Karate marstial arts.. what?

[hungry_american]

I am turning 18 soon meaning no parental signing crap , not that they wouldnt let me just they are never around to sign the ****. I was thinking of doing karate or some form of martial arts or well you know what I mean. Whats the best to take. I want to do it I suppose for self improvement and maybe a little bit of a body workout. I dont really care as much if i could use it to kick somones ass.

 

[Alpine]

Well from what you say Karate would be good. Certainly from a self improvement/discipline point of view.

Do you only have Karate local, what other stuff is available?

 

[hungry_american]

sorry im not really knowledged on this area.. i have no idea i meant karate in general as in whats best like tei bo or whatever or that chinese martial arts stuff like i dont know anything about any of it so i was just curious whats best. i dont know whats around my area for sure

 

[hungry_american]

I was saying I dont care if I could kick somones ass with it or not. I want it for self improvement especially of the body.

I am 5'7 and 145 pounds ... in my mind im fat but I dont know.

 

[MindOverMatter]

lol the pose + the shades + the flag in the background make that the funniest pic i've seen on sosuave.

I've been taking muay thai for about 2 years now, I suggest you try it out. You will learn so much, the workouts will condition your body, and you will fight in the ring a lot and build real fighting skills.

 

[hungry_american]

they wont like braeak yoour arms when u first start right? haha yeah i took that for my girlfriend a while back..

 

[Alpine]

LOL, don't do that in the ring or they will break your arms.

From what you are saying, you need to do your own, local research, internet, library, ask around, yellow pages.

Any club worth it's salt will let you get a feel for the place. Try a grappling art like Judo, BJJ wrestling and try some trad boxing or Wing chun, karate.

You will get a good vibe from one or two places and away you go. Everyone reckons their thing is best, but I think you should find out what's best for you.

 

[DJohnson]

My advice, do not take Karate or Tae Kwon Doe in America. These schools want nothing but to take your money.

Best to ifind a friend or relative who has 10 or so years of experience and is dedicated to train you if possible.

Now as far as self improvement, you can get that from being disciplined in any activity...Martial arts, boxing, playing an instrument anything. There are many Paths to Enlightment, or The Way as I am sure you have heard before.

Physical fitness wise, martial arts are excellent of course. Flexibility, reaction time, cardio, and increased mental acuity as well.

Recommendations: If your YMCA offers classes and the instructor has decent credentials do that. Inexpensive and MANY less egos to deal with. You could also do a Cardio Kick boxing type class. I recommend these because you say your focus is not "kicking ass". If it were it definitely helps to have a few egos around because of course these are the people likely to provoke a fight on the street and you need to be mentally ready for it.

Bonne chance.

 

[08aisaac]

My friend takes Tai Kwon Do and he says they just rip him off and there really isn't any exercise involved. My other friend takes Shaolin and he has Abs better then Usher. He is so much more fit then all the football players, plus he can kick anyones ass. But it isn't that common in America, it is very popular in Japan. Plus my friend is very disciplined and does this very extreme workout every day. I think he has dedicated his life to this martial art. It is also known as Kung Fu.

I am going to take Aikido pretty soon but it is mostly just for self defense.

The YMCA is the best if you have a membership because they give you a discount sometimes if you want to take any martial arts classes. Plus you can just work out anytime you want.