I want to learn martial arts but what would be the best style?

Im looking to learn a well rounded form of martial arts, but i am just starting to research, I need help on where to start and what style would be the best.

I want to learn martial arts but what would be the best style?
Most everyone here is going to say that what ever style they do is the best because they didn't do the research that you are doing.


There are alot of different martial arts that have alot of different purposes. I would suggest looking around your local area and see whats available to you. Theres no need in getting excided about some abscure art that isn't taught in your area. I will go through the main arts and give you a brief definition.


Judo (japanese) Throwing and grappling


Tae-Kwon-Do (Korean) Alot of kicking and yelling


Karate (Japanese) Punching, blocking and a little kicking. Very good offensive art.


Aikido (Japanese) Throws and locks. Very good defensive art.


Kung-Fu (Chinese) flashy art, alot of styles and weapons. Good for tournaments, not good for actual self defense.


Ju-Jitsu (Japanese) Ground art with grappling and locks. Alot like wrestling. The best is Gracie Brazilian Ju-jitsu.





Hope this helps
Reply:tye kwan do...however you spell it
Reply:Mugendo


or


Ishinru (sp?)


Very tactical style. I like the wrist locks, takedown maneuvers and ground fighting.
Reply:if you want something different try capoeira, its martial arts hidden in a dance.
Reply:I am recommending three (3). All are combat techniques used by the special forces. Also try to view Self Defense 101 in DVD. Its simple but very effective.


1. Aikido


2. Dujitsu


3. Ninjitsu
Reply:No one style will do it in todays MMA unless your at PFC. MAtt Hughes proved it in his match against Royce Gracie (I thought Gracie would win lol). But I will reccomend Muay Thai for a balance of kicks and punches (well overall striking and defense), maybe a lil Jui-Jitsu for submissions and ground game, and probably a tad bit of wrestling to work on complete ground domination.
Reply:The only way to know is try them out. Most would offer free trial lessons and classes. Some schools are too traditional not allowing you the freedom to adapt in a scenerio. The type of students already enrolled makes a big difference. I was taking Tae-Kwon-Do and besides one mother, I was the only adult coming in on a regular basis. Its definitely better to take lessons with your own age group.





Learning a martial art that is willing to adapt and aborb techniques from other styles will give you well rounded knowledge when you end up in a street fight scenerio. A school that teaches you the quickest method to bring down your opponent in street fighting is good. I'm currently in a school that merges techniques from seven different art forms. The master has gotten a black belt from each of these styles.





Most schools will require you to sign a contract / agreement. Make your decision carefully and its easy to be unmotivated and end up paying monthly but not attending class. A school that has many specialized black belt masters will definitely keep each class fresh and interesting. My school has specialized cane defense, knife, bo, sword, and grappling classes.





Do not join a school if they promise a black belt within a specific time. Reaching black belt depends entirely on the student. These students are buying their black belt instead of earning them.
Reply:No best style, only best school.


Please review the past questions as this gets asked about once a month.


Warning flags for "bad" schools. If a school has these traits, run away!


-Pay to join


-Contracts


-Mixed styles (Tae Kwon Do Karate ???? this is BS!)


-teacher who does not answer questions and hides his lineage


-charged for rank testing


-scheduled rank testing


-lots of ranks


-wild students behaving in an undiciplined manner


- no free classes


- no visible classes


-the title "master"


Beware there are lots of crooks out there who will promise you anything to get your money, visit every school in a reasonable area before choosing.
Reply:Taekwondo is a sport, not a martial art anymore.





No martial art is the best but if you just want to take a look, try these two koreans:





Hapkido


Sipalkido
Reply:Try a Martial Art like Tai Chi or Pa-Kua.
Reply:jiu-jitsu
Reply:The best types of Martial Arts are the ones based off of many others and implement many different scenarios and ways to teach self-defense. Seido Karate has techniques and moves that can be assosiated mostly with Shotokan, Goju-ryu, and Kyokushin. And in some instances there are grappling moves, ground techniques, and fun. go to http://www.seido.com and see if there is a dojo near you.
Reply:EMC (XMA) is one of the most formidible styles they have many fighting styles. Instead of one fighting style like ninjitsu's taijutsu they are harder to fight if you only no one style because they can throw stuff at you like monkey style which is a low and fast and has good ranged attacks unlike TKD which is a style that is short ranged.


GO WITH EMC (XMA) it is well rounded and quit formidible
Reply:Don't look at the style. Look at how they train. If they have you stand in row and throw a punch/kick on command, multi attacker scene, roleplay where the person do perfectly as they're told to without try to avoid or resist you, then RUN AWAY!!!





If they make you gasp for air, spar hard, do lot of pads and bag works, roll/grappling almost every night, have you do real live sparring and stuff then this is the school you want.





Those that usually do realistic teaching are following but not limited to:





Muay Thai, boxing, jiu jitsu, judo, sambo, wrestling, and few more.





It's better if you cross train in two diferent arts.





Think about this, if you want to learn drive, would you trust someone who say they don't teach you how to drive on street because it's dangerous but they will teach you how to drive in a car that don't run. Would you really trust this person to teach you how to drive?
Reply:Kenpo or Kempo


Krav maga


'Brazilian jiu jitsu


Muay thai