What Martial art?

[Razstah]

I've always wanted to go with Kung fu, but seeing that it's not an option I've come down to Kyokushin Karate , Aikido and Jujitsu. Now I bet you all will say what style I want, I actually want most...being balanced and countering and locking the "hostile" like Aikido or Jujitsu and I also want the strength of Kyokushin Karate.

I'm 17 years from norway and I practiced Capoeira many years ago till I damaged my leg (It's okay now) and I really didn't get up to do anything after it got damaged. I love martial arts and as you can see my avatar is Albert Wesker (fav video game character of all time) and I wanna be like a stalker and learn his fighting style but seeing as I can't find out what he is using (probably not even a real martial art) Some people said he uses some from Karate / Kung fu.

I see all the styles as temptive, the harmonic, the strength..I WANT IT ALL. No but seriously I require this for world domination..the entire world will be infected..uroboros will be released into the atmosphere, ensuring complete global SATTTTTUUUUUURATION. /jk

I'm pretty peaceful in real so don't think I am a maniac I know none is better, or well Kung fu but since they don't have that in my city im fkd, but I am willing to learn any of the three I've pointed out. I know it's ultimately my choice but any comments about one or each of them would be nice. I am really unsure but I need to start training, preferrably to next week.

[Bolson13]

Aikido is the prettiest probably but not very usefull if you would fight somebody also skilled in a martial art.
Kyokoshin is pretty stupid looking and full contact looks silly (like wooden dolls punching eachother) but it does toughen you up.
Jiujitsu is probably the most effective but not the most pretty like Wesker or Capoeira. This is more something that cops train for take downs of suspects. It also used in MMA fights a lot.

So if your point is to be an asskicker then Jiu jitsu is it. If you are interested in the styles and mystique of a martial art, Aikido is probably better. And with Aikido you still won't be a pussy. You could still kick ass.
Oh and Kung Fu is also not "the best". None are. But it is more something like Aikido. Probably not the most usefull anymore, but one of the most beautiful ones for sure. Hense all the popular movies with it.

[jbhasban]

Aikido is the prettiest probably but not very usefull if you would fight somebody also skilled in a martial art.
Kyokoshin is pretty stupid looking and full contact looks silly (like wooden dolls punching eachother) but it does toughen you up.
Jiujitsu is probably the most effective but not the most pretty like Wesker or Capoeira. This is more something that cops train for take downs of suspects. It also used in MMA fights a lot.

So if your point is to be an asskicker then Jiu jitsu is it. If you are interested in the styles and mystique of a martial art, Aikido is probably better. And with Aikido you still won't be a pussy. You could still kick ass.
Oh and Kung Fu is also not "the best". None are. But it is more something like Aikido. Probably not the most usefull anymore, but one of the most beautiful ones for sure. Hense all the popular movies with it.

MMA is a mix of muay thai for striking, wrestling for take downs and escapes, and jiu jitsu for submission. Muay thai is more practical when fighting multiple people or when in a crowded area. Jiu jitsu is more practical when fighting one on one. Wrestling is probably the most fun to me. However, if you are looking for practical fighting (which MMA really is close to but not exact), I would find a krav maga studio. Good krav maga places teaches you how to handle weapons and how to fight dirty. Biting, throwing sand in peoples eyes, push someones eyes out, pushing the nose with your finger, crotch shots... etc. A lot of martial arts teach you to not do that stuff but krav maga teaches you to do it.

Capoeira is a joke of a martial art. It was created because its practitioners were oppressed at the time so they needed to learn how to fight in a way that looked like they were dancing and not training. Which I suppose is better than nothing but at the end of the day it isn't a practical martial art.

Of the three you selected, Jiu jitsu is by far the most useful.

[Deleted]

I practiced judo for 11 years. If you are in it for the sport I would recommend that, it's really rewarding. I felt like I accomplished that what I could in Judo, so now I'm also looking into other martial arts and I must say Aikido looks very promising. It is also used by cops in certain countries + it's practiced by Steven Seagal

[GKLeatherCraft]

MMA is a mix of muay thai for striking, wrestling for take downs and escapes, and jiu jitsu for submission.

