# Is martial arts for me?



## chexmix (Dec 9, 2006)

Hello, I resently found an intrest in martial arts and have been looking to join. But quite to my despair I am as you can say "out of shape." Not just a little but quite a bit. So should I wait to get in better shape before I join? Or would an art help me lose some weight? If so which art should I consider?

My main goal is to get in to Ninjutsu, but I guess that would be further down the road.

Thanks for the help.


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## Jonathan Randall (Dec 9, 2006)

Whichever works best _for you. _Keep in mind, though, that most beginner programs take into account the probable lack of physical conditioning of their newest students. I wouldn't be worried. BTW, consider getting a thumbs up by your doctor before beginning MA or any exercise program after a long lay-off. Best wishes in the arts!


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## tshadowchaser (Dec 9, 2006)

First welcome to Martialtalk.
Many beginners are out of shape and most schools realise this and take it into accunt . It takes a little while to get used to the excersises and movements but I am sure if you keep at it you will do well


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## silatman (Dec 9, 2006)

Being in shape will definatly help on your journey through any martial art but it is not the be all and end all.
I study a reality based system and we dont do any physical training geared specifically for exercise. Instead you will find that just by studying your syllabus your body's shape will change according to the art that you have chosen to study.
My advice would be to jump in to ninjitsu and let the art take care of the fitness that you need. 
Like the above poster said though, if you are really out of shape then speaking to a health professsional might be a good idea, but in saying that maybe a word with your instructor might help to ease your mind first.
Either way starting with the martial arts is THE best thing that you will ever do, if you commit to it.


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## bydand (Dec 9, 2006)

chexmix said:


> My main goal is to get in to Ninjutsu, but I guess that would be further down the road.
> 
> Thanks for the help.



First thing: Welcome to Martial Talk!  You will find lots of information here and some great people.

Question I had was this: If Ninjutsu is high on your list of arts to study, why would it be further down the road?  If there is a dojo close, go check it out.  You may be pleasantly suprized.  There is nothing "harder" in Ninjutsu than most other styles, and you don't have to have knowledge of another art in order to "get" Ninjutsu.  

Try out as many different schools as you can in your area.  Reguardless of style you chose, welcome to the world of Martial Arts, good luck on your journey. Don't wait until you "Get in better shape", or "lose weight" first, those things take time and it is easier to do both when you find an activity you enjoy, like a new martial art.


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## Drac (Dec 9, 2006)

Why wait??? I was a more than a little out of shape when I started, it got me flexible and started me on the road of weight loss and better health..


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## MJS (Dec 9, 2006)

chexmix said:


> Hello, I resently found an intrest in martial arts and have been looking to join. But quite to my despair I am as you can say "out of shape." Not just a little but quite a bit. So should I wait to get in better shape before I join? Or would an art help me lose some weight? If so which art should I consider?
> 
> My main goal is to get in to Ninjutsu, but I guess that would be further down the road.
> 
> Thanks for the help.


 
First off, Welcome to Martial Talk! 

The Martial Arts will provide you with some good fitness.  Running through the warmups and the material, you should eventually notice a difference.  Of course, the more you do outside of the arts, is always a plus.  Joining a gym and of course working on a healthy diet will help get rid of those extra lbs.

Good luck on your search.

Mike


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## terryl965 (Dec 9, 2006)

Welcome to MT and for the record almost every single person is out of shape before starting MA so go ahead jump in and begin your training you will be glad you did.


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## Kacey (Dec 9, 2006)

Welcome, and happy posting!  :wavey:

Lots of people say they'll start (or re-start) MA once they're in shape - those are the people instructors never see.  If you have any specific health concerns - long-term injury, disability, asthma, etc. - discuss them with the instructor when you start, but don't let being out of shape or having some other difficulty keep you from starting; a good instructor will work with you, and a bad instructor won't - letting you know from the beginning if you should be with that instructor or not.  Enjoy, and let us know how it goes!


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## exile (Dec 9, 2006)

Welcome to MT, Cxmx---good to have you with us.

