I am planning to practice Martial Arts and have no previous...

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Answer by Korean Dude
Submitted on 10/10/2003
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I took a little Hapkido in Korea. (Hapkido was most likely founded around 1950 by a Korean guy who trained in the Japanese martial art of Daito-Ryu Jiu-Jitsu. The history is under some debate.) It's a great martial art, but it is not without problems. I don't know about Hapkido dojangs (schools) in the US, but in Korea, you are forbidden to punch during contests and practice matches. You can only kick and throw. Naturally, teachers tend to be less concerned with punching. In a real-life situation, however, a thug will most likely come at you with crude punches rather than sophisticated techniques. Therefore, if your main concern is self-defense, a system that teaches how to deal with and execute punches might be helpful, I think. I think the guide http://www.faqs.org/faqs/martial-arts/newbie-guide/ offers great information. Like it says in "Should I Study More Than One at a Time" Hapkido combined with Tae Kwon Do might work nicely. One problem is there is a behind-the-scenes controversy going on about the effectiveness of TKD. Another martial art I can think of is Bruce Lee's Jeet Kune Do. If you want some more info, try www.inosanto.com. If you go into martial art, you will notice a lot of debates about what works and not, creating confusion. Whatever martial art you choose, if the teacher is sincere about teaching you serious martial art, you won't be left with nothing even if some aspect of the art is not satisfactory. Keep an open and critical mind so you notice those things and refine them.

Answer by flipper
Submitted on 5/31/2004
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all styles have there ups and downs, its all of a matter of your personality. i for one am more for real world and proven techniques. i attend 2 muay thai schools and one gracie jiu jitsu school. muay thai consist of kicking, punching, knees, and elbows. it has been around for a number of years and was created in times of turmoil and war. for a few years (a while back) there was a legend stateing that all muay thai fighters were invincible. after a year in trainning i realized that muay thai was very open to grappleing and very weak against throws. thus i began takeing gracie jiu jitsu ( a newly created form of jiu jitsu, created by the gracie family) to work on my grappleing techniques. both style are extremly effective, but like i said, what ever most intrest you. -felipe dieppa

Answer by Fang
Submitted on 11/29/2004
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I think it depends on how the instructor teaches. I took Tang So Doo a while back(a Korean art) and the instructor taught by guide lines. At a certain rank you had to know a certain form, kicks, blocks, and etc. He never applied any of the things that we learned in class to real life situations; such as what happens if our attacker threw a jab with a low rib shot. We never learned how to use the techniques he showed us in class. The art that I take now is Wing Chung, it is the style Bruce Lee first started taking when he was learning, and I love the way my instructor teaches. He teaches more street applications and just a little traditional forms and blocks. He applies everything he teaches in our traditional exercises, and what's so good about his exercises he's always changing the attacks and we study how the body reacts to certain moves. And if there is a move that we don't feel okay with, he allows us to use what ever techniques that we know and use them instead. So, we might start with one move and it will branch off to 5 or 6 different ways to put someone down. And he encourages us to experiment by using different techniques; something we never did in my other class. That's why I love Wing Chung so much right now. So I thing you should definitely find a style that you like, and then look for an instructor who teaches you how to apply what you have learned in real life situations.

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Question by Andrew
Submitted on 8/31/2003
Related FAQ: rec.martial-arts Newbie Guide
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I am planning to practice Martial Arts and have no previous experience. Which type is best for self-defense?

Answer by GURSIMRAN SINGH (INDIA)
Submitted on 10/2/2003
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Hapkido, definitely hapkido. It is the ultimate defense system with kicks from karate and taekwando, blocks from judo,aikido, locks from aikido plus self defense techniques of over 500.

Answer by Mysterious Mr X
Submitted on 3/18/2004
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>I am planning to practice Martial Arts and >have no previous experience. Which type is >best for self-defense? You are going to get 500 different answers, all of them correct to a degree. The bottom line is that you should look at schools in your area and talk to the instructor(s). Any martial art will give you the skills to help you protect yourself, the key is to find an instructor that is a good fit for you.

Answer by nanaobrakyir
Submitted on 1/20/2005
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ST.ATTACHEY

Answer by Aqeeq
Submitted on 10/20/2005
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If your age is more than 22 or so, I recommend the Tai Chi(Yan or Chan) or other kung fu variants. It's because they are slow and do not require much muscles. If you're more concerned about self defense, try Aikido. I learnt Shotokan for some time,Tai Kwon do and Kodokan's Judo, yet what I've found to be most useful on the street is a combo of the offensive and defensive styles. Yet, they require some training of muscles and stamina. Therefore, choose according to what's easily available in your area, and according to your need.

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