Which Martial art?

[Domromer]

Thinking of getting back into martial arts. Used to train in Tae Kwon Do as a kid. Got my brown belt but stopped training soon after that. Looking to try something else. Thought about MMA but can't find much of it here in Charleston. What would you guys reccomended checking out.

[fierostetz]

Originally Posted by Domromer

Thinking of getting back into martial arts. Used to train in Tae Kwon Do as a kid. Got my brown belt but stopped training soon after that. Looking to try something else. Thought about MMA but can't find much of it here in Charleston. What would you guys reccomended checking out.

I was extremely partial to aikido - did it for 13 years. built a lot of flexibility, hand speed, and confidence. I'm not the violent sort, but it's served me well in a few situations where words didn't work. 2 finger submission holds, redirections, etc. People get *really* frustrated when they can't land a blow on you and just wind up falling down.

[Skowinski]

How old are you and what general physical condition are you in? Some martial arts are "gentler" and some are more prone to get you injured.

Skowinski-wife and I go to a school that is focussed on Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, but also has Judo and MMA training. You might think about finding a place that offers more than one martial art, if that exists where you are.

[Domromer]

33 decently strong but fat, not adverse to a hard martial art.

[Skowinski]

As a general rule -

Striking arts like muy thai and karate tend to lead to more injuries, especially if you get to the level at which sparring is used.

Grappling arts like judo and jiu jitsu are "gentler" and participants probably get less injuries. That being said, neither are all that gentle, but judo is definitely rougher since it focuses on throws, whereas jiu jitsu is ground grappling mostly.

But, really it all comes down to your approach to it and the attitude of the school you are in. If you go in like a bull determined to learn how to beat everyone in your path you will crush some and you will get beat up in return by others. If you approach it as a learning experience, exercise and fun, and check your ego at the door then you will be much better off. And, I've found in jiu jitsu that schools often have different attitudes. Some are very competition oriented and in training each partner is like a small war to see who is best. Others (the better ones in my opinion) have a more cooperative attitude and everyone tries to help each other learn and progress.

Good luck!

[PoundSand]

Originally Posted by Domromer

33 decently strong but fat, not adverse to a hard martial art.

what do you want to achieve?

you mentioned mma- if you want to be a bad ass and hit stuff (and can go to work bruised up occasionally), but can't find a mma school, muy thai is pretty awesome. boxing too. both should be pretty easy to find. judo and jiu jitsu, as mentioned, are relatively gentler, and both should be easy to find as well (and charleston has a couple really good bjj guys). all 4 provide valuable tools if you want to transition to mma at some point.

if cost is a concern, judo and boxing will probably be relatively cheap compared to most other martial arts.

[Domromer]

Originally Posted by PoundSand

what do you want to achieve?

you mentioned mma- if you want to be a bad ass and hit stuff (and can go to work bruised up occasionally), but can't find a mma school, muy thai is pretty awesome. boxing too. both should be pretty easy to find. judo and jiu jitsu, as mentioned, are relatively gentler, and both should be easy to find as well (and charleston has a couple really good bjj guys). all 4 provide valuable tools if you want to transition to mma at some point.

if cost is a concern, judo and boxing will probably be relatively cheap compared to most other martial arts.

Well I miss kicking ass and getting my ass kicked a lot. I used to spar twice a week. I mentioned mma because it encompasses all martial arts. My buddy that taught the classes I used to take reccomended muy thai as well. I might see if I can find that down here. Judo sorta interests me but it seems pretty one dimensional.

What's bjj?

[Skowinski]

Originally Posted by Domromer

...What's bjj?

The BJJ guys started "no holds barred" fighting, which evolved into MMA.

[PoundSand]

Originally Posted by Domromer

Well I miss kicking ass and getting my ass kicked a lot. I used to spar twice a week. I mentioned mma because it encompasses all martial arts. My buddy that taught the classes I used to take reccomended muy thai as well. I might see if I can find that down here. Judo sorta interests me but it seems pretty one dimensional.

What's bjj?

Brazilian jiu jitsu.

Judo is not, or should not be, one dimensional. Bjj - probably one of the more important material arts in MMA - came out of judo after all...

[Skowinski]

Judo and Jiu Jitsu share a common origin, and probably are best put back together. See Dave Camarillo for example.

[PoundSand]

Originally Posted by Skowinski

The BJJ guys started "no holds barred" fighting,

Hhmmmmmmm....

[gavo]

Try a few find something that suits you and I don't mean just something you like but something that suits your body shape size etc. I've tried Karate, wing chun kung fu, akido but settled on 15yrs of Tae Kwon Do both traditional and WTF competition and now I Know I'm too old for TKD but still stay fit and practice at home.
As for ju jitsu being gentle, one night at TKD senior black belt class we had 2 senior Ju Jitsu bb"s come in for demo's, my
wrist's and arms have never been sore sore.