easiest MA to learn

[thebudaman]

I understand that I'm going to catch a lot of flak for this one just because of the title of the thread but please hear me out. I was wondering what you guys think is a relatively good martial art to take up that doesn't require huge amounts of time. I'm in good shape and I'm very strong, I'm also willing to work hard and train intensely but I don't have hours on end to spend in a gym. I'm also 19 and I know a lot of people start training much younger, so what would be a good idea for me?

[cakegirl]

Tae Kwon Do. One hour a week and you'll get your black belt in 18 months.

[Penance]

Krav Magra is meant to be learned a short amount of time and is based on what is practical for self defense. Might be hard to find a school though.

[thebudaman]

I've heard that Tae Kwon Do isn't very applicable to real combat situations. Not that thats all I care about, I would just rather have something under my belt that I can use to defend myself should it become neccessary. I'm confident that I can defend myself from the average assailant with my current training (Marine Corps Martial Arts) but I'd like something that will help to instill discipline and mind power. Like some Mr Miyagi type shit, and can be used to kick some ass should the need arise. Any suggestions?

[RYO9]

Hey,

If you really want an art that will allow you to have the ability to just kick someones ass, i suggest something like Filipino Kali or Silat (one plus is, if you like Lucy Liu from Charlie's Angles, she's into Kali ) Muay Thai is another art that is fast to learn and extremely applicable to life. I have more suggestions if you could give me an amount of time you could spend in the gym.


Mullins

[peopleschamp]

I've heard that Tae Kwon Do isn't very applicable to real combat situations.

Exactly,

I'd recommend muay thai (necessary sparring) and any good fma school because they are very practical arts and fma's you can pick up quickly. But whatever style you learn most classes are about an hour or two and typically 3-4 classes a week and you can pick and choose the times you can attend. As with anything though, to get good you need to practice and practice often. If you can't do atleast an hour or so a day, 7 days a week then train smart. You wait until you have a good base knowledge and start working on acquiring you're skills.

Let's say you split days where you focus on certain attributes (southpaw stance, orthodox stance, leg attacks, arm attacks, etc and keep going) always improving you're base and you can easily grow as a martial artist.

[Tant01]

Gung-Ho

.... I would just rather have something under my belt that I can use to defend myself should it become neccessary. I'm confident that I can defend myself from the average assailant with my current training (Marine Corps Martial Arts) but I'd like something that will help to instill discipline and mind power. Like some Mr Miyagi type shit, and can be used to kick some ass should the need arise. Any suggestions?

Replace the word "kick" with the word CUT and put a knife under your belt.


Ka Bar ring any bells? Marines..... Mind powers? Uhhh, yeah. Good luck with that. I hear Systema folks are into that. Or you might find a boxer to pound that silly crap out of your soft mushy brain. Or just ask a few of your fellow Marines to pommel you about the head and body and then put the boots to whatever's left. When they've stomped you into a gooey puddle we'll talk about your mind powers...
Stay away from TV and go climb a rock.


You did say "any suggestions"...

[Penance]

If the Marine Corp didn't instill discipline in you, then I don't think martial arts is going to help you in that respect =)

You can teach yourself to meditate if you want "Mr. Miyagi" stuff. It's all about getting into a state of total relaxation and forcing your mind to focus on one thing, (or even nothing) for extended periods of time while controlling your breathing.

It's not going to directly enable you to beat anyone, but it will help your ability to learn and to focus on the task at hand, which will help your training and help you stay calm in a bad situation.

[thebudaman]

lol, that was pretty funny stuff. You'd be surprised by the average level of intelligence required by the modern day infantryman. From thermal and infrared optics to sensitive communication, targeting and navigational equipment, not to mention the mindset required to deploy that equipment and to think quickly and decisively in combat situations. It takes a lot of brains to do our job. The level of intellectual conversation that goes on during downtime is certainly higher than it is amongst the college kids I associate with otherwise. Don't get me wrong, Marines do fit a lot of the stereotypes normally ascribed to them and there are idiots that slip through the cracks just like anywhere else in society but they aren't the mindless drones that come to mind from our image in the media and other places. The thing is I'm a reservist, so I'm only in that environment one weekend out of every month. And outside of deployment the chance to advance our learned martial arts skills is limited. We do sustainment, but I would like the opportunity to learn new things. I spend the rest of my time pursuing my education in the civilian world. I just think it will be cool to say I have a black belt in this or that and the sense of accomplishment that will come along with that. And I think it will be constructive and recreational as well. And Ka-Bar does definitely ring a bell, the thing is I'm not allowed to carry mine around and if I attacked someone with a 7 inch blade I'd probably spend a lot of time in jail, which I definitely don't want to do. And in reply to penance, I'm sorry for the misunderstanding. The Marine Corps did a fine job of instilling discipline, but there can never be too much of a good thing. So I should have rather said to further instill discipline.

[cakegirl]

if you like Lucy Liu from Charlie's Angles, she's into Kali

LOL Kali is my sister's name. It'd be funny if Lucy Liu was into Kali.

[OneDragons]

So you want something devestatingly effective which will turn you into a killing machine in next to no time and give you a black belt to show off to your mates......if you find something let me know

[Britt]

Welsh Llap-Goch. Most martial arts focus on stopping an attacker once he becomes a threat, but with Llap-Goch you learn to eliminate the person not only before he becomes a threat, but before he is even aware of your existence! To the untrained eye this looks a lot like running up to total strangers and sucker punching them, but that's part of the beauty of the art.

Okay, that's an old Monty Python joke. Seriously, I know you don't want to hear it, but time is going to be in the equation in learning any martial art worth a damn, and there's no way around it if you want to be good. Boxing is an arguably "simple" martial art to learn in terms of the number of techniques compared to, say, Shaolin; in an hour you can learn the four basic punches, the footwork, and the defensive slips, bobs and weaves. You now have (in theory) as much knowledge as the current heavyweight world champion, but that doesn't mean you can get in the ring with him and duke it out. What matters isn't just accumulating the technique, but mastering the proper execution of it, and that's the part people spend years on.

The question is, why do you want a belt? You can go buy a black belt right now from a martial arts catalog, and it will cover roughly two inches of your ass. My advice, since you asked, is to find an art you enjoy doing and believe to be effective, and don't worry about how soon you will master it. Mastery will come at it's own pace.

[thebudaman]

Welsh Llap-Goch. Most martial arts focus on stopping an attacker once he becomes a threat, but with Llap-Goch you learn to eliminate the person not only before he becomes a threat, but before he is even aware of your existence! To the untrained eye this looks a lot like running up to total strangers and sucker punching them, but that's part of the beauty of the art.

Okay, that's an old Monty Python joke. Seriously, I know you don't want to hear it, but time is going to be in the equation in learning any martial art worth a damn, and there's no way around it if you want to be good. Boxing is an arguably "simple" martial art to learn in terms of the number of techniques compared to, say, Shaolin; in an hour you can learn the four basic punches, the footwork, and the defensive slips, bobs and weaves. You now have (in theory) as much knowledge as the current heavyweight world champion, but that doesn't mean you can get in the ring with him and duke it out. What matters isn't just accumulating the technique, but mastering the proper execution of it, and that's the part people spend years on.

The question is, why do you want a belt? You can go buy a black belt right now from a martial arts catalog, and it will cover roughly two inches of your ass. My advice, since you asked, is to find an art you enjoy doing and believe to be effective, and don't worry about how soon you will master it. Mastery will come at it's own pace.

Best advice in the thread, thanks.

[RYO9]

I'm serious about the lucy liu thing. i saw it on a website of some school in Cali.

Mullins

[Tant01]

Good that way...

lol, that was pretty funny stuff.

You'd be surprised by the average level of intelligence required by the modern day infantryman. From thermal and infrared optics to sensitive communication, targeting and navigational equipment, not to mention the mindset required to deploy that equipment and to think quickly and decisively in combat situations. ...
....
if I attacked someone with a 7 inch blade I'd probably spend a lot of time in jail, which I definitely don't want to do. ....
....

Glad you thought so. Mind powers are not to be mistaken for generalship or just having a dominant presence. A good eye contact will tell you about some folks and their intent.
I like the Judo myself and it is the gentle art. Easy as easy can be...

"By taking throws time after time, one must learn how to take falls and overcome the fear of being thrown. Then one will become unafraid of being attacked and be able to take the initiative in attack. Only by following this manner of training can one learn true Judo waza. Contest and practice, which are both means of training, should be conducted in the way to develop speed and free movement of the body."


Jigoro Kano


( Emphasis on italics by me )