>> |
Anonymous
I've done quite a few, trying to find a perfect match for what I wanted (which is is high intensity, high combat effectiveness). The thing you should know is that martial arts will vary SIGNIFICANTLY from instructor to instructor. Any legit gym or dojo will let you try out before paying. TRY LOTS OF PLACES. I'll give you a rundown of what I've done. Note that I wasn't just going and doing the 1-2 day tryouts, I spent at least 2 months at all of these places. I'll try to rate their effectiveness at combat and as a self-contained workout.
Karate (Goju-Ryu), Intensity: High, Effectiveness: medium-high My sensei was an ex-paratrooper who used to teach defensive tactics to police officers. Therefore the effectiveness of how he taught is atypically high. I did this for several years in high school and it was my first martial art. There are MANY different schools of Karate. This is not considered one of the "sport" varieties. i.e. you are taught "punches go to the throat, kicks go to the groin" and that sort of thing.
Tae-kwon do (olympic), Intensity: Very high, Effectiveness: VERY LOW The legs and hips are big and heavy. Moving them around at high speeds really takes it out of you. From a combat standpoint though, using primarily kicks is a bad idea as most fights occur at a very close range. This school was particularly bad. There were blackbelts who couldn't even make proper fists.
|