Which martial art?

BananaRepublic

I recently attended three Aikido classes in a local village hall. Brilliant! Unfortunately the teacher had to make a runner due to an overseas debt (at least that is the story). So I am now looking to join an established local club. Our village and the nearby small town have numerous clubs including judo, Taekwondo, Karate and Hapkido. There are other sports a bit further afield. Aikido is on Thursday which I cannot do. Which do people recommend?

I am 56, very fit due to regular ice skating and ice hockey, but my knees are not great hence I do not run as that would cause pain. My aim is to get exercise, to learn self defence and improve balance and to become more flexible.

ice_bigfoot

Rule number one of martial arts is that every martial artist will tell you that 'theirs' is the best, and I say that as one myself. The most important thing in my mind is the instructor and whether you feel comfortable with them and their style of teaching.



I would recommend trying each of them, speaking to the instructors and seeing if they do an introductory lesson to get a feel for them and the martial art itself, before making any final decision as to what to stick with.


Any martial art should be able to give you what you are looking for, but they will all do so in slightly different ways.

theoretica

I agree- the ethos and environment of the club is crucial. Is it a club which emphasises tournaments and winning? Just for fun? All about The Purity of the Art? Is it really a drinking club with a bit of martial arts on the side? An ego trip for the instructor?

BananaRepublic

Thanks. I checked out Krav Maga which some people mentioned elsewhere, and it works out expensive, so I think I’ll try a local club and see how it goes. I’m still annoyed the Aikido chap left as he liked teaching.

dodgy_damo

BR- it is all a personal preference. Out of the arts mentioned and your knee issue I would give Judo a try first.
It is a decent art and a lot more throwing, sweeping and groundwork..opposed to the kicking in karate, Taekwondo & im not familiar with the other discipline.
Give it a go

BananaRepublic

dodgy_damo wrote: »

BR- it is all a personal preference. Out of the arts mentioned and your knee issue I would give Judo a try first.
It is a decent art and a lot more throwing, sweeping and groundwork..opposed to the kicking in karate, Taekwondo & im not familiar with the other discipline.
Give it a go

I also came to the conclusion that Karate and Taekwondo were not the best choice for the reason you give. I’ve been reading around and it seems that many martial arts are not so useful as self defence because they follow rules, so the attacker responds in a set way to the defender and vice versa. They probably are useful if the attacker is a mindless thug with no training in fighting other than picking on people.

Judo could be useful, but there are no suitable classes nearby. Boxing might be good, but I can’t find a gym. Some Hapkido classes are starting soon, I might try that, better owt than nowt! And it could be fun.

Slinky

You could perhaps look at Tai Chi if you are looking for something that will not be damaging to your knees. Martial arts based, but without the actual self defence elements (or at least the form that I do is). This will help with balance, and exercise of internal organs.

prowla

The knee thing is an issue...


I injured my knee doing Judo, which hampered my Karate, and I couldn't bear to do Aikido with all the kneeling, knee-walking, and suchlike.


I have hankered after doing Escrima.

BananaRepublic

prowla wrote: »

The knee thing is an issue...


I injured my knee doing Judo, which hampered my Karate, and I couldn't bear to do Aikido with all the kneeling, knee-walking, and suchlike.


I have hankered after doing Escrima.

I did three Aikido lessons in a village hall with a wooden floor and no mats. After the first lesson I wore the knee pads I wear when ice skating. They are unobtrusive but effective. Mine are made by Xion in Holland and they are superb, but G-Form pads are cheaper and good enough to prevent pain when kneeling. I often fall onto my knees when ice skating and suffer no discomfort. If you have general knee pain, it is worth doing exercises such as Bulgarian split squats which in my case have massively improved my knees. The Bulgarian split squats is the exercise from hell, I loathe it, absolutely loathe it, but it works. Obviously start gentle, and stop if you have pain.

TomokoAdhami

I am a big fan of Aikido. Especially it is beneficial for self-defence. This modern martial art involves the pins, locks, throws and pressure points, but I don't know how did you handle it with bad knees. However, if you are looking for my advice for balance and self-defence, then I would like to go with judo. Actually, judo grappling, locks and throws are very powerful. As a beginning, I am just working on the judo throws. After this current pandemic, I don't know how many local clubs are open. I am only watching some online videos and reading articles like this https://www.amakella.com/judo-throws/ to explore more about judo. This article would tell you about grip, balance and throw.

Actually, I am in favour of Judo because I read from here http://www.judokai.net/kano-jujitsu that in 1886 Tokyo police hosted a contest and the team which was using judo easily defeated the next team which was using jiu-jitsu. After this event, the popularity of Judo increased dramatically. Planet, gravity, gripping and use of right throw are most effectively work for self-defence in judo. Mayhap, it is not much attractive after the ban of leg grabs in the game, but it is still a right martial art for defence and balance. 

vitaweat

Regarding the self-defence part of your question, I did judo as a kid and have used it a very small number of times to defend myself as an adult.  It is amazing how quickly the wind goes out of someone's sales if you throw them to the floor.  It has the added advantage that unless they're unlucky all they'll have is a bruised ego.