Which martial art to learn first?

[jackien1]

I'm kinda interested in picking up a martial art to do during the weekend on my off day. 

 

Some info about me:

I recently started working out. (About two weeks ago)

I am a student. 

Female

5"0'

~43kg

 

What martial arts would you guys recommend? I've never done any sort of martial art before. 

 

Thanks for reading!

[Machete]

1. What is available in the area?
2. What are you particularly interested in?

[RisenPhoenix]

1. What is available in the area?

2. What are you particularly interested in?

 

^This

 

We can't really tell you what to do.  What we love won't really tell you anything about what you love (or will love).  And there are so many arts out there that we would miss something that you could potentially fall in love with.

 

Find places around you.  Go and watch a class or two.  See how the instructor teaches, how they treat students, and how the students treat the instructor and other (junior) students.  Try a class if you can or want to.  Go out and experience things!

[jackien1]

Um, I think there's MMA and Muay Thai. I'm not really sure what kinds of other martial arts there are out there and hence available here. Do you guys have a list of suggestions I could google to check out? 

[Estrix]

I'll go out on a limb and recommend Judo for a complete beginner. It teaches you how to fall (an eternally useful skill) and gets you used to being up close and personal, having some one in your space and being in some ones space. It also teaches some basic skills about human physiology and levers that stand you in good stead. Good for conditioning to...oh and it's fun

[jackien1]

Thank you Estrix! I called up a Judo place and I think I might go to a trial this Sunday! (Hopefully I don't wimp out!)

[RisenPhoenix]

There are so many martial arts out there.  Best bet if you want to try and capture as many as possible is google "Martial Arts" plus your area.

 

Good luck!

[jackien1]

Hmm, do you guys know anything about Kapap? Looks very interesting.

[Estrix]

Wow that was quick work, and don't wimp out lol! If you do go, post how it goes for you

 

Never heard of Kapap but it does look like fun!

[jackien1]

Lol hopefully I won't!

 

What about aikido? Do you guys have any thoughts on that as a gateway martial art?

[jackien1]

Also just called up an Aikido place, going for a trial on Saturday!

[TheAccountant]

I hope you enjoy Aikido and the school.

If you have never done a martial art (or a throwing/takedown art) then falling/rolling aspect can be scary. It will feel unnatural. PLEASE DO NOT QUIT BECAUSE YOU FEEL AWKWARD IN ROLLING/FALLING. You body will adjust over time.

Every martial art has it's critics, don't let meat heads ruin your Aikido experience.

[RisenPhoenix]

I hope you enjoy Aikido and the school.

If you have never done a martial art (or a throwing/takedown art) then falling/rolling aspect can be scary. It will feel unnatural. PLEASE DO NOT QUIT BECAUSE YOU FEEL AWKWARD IN ROLLING/FALLING. You body will adjust over time.

Every martial art has it's critics, don't let meat heads ruin your Aikido experience.

 

This.  All of this.

 

I'm minorly biased, since I practice aikido, but I freaking love it.  It's anatomy and physics had a martial art spawn.  I find it more intellectually riveting than just testing how many boards I can break. (And not to dump on that one, either - my girlfriend does TKD and finds a great deal of enjoyment in that.)

 

It definitely has a steep learning curve, though.  So feeling awkward is pretty much inevitable.  We don't have the same points of "I learned how to do punch X" success that other, striking arts have.  So progress is a lot less quantifiable.  That's the only big downside, I feel. (Okay, that and the lack of most people giving committed attacks.  And no information on how to deal with kicks.)

[jackien1]

Wow! A lot of support for Aikido! I'm really excited to see how both the Aikido and Judo lessons will go. I don't think they'll get to teaching me how to fall on the first trial lesson though. 

 

Wyrmmaster, I will remember that advice for when I start to learn how to fall. 

 

Do you guys have any tips on how to spot red flags in a class/instructor?

[RisenPhoenix]

Wow! A lot of support for Aikido! I'm really excited to see how both the Aikido and Judo lessons will go. I don't think they'll get to teaching me how to fall on the first trial lesson though.

 

Nooooooo..... That'll be the FIRST thing you are taught.  Falling is so key to protecting yourself in both aikido and judo that I would be shocked if they let you do much else BESIDES learning how to fall.  Seriously.  First class we pretty much pull new people aside and teach them how to stand and fall.  Maybe by the end of the class we'll let them throw someone and be thrown (very, very gently).  But falling properly is huge.

 

 

Do you guys have any tips on how to spot red flags in a class/instructor?

 

Not much other than how you would normally judge a person.  Do they show respect to others?  Do they appear to abuse their station?  How do they talk to students? Etc etc.

 

As for classes, it depends on how you feel.  I like classes with minimal talking from the instructor, outside of them walking around and pointing things out to you.  But my dojo is very traditional Japanese that way.  You may prefer a bit more discourse. 

 

Anyway, typical aikido classes are structured like this:  Lining up, stretching, and then a back stretch or other simple movement to get the joints moving.  Then the instructor will indicate people to sit/line up, and will pick an uke and use them to demonstrate a technique.  From that demonstration you are supposed to then pick a partner, and attempt to do that technique.  Which as a beginner is pretty damn hard, so don't stress about it - you can follow your partner and likely the instructor would be hovering near you, too.

 

Have fun!

[jackien1]

Ah, I just thought maybe cause it's just a free trial they wouldn't actually teach anything to me until I paid or something. But hopefully they do teach me how to fall!

 

Are you an Aikido instructor? How long have you been practicing Aikido?

[RisenPhoenix]

Ah, I just thought maybe cause it's just a free trial they wouldn't actually teach anything to me until I paid or something. But hopefully they do teach me how to fall!

 

Falling for aikido is the equivalent of the basics punches/kicks you'd get in most striking arts.  Harder to quantify (again with the learning curve), but definitely one of the major building blocks that the art is centered around.

 

 

Are you an Aikido instructor? How long have you been practicing Aikido?

 

Ha.  I am far from an instructor.  For that matter I'm far from a black belt.

 

Been practicing for 3 years very, very regularly.  I'm just about to test for 2nd kyu, which is two ranks below black belt.  Once I test in August, I'll need to log 300 hours for 1st kyu, and then another 300 hours for shodan.  Loooong way away.  My only consolation is everyone at my dojo seems to think I've practiced a lot longer than I actually have, and most think I'm actually testing for 1st kyu until I correct them.  I'm in no rush, though.  The 1st kyu and shodan exams scare me.  Haha.

[jackien1]

Wow! That's really impressive! Even with the journey left to your black belt. It's also inspiring. 

 

How did you get into Aikido and what made you choose Aikido over other arts?

 

Also, have you ever been seriously injured over the 3 years of practice?

 

Sorry for the numerous questions, it's very interesting and you're the first person I 'know' that is like. Involved in martial arts.

[RisenPhoenix]

Wow! That's really impressive! Even with the journey left to your black belt. It's also inspiring. 

 

How did you get into Aikido and what made you choose Aikido over other arts?

 

Also, have you ever been seriously injured over the 3 years of practice?

 

Sorry for the numerous questions, it's very interesting and you're the first person I 'know' that is like. Involved in martial arts.

 

No worries about the questions.  That's what the forums are here for!

 

How I got into it.... Ummm... in the dorkiest way possible.  A character in a book I was reading in college had her aikido background be a large part of how she was described in early books.  That, paired with the fact that my college adviser practiced it as well, meant I got to talk to her about it.  (Honestly, I had a car in college, I should have gone to check it out at one point - money be damned.)  After college and grad school I found myself wanting to get back into martial arts (when I was younger I did karate, and in college I did a small amount of fencing).  I looked into fencing, and it was way too pricy, and then remembered being interested in aikido in college.  So I looked up local places.  My current dojo was near to where I lived, had parking, and a 3 month sign up deal.  And honestly, I lucked out, because I went on the best day for people to look at the dojo, with one of the nicest instructors we have, and her personality swayed me to sign up pretty much on the spot. (She had a great personality teaching the class, helped the beginners, KNEW who the beginners were, and answered a lot of my questions with flourish.)   My opinion going into the 3 month deal was that I would give it a fair shake, and if I didn't like it I could leave afterwards guilt free.

 

And then I stuck around.

 

As for the injury question.  Serious injury?  Nothing more than a sore wrist or back from bad falls, nothing terrible.  That being said, I'm waiting.  I've had one or two close calls since I started.  Including one where the instructor actually tried to hide how close I was to being severely injured to prevent me from being afraid and becoming more likely to hurt myself.  It's a martial art.  We get injured because it's martial.  We can hopefully hold off on injuries for as long as possible, maybe even lessen them, but they will be there. (That holds true for all martial arts - my girlfriend tore her ACL breaking boards for a TKD tournament.)

 

Anyway.  Go, have fun, learn ukemi.  It's all good.

[Estrix]

Just throwing my two cents back in:

 

Don't worry about injuries as a beginner. Go, do, have fun . You can get an injury anywhere in life. You start slow and build up. Most injuries come later on (in my experience) and by then you'll be more practiced and more resilient and it won't look to you then like it looks to you now.

[TheAccountant]

Here are some "Mike the MMA Meat Head" criticisms of Aikido, and some things to consider and talk with your teacher about.

