The Best Martial Arts Reviewed

Now that you want to be a Bruce Lee of some sorts, how do you go about it?

Below are 3 tips for selecting the best martial arts style for you. Of course, there may be other tips, but these are a good place to start from, you would agree.

1. Your Physical Fitness: Some martial arts styles like Karate, Kung Fu and Tae Kwon Do are more physically-intensive than Aikido and similar ones. In selecting your style, you should therefore, take into consideration your physical limitations.
   


2. Your Health: Certain medical conditions may prevent you from practicing some martial arts styles. This may include asthma and similar ones. You best bet here is to find out from an experienced martial artist in that style (preferably a trainer) the training system, physical activities involved, etc. You will then furnish your Doctor with these information and see if it will be safe for you to practice such an art. And as tempting as it may be to just go ahead, "believe in yourself" (as some people will tell you)
   and start a rigorous training program without your Doctor's knowledge and consent, DON'T DO IT! You may be facing potentially dangerous and life-threatening scenarios, if you do.
   


3. Preview First: Before you jump into conclusion and register at a martial arts school, first of all, try and find out some information about the particular style that you want to practice. You can find this out by visiting your local martial arts school, using the search engines, or by READING THIS LENS. :)
   

Now, let's take a look at each of these styles and see if anyone might fit you and your lifestyle. Shall we?

Karate is a Japanese martial art. It is very powerful and as such quite popular, as shown by its practice all over the world.

Karate traces its origins to the Japanese island of Okinawa. The first Karatekas (those who practice Karate) were said to have learned some of the techniques from the Chinese. They then blended it with some of their own local styles to create this one.

It involves fighting without weapons, such as sticks, knives, etc. It could be translated as meaning "Empty handed" or "Chinese hands," depending on the Japanese characters used to write it.

The main components of this martial arts style include:

• Posture


• Stances


• Hip Rotation


• Breathing


• Body Shifting

The techniques involved in learning the Karate martial art include Kata (forms), Kihon (training) and Kumite (sparring).

Both hands and feet will be used extensively as tools for attack and defense.

The most popular forms of this art that has survived till date include Shotokan Karate.

Kung Fu is perhaps the oldest martial arts style in existence. It has also influenced the development of other martial arts style both in China and Japan.

Its history is sometimes traced back to the Shaolin Temple, where it is thought to have been developed. Warriors as well as monks may have contributed to it at one time or the other, in one way or another.

Its origin could be traced back all the way to 5th century China.

Kung Fu (meaning "skill and effort") is sort of an umbrella for all the hundreds of martial arts styles that were subsequently developed in China.

It emphasizes the use of bare hands and feet, swords, knives, daggers and sticks for both defense and for attacking. Despite this, the Kung Fu student is required to maintain discipline and only use the art when for defense or when it is absolutely necessary.

A popular form of Kung Fu is Wu-Shu. This is a combination of acrobatic styles and martial arts techniques. A prime proponent of Wu-Shu is someone you probably already know about-Jet Li

Can you think of some other movie star who practiced Kung-Fu?
Hint: His son died during a movie shoot.

Taekwondo is probably the most known Korean martial arts styles. It is also very popular among children. This may be because it is regarded both as a self defense art and is also safe enough to be considered a sport. It is one of the few martial arts styles that are allowed to feature in international sports competitions such as The Olympic Games.

Taekwondo primarily includes the use of the hands and feet. However, its signature style is that of the flying kicks. The kicks are therefore more developed than in other martial arts styles.

The training system of Taekwondo involves:

• Sparring


• Break Test


• Self defense


• Patterns

Its aims are to help the student develop:

• Personal discipline


• Physical fitness


• Self defense techniques


• Social responsibility

These are probably the reasons why the art is so popular with parents who want to keep their children busy after school, while also helping them keep fit and develop some positive life skills at the same time.

Note:

Tae = Feet
Kwon = Fist
Do = "the way"

Taekwondo therefore, means "the way of the feet and fists."

Aikido is perhaps one of the most non-violence oriented of the martial art styles around. It is more of a self defense mechanism as opposed to one used in attacking others. This does not however, mean that the Aikidoist is altogether unable to use offensive tactics like kicking and punching; they are just not needed most of the time.

Aikido is a Japanese martial art which came to being towards the end of the Second World War, specifically in 1942. The primary premise around the practice of Aikido is to use it as a neutralizing force against aggressive attackers. Strength is not a basic requirement for mastering it, which makes it popular among women and older people. It however, takes a little longer to learn it than some of the other more aggressive martial arts. The reason being that here you are not actually using little or none of your personal strength; it is more of a matter of "wisdom" and technique.

The whole essence of it is to:

• Step away from the line of attack by an aggressor, thereby allowing him to waste his strength


• Seize the attacker and keeping him off-balance


• Immobilize him by using a pin, throw, punch, lock, an atemi (strike), etc.

A skilled Aikido fighter will therefore, need to exert very little strength to subdue his attacker.

That is why it emphasizes its principle of "don't fight force with force."

Despite the non-violent nature of Aikido, it does however, like most of the other best martial arts around, uses some weapons. These include:

• The Bokken, which is a wooden sword


• Jo, a 4- or 5-feet long staff


• TheTanto-a knife-usually a wooden one for safety reasons.

All in all, Aikido is one of the best martial arts around as you don't need a lot of strength, muscle speed and flexibility to practice and be an expert in it.

A more sporty version of this art that is also practiced is Tomiki Aikido.

One of the most famous Aikdoists around include the well-known martial artist-Steven Seagal, who demonstrates it in his movies.

Judo is also one of the best martial arts around...with a difference.

Unlike most other martial art styles, Judo does not comprise kicks and punches. Now, this may be quite surprising, but it does have its strengths.

This is a combat art that requires contact with the opponent 100% of the time. No kidding. As a means of self defense, you will mainly learn these Judo techniques and some more:

• Strangles


• Throws


• Locks

This is not considered so much as a lethal martial art style as it is a sport. Founded by Jigoro Kano of Japan during the last two decades of the 19th century, he created a new syllabus for it after removing the lethal strikes and techniques of Jujutsu, from which it was derived. That is why it is known as "Judo". "Ju" means "gentle," while "do" means "way." In essence, it is the "gentle way."

Despite its gentility, Judo is still a powerful weapon in the hands of a skilled Judoka. Its philosophy and emphasis of physical fitness and character development has made it another one of the martial arts, alongside Taekwondo, to be accepted as a sport and featured in competitions such as the Olypmic Games (since the mid-1960's)

If you want to see some Judo moves from a certain world leader, check out the video below.