Effective Martial Art for Small Guy?

Posted by: draiko

Effective Martial Art for Small Guy? - 09/20/07 10:56 PM

Hey, this is my first time here, and would appreciate it if someone could answer some of my questions.

I'm considering picking up a form of martial art as a sort of hobby I guess, but with the added bonus of being able to hold my own in a fight if I'm ever in that situation.

I'm not a big guy (5'7" 110lbs.) so I need a style that works well for smaller folk, as I'll likely be fighting someone bigger and stronger than myself. I'd also need a style that's better for a bar/street fight rather than sparring or sport type fighting. I'd prefer a style that will end a fight quickly, with strikes if possible as hurting someone in a grapple, to me, seems like a good way to have em come at you again once you release (probably wrong, but would still prefer striking if it's available).

So what are some styles you guys would prefer based on what I have listed? I looked around a bit, and as far as I know, Kempo and Muay Thai are some of the better styles. I doubt I'll find a place that teaches Muay Thai where I live though.

Using elbos seems like a good way to end a fight fast though, if you can connect with it; which might be hard in a real street fight.

So anyways... opinions?

Thanks.
Posted by: BrianS

Re: Effective Martial Art for Small Guy? - 09/20/07 11:04 PM

Do some research in your area. Look around and even sit in on some classes. Make sure you tell them why you are interested in taking lessons.

As for your size, I wouldn't worry about that. You can adapt to the style you choose. Everyone is not the same size in different styles.

Do some reading and research,watch how people train, stay away from sport oriented mcdojo's and chi-ball throwing ninja types.

BTW, self defense is much more than just fighting.

Posted by: Totality

Re: Effective Martial Art for Small Guy? - 09/21/07 06:42 AM

Hi Draiko,

Like yourself I am not a very big guy and I found that what worked best for me were things like Wing Chun, Jeet Kune Do & Krav Maga.

Though I have also trained in Karate and Boxing for many years I found the above arts gave me an edge because they promoted physics that worked for 'my' body type.

Brian also gives sound advice on checking things out.

Don't ever be intimidated when approaching a Martial Art/Self-Defence school and make sure the interview process is a two way street.

HINT:
No matter where you train make sure you do lots of running (Distance and sprints) because no matter what type of MA you may take, when a gun, knife or multiple opponents are involved once you clear the path the best self-defence will be how fast you can get the hell outta there!

IMHO
Thanks,
Posted by: JKogas

Re: Effective Martial Art for Small Guy? - 09/21/07 06:59 AM

draiko -

I don't know what you have available in your locale. Best thing to do is spend some time at each place observing training and get a feel for which of those things resonates the most with you. Then go and train hard, particularly with regard to physical fitness (hopefully wherever you go, they train athletically and emphasize conditioning).

Over time, step outside of your art and experience other things. Experience boxing, wrestling, judo, Brazilian jiu-jitsu, muay Thai, savate, Karate, Krav Maga etc. You will become a better martial artist for it.


-John
Posted by: Prizewriter

Re: Effective Martial Art for Small Guy? - 09/21/07 07:13 AM

What area(s) are you capable of travelling to?

You don't need to be too specific on a public forum, just general areas you could reach e.g. cities you could travel to or what state/province/county you can get to etc... We have been able to find good places for people on here before.

BTW don't get to hung up about size... Bruce Lee was also 5'7"...

Morihei Ueshiba, Founder of Aikido, Expert in Japanese Martial Arts and still capable of throwing men twice his size around a room even in his 60's, was 4'11"...

Masahiko Kimura, one of the greatest Judoka ever, a man who beat Helios Gracie (a formidable opponent himself and no giant at that!) and once overcame 4 drunken marines was 5'6"...

I could go on all day. It's what you do with what you have that counts. Improve the things you can, be happy with the things you can't.

Posted by: JAMJTX

Re: Effective Martial Art for Small Guy? - 09/21/07 12:35 PM

Yoshinkan Aikido and Wing Chun come to mind.
Jujutsu styles like Danzan Ryu, Small Circle may alos be good for you.
Posted by: draiko

Re: Effective Martial Art for Small Guy? - 09/22/07 10:16 AM

Thank you all for your replies. I'm not sure what's available myself at the moment. I was hoping to get a list of some martial arts that might fit my small/weak stature before beginning to look.

