The best martial art for someone with great reflexes?

[Seahorse23]

I'm interested in getting into self-defense and/or a martial art. Judo, wrestling, boxing, karate, systema, aikido, I don't really care what it is, so long as it is great for someone with my traits. They include:
1. Being on the short side in height (5'6")
2. Sort of thickly built...not fat, just dense (see #5).
3. Short, but strong legs and arms.
4. Not very flexible (though wanting to get better)
5. Very high bone density,
6. Unusually fast reflexes/reaction time. I'd say this is my greatest strength.
7. Not aggressive in nature.
8. Very decent stamina.

Any suggestions? Thanks for your input.

 

[Bill Mattocks]

I'm interested in getting into self-defense and/or a martial art. Judo, wrestling, boxing, karate, systema, aikido, I don't really care what it is, so long as it is great for someone with my traits. They include:
1. Being on the short side in height (5'6")
2. Sort of thickly built...not fat, just dense (see #5).
3. Short, but strong legs and arms.
4. Not very flexible (though wanting to get better)
5. Very high bone density,
6. Unusually fast reflexes/reaction time. I'd say this is my greatest strength.
7. Not aggressive in nature.
8. Very decent stamina.

Any suggestions? Thanks for your input.

First, welcome to Martial Talk.

Second, you will probably get a lot of similar advice. Although you may think that you can provide a list of personal characteristics and turn the handle and the 'best' martial art for you will pop out the other side, it doesn't really work like that.

What you need to do first is to take an inventory of the martial arts training facilities near you. There's no point in looking for some perfect art for you that isn't taught near where you live.

Once you have that list, you need to consider things like the hours they are open, and how that fits into your schedule. You'll be looking at long-term commitment, so think about what that means. Will you be able to continue training for the next X number of years?

Look at the instructors and check their credentials - we can help you with this.

Don't worry too much about your personal abilities. These things are modifiable, that's what good martial arts training does. Think about what you feel you would prefer to do, not what you would be 'best at' right now. Do you think you would prefer stand up striking to grappling or vice-versa?

After all that, it's time to start going around and checking out the various places you've shortlisted. Introduce yourself and ask if you can watch a few classes to get a feel for what they do. If you can, talk to some students who are about your age, maybe a fairly newer student so that they can share their learning perspective with you.

Don't listen to any advice you get here or anywhere else that gives you a particular style you should pursue based on the list you provided. That's really a bad idea in general. You are aiming at the you of the future, not the you that exists today. Your abilities will change as you train.

Stick around MT, we're a fun group. Let us know how things go for you and feel free to ask more questions.

 

[Touch Of Death]

You are a born Kenpo man. Don't let anyone tell you different.

 

[Seahorse23]

Thanks for the replies, Touch of Death and Bill. I've heard of kenpo, but never read up on it. I'll remedy that later.

Here are a list of all the martial arts centers near me:

Bushi Ban Martial Arts | Kids Martial Arts and Bushi Ban Black Belt Self Defense Classes (bushi ban, boxing, mma,)
Tigers Den Martial Arts & Kickboxing - Seabrook, Clear Lake, League City, Texas TX (mma)
F.I.G.H.T. (haganah? krav maga?)
Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Training Center In Webster, TX | Gracie Barra Texas Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ)
Martial Arts League City | Karate League City | Kickboxing League City (mma)
Bay Area Center - Dickinson TX - Seishinkan Aikido Dojo (aikido)
Furia Training Center - Furia Training Center (mma)
League City Texas | Texas White Tiger Taekwondo (taekwondo)
Sinha' Capoeira [no website] (capoeira)
Home (ninjutsu)
21st Century Self Defense - Quick's Tactical Ninjutsu (ninjutsu)
Christopher Scott's Kung Fu & Yang Tai Chi Chuan in Houston, Texas (Chinese martial arts)

I'm self employed and work from home, so my hours are pretty flexible. I would like help with checking credentials. I really don't know what I'd prefer to do. I'd prefer not to get beat up! But I do have a bit of ADHD, so perhaps something that can help with focus and keeping me engaged without getting bored.

 

[Monkey Turned Wolf]

Also with each one pay attention to the price of the martial art dojo. not sure if this will be incredibly relevant for you, but to me it is a big concern when looking at dojos.
I would suggest picking four or five places on that list (preferably of different arts), and see if you can attend a trial lesson at each. Then decide based on the one that you like the most, with their philosophy and their atmosphere. I would look through the list you sent to make sure there aren't any red flags, but heading to work now and sure someone will by the time I get back. If no one has, ill give them a glance and tell you my opinions of them. (note that that will be only my opinion, and in no way definitive)

 

[Bill Mattocks]

Sounds like you have plenty of choices. Time to start doing some driving, I'd say.

Things to ask the owner / head instructor would be:
1) How long have you been open?
2) How many students do you have?
3) How long have you been teaching?
4) What is your lineage? Who were the instructors who promoted you?
5) What are the requirements for promotion in your style (tournaments, seminars, traveling demos, etc)?
6) Do you have contracts or are you month-to-month for payments?
7) What is your school's emphasis? (self-defense, tournament sparring, sport, fitness, etc, etc).

