# Don't know what to start with.



## Fimbulvinter (Dec 20, 2008)

I'm 18, and 161cm/5'4 tall.

I haven't trained in any martial arts the last 10 years(I was forced to quit then) but the passion for it never ended. And I finally am able to start again.

Out of what I have a little attraction to, my city offers:
ITF Taekwondo.
Taijichuan.
Judo.
Jujutsu.
Kali.
Krav maga.


The rest which I don't feel attracted to is: Shotokan karate, MMA, Boxing, Kick Boxing, Wrestling, Muay thai, and some more..

I have been adviced before to start with taekwondo to get the basics with flexibility, balance, etc. before I find something else. But the person I asked practice taekwondo, so I rather hear more voices before I decide.

What I want from the martial art? Health, being practical, control of the body, cultural background for it. 

So, any inputs? 
Thank you.


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## jarrod (Dec 20, 2008)

i primarily practice judo & jujitsu, so clearly those are the best styles.

really though, just visit the schools & see which one you like best.  pretty much any style will give you the benefits you are after, so try find a school that you like where you get along well with the people & respond to the instructor's teaching style.

good luck!

jf


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## bluekey88 (Dec 20, 2008)

Forget about style...what you want is a good school.  Go to each of the schools you listed.  Watch some classes.  Many schools have intorductory sessions For free or low cost where you can participate.  When you find a school that fits, you'll know it.  

ANy art taught well will give you a good grounding in the basics.  That's not a style thing.  More improtant is your fit with the instructor and other students and how the training feels to you.

Peace,
Erik


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## Nebuchadnezzar (Dec 20, 2008)

Fimbulvinter said:


> ...I have been adviced before to start with taekwondo to get the basics with flexibility, balance, etc. before I find something else. But the person I asked practice taekwondo, so I rather hear more voices before I decide.
> 
> What I want from the martial art? Health, being practical, control of the body, cultural background for it.
> 
> ...


 
Taekwondo will not give you anything that the others can't.  Most of those that you are interested in and so that you aren't interested in (at this time) will give you what Taekwondo can't.


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## AMP-RYU (Dec 21, 2008)

Start with tae kwon do, it will get you the basics and help you envolve in your Martial Training! Tae Kwon Do is known for its high kicks which will give you amazing flexibility that will help in other martial arts! Not saying others won't but hey im a TKD man. Actually my style is based on Tkd but includes Karate, jujitsu, several chinese arts, and several more but its built on a tkd base! The reason why I would personally start with TKD!


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## CDKJudoka (Dec 22, 2008)

I have to agree with bluekey on this one. Going to any martial arts school will give you what you are looking for, but finding the right dojo/dojang is key. I would try out all the ones that interest you, and see which suits you best.

Any reason why Shotokan isn't in you choices? It is basically the same as TKD as in what it will teach for the basics.


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## SteffenBerg (Dec 22, 2008)

Here are some general guidelines of what I recommend when people ask me this question...

1. First you need to identify the schools that are available in your area. Then find the ones that are located within tolerable distance from your home / office / school.

2. Go watch classes at each of the schools that appeal to you and talk to both instructors and students. I'd even go to the ones that don't appeal to you at the moment (you may change your mind)

3. Identify a couple of the schools / arts that resonated with you based on observation.

4. Go watch classes again - preferably a different class, i.e. an intermediate or an advanced class if you saw the beginner's class or vice versa.

5. Pay close attention to the apparent skill level of students and how the teacher and students interact with each other.

6. You can now begin to whittle down and choose a school based on atmosphere, attitude to training, skill level of students etc.

Just remember that if you stick with martial arts you're going to be spending a lot of time with these people, so training at a place that is "comfortable" is going to be important (particularly if it's your first martial art). I've seen too many people get a sour taste of martial arts because they chose their school based on location or price...

Also, don't base your choices on preconceived notions in terms of what you think you can or can't do... or what an art has or doesn't have...

Just my 2 cents...

Steffen


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## GBlues (Dec 22, 2008)

Fimbulvinter said:


> I'm 18, and 161cm/5'4 tall.
> 
> I haven't trained in any martial arts the last 10 years(I was forced to quit then) but the passion for it never ended. And I finally am able to start again.
> 
> ...


