I want to learn martial arts, where do I start?

[something_else]

22 minutes ago, Husseinisdoingfine said:

I found a slightly funnier version of the same graph.

Hahahahaha

[BlueOak]

On 5/31/2022 at 1:59 AM, Jodistrict said:

I got a black belt in Shotokan many years ago.   I agree with the “unpadded kumite”.     When I lived in Mexico I would work out on the bags with boxers and they would sometimes try to give me a pair of gloves, since I would hit the bags full force with my bare fists.   If you work out with gloves, your wrists become weak and you don’t learn to hit with a squared wrist.   If you train in gloves all the time, in a real fight you can break your wrist.
 
 

Couldn't agree more. In the higher grades, we used to raise ourselves with our knuckles for example on the wood floor when we stood, and do small exercises like that to toughen the hands. Nothing extreme but week in week out it's all conditioning. A bit like how free weights are better than a gym machine because you get all the benefits of moving them about, and stabilizing the weights yourself during the exercise.

 

Edited June 3, 2022 by BlueOak

[spiritual memes]

To become the most complete fighter, get a good base of boxing and wrestling then switch to muay thai and bjj.

[Nilsi]

Check out Peter Ralston. He was (one of?) the most successful, western martial artist of all time. His books "Zen Body-Being" and "Principles Of Effortless Power" are all about coming into right relationship with your body, especially in the context of martial arts.

Just call your local gym and tell them you want to see what it's like. I'm sure they will be happy to let you train with them and try different kinds of martial arts before you will have to commit to anything.

[spiritual memes]

1 hour ago, Knowledge Hoarder said:

Really, boxing and wrestling is all you need. Kicking is too slow and cannot be done in an area full of people, getting on ground in a street fight is extremely stupid and you're risking death if the guy has buddies around - therefore, BJJ is pretty much useless. 

I disagree with you on this bit. A well placed leg kick or teep can be fight ending for most people who aren't used to taking them. Muay thai also teaches,clinch elbows and knees which are devastating in a street fight on top of punches. As for BJJ, it's potentially the most useful out of all of these because it teaches you to fight off your back. if you get unlicky and theres a guy on top of you raining punches, bjj is the only martial art that will save you. Theres tons of street fight videos online where people with bjj destroy untrained opponents.

[something_else]

1 hour ago, Knowledge Hoarder said:

Yes! Finally someone who gets it.

Really, boxing and wrestling is all you need. Kicking is too slow and cannot be done in an area full of people, getting on ground in a street fight is extremely stupid and you're risking death if the guy has buddies around - therefore, BJJ is pretty much useless. In general, doing fancy shit in street fight equals death.

Boxing works even if there are multiple people attacking you - you can move around, dodge, jab them to keep distance, you can keep punching while moving backwards. With good wrestling, you can just slam a guy on a ground in a brutal fashion - and ussually that alone is enough to break him mentally. These 2 disciplines are the most effective - if we're not taking eye poking, nut kicking, stabbing with a knife or shooting with a gun into consideration. But that's cheating - and doesn't change the effectiveness of boxing and wrestling.

These 2 is what I'm focusing on nowadays.

I agree to an extent, but in most of these scenarios here what you should be doing is running the fuck away, or trying to defuse the situation

No amount of dodging, weaving or training is saving you from two or three people coming at you at the same time

The only time you should be fighting is if you literally cannot run, like if a guy has a solid grip on you, IMO that is the scenario you should be equipped to deal with first and foremost

In that situation BJJ is a pretty well rounded toolkit of takedowns and submissions that’ll work against the majority of people who haven’t trained anything or any kind of grappling

I agree prob not as effective as a combo of other martial arts, but it’ll get the job done against most people in that particular scenario, which IMO is really the main one to consider

Theres also the stat that 75% of street fights go to the ground to bear in mind

[spiritual memes]

8 hours ago, Knowledge Hoarder said:

Yeah but realistically... you don't wanna get into a long fight. You wanna finish the fight as soon as possible - or flee as soon as possible. So, I'm either knocking the guy out with few combinations, or I'm running away. Or I'm doing both, actually. No time for clinching, leg kicking etc.

Leg kicks can end a fight pretty much instantly. The average person will be unable to walk much less fight from 1 well placed leg kick, giving you time to make your escape. As for the clinch, most street fights are unpredictable and will inevitably end up in a clinch situation so its good to be prepared for every situation.

8 hours ago, Knowledge Hoarder said:

And like I've mentioned, you don't know if the guy has some friends with him, who might be as crazy as him, and jump you - and being on the ground, is the last place you want to be in that type of situation.

Also, almost every single fight starts on the feet. Also, "fighting from your back" might mean getting kicked and stomped on from the guy standing over you, instead of getting ground and pounded.

I agree that you should always avoid being on your back but since street fights are so unpredictable so theres always the possibility that you end up on your back. In those situations, its better to be prepared than to not be.

Also BJJ has more general use. For example if some drunk guy is being a douche, you can restrain and neutralise him without harming him. 

I think my overall argument is that its better to be prepared for all possible situations so a wide range of martial arts would be the most useful. Although i do agree that wrestling and boxing are best bang for your buck

[Breakingthewall]

the best for me, without any doubt is the noble art: boxing. Getting into a ring seriously with someone is quite an experience. Unlike other martial arts, you can box to the max, give it your all. In mma it's hard, you're not going to knee anyone in the face, but in boxing you give it your all everytime you want (although the reality is that blows to the head are not healthy, you have to focus on defense)

you go into a trance boxing.  you need a couple of years more or less of rigorous practice to be able to do anything not messy, but it is very satisfying, it will make your body like a whip and your mind like a blade

[Jodistrict]

When I lived in Mexico, I worked out with an ex professional boxer who had to quit boxing because his doctor told him that he was vulnerable to retinal detachment.  So he made a living teaching boxing.  Boxing is great for conditioning you to take a blow, but it is hard on the head.   The philosophy of traditional Japanese Karate has been that if your training gives you permanent injuries, that makes you weaker not stronger.  Traditional Japanese Karate makes you strong while avoiding major injuries. 

Edited June 7, 2022 by Jodistrict