# I don’t know what style I want to do! Any suggestions



## Hitmanjimmyt (Aug 19, 2019)

Hi all. First a little background about me. I’m  in mid 40s, need to get back into martial arts for health reasons both physically and mentally (stress relief). I say get back in because several years ago I got an intermediate belt rank in Chuck Norris karate. I quit due to time constraints and because a few white belts with a little boxing ability were basically wiping the floor with some of us upper level students during sparring. So I then took bjj for about 3 months before that school closed down. Move on to several years and a different state later and I’m looking to get back into the arts but I really don’t know what I want to do. Here’s what I really want from my art that I do choose however:
1. I want to earn my belt and not buy it.
2. I want to do something authentic but not full of stuff that isn’t really going to provide me with real life skills if I need to use them (I don’t live in a rough area and I don’t frequent bad places)
3.  I think kata is useful but is it realistic( I know I’m gonna get some purists here but I’m not putting it down I’m just looking for real life practical applications) are there any arts not kata specific?
Now here are my multitude of choices
1. Aikido school
2. Bjj schools aplenty
3. Seems everyone teaches JKD here
4. TKD schools aplenty
5. American open style karate. (Actually cheapest place in town.)
6. Muay Thai taught at the JKD/bjj schools
7. Hapkido and something called pasaryu where you can rank in both arts
8. Goju ryu school
9. Some place teaching Shorinji Kempo which I’ve never heard of.
10. A kung fu school 
So what y’all think?


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## Flying Crane (Aug 19, 2019)

You are going to need to do some research.  Nobody can really answer this question for you.

Identify the schools close enough that you could regularly attend classes.  If they are too far away, you won’t attend, so they are not options.

Of these schools, Identify those that you can afford the fees.  If you can’t afford it, it’s not an option.

Of these schools, identify those that have a training schedule that fits your schedule.  If you can’t make it to class when they are open, it’s not an option.

The list of schools you end with, visit them all, watch some classes, take some classes, try them out.  They may offer a couple of free classes, or you may need to pay for them.  For the research and information, it is worth the cost in the long run.

Decide which school you enjoy the training, have a good rapport with the teacher, feel the most comfortable with the atmosphere and the culture of the school.  That is the school for you.

Don’t get hung up on which style is “best”.  It does not work that way.  You need to find a good school that is a good match for you.

If you join a school and discover after a few weeks or a few months that it was a bad choice for you, don’t be afraid to revisit the other options.


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## Hitmanjimmyt (Aug 19, 2019)

But isn’t it counterintuitive to pay $$ for a martial art that may ultimately fail me if I ever needed it? I mean if style A costs more than style B but style A is more realistically suited for self defense than wouldn’t I have wasted $$ on style B all those years? I’m not getting a which style is better argument started. Just which would be more suited for what I’m looking for.


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## jobo (Aug 19, 2019)

Hitmanjimmyt said:


> Hi all. First a little background about me. I’m  in mid 40s, need to get back into martial arts for health reasons both physically and mentally (stress relief). I say get back in because several years ago I got an intermediate belt rank in Chuck Norris karate. I quit due to time constraints and because a few white belts with a little boxing ability were basically wiping the floor with some of us upper level students during sparring. So I then took bjj for about 3 months before that school closed down. Move on to several years and a different state later and I’m looking to get back into the arts but I really don’t know what I want to do. Here’s what I really want from my art that I do choose however:
> 1. I want to earn my belt and not buy it.
> 2. I want to do something authentic but not full of stuff that isn’t really going to provide me with real life skills if I need to use them (I don’t live in a rough area and I don’t frequent bad places)
> 3.  I think kata is useful but is it realistic( I know I’m gonna get some purists here but I’m not putting it down I’m just looking for real life practical applications) are there any arts not kata specific?
> ...


every thing flying crane sai, but you need some clarity on your objectives, are you wanting to learn to fight or not .? 

if not it doesn't matter what art you do or if you take up yoga or five a side soccer. just do what ever you fancy and think you might enjoy.

if so you need to be a bit more  critical, than might give you some useful skills. that's impossible to quantify.

kata is fine as a learning tool, if it has more importance than that at what ever school you are considering, then I'd be very sceptical of their application to learning fighting skills


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## W.Bridges (Aug 19, 2019)

it can be had to choice the right school. You should go and watch classes at the school you are thinking about joining. If they offer free trial class then try those. That should help to pick the best fit for you.


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## oftheherd1 (Aug 19, 2019)

jobo said:


> every thing flying crane sai, but you need some clarity on your objectives, are you wanting to learn to fight or not .?
> 
> if not it doesn't matter what art you do or if you take up yoga or five a side soccer. just do what ever you fancy and think you might enjoy.
> 
> ...



Agree with everything jobo and @Flying Crane have said.  You should be able to find information on all the styles you mentioned before you begin visiting schools.  My art is Hapkido and I can recommend the type of training I received.  I had never heard of Pasaryu, and always wonder when I hear of a shool which teaches two (or more) arts and promises to belt you in both.  I guess it can be done, but I suspect one if not both will suffer in what they teach.  Aikido should be a good art, but as with any school, it depends of the instructor and other students.

But again, go back to what @jobo and @Flying Crane have recommended.


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## Hitmanjimmyt (Aug 19, 2019)

jobo said:


> every thing flying crane sai, but you need some clarity on your objectives, are you wanting to learn to fight or not .?
> 
> I’m sorry, what? Something must have gotten deleted from your original post


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## Hitmanjimmyt (Aug 19, 2019)

Never mind I see now. You were talking about flyingcranes post. My bad


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## Flying Crane (Aug 19, 2019)

Hitmanjimmyt said:


> But isn’t it counterintuitive to pay $$ for a martial art that may ultimately fail me if I ever needed it? I mean if style A costs more than style B but style A is more realistically suited for self defense than wouldn’t I have wasted $$ on style B all those years? I’m not getting a which style is better argument started. Just which would be more suited for what I’m looking for.