 
Well, I'm 5'3" and may have some different advice. Being small your going to find that no matter what you take, it's going to be beneficial first of all. As far as Taekwondo goes for your first art, that is a personal choice, but beyond basics being smaller your going to be naturally quicker than the average joe, so taekwondo is going to give you lightning fast kicks. Just from the practice, they've got a plathora of kicks. Great art for staying back at a long range, ( my opinion). On the down side for me if you watch any taekwondo tournaments, you'll notice right away that their hands are down at there sides, not much defense going on. They seem to be waiting for that giant flying roundhouse kick, that's going to take the guys head off. That's what I've noticed about those guys. Personally. Also they've got alot of power in those kicks too. 

Now, Taijichuan, I assume is the same as Tai Chi, haven't had much experience in the art. However my understanding is it takes along time to be effective in combat, but once you are your devastating. If time is a factor as far as immediate use goes, it may not be your first choice, but may be later. It's very good for many other things beyond just combat effectiveness, health etc...

Judo I don't know too much about. Seems to me from what I've read when I was a kid, it was created more for sport, to get the japanese children more into an after school curriclulum. Kind of a watered down jujutsu if you will. Still very effective, it will give you the ability to take your oponents balance and drop him on his head, among other things. Good art.

Jujutsu obviously will give you the ground game. However, some styles also have a pretty good stand up game from what I understand. So that may be something else to consider. Jujutsu is the art that the samurai used, for combat. Very effective and has been used for well over a thousand years for that purpose.

Kali is the art that they chose to depict in the movie the Borne Identity and the two sequels. My understanding is it's kind of alot like the Philipino version of Wing Chun. Alot of traps, and destructiveness going on in that art. You will here depending on who you talk to that kali has better traps than wing chun, and vice versa, but still seems to be a pretty solid art to me. Very good for stand up fighting, not very many people fight inside trapping range to my understanding. However, I think that, that may be changing as more and more people go from one art to the other, and incorporate different aspects of various arts into there own style of doing things.

Krav Maga is an Israeli art. They have been doing it for a very long time. It's battle tested, reality style training. The Israelis have been at war or the verge of war for as long as anybody can remember, it's what they use, and I would imagine there is a reason for it. You can find clips of it at the history channels website, under human weapon. OR maybe it's the discovery channel. I forget. Also I'm pretty sure most of the arts that you have mentioned you can find there, I know kali is one that they did, judo is, not sure if they did one jujutsu yet or not. Actually they did do an episode on brazilian jujutsu, they've done so many you know.

Anyways, for a small guy with what your interested in like everybody says, I would check out all of the schools and find one that has the environment that your looking for. I know that where I attend I felt at home immediately. Everybody was very friendly, and welcomed me like they knew me my whole life. Just a great family atmosphere. As far as style goes, hmm....If I personally had to choose just base on style from the list you gave I would choose between krav maga or kali. Just personally I think they would give me for my size more of what I need. That's me though, you may find that they aren't what your interested in once you check them out. But check them out. Don't just go and sign up, to the first one. And distance is a consideration, but the bottom line is if it takes you an extra twenty minutes to drive to the school you like, are comfortable in, and are getting what you want and need, then you drive the extra twenty minutes. My opinion.

I hope that this was helpful. Good luck with making a decision and let us know what you decide. I'm sure everyone here will be interested. Have fun, and enjoy it, cause really it's your money. So make a good decision for yourself.:asian:


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## shihansmurf (Dec 23, 2008)

Hi.

Check out the schools in your area and find one with an instructor that has a teaching style that works with the way you learn. Make sure the atmosphere of the school is a place that you will be comfortable spending a bunch of your free time.Ensure that the dues and any contracts, if applicable, fit within your budget and you find them to be acceptable. Also find out if there are additional costs associated with training like uniform fees, association fees, testing fees, certificate fees, required tournaments, camps, or what not. Make sure you know this up front. Ensure that you are comfortable with how class times are offered and how those times fit your schedule.  Beyond that all of the choices you have, system wise, are pretty well interchangeable, as far as I am concerned, with the following caveats.

Do you want to punch and kick and yell a lot?  TKD.
Do you want to punch and kick and yell in a Tee shirt and pretend you're a commando? Krav Maga.
Do you want to flip people on their butts?  Judo.
Do you want to wrestle around a lot?  Jujutstu.
Do you ant to hack people up with knives? Kali.
Do you want to do Kung Fu slow, like David Carradine ? Tai Chi.

