I was wondering if anyone here has ever tried martial arts. What was your experience like, what style did you take, and why do you take it if you have?

Kung Fu is murder on the legs, but great for building strength and flexibility. My son takes Kung Fu and loves it. His Sifu likes to get the parents involved or at least try it once, so they know what the Kung Fu students go through. It looks easy, but it's not. One of my son's Kung Fu little brothers also takes TKD and likes that too, but it's a total different style and him and his parents are always coming in all beat up. (His parents take TKD too.) I know the kicks are totally different. In Kung Fu, you have to keep your foot flat on the ground, so you don't get knocked on the ground. In TKD, you have to come up on your toe and kick to get as high as you can.

Hello! My son is in Tae Kwon Do and I go to watch so that I can practice with him at home (too cheap to pay to join :rolleyes: ). It is a wonderful workout.

It encourages strength and flexibility while being slightly cardiovascular. I have been recommending it to everyone.

I encouraged my son (he's only 7) to take it to help boost his confidence as well as reinforce some basic principles of respect. As a side he gains strength, flexibility and coordination. It also gives him something to focus on and get some energy out (we practice every day).

I personally enjoy it as a mother of 5 since it is easy to find the time to do it and doesn't require any special equipment. It holds my interest and the kids like trying to do it with us (my son and I). It's just the right combination of stretching and moving that my body needs (I have a chronic autoimmune condition and am unable to do the heavy workouts I used to be able to do).

I would strongly encourage it!

Love and Prayers, Kelly

Hi! I took a combination of GoJu Ryu, Tae Kwon Do, and Kempo Karate. GoJu Ryu is an Okinawian martial art, and is mainly kata (forms) based. (You've seen the karate kid movies, right) Tae Kwon DO is mostly leg work, and kicking, and I personally don't care for it. Kempo is a style that is mostly actual self-defense, or fight oriented. I absolutely loved it. My Master had closed down his school though, and I had to stop. It is a very costly activity to partake in. Lessons avg. about 75/month, and that des not include uniform, testing fees for belt levels, equipment, and tournament fees. I wouls suggest trying to find somewhere that is offering a new student special, where you go for like a month, and then see if you like it beofre you commit yourself beyond that. It is a lot of fun, but it is very demanding. Good Luck!

I've trained seriously in Bak Fu Pai and Je Ying Kuen styles of Kung Fu. Both are southern styles... lots of close up, incredibly fast hand work, very little kicking, and stances that make you wish for death while training, because a good base makes a HUGE difference in your power and ability to take a hit.

Je Ying Kuen was geared towards more of a general self defense style whereas Bak Fu Pai was very traditional with emphasis on all out viscious fighting ability. Bak Fu Pai especially felt geared more towards larger people, such as myself. Bak Fu Pai = White Tiger style. One of the elder monks, Fung Do Duk (sp?) fled to the mountains of southern china where, to make things short, got captured and seriously beat down by even the worst of the fighters in the White Tiger clan. The clans in this area, including the White Tiger, were generally larger than your average chinese people (hence being geared more towards larger people). He asked them to train him, he worked with them and incorporated their techniques into his traditional style, and there you've got Bak Fu Pai. There are only maybe 5 or so schools for this style in the US that I have come across in my searches, though.

Je Ying Kuen is highly based off of Wing Chun with other styles mixed in. My Sifu is the creator of the style. He originally studied under Wing Chun Grandmaster Yip Man. He came to America in the 70's for college and ended up living here. During his studies he read a story about a style where a man used paint brushes and based his techniques off of Chinese caligraphy. My Sifu thought this was cool idea and tried to do it with real moves. He traveled back to China to speak with his Grandmaster and refine the art and got permission to start teaching it here in America and now runs a small school in Iowa.

I prefer these southern styles to others because I personally find them more applicable in terms of defenseon the street than many other martial arts due to the emphasis on hand work (hands are closer to anything worth hitting on your opponent than your feet are) and emphasis on not kicking... one leg off the ground means you're easier to knock over, etc. Of these, Wing Chun is what you are most likely to find a local school for, and it is certainly worth looking into.

