Martial Arts advice

[mjyuen]

I'm looking at getting back into martial arts and would like to try something other than Karate.

What i'm looking for is something that:
- has real world application
- has some weapons work (I realize this might be something for advanced students)
- something I can get my girlfriend enrolled in with me for self-defense purposes.
- I can stick with for a long time and work on different belts as I progress (ie: not just a self defense class)

I've heard that Jeet Kune Do and Ninpo are good examples of the above but there doesn't appear to be many schools in Calgary.

In addition, i'm looking for a school either near my work place (downtown) or where I live (Edgemont in the NW).

Any advice?

Thanks for your help.

[mroseneder]

Look at Wing Chun Kung Fu or Brazilian Jui Jitsu. Very different, yet very effective.

[cman]

BJJ is a good choice, it will take many years to develop your black belt and you will learn many valuable skills. weapons training will probably not be involved though.

[mjyuen]

With BJJ, can I learn to defend against someone with a weapon? i'm guessing yes.

[bundi]

your best bet would be to look thru the phonebook or something to find the local places where you can learn at and then go speak to the Sensei as you will be able to get a lot of info from em and or be able to judge whether they are legit or not...

google martial arts.. theres some martial arts forums that have as much shit on fighting styles as beyond does on cars :P

[jumperman8]

I took Tae kwon Doe for 8 years, and i hear that Chan Lees is a really good class. I learned how to defend against weapons etc in the more advanced belts.

[awd]

Kickboxing + BJJ > *

[Chim]

Originally posted by awd
Kickboxing + BJJ > *

:werd:

But for self defense, a good standup art is all you need. In a street fight, odds are you're against more than one person and won't be able to work a submission while getting kicked in the face. Muay thai is great and very applicable, but no weaposn training.

[mac_82]

Muay Thai (kickboxing) or BJJ or both would be the way to go. Good luck :thumbsup:

[dooman24]

lol i took tae kwon do.. i loved it..
it's basicly all feet...
legs are stronger then arms..

[2000_SI]

I did Karate for 4 years, Judo for 2, and I have been doing Tae Kwon Do for 9.5 years now.....

I like Tae Kwon Do because its a real fast paced martial art, which is great for cardio, and its easy to start, hard to master, and lots of fun. Sparing is full contact (with some protection), and the school I go to also does weapons and acrobatics (demo) classes.

As for real life application, Tae Kwon Do does focus more on the legs, which is nice because with your legs you can keep your opponent from getting in to close to use thier fists. There is also some weapons grabbing self defence, but they are not a big part of the art.

From people that I've talked to, if you want something that would be realy good for close encounters and street fights, I would say Muay Thai, but if you want something that isnt as intense, try Tae Kwon Do. Most schools (of any discipline) will let you come down and check out classes. Just go down and check out a few styles and see what fits you the best :thumbsup:

[Tai-Lun]

www.hapkidoyoon.com

I recomend this, both of u can do this together and it is a very established school here in calgary with a reputation for getting your moneys worth. Ive been here for 13yrs and ppl come the school from other styles an always say u can beat the exercise/training combo outside. :thumbsup:

[cman]

take TKD if you want to ge tyour black belt in like 4months.
TKD is BY FAR the weakest and most useless "martial art" out there. TKD is a joke among people who train pretty much every other discipline.
if you want to know how to do fancy flying kicks with no practical use or point take TKD. it does however looks amazingly cool.

[sputnik]

HapKiDo - www.flyingeaglehapkido.com

Master Wade is an exceptional teacher. You can tell that he really loves HKD and enjoys hanging around late after class teaching people that want to learn.

HKD is a great style that slows kicks and punches down but adds some serious power. It also includes grappling, ground fighting, pressure points, throws and self defence techniques.

[GSR Zero]

If you are interested I help my brother and I help our instructor teach a form of Kung-fu. The style is called White Eyebrow. Currently we are based out of the Beddington Heights area. The style mixes in tradition Kung-fu, with Wing-chun, some Choy-Lei-Fut. It's definitely not a "pretty" style to look at like the traditional stuff. Everything is very direct, keeping strikes fast, much like Jeet Kune Do. PM if you are interested or want more details.

