What is a good self defense style MA for a person with a bad knee? I have a very solid basic skill level in jujitsu self defense i.e. grabs, holds, locks throws, pressure points slaps and sweeps. I want to have some kicking moves especially against multiple attackers. I have very little cartlidge in right knee and osteo arthritis (wich I do a litttle tai chi for.) Would Hapkido work? or is there too much kicking I like to kick at or below belt level. I practice jujitsu several times a week kicks only one or two hours due to knee pain. Thanks.
I've had similar problems myself. That's (only) one reason that I made the switch from Japanese karate to Okinawan karate. Most styles of Okinawan karate employ higher stancese and lower kicks than you will see in its Japanese counterpart. This has given me a new lease of life. I fully expect to be able to use nearly all the techniques that I do now well into old age. One has to learn to accept to some limitations however. I will never be as good a kicker as I would like. I also have to favour one leg in kicking over the other. That just means I have to be even better with upper limb techniques. I'm sure the Okinawan karate is not the only art that will enable you to train without further damaging your knee. There will be others, it's up to you to find them, try them and select the one that suits you. Mike
Well first off, if kicking gives you knee pain, that is your body telling you to lay off. Why don't you listen to what it tells you? Must it be martial arts that you take? I would think from your description that you would be more interested in healing your knee. You only have 2. If you break one of them because you won't take care of it, what happens when you get old? You will have to hire someone to push you around in a wheelchair. You don't want that do you? Would you mind talking about your knee and why it is in the condition it is in? I am guessing from the osteoporosis that you are a relatively older person. Is that an accurate guess? If you have time, can you do a test? Sit down on your butt. Bring your legs up in front of you with the knees pointing up vertically. A normal sitting postition with your knees to your chest is I guess how it is described. Sit there and relax a little bit. Does one of your knees feel as if it wants to lay down to the outside more than the other? It feels more comfortable if that leg is laying horizontally on the ground? If you are not certain, try it. Keep one knee up and lay the other down, note the feeling. Then switch knee positions, one on the ground up, the one up laying on the ground, then note how it feels. Does one of the knees feel better when it is horizontal and the other knee vertical? Which one? Right or left?
Happeh I am not old! I feel old! I am 32 and have problems from medication my mother took. Birth defect that effects right side of my body. Knee problem from injuries in high school I was tripped on concrete and got ran over skiing(I took a hit intentionally when another Highschool student was going to fast in a "kiddy" area and was going to mow down a six year old). Yes I do listen to my body I do 99 percent of kicks with left leg. No, nobody needs to push me. I use a cane. I never lock my leg when I do kicks and I mostly do Hand techniques punches, locking, trapping and striking pressure points. My kicks are mostly sweeps and low kicks to knees. I do longer range front, side and back kicks with left leg using cane to keep weight of right knee. I walk as far as my knee wants to go each day to keep it stong and keep some flexibility in it. I am very thankful for my good knee and baby both knees. Calcium and arthritis medication help along with using an exercise ball to do my physical therapy exercise for stability. I don't use stairs if there is an elevator and I NEVER run or JUMP. Thank You John Runer
I would reccomend not kicking much at all but if you insist it shouldn't matter what style you take up just inform your instructor of your ailment and I am positive he will work with you and not insist you go beyond your boundaries.
Well, I would definitely find an instructor for cane, escrima, or jo. You've got a great tool there. As far as which karate style, a reasonable instructor will allow you to modify techniques with lower kicks and higher stances.
Definately too much kicking in Hapkido. I got a bum knee myself from hockey and I'm looking at these arts... Ninjutsu, Aikido, and Tai Chi (probably Yang style as flowery as Chen)
Hapkido Kicking Thanks for you thoughts. I have also ruled out Hapkido. If I did not live out here in the desert Elko, Nevada, i would probably try Aikido at this point.
If you insist on learning to kick then the style probably doesn't matter. You'll just have to do all your kicking with the good leg, like Bill Wallace. But why do you want to kick? Wing chun and escrima probably suit your body better. But that raises the question, why leave tai chi, huh? Tai chi can work against multiple attackers as well as anything else! You don't need kicks for multiple attackers. Look at aikido: no kicks, yet it was designed intentionally for dealing with multiple attackers. I would not recommend aikido for someone with a bad knee. Traditional aikido calls for knee-walking and doing all of the standing-up techniques from your knees. Perhaps you can work around your disability (I know of people who do), but, why do you even want to when you've got tai chi? Stay with tai chi.
