Alot of people ask what style is right for me. The biggest question anyone needs to ask themselves is whats available to me. If you have a few different styles available, you can go onto the next step which is choosing a style.'

I apologize to the other martial artists out there who practice other styles than karate. I practice karate, i'm more knowledgeable about it. Please, if anyone has anything to add about history of the others, feel free to do so.

Karate

There are many different systems in this style. If the name ends in ryu, its karate. Shorin Ryu, Wado Ryu, s.hito Ryu are examples of the ryu styles. There are a few exceptions to the "ryu" rule, namely Shotokan and Kenpo or Kempo. Karate is mainly a striking art, although you may see joint locks or holds in some of it. Pure karate is blocking and kicking, most techniques that look like holds or locks are normally limb destruction techniques.

Karate developed in Okinawa and was brought to Japan in the 1920s by Gichin Funakoshi, who is referred to in some circles as the father of modern karate-do. Funakoshi's teacher was Master Itosu, who is the founder of the Shorin ryu style. There are a lot of similarities between Okinawan karate and Japanese karate. They use the same katas, or forms, and alot of the techniques are similar.

-Caution, a lot of karate dojos teach sport karate that could get you hurt in a real conflict situation.-

Tae Kwon Do

Tae Kwon Do is a Korean martial art that focuses on kicking. High energy, high altitude kicks can dominate this art, although not necessarily all the time. If you see a martial artist kicking for someones head, theres a good chance they are a practicioner of Tae Kwon Do. Taw Kwon Do has been glorified as a sport art, especially since it is a summer olympic event. Take caution when choosing a school for TKD if you want to learn to defend yourself.

Judo

Literally translating into the "gentle way", judo is a martial art which teaches its practicioners to use their opponents force against them using takedowns. Mostly a sport martial art also, judo does have some self defense value. It all depends on how its taught.

Aikido

Aikido is a Japanese style that concentrates on joint locks and controlling your opponent. A lot of karate schools that focus on self defense will incorporate some aikido in their lesson plans.

Ju-jitsu

Jujitsu is one of the more (for lack of a better term) "fad" martial arts now a days, sort of like karate was when The Karate Kid hit the movie screens back in the 80s. Now calling jujitsu a fad isn't an insult, but a lot of people are starting to practice it because of its popularity in cage fighting (Ultimate Fighting and its offshoots). The fact that jujitsu has become a fad martial art doesn't take anything away from its effectiveness. A skilled jujitsu student can be devastating. They get close, get their opponent to the ground, and break something, choke them out, and subdue them with leverage, body position, and strength. A student with a mix between jujitsu and a striking art is a very formidable opponent.

Kung-Fu

Kung-fu literally means "hard work". Its the general name given to Chinese martial arts. There are a few different systems, the only one I can think of is Wing Chun. Maybe Lei can help me out here because he seems to be well versed on Chinese martial arts. Bruce Lee practiced Kung-fu, and developed his fighting principals that he named Jeet Kun Do on kung-fu. Kung-fu is a striking art, but it flows more than karate. Karate is a linear or circular style depending on how its practiced, while kung-fu's techniques are as elegant as they are deadly.

Once you choose a style, you have to find a school. First off, determine why you want to practice martial arts. Do you want to compete in tournaments, or do you want to defend yourself?

Most people answer this question with "I wanna learn how to fight". While many people start with this attitude, it soon changes if they become serious about continuing. As you progress, you learn you dont have to fight.

If you want sport, the schools that teach that are easy to find. If you want quality instruction, ask these questions.

Do they spar, if they do, how do they spar?

If they spar for points or don't spar at all, just walk away. What good is fighting if you don't practice it.

Do they make you sign a contract?

Thats a good sign that they don't care about your education, they just want your money.

Do they promise you a black belt in 2 years or less?

Run away, this is a belt factory. Black belt grow on trees in these places, you want to earn it.


