Which is the best martial art for me?

[Biker]

A friend of mine, while at college, was learning Tae Kwon Do. Received his second degree black belt before taking up Muay Thai with a Thai national who was an amateur fighter in Thailand. Last I heard he was into Jeet Kune Do, if he isn't an instructor right now.

My recommendation would be to get a base in a relatively strict martial art, as suggested by Jun-Fan Lee, before going to something a bit more free-style like Muay Thai or Jeet Kune Do.

[Scratch]

Thanks for the opinions guys...

But I think you may be wrong about that it takes years of training before you can effecitvely defend yourself... I'm not looking to compete in tournaments against other martial artists, I just want to learn some skills I can use in the unfortunate case I have to defend myself. It hasn't happened yet, but you never know.

In the US Marine Corps, British SAS, Russian Spetsnaz, and other special forces, they don't have years to train their men. In the USMC, you get about 6 months of training in hand to hand combat and that's it, yet the average Marine can fight very effectively. At least that's what I've heard, someone please correct me if I'm wrong.

Anyways, I'm starting university in a month and I've found out they offer classes in TKD and Aikido. I've decided to go with TKD. I can learn something like BJJ or wrestling later, but for now TKD should be a good start.

Anyways, thanks for the replies everyone, and don't worry, I'm not the confrontational type... I'm not gonna go looking for a fight or anything like that.

[Ice Phoenix]

Hey Scratch

If it is irresistibly convenient for you to learn TKD rather than another MA, then its your choice, but I will say I did TKD for the most part of a year and I got totally sick of it, in the end deciding it was just too impractical!

I now do Kickboxing and BJJ and highly recommend both for real world self-defense.

Wing Chun Kung Fu, Kickboxing (Western, Thai, Burmese, etc.), JKD, Savate, and BJJ are all very effective, as most ppl would agree, and if any of these systems are available, dive head first at the dojo door!

[Fighter]

If your looking for something to defend your self with instead of learning Tae Kwon Do I would fing a martial art thats goal is to defend yourself. Look for MA etc like or similar to these.

Krav Manga
Ju-Jitsu
Aikido (OK but not good)
Wing Chun/Wing Tsun

Tae Kwon do is quite good but not the best at defending youself.

[Jun-Fan Lee]

I Agree

Sorry for my broken english... i'm from the Netherlands...

TKD is a very usefull Martial Art.... when you have the distance for it. Because TKD uses al LOT of kicks it might be difficult to use it in small places. Another important thing is to keep your hands high to protect your face. ( With TKD the hands are mostly low ) And as you say... you want to learn MA to protect yourself and not as a competition sport. So.. when do you have to protect yourself... mostly in a very busy Club/Bar/Disco.. so you can't make kicks there. And when you have a fight with a stranger with no experience at all.. I think he just try to hit you in the face.. so the blocking should also be trained. So maybe think of a combination of TKD and Boxing ?...

Let's make clear : I do not dislike taekwondo.. i think every style has his "strong" and his "weak" points....

Greetings from the Netherlands

[Fighter]

It is true that TKD can not be used in enclosed areas. I remember a friend telling me a story about a guy in a toilet cubicle he was getting mugged and couln't defend himself beause he had his pants around his ankles.

It may sound amusing but he lost $50.

[Szczepankiewicz]

Couldn't defend himself because of what? He didn't know about anything except to kick? Wassupwitdat?

[Fighter]

All the TKD schools Ive seen did not teach grappling. You try punching a guy when you pinned against a wall. Very dificult indeed.

Has anyone got a magazine showing a technique that allows you to escape from being pinned against a wall by a much heavier person than you are?