See your doctor and get checked out---that's a must. After you get the green light, visit some schools in your area, sit in on a few classes to get the feel of the place, the tone of the interaction between the instructors and the students, and follow your instincts---and avoid signing any pricey contracts. Once you find a school which teaches an art you like the look of, has a curriculum that covers the ground you want covered, and reflects mutual respect between teachers and pupils, get into it! 

One thing that may help get you into shape faster: do homework. If you spend a couple of hours a week in class, say, spend the same amount of time working on techniques at home---practicing kicks, or flow from technique to technique, any patterns that the art makes use of, and so on. Fifteen minutes a day isn't much---but do that six days a week and you have two and a half hours of workout on top of your two hours in class. Not only will that help you move ahead in your training, but your fitness will improve dramatically. Slow and steady, and in six months you'll probably feel as though you've been given a brand-new body... good luck with your training!


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## chexmix (Dec 9, 2006)

Hey thanks guys! 

I guess I will be looking in to schools around my area. Any tip on how to find them?


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## bydand (Dec 9, 2006)

chexmix said:


> Hey thanks guys!
> 
> I guess I will be looking in to schools around my area. Any tip on how to find them?



Where you located?  There are a vast number of people on this forum, and I am sure there is somebody that might be able to point you in a direstion to start.  If not, Google your area and narrow the search to include Martial Arts


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## mrhnau (Dec 9, 2006)

chexmix said:


> Hey thanks guys!
> 
> I guess I will be looking in to schools around my area. Any tip on how to find them?



I have had good luck using google maps. Try something like "martial arts near HOME" or substitute any style. Thats worked well for me. Talking to locals helps too.


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## chexmix (Dec 9, 2006)

I live in Canyon country, Ca
or
Santa Clarita, Ca


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## searcher (Dec 9, 2006)

Welcome aboard.   I must say that I am with Jonathan Randall on a point he made.   You need to go to the doctor and get checked out before you start any exercise program.   I am with everyone else when I say that if you want to take ninjutsu, go for it.   But don't count out other styles.   Go visit and see how they fit into your martial goals.


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## bydand (Dec 9, 2006)

ChexMix, Did a quick search and found this Ninjutsu dojo.  I don't know how far this is, but it is a start.  They would be able to help you find something closer if they are too far.  http://www.bujinkanlosangeles.net/index.php 

Go to winjutsu.com and they have a list of Bujinkan schools in each state. their link is http://www.winjutsu.com/winlinks.html  Don't forget to check out schools that are close, but a different style you are thinking of.  You very well may find a school that just feels like "home" and suits you very well in both style and "feel".   Good luck once again.


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## Blotan Hunka (Dec 9, 2006)

You can always benefit from martial arts training. But if you are looking at it as a means of weight loss/physical fitness, you have to exercise and diet in addition to it. Few martial arts (note I didnt say ALL) have enough time to give you a thourough workout long enough and consistant enough to get you in physical shape. At least the way we do it here in the US.


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## bydand (Dec 9, 2006)

Blotan Hunka said:


> You can always benefit from martial arts training. But if you are looking at it as a means of weight loss/physical fitness, you have to exercise and diet in addition to it. Few martial arts (note I didnt say ALL) have enough time to give you a thourough workout long enough and consistant enough to get you in physical shape. At least the way we do it here in the US.



Very good point!


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## arnisador (Dec 9, 2006)

Get into the martial arts now. Don't delay! It'll start you exercising and hopefully the results of that will encourage you on your diet too.


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## chexmix (Dec 9, 2006)

Thanks! All this has been very helpfull. But I guess I ran out of luck with the ninjutsu schools close to me. I have been looking all day and there are none in my area. So I guess I will have to look for a different art. What is the closest art to ninjutsu? I guess when I can drive I will be able to go some where else. But for now I will have to find some thing else. Any ideas?