I live in Newfoundland, so my options are likely pretty small.

And of course I realize this is more for fitness and self-defense, which I welcome. I just want that added bonus of being able to hold my own a little better in a fight with some guy at a bar or whatever. Striking, to me, seems like a better route to go than grappling, and it interests me more, so that's what I am looking for right now.

Off the top of my head, Kempo, Karate, and Tae Kwon Do are all available, not sure what else is right now, but once I get a list of some decent martial arts that fit what I'm looking for I'll start asking around.

Again, thanks for the tips so far guys.
Posted by: Prizewriter

Re: Effective Martial Art for Small Guy? - 09/22/07 12:12 PM

Well you have a Judo club:

http://www.judonl.ca/

An Aikido Class:

http://aikidonl.com/intro.html

And two TKD classes as you said:

http://nltkdacademy.ca/index.html (WTF TKD)

http://home.thezone.net/~sdowney/ (ITF TKD)

A couple of Karate classes:

http://www.avalonkarate.ca/ (Chito-Ryu)

http://www.mun.ca/master.html#s (Shotokan. It is listed as a club at the university under MUN Shotokan, but there is not link.)

http://www.nsjka.ca/clubindex.html (Another Shotokan club)

And some Kenpo classes too:

http://www.kenpo-nfld.com/HTML/frame_page.html

http://www.foleys-atla.ca/locations.php

And a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu class:

http://www.republicbjj.com/


That's all I could find in my initial search. Please God I hope you meant Newfoundland in Canada!!!

First thing I would suggest is to check out as many schools as you can. Try a class or two, see how you like it and what the teacher is like.

Something else which just occurred to me that I haven't suggested before... if you know someone, be it a relative or family member or school/work mate who has tried martial arts before, get them to go with you. They may know what to look for in terms of a good school.

All things being equal, and if you heart is set on striking martial arts, then you could go with Karate, TKD or the Kenpo.

The WTF TKD place looks like it is geared towards kids... this is a bad sign.

The ITF place seems ok, but again, check everything out.

Regarding the Kenpo, both classes seem like American Kenpo. I don't know much about this to be honest. MattJ and the others may be able to help you out if you ask them nicely.

Regarding the Karate, you have two Shotokan clubs and a Chito club. Shotokan is a Japanese style of karate. Traditionally it is a very powerful style, working from low stances to help build up the legs and develop power.

Chito is an Okinawan/Japanese style. If I am not mistaken, it uses Bogu Kumite. Bogu involves the karateka wearing padded armour on the head and upper body. The Karateka is allowed to use full power strikes in Bogu Kumite i.e. it is full contact.

Chito also contains weapon work (Traditional Okinawan/Japanese weaponry). Shotokan does not usually contain this.

All things being equal (e.g. quality of teaching, expense, distance etc...) I would go with the Chito Ryu. This is my own preference, my reasoning is thus:

i) Full contact training can be very useful resistance training.

ii) It was designed by a medical doctor, Dr. Chitose Tsuyoshi. He used his medical knowledge to make Chito more beneficial for a practioners health amongst other things. May not seem like much to you now, but having good health is the most important thing for an individual. Or it should be at least.

iii) Canada has had a long association with Chito. See this Wikipedia article:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chit%C5%8D-ry%C5%AB

It is likely Canada has some of the best Chito teachers in the world due to its long association with Chito HQ.


One final note: Don't disregard the Judo, BJJ and Aikido altogether. As John said, learning about different arts can usually only help you. If you did study a striking art e.g. Chito-Ryu, and if you had the means, you could maybe consider doing a BJJ/Judo/Aikido class once a week or every other week as a "minor".