All of the above is firmly tounge in cheek, of course. 

In all honesty, look for a school that you will be comfortable training in. No matter what system you choose if you dislike the school, the instructor, or the majority of your fellow students you will get very little out of the experience, or quite outright. I'm not saying look for a place that the training will be easy, look for a place where that training will be difficult, but the environment will be positive.

Best of luck
Mark

P.S. Out of the choice you offered, I gotta say I'm partial to Krav Maga. Its the whole pretending to be a commando thing. I loved the A-Team as a kid.:ultracool


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## Hand Sword (Dec 23, 2008)

Fimbulvinter said:


> I'm 18, and 161cm/5'4 tall.
> 
> I haven't trained in any martial arts the last 10 years(I was forced to quit then) but the passion for it never ended. And I finally am able to start again.
> 
> ...


 

Practical? Krav Maga fits that. Health, background and body control? Taijichuan fits that.

(I've never practiced either, so no bias on my part)


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## CDKJudoka (Dec 23, 2008)

shihansmurf said:


> .Do you want to punch and kick and yell in a Tee shirt and pretend you're a commando? Krav Maga.



That is funny!! The worst thing is, I can now picture a Smurf running around in Camo, with a Galeel, punching, kicking and screaming, "I Pity the foo!"


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## Fimbulwinter (Dec 23, 2008)

Fimbulvinter said:


> Out of what I have a little attraction to, my city offers:
> ITF Taekwondo.
> Taijichuan.
> Judo.
> ...


 
Bolded was McDojos. 

Also, I got banned without spesific reason. So I just want to thank everyone for their helpful replies before they ban this one for ban evading.


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## shihansmurf (Dec 24, 2008)

DarkPhoenix said:


> That is funny!! The worst thing is, I can now picture a Smurf running around in Camo, with a Galeel, punching, kicking and screaming, "I Pity the foo!"



The crazy thing is that people always assume that Hefty is the tough one.....

Mark


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## hongkongfooey (Dec 25, 2008)

shihansmurf said:


> The crazy thing is that people always assume that Hefty is the tough one.....
> 
> Mark


 

Looking back, it is so obvious that Hefty was in the closet.


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## shihansmurf (Dec 31, 2008)

LOL! I won't get into how Handy earned his name.....

Mark


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## arnisador (Dec 31, 2008)

Thanks for providing enough details for us to have a chance to offer some applicable comments! Are you sure you're banned, or do you just need to contact an admin with more details (real name/locale or the like)?



Fimbulvinter said:


> Out of what I have a little attraction to, my city offers:
> ITF Taekwondo.
> Taijichuan.
> Judo.
> ...



If the last three schools are unacceptable, the three remaining can all give you what you want. There's only three left, so visit each. For what you want, Judo stands out to me...if you enjoy it!


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## Fimbulvinter (Jan 12, 2009)

I'm finally unbanned.

Can someone list pros and cons with ITF Taekwondo? 

---

Also, I have some questions regarding muscle training.

What muscle regions should be trained in general martial arts? 

I only know that there are different kinds of muscle fibre, so would some muscle training actually be disadvantageous? 

I read in an article that someone being muscular should actually drop off the muscles to gain speed. Would that only matter in extreme cases of being muscular or? Ive started weight lifting a bit, but now Im worried that it was a mistake.

I cant afford modern training equipment, but I own a forest. So can anyone recommend more natural ways of training the specific muscle areas?


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## Drac (Jan 12, 2009)

You've gotten so much great advice it's hard to add to it...Visit these schools and observe the classes...Listen to the " little voice " within, it will tell you when you have found what you seek...


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## jarrod (Jan 12, 2009)

Fimbulvinter said:


> I'm finally unbanned.
> 
> Can someone list pros and cons with ITF Taekwondo?
> 
> ...


 
for the moment you want to focus on core strength using compound lifts (meaning, lifts that hit more than one muscle group) rather than isolated.  you will not lose speed so long as you pay attention to your flexability.  speed comes from being relaxed, not from being small.  

there are plenty of exercises you could do in a forest (wish i owned a forest!).  rope climbing, log lifting, & sledgehammer swings come to mind.

pick up a small log & see how far you can carry it before you drop it.  get a sledgehammer & smash a log or a rock with it.  run some hill sprints.  there's all kinds of things you can do.

jf


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## CoryKS (Jan 12, 2009)

Fimbulvinter said:


> I can&#8217;t afford modern training equipment, but *I own a forest*. So can anyone recommend more &#8220;natural&#8221; ways of training the specific muscle areas?


