Martial Arts

I have mentioned elsewhere in the forums that I practice kung fu, and I absolutely love it, but whether it's kung fu, jujitsu, hapkido or taekwando that appeals to you, the martial arts are a great way to build base level fitness while learning to handle bad situations when you fail to avoid them.

There are many reasons to take martial arts, and better health is certainly one of them. My primary purpose in taking kung fu was fitness oriented and with that in mind there were a few things I considered that are often glossed over when looking into which martial arts school to sign up with; gradual increase in fitness, focus on learning rather than getting belts, soft rather than hard style, etc.

The gradual increase in fitness was very important to me. As a self-described fat old guy, I wouldn't have been able to jump straight on in and do even 15 minutes of sustained exercise, let alone an hour or more. Thankfully, this particular school understands that they get all types signing up and the amount of work done in a given class slowly increases from day one at least through the second, if not the third, month. This made it very easy for me to get to where I needed to be to really be utilizing that full hour of class. It has also been helpful in that I have learned a nice warm up and stretching routine that I can make use of to start my day off.

Belts are often the focus of a martial arts school. People dream of telling their friends they are a black belt and it is easy to buy in to the guaranteed-black-belt-in-a-year mentality. I have never really wanted to have a black belt. In fact, I know several places where I could buy a black belt online and it would cost me significantly less than taking martial arts classes. What I am interested in is improving my fitness and having the skill that is associated with the black belt. I recommend being wary of the belt factory type schools and focus on the actual fitness gains.

When talking about whether a martial art is of a 'hard' or 'soft' style, the reference is largely in how a practitioner deals with the energy of an attack. In hard styles the practitioner will use various parts of their body to absorb the energy of an attack in such a way as to take the hit where it will damage least. In a soft style the practitioner works to deflect energy so as to minimize the amount of energy in an attempt to avoid damage rather than place it where it will have least effect.

Certainly other factors may come into play such as cost (remember to factor cost based on the amount of time you get to spend in class too, and ask about additional costs beyond the regular monthly charges) or recommendations from the people you know and trust.