GSR

[2000_SI]

Originally posted by cman
take TKD if you want to ge tyour black belt in like 4months.
TKD is BY FAR the weakest and most useless "martial art" out there. TKD is a joke among people who train pretty much every other discipline.
if you want to know how to do fancy flying kicks with no practical use or point take TKD. it does however looks amazingly cool.

Ok.... im not sure where you got that black belt information from, but a black belt in 4 months? Are you kidding me? Even some of this city's most weaksauce schools, cough*Teabo*cough, you cant get it that fast, and those schools dont even have an instructor over thier 4th Dan.... With any style, if you go to some school with lousy instuctors that are there to make $$$ instead of try and further the art, your going to get pushup up in rank no matter your ability and your going to recieve lousy training...

I got mine in 5.5 years, and that was doing 10-14 hours a week in the Dojang, not including outside training. And a black belt isnt even a big deal, some people view it as a pinacle of martial art achievment, but all it means is you have mastered the basics... thats why they have 9 levels of black belt.

Secondly, how is TKD the weakest martial art out there. Now if you dont like it, fine, thats your opinion, but instead of jsut bashing it, try backing up your points? How is it worse and more useless than Karate, or Wushu... or even Kunk-Fu?
(I am not saying those martial arts are bad, I like kung fu, i would just like to see where he's getting these opinions from)

[Loose]

I am a black belt in TKD, also train Muay Thai and a bit of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu.

TKD is not suited to self defence at all, in fact I think it's worse than just going off instincts unless you are very good at what you do (at least a "black belt").

I don't know what to recommend to you, since I have never taken weapons training.

[jumperman8]

I also have my black belt in tkd, and i started weapon trainign when i first became a black belt. And as for the self defense, i agree, the belts up to black are jsut plain and teach basics, leading up to more advanced moves in black belt training. But i woudl still highly reccomend it. Hupkido (sp), my cousin does it, by brown bodan he knew how to take a gun and knife away, leaving the person unable to fight.

[LUDELVR]

Really, it's been said before. It depends on the practioner. Every martial art has its strong and weak points but a very large part of it is the individual.

In the end a black belt means shit all. I've taken TKD since 1988 and during that time, I beat on so many black belts it wasn't even funny. On the other hand, I met some black belts who were simply amazing! They could counter anything that was thrown at them. I've been in Korea for over a year now and I wanted to train here because hey, Korea invented TKD. I got my 2nd dan black belt here by Korean Standards and really, I"m not that impressed. I had to spar for my test and pretty much laid the smack down on my competition.

It's like someone said, a black belt means that you simply mastered the basics...even that can be argued with some of the black belts floating around in many of the disciplines that you see.

From a practicality standpoint, I took BJJ and yah, it's one of the better or realistic ones, but keep in mind that it's more focused towards a one-on-one stand point. If you're two-on-one or a gang bang (insert joke here) you're fucked. I can't see how having one guy in the mount and having the other guy stomping on your head being too effective! haha:rofl:

[Inzane]

Originally posted by 2000_SI
I did Karate for 4 years, Judo for 2, and I have been doing Tae Kwon Do for 9.5 years now.....


Considering you've taken both, I'm very surprised you prefer TKD over Karate. Karate is a much more solid martial art and more applicable outside the class than TKD. (What good are your flashy high kicks if you are telegraphing, needing to turn your back, or relying too much on stable ground?)

Did you only study Karate when you were a kid, and studied TKD into your adult years? If so then perhaps your memory of Karate is fogged... or the class/instructor wasn't very good.

[Carfanman]

Krav maga

http://industrialgothic.com/safety/kravmaga.html

[AsianCaucasian]

Take Hap Ki Do, I did it for 8 years and did Tae Kwon Do for 2 years with Chan Lee. Both of them combined make a pretty good system. You learn a lot of self defense from people grabbing you in various positions, punching you in different ways, kicking you, stabbing you etc in hapkido.

Also, I do tend to agree with those who say TKD is a weaker martial art. With my training in Hap Ki Do i was beating the top black belt's in Chan Lee's classes when I was at yellow belt...

