Lady Stardust Posted May 20, 2003 Posted May 20, 2003 Hello, I'm Chelle and I'm 17 years old. I'm quite interested in learning a form of martial arts, but am quite naiive with the subject. I found this site with the aim of finding out some information about the different types of martial arts. I have no idea what would be best for me to learn...I have no real purpose in mind for learning a martial art, although I would very much like to learn the skills and accquire a certain degree of self defence. Initially, I thought kick-boxing, but my boyfriend got concerned over the violence involved. I could learn karate perhaps, but there's just so many different types of martial art, I have no idea of the differences between them all. Also, another thing that concerns me is my demeanour. I'm a small person, slim and not that strong. I'm also very light. Are all of these factors going to mean I'd be useless at a martial art? Thankyou for taking the time to read this, I'd greatly appreciate some advice! -Chelle Come and have a go if you think you're hard enough!
karate_woman Posted May 20, 2003 Posted May 20, 2003 Also, another thing that concerns me is my demeanour. I'm a small person, slim and not that strong. I'm also very light. Are all of these factors going to mean I'd be useless at a martial art? Thankyou for taking the time to read this, I'd greatly appreciate some advice! -Chelle You won't be useless at a martial art. You should get stronger while you take martial arts, plus you should end up carrying yourself more confidently, making you less of a target. Find out what is available in your area, look into the styles they teach, and then visit some dojos. Talk to the instructor, watch some classes, and take some introductory classes and see if you can find something that interests you, along with an instructor that is compatible with you. The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step. -Lao-Tse
paolung Posted May 20, 2003 Posted May 20, 2003 Hi Chelle, Let me first start out by saying your size will not be a factor regarding whether or not you will be proficient at martial arts in general...although it could affect your proficiency in specific arts. what i mean by this is, certain arts or systems will cater to the larger, more built person..some will cater to the person who is smaller in stature. from what i've seen in your post, you would like to acquire some measure of martial proficiency (skill) and be able to use what you've learned in self-defense... be aware that in order to acquire these skills (AND have them usable in a real situation) you WILL be involved in some violent encounters and training. there's just no way around it... you can't dance around and do forms training and look pretty all day and actually learn to fight from it (by itself). this doesn't mean forms training isn't useful, just that it's not going to do much by itself. one question- are you just wanting to learn how to fight effectively and have fighting skill? are you wanting something more (perhaps some philosophy and a complete system)? are you wanting this to be a lifelong journey of self-discovery and cultivation or basically just want to kick some hiney in a short amount of time? there's nothing necessarily wrong with either path i presented, just throwing some ideas out there..trying to get an idea of what you're after here... as my sifu (teacher) likes to say, "the rabbit hole can get pretty deep" "It is not how much you know but how well you have mastered what you've learnt. When making an assessment of one's martial arts training one should measure the depth rather than the length". - MASTER "General" D. Lacey
Lady Stardust Posted May 20, 2003 Author Posted May 20, 2003 one question- are you just wanting to learn how to fight effectively and have fighting skill? are you wanting something more (perhaps some philosophy and a complete system)? are you wanting this to be a lifelong journey of self-discovery and cultivation or basically just want to kick some hiney in a short amount of time? It's a little from both really, I would like to learn to fight effectively and have skills, but as I'm new to all this, I don't know yet whether i want it to be a lifelong journey type thing or not. I'm more thinking of doing a course, and then seeing where it goes from there. After having read the short histories/introductions to different martial arts on the site, I have picked out these 5 to look into further- Tae Kwon Do Karate Judo Aikido Hapkido My main reasons are that, although I like the sound of kick boxing and other heavy contact sports, I would in effect prefer to go more into the dynamics of movement and minimal contact (not least for the sake of my boyfriend not worrying I'll get killed ) I'll look up these on the internet now-see if they do them in my local area. What do you think on the ones I have selected? Come and have a go if you think you're hard enough!
paolung Posted May 20, 2003 Posted May 20, 2003 check your PM please... "It is not how much you know but how well you have mastered what you've learnt. When making an assessment of one's martial arts training one should measure the depth rather than the length". - MASTER "General" D. Lacey
Scandinavian Posted May 20, 2003 Posted May 20, 2003 One thing, that tells a lot is, do they warm up (to sweating, exhaustion even) and stretch AFTER that. Stretching should happen from lower muscles to upper, every stretch minimun 10 seconds. This will eliminate many McDojos out there, which offer comfort and feel-goods.
Kung Fu Hamster Posted May 21, 2003 Posted May 21, 2003 Trust me... Everyone is useless at martial arts when they begin. When they carry on they improve. One of the most popular styles of Karate is one called Shotokan. I don't know about others... Experiment... :-s Everybodies Going Kung Fu Fighting! Yah Hoocha! LMAO
karatekid1975 Posted May 22, 2003 Posted May 22, 2003 This might help. If you want to look up styles in your area, check out these two sights: https://www.martialinfo.com Click on the "finding a school near you" link to the left. If you find something that sparks interest, you can even research styles from this site. I use this one a lot to research styles. It's not bad http://www.bushido.us/schools.cfm This one you can just type in your location. It has a pretty good "style directory," too. I recently just started to use this site, but I find it's not too bad. I hope this helps Laurie F
AndrewGreen Posted May 22, 2003 Posted May 22, 2003 Pick a school not a style... Andrew Greenhttp://innovativema.ca - All the top martial arts news!
ninjanurse Posted May 22, 2003 Posted May 22, 2003 Being a small woman I have found that this only limits me when I have to fight a 200+ pound guy and I don't get out of the way fast enough-ouch!!! Other than that size does not matter. I would like to suggest to you that you look into ju jitsu. I find that I can throw ANY size person and can adapt any technique to suit me. It is an excellent choice for self defense and there is no sparring in traditional styles so contact is minimal. I do agree with others that you should investigate the schools in your area very thouroughy. Most reputable schools will let you take a few classes for free to see if you like it. Good luck! "A Black Belt is only the beginning."Heidi-A student of the artsTae Kwon Do,Shotokan,Ju Jitsu,Modern Arnishttp://the100info.tumblr.com/
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