by saying it was all crap. I took TKD at two diffrent schools because of moving for a little over 7 years. I have not found another school in any style in my area as good as the last one I trained at. It went out of business after my teacher beat the crap out of the money hungry owner.
I am with thyrio all of the way. It matters not what style/art you persue as long as you have a good teacher. Like every one else said, a mix of things is the best way to go. My teachers in both schools tought mostly TKD but, incorperated ju jitsu, aikido, and brought in guest on occations to show us kick boxing.
Good luck finding a good teacher and a style that suites you.
Hey sorry Darkangel,
Like I said, I hate to judge a whole style, but in my experience, the only TKD teachers that weren’t “whores” were the Korean ones. Actually, I’ve met exactly one Korean TKD instructor. He also taught kungfu. Cool guy. He turned out some good fighters like my friend Dan, who was pretty bad-ass to spar with. I think I should agree with y’all when you say that finding a good teacher is very important. That’s good advice.
Great advice guys and gals I appreciate it. Thanks for the support in boot camp im really excited about going. Everyone take care and thanks alot for the responses.