snodart
Veteran
Jon Starr said:I haven't been doing it for long, but I studied Karate when I was younger, then dropped it because of my family. Then took Judo in school for a bit. Then I decided to take it seriously and joined up a nearby Kyokushin Karate Dojo. Been studying it for a year and a half now. I want to take something else with my karate. Something that would be more street wise. Something like Krav Maga, or perhaps some grappling, like more Judo (even though I hated it, ugh). But right now I don't have the time or money, so perhaps later on in life.
So anyone else study MA?
I took Judo for a bit as a kid, and then some Aikido in the Navy. Now, I have been training Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu for the last year. If you are looking for something that is more "street wise", I would recommend trying out a Brazilain Jiu-Jitsu class. It is one of the few martial arts that encourages randori (sparring against a live, restraining opponent). With many martial arts, a good deal of time is spent learning forms and doing soft-sparring with other students. This is to learn the movements and techniques of course, but it isn't always a practical way to prepare for a street fight (most of which end up on the ground). BJJ grew out of "no hold barred" type fighting where its founders took on opponents of various skills and backgrounds. For this reason BJJ is great for a self defense regiment and for MAA fighting. Another good aspect of BJJ is that you can compete in tournements at any belt level (against others of the same belt or of similar experience). This provides a great way to put your skills to the test and of course learn from the experience. In fact, I will be competing in the World Jiu-Jitsu Championship on Thursday in Long Beach (and as a white belt). So, wish me luck
The obvious disadvantage with BJJ is the lack of stand up technique. But mixed with some form of stand up training, you would be good to go.
EDIT: by the way, I have a huge respect for all martial arts.