# Which one to choose?



## libahunt (Oct 23, 2017)

Hi guys,

I am new here and would really appreciate an advice. I've decided that I would like to start to train in a martial art. However, I know very little on the subject, so I am looking for an advice on which art would be better suited for me. Here's what I'm generally looking for:

- I would really like an art that develops what one's body can do, the spatial awareness, ability to react in different ways, thinking speed etc. Much more interested in self-defense than learning how to attack.

- It would be really great if the art had a more-or-less well defined rules and a good, explainable reasoning for why this particular move or this skill is important. I know that every teacher will be different, but it would be important for me that there were some well-tested and general internal standards that work for the whole art.

- It would also be really cool if the art had some form of sparring (I did a bit of kick-boxing as a kid and loved the intensity of the sparring).

*Tl;dr:* I am not looking for the best fighting style or a particular philosophy, but rather a way to learn an art through which one can truly develop his body and that requires a lot of patience and discipline.

I know this all might be a bit vague, but any advice will be truly welcome and appreciated. I am male, 29 years old. Many thanks for reading 

P.S. There are possibilities to do Bujinkan, Karate, Aikido, Judo, Taekwon-do, Jujutsu close to where I live.


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## JR 137 (Oct 23, 2017)

Make a list of the schools in your area. Look at their schedules and prices.  Eliminate the ones you can’t attend and the ones you can’t afford.  Visit the rest.

Who’s teaching, how it’s being taught, the training methods, and who you’re training alongside are most important.  Styles will work themselves out, for the most part.  Pick a school, not a style.  There’s too many good and bad schools within each style to blindly say style X will give you what you’re looking for over style Y.


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## Danny T (Oct 23, 2017)

JR 137 said:


> Make a list of the schools in your area. Look at their schedules and prices.  Eliminate the ones you can’t attend and the ones you can’t afford.  Visit the rest.
> 
> Who’s teaching, how it’s being taught, the training methods, and who you’re training alongside are most important.  Styles will work themselves out, for the most part.  Pick a school, not a style.  There’s too many good and bad schools within each style to blindly say style X will give you what you’re looking for over style Y.


^^^^^^^^ This.


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## Anarax (Oct 23, 2017)

libahunt said:


> There are possibilities to do Bujinkan, Karate, Aikido, Judo, Taekwon-do, Jujutsu close to where I live.




Japanese or Brazilian jujutsu?


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## Steve (Oct 23, 2017)

I say any grappling art will be more useful in most ways than any striking art.   But any art you aren’t interested in will do you no good.  Pick something you like and just enjoy yourself.


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## Martial D (Oct 23, 2017)

You should try Ameri-Do-Te


Learn Lethal Street Fighting Skills Here- Ameri-Do-Te


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## oftheherd1 (Oct 24, 2017)

JR 137 said:


> Make a list of the schools in your area. Look at their schedules and prices.  Eliminate the ones you can’t attend and the ones you can’t afford.  Visit the rest.
> 
> Who’s teaching, how it’s being taught, the training methods, and who you’re training alongside are most important.  Styles will work themselves out, for the most part.  Pick a school, not a style.  There’s too many good and bad schools within each style to blindly say style X will give you what you’re looking for over style Y.



This is good advice.  However, given the OP's stated preferences, and what is available, I would recommend Aikido.  But libahunt, you will have to visit that school and see if it is a fit for you based on the teacher, other students, and your own evaluation of the art as taught there. 

Aikido should fit however, as it is primarily defensive in nature, doesn't wish to hurt an attacker, but knows it may happen and it is OK if it does.  The attacker is responsible for what happens to himself.  Techniques can seem complicated, but with practice, become easy.  Any martial art, properly taught should help you develop your body and mind.  Judo, depending on how it is taught may also fit the bill, and I recommend you visit there before you discount it



Martial D said:


> You should try Ameri-Do-Te
> 
> 
> Learn Lethal Street Fighting Skills Here- Ameri-Do-Te



This should have had a smiley emoticon, but didn't.  So I don't know the poster's intention.  But the multiple of Ameridote videos you can find on line are intended as spoofs.  Most of them are quite funny.  If you watch them, take nothing more than that from them.


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## JR 137 (Oct 24, 2017)

oftheherd1 said:


> This is good advice.  However, given the OP's stated preferences, and what is available, I would recommend Aikido.  But libahunt, you will have to visit that school and see if it is a fit for you based on the teacher, other students, and your own evaluation of the art as taught there.
> 
> Aikido should fit however, as it is primarily defensive in nature, doesn't wish to hurt an attacker, but knows it may happen and it is OK if it does.  The attacker is responsible for what happens to himself.  Techniques can seem complicated, but with practice, become easy.  Any martial art, properly taught should help you develop your body and mind.  Judo, depending on how it is taught may also fit the bill, and I recommend you visit there before you discount it
> 
> ...


