Wanna Get Serious In Ma, But Not Many To Choose From...

[conach]

Thanks for the threads guys...

Nope. No JKD. If I had the privilege to train JKD here in Caracas, I would be the first one to adopt it. As far as I am concerned, Praying Mantis is the only style practiced here, but not 100% sure of this. What am I after? To be honest, street defence. Definetely.

[Fighter]

Out of the list you gave me heres what I think and it would be good to cross train in as many as possible, alos of the Kung Fu styles was JKD there?

BJJ
Kick Boxing
Boxing (if possible)
Kali
Judo (for cross training)

But what are you after? Street defence, fitness, what? If its fitness definatly Capoeria!

[MrPoopy]

If you're dropping out of MA's because of boredom, then I'm wondering how the sparring is in those MA classes. BJJ is cool and all, but it was the way you can grapple almost full force and damn near never get hurt (as long as you know how to tap) that got me hooked. If you try it, I bet you will like it.
Just try to find something that feels like it will work in a real situation, and something you can practice in a realistic way.

[conach]

Hello everyone... I'm from Caracas, Venezuela. I've have been involved in MA but mostly drop out due to boredom. I've practiced Kyokushinkai, Goju-Ryu and Shotokan Karate. I also practiced Ninjitsu for a couple of months and had to stop due to money (awesome MA but expensive).

My current options are:
-Shito-Ryu, Goju-Ryu, Wado-Ryu, Kyokushinkai, Shotokan, Ryu-Irryu and a bunch of other styles of Karate.
-Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and Capoeira (I have the privilege to have the one and only respected BJJ dojo in the country a couple of blocks away from home)
-Many different Kung-Fu styles, including Praying Mantis (the most taught).
-Korean MA: Tae Kwon Do and Kuk Sool Won
-Aikido
-Ninjitsu
-Kickboxing
-Kajukembo
-Kempo
-Judo
-Kali
-Shorinji Kempo

Ok... I think this does it. Since you people have given others advice on many options, I am sure you could help me make a good decision. Unfortunately in Venezuela we don't have a bunch of disciplines to choose from. Like I mentioned earlier, I have a nearby BJJ dojo, but I have read threads here and it came to my mind that BJJ serves as a compliment to an empty hand MA. Seems also that hybrid training is the creme of the creme lately. Correct me if I'm wrong. Is it good to adopt BJJ as a main MA?

What really shortens my choices is also schedules and locations. A friend of mine once invited me to check out the Kuk Sool Won school he practices at. I saw a class and really liked the techniques, but its really far from where I live and I don't own a car. This also applies to the Kajukenbo and Ninjutsu dojos. With Kali, one of the most effective martial arts available here in the list -and to worsen it accesible-, happens that practice hours collide with my work.

I am very aware of the "kicking your ass" philosophy around MA. I bring this up due to some threads I've read. Its not my intention to train to be a bad ass. My Ninjutsu Shidoshi once said that if you had a way to escape, even by running your ass off, do it to avoid a confrontation. He was very serious on this. With all the techniques he was teaching -including with knives, Bo, Kama and all the other toys- he could make oneself a very dangerous person in a fight. Even a very well applied side kick could break a jaw, or an elbow blow like the ones u can learn in Muay Thai can damage seriously. You have no idea of what adrenaline can make you do in a situation, even though u train to handle it. You just never know. A very hard day in the office, some jerk comes along and messes with you and there u go kicking his ass to death. Oh sh... thought I was killing my boss, u say behind bars. Just kidding. What I expect from MA is awareness, strength, fun and security. And most important, no boredom that makes me quit.

So again, I guess BJJ is my only choice so far. But I want to be positively sure in my decision. I happen to know the Sensei, and his kindness and professionalism are worth the dive. He frequently also brings some BJJ/Vale Tudo masters to give seminars.

What do you think?