So lately I've been becoming more interested in possibly taking up a Martial Art. I've begun a work-out routine at my local gym and I'm considering augmenting that with a Martial Art. Reading some of the articles on Wikipedia and seeing the huge list of different types, picking the right one can become a daunting challange in itself.

My main motivations for taking this up are fitness, self-confidence and mental discipline. Self-defense and actually being able to fight effectively would be a close second. Being able to perform similar moves seen in some cool action movies is, of course, third.

So how do I go about picking the right style for me?

First, what schools are available within a distance you would be willing to travel regualrly (at least 3 times a week)?

Second, the instructor is more important than the style. The "best" style will do you no good if the instructor is no good, and being good at the performing the art does not necessarilly mean they are a good teacher of the art. I studied a number of different styles when I was younger and lived in a number of different places. Different styles had their strengths and weaknesses, but the most important thing was the quality of the teacher.

Another thing to consider is how well the style is suited to your body type and temperment. The style I liked best was Okinawan Shori-Ryu. I think because it was best suited to my short stocky body type and my somewhat direct bull headed temperment.

Most good schools will let you take some "trial" classes for free of for a nominal fee to be sure you like the teacher/school and they feel you are suited to their school. Take advantage of that. Run far and fast from any school that wants you to sign a long term contract without a trial run.

I suppose the best bet would to just pick a couple of schools nearby and visit to sit in on some classes. Worrying about the type of art is probably not as important as picking a good school with a good instructor when just starting out.

I tried Aikido, Shotokan Karate, Muai Thai, a mixed system made by some local instructors, and Krav Maga. They're vastly different from eachother.

The teacher of course matters, but a lot less than the style. If you're looking for something like Muai Thai, Aikido or Karate will suck no matter how good the instructor is.

I think you're completely disregarding what you would LIKE to do. You're only focusing on the goals.

- How do you like sparring (ie fighting with some degree of contact), none, light or full contact?
- Do you want to punch and kick, or do locks and throws, or like ground fighting, or all of it?
- Do you like focus on the sport fighting aspect (trained fighter vs trained fighter), or gymnastic moves and kicks, or self defense?

There are large differences between the styles regarding that, and if you have preferences on them, you'll waste a lot of time just going to different schools.

I have done a few different martial arts myself. I started out when I was a kid. My dad use to be a insturctor of Jujitsu when we lived in Italy. I learned Tae Kwon Do, Shoalin Knug fu and Karate. I love them all, and it is really hard to find the right one. But like everyone has said before, Instructors are the key.

As far as what you are looking for, you should think about the style. Hard or Soft. What I mean by this is: Most, if not all Japanese styles are built around strength and power. And most, if not all Chinese styles are base around speed and fluid motion. Someone can chime in and correct me if I am wrong.

If all your looking for is the fitness part of it, you should try Tae Kwon Do. Then again, why don't you go and sit in on a adult session of the style that you are interested in, and watch to see if it's for you.

Are there any particular MA styles that are good for a cardio workout, or are they pretty much all going to do that?

You'll be able to get a good cardio workout from pretty much any style I imagine. It depends on what you put into it. For instance, many styles teach you forms or katas (sequences of moves). If you give it your all, you should work up a good sweat! (there are always those who just go through the motions though and find it "easy")

If you want to be pushed for a good cardio workout, I'd look into Muay Thai (or kickboxing). Lots of kicking and punching drills - and you're always moving.

I still consider myself a newbie though (just over a year) so someone else may have better advice. What I can say for sure is that my biggest regret so far is not starting sooner - so get in there!

-Sean

I visited a school this morning and sat in on their MMA class. The school is about 30-35 minutes from where I live and they have classes for many different styles. They do MMA, BJJ, Muay Thai along with some others like Kung Fu and Aikido. Membership runs for $115 per month and that includes access to both of their facilities and you can get in on any class you like how ever often you like.

115 a month, pretty expensive.

I guess it's because you have access to all the different styles that they offer. You can go to whichever you want, however many times you want.

If you're looking to get into martial arts for mostly health reasons, as you've suggested, then there are some things I can tell you.

For a good cardio workout most programs will have you covered but really fitness kick-boxing or capoeira are your best choices. Usually these will not be terribly effective in real life, but they will give you the best workout.

For effectiveness, there is no "best" martial art in my opinion. Every style has weaknesses and strengths. Personally I subscribe to the ideology of Jeet Kune Do, that is "be like water" or rather a cleaver analogy for "Adaptivity". If you want to become a fighter later down the line, just remember that it helps to know a lot of different styles. Like the old saying goes "never box a boxer."

Prism, $115 for all those services is a steal. Problem is, how many are you going to take advantage of? After work, weight training, and the commute, chances are you're only going to be taking advantage of 1 or two of them. Then I would say it's probably not worth it. I don't know though, maybe you'll take a lot and get your money's worth. Because if you really do all those things, you're getting a hell of a deal.

Although I will say that I pay 100 for only brazilian jiujitsu, 3x a week (I usually only make 2) and about 2 hours a class. However, the instruction is top notch. I suspect that I'm paying a lot for the "name", though.

I'm still considering signing on for this, but it will make for one hell of a busy schedule. Ideally I'd like to go for the Muay Thai, MMA and BJJ classes on my off-weight training days. The main thing that's making me pause is the commute.

I thought it all consists of both?

Not really.

If you like the competitive aspect, boxing is excellent - but you're very limited in your techniques for self defense. Even an MMA fighter doesn't have that great self defense skills - taking a fight to the ground for example is generally a very bad idea in a real life situation (the bad guy might have friends).

Capoeira has some great gymnastic moves, but they won't work in the ring, or on the street. Many traditional martial arts also fall in this category.

Krav Maga is very well suited for your typical self defense situation, they work great against something like multiple untrained attackers - but their techniques won't do much against an MMA fighter.