I have a lot of respect for Aikido.  I’ve been around a few Aikdoka who were excellent MAists.  But if he lived where I do and decided on the Aikido dojo closest to me, he’d have a much different opinion of the art if he hadn’t seen any other Aikido.  The teacher is a nice guy and the teacher and students are well intentioned is all I can say in a positive manner.

Pick a school, not an art.


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## Gerry Seymour (Oct 24, 2017)

libahunt said:


> Hi guys,
> 
> I am new here and would really appreciate an advice. I've decided that I would like to start to train in a martial art. However, I know very little on the subject, so I am looking for an advice on which art would be better suited for me. Here's what I'm generally looking for:
> 
> ...


It's possible any or all of those you list will fit for you. The style of some will make a big difference in what's in them (there is a wide range of Aikido, for instance).

Note that almost any art can be used for self-defense, and that attacking is what you do in response to the threat (whether you wait for them to attack and then counter, or preempt their attack). So, look for what looks interesting to you.

I posted this on another thread:


gpseymour said:


> Some folks here can give you some input about that school and what they teach. They won't be able to tell if it's a good fit for you. Here's my basic recipe for selecting a school:
> 
> Figure out what you want from your training. (Fitness, self-defense, competition, fun, friendship, always something new to learn, simplicity, beautiful movement, violent options, soft options, etc.)
> Do some research to find out what a school/program should be doing to help you get that thing you want. Make a list of what you should be looking for.
> ...



Of course, if you post links to the schools you are considering, those of us familiar with each art may be able to give you some high-level insight into what you might/should expect to see.


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## Gerry Seymour (Oct 24, 2017)

oftheherd1 said:


> This is good advice. However, given the OP's stated preferences, and what is available, I would recommend Aikido. But libahunt, you will have to visit that school and see if it is a fit for you based on the teacher, other students, and your own evaluation of the art as taught there.
> 
> Aikido should fit however, as it is primarily defensive in nature, doesn't wish to hurt an attacker, but knows it may happen and it is OK if it does. The attacker is responsible for what happens to himself. Techniques can seem complicated, but with practice, become easy. Any martial art, properly taught should help you develop your body and mind. Judo, depending on how it is taught may also fit the bill, and I recommend you visit there before you discount it


I'd say that depends upon which Aikido it is, and probably at least as much on the school/teacher, as well. OPstated an interest in sparring, and many Aikido schools I've visited don't do any real resistive training that would fit most people's expectation for sparring. If OP's looking for the fun of getting into it with classmates, Judo would be a more likely match (on that criteria only, ignoring all others).


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## libahunt (Oct 24, 2017)

Thanks for the replies, everyone! I agree that I have to look at the school and decide from that. But every insight is valuable.

Why I asked is partially because I came upon a Bujinkan school in my area. They seem to be really decent, grounded folks and, given their price, they are clearly not doing it for the money. However, as I looked into Bujinkan, I found out that there is very little control inside the art, meaning there is no one formal way how to do it and everybody practices in a somewhat different manner. This kind of put me off -- I might be wrong, but I think learning a martial art could be like learning a new language. As you invest your time and effort, you continually progress and gain deeper understanding, learn to speak it better. But if everybody speaks (practices) in a different way, then you can't be sure if you've learned a solid, time-tested thing.

Anyway, I fully understand there is no theoretical way to practice, so I'll just have to get off my *** and go try it  I've signed up for a trial with the Bujinkan guys and also with an Aikido school in my area.



Anarax said:


> Japanese or Brazilian jujutsu?



The school closest to me offers both.


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## jobo (Oct 24, 2017)

libahunt said:


> Hi guys,
> 
> I am new here and would really appreciate an advice. I've decided that I would like to start to train in a martial art. However, I know very little on the subject, so I am looking for an advice on which art would be better suited for me. Here's what I'm generally looking for:
> 
> ...



they all take discipline, dedication, will power and a good deal of physical fitness, unfortunately, you need to take these with you, the,art won't give them to you, there are people at my club that half **** there way through the lesson and other that put body and soul into everything they do. I suspect its much the same at most clubs


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## oftheherd1 (Oct 24, 2017)

libahunt said:


> Thanks for the replies, everyone! I agree that I have to look at the school and decide from that. But every insight is valuable.
> 
> Why I asked is partially because I came upon a Bujinkan school in my area. They seem to be really decent, grounded folks and, given their price, they are clearly not doing it for the money. However, as I looked into Bujinkan, I found out that there is very little control inside the art, meaning there is no one formal way how to do it and everybody practices in a somewhat different manner. This kind of put me off -- I might be wrong, but I think learning a martial art could be like learning a new language. As you invest your time and effort, you continually progress and gain deeper understanding, learn to speak it better. But if everybody speaks (practices) in a different way, then you can't be sure if you've learned a solid, time-tested thing.
> 
> ...