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## exile (Dec 9, 2006)

chexmix said:


> Thanks! All this has been very helpfull. But I guess I ran out of luck with the ninjutsu schools close to me. I have been looking all day and there are none in my area. So I guess I will have to look for a different art. What is the closest art to ninjutsu? I guess when I can drive I will be able to go some where else. But for now I will have to find some thing else. Any ideas?



If you send us out a list of the styles represented in the schools within your current radius of access, we can give you some feedback. That's probably the easiest way to do it. Call these schools, read their ad in the Yellow Pages and so on, takes some notes, and then send a note to this thread about who is offering what, and you'll get some responses about what those styles are all about and their relation to Ninjutsu, don't worry!


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## oddball (Dec 10, 2006)

http://local.yahoo.com/results;_ylt...l+arts&csz=santa+clarita,+CA&fr=dd-local-more

I did a yahoo local search (if link doesn't show up, search martial arts in yahoo local and then santa clarita, ca).


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## PeaceWarrior (Dec 10, 2006)

chexmix said:


> Hello, I resently found an intrest in martial arts and have been looking to join. But quite to my despair I am as you can say "out of shape." Not just a little but quite a bit. So should I wait to get in better shape before I join? Or would an art help me lose some weight? If so which art should I consider?
> 
> Thanks for the help.


 
Basically anything right now is gonna be good for your fitness; I wouldnt worry too much about being "out of shape" because no matter what you do is going to be better than sitting around watching tv right?  As long as you train hard and stick to it, you will get results.  Just get in the mindset of improving your fitness/body image/self defence.  If you stick with it you will find out that martial arts is much more than even these things.  If I were you, I would find a good school with a teacher that the students respect, and where you can get some good training in as well as a good workout.

good luck in your endevour! dont give up!

Keith


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## chexmix (Dec 10, 2006)

Thanks again for all the help. Does this sound right? Can you have a mix of 3 different arts?

read
http://www.mafitnesscenter.com/juniors.html


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## exile (Dec 10, 2006)

chexmix said:


> Thanks again for all the help. Does this sound right? Can you have a mix of 3 different arts?
> 
> read
> http://www.mafitnesscenter.com/juniors.html



This place doesn't look like a school where you're going to learn much in the way of practical MA, whatever aerobic workouts you do. The stuff on TKD, for example, is laughable---90% foot techniques and only 10% hand techniques? There are probably as many different _blocks_ in TKD as there are kicks! If you look at the hyungs---the patterns of movements in TKD, corresponding  to katas in karate and similar patterns in Chinese and Indonesian MAs, which record the technical elements and how these can be combined into effective combat techniques---you'll see that even the most advanced and difficult forms have far more instances of hand techniques among the moves than foot techniques. The emphasis on Olympic sparring is a giveaway: they're telling you that you're going to be exposed to a few bits and pieces of a specialzed version of TKD that ignores the vast majority of the technical content of TKD, including various kinds of grip/strike combinations, locks, throws, sweeps, elbow strikes and a ton of other stuff.
I suspect the judo you'd be exposed to will be similarly gutted. 

If all you wanted to do were aerobics using MA moves it probably wouldn't matter. But from your post, I gathered that you want to study MA seriously, and that you were worried about conditioning as an obstacle to that study. If I'm right about that, then what you should do is find a school that teaches a single MA _in depth_---and any real MA with a bit of history behind it has a lot of depth to explore. Mixing MAs when you don't have a solid background in any one of them is very likely going to leave you knowing not very much, especially not very much that you could actually _use_.  Avoid places with profiles like this one if you want to develop the range of skills that the MAs make available to you...


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## chexmix (Dec 12, 2006)

Thats what I needed to know. Thanks!


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## ares (Dec 13, 2006)

Welcome. When I started Shaolin Kempo  my weight was over 290 pounds. I'm down to 273 now. Just doing the forms is a good form of exercise. If you wait for yourself to get into shape, then you'll never get into a dojo. Just do it. As for a martial art, find out what you want to do. for some. kicking is good, I don't have that kind of flex in this body, so I went for an art that doesn't have me kick over my head. good luck with your training..stick with it. ares


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