saftey post got me thinking

[waterlilli]

Many of you mentioned that you were trainined in martial arts. I am thinking of trying it out and could use some advise on which one to try Karate, tae kwon doe, judo or other? Do any of them lean more toward self defense? Thank you in advance.

[Trek420]

waterlili,

You've asked the 64,000.00 question. No one martial art is best for self defense. At advanced levels they are more alike than not. Aikido, a "soft style" has hard throws and strong attacks, Hard Styles like Karate at advanced levels have fluid throws and pins.

I love doing Aikido and think it has particular advantages for women. Plus you'll lurn to fall, which has saved my butt on a bike more than once ;-)

A good site to find a dojo near you is:

http://www.ai-ki-do.org/

I've also got some stuff on my humble homepage if you go to members thing of this board.

Like the endless debate on frame materials that always ends in "fit is most important" the same applies to martial arts. Look for a dojo, teacