which martial art to choose?

[jedimc]

Hapkido is a good self defence art here is some videos on it.

http://www.martialartsnews.co.uk/downloads/handtechniques.zip

and

http://www.martialartsnews.co.uk/downloads/advancedtechniques.zip

they are both hapkido.

[Razor11]

Of the 3 mentioned, Hapkido would be my preference, Shotokan next and TKD (trad. or sporty 3rd)

TKD is home to the best kickers in the world- and you will become flexible (if not already) which hlps to avoid an injury

Shotokan teaches solid foundation, linear techniques, and low yet devastating kicks.

Hapkido is a good mix with many restraints/locks and take-downs. Techniques that start standing up and end with a takedown are good to know.

I am a Kempo guy and also see GM Mas Oyamas style is popular on here as well, but go with what you will enjoy, cuz if you enjoy it you have a better chance of sticking with it

Cheers!

jamey

[Gumbi]

TKD is home to the best kickers in the world- and you will become flexible (if not already) which hlps to avoid an injury

Depends what you mean by best kickers.

The best kickers I believe you'll see are Kyokushin/Muay Thai fighters and K-1 fighters (though, K-1 isnt neccessarily a style, but a venue). Im judging that in terms of the number of people that represent that style and the success they've had..

It should be noted though that a style doesnt always indicate every fighters strength and weakness. There are BJJ fighters who dont have good guards, there are muay thai fighters who dont have good knees, and there are also wrestlers who dont have good takedowns.

[Ben32]

hapkido is excellent, I consider taking up a few lessons in all that interest you.

[karate_woman]

I have NO experience in any of the 3 styles you mentioned, but my advice would be the same, regardless:

1. Determine what your goals for training are.

Examples:

a)Fitness

b)Self Defense

c)Competition (what kind?)Not all martial arts are Olympic Sports, not all martial arts are full contact, not all involve grappling, etc.

d)Do you prefer Grappling? Striking? A combination of both?

2. Visit each of the schools and see if they are compatible with your goals.

a)Preferably, take a class and/or observe a class (or classes) to help make this determination. Are the students there to train or socialize? Is the type of training they are doing similar to what you'd hoped for?

b) Note the philosophy of the school/instructor(s). Are they compatible with your philosophy?

c) Get clarification on who does the teaching, and who teaches your potential instructor.

d)Find out how many belts, cost of grading, grading requirements and estimated timeframes for gradings. Are these belts certified by any national or world organizations? Is it the standard belt structure for the style or are there extra belts? How expensive are the uniform and gradings?

e) Find out the cost and how long your obligation is for (length of membership).

3. Consider the locations of the clubs, the hours of potential classes and whether they are close to home, work, school, etc, and consider when you would fit the training in.

Good luck!

[Sam]

Just a little back tracking - even as a TKD student and practitioner I would definitely say its not the way to go for self defense, you would be easily better off with either of the other two [whether traditional or sport tkd].

the prob with TKD for self defense it that it needs you to concentrate on the application of techniques you learn and be a bit more creative about how you look at your techniques [we do all those kicks -high and jumping,etc. ; but you need to realise you dont use them that much, they're only a training method to gain kicking strength speed, etc.]

Anyway back on topic - if you're that concerned about learning self defense TKD is probably not the way to go - but then again depends ont he instructor and his / her experience and what they teach [may just be TKD based, with some extra self defense, etc. thrown in for good measure].

[tsdtony]

If you are in it for selfdefince you would mostlikly not want to take tkd.Since most tkd schools are sport oreanted and thear selfdefince is not very afective at all.Hapkido is a very strong choice and there self defince is some of the best tecniqes arround.Kenpo shotokan Tangsoodo and Kyokishon all teach a great combination of standup grapling and selfdefince also thay teach meditaion and etirnal energy excersies.Muay taih is very defisting hand and foot fighting iwth eldows and knees striks but thears not much selfdefince in there art.Judo is a very afective art with defistating selfdefince and ground woork .My self i went with tangsoodo because of the combination of things we learn and because of the insrutor.But i have watched other studios in my town and the judo and kenpo werew bout very inpresive.I hope this helps

[striking_cobra]

take a month and try each school out. then stick with the one you liked the best.

[JusticeZero]

*shrugs* I've heard success stories of self defense with TKD. It's important to realistically assess the vulnerabilities you have and be on guard against any bad habits you might be getting from your training (turning one's back on opponents, locking out punches to make them more visible to judges, etc.. there was a news story someone posted somewhere once about a BJJ stylist taking down a criminal once - the criminal tapped out, the BJJ guy stood up and let him go, the criminal pulled out a weapon and put the BJJ guy down.)

In any case, most people can gain all the self defense they realistically need pretty quickly; most attackers on the street won't be highly skilled and a show of resistance will drive the majority of attackers, who want easy prey, away.

[odsouza]

am checking out a kung fu school near my place. will let u guys know what's happening. thanks