I have also played a tiny bit with Tae Kwon Do, although not seriously and spent a little time doing Capoiera, which is very cool, but incredibly difficult and not really good for a standard fight (it had it's use and was designed for that, but you're unlikely to encounter the situation these days).

I also recommend trying to find a smaller school. I find that with the smaller schools you can usually get much cheaper rates, my Je Ying Kuen school was $25 for 2 months and my Bak Fu Pai school was $30/month. I also find that the teaching is usually better at the small schools. You can get more one on one training with the instructor and higher level students and for the most part small schools are not going to be run by some hack who is just in it for the money whereas you run that risk with the big schools.

No one really thinks of it as a martial art, but I took boxing lessons a while back. I have always loved boxing so I couldn't wait until I was old enough to go. Just the way it looked, the moves, the excitement, the battle of wills...it got me so excited. I had some of the best times in my life working out in that old gym. And I'll tell you something else, you learn a lot about yourself and respect for what boxers have to go through to get prepared for a fight. It looks so easy on TV, but believe me, its one of the hardest things I have ever gone through. In the end, it was well worth it. I had to stop because of college, but I always wanted to go back some day. The problem was that it took just too much time, energy, and commitment to keep it up while I had to keep my nose in books everyday and night. Still though, if I had a chance to do it all over again, I probably would have never quit...I still miss it to this day.

Very nice responses. I myself practice and instruct in Jeet Kune Do - the way of the intercepting fist (Bruce Lee's martial art). I have been doing this art for many years and the benefits this art has given to me are enormous. First off, Bruce Lee was no push over.....he was well aware of who he was, what he was capable of, and what he wanted to achieve in life. His philosophies and art extended beyond the movie screen and told some hard core truths about combat and life such as:

1. When training in martial arts, people should train for real world power. Another words train your body with the purpose of combat and not with just the option of learning techniques or building muscle. The training has to match the necessity of the activity. So when you are a fighter, cardio and endurance are a must. Bruce ran everyday, hit the heavy bag, speed bag, double-end striking ball, makiwara board, wooden dummy, jumped rope, and sparred all out. On top of this he hit the weights, had an ab workout from hell, and his forearms were massive.

2. Read and studied extensively. Being more than just exercise, in martial arts he realized to read and learn about other ways or methods to improve his own being was a constant. He was the first cross trainer of martial arts taking western boxing, wrestling, and fencing in theories and techniques and combining them with the martial arts and philosophies of the east. He had a library of over 2000 books! When he wasn't exercising, he was studying. Part of martial arts is philiosophy and he learned valuable lessons in life....one important lessons was the highest martial art was the art of fighting without fighting. Basically if you can defeat your opponent without lifting a finger it shows true mastery; using your mind as your weapon rather than your body all the time.

3. To learn to be an individual and find yourself. Going to a karate class 3 times a week, wearing the same outfit as everyone else in the class, being shown the same technique, moving the same, etc..is one thing. But learning basics and then taking that core and learning techniques from other arts that you can both add and discard to see what is essential for you as a person. One technique that works for one person may not work for another. In JKD, the art is about thinking for yourself, realizing your potential, figuring out what works best for you, and then making it happen. In essence to sum it all up the credo of JKD is "using no way as way, having no limitation as limitation". That means you have your foundation in one art...but you are not bound by that art. You continue to learn through other arts. You use any technique from any art and at the same time are not bound by any of them. That is true freedom and growth.

4. Many arts value one or two ranges but rarely all 4: kicking, punching, trapping, and grappling. To learn to stand up and fight when you are far enough away to kick but not close enough to punch, to be able to fight close in and either box or trap up the opponent's limbs to prevent him from hitting you and to grappling where you are getting him in some kind of lock or choke, etc...either standing or on the ground. JKD offers to train it's students to fight in any range, in any environment, using whatever is necessary. Using the maximum power, speed, and efficiancy, with the minimum of effort, movement, and energy expendure.

I continue to learn stuff unto this day in this art. The possibility to grow and learn in this is endless! And there are amazing mind and body health benefits that come with this as well: peace of mind and composure, self reliance, proper eating habits, strength of mind and body, increased flexibility, confidence, non-violent nature, increased focus and concentration, etc.

I recommend this art to everyone!