# What no gi MA should i learn?



## petsounds16 (Jul 26, 2015)

Hi this is my first time here so... Let me start by telling you what i want from learning martial arts, i do not want to be a badass, i just want to be able to protect myself in real life and from what i have read i would like to stick to the most practical styles , im 22 year old and 5'4 but strong, the only thing im familiar with is boxing   (only watching on tv ) my worry with box is that  i don't know how hard its on the hands, i play guitar and paint so
is it sure to injure my hands or can you do it without permanent damage?
i have strong grip and rough hands, in no way frail but still i don't know anything about martial arts.
and when it comes to no gi grappling which ma is more suited for small people?
I understand that it only matters the level you have and im willing to work my *** off but i think it would be better something you learn by doing and not kata, just thinking about the practicality of what i learn.

Thanks. Sorry about the grammar, english is not my first language.


----------



## Danny T (Jul 26, 2015)

Take a look at CSW - Combat Submission Wrestling founded by Erik Paulson
Striking has a strong influence from Muay Thai, Savate, JKD, Western and Filipino Boxing. Its ground game is influence by Judo, Catch wrestling, BJJ, Shooto, & Sambo.


----------



## tshadowchaser (Jul 26, 2015)

What is being taught in your area or area your willing to travel to will decide what you end up  studying. You might want to look into any of the FMA's in the area.


----------



## petsounds16 (Jul 26, 2015)

tshadowchaser said:


> What is being taught in your area or area your willing to travel to will decide what you end up  studying. You might want to look into any of the FMA's in the area.


Well i live in Nicaragua, Central america so there aren't a lot of options, there are  some boxing schools (20 minutes), there is taekwondo a walk away ( but im not atracted to the flashy types) and the best option for mma-bjj is in the capital but it would take about 45 minutes to get there(the life rythm is very diferent here), i don't know how many times a week and hours per week would be necesary for any ma but if its away i could go 2 or 3 times/week only, i really like boxing and we have one of the best right now Roman Gonzales but i dont want to stop playing guitar so could you tell me if punching takes its toll every time or is it something i can manage with proper care?


----------



## Kung Fu Wang (Jul 26, 2015)

Since

- 99% of the time, your opponent will have shirt on (unless he is on the sand beach),
- 100% of the time, your opponent will have pants on (unless he is in the shower),

even in no Gi wrestling, you will still need to learn how to take advantage on your opponent's T shirt, and pants if "sport" is not your only interest.


----------



## Mephisto (Jul 26, 2015)

petsounds16 said:


> Well i live in Nicaragua, Central america so there aren't a lot of options, there are  some boxing schools (20 minutes), there is taekwondo a walk away ( but im not atracted to the flashy types) and the best option for mma-bjj is in the capital but it would take about 45 minutes to get there(the life rythm is very diferent here), i don't know how many times a week and hours per week would be necesary for any ma but if its away i could go 2 or 3 times/week only, i really like boxing and we have one of the best right now Roman Gonzales but i dont want to stop playing guitar so could you tell me if punching takes its toll every time or is it something i can manage with proper care?


I box, I can tell you you're hands aren't at any more risk than they'd be in any other art. I've never hurt my hands but I know two guys that have hurt their wrist but they are the minority in the gym. Wrapping your hands and wearing gloves will reduce the risk of injury, which you'll be doing in a boxing gym. But your hands are at risk in any art, in a grappling system you can still hurt your hands just the same as in a striking system. I've been in martial arts   For 10 years and I've only been boxing a little over a year, I wish I'd have started much sooner. You'd be surprised how few arts actually spar like in a boxing gym. Eventually if you see martial arts as a life long endeavor you should check out grappling and weapons systems, or a combative style. But early on in your martial arts journey it's important to learn how to handle an aggressive opponent. Even if you try a non sparring art in the future you'll have a solid base with boxing and it will carry you far.


----------



## donald1 (Jul 26, 2015)

Kata is practical, a person who knows what there doing can use the techniques effectively

It seems like boxing is your interest. Might be a good idea to look for a place that teaches boxing


----------



## Andrew Green (Jul 27, 2015)

Wear gloves, wraps, and don't go pro and your hands should be fine.  As far as grappling goes, it's all weight classes.  So if you are looking for sport size isn't a huge issue in competition.  Beyond that as long as you got a good instructor and do lots of rolling it's not really that important the "style", good training is good training. 



Kung Fu Wang said:


> Since
> 
> - 99% of the time, your opponent will have shirt on (unless he is on the sand beach),
> - 100% of the time, your opponent will have pants on (unless he is in the shower),
> ...



No, you don't.  You don't "need" any specific thing in that sense.  Well opponents bad guys where shoes, and what if there is a weapon?  Maybe there is 2 of them, or you are on ice, or there is broken glass, maybe lava...  

You can't approach self-defence and say you "need" something that specific, it leads to needing everything, and that's not practical.  At the end of the day once you are decently trained a shirt or no shirt is not going to make the slightest bit of difference, you will already have a huge skill advantage over some random encounter.  The other things that might come into play are size, strength, aggressiveness, mindset, fight or flight response, etc.  But if you take someone with even a years training and put them in a match, all other things being equal it doesn't matter what each is wearing, the trained guy is going to win.  Give him a couple years training and he should win effortlessly and any way he wants no matter what you dress each guy in.  

