ok this is what I do: Ive bin trainin since last year without thinking about this women attractiveness stuff at all ever. I do it for fun and because I get impressed and impress guys and probably girls with it too, but its not like I was ever using it as attractiveness.. just to show them what I can do and theyre like wow that frikin hardcore… but that doesnt give me an answer to attractiveness.
I just bought Bas Rutten’s MMA Workout DVD/CD set and will buy a Muay Thai bag next week. Looking forward to taking BJJ and MT at a local academy, and Capoeira weekly. I thought about KM but the local school only offers “Level 1” classes during my free time, so I would not be able to progress very far. I already have a BB in Shotokan, and have taught self defense in the past, so KM almost seemed redundant. I might have to back off wearing mones daily if I’m going to be doing BJJ - the prospect of turning on some gay guy while rolling with him is pretty alarming. I have no clue why this is underlined, BTW. I cannot turn off underlining.
Guys… I’ve been doing martial arts for 7 years now. Not all that long in the martial arts world, but I know what I’m talking about. I started out in Judo, Kungfu and Jiu Jitsu. I migrated to WingTsun and wound up in Ninpo.
I’ve just got one idea to get across, and it has saved me many years of frustration, as well as many years to come I can’t even fathom if I hadn’t gotten it as early as I did.
If you are looking for or studying a martial art. Make sure, make damn sure it is a complete one. What this means, is it needs to be effective at all ranges and situations. It needs to be effective at long range (projectiles, positioning/tactics), long weapon range (whips, golf clubs), kicking range, punching range, trapping range (elbows, knees, stomps), close/grappling range, and of course on the ground.
Now there’s technical terms for all those ranges, I just tried to make it easy to understand.
ANY martial art which emphasizes one over the other, is GOING to get you into trouble. They are specialties, made glorious in movies, TV, and other such nonsense. If you only know how to fight on the ground-what are you going to do when you have two opponents? what if there is broken glass all over the floor? If you only know how to kick and punch, what are you going to do when someone takes you to the ground? If you’ve never trained it, then you THINK you know, but you DON’T and you will get seriously injured or killed. It is an ILLUSION.
Mixing martial arts only works for the very dedicated.
Now, I don’t know or pretend to know all the complete martial arts out there, but here are all my best guesses as to those that are complete or fairly complete:
Kaju-Kenbo, Certain types of mixed WingTsun, Jeet Kune Do, Ninjutsu/Ninpo, certain types of higher forms of karate/jiujitsu/kungfu, certain mixed martial arts schools, thats all I can think of for now.
The reason I say “certain” is all of them vary by teacher. You really have to see for yourself. If you ask them whether or not they actively train in one of those ranges, or any other circumstance you can think of the answer should be yes. They may not PROMOTE that style of fighting, like fancy tae-kwon-do kicks, but they should at least know how to do kicks, their purpose, and how to deal and take one. Make sense? I hope so.
Find something complete, if you can’t, take whats next-best. But if you are planning to be like that kung-fu guy in the movies, or that grappler on TV, my heart bleeds for you.
There is only one real martial art, and thats the martial art of the human mind and body, and the infinite material and psychological possibilities expressed.
If you are taking something for sport and fun, then good, but recognize the difference.
good luck
I know what you mean. When Billy Blanks Tae Bo was big I remember several women thinking they could fight because they were doing it. All it was doing was giving them was a good workout and false sense of security.
Seven years of training is long enough to know what you’re talking about, but from your list I’m also guessing you haven’t taken an MMA class. Kajukenbo looks good on paper, but I’m not sure it is effective for novices. MMA is effective due to its simplicity. It is now generally taught in the same schools that teach both a striking style and a grappling style, and taught as a separate class that combines the lessons learned in striking and grappling. The striking styles tend to be either boxing, Muay Thai, or Krav. There are a few exceptions to this, but the schools that teach a broader scope (like JKD-centric schools) tend to be less effective in their teaching, due to time constraints and lack of focused training days. It is easier to assimilate skills faster if they are the sole focus of specific training routines. Yes, weapons tend to be neglected because of this, but how many weapons-oriented arts (other than Israeli Martial Arts and Reality Based Training) can prove that they work on the street? And don’t say that JKD, Hapkido, Kung Fu and/or Filipino Martial Arts teach weapons skills… the Dog Brothers have pretty much shot that presumption all to hell by showing that simplicity is the key to consistent effectiveness. Ninpo is interesting because it is so fragmented and possibly not authentic in all cases, so I won’t touch it - but I’d like to add to your statement by saying that ALL martial arts only work for the truly dedicated, and you cannot train for the ring or mat and expect it to apply on the street, no matter what style you’re taking. I second your statement that there is no ideal art, but MMA has evolved to the point where it focuses on tactics and transitions between both styles and ranges. If you can find an elite level school, you should drop by - they may focus on sport-based BJJ as a selling point and to build their reputations, but Machado, Gracie, Lloyd Irvin, Bas Rutten… they’re all serious about the cross-pollination of arts and the adoption of “high-percentage” (usually effective) techniques and tactics.
Thanks for sharing, TexasPete.
I agree with you very much. The martial arts I’ve taken have taught weapon skills. The point I’m trying to get across, is hopefully people can stay away from McDojos that don’t teach anything useful. I just want people to make their best judgement-as I’m sure you do to 
I want people to ask questions when they are shopping for a teacher. Hopefully what I’ve said, and what you’ve said, will get them to ask the tough questions. They deserve to know what the technique and the mental training they get can deal with real situations. Know not really about the art, but the teacher. I’ve seen brutal TKD teachers (although rare) as well as anywhere from awful, to sloppy, to amazing “MMA” instructors. When I said mixing martial arts is only for the very dedicated, I mean jumping from black belt to black belt in specific schools. I did not mean “Mixed Martial Arts”, those are generally good.
For the uninitiated, this is from wikipedia:
I think I’m lucky because I have access to several of the elite MMA “franchises” that I’ve mentioned.
The Dangers of relying on a typical “McDojo” school (like Tae Kwon Do or Karate) for self-defense are illustrated daily on Bullshido – but here’s a link to a primer:
*(http://www.bullshido.net/modules.php?name=Reviews&file=viewarticle&id=3)
Search YouTube
*
My background is Wing Chun, Tae Kwon Do, Karate, Tai Chi, Morengy, and college-style wrestling. I’m thinking about taking Akido whenever I get out from under these credit card bills.