Some advice on the right Martial Art for me please.

[Cadden]

Hi.

I am 16 years old, 6ft 1 and about 70 kg, and I live in Australia. Recently I have been very adamant in my decision to take up a martial art.

My reasons are for discipline, fitness and above all, street defense. I live in a fairly rough part of town, and most of the jerks who like fighting are big, tough and like taking big long swings. They have no training at all. Some do boxing sporadically. Nothing special.

Now my options are as follows: Hapkido, Tae Kwon Do, Wing Chun Kung Fu, Karate, Kickboxing. There may be more, but I know there aren't any Brazilian Jiu Jitsu classes.

What would be the best to start on and be most effective in a street fight? I've heard TKD is not that effective, and same with Karate. What about the rest? What do you recommend?

Also, how long would it take to become effective in the respective styles?

Thanks in advance.

Also, how many times a week (keeping in mind I'm not made of time or money) is the best to train for?

[Badger]

Kickboxing........

If it has "good" Boxing in it you will learn to hit harder than anything else you can do.

Learn some wrestling with subs & some Combatives to make it more complete.





Badger

[Ice Phoenix]

From the list you provided I would suggest either Kickboxing or Wing Chun Kung-Fu. If there are other options available to you though you should find out what they are and post them here as well!

Simply train as many times in a week as you can, so long as training doesn't start to interfere with other aspects of your life!

It's not so much about how much you train anyway but rather how intensely you train and how much you fit into each and every training session!

[Also, how long would it take to become effective in the respective styles?]

Unfortunately there is no good answer to this question, but if you train hard 6 months should be enough to become effective with your style against untrained fighters.

Too bad BJJ classes aren't available to you because that is always a good system to cross-train in.

Check to see if there are other grappling classes available to you in your area though, as effective self-defense incorporates both striking and grappling!

[MinisterofDeath]

Wing Chun!
Actually I think you should check out all the schools. It comes down to instructor. All the styles you posted are freakin' great with the right instuctor. Just check 'em out and have fun

[kid lock]

Unless you want a fancy fighting art that , in my opinion, is stupid
I would highly recommend Kickboxing(from the list above). If you can't get into jiu jitsu why not just grapple with friends, watch tapes, or read on it and see what you can learn.Properly.
S U B M I S S I O N S !

[Badger]

Check this out:AussieGracieJiuJitsu


I don't know how far you are from this place...but maybe he has affiliates or something close to you.



Badger

[Cadden]

I would honestly rather do a martial art. Kickboxing doesn't tickle my fancy, neither does boxing.

Something more stylised, maybe Wing Chun Kung fu is my thing.

[JaredExtreme]

Wing Chung can be VERY effective if taught by the right person. Though kickboxing is good, it sounds like you want something more well-rounded and geared towards the street rather than sport.

Bottom line is you should check out each school and see what style interests you most.

[Cadden]

The one thing I don't want to do is a sports orientated martial art: Tae Kwon Do, Kickboxing, Boxing. They just don't interest me that much.

Although the ART of Tae Kwon Do has very effective kicks which I may decide to cross train into.

I think I will try Wing Chun Kung Fu, continue with that and then maybe round it off with some Tae Kwon Do or Hapkido, purely for their kicks and throws.

They seem to complement each other well.

[jeronimo]

combination of three styles

The most efficient MA is a combination of three. Cross-training with :
- muay thaï (for strikes),
- freestyle wrestling (for takedowns)
- and brazilian jiu-jitsu (for submissions on the ground).
You can also work with sambo (for leglocks)

[Ice Phoenix]

No need for Freestyle Wrestling or Sambo since Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu is the best system for ground-fighting - Period.

A good BJJ school will teach an adequate variety of both takedowns and leglocks, without the need for cross-training.

As for your stand-up skills, Wing Chun is a very good choice, but don't bother with TKD! The only kicks that are ever useful in reality are the front kick, back kick, sidekick and roundkick. Ask any well-known hand-to-hand combat instructor!

Perfect these four kicks and with the addition of Wing Chun's methods and kicks/sweeps you'll have all the stand-up skills you need!

[Szczepankiewicz]

"The only kicks that are ever useful in reality are the front kick, back kick, sidekick and roundkick."

I'ma gonna haveta disagree with that for the following reasons:

1) it's a blanket statement.
2) You overlooked the almighty footstomp.
3) You included just about every kind of kick their is in that statement. All kicks are basically the same, they vary in minor differences and applications.
4) You're saying the Jumping Flying Crane Kick is no good? If done correctly, no can defend!

[Kamatara]

I wouldn't take TKD, they focus mostly on kicking, rather then 50/50 of hand/feet

[Fighter]

From the list you gave here are my recommendations; Wing Chun, Kickboxing. All the others are OK but are not as complete as other styles.

BUT if you can look for theses styles; Jeet Kune Do, Muay Thai, Brazilian Ju-Jitsu, Wing Chun/Tsun, Wrestling, Boxing. These are all very good MA but I would try and cross train if I was you. And try to put everything into a JKD frame of mind.