Varo Posted June 10, 2003 Share Posted June 10, 2003 Hello friends. I am new here and I just wanted a few suggestions. I am almost 18 and I have absolutly no martial arts background. I only know from what I see from movies, videogames, and anime. So that, obviously, is nothing. I guess first and foremost, I would like any suggestions on a school to start out in. I currently live in Lawrence, Kansas (USA). That's about 15 miles southwest of Kansas City if any of you need a landmark. I did a search on some of those sites a few of you gave around the boards and was not able to find any in my city. Any help in this area would be greatly appreciated. Secondly, I would also like some suggestions on styles. I am not quite sure on what I would be interested in since I know nothing about MA. I am not in very good shape at all since i'm pretty much a computer geek at this point in my life. Both grappling and striking interest me. Sparring looks like a lot of fun, thought i'd throw that piece of information in there as well. Thanks for the help guys. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
delta1 Posted June 10, 2003 Share Posted June 10, 2003 Try American Kenpo! (We're all going to recomend what we do, so I thought I'd get that out of the way first ). Seriously, what is it you want out of martial arts? What do you want it to do for you? Sport- point sparing (no contact) to UFC (lots of contact)? Show or entertainment? Self defense? Health and fitness? Spiritual development? Weapons? If you want street self defense, American Kenpo is hard to beat. But if you are looking for spiritual developement, you might do better in something like Aikido. Tai Chi Chuan is healthy, but won't build a lot of muscles. Grappling would do that best. Tae Kwon Do is probably best for point sparing tournaments, and ..., you probably get the picture. By the way, there are lots of other arts that will do any of these jobs well- just some examples here to make a point. Give it some thought and let us know what it is you expect to gain most from martial arts. You'll probably get a lot of good help here, but they'll need some info to go on. Good luck, and welcome aboard! Freedom isn't free! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
karatekid1975 Posted June 10, 2003 Share Posted June 10, 2003 I found two schools in your area (that had websites, that is). Check them out: http://www.unitedkyokushin.com/ This one is Kyokushin karate. It seems ok from the website. http://www.nhtkd.com/ This one is TKD. They have two week trial thing if you want to check it out. Laurie F Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
granmasterchen Posted June 20, 2003 Share Posted June 20, 2003 it is best to look around and get an idea of what each has to offer, once you look around you may find one that you like, plus search the net, you can find alot. That which does not destroy me will only make me stronger Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
martialartist1 Posted July 14, 2003 Share Posted July 14, 2003 if grappling and sparring interest you then find a club that concentrates mainly on that so you can work to your desires. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StoneSkin Posted July 17, 2003 Share Posted July 17, 2003 try and find BJJ, I think it is one of the more exciting arts for a begginer. The reason why is a lot of Karate and Taekwon do schools you dont do a lot of sparring right off the bat so it can get rather boring punching kicking and blocking air, over and over again. I think most would agree with me you dont get into the real exciting stuff untill youve reached the higher color belts. In BJJ one of the main things begginers want to do is make a bluebelt submit. When your a white belt in BJJ you will get worked over by the higher belts and this gets very frustrating but you are learning by experiencing it takes a long time to advance through BJJ but I think for a begginer it will present you with the most "hands on experience" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sxty8GT Posted July 24, 2003 Share Posted July 24, 2003 Hi, I have no martial arts experience at all but I really want to get into mainly for self defense. Im 17 years old and I have played soccer for 12 of those, so I am in pretty good of shape. I dont know what art to take up, but muy thai interests me. As well as kali-eskirma. those are just some that i found online. Please give me advice on these and if they are right for me to start off with. Thank You Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kyokushin Posted July 24, 2003 Share Posted July 24, 2003 I found two schools in your area (that had websites, that is). Check them out: http://www.unitedkyokushin.com/ This one is Kyokushin karate. It seems ok from the website. http://www.nhtkd.com/ This one is TKD. They have two week trial thing if you want to check it out. Aha!!! You're in luck. A Kyokushin school in your area . (like someone else said alot of us are gonna recommend our styles). You said you liked the idea of sparring. Kyokushin is going to focus on this more. It is also a budo karate meaning you'll get philosophy and such. It's a nice added bonus as it gives you a better feel for what the style stands for and all. You might want to pop into both of these dojos and try them a few times. Actually work out with everyone. Then you can get more of an idea of what you're really looking for. Good Luck! Visit https://www.uskyokushin.com if you want more info on Kyokushin. Sempai Emily2nd Kyu-Brown Belt---The true essence of the Martial Way can only be realized through experience. Knowing this, learn never to fear its demands. --- Mas. Oyama --- Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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