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I'm curious, what is the most popular MA.
According to afew books and articles, (1)karate, (2)TKD and (3)kung fu (all styles including tai chi) are the most popular. (in this order). I'd like to put that to the test and see for real.
Appreciate responses if "other" is selected.
Sorry, poll has max 10 options so my options are restricted. If its "other", maybe try putting it in a broader category of MA. Thanks.
Tony Capucho
I tend to agree. Mostly because those two arts are pretty much the most common one's that people teach.Quote:
Originally Posted by Capa
I think Karate is the obvious choice for "most popular" simply because it's the most well known.
You ought to group Judo separately from Aikido as one's competitive and one's cooperative. Big difference.
Also, I'd separate Brazilian Jiu Jitsu from Japanese as they're different enough to attract different personality types.
Strangely, Judo and BJJ are probably most similar, though they're not marketed that way.
It also depends on what you define as "popular," versus populated...
Given the wide availability of TKD, and the relative non-availability of other arts, "popular" may not be the most accurate term depending on how you define it.
Most widely practiced? I'd say it might be a close call between Taijiquan and TKD, with "karate" of varying backgrounds and judo a close second...
I agree Matt.
When I turned 19 I began looking for schools in my local area. There are ONLY TKD schools (5 of them). I think this is why my dad took me to TKD. Theres only 1 ninjustu class once a week (hardly enough). So, yeah, I agree, 'popular' should not be used because most people are forced to study whatever is convenient for them.
I would have actually liked to try gracie JJ, aikido (mainly due to seagal :D ) or kendo. Luckily. I've found a group that studies wing chun - being a BB in TKD I can say that WC is a very VERY good system of fighting and self defence. I have been shown afew defences against kicking that will put TKDists in a pretty vulnerable position. But! each to their own.
Also think popularity of karate has to do with 'the karate kid'.
Tony Capucho
Think Capo is awesome... love the dance and the acrobatics and the kicks :)
I wish we could have been able to pick more than one. I do TKD and BJJ but could only pick one and TKD is my primary.
Further example of the prevalence of TKD schools...
Back home in Omaha we had two - two 1976 Korean National Grand Champions in town, each with their own school and a bazillionth level black belt. There were easily another 6 - 8 TKD schools in addition to those two, as well as 2 - 3 major karate schools, a hapkido school, Bussey's ninja academy, our kung fu school, and a Teoul Moon kung fu school... And that is just what I remember from 1985 - 87!
Here in Tacoma, if you head to the "International District" which should more accurately be referred to as "Korea Town," there are literally no less than 6 schools all within one square mile! There are another 3 or 4 schools in the Lakewood town center area, all of 5 or 6 miles down the road! We are saturated with TKD...
So, it is hard to say what is really "popular" versus more well known and more visible... We have all of 8 students in our club, and folks typically only learn of us by word of mouth. It is unlikely we will have a chain of clubs across the Seattle/Tacoma area any time soon... :wink2: However, everyone that we run into is very enamored of what we do - just not enough for most of them to commit to training (we tend to scare folks a tad with what we think is good clean fun).
Anyway...
Try convincing people to roll around and sweat with each other, get in guard position, and choke each other.Quote:
Originally Posted by YiLiQuan1
:D
Yeah Sorry Brandon. It's good to study more than one MA - i'd love to try BJJ, but, not schools nearby!. Enjoy it!!! When/if you go to college/univesrity or when you start working it'll be hard to enjoy MA's.
Tony Capucho
Just from my travels in the states and abroad, TKD has always been the most "popular" style...soley based on numbers of schools. Ironically, most non-martial arts folks are more familar with the words "kung fu" and "karate" than "taekwondo".
I saw a thing on Discovery Channel on the "top ten" martial arts. Tae Kwon Do was on there largely because, they claim, it is the most widely practiced art in the world. Aside from it's overwhelming presence in the US, it is also an Olympic sport, thus largely popular among many other countries as well.
I've chosen Karate since many people call anything that is no weapons combat Karate, since they have a hard time to differentiate between the terms :) So for them TKD is Karate, the chinese styles are Karate and so on. So I'd say Karate is the most popular :D
Karate and Ninjitsu would be my two top picks. Every child dreams of being a ninja, or at least every one I knew, and Karate has been used so much by the media that it must be extremely popular. My third choice would be Kung Fu, also because of the media.
Since i have seen part of your class Matt, i could see why people have run away :eek: :eek: :laugh:, i have the same problem here, nobody wants to get hit, but they all want to learn how to fight, go figure!!
As for everything being "Karate", I love it when people work out around here and you ask them what they are doig they say "Karroty", one guy puched a heavy bag with nothing but jabshooks, and crosses, when asked if he boxed he said "nope, i did alittle Karate".
My opinion , the most popular art, comes and goes, now the most popular thing is MMA, again a catch phrase for anybody that can puch, throw a front kick, and do an armbar. It used to be BJJ, befor that is was the Ninja craze.
Statistically,
TKD is the most popular, with 1.3 million practitioners in the US alone (1992). Since its growth into an Olympic sport, it has gained even more. Bear in mind that the term Karate, or rather Karoddy, was more commonly known because of films like James Bond. Even today there are schools that teach TKD that call themselves Korean Karate.
I said some months back on a thread about music that the Bujinkan, Genbukan ETC were more akin the the Goth/Darkwave music scene.
As Goth is a sub set of punk, the kans are a sub set of traditional MA. It is known of but not heard of as much as the others. The kans are an undercurrent of MA. We are more or less in the sidelines of the mainstream tagging along as a add on to the mainstream arts.
Plus our Dogi's are black so we are in effect Goth in all sense of the word.