[LUDELVR]

One other thing that people must remember is that there are some martial arts that are geared towards tradition. As well, many students train towards competiting in tournaments where they will fight against other competitors who are trained in the same thing that they are. Each competitor will fight according to the same rules. In TKD, no punching in the head. In boxing, no kicking.

So really, it all boils down once again to the individual, not only on his or her ability to use the art but why he or she wants to take it. If one is looking to take TKD for example, for phyisical fitness as well as competition based on TKD rules, then he or she may be awsome. But if that same individual wishes to take it to become a bad ass streetfighter, then good luck!:thumbsdow

Why do peole take other martial arts or anything else such as fencing? Do people take fencing so then can take a sharp stick and poke it up someone's nose?:dunno:

[bigbadboss101]

So who goes to Dragon's Den for various types of instructions?

[Carfanman]

Why would you HIJACK a DEAD THREAD???!!!!!:rofl:

[philipoo]

lol!

WING CHun!

[2000_SI]

Originally posted by Inzane


Considering you've taken both, I'm very surprised you prefer TKD over Karate. Karate is a much more solid martial art and more applicable outside the class than TKD. (What good are your flashy high kicks if you are telegraphing, needing to turn your back, or relying too much on stable ground?)

Did you only study Karate when you were a kid, and studied TKD into your adult years? If so then perhaps your memory of Karate is fogged... or the class/instructor wasn't very good.

I DID do Karate when i was younger, but i have been to a few classes since then jsut for shits and giggles, and I still didnt enjoy it that much. I just found it to be kind of slow...

As for the flashy kicks, yeah, durring some classes that all we will work on, but none of us at my school would ever use them in a sparring match. We do them for fun as a little thing on the side, but they are impractical for use in a sparring match. Like i said, its just someting we do for fun on the side, like the weapons training, because i mean common, no one carries a Bo Staff with them at all times..:rofl:

[joseph]

Originally posted by philipoo
lol!

WING CHun!

:werd: Try it, its very practical

[Khyron]

Originally posted by bigbadboss101
So who goes to Dragon's Den for various types of instructions?

The sword class there is pretty brutal.

Khyron

[thinmyster]

Ok.... im not sure where you got that black belt information from, but a black belt in 4 months? Are you kidding me? Even some of this city's most weaksauce schools, cough*Teabo*cough, you cant get it that fast, and those schools dont even have an instructor over thier 4th Dan.... With any style, if you go to some school with lousy instuctors that are there to make $$$ instead of try and further the art, your going to get pushup up in rank no matter your ability and your going to recieve lousy training...

why do you consider teebo the weakest?

[1-Cent]

ecstasy_civic bought his BJJ blackbelt on Ebay, maybe if you ask him he'll nice he'll hook you up :D
*runs*

[Vagabond142]

If you truly and seriously want to learn to defend against weapons.... aikido.

I am a black stripe in Tae Kwon Do, and I have taken pretty much every art out there in the past 14 years, including kung fu, karate, muay thai, and various forms of jiu jitsu.

Aikido (I learn through the Nakayama KoAikido Kai in Inglewood, which is a totally free school, following the principles of aikido's founder) is a totally defensive art, using body physics, wrist locks, joint locks and pressure points to render an opponent non-hostile without permanent damage. If you're interested, I can easily provide you with info and you can even come to class as a newbie and get shown the ropes. Basically, all you need is some relatively loose exercise clothing (nothing baggy, just not skin tight), and a willingness to be subject to non-permanent pain at some times (pressure point training). We also learn to use and defend against swords, beer bottles, knives, belts, foul language, flying squirrels, pretty much anything and everything that can be used as a weapon

[2000_SI]

Originally posted by thinmyster


why do you consider teebo the weakest?

Being a referee, I have seen and refereed a good number of matches where his students have fought, and I have only seen a couple do well, overall they seemed kind of sloppy.

Also, a couple of his students told me that Paul suggested that they fight at a lower rank (ie: If you where a red belt, wear a bue belt and register as a blue belt).

And it doesnt halp that Paul Teebo has a real shitty attitude....

