Learning martial arts by yourself

[Garth]

Hi, I want to learn martial arts but I live on a farm which is too far away from any city for me to train with other people. Is it possible to learn martial arts by yourself, only by watching training videos? When I move to a city to start college this fall, I will probably join some kind of martial arts club but I want to get good at it before I join instead of being the newbie guy who knows nothing. Obviously I don't expect to become as good as someone who trains with other people, but is it possible to attain at least a decent level of fighting proficiency only by watching training videos? What videos do you recommend, and what else can I do in addition to watching videos? I'm a pretty athletic guy and I learn fast. Also, I don't care about the "sports" kinds of martial arts, I want to learn something that will actually work on the street.

[cakegirl]

Hi Garth,

I honestly don't think you can learn martial arts from videos. I think videos have a place when you already have martial arts skills and want to hone techniques. I think you're better off going to college and joining a school as the "newbie" than going to college and joining a school as "the guy that has all the retarded habits that will take 6 months to correct".

Trust me, nothing beats having a proficient instructor to tell you you're doing something wrong the first time you do it, instead of practicing the wrong thing over and over again without someone watching!!!

Cakegirl

[adacas]

yeah you will not get good watching videos but it doesn't hurt to watch and practice every now and then. videos and books are no good by themselves but they are good supplements to any martial arts routine. Also you will need another person to train with to actually get the feel for what you are doing. I feel your pain dude. What I really recommend is that you get a boxing bag. Boxing is probably the only fighting style that I can think of that can be practiced somewhat easily without a trainer. Get some books on that. If you are interested in any martial arts then look into eskrima, muay thai/kickboxing, bjj, or any other martial art. A good idea is to look at what is being taught to police, military and mma fighters. Most of the time they will not waste time and money on crap that won't work. good luck

[bustr]

Garth

Here's some free stuff to read in the meantime. Pay close attention to the sections on breathing and posture.

http://www.usmilitaryknives.com/get_tough.pdf

http://taijiworld.com/download/RV.zip

[shadowkiller]

If you are going to try learning something from books and movies go for simplicity. Grab a boxing book or a kickboxing book. But I dont really recommend learning something like kung fu or karate from a book or video. It just doesnt work that way.

[MrPoopy]

You can pick up some stuff from videos. I don't recommend books. I really don't recommend videos either, but they are better than books. All I've done is grappling (judo and bjj), so I don't know what you can expect if you try to learn karate or kick boxing from a video. But if you have a grappling partner that's willing to go all out and grapple with you, and practice moves from vidoes, you can pick up a little knowledge and muscle memory.

There is no substitute for a qualified instructor.

[badger01]

I agree full heartedly. There is an instructor in my home city that has learned all he knows from books and videos. Sure he'd go to a dojo for about a month and then leave (without paying dues, I might add) and teach the techniques he learned in class. His techniques suck really bad and he's a walking joke in the community and in the city. You cant learn proper technique in a book, the video cant correct you when you're wrong (and you will be) but it will give you an inflated scense of accomplishment because ignorance is bliss.

Please, be patient, go to a GOOD school and learn the right way first. There is nothing as sad as a new student in a school that learned from books and has bad technique. Good luck and stay cool

[JaredExtreme]

I wouldn't waste time on books and videos, you will just learn bad habits. Instead you shouldwork on conditioning. Run sprints, lift weights, do pushups. This way, even though you will be a newbie, you won't be the newbie who pukes after class because he's so tired.

[MrPoopy]

That confirms it... Jared pukes after class. You can't go wrong with conditioning. It makes the class time go by a lot easier. Work on cardio and you'll be a step ahead of the others when you can join a school.

[cakegirl]

Instead you shouldwork on conditioning.

Yes, I agree with Jared 100%. It's always easier for fit people to pick up a martial art, just because they can focus on the techniques and not on sucking down the next breath.

Cakegirl

[Garth]

Thanks for the replies people and thanks for the links above. I guess I'll work on conditioning until I join a MA school. But having never been in a MA school, I have a few questions:

If I join, and I don't know anything at all, will I still train alongside all the other people? How is it possible that everyone trains together with one instructor, if some people have advanced skills, others medium, and others complete newbies? Will I get some private lessons the first couple of weeks until I learn the basics, or what?

[pstevens]

Garth,

The truth is every gym thas their own method of training beginners... In many cases, you are slowly integrated into the system with other beginners or by yourself on a one-on-basis with an instructor. As you progress, you will be introduced to the regular curriculum in which you learn by example and drills.

Much of what you learn, and at what paste depends largely on you... Don't be afraid to ask questions from other people, it's a good way of learning and sharing ideas. At the same time, be wary of taking too much advice. Just remain positive and in the end, you'll be fine.

[TylerDurden]

Garth are you in school still? Do they have a wrestling team? If so join it asap. Sport or not a good wrestler is VERY hard to deal with in a fight. You will get in shape, learn some very good take downs and grappling skills. Then later you can learn a striking art to go with it.

[BadgerFu57]

Conditioning is a nice thing to have anytime. What kind of martial art are you interested in learning or what is your motivation for taking martial arts?

[MrPoopy]

Garth, when I first got into martial arts (almost 9 years ago), I started with Karate and signed up for private lessons. I was mostly worried about training with a lot of people. Back then, I was intimidated by large groups and was paying 20 dollars an hour to the instructor to avoid it.

Private lessons are a mistake when you are a beginner. They can be beneficial after you have some experience, but in the beginning you need a variety of body types to work with to really make your moves work.