The answers to these questions as well as direct observation should help you to make a decision.

 

[WaterGal]

But I do have a bit of ADHD, so perhaps something that can help with focus and keeping me engaged without getting bored.

Ideally, any class will do that! That's really going to depend on the instructor and how they run the class, rather than the style.

I looked at a few of the sites, so here's my thoughts:

Premier Martial Arts is a franchise chain, the kind of place that advertises "start a martial arts school and get rich - no martial arts experience needed!". I'd be wary of them.

The Taekwondo instructor at the White Tiger place has good credentials. But from the schedule, it looks like it's geared pretty much entirely towards teaching kids. If TKD interests you, you could contact them and see if they have something for adults that's not clearly listed as such on the schedule, but teaching adults is probably not a big focus for them.

The Tiger Den Karate place also looks like it's geared pretty much entirely towards kids. I couldn't find a schedule on their site to check if they had adult classes, though, or any info about their instructors. It has some of the same stock photos and content as one of the schools around me uses, haha. Guessing the same people made their website.

Where I'm at, ninjutsu is generally for kids, but that doesn't seem to be the case with the two places you listed. Though the "Quick Tactical" guy's site raises some yellow flags for me.

I haven't looked at any of the other sites yet.

 

[Tony Dismukes]

I'll take a look through the websites you linked, but I wanted to mention first that Bill's advice in his first post is exactly spot on.

 

[Buka]

Welcome to MT, bro.

You got great advice above. Just go to every place and watch a couple of classes over a couple of days. If that's a pain in the butt to you - you probably won't have the patience to train long anyway. So....go window shop and have fun doing it.

 

[Tony Dismukes]

Bushi Ban - I would skip. They don't appear to be actually training MMA, but rather a random smorgasbord of different arts with no indication of what qualifications the instructors have in any of them.

Tigers Den - I couldn't even find an explanation of what art(s) they teach, let alone their instructor's qualifications. Pass.

F.I.G.H.T. (Haganah Houston)- Might be worth checking out. Small potential red flags: they have a BJJ class on the schedule even though none of their instructors seem to be ranked in BJJ. Also, the instructor's bios all make a point of talking about their church attendance, which makes me wonder if there might be a proselytizing atmosphere. Still, if you have an interest in Krav/ Krav-derived arts it might be worth a visit.

Gracie Barra TX - Totally legit BJJ with some top instructors. If you're interested in BJJ, give them a try.

Premier Martial Arts League City - Hard to say - there's no information on any of their instructors. Might be worth giving them a call and asking who their instructors are and what are their qualifications.

Seishinkan Aikido - looks like they are probably focused more on new-agey spiritual development rather than the combative aspects of martial arts. If that's what you're into, then great. Otherwise, probably not your best choice.

Furia Training Center - Once again, no info on the instructors or their qualifications. Investigate further before signing up for anything.

Texas White Tiger Tae Kwon Do - Not a lot of info. Looks like a standard TKD school with a qualified instructor. If you're interested in TKD, check them out.

Pasadena Martial Arts - No instructor info again. They apparently teach both Bujinkan Budo Taijutsu and some unspecified form of jujutsu. The Bujinkan is ... inconsistent in their teaching standards, so it can be tricky to know the quality of what you're getting. If you can find out the name of the instructor, maybe you can ask around concerning his/her reputation.

Quick's Tactical Ninjutsu - I don't particularly care for the fact that they named their art "tactical ninjutsu", when they really don't have much of foundation in ninjutsu. Putting that aside, they seem to be primarily drawing from Hock Hochheim's teachings. I'm not that familiar with Hochheim's material, but I think some of the members here might have info on that.

Christopher Scott's Kung Fu - I'll let the CMA practitioners here weigh in on that one.

 

[Flying Crane]

According to the website, Christopher Scott is a Kenpo guy with Chinese MA as well. I don't know what he is actually teaching. Most of the names on his website are not familiar to me. However I'm not a fan of Kenpo people presenting Kenpo as if it is a form of traditional Kung fu. So, just sayin'

 

[Touch Of Death]

According to the website, Christopher Scott is a Kenpo guy with Chinese MA as well. I don't know what he is actually teaching. Most of the names on his website are not familiar to me. However I'm not a fan of Kenpo people presenting Kenpo as if it is a form of traditional Kung fu. So, just sayin'

They have no choice. You can't call it Ed Parker, unless you pay a maker.

 

[Monkey Turned Wolf]

On my lunch break, so looking through them now. Before typing, I'll repeat the idea that if you cannot find credentials for an instructor, call/go there and ask them directly. If what they say doesn't mean anything to you (as it probably wont), focus on their personality and ask them if they still train or not (in general if your instructor no longer trains that's a bad sign).

Bushi Ban - Seems like it has the most generic programs-kids, 'mma' with 'elite combat training', no real info on instructors, and self defense that's marketed as 'black belt' sef-defense. On this alone, I wouldn't go.

Tigers Den - The main instructor looks like he practices Shotokan, but I can't fully tell outside of him having a 6th degree in something. He also seems a bit full of himself, and the website is designed more to grab attention than show you what they're about. I'd pass.

