Extreme beginner to the MA

[Kroagnon]

I hope this is the right forum.. considering my goal altogether is NHB fighting I'm hoping this is the right place to ask about it

starting off.. I'm 15.. I've never participated in a real formal martial art (tho I've been in more fights then I can count on both my hands.. generally losing)

I'm greatly interested in joining one of them for many reasons
one being I love fighting.. or rather sparing
I don't care about injurys.. altho I'm sure I've never actually hurt myself as much as I will be hurt if I get into this

my current position is that I'm homeschooled (have been all my life) and I need an activity to get me out of the house and is social

so far the only one avalible to me is Taekwondo.. (I near cried when I found out the severe lack of Jeet Kune Do and BJJ classes.. or dojos.. or whatever ya wanna call em in the area

the main reason I'm doing this is so I'll be able to fight better
and I realize now much more then I did when I started reading up on the martial arts (which I have been for the past week.. when I discovered the Gracie legacy) that most fights involve a lot more grappling and ground fighting then I've seen (hell.. I was raised on Bruce Lee movies)
and for whatever reason the fights I've been in have never really been reduced to that (except one of the few I've won where I was able to get a few effective holds in)

but since whenever I fight (or spar.. we aren't doing it with intent to hurt each other) we're usually throwing hits at each other I picked Taekwondo over any of the other ones avalible to me (Akido.. Judo.. and a few other defensive ones)

one of the things I've been wondering about tho is how most Taekwondo tournaments and stuff work

since I've been in many NHB fights I've developed my own way of fighting (which obviously isn't terribly good)
would I have to completely rework the way I've learnt to do everything from kick to throw punches to be able to compete in these tournaments?
I mean.. thinking that it's teaching you how to do it better I think it's probably a good thing
but it'd still take a while for me to get out of my current state of thinking

another reason I wish to do this is for fitness reasons..
I have an incredibly high metabolism.. and it's impossible for me to gain weight under normal circumstances.. and at current state I'm 5'10 and I weigh 115 pounds

the only way I'm ever able to eat enough to gain weight is when I'm normally forcing myself through much more severe training or cardiovascular exercises.. in which I can put on maybe 5-15 pounds and keep it

the entire point of this post is.. can anyone tell me how effective what I'd learn from taking Taekwondo (and I'm very willing to dedicate myself to it) carry over to streetfighting or NHB fights?

and I suppose if I need to ask another question to make this complete.. anyone have any advice on how to keep long (mine is past my chin anyway) hair out of ones face when they're flailing about? a bandana doesn't stay put =P

anyway.. whatever general advice anyone has for me I'd appreciate
thanks in advance!

[YeLLa-TiGeR]

Go take Judo.
And go to school and learn wrestling.

Find a boxing or Kickboxing gym.

[Ryu (non-working password]

Hello, and welcome to the board. Well there are some TKD practitioners on here, but generally speaking you will probably need a solid ground game and hand style to be effective in NHB.
Did you say that you have a judo school close to where you are? If you do, DO THAT! Judo is not BJJ, but is going to be the closest you'll get if there is none in the area. Judo covers some great concepts, and includes newaza, which is almost identical to "Gracie" jiu-jitsu. The BJJ game has more of an edge on it, but if you can train in judo I'd highly recommend it. We have a few people ont he board who have judo backgrounds as well (including me to a certain extent)
Other than that, get some tapes going for you. Buy some of the high quality BJJ tapes on the market. I'd recommend the Carlson Gracie series, or the Mario Sperry set. Both are great. Though you can probably get a more basic foundation from the Carlson Gracie blue belt to black videos.
Train them, get some friends together, roll, and again try to see about judo in your area. You should be on a roll then.
Take care, happy training, and be careful with your training buddies.