You can’t get hung up on the style.  You need to find the best fit for you.  Visit the schools that fit the three criteria that I outlined. Speak with the instructor, ask the questions to see how they approach the training and how they feel it stacks up to what you are looking for.  Then watch the classes and try some classes and you will begin to get a feel for what each offers.  If you have some experience from your past training, that ought to be helpful in evaluating what you see.  But it could also bias you in ways that might prevent you from seeing value in methods that are dissimilar to what you have done.  But you just gotta wade in and do the research.

There is so much variety from one school to another, even within the same system, that it is really difficult to make a blanket evaluation.  And if we haven’t actually trained at the school ourselves, well I certainly cannot make a recommendation, either positive or negative in that case.


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## drop bear (Aug 19, 2019)

Rule of thumb.

Schools that compete will be functionally better than schools that don't.

Schools that do multiple arts will have more adaptability than schools that do one art.






So here we have some karate guys, MMA guys and kickboxers. And then me at the end.

Three different schools. Three different instructors.

Because they all compete they are all basically badasses. And because they all cross train they are also functionally adaptable.

To get the most usability from martial arts you need the most exposure to the best guys.

To enjoy martial arts hope those best guys are also nice guys.

And you are set.

Trainers | Fitzroy Martial Arts

Ben Kelleher - Arena Fitness

Whitsunday Martial Arts


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## Kung Fu Wang (Aug 19, 2019)

Hitmanjimmyt said:


> So what y’all think?


A: You should train style X.
B: No! Style X is bad. You should train style Y.
A: No! Style Y is bad. You should train style X.
C: No! Both style X and style Y are bad. You should train style Z.
B: @#$%^&
A: &^%$#@
C: %$^#&@​


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## Bill Mattocks (Aug 19, 2019)

Isshinryu.


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## WaterGal (Aug 20, 2019)

Hitmanjimmyt said:


> But isn’t it counterintuitive to pay $$ for a martial art that may ultimately fail me if I ever needed it? I mean if style A costs more than style B but style A is more realistically suited for self defense than wouldn’t I have wasted $$ on style B all those years? I’m not getting a which style is better argument started. Just which would be more suited for what I’m looking for.



Honestly, you won't really be able to know if a place's program is realistically suited for self-defense until you go see/take a class. 

If you're flexible about price and willing to pay a premium for an especially good program, then leave that consideration out, and just make a list of the places that are close to your home and/or work and have adult class times that fit your schedule.

There's no style that's a magic self-defense bullet, and there are few, if any, styles that are totally useless. Most styles are going to fall somewhere in the middle. I personally know people that have defended themselves with BJJ, TKD, Hapkido, etc. And there are people who fail to sucessfully defend themselves despite being a BJJ black belt or karate master or US Marine or whatever.

So go see some classes. See if they look practical, effective, fun, interesting, and like a place you'd like to spend 2+ hours a week training at.


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## Deleted member 39746 (Aug 20, 2019)

just going to go out on a limb, i wouldn't say Aikido will give you what you are looking for.  At least traditional aikdo, traditional aikdo isnt really for fisticuffs.  

I can say that cant i?      Everything else applies though, but unless you go to Aikido and absolutely love it, it doesn't seem right for the crtieria given, even if you love it, still doesnt.  

Also, might be good to find out what style of kung fu it is, there are many.


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## Headhunter (Aug 20, 2019)

Pick a club go to the club if you enjoy it stay at the club. If you don't then repeat


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## Headhunter (Aug 20, 2019)

Bill Mattocks said:


> Isshinryu.


Even though that wasn't on the list of places in his area...


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## JowGaWolf (Aug 20, 2019)

Part of training a Martial arts is not only picking a style but also picking a group that's good to be around.  If you can find someone who is passionate about what they teach, then you'll have a great experience.  If you pick someone who is just in it for money, then you'll miss a lot of other good things that comes with training martial arts.


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## Kung Fu Wang (Aug 20, 2019)

Instead of picking up just one style, I will pick up at least 4 styles in 4 different areas:

1. Foundation building,
2. Power generation,
3. Speed generation,
4. throwing skill.

I'll start with 1 and then move into 2, 3, and 4 later on.


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## Monkey Turned Wolf (Aug 20, 2019)

Rat said:


> just going to go out on a limb, i wouldn't say Aikido will give you what you are looking for.  At least traditional aikdo, traditional aikdo isnt really for fisticuffs.
> 
> I can say that cant i?      Everything else applies though, but unless you go to Aikido and absolutely love it, it doesn't seem right for the crtieria given, even if you love it, still doesnt.
> 
> Also, might be good to find out what style of kung fu it is, there are many.


There is tomiki aikido. I'm sure there is other sub-styles that do fit his criteria. Can't say for sure though.


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## Flying Crane (Aug 21, 2019)

Kung Fu Wang said:


> Instead of picking up just one style, I will pick up at least 4 styles in 4 different areas:
> 
> 1. Foundation building,
> 2. Power generation,
> ...


Any system that does not teach appropriate foundation is not worth training.  If that isn’t even being fulfilled, none of the rest matters, and is moot.

These other things then, should be part of that system, built on top of that foundation.  It all needs to work together.

One system, with the proper approach, is all someone needs.


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