ADN

Yesterday I took Ra to let him join a martial arts school...It focuses on Tae Kwon Do, Judo, and Jujitsu...Good for him, as martial arts teaches some good fundamentals...But I happen to feel that most of these, w/the exception of maybe Jujitsu, are worthless in terms of actual self defense...I love my roots in boxing, probably a little too much...But watching yesterday, I admittedly was a little intrigued...

Have any of you studied these things enough to comment on their validity..?

I've done Tae Kwon Do for about 10 years. By the 5th year, it finally clicked that it made no difference in terms of self defense in combat. Tae Kwon Do focuses too much on high kicks and it seemed too fancy to be used realistically. Although I felt that it was weak compared to other disciplines, I felt as though I had a better understanding of my body and that was the only good thing that was learned from those 10 years. Overall for Tae Kwon Do, I think that it's a good workout and it helps flexibility and some blood circulation, but in terms of combat, it lacks the on-ground defense and hand to hand combat.

I am looking for something new to start. Tae Kwon Do was good for a starter discipline, but I want something more versatile. I am thinking of Muay Thai, Long Fist, Boxing, Jujitsu, or Hapkido. Basically something for hand-to-hand combat. I have been looking at Krav Maga but it's kind of hard to find a reliable teacher that's recognized by some organization.

You'll hear nothing but rave reviews from me for boxing...Love the conditioning and skills...

If I didn't have a kid, I'd be trying to maybe learn some Muay Thai...But I'm not sure what long fist is...

I think that Long Fist is, from wiki, just basically develops skill in footwork, hands, and some acrobatics. It's basically what I looked at for flexibility. When I was able to do a split and had the best flexibility in my life so far, I felt better overall. The amount of bloodflow to my legs just made me go nuts because I felt as though I was relaxed all the time. The chances of me getting into a fight are slim, mainly because I don't really have the balls to engage into any confrontation, but the whole well being and the sense that I was "fit" made me feel better.

I did think about doing UFC or attempting to try it. I ended up not doing it because the only experience I had was Tae Kwon Do and I was too broke to start up a new discipline. :(

Oh I forgot to mention, even though this really isnt a martial art, you could always look into using a stability ball and some weight training since your a dad. I have some workout videos saved on my youtube account because I'm a wanna-be health nut. If you want some videos I can link them on here.

The stability ball is a bitch though. I did crunches on that, after one set of 20, it cramped up hard. I tried to do a second set and ended up doing 15 and it cramped harder. Afterwards I was like fuck this.

I took Jiu Jitsu years ago and found it was one of the best self-defense MAs I've seen. Much of the "modern" MAs stem from Jiu jitsu. I still use some of the techniques (as necessary) doing my security work. One starts out learning how to fall before one learns how to throw; how to defend before one learns how to attack. At least that how my sensei taught me.

I'd highly recommend it.

At the school where I took my kid, they make you have a degree in Judo before you can start in Jujitsu, I think its related to what you were just saying DD...

Jujitsu or a Shaolin type karate- DD's right you have to learn to fall, block, etc before you learn the attacks- Most of the run of the mill and fancy dojo's only teach the attacking, high kicking flashy crap that looks good on film but if If someone of lessers skills in a defense Martial Art like me walked in with a knife and a .45 with only one clip - almost everyone would be dead- and would have no idea how to disarm a person or fend of an attack.

Brazilian style Jiu-jitsu might be another alternative. I've never taken it, but from reading up on it, it seems to concentrate on ground fighting and defense where the great majority of fights end up. Just another thought.

I've heard of that when I was in that whole "i want to do ufc" phase. It's supposedly more harsh than regular jiujitsu because it attacks sensitive areas such as the throat and groin. The likelihood that some puss like me will get into a fight will be pretty slim so I would just do whatever to maintain health. All in all my vote still goes for Muay Thai. I was pretty convinced after watching true life on it and watching some fight videos.