pick a style

[Chan84]

Hi, I'm lookin for a new challenge. I've achieved a black belt in karate and would love to try a new style of art. Its Been a year or so since i last seriously trained after a string of injuries. My upper body is fairly under trained and so most of my power resides in my legs. For this i was tihnkin of a more kick/footwork orientated sport, but also it must train flexibility quite serioulsy as i hav back problems from time to time. I hav started a training regime to try to bolster my strength/power in all area. Any views are much appreciated. Cheers guys!!

[Blade13]

Ive heard that Tae Kwon Do involves a lot of kicking. I could be wrong though. There are many others on here that could help you out with TKD info a lot more than I could. Good luck in finding a style you like!

 

 

[KickChick]

...although you posted this in H&F ... I believe it should go into MA general. Yes, TKD does involve alot of kicking ... and spinning, jumping....alot of hip movement ... sometimes aggravates those with bad backs and causes many to develop back problems. You must train your hip flexors and core muscle groups while training in TKD so as not to fall prone to such injuries.

 

How about kickboxing???

 

 

[tessone]

If there's a school near you, you could try Kuk Sool Won. We do a lot of legwork, but your upper body won't be neglected either. I've found the art is very nicely balanced.

 

 

[Taikudo-ka]

Hmmm, I'd say if you've already done karate there'd be little benefit in doing something really similar like TKD - unless you already want to be relatively good at your "new" art, and perhaps learn little extras and details, like some fancy kicks in TKD, or doing some boxing to improve upper body work.

 

From the point of view of getting the most bang-for-buck fighting improvement, and broadening rather than deepening your martial arts knowledge, might I suggest a grappling art like Ju-Jutsu, Judo, or maybe even something like Aikido.

 

That would open up a whole new area of combat - grappling, and make you a more rounded fighter.

 

Also I've heard that karateka that study something like judo often get a new view of kata and discover many similar moves "hidden" in the kata, so it might be a nice way to extend yor karate as well.

 

It might also give you more upper body work to balance already strong legs, and possible the "soft" techniques will not be so jarring on back problems, etc... On second thoughts, with all that thowing, etc, maybe not...anyone know for sure what would be less "stressful" on a bad back?

 

Depends if you want to go broad or deep with your MA.

 

If you just want to work on those kicks, try TKD.

 

 

[Ti-Kwon-Leap]

If I were you I would spend some time checking out actual classes in your area.

 

You might want to try an art that gives you a whole new perspective, Aikido perhaps. The only way to find out what piques your interest is to personally visit schools and meet the instructors!

[three60roundhouse]

Observe a class at any and every dojo you can find! Become aware of many styles.

[tessone]

Reading up on the art (on the Web or elsewhere) is also a good idea. You might go to one class and be impressed with something, only to find out that the art is limited in some other way.