Hope this helps. Sorry its such a long post!
Posted by: draiko

Re: Effective Martial Art for Small Guy? - 09/23/07 09:43 AM

Quote:

Well you have a Judo club:

http://www.judonl.ca/

An Aikido Class:

http://aikidonl.com/intro.html

And two TKD classes as you said:

http://nltkdacademy.ca/index.html (WTF TKD)

http://home.thezone.net/~sdowney/ (ITF TKD)

A couple of Karate classes:

http://www.avalonkarate.ca/ (Chito-Ryu)

http://www.mun.ca/master.html#s (Shotokan. It is listed as a club at the university under MUN Shotokan, but there is not link.)

http://www.nsjka.ca/clubindex.html (Another Shotokan club)

And some Kenpo classes too:

http://www.kenpo-nfld.com/HTML/frame_page.html

http://www.foleys-atla.ca/locations.php

And a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu class:

http://www.republicbjj.com/


That's all I could find in my initial search. Please God I hope you meant Newfoundland in Canada!!!

First thing I would suggest is to check out as many schools as you can. Try a class or two, see how you like it and what the teacher is like.

Something else which just occurred to me that I haven't suggested before... if you know someone, be it a relative or family member or school/work mate who has tried martial arts before, get them to go with you. They may know what to look for in terms of a good school.

All things being equal, and if you heart is set on striking martial arts, then you could go with Karate, TKD or the Kenpo.

The WTF TKD place looks like it is geared towards kids... this is a bad sign.

The ITF place seems ok, but again, check everything out.

Regarding the Kenpo, both classes seem like American Kenpo. I don't know much about this to be honest. MattJ and the others may be able to help you out if you ask them nicely.

Regarding the Karate, you have two Shotokan clubs and a Chito club. Shotokan is a Japanese style of karate. Traditionally it is a very powerful style, working from low stances to help build up the legs and develop power.

Chito is an Okinawan/Japanese style. If I am not mistaken, it uses Bogu Kumite. Bogu involves the karateka wearing padded armour on the head and upper body. The Karateka is allowed to use full power strikes in Bogu Kumite i.e. it is full contact.

Chito also contains weapon work (Traditional Okinawan/Japanese weaponry). Shotokan does not usually contain this.

All things being equal (e.g. quality of teaching, expense, distance etc...) I would go with the Chito Ryu. This is my own preference, my reasoning is thus:

i) Full contact training can be very useful resistance training.

ii) It was designed by a medical doctor, Dr. Chitose Tsuyoshi. He used his medical knowledge to make Chito more beneficial for a practioners health amongst other things. May not seem like much to you now, but having good health is the most important thing for an individual. Or it should be at least.

iii) Canada has had a long association with Chito. See this Wikipedia article:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chit%C5%8D-ry%C5%AB

It is likely Canada has some of the best Chito teachers in the world due to its long association with Chito HQ.


One final note: Don't disregard the Judo, BJJ and Aikido altogether. As John said, learning about different arts can usually only help you. If you did study a striking art e.g. Chito-Ryu, and if you had the means, you could maybe consider doing a BJJ/Judo/Aikido class once a week or every other week as a "minor".

Hope this helps. Sorry its such a long post!



Wow thank you so much. Not only did you give me some recommendations with reasoning, but you did most of the work for me with regards to locating a school as well.

Much appreciated.
Posted by: MattJ

Re: Effective Martial Art for Small Guy? - 09/23/07 11:05 AM

Truly above and beyond, PW! However -

Quote:

And some Kenpo classes too:

http://www.kenpo-nfld.com/HTML/frame_page.html

http://www.foleys-atla.ca/locations.php



These do not appear to be American Kenpo schools, but rather Okinawan Kenpo, FWIW.
Posted by: draiko

Re: Effective Martial Art for Small Guy? - 09/23/07 01:35 PM

Quote:

Truly above and beyond, PW! However -

Quote:

And some Kenpo classes too:

http://www.kenpo-nfld.com/HTML/frame_page.html

http://www.foleys-atla.ca/locations.php



These do not appear to be American Kenpo schools, but rather Okinawan Kenpo, FWIW.



What would be the difference exactly?

On another note: I think I have my choices narrowed down to Kenpo or Karate (not sure which one) as they seem to emphasis on strikes more as someone has mentioned already. And Taekwon-Do seems to be focused around kicks more-so than anything else.

Honestly I was hoping to find a Muay Thai school or something similar that had a focus on using elbows and maybe knees.

Aikido looks interesting all the same however. Going to have to do more research I guess.

Any input you guys can give to help me choose would be appreciated. I'd rather have the style chosen before going to classes and see things first hand, so that is the process I am currently in.