I don't know anything about Bujinkan so take this with a grain of salt. 

When I studied TKD many years ago, everyone was required to do everything the exact same way.  The idea seemed to be that there was one best way and everybody therefore had to do it that way.

Later I began studying Hapkido.  I was surprised when one day early in my training I didn't think I had done something just the way the instructor had told me.  I questioned him about the exact way I was supposed to do it.  He replied that in Hapkido, one was supposed to make the technique work.  There was a way that was expected to be the best for most people to do it to make it work, and that was what was taught.  But if a person needed to make some adjustment to make it work best for them, that was the correct way for them.

BTW, you mentioned an Aikido school in your area.  Do you mean the only one that is in your area, or that there are more than one?  If more than one, don't be afraid to visit them all and see what you think of them.  As mentioned above, there are different types of schools, both as a style, and as a teacher defines them.


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## JR 137 (Oct 24, 2017)

jobo said:


> they all take discipline, dedication, will power and a good deal of physical fitness, unfortunately, you need to take these with you, the,art won't give them to you, there are people at my club that half **** there way through the lesson and other that put body and soul into everything they do. I suspect its much the same at most clubs


There’s always going to be people who are training hard and people who are just going through the motions.  None of the adults halfass it at my school.  I’d say a few 3/4ass it 

You get out of it what you put into it.


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## lklawson (Oct 24, 2017)

libahunt said:


> Hi guys,
> 
> I am new here and would really appreciate an advice. I've decided that I would like to start to train in a martial art. However, I know very little on the subject, so I am looking for an advice on which art would be better suited for me. Here's what I'm generally looking for:


Judo.

That was easy.


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## libahunt (Oct 24, 2017)

oftheherd1 said:


> I don't know anything about Bujinkan so take this with a grain of salt.
> 
> When I studied TKD many years ago, everyone was required to do everything the exact same way.  The idea seemed to be that there was one best way and everybody therefore had to do it that way.
> 
> ...



Thanks for the reply! I think I see what you mean. I'd actually find it great if there was a place for some personal expression and a bit of creativity, especially when you've mastered the art to a certain extent. It's just that, from what I understand, in Bujinkan there really are no set rules at all. This confuses me a bit in terms of how the quality of one's skill is evaluated. (I don't expect to become super skilled or an amazing fighter, but I would like to feel that I am, bit by bit, mastering something).

There is more than one Aikido school in my city. I've found out today that there are also schools for Wushu and other arts as well. I chose this one because I spoke to the teacher on the phone and liked the conversation a lot; and also because it's close to where I live. I'm open to others, but I think I will first try out the two that I mentioned and will only look further if I don't like either. I'm not looking for a perfect school as I know that there is no such thing, and that getting something out of it depends more on my effort than anything else. But it's great to hear from others to learn more and get a better idea of what to even try out in the first place.


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## Gerry Seymour (Oct 24, 2017)

libahunt said:


> Thanks for the replies, everyone! I agree that I have to look at the school and decide from that. But every insight is valuable.
> 
> Why I asked is partially because I came upon a Bujinkan school in my area. They seem to be really decent, grounded folks and, given their price, they are clearly not doing it for the money. However, as I looked into Bujinkan, I found out that there is very little control inside the art, meaning there is no one formal way how to do it and everybody practices in a somewhat different manner. This kind of put me off -- I might be wrong, but I think learning a martial art could be like learning a new language. As you invest your time and effort, you continually progress and gain deeper understanding, learn to speak it better. But if everybody speaks (practices) in a different way, then you can't be sure if you've learned a solid, time-tested thing.
> 
> ...


I wouldn't be too concerned about trying to find a system where everyone does it exactly the same. For my money, I want the opposite. I want the art to be growing and evolving (we have more information available than folks did even 100 years ago), so I want the instructors to be evolving it within their schools. And I want every instructor to use what he or she teaches best a bit more, and to help students use what they learn best - so, again, there would be differences between schools. Brazilian Jiu-Jutsu is a good example. There isn't a lot of standardization beyond the very beginning (and perhaps not even that), so there has been a lot of growth and evolution in the art, yet you find remarkably similar material being used at the different schools, anyway, when you look at the fundamentals.


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