[thinmyster]

^^^ yeah but honestly ive heard that about alot of schools regarding belt colors... and honestly there are a number of different instructers at that school that keep me coming back there.

and ive been there over a year and only recieved a green belt so in no way will you recieve your black belt in 4 months

in no way am i saying its the best cause there is room for improvement but i wouldnt consider it the weekest

[2000_SI]

It was Cman that said the BB in 4 months ;)

And hey, if you like it there, then its all good for you. Im jsut saying from my experences with the school and its owner, I wouldnt train there:)

[Chim]

If you're looking for real-world application, look up some of the top MMA fighters and see what they train. It's as close as you'll get to seeing trained fighters in a street fight setting. Most of them do the muay thai/bjj combo, but theres the occasional person who does something different (GSP with TKD, or Parisyan with Judo)

If you go muay thai.... come to dragons den :thumbsup:

[bigbadboss101]

A co-worker of mine started doing Grace Barra at Dragon's Den. I am considering doing Kali with Wayne.

[ecstasy_civic]

Originally posted by 1-Cent
ecstasy_civic bought his BJJ blackbelt on Ebay, maybe if you ask him he'll nice he'll hook you up :D
*runs*

Asshole:poosie:

The hand is healing slowly, but im hitting the bag now, actually went to the gym with finboy today.

I didnt buy anything.... yet:rofl:
Ive been thinking about hitting up Hollywood and checking out Eddie Bravo's Ju Jitsu gym, some of his techniques BLOW MY MIND!.:eek:

MT and BJJ are definatley the best combinations for real world applications.

Mind you, MOST street fights will NOT be taken to the ground and stay there lol
I cant see too many people trying to submit others with armbars, triangles and guillotine LOL

Knees, elbows, punching combintions and the knowledge to keep your hands up WILL help you in a street fight.

Sometimes its just the luck of the draw, ive never been KO'd, but all it takes is one punch, regardless of any training you have.

[jepree]

try kali (estokada) is a filipino art. some muy thai some bjj and good weapons training its pretty fun but you get hurt lots. i think its worth it!

[gaijin]

http://www.bdbma.com/

Great gym. Good people. Pretty crowded these days, too. I just do the kickboxing, but the BJJ is good too. :)

Oh, and if you sign up for a year, tell em I sent you. ;)

[MidnightDreamer]

Haven't read all the other posts... But my opinion is that martial arts like Karate and TKD are not your best real world application Martial Arts... Not just those two, many martial arts rely on a subset of moves in thier sparing... When you fight using the same art or style then the rules are clearly dictated for taking points... However in real life a point means the difference between life and death... For example.... TKD, emphasises kicks more than hand to hand... In real life you might find yourself on the ground, and you won't be very comfortable in that position as a TKD Student... For real world fighting, we should look to something that more closesly resembles a real world situation like UFC... It seems that most fighters that do well in UFC have a Brizillian JuiJitsu or Military Style Graple background... I would recomend something like that... Anyways, my point is that most martial arts are kind of dictated by the rules governed by that particular style... You won't ever enter competitions where you will be fighting someone from a much higher division, or weight class etc... But in real life anything goes, and so you need to find a self defense technique that will give you the highest chance of survival in the most unfair of conditions, and you need to find a style that is most suitable for your own natural talents... ie, a lighter fighter may do better in the techniques of Hapkido where I belive the emphasis is on using the oponents strength or weight against them as opposed to a sport like wrestling... Anywhoo... good luck with your selection... I myself have a backround in TKD...

[MidnightDreamer]

I just went through the thread and saw someone bashing in TKD... It's true that here in Canada it is a complete joke... It is true that you can get a black belt in no time... Finally yes it has no practical value, they really just want to make money off of you... They even plug in the inbetween stripe belts...

But let me say that it is no better or worse than say kung-fu or karate... I'm sure that in most cases the concepts of thier attack methods are correct, but applying them to real situations requires an unbelivable amount of skill and is just impractical... (Unless you happen to be a master or something... There was that fatal kick in a UFC fight... Don't remember what style he was... But in real life some of it is luck... I hate to bring it up but remember that guy in our city that died from a punch?)

But like I said b4, real life means you need something practical to defend yourself... I think a tazer might be a good self defense art... One time fee, not much training required...