Gi training has it's uses, but that argument fails pretty hard.  For someone concerned about there hands I can definitely see wanting to avoid gi training, and wanting to protect the fingers is far more relevant then the off chance you get in a real fight and having experience grabbing t-shirts is enough to be the deciding factor.


----------



## marques (Jul 27, 2015)

1. What _schools_ do you have near you? *Try it.*
Meet the instructors, the students... Usually you can try once or twice, even for free, without commitment. Or you can pay each day, so no risk. _Try_.

2. *What did you like the most?*
This is the best for you (for now). And 2-3 times/week is more than enough to start. People that start hard, give up fast.


----------



## marques (Jul 27, 2015)

@Kung Fu Wang, Good point, but usually a t-shirt isn't enough. Most often you (me, at least) need something more solid to hold. I think that no-gi is a good supplement.


----------



## petsounds16 (Jul 27, 2015)

Mephisto said:


> I box, I can tell you you're hands aren't at any more risk than they'd be in any other art. I've never hurt my hands but I know two guys that have hurt their wrist but they are the minority in the gym. Wrapping your hands and wearing gloves will reduce the risk of injury, which you'll be doing in a boxing gym. But your hands are at risk in any art, in a grappling system you can still hurt your hands just the same as in a striking system. I've been in martial arts   For 10 years and I've only been boxing a little over a year, I wish I'd have started much sooner. You'd be surprised how few arts actually spar like in a boxing gym. Eventually if you see martial arts as a life long endeavor you should check out grappling and weapons systems, or a combative style. But early on in your martial arts journey it's important to learn how to handle an aggressive opponent. Even if you try a non sparring art in the future you'll have a solid base with boxing and it will carry you far.



Well, ill take your word and learn some box, later ill try some bjj i really don't want to pick fights with anyone nor be a pro, the reason i want some sparring is to gain confidence, a couple of years ago i was attacked by my own father and even if i managed to stop it by overpowering him without any punches the reality is i have been a little fidgety when  im around strange people.Thanks.


----------



## donald1 (Jul 27, 2015)

Andrew Green said:


> No, you don't.  You don't "need" any specific thing in that sense.  Well opponents bad guys where shoes, and what if there is a weapon?  Maybe there is 2 of them, or you are on ice, or there is broken glass, maybe lava...



Lava? where would there be lava? I would certainly hope people arnt crazy enough to fight near that stuff


----------



## Andrew Green (Jul 29, 2015)

donald1 said:


> Lava? where would there be lava? I would certainly hope people arnt crazy enough to fight near that stuff



Never know, always best to be prepared.  Sometimes you're just walking along, minding your own business and suddenly someone declares the floor is lava.


----------



## donald1 (Jul 29, 2015)

Oh! I get it... but you forgot to say simon says! So for now its safe


----------



## Dinkydoo (Jul 30, 2015)

I would suggest that boxing, muay thai and kickboxing are styles that will get you most quickly involved in what you are referring to as practical striking, but those aren't the only options. JKD and Krav Maga are two systems that are purely for self defence in that they do not teach any 'competition friendly' techniques or make you train within a ruleset - if there are classes available near you then I would give them a try too. (Note: most traditional arts could be categorised in the same way, but you specifically said no kata or forms, so that rules out loads of classical styles). Silat would be a good style to try to, but finding a class will be more difficult.

Only just getting more into the grappling arts now myself, I'll leave others to provide recommendations for those


----------



## kuniggety (Jul 30, 2015)

Submission wrestling, Brazilian jiu-jitsu (obviously no-gi variant), and sambo are all great no-gi grappling arts. For stand up I would recommend good ol' boxing or Muay Thai.


----------



## stonewall1350 (Jul 30, 2015)

tshadowchaser said:


> What is being taught in your area or area your willing to travel to will decide what you end up  studying. You might want to look into any of the FMA's in the area.



That is the biggest Limitation. Next is price. 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## Andrew Green (Jul 30, 2015)

kuniggety said:


> Submission wrestling, Brazilian jiu-jitsu (obviously no-gi variant), and sambo are all great no-gi grappling arts. For stand up I would recommend good ol' boxing or Muay Thai.



Sambo is done with a gi.  (jacket and shorts)


----------



## kuniggety (Jul 30, 2015)

Andrew Green said:


> Sambo is done with a gi.  (jacket and shorts)



I mentioned sambo because, even though they train with a jacket, they tend to do well in a no-gi environment. There is a strong emphasis on take downs, leg locks, etc that all work with or without a jacket. Knowing how to grip a jacket is just a plus if the person you're fighting has something to grip onto.


----------



## stonewall1350 (Jul 31, 2015)

petsounds16 said:


> Well i live in Nicaragua, Central america so there aren't a lot of options, there are  some boxing schools (20 minutes), there is taekwondo a walk away ( but im not atracted to the flashy types) and the best option for mma-bjj is in the capital but it would take about 45 minutes to get there(the life rythm is very diferent here), i don't know how many times a week and hours per week would be necesary for any ma but if its away i could go 2 or 3 times/week only, i really like boxing and we have one of the best right now Roman Gonzales but i dont want to stop playing guitar so could you tell me if punching takes its toll every time or is it something i can manage with proper care?



Do boxing and branch out. Your hands and wrists might be sore for a day or 2...but as long as your wrap them you will be fine.  and put on your gloves too of course (pugalists punches are meant to have the gloves on not off )


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------

