I need advice..

[k02]

Hi. I'm a 19 year old girl in NY who is interested in learning a MA. It's always something I wanted to do, but wasn't permitted, and now that I'm on my own I definitely want to start. The problem is, I don't know enough about any particular style of MA to properly choose one for myself, much less find a good school that teaches it in NY.

I'm an experienced dancer, and I'm looking for something that's pretty aggressive, possibly with kicks and jumps.

Keep in mind I know nothing about anything... so, if you could please help me I'd greatly appreciate it! =)

[Lizard]

For kicks and jumps you might want to try taekwondo. I'm not sure what you mean by aggressive. Taekwondo (or TKD for short) is generaly not good for self defense (too many high spinning and jumping kicks)

What is your main reason for training in martial arts?

Fun?
Self defense?
Excersise?
Competition?

[RobertG]

Lizard how dare you recommend TKD on this board. You should know better.

K02, if you're in NYC you probably have everything under the sun to choose from. You probably have access to both Muay Thai and Savate. Savate would probably be more up your alley with the dance experience, insofar as its a little more fluid, with more athletic kicks, than Muay Thai. Also, you might want to check out Capoeira. Everyone here will jump on me and say its no good for self-defense or whatever--but if you're just looking for something fun and that you will likely excel at, I'd check that out too. And yes, you could look into Hapkido or TKD as well. So I suppose if you could give us a little better idea on what your goals are, we could give you better feedback. Just about everything is available to you in New York, so what you should study will be defined totally by your own goals.

[RobertG]

Here's a few links to get you started:

http://www.nymaa.com/

http://www.wayofnoway.com/schedule.html

http://www.capoeiranyc.com/raizesdobrasil.html

Those are JKD, Savate, and Capoeira schools in NYC. Take a look around those sites for some more info.

[jen33]

Well I'm glad to see that you would like to start. Martial Arts needs more women involved. We women could really do well if there were more of us involved.

[k02]

Well, basically... all of those things. I'm not a very outwardly social person, so aside from school and work, I don't really do much outside of the house.

I quit dancing last year, so I really want something that I can do that's a little active. But I can't just go "work out" because I always need to be learning and growing in whatever I do.

As I said before, I've always wanted to try this.. and I think I may be alright at it because I have pretty good coordination.

I guess self defense is a huge part of it... so I don't want to do something that's just stylistically pleasing with no real point to it, you know? I guess what I want is something traditional, competitive, aggressive, without any bullshit. =)

(what I mean by aggressive is something that isn't about learning how to count to ten in another language and balancing on one foot.)

You guys have been a great help... I can't say how happy I am to actually be making an effort to get started.

[Ryu (JKD?)]

If self-defense is a huge part of what you're looking for, I'd recommend training in something that addresses functional aspects of self-defense. Something that includes scenario replication, adrenaline dump management, four ranges of fighting, weapons work, pre-contact phases and de-escalation/first strike tactics, situational awareness, etc.
Some of the Jeet Kune Do schools get heavily into this, but others do not.
Just make sure that wherever you train gives you the opportunity to spar in all ranges of combat, and addresses realistic groundfighting and clinching tactics.

If you can't find anything like this....obviously a muay thai class or a Brazilian Jiu-jitsu class would be a good bet as well.

Hope all goes well.

Ryu

[Wearing Grey]

For jumping and kicking stuff...I would have to say TKD. But from what you described you would not want a traditional TKD school. If you could find a TKD school that was not set on olympic rules and was modern you would not have to deal with what you call BS. Surely in New York you would be able to find something like that.

Muay Thai is a good choice too. Although it is very brutal and they also use alot of hand work. They do however, have alot of kicks as well.

Hapkido would be easy to learn, it has kicks, joint locks, sweeps. You will be able to jump around alot with it, it has reversals and a very practical "real world" application. It is also agressive (well, most of the time, depends on what school you go to). You may have to learn a bit of the Korean terminology but that also depends on where you go.

Hope that helps some. Also hope you find a MA you enjoy. If you have any more questions post to the board and myself or someone else would be happy to help you.

WG

[Mr. Heel Hook]

Originally posted by jen33
Well I'm glad to see that you would like to start. Martial Arts needs more women involved. We women could really do well if there were more of us involved.

Seems you are making it a gender thing... interesting, I always thought of MA (whatever the sytle might be) based on self-effort rather than anything else.

[swan104]

Congratulations on taking that first step into something that probably seems completely new to you! I think everyones suggestion so far has been completely valid points.

Only you can decide which one you enjoy the most. Don't be afraid to check out a variety of schools before you commit to one. If you were to ask me, then I would say Jeet Kune Do has a lot to offer because it did open my eyes up to a whole range of different styles and cultures.

What you could do is to check out a few schools you have shortlisted, and then come back on here with more information on each of the schools. I'm sure everyone on here will offer their suggestions.

Good luck.

[Lizard]

Swan is correct. You need to ago to a few different schools before you make a final descision, schools vary alot.

Hapkido
Jeet kune do
Muay Thai
Brazillian Jiujitsu
Combatives

Find schools near you that teach these things and try them all out.

[Mr. Heel Hook]

It would also help you to travel these boards a bit more than just this thread. There are many different people here with different styles under their belts...A lot for you to absorb, young miss.

[k02]

Thanks! I'm a bit overwhelmed right now.. I just have to let everything sink in.

All of your suggestions have been great.

I'm having some stuff sent to my house from the Shaolin Temple... is that a good place to go? I've heard mixed things. What's your opinion?

[Lizard]

Shaolin Temple? Not sure, sounds like it could be bull-shit-su (false). For jumping and kicking and elaborate hand movements, shaolin kung fu is probably very good, but for practical self defense I would look elsewhere.

[Half-Asleep]

for self defence prolly go for hapkido or jeet kune do (JKD) or jiu jitsu (jap or brazilian) or maybe ninjitsu. As well as looking for different schools do some research at the library as well as on the internet for informatino about the different styles to see what they are all about, what their focusses are. It will also give u a wider knowledge base in martial arts and even if u don't learn a particular style by reading about the ideas behind it u might learn some stuff u can put into practice with whatever martial art u end up chosing to do.