But in the UK, the kans are not as available here than the USA. Here it is Karate, BJJ, Kickboxing, Muay Thai, Kung Fu, Tai Chi (not Taiji though), Judo ETC. More mainstream than sub groups.
This sentence makes no sense. Tai Chi is the same thing as Taiji. One is the Wade-Giles method of romanization and the other is Pinyin. Pinyin is supposed to be closer to actually represent the way it is said.Quote:
Originally Posted by The Nephilim
in a sad kind of way he is right though, tai chi fluffy dance is immensly popular...taijiquan...martial art is not. :(Quote:
Originally Posted by kodanjaclay
Mandeigh, that would still be Taiji. Its the Ch'uan (quan) that is missing. Maybe we should call that Tai Cheese? :D
:D I know....but unfortunately not to the general public......most of the people have know idea what taiji or taijiquan are......but they do know what 'tai chi' is......and we are now using 'taijiquan/taiji' as almost a way of distinguishing ourselves from the tai cheeesers...infact I have been asked a few times if what we do is like tai cheeeee...... :rolleyes:Quote:
Originally Posted by kodanjaclay
Tai Chi here is for pensioners while taiji is not known.Quote:
Originally Posted by kodanjaclay
William,
You are missing the point. They are the same thing. They are just spelled differently. If people don't know the word Taiji, that is an educational thing, as Pinyin is the accepted norm for Chinese-English romanization. The arts do not change because of spelling.
I'm interested to know where you got that statistic.Quote:
Originally Posted by kodanjaclay
I was sorta hoping that one of the advantages of learning a MA was that hopefully not many people out there know one. Now I learn there are at least one million, two hundred and nintey-nine thousand, two hundred and ninety-nine people out there who can still kick my butt
I'm thinking it was the USTU, the NGB for Olympic TKD. They answer to the USOC.
Quote:
Originally Posted by kodanjaclay
Tai Chi is considered useful for pensioners along with Pilates ETC. It has come to be known in the UK and an old persons art of movement, not as a fighting form. Tai Chi is basically seen as a way of getting geriatrics to move in their 90's in care homes.
Taiji may be the same, but the name is different and saying you do taiji sounds more MA in this country than Tai Chi. It is like Muay Tahi and kickboxing. Both are similar, but imagine saying that kickboxing is for the young while Muay Thai is for the older generation.
Tai Chi is implemented into the way we think as old people stood around holding their ball of power and getting supple again. I did some lessons and most instructors turned round and said do this, do that, push here. Only one turned round and said, this is a fist to strike here. The pensioners all got a bit worried for they too thought of it as a moving exercise and not as a fighting form.
I know exactly what you mean.....open any health magazine and you will see tai chi billed as an exercise form....infact 2 of my students (both older ladies) came to the class because their doctor said that was all the exercise they were allowed to do with their angina.....I told them their doctor obviously did not know what taijiquan was.......but they have both trained for 3 years now and all though they don't do the running element when we are doing circuits...they do sits ups and press ups etc...infact one of them in particular, I have to stop, when I feel she has done enough! When I do an advert or poster run with Tai Chi, I get loads of enquiries, if I use Taiji.........I get people phoning and asking if that is like tai chi??? :laugh: I was speaking about this to my Chen teacher, when she goes to see her teacher in Jiangsu, she sees his classes full of young, fit blokes...when he comes over he asks why only old people do taiji in the UK....she says cos all we get are clips of old people doing taiji from China...he though this was hilarious...they put out images of old people to let the world know that if you do taijiquan ALL your life....you will be supple and fit into oldage..... :rolleyes:Quote:
Originally Posted by The Nephilim
That is a matter of education as well. Even the classics indicate that without the ch'uan (quan) the form is useless. LOL. I think that when I learned it, I was the yougest in my class, but definately not a pensioner. If you are familiar with Chin Na, you can clearly see the techniques in the form. Taijiquan is a fascinating martial art, and Tai Chesse is a serious deteriment. But what can you do? The only thing you can do is to try and show the real art. Some will listen and some will not.
I've seen this a lot also. You hear it is being taught more for it's health reasons and not for it's martial abilities. Tai chi has been and always will be my first choice of martial art.Quote:
Originally Posted by Mandeigh Wells
I even remember my dad giving me an article in at that time the latest issue of Golf Digest and it was about a golfer who improved his golf game by taking tai chi.
I saw one claim for Tai Chi claiming nunchaku. Found it through a Tai Chi search website in the UK. Can this be. (I may look for it again to prove that I was not wrong)
I don't see how Tai Chi can claim nunchaku when it's an Okinawan weapon. Where'd you find that claim, Will, do you remember?Quote:
Originally Posted by The Nephilim
click here for link it wasn't this one was it? :rolleyes:
Don't forget the rules say that you must include your full name with every post.Quote:
Originally Posted by ff7isbest
Well as I think, that the most popular martial arts style is Kyokushin-kai and Shotokan. Author styles are known but in Ukraine and Russia every one heard about these styles, maybe I can say that kung fu is also popular, thanks for Bruce Lee. In the present time there are so many new styles and it’s so difficult to know them all. :D
http://simmey-do.boom.ru/nunchaki_copy.jpg
im studying Tang soo Do at the moment :D
Most popular style is easy :wink2:
It's one of these 3
Hollywood Fu
Movie Mayhem Do
Cinemajutsu
:D :D :D :D
500 jakie chan movies alone it's gotta be kung fu
Actually Mandeigh, you are right, this is the ones that claim the nunchaku. What is more, they actually train a few hundred yards away from my house.Quote:
Originally Posted by Mandeigh Wells