What I've done here is give a general idea on what styles are and how to pick a good school. I hope that the other martial artists here give some advice also.

doesnt every place make you sign something as it costs something to train martial arts? and insurence and stuff, i havent gotten anything yet, just a form to fill out with my name and stuff, then i guess ill get a bill i have to sign.

Probably a release of liability, and contract saying you have consulted a physician before whatever...etc.

Maybe we can just post links to places that are good resources for more information.

Kung fu resources:

www.russbo.com

www.shaolinwolf.com

These are just a few that I've found and find to be reliable sources of no bull**** info. The forums are great too.

I've just been to this site for videos, lol:

bullshido.com

bullshido.com is a good site for determining what is bull and what is real in martial arts.

Every school I know of makes you sign a release like Lei said. They make you aware that you are practicing a martial art that is dangerous, and you can get injured.

Most clubs charge a anual fee just to earn some cash. They say its for the registration. But you dont need to pay insurance your instructer pays for the insurance just like a personal trainer.

Fu-Jow Pai - Tiger Claw Kung Fu

The concept of the fighting arts of Fu-Jow Pai as the name dictated was modeled after the demeanor and fighting strategy of an attacking tiger. The striking movements are lightning fast, agile and powerful. Techniques unique to Fu-Jow Pai are ripping, tearing, clawing and grasping applications. The training encompasses both physical and spiritual development. It emphasizes strenuous exercises as well as spiritual discipline. The practitioners not only can be benefitted from it in health or self-defense aspects, also can develop a stronger and self-confident personality within.

The School I take is Mu-Shin-Karate-Do. The literal meaning is Empty minded art and the open handed fighting way. Our Kancho Gianci took Kyokshin and trained under Mas Oyama so our style has its similarites to the Kyokshin style.

http://piotech.wsd.wednet.edu/studen...of_shudoka.htm

Hey guys those who are interested in MMA check out Jeet Kune Do. www.jkdus.com its what i take. for a little description we use anything that is useful from all styles. So i think its the best of all worlds. Not to mention Bruce Fin Lee founded it heh.

anyone who is serious abour self defence should look into krav maga the best selfdefence system, not a martial art tho but its _effective_ the IDF uses it that is proof how good it is i have some videos but sadly every krav maga class is filled up so no trainer for me only videos but its cool anyways

Considering you say that you've only seen it via video, I think i'll just stick to advice from ppl who are actually experienced in these things..with a liiive teacher.

I wanted to address the jujitsu comment aswell.

jutsus, ..any kind of jutsu, from jujutsu to ninjutsu to aikido ( which has a jutsu component) to the many other jutsus you might come across, originates in a chinese taoist concept that has had many extremely old and effective styles develop from said concept and has proven itself on many many a bloody battlefield and fuedal war for thousands of years. It also relates to concepts found in taijiquan( taichi) and wingchun and was developed by someone who laying under a tree staring up at the branches during a snowfall, noticed the physics of angle and limb manipulation corresponding to various pressure on various different places.

Muay thai,as opposed to Muay Barron, the battlefield style it was derived from, is a sport and although a potentially great workout and alot of fun, made to be played with rules and rounds of 3 - 5 lasting 3 - 5 mins... as are alot of other arts modified for the same purpose..TaeKwonDo coming from tang soo do and so forth.
In the real world MA, like at shaolin for example, ..we prefer to learn how to tie it up asap if defense is what's required...
It's because of this that alot external styles don't cater for certain strikes and their foot work and blocks are quite different.

On Tiger claw and so on, just so we aare clear, lets not forget that it is not moooves as such that are "lightening quick" and so forth, ..it 's practioners.

cheers

Blooming Lotus

What? So tell me the story about the 1st ever Ninja that went to china to study ninjutsu.

Boryaku (military strategy), is the only one of the many many skills in Ninjutsu that was influenced by the chinese. It came from the Chinese military not taoists.
The martial art was practically invented by them and developed in mainland Japan for over 300years.