 
Oh, I think we have someone around here who can give you some ideas.


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## GBlues (Jan 12, 2009)

Fimbulvinter said:


> I'm finally unbanned.
> 
> Can someone list pros and cons with ITF Taekwondo?
> 
> ...


 
I would say train for strength not mass. Mass is what's going to slow you down. Just remember to stretch before you weightlift. That will help to keep your muscles long, instead of short, and bulky. I wouldn't try to get super big like an arnold or anything.


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## Fimbulvinter (Jan 13, 2009)

What would be proper stretching?


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## CDKJudoka (Jan 13, 2009)

Look for a book by Thomas Kurz called Stretching Scientifically. Great book to help you with your stretching regiment.


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## GBlues (Jan 13, 2009)

Fimbulvinter said:


> What would be proper stretching?


 
The easiest way I would think to describe this would be DON'T BOUNCE! Alot of people trying to get that extra inch or whatever will try to bounce, and this can cause some serious injury. Your stretching should be slow and deliberate, and when you get to where you feel the stretch hold it for a few seconds or however long is comfortable, and then stop. This applies to your arms your legs etc, etc. Slow and deliberate. You start trying to stretch the neck muscles or something and you could seriously get hurt. So, everything is slow, if it hurts DON'T DO IT. If you feel that you must and your experiencing pain, don't try to force your stretch, your doing damage. I mean there is going to be some discomfort with stretching if your just starting out, but I'm talking about pain. If you feel pain doing a stretch, stop, either your not doing it right, or you need to work up to it, or you need to see a physician. Hope I made sense for you. THe other guys on here can surely expand upon this, but that's my feelings on the matter, and what I practice.:asian:


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## teekin (Jan 14, 2009)

GBlues said:


> The easiest way I would think to describe this would be DON'T BOUNCE! Alot of people trying to get that extra inch or whatever will try to bounce, and this can cause some serious injury. Your stretching should be slow and deliberate, and when you get to where you feel the stretch hold it for a few seconds or however long is comfortable, and then stop. This applies to your arms your legs etc, etc. Slow and deliberate. You start trying to stretch the neck muscles or something and you could seriously get hurt. So, everything is slow, if it hurts DON'T DO IT. If you feel that you must and your experiencing pain, don't try to force your stretch, your doing damage.* I mean there is going to be some discomfort* with stretching if your just starting out, but I'm talking about pain. *If you feel pain doing a stretch, stop, either your not doing it right, or you need to work up to it, or you need to see a physician.* Hope I made sense for you. THe other guys on here can surely expand upon this, but that's my feelings on the matter, and what I practice.:asian:



As soon as I hear "discomfort" from a doctor I brace! I wonder about the no pain idea. When I can't do my full physio my damaged muscles and tendons start to shorten up within a week and I must force them to stretch. It is painful but nessessary. If I don't go well into the pain then the muscles and tendons will not stay long, contractures form. Reversing the contractures is really painful.
lori


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## Fuzzy Foot (Jan 14, 2009)

Here are a few thoughts. You don't need equipment for strength training but sometimes it can be easier/faster. For instance, go half way down in a push-up and hold it (this is isometric) or stand in a horse stance or cat stance and it won't be long before those muscles start a quivering. You can build some serious strength and stamina this way. Not to mention mental discipline (you'll want to quit before your muscles do). There are many ways to make simple floor exercises harder to build strength without any equipment. Use your imagination, a little and some common sense to avoid injury. You might find some ways if you do an internet search for exercise or physical therapy exercises. As for stretching, daily is recommended but you will have to increase slowly and make sure your warmed up sufficiently especially in winter as your muscles may tend to be a little tighter. As for the pain part of stretching, athletes looking to improve flexibility need to push a little more than Joe Public who does nothing more strenous than cut the grass. Again this needs to be tempered with listening to your body signals and common sense. There will be some discomfort with moderate-agressive stretching, however you will know the difference between this "discomfort" and the "pain" of "something's wrong, or I went too far, or something's about to give". Different arts have different physical requirements and you must co-ordinate all this together (it's part of the learning curve) and a good instructor can help you with all of this. Lastly, I don't know how far  from home you're willing to look but if it means travelling to get to a good school it's worth it. I travel about an hour to my sword instructor. I may not get there as often because of it but I'm in the right place when I get there. Good luck.


