Bad Ankles and Martial Arts?

[lordtariel]

I agree with Bushido. Tai chi is an excellent art for rehabilitation. Great for ballance, flexibility, and strength training. Not much in the way of cardio obviously.

Finding a sifu that knows and correctly practices the martial applications of tai chi is difficult, but not impossible any more. Most of the "sparring" of tai chi takes the form of push hands, an exercise designed to push your opponent off ballance, but there are applications to almost every move. It's also a great augmentation to another art.

Make sure you get the OK from your doctor and let the instructor know about your injuries though. You can do yourself harm in tai chi in very rare cases. Good luck.

[SunshineFace]

Tai Chi doesn't appeal to me...In elementary school my teacher who is also a MA instructor made us do it and I hated it with a passion.

[bushido_man96]

Thanks.

I found a school that offers Judo,Karate,Hapkido,Kung Fu,kickboxing,Tae Kwon Do and special weapons classes...Do you think it would be any good?I can check it out after school today.

Then there are a couple others that I may check out also at some point soon.

Any one of those will benefit you as far as getting some activity and helping with self-defense. It really just depends on what you want to do.

[bushido_man96]

I've had good results using lace-up ankle braces. Not the $10-15 variety, mind you, but the $30 and up ones, specific to right or left, that keep feet from rolling out from under a leg, period.

This is good advise, too. Between this, and rollerblading, as Sohan suggested, would be a good ankle-strengthening regimen.

[SunshineFace]

I'm in physical therapy right now,so I'm doing lots of strengthening...

[baronbvp]

You might look into Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ). As long as those in your dojo know to stay away from ankle locks or throwing you onto that ankle, it is an art that has less risk of injury. A grappling versus striking art might be the place to start. I saw the place you mentioned had judo - that works. Just watch being thrown so that your heels or feet strike the mat wrong.