So, being a somewhat fan of hand-to-hand combat, I'm curious about what kind of martial arts people around here might be doing or plan on trying/starting possibly at some point? This thread is NOT about which martial art style/school/whatever is the best or most efficient/realistic/powerful/blahblah; so let's keep it positive.
I'm more interested in merely why did you choose this or these particular styles or what you'd like to try out?
Personally, at the moment I'm doing Ashihara karate. Why? It allows full contact karate rules and the dojo is located really close to where I live. So far most of the techniques seem effective and applicable in real life situations. Downside is the lack of grappling and ground techniques, though somewhat compensated by various powerful strikes.
If I have the time and money I'd like to try BJJ or MMA (it'd possible for me to to practice both at the same place) or Hokutoryu-jujutsu.
So, what about you?
edit: typos