No, First, MMA doesn't contain any specific Martial Arts, and Second MMA isn't a martial art, MMA is the name of the sport in which people of different Martial arts compete against each other, It just seems to be a common misconception that MMA itself is a Martial Art, rather than a sport

OT: I would go for whatever you want best really, Noone can tell you if it's something you want to actually do, so it will take years, Your best bet is to hit the interwebs, check out a lot of videos containing each one, and do your research, Visit your local studios maybe, have a taster of each one before you decide

[dudedduu]

No, First, MMA doesn't contain any specific Martial Arts, and Second MMA isn't a martial art, MMA is the name of the sport in which people of different Martial arts compete against each other, It just seems to be a common misconception that MMA itself is a Martial Art, rather than a sport

You could mention, for those not aware, that MMA does in fact stand for "Mixed Martial Arts".

[GKLeatherCraft]

You could mention, for those not aware, that MMA does in fact stand for "Mixed Martial Arts".

Yeh my bad, For others too, You can't "know" MMA, You compete in MMA, Like you don't compete in judo for example, But you can "know" Judo ^^

[Kuniku]

Be wary of people telling you to do what they do because what they do is best.

It is up to you as a (potential) martial artist to decide what it is you want from a martial art, and see what is available to you.

Firstly I'd suggest looking around to find what clubs offer what martial arts within your travelling distance, as its all well and good saying you want to do XYZ martial art, but if there isn't any where that offers it then you'll be in for a let down! Also while looking round be wary of 'McDojos' they often charge a lot of money and don't really teach anything worth while (also they'll make you wear their uniform, pay for loads of badges and other bits and bobs just to try and drain money from you - though this is more of a problem in the US)

As for the arts themselves, you've listed 3 potentially very different arts:

Kyokushin is a full contact striking art, not very pretty, but can be quite effective - and it is 'pressure tested' so because you're fighting full contact, you largely know what does and doesn't work in real life - should you be concerned about self defence

Aikido is a beautiful art to watch, and is more of an 'art' people question its effectiveness outside of the dojo, usually those who havent been on the end of some of the locks. Generally most Aikido Ryu's just teach the throwing and locking aspect, some may teach some basic striking and or weapons, but this is rare.

Jujutsu is what I do, it comes in many different kinds, and people can come across as quite elitist about it. I train in a 'gendai' form of jujitsu, which is basically a modern style (not the same as what 'the samurai did') then there is koryu systems of jujitsu, these are usually syllabi from before the meji restoration of the 1600's - these tend to vary between them, and are very strict to the syllabus. and lastly you have the 'offshoots' of BJJ and Judo, judo is just the throwing - but its resistance throwing so you know its pressure tested and is often very competition based (they do cover ground work as well) and BJJ is the opposite, of judo, lots and lots of ground work, with a little bit of throwing/takedowns.

Now it depends what you want your martial art for, if its just for learning the art, then pick whatever you fancy, if its for self defence however I'd lean towards jujutsu (probablya modern style as these are often more self defence based, whereas koryu systems teach similar techniques, but you then have to train and adapt them for 'street effectiveness') or if you want it for competition, judo, BJJ and Kyokushin all have good competition circuits (Olympics, National and International comps and style based comps respectively), modern jujitsu has a bit, and koryu and aikido have little to non. If you're looking forward to the MMA side of things in the future BJJ will be a big help there for obvious reasons, judo is good for the takedowns, but you generally have to be very good at judo for mma effectiveness.

if you have any further questions for me feel free to PM =)

[Tychus]

A mix of Krav Maga and FMA (Eskrima/Kali)

[jbhasban]

No, First, MMA doesn't contain any specific Martial Arts, and Second MMA isn't a martial art, MMA is the name of the sport in which people of different Martial arts compete against each other, It just seems to be a common misconception that MMA itself is a Martial Art, rather than a sport

OT: I would go for whatever you want best really, Noone can tell you if it's something you want to actually do, so it will take years, Your best bet is to hit the interwebs, check out a lot of videos containing each one, and do your research, Visit your local studios maybe, have a taster of each one before you decide

You are getting into semantics. I never said MMA was a martial art. MMA is a mix of martial arts. It involves striking, take downs and escapes, and submissions. You can get there through a variety of martial arts but the ones I suggested is the avenue that most athletes follow (though I also know people who learn striking through kickboxing and take downs through judo). If we want to be completely correct, krav maga is not considered a martial art either. However, just for curiosity, what is a martial art? I think you are going to have a hard time coming up with a definition that does not make MMA a martial art even though I agree that it isn't considered one.

[Tychus]

However, just for curiosity, what is a martial art?

A (semi-)formalized set of personal combat techniques. "MMA" is very much informal in that regard; the only formal part are the sport rules.