"MMA Meat Head" criticism 1: UFC proved Aikido sucks...
Counterpoint 1: This is a complicated answer. It is true that most Aikidoka general don't do well in the UFC. Training for a common MMA sports like Muay Thai, Wrestling and BJJ is a different training experience than Aikido.

Counterpoint 2: An art you don't enjoy training will be one you don't go to, two MMA classes will less useful in all situations than 200 Aikido classes. SO go to the school you enjoy going to, and accept some risk that you won't beat up a trained UFC fighter.

Counter-Counter point: listen very carefully to your instructor' answer to that criticism: Be wary of any school in any art that says "We are too deadly for the UFC" or they tell you they can defeat a well trained MMA fighter with a few simple moves, be VERY WEARY.

"MMA Meat Head" criticism 2: Wrist Locks and standing arm locks are low percentage moves that don't work under stress.

Counter point 1, with my 30 hours of Aikijutsu I was much better prepared against the other white belts when I switched to BJJ. I got wrist locks and arm cranks in all the time against other white belts (on the ground). I know they CAN work against beginners. However, I was unable to get them to work against experienced BJJ/wrestlers. Just because I can't, doesn't mean someone else couldn't.

Counter point 2, Aikido and Aikijujitsu don't always apply locks for slow submissions the way that sports guys do. "Aki" is about snapping joint locks at the same speed as strikes, if the move is not perfect you don't wait, you move on. The joint can break, it can just be damaged, or nothing happens. Just like a strike. so what. For a lock to work as a "submission", you have to hold it and control your opponents body so he/she can't get out of it, that requires more positioning, and is easier on the ground or against a wall.

"MMA Meat Head" criticism 2: It is not safe to train Aikido with a fully resisting opponent, so you won't know if you can do it for real

Counterpoint 1: This is why Jigoro Kano created Judo, because he wanted to train competitively but safely. And it worked for many basic throws. But most Judoka don't spend time learning the "unsafe" portions of their art, so they lose what's in Aikido. It boils down to what you chose to train.

Counterpoint 2: A good Uki (attacker) challenges a Tori (defender). This SHOULD make up for the lack of "sport" versions of Aikido. This is all on the school, not the parent art.

Counterpoint 3: There are sport versions of Aikido.

"MMA Meat Head" criticism 3: Aikido is a Martial LARP, Hippy Religion or Demonstration Art.

Counterpoint 1: So what.

Counterpoint 2: Depends on the school. Some Aikido dojos train hard.

"MMA Meat Head" criticism 4: There is no striking in Aikido

Counterpoint 1: BULL SH*T. Atemi Waza. If you don't think ridge hands or face palms work, watch Pancrase. But again, depends on the school as to how effective the training will be.



Lastly, I personally feel a good Aikido program will give you many realistic options in "escalation of force" situations, where a handsy date or drunk boss at the xmas party just won't take a hint. All most ALL women face that problem at some point. Feel free to accept risk if you fall into an MMA cage you might not win.

[jackien1]

Ah, ok. I was asking about the injuries part cause I didn't want to come home battered and bruised all over and have my mom freak out. 

 

A lot of information brought up, Wyrmmaster! I think, for now, I'm just gonna go with what I feel interests me most regardless of the negative points against it. 

 

Btw, how often do you guys train? 

[TheAccountant]

A lot of information brought up, Wyrmmaster! I think, for now, I'm just gonna go with what I feel interests me most regardless of the negative points against it.

That is EXACTLY what you should do. Of all the martial arts "white belting" I have done, Aikido, Hopkido, and Aikijujitsu were the only ones I actually ENJOYED.

[RisenPhoenix]

That is EXACTLY what you should do. Of all the martial arts "white belting" I have done, Aikido, Hopkido, and Aikijujitsu were the only ones I actually ENJOYED.

 

This.  Dear gods this.

 

Someone once told me that martial arts are pointless these days.  In a sense, that's true.  We have much easier ways of inflicting physical violence on others (guns, knives, cars, etc etc).  What this individual didn't grasp was I don't practice aikido/martial arts to injure people, but to test myself, gain a specific and focused point of view, and also have a community around me.  Yes, I can subdue someone surprisingly quick (for both me and the individual - true story), and break wrists even quicker.  But at the end of the day I train because I enjoy it. 

 

 

Btw, how often do you guys train? 

 

I train a lot, because I have little else to do in my life.  I train 5 days a week, which for classes translates to ~7 hours of class a week.  Then usually a bit more before and after classes.  Probably ~9 hours a week on the mat?

[jackien1]

 

 

I can subdue someone surprisingly quick (for both me and the individual - true story)

Ooh, what was the story?

 

I was kinda confused about the belt colours. Following this image (found it on the site of the Aikido place I'm gonna trial at), does that mean my first belt will be green? 

 

How long did it take you to earn your very first belt?