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## Fimbulvinter (Feb 2, 2009)

Even though your responses are helpful in many way, they don't respond to my question.

is there a list over mucle areas one should train? also would be nice to know why they should be trained, how to train and stretch them properly and so on? (i.e abs should be trained with sit ups because they protect the organs)

Edit: Not sure if I should start an own thread for this instead. Since I can't edit the Original Post and it would be a misleading title and discussion until the end part.


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## jarrod (Feb 2, 2009)

Fimbulvinter said:


> Even though your responses are helpful in many way, they don't respond to my question.
> 
> is there a list over mucle areas one should train? also would be nice to know why they should be trained...


 
all of them. not trying to be cute or anything, but your muscular system is all inter-related, & focusing on some muscles while neglecting others will lead to imbalance & possibly health problems. for instance, if you work your quads a lot but not your hamstrings, your over-developed quads may eventually pull you knees out of alignment. if you work your back but not your abs, it can mess up your spine. 

try not to overthink it. if nothing else, just do push ups, pull ups, & crunches while you research more training methods. just get moving!

jf


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## Sylo (Feb 2, 2009)

go with your first choice.


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## mozzandherb (Feb 2, 2009)

Just to add to this, you don't need any fancy machines to have a good strength training workout.  All you need is a bench, some dumbbells and maybe a barbell and that's it.  From there you can train you whole body.  

And of course there are certain exercises that strengthen certain parts of your body, but like was mentioned you'll want to train your enitre body, not just specific areas, especially if you are just beginning.  Basic exercise programs can be found all over the internet.  But if you start training with weights (or wood in your case) a good diet is just as important


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## David Weatherly (Feb 2, 2009)

There's already some great advice on here, I just want to add to be sure that you observe the classes you would be enrolled in and pay attention to who actually teaches the class.  It's very important that you find the right instructor.
Most schools will offer a trial class and you should take it so you can get a real feeling for the environment.  Granted you'll probably have to listen to the sales pitch, but it will be worth it to find the right school.
Best of luck.

David


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## Fimbulvinter (Feb 3, 2009)

I already decided on itf taekwondo for now, I'll most likely move unto something (I hope I'll find a good jujutsu school in the furure) else later. But for now I liked the instructor there and it'll help with basic flexibility, speed, strengt, balance, etc. 



mozzandherb said:


> Just to add to this, you don't need any fancy machines to have a good strength training workout. All you need is a bench, some dumbbells and maybe a barbell and that's it. From there you can train you whole body.
> 
> And of course there are certain exercises that strengthen certain parts of your body, but like was mentioned you'll want to train your enitre body, not just specific areas, especially if you are just beginning. Basic exercise programs can be found all over the internet. But if you start training with weights (or wood in your case) a good diet is just as important


 
You mean those: "Get perfect abs, split, etc. in two weeks" programs? 

But yeah, I recognize that most should be trained. but it's not easy knowing how to train it all when I haven't studied human muscular anatomy.


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## AoCAdam (Feb 4, 2009)

Thats awesome man, 
I'm interested in starting Muay Thai after one of our students came through our bootcamp and he said he started with Muay Thai and Jiu Jitsu. We talked about it for a while and he advised me to Get a good Judo or Jiu Jitsu base too. Hopefully this helps you out man!


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## mozzandherb (Feb 4, 2009)

Fimbulvinter said:


> I already decided on itf taekwondo for now, I'll most likely move unto something (I hope I'll find a good jujutsu school in the furure) else later. But for now I liked the instructor there and it'll help with basic flexibility, speed, strengt, balance, etc.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


No need to be an expert in human kinetics to train my friend.  You have the internet at your disposal, just like those fancy machines that you dont need, well same thing, all you need here is the net.  Here's a good link for you to get started

http://www.exrx.net/index.html


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## TJ.Flare (Mar 4, 2009)

I highly recommend "Soo Bahk Do" if you can find one. It is very practical and isn't one of those karates where you get a black belt in a year. You have to be very dedicated and the people in the art are very kind and it has great morals and philosophy to teach. It really is an amazing art.


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