i need help choosing

[Doatum]

Hi all, I am a new member and am seeking help with choosing which art to get into. To begin, I did practice tae kwon do for eight years. I did stop, 16 years ago, due to a move. I have , within the last two years, poked my nose into a tae kwon do school for a few lessons. What i discovered is this, Tae Kwon Do is no longer an art of defense and is now taught as a sport. This left me dis-heartened. So, I then moved on to investigate To Shin Do. I didn enjoy this, for the most part. I did not like how it was taught though. it was stressed, by the style, that a person should always back away and more or less run from a conflict. Now, on the surface, this is a good idea. I actually always try to avoid a confrontation, if at all possible. My problem is this, sometimes there is no out and you have to be the attacker. Let me get to the point, I am a married father of one. I need to find an art that would give me the tools to protect my family at all costs. That is why i am asking for the help of you all. Any suggestions as to what arts to try would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.
-Nicholas Parker

[ajs1976]

What types of schools are in your area? A lot of times people will ask the same question you did and get a lot of recommendations, that are not available to them.

[Doatum]

i live in the phoenix area, so i have access to, what seems like, everything.

[Doatum]

I should also add that, I truly did enjoy certain aspects of the to shin do training. I would like to stick with the training of the ninja. I just believe that to be able to protect my family, I will need to be able to initiats the attack at times.


Nicholas Parker

[Andrew Green]

Ninja's are long gone. Ninjitsu might remain, but as soon as you say Ninja people will look at you funny.

Same as if I did Kendo and decided that made me a samurai, or fencing and called myself a Knight.

[Jay Bell]

Hi all, I am a new member and am seeking help with choosing which art to get into. To begin, I did practice tae kwon do for eight years. I did stop, 16 years ago, due to a move. I have , within the last two years, poked my nose into a tae kwon do school for a few lessons. What i discovered is this, Tae Kwon Do is no longer an art of defense and is now taught as a sport. This left me dis-heartened. So, I then moved on to investigate To Shin Do. I didn enjoy this, for the most part. I did not like how it was taught though. it was stressed, by the style, that a person should always back away and more or less run from a conflict. Now, on the surface, this is a good idea. I actually always try to avoid a confrontation, if at all possible. My problem is this, sometimes there is no out and you have to be the attacker. Let me get to the point, I am a married father of one. I need to find an art that would give me the tools to protect my family at all costs. That is why i am asking for the help of you all. Any suggestions as to what arts to try would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.
-Nicholas Parker


http://www.arizonabujinkan.org/

[Ninja in training]

Find a traditional japanese Jujutsu/ninpo dojo and don't look back.
Good luck!

[Doatum]

thx for the info, it should help me make a choice. I hope you all keep giveing me info, I like to learn as much as i can

Nicholas Parker

[lazancot]

You are looking for a lethal art? If so many of the styles will have moves that can be learnt for lethal force but will not tend to show you them unless you make the discision to keep with an art for a long time and are trusted to learn these techniques. If you mean you wish to just be effective against an assailant in your home then I would recommend one of the "brutal" modern arts such as Krav Mag. It has been designed to be effective in modern combat situations. I would generally aviod traditional schools such as Karate and TaeKwonDo as as you stated they are far more points and sports orrientated. Not to say I would particularly relish facing any form of Dan. Kick Boxing could also be of use as it is quite direct and effective but may lack the lethal if you are looking for that. If you are a more passive type of person then Aikido may suit you well. Hope this helps.

[Jeff_p]

For your goals, Krav Maga would be my top option.
The forms are built on the body's natural reflexes. It always stresses fighting under worst-case circumstances (back to the wall, when protecting someone else, with one arm unusable, using found objects, when dizzy, against armed opponents...). It's one of the most practical and devastating styles you'll find.

Studios consistently practice adrenaline drills, ex. fighting with the lights off to simulate night fights, blasting super loud music and creating noise distractions along with long heavy sparring. This is great stuff for training your mind to fight through adrenaline. Bad guys always travel in packs and KM has a LOT of multiple-attacker drills. You learn to fight with keys, credit cards, etc. There's also basic groundwork incorporated.

And one of the greatest points of Krav is the learning curve. There's not much that compares to it. The forms are not counter-intuitive, it accelerates very quickly, nothing is introduced without direct application and it deals only with 'real life' scenarios. Unlike many other styles, it does not take years to get to a place where you'll be able to hold your own with most any real life scenario (weapons, fighting multiple attackers). And as Lazancot mentioned, it's no-nonsense and very brutal. In a strong attempt to keep the system pure, it's been mandatory that you must acquire a license to teach Krav. As a result, it can be difficult to find classes depending on the area. Here's some in AZ:
http://www.kravmaga.com/arizona.asp

Haganah, Kempo and Hisradut are good options also. Best of luck!

Jeff Puder

[TCBA_Joe]

Haganah, Kempo and Hisradut are good options also. Best of luck!
What do you know about Hisardut? I might be wrong but it seems like the hisardut guy is about being able to survive more than just a hand to hand combat situation, but also urban chaos and wilderness situations.

Hisardut® teaches "all dimensional fighting"; from a distance, close range and on the ground with and without weapon. By comparison, Krav Maga does not teach weapons, wilderness survival, team tactics, violence management, counter terrorism and terrorism survival and has just recently adopted some ground fighting techniques from other martial arts.
http://www.hisardut.com/
I would suggest reading all of this if you are interested in hisardut.

Haganah looks good, although i havent heard much about it other than of their website.

Krav Maga looks like thats what you are looking at. Kempo is also pretty good, my little bro takes it and it can be pretty vicious, although im not sure how much of some of the more tradtional stuff is in it. He has a lot of "seven elbows" and such.

You might also look into Kali. epsecially if youre looking to use knives.

I have similar goals, although im not even close to being married, i want to be able to protect my family once i have one.
At school i take kung fu, TKD, boxing, and some JKD.
I'm planning on studying some differant stuff over the summer. I want to be a well rounded fighter, so I found a club where i can take BJJ for grappling, Kali for weapons, and Krav Maga for situational training. If you can find an ecclectic art that teaches a combination of those 3, that would be good for being fully able. But, once again, i'm a college student and dont have a family schedule to work around.

good luck dude with whatever you choose. also, you might look into boxing too. especially if youre taking TKD which has less emphasis on hand fighting. i think martial artists should all find a way to train in boxing, theres a lot of stuff that isnt taught in most tradtional arts. (bobbing, weaving, etc... vs. blocking)

[RRousselot]

.... I need to find an art that would give me the tools to protect my family at all costs.

If that is your goal I suggest you buy a shotgun.

[Jeff_p]

What do you know about Hisardut? I might be wrong but it seems like the hisardut guy is about being able to survive more than just a hand to hand combat situation.

The Hisardut system clearly differentiates between groups of students based on their use of force objectives (civilians/law enforcement/military/government). It is split into four different types of training that provide each group with the level of program specifically designed for their need.

Though, I would take Krav or Haganah (F.I.G.H.T.) over it any day.

If you're state has a law to carry a concealed weapon, that's the route to go. My MA training only fills in the gaps when I can't run or draw my weapon.