[nbm02ss]

If you want to lock someone up then there are few ways better than freestyle wrestling.

[jbhasban]

A (semi-)formalized set of personal combat techniques. "MMA" is very much informal in that regard; the only formal part are the sport rules.

I assume you agree that kung fu is a martial art, correct? Well, you can do anything in kun fu that isn't against the rules of the sport. The rules is what defines the techniques that are effective. As such, the techniques you learn are the ones that are best suited for the rules. The same is true for any martial art. Same is true for MMA.

To the extent that Krav Maga is not a martial art, it is because there are no rules. I would argue MMA certainly qualifies as a martial art under your definition.

---------- Post added 2013-03-28 at 02:55 PM ----------

If you want to lock someone up then there are few ways better than freestyle wrestling.

Wrestling is take downs and escapes. Locking up (another word for submissions) is jiu jitsu.

[Kuniku]

you're arguing for the sake of arguing tbh.

Martial arts are usually defined by their 'style' MMA was originally a format for martial artists of different styles to fight against each other. Go watch UFC 1, its literally Sumo Vs Savate, BJJ vs Boxing and so on.

MMA itself isn't really a set style, its a competition format. You COULD argue that with the rise in popularity MMA is in itself becoming a style, most MMA fighters generally used to start with one art, be it wrestling, BJJ or Muai Thai etc, quite often they'd be some sort of champion at that, then take up the other arts to fill in their game to fight in an MMA championship type event. But some schools now do teach MMA, but this is usually someone who has learnt all 3 aspects seperately (striking, takedowns and ground game) and is now teaching it as one. But most MMA schools I've seen still teach MT, BJJ and wrestling seperately.

Most MMA fighters base their game on an existing art, and simply add to it the mising aspects to round their game off, sometimes they learn all the aspects very well and become a great all round fighter, sometimes they just learn enough of the other aspects to take or keep the fight where they excel.

Is MMA a style though? This partially goes back to the definition of the term martial art though, now days its a blanket term to cover everything we consider a martial art, but in its truest sense of the term, most of todays martial arts are in fact sports, as many of the arts are competition based sports, very few have martial (ie war based) aspects any more.

But MMA? its a vague term, covering a vague sport, I'd say that until there is a set MMA syllabus of sorts I'd not call it a martial art in its own right, soon perhaps, but I don't think its quite there yet...

[Razstah]

Do I get any physical strength from Aikido? Compared to Kyokushin Karate for example

[Skorpionss]

I dunno about those three, never been a fan of either since I like full contact martial arts and I like combinations of styles... so naturally my favourite is Jeet Kune Do since it has everything and anything you could need in a fight, ranging from hits to grappling and it seems to me like the most dynamic form of Martial art.

However of the 3 you suggested Jiu Jitsu is probably the most effective one...

But in our day and age tbh I don't really see the point to learning martial arts as a form of selfe defense... much more practical to get a non lethal weapon license and use that as selfe defense... Only use for martial arts nowdays is discipline and to strengthen the character of one's self.

[Ealyssa]

Iai-do because be realistic, you'll never be a street ninja.

At least this martial art won't make you think you are terminator.

[jbhasban]

Do I get any physical strength from Aikido? Compared to Kyokushin Karate for example

No martial art is focused on physical strength. But of the things we have mentioned, I would say wrestling, judo, and jui jitsu are the best for physical strength since you are actually moving another person in those. It takes strength to pick someone up or to stand up with someone on top of you. It takes power to punch someone very hard.

[Tychus]

I assume you agree that kung fu is a martial art, correct? Well, you can do anything in kun fu that isn't against the rules of the sport.

Which sport? Kung fu isn't innately a sport. One could (and people have) easily develop a sport that encapsulates kung fu, though. "Sport" is a set of competition-oriented formalisms. Terms do tend to get mixed - for example "boxing" can refer both to a martial art with formalisms covering the art of striking, or to the sporting events that showcase the eponymous arts.

I would argue MMA certainly qualifies as a martial art under your definition.

"MMA" does not involve any combat formalisms. It doesn't dictate or endorse particular stances, grapples, strikes, breathing techniques, mental exercises etc. As such when someone is described as an "MMA fighter", it doesn't actually inform you as to how they fight (though you can make educated guesses given that certain varieties of martial arts have bubbled up and become common in MMA events). It's simply just a type of sport, as it only consists of a set of competitive formalisms: scoring, win/lose conditions, objectives, etc.

[Asics]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kajukenbo