Thanks again guys.
Posted by: MattJ

Re: Effective Martial Art for Small Guy? - 09/23/07 03:12 PM

Quote:

I'd rather have the style chosen before going to classes and see things first hand, so that is the process I am currently in.



I am afraid that is not the best idea. Go see the class, THEN decide if you like it. Different teachers from the same style may teach in very different ways.

For the same reason, it is difficult to explain the differences between Okinawan Kenpo and American Kenpo. It really depends on what style and what school in particular you are talking about. Sorry if this is vague, but that's how it is.



PS -

Check here to get an idea of different styles:

http://www.fightingarts.com/ubbthreads/s...=0#Post15839205
Posted by: draiko

Re: Effective Martial Art for Small Guy? - 09/23/07 04:14 PM

Quote:

Quote:

I'd rather have the style chosen before going to classes and see things first hand, so that is the process I am currently in.



I am afraid that is not the best idea. Go see the class, THEN decide if you like it. Different teachers from the same style may teach in very different ways.

For the same reason, it is difficult to explain the differences between Okinawan Kenpo and American Kenpo. It really depends on what style and what school in particular you are talking about. Sorry if this is vague, but that's how it is.



PS -

Check here to get an idea of different styles:

http://www.fightingarts.com/ubbthreads/s...=0#Post15839205



Ah thank you for that. The reason why I wanted to chose the style before observing the classes however was mostly to get an idea of what each style emphasizes (Taekwon-DO seems to focus on kicks for example, whereas Aikido focuses on grapples/flips).

I was mostly trying to see which styles had a focus in upper body striking like punches and elbows, maybe a little knee here or there.
Posted by: MattJ

Re: Effective Martial Art for Small Guy? - 09/23/07 06:36 PM

Quote:

(Taekwon-DO seems to focus on kicks for example, whereas Aikido focuses on grapples/flips).

I was mostly trying to see which styles had a focus in upper body striking like punches and elbows, maybe a little knee here or there.



Again, it depends on how the school is. If you went to Dereck's TKD school, you would find that they do a lot of elbows, knees, and GnP stuff. But if you excluded TKD off the bat because you think they don't all do that, you would miss a good school. This is why we tell people to check the schools in their area out in person. *Hearing* about a style and then *seeing* the school can be two very different experiences.

I recently went to visit an MMA class that just opened in my area. Can't go wrong with MMA, right? They all spar, right?

Wrong. This one didn't, so I passed.

Go check them out yourself. Way better (and more relavent) info than anything we can tell you.
Posted by: draiko

Re: Effective Martial Art for Small Guy? - 09/23/07 07:57 PM

Quote:

Quote:

(Taekwon-DO seems to focus on kicks for example, whereas Aikido focuses on grapples/flips).

I was mostly trying to see which styles had a focus in upper body striking like punches and elbows, maybe a little knee here or there.



Again, it depends on how the school is. If you went to Dereck's TKD school, you would find that they do a lot of elbows, knees, and GnP stuff. But if you excluded TKD off the bat because you think they don't all do that, you would miss a good school. This is why we tell people to check the schools in their area out in person. *Hearing* about a style and then *seeing* the school can be two very different experiences.

I recently went to visit an MMA class that just opened in my area. Can't go wrong with MMA, right? They all spar, right?

Wrong. This one didn't, so I passed.

Go check them out yourself. Way better (and more relavent) info than anything we can tell you.



Oh I see. I must be in the wrong mindset about Martial Arts than. I was under the impression that each style basically had its own focus of techniques, and different schools would probbaly just have different methods of training you and different styles of training (contact vs. no contact for example).

But different schools will actually teach the art in totally different ways huh? In that case I guess I'll have to take your advice and visit these schools first.
Posted by: cxt

Re: Effective Martial Art for Small Guy? - 09/23/07 08:45 PM

draiko

MattJ is dead-spot on.

Words like "karate" "kung fu" "jujutsu" etc are really just umbrella terms that only describe things in the most loose and general fashion.

"Styles" can differ considerably from school to school, teacher to teacher.

Your best bet is to make a little time now, do the leg work, to find a school that fits you---saves a TON of time if the school you based upon some discription you read in a book or on-line does not prove to meet your needs.