[Toma]

TKD rules.... took it for years from JJ Lee.... Not much of a street fighter style, more for dexterity, flexabilty etc.. they concentrate on form and style. For tournaments, they teach you the "down and dirty" version. I also LOVED watching a few of the older members in their 50 and 60's that could barely move or touch their knees (nevermind their toes), be trasnformed into athletes within a year....

Wanna learn to beat the fuck out of the average Joe FAST??

Nothing compares to boxing.

My Credentials??
Doorman and Bartender for almost ~15 years, probably saw hundreds of street fights, and broke up hundreds more.

The martial arts guys were a joke as an average. An experienced doorman or boxer would win EVERY single time.

Mind you, there were a couple guys I worked with that were "olympic wrestlers", but we're talking years of training, and I would not ever wanna fuck with them....

[Toma]

My favourite story lol...

I worked at this club for a while .... we got called into the bathroom for a brawl...

2 BIG black dudes are knocked out and bleeding on the floor, only other guy in the can is this 150 pound skinny guy.... lol so the other doorman were like WTF???

He told the other doormen that he had just walked in and saw them already lying there.... and then gave me a wink on the way out :thumbsup:

I knew the skinny "kid" though. He was my then boxing instructor lol..... :dunno:

[MidnightDreamer]

Word Toma! I was at JJ Lee's for a while to. ITF style is pretty sweet... But the non contact sparing thing kind of ticked me off... Really difficult to guage how you're doing... Form and style definetely yes... I think that's the whole emphasis with ITF... I definetely picked up really good basics there which are fundamental to developing power in all the techniches you learn at higher levels... I think my rents still keep in touch with Master Lee.

[Toma]

Originally posted by MidnightDreamer
Word Toma! I was at JJ Lee's for a while to. ITF style is pretty sweet... But the non contact sparing thing kind of ticked me off... Really difficult to guage how you're doing... Form and style definetely yes... I think that's the whole emphasis with ITF... I definetely picked up really good basics there which are fundamental to developing power in all the techniches you learn at higher levels... I think my rents still keep in touch with Master Lee.

Come on man.... you never got to go full contact against the black belts??... that was a riot. On "special days", Mr. Lee would let the junior belts go full contact against the black belts who were only allowed to defend....

If you were absolutley dedicated, you could get your black belt with Master Lee in about 3 years.... I was the type that started at 12 years old, took it for a year, took 2 off, went back for 1 year, took 2 off, went back for 6 months lol.... I am convinced I am the worlds BEST blue stripe lol :poosie:

And TKD (with him at least) I betya is about the BEST foundation you can have in developing a good style in anything (some of the best kickboxers I know started with Master Lee)

[Delta]

www.ittacanada.com
Orlando Mancina is a great guy and has years of experience, check out the website and give him a call. If I were to start Martial Arts that's where I'de be. Good luck man.

[nj2Type-S]

Originally posted by gaijin
http://www.bdbma.com/

Great gym. Good people. Pretty crowded these days, too. I just do the kickboxing, but the BJJ is good too. :)

Oh, and if you sign up for a year, tell em I sent you. ;)

hey, i go there too! :D

[gaijin]

Originally posted by nj2Type-S


hey, i go there too! :D
Haha, cool! I'm on the wall somewhere, I believe. One of the polaroids. I haven't seen it yet, missed this week due to a bit of the flu. Or something, I felt like ass.

[nj2Type-S]

^^^ haha, i haven't gotten my pic taken yet...i've been goin there for just 2 months...i'm nelson btw...u goin to class tomorrow? say hi tomorrow, man!

[gaijin]

I just go tue/thu. when I can. I'm a lazy mofo. :D

I should be there on tuesday for sure though!

[ProjectR]

Originally posted by Tai-Lun
www.hapkidoyoon.com

I recomend this, both of u can do this together and it is a very established school here in calgary with a reputation for getting your moneys worth. Ive been here for 13yrs and ppl come the school from other styles an always say u can beat the exercise/training combo outside. :thumbsup:

i used to go to that school when i was alot younger :D master yoon was a great teacher...not too sure if he's still alive though.

[ProjectR]

^^ oh nm just checked out the pics...still ticking! looks as healthy as ever :thumbsup:

[RUQUIKR]

Hands down, wing chun