Ryu

[Kroagnon]

I never really enjoyed the defensive styles of fighting anyway
but I suppose I could suffer through it to better myself

The only kickboxing places around here are fitness and areobic places.. not sure how much they're geared towards actual fighting

going to school isn't an option for me at the point.. if there were some other way I could take wrestling I would in a second.. but unfortunately I don't get all the benefits of someone who goes to school

[Kroagnon]

Hmm.. I don't think I noticed up until now but the place that offers Judo also offers Jiu-Jitsu.. I think I could do that anyway

I'd enjoy doing the Taekwondo because I've always thought the fancy kicks were just plain well.. cool looking =P
but if they weren't actually practical.. I don't think I'd actually need them

the other thing is that the guy who runs the TKD place near here is a pretty respectable guy.. is a 9th dan grand master and has been around a long time (reffere in some of the olympic games)

thanks for the help so far!

[Ryu (non-working password]

Kroagnon,
Judo may be translated as the "gentle way" but trust me there's hardly any "gentleness" involved
Judo is a very aggressive art if practiced right. It is not defensive. The judo game is extremely fast, intense, and very combative. So by all means give it a try. I only hope the guy teaching it is or was a competitor.

Take care

Ryu

[Kroagnon]

Well.. I'm basically picking places out of the phonebook.. so it doesn't say
but I suppose I can find out when I go and check it out

the other thing I'm interested in is Ninjitsu.. does anyone know anything about that?

blind fighting sounds fun too

[Ryu (non-working password]

I know a few people online that practice it, but BE CAREFUL!
There are lots of phony instructors when it comes to ninjustsu, and it's possibly one of the most "political" martial arts I've ever seen. Meaning that EVERYONE will be looking at your credentials, who you study with, etc etc.

Though I guess BJJ isn't that different.
If Shimora is watching, he'll give you some advice on the ninja aspects.

Take care, and good luck to you.

Ryu

[Kroagnon]

Thanks for the insight once again

the reason I hesitated to start with that right away is because it seemed to me like there would be a fair bit of training with weapons.. and I'd prefer not to learn how to do anything weapon oriented before I would fighting unarmed

[YeLLa-TiGeR]

TAKE JUDO as Ryu says. Its hella tough and it will translate to any other grappling art real well. Check out fitness clubs, thats where I found Muay Thai and grappling along with JKD. The phone book doesnt list all the places. As for Ninjitsu, I wont even comment on that.

[Tony10]

I agree: take Judo. It's an easy transition from that into other forms of grappling and BJJ, and those throws are bad-ass.

TKD is pretty but their punching is lacking. However, if you want to learn all the kicks that's their specialty.

Some of those gyms may have legit boxing/kickboxing or at least something with sparring, which is what you'd want. Skip the cardio-kickboxing because 90% of the instructors who teach it don't know jack about boxing or martial arts.

[Underdog]

I'm pretty much scared by you: only 15 and more than 10 fights under the belts? Hmmm...

Start asking yourself WHY you want to learn how to fight.

At your age I was an obese child with lots of problems, living in a bad neighborhood were I was getting into beatings very often, so my desire was to avenge myself from bullies. I started in Judo, and It was the smartest move I ever did. I left it because at the time the rage was in striking arts, and btw Judo was way too tough as far as conditioning went; so I picked TKD and stayed there for a dozen years. When I discovered NHB of what I've studied until then, only the real basics of Judo and maybe some half ass jkd and kali I learned while in the army, saved my bacon, certainly not TKD.

Take Judo, all the way.

As far as your methabolism, don't be too concerned, now you are a naturally roided guy, at your age...LOL!

And be very injury wise...

[Mr. Miyagi]

You said there are a lack of JKD and BJJ schools near you, too bad. But keep doing the TKD and also join the wrestling team. Being a professional anything is a long term goal for a 15 year old, try to get some short term goals going in TKD and wrestling also. A lot of guys were tall skinny teenagers, that changes as you get older; take a look at your dad.
Try not to get into fights anymore and use sports or training as your outlet for your aggression.

[yatesy]

Good luck with your training, I completely agree with the answers on this thread. Judo, wrestling and some kickboxing, TKD doesn't cut it!

[SweepEm]

I've seen many girls have problems with their hair in competitions. If you are a serious competitor, Cut Your Hair. Yeah, the hair makes a statement and you look cool, but it's best to have your hair either real short or very long where you can tie it in a pony tail.
In between as you have your hair now, will just get in the way.