FAQ - What is the best martial art for me?

How To Select A Martial Arts School

1. Define your goals
Before you begin your search for you a school you should try to understand your motivation for wanting to train in the martial arts. Everybody has different expectations as to what they plan to get out of there training. For example some people are just in it for fitness, some self-defense, and some want to compete. It could be a mix of any number of things. Understanding your motivation will help guide you in selecting not only the school but the style. Try to answer the following questions honestly:

What is my primary motivation?
i. Is it Fitness?
ii. Learning a Traditional Martial Art?
iii. Competition?
iv. Self Improvement?

Once you can define what your goals are this will help to guide you in your school selection.

2. What is your budget?
I have trained at a number of schools they ranged in price from 90-125 dollars a month. Couple of things you should look out for are the schools that charge extra money for belt tests, which is more common in traditional schools like Karate. A monthly fee plus some basic training equipment is all you should have to spend money on. Decided I ahead of time what you can afford to spend on classes. Typically you are charged a flat monthly fee.

3. Visits Some Schools
Once you have completed the previous two steps it is time to start visiting schools. I recommend calling ahead of time and ask the head instructor if you can watch a class. Watching a class is going to tell you a lot about the school, and typically after the class the instructor will talk with you to answer any questions you might have. They usually offer you a couple weeks of free classes so you can try it out before you commit.

As you look around take note of the cleanliness of the school, what kind of training equipment they have, if it is a BJJ or wrestling school do they have padded floors.

Once the class begins you should note how it is run. For example:

Is the class organized and well run by the instructor? Ideally the instructor has a strong lesson plan and is able to control the flow of the class

How many instructors on the floor? If you have only one instructor and there are 50 students you are not going to get much in the way of personal attention. Ideally the instructor should be able to provide critques on your form or performance during the class.

Do they take safety seriously? In all sports you run the risk of injury, but a good school will take steps to mitigate injuries. I trained at an MMA school that got fighters ready for the UFC, and believe it or not that was the most safety conscious Martial Arts school I have trained at. In comparison I have trained at a Muay Thai school that didn’t even require students to wear mouth guards. Instructor is going to set the tone of the school so it is important you agree with that tone.

4. Try before you buy. Once you have visited a couple of school it is time to give it a try. Most schools will give you a couple of weeks for free. This will give you a chance to see if the school is for you. If you have any questions about this process feel free to send me your questions. Also check out my article on being the new student in the class.

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Hey Jim, would you consider looking at schools for step 1? I'm just starting out and have been doing a bit of research online, but was wondering whether visiting a couple of schools myself would help speed up the process.

 

Hi Aegis,

Yes I think I will do that. Thanks for the advice!

 

Hi Guys, If looking to start a new martial arts, Advert removed We are martial artists ourselves and actually keep our prices down so everyone can afford to start a martial or keep themselves in training! All the best!

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Martial art is good for everyone, if it is utilized in a good and fine way. I am a newbie in this Forum and I also want to know about martial art.

 

Hi I'm new to this forum too.. wanted to learn as well !

 

The best martial art for you is the one you enjoy the most, and the reason you enjoy it will be because you have a good instructor

 

Never trust sensei Youtube, though. He produces mediocre MA-ists.

 

I would like to find the best martial art for an absolute beginner mainly using palm strikes which can later be used for Bo, I understand this is very specific, but this just seems like the correct choice for me and have been finding it hard find one to suit my criteria as I lack significant knowledge.

Many Thanks

BillyMason

 

MA's that emphasize palm strikes won't prepare you for bo. Kobudoka typically use karate as a foundation for bo technique if they cross train at all.

 

I've been looking at which martial arts to pick but I'm limited by not being able to do too intensive workouts. I've tried jiu jitsu, but found that the grappling part of the training on the floor was too tiring, since you can't really take it easy at that time. Does anyone have any tips on what martial arts would be more suited? One that teaches self-defense but that you can do at your own pace? Near my area, I can do judo, kung fu, tae kwondo, jiu jitsu, aikido. Thanks!

 

What is it that limits you? I am assuming medical

If you want good "self defense' you should probably just start to avoid certain places, watch what's going on around you and try not to annoy anyone

If you want physical skills that will work in a confrontation then you will have a hard time if you cannot put in "flight time" and test them under some form of pressure.

Based on your options listed - and assuming I am correct that you cannot train hard for medical reasons -

Avoid Judo because it is very intense.

Taekwondo can be, but also has sufficient options to keep it lower impact. The caveat is that, like many other widely practiced arts, the self defense aspect is patchy and very much dependent on the individual club

Aikido is a beautiful art, but on it's own and the way it is practiced overall makes it a less than optimal SD choice. It is a lot of fun though

Jiu Jitsu - this has three aspects to it: Japanese Traditional), Japanese (Modern) and Brazilian. BJJ has the same problems for you that Judo will, but if you can occasionally skip the rolling will be easier to train in. Japanese (traditional) see Aikido above....Japanese (Modern) - on the whole avoid because it is a very mixed bag

Kung Fu - impossible to say without knowing which style

 

Yes the reasons are medical. Thanks for your reply!

 

I think it depends on what your self defence goals are. If we assume it's the traditional fighting back and putting someone on the ground then in my opinion the arts you've mentioned there require quite a bit of intensity in training to be of use in an self defence situation. It is the level of intensity and general uncooperative nature of your attacker that makes the situation difficult to deal with.

Of course there's a lot more to self defence than just fighting back. Learning to be that bit more aware of your surroundings would go a long way to helping you out. Most of the arts mentioned could certainly help you with that aspect. It's also a skill you could pick up from other systems people don't generally think of as self defence. If you are an archer for example you still need to be mindful of what's going on around you.

 

If the reasons are medical, consult with your physician to see what you can do to overcome your current limitations if you haven't already.

Kung Fu just means "Chinese martial arts" really. It's not specific enough to comment on.

Try a bunch and see what you like. What specifically are your limitations? What do you want to get out of your training?

 

Its better to get the suggestion of the expert and to get the expert suggestion just click on the link removed.

 

Wow thank you that was very helpful. Im looking for perfect club for myself so im just at the beginnig of the road but Im very motivated so wish me luck in finding perfect one.

 

hi im new and i read all of this. thanks it got me thinking..

 

here are many styles and disciplines to choose from. No one martial art is better than another, the only right martial art is the one you’ll be happy continuing. Take this test to determine your mental and physical attributes to be paired up with one of ten specific styles listed. Of course there are more than this, but this list is comprised of "some" mainstream disciplines that have very different histories, philosophies and characteristics.