F.I.G.H.T. (Haganah Houston)- Not familiar with what Hagannah Nucleus is, so can't really say anything about this really. only comment is that a good krav school is a really good school, but many krav maga schools are just martial artists trying to cash in on its popularity.

Gracie Barra TX -.Gracie BJJ is almost definitely good, only issue is that they tend to be pricey (iirc, it's been a while since I looked at one).

Premier Martial Arts League City - I'd pass. Website looks like its trying to sell rather than educate, and they have all the current 'gotcha' arts-mma, 'cage fighting (which is essentially mma), kickboxing (a proponent of mma) and krav maga (read my response to fight). Also no idea who teaches what.

Seishinkan Aikido - What Tony said.

Furia Training Center - Could be good. Couldn't find any real information on the head instructor, but might be worth checking out.

Sinha Capoeira- I would definitely check this our-capoeira is a really cool art, and it is tough to find a place to train it. If it looks good, definitely worth a shot.

Texas White Tiger Tae Kwon Do - If he's a sixth degree Kukkiwon, at least the instructor is qualified. I will avoid saying anything else about TKD.

Pasadena Martial Arts - What Tony Said. Maybe if Chris Parker sees this he'll have a better reply.

Quick's Tactical Ninjutsu - I avoid anything that claims to be 'tactical', and I looked at two of their videos and have issues with their methods. I would pass.

Christopher Scott's Kung Fu - Seems to know the most common forms of chinese MA (hung gar, shaolin, tai chi) which to me is a good thing. I've got no issue with him referring to chinese kenpo, as long as he makes a distinction between that and other forms of kenpo. Would definitely check it out.

 

[jks9199]

I'm familiar with the Bushi Ban organization. They generally produce good, solid fighters with good discipline and positive attitudes. At the same time, they're a business, and each location is probably going to be a little different. Visit, and see what you think for yourself. After all, a website only shows so much -- and may or may not be very accurate.

 

[jks9199]

Premier and Tigers Den are both marketing/franchise chains. What you get is very, very variable by location. Essentlally, they sell a "storefront/turn-key" package to people who want to run a martial arts school. What you actually get depends a lot on what the location offers, though most of the Tigers Den places in my area are TKD daycare places...

 

[JowGaWolf]

Thanks for the replies, Touch of Death and Bill. I've heard of kenpo, but never read up on it. I'll remedy that later.

Here are a list of all the martial arts centers near me:

Bushi Ban Martial Arts | Kids Martial Arts and Bushi Ban Black Belt Self Defense Classes (bushi ban, boxing, mma,)
Tigers Den Martial Arts & Kickboxing - Seabrook, Clear Lake, League City, Texas TX (mma)
F.I.G.H.T. (haganah? krav maga?)
Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Training Center In Webster, TX | Gracie Barra Texas Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ)
Martial Arts League City | Karate League City | Kickboxing League City (mma)
Bay Area Center - Dickinson TX - Seishinkan Aikido Dojo (aikido)
Furia Training Center - Furia Training Center (mma)
League City Texas | Texas White Tiger Taekwondo (taekwondo)
Sinha' Capoeira [no website] (capoeira)
Home (ninjutsu)
21st Century Self Defense - Quick's Tactical Ninjutsu (ninjutsu)
Christopher Scott's Kung Fu & Yang Tai Chi Chuan in Houston, Texas (Chinese martial arts)

I'm self employed and work from home, so my hours are pretty flexible. I would like help with checking credentials. I really don't know what I'd prefer to do. I'd prefer not to get beat up! But I do have a bit of ADHD, so perhaps something that can help with focus and keeping me engaged without getting bored.

Lets try to narrow down your choices. If you want to learn weapons like swords, staff, daggers, etc. Then remove all of the schools that do MMA, BJJ, and Boxing because those aren't going have weapons training.

 

[Ironbear24]

Literally any martial art will be good for you. No matter the strengths and weaknesses anyone can should be able to adapt. Look around you and see what you like best.

 

[kuniggety]

The Gracie Barra BJJ school would be no doubt top notch. One of the instructors, Brandon Mullins, has helped produce some instructional videos that I have and his instruction is fantastic. As a BJJ guy, I wouldn't hesitate to train there.

Not a lot of people commented on the kung fu school but I pretty much agree with kempodisciple. My experiences are with Northern styles instead of the Southern that he teaches and Chen taiji instead of Yang that he teaches but his principles, lineage, and training appear sound.

The biggest advice that I agree with is to check out multiple schools before deciding on one.

 

[Blindside]

Lets try to narrow down your choices. If you want to learn weapons like swords, staff, daggers, etc. Then remove all of the schools that do MMA, BJJ, and Boxing because those aren't going have weapons training.

Actually, this one has a FMA component: Mousel's Mixed Martial Arts Academy
Is that place too far for you Seahorse?

 

[Tony Dismukes]

Actually, this one has a FMA component: Mousel's Mixed Martial Arts Academy
Is that place too far for you Seahorse?

That one would likely be at the top of my list for consideration.