ktigre

Yah, I do have quite a reach. I wear a 42 dress shirt. my legs are quite strong as well. When i used to work out (couple years ago) I used to work out with 500 lbs on the leg press as that's as much as the machine held that the club had. I really would like to work on finess a bit, but I guess I'm not too informed on kickboxing. I need to look into it. Are there any styles that are a bit of finess, good mix of punches, kicks, and also do a little weapon training? I'd really like to take advantage to what I have, and make sure that if i did have to defend myself I wouldn't be just swinging my arms wildly, and be able to hold my own against someone that knew a few styles, or was just a pure streetbrawler. However a bit of fitness aspect is just as important. I want to loose this bit of a beer gut I have. It's genetic, I really am not a fan of beer. The uniform is not that bad. I looked around a bit, and found a number of big and tall gi's so I could get one with no big problem. Chris

Let me tell a little about myself and then ask the question. I'm 6'9"and weigh 285 lbs. I do not want to get into any of the 'soft' martial arts due to personal(religious) beliefs against the idea of chi or anything dealing with the universal flow that is in all, etc. I have quite a bit of stress in my life and am looking for a way to relieve it, and get fit at the same time. I've seriously considered a martial art for quite a while now. self defense is important, but due to my size 99.9% of people wouldn't bother me anyways, they have a tendency to give me room anywhere I go, unless they are totally drunk. I do like weapons, but ideally would like some sort of practical application for them(if that's even possible considering most are illegal to carry arround anyways). Though as I seem to be understanding weapon training comes down the road in any style that uses them. I've thought of kickboxing, Krav Maga, Kenpo, and a couple others. So basically what I'm wondering is: Are there any martial arts that would lend themselves easier, or better applications to a tall person? this includes the supplies, clothing needed, sparring against smaller people, etc. Any and all input/suggestions/comments are greatly appreciated. Thanks