Plus "Jutsu" is Japanese for "Art" and "Nin"=obligation, responsibility.

ninjuitsu = The art I am responsible for. (because they would rather die than give up the secrets of there art)

Spot on with Jujutsu tho, It means the art of the chinese scholar.

The idea that all "jutsus" came from China is a complete fallacy.

While it is widely recognised that there was Chinese influence over a number of koryu jujutsu styles (Yoshin Ryu, for example), there is abundant documentary evidence of development of systematic, native martial arts in Japan prior to the 6th century AD.

To broadly proclaim that Chinese martial arts exerted a strong influence over all of these styles is a misrepresentation of the fact that a handful of styles had legitimate contact and exchange of ideas with the Chinese - generally around the 16th century. However, it must be noted that these styles existed before this contact, and were not derived from Chinese styles, but were more accurately influenced by them.

There is a tendency these days to attribute virtually all martial arts to the classical Chinese period, but doing so ignores centuries of cultural development in other countries.

Virtually every nation in history has developed a systematic method of fighting with and without weaponry - be it in ancient Greece, Medieval Europe, Feudal Japan, and so on.

I guess I should also draw a boundary between "Jujutsu", and the 'fad' art of "Jujitsu" - more commonly rendered as "jiu jitsu" or termed "Brazilian Jiujitsu" which is described in the first post in this thread.

Jujutsu
The classical fighting art of feudal Japan, jujutsu is a martial art combining a number of striking attacks with a much larger body of joint manipulation techniques, strangle-holds, locks, and grappling methods.

Jujutsu styles are classified as classical (koryu) or modern (gendai). Koryu jujutsu schools often include Japanese weaponry in their syllabus - kenjutsu, bojutsu, jojutsu, etc, and are much more formal in their approach. Gendai schools may include more modern self defence techniques such as handgun disarms, and so on.

huh?/..
I only just found these comments coming here to look for somehting else and I have NO idea where you guys are getting your information!!...

check this out for starters jutsu origin in china - Google Search


and this
history of japanese martial arts origins in china - Google Search

and this also

history of ninjutsu + china + taoism - Google Search

:/ .....

as for the 'meaning' of ninjutsu ..or aany jutstu and its applicative relationship to daoiasm .. the reason for that is in it's circular nature.. like the 'tai' in taijutsu .. the Hatsumi sensei branch of bujinkan.... check this out Jutsu - encyclopedia article about Jutsu.

cheers .

Blooming Lotus. l-).

Hi,

I found this forum because it was recommended by a mate who I've been hassling about how best to bulk up. It was nice to find a section devoted to MA and so I figured I'd add the style I train in to the list:

Hung Leng Kuen Kung Fu

Translated, it means Free Spirit Fist Kung Fu. Whilst this is a young martial art of over thirty years, its founder has an extensive history in other styles including, Fu Jow Pai (Tiger Claw system) and Hut Pao Tsut (Black Leopard system). To further understand the background from which Hung Leng Kuen came, it is worth mentioning that its founder's Sifu also trained for many years in Shotokan Karate, White Cloud Kung Fu, Tai Chi Chuan, Feng Sao (Hand of Wind) Kung Fu and Ju Jitsu.

Hung Leng Kuen involves training in Traditional Kung Fu, Tai Chi (with its application) and also the use of weapons. Everything we do is geared towards self-defence. We do spar, although not for points, but the techniques we use in doing so are broadened as the practitioner progresses.

This style is based upon eight creatures: Tiger, Monkey, Dragon, Crane, Mantis, Snake, Eagle and Black Leopard.

I am lucky enough to be taught regularly by the founder, three times each week, which has improved my understanding considerably. Furthermore, having trained for years in Shotokan Karate, I am learning more about its own applications (which sadly is often withheld until such a late stage in Karate).

As a result of its youth, Hung Leng Kuen may only be found in various places around Southern England but, as more experienced black sashes are born, this is expected to slowly grow.

Finally, here and here are our promotional videos.