Trying to find a good martial art to begin in

shuriken_girl · Yellow Belt

I'm a 15-year-old girl, around 130 lbs and 5'5". I'm athletic and I work out, so I feel capable of doing any art out there.
I'm really serious about taking martial arts and not afraid to work hard to get good. I'm looking for something really practical and efficient and real, that will turn me into a good fighter. I know some basic shotokan karate from my dad, which I like a lot, and kenpo sounds good too.
But I'm looking for your guidance and I'm open to any suggestion on which one's right for me.

Thankyou

Bon · Black Belt

I'm a strong advocate of not telling people what art to take and what art not to take. I got started in karate when I was younger and I hated it, turned away from MA for some 5-6 years and now I'm wishing I'd been training all those years.

The best advice I feel you can be offered on this matter is to look at what arts you are interested in and what you have in your area. Go to all the dojos a few times if you have to choose an art. Choosing an art is not something to be taken lightly and rushed, a careful decision needs to be made so you don't waste time training, or worse yet, turn away from MA altogether.

You may want to consider crosstraining, doing a couple of different arts to compensate for the weaknesses. But, again, that's only if you're interested in self defense. You have to first ask yourself what your goals in relation to MA are, then go from there in finding a style that suits you. If it is self defense, you will need to take into consideration defending yourself against men, so an art that uses power against power might not be what you're after, but an internal art, or an art that redirects your opponent's energy.

Good luck to you, and feel free to ask if you have any questions concerning the arts, I'm sure someone here will be more than able to shed some light.

_________________
It takes sacrifice to be the best.

There are always two choices, two paths to take. One is easy. And its only reward is that it's easy.

ckdstudent · Green Belt

I'd suggest that you try CKD, but that's only natural. However if you are interested then the website's http://www.choikwangdo.net.

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Pil Sung
Jimmy B

Withers M.A.A. · Brown Belt

My suggestion would be to check out all the schools in your area and find the one that looks the most appealing. The instructor will make all the difference. If you see a school that interests you then try it for a year or so. If that doesn't work after a year then try something else.

Pete

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2nd Degree black belt in Kenpo Karate and Tae Kwon Do. 1997 NASKA competitor-2nd place Nationally in Blackbelt American Forms. Firearms activist!

G95champ · Black Belt

I would agree with Withers the teacher will be more important than the style. Any basic karate is a good base.

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(General George S. Patton Jr.) "It's the unconquerable soul of man, and not the nature of the weapon he uses, that ensures victory."

ZeRo · Black Belt

if you enjoyed shotokan karate do that. ive never done it and i dont know much about it but i think you should do it. the first step to anything is to enjoy it. good luck for what ever you do.

Sinbad · Yellow Belt

S-G
the most important thing is to ask yourself really honestly, what you want to get from training in martial arts. Most styles will get you fit (fitter!) and give you some basic self defence skills. You say you want to be a fighter. Is that to compete in competitions? If so then judo and TKD are olympic sports so you could try those if the thought of working for an olympic gold medal appeals to you

You also said you wanted something real, practical and efficient. Does that mean you want something that is highly effective on the street? In my view, street effective depends more on how you train rather than the style itself. If you train with a lot of contact and fully resisting partners, you will be more used to what a real confrontation is likely to be like. Even more so if you occasionally simulate real situations with padded attackers, adrenaline responses etc. So check out different clubs before you commit yourself to many years of training. Don't fool yourself though about becoming devastatingly effective on the street. I don't think it is realistic for most people (anyone?) to think that they can defend themselves if they are attacked by multiple attackers who may be bigger, stronger, have weapons, and take you by surprise. That's often how it is in street situations. The best self defence is your awareness and the ablity to avoid the situation in the first place.

Sinbad · Yellow Belt

Almost forgot. There are some cowboys out there who are more interested in taking your money than teaching you useful MA. The main rule is don't join somewhere where you have to sign up for tons (in some cases, several years) of lessons before you can start training. Always ask lots of questions and enjoy your training.

Karateka_latino · Black Belt

Im agree with the people here.. you Should find a good teacher. Avoid to fall in the Claws of a McDojo teacher, you won't learn anything good and you'll lose your money.
If you liked karate then why not find a good school and train there, you already know you liked it.. lol
Once you are in the world of martial arts, you can keep looking new styles and instructors and look what other styles you enjoy too.
Good Luck.

shuriken_girl · Yellow Belt

Thanks for all the advice. I'll be sure to really check out lots of schools.
What I was kind of wondering though was, what specific arts might I like. I'm not looking for *only* self-defense, so I don't want anything like aikido which I tried and hated. Self-defense kind of comes along with whatever art yuo take automatically anyway. I'm not looking for grappling arts like judo.
I'm not looking for sport arts, and I'm not looking for anything that's "aesthetic". I don't care what it looks like, if it looks cool or whatever. I may be one of the rare people who wants to really "be all that you can be" and all that and push myself to my limits.
I want to learn a wide variety of techniques that are useful, like maybe learn a little bit of weapons techniques along with hand-to-hand, nerve points (is that what it's called?) etc.
I liked the straightforward effectiveness of karate and seeming versatility of kenpo. But I'm not sure and so I'm turning to you experienced people.

thanks

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