Help me pick a martial art

[evanski]

So its summer, and I have a lot of time on my hands. I decided that Id like to get good at a martial art. Which one should I pick? Base your criteria on ease of use, fun, and practical applicability. It also must be something sort of mainstream, as I dont want to have to drive far or look hard for an instructor (I think Ill be going the private lesson route. I live in the bay area if it matters). Thanks for your help OOT.

-Evan

[BCPVP]

Do you like to punch and/or kick? Grapple? Are you doing this just for fun? Competition? Self-defense? Exercise?

Whatever the answers narrow down to, you should spend some time looking at various ones and checking out the schools during a class.

[Pigslice]

Muay Thai baby! Its awesome for striking and way better than american kickboxing.

If you wanna fight ground i'd suggest bjj or sambo but i don't really know anything about them

[CaucasianAsian29]

I'd say it's prob more important to look for a good studio and teacher in your area then pick specfic style. Cause I loved Kung Fu from one teacher, but hated it with another. You can always move on to others in the future.

[hmkpoker]

Capoeira.

It's about the most impractical form of self-defense I can think of, but it will get you laid [img]/images/graemlins/wink.gif[/img]

[jokerthief]

If you want to get good at fighting then you have to choose Muay Thai, brazilian ju jitsu, or judo. If you want to learn something useless in a street fight learn karate, kung fu, or taekwando.

[bmxicle]

I took judo as a kid and liked it. I liked it cause it really teaches you how to fall very well, which is practical for other sports and just generally living. Also you can actually "fight" with people without much risk of getting hurt because it is mainly throws and pinning.

[obsidian]

My vote goes brazilian jiu jitsu. Really a ton of fun. At least the place I go to. I would suggest classes over private lessons.

[kyleb]

If you want to learn something simple and effective, Jeet Kune Do is a good choice.

But if you want to actually learn how to fight, you have to take something with grappling involved. BJJ is the new fad, so you could look into that, or get into a Kenpo school that incorporates Judo. I took a lot of Isshinryu with Kempo weapons and Judo throws, which was beneficial.

[Dan.]

Tai Chi. Absolutely amazing. Although it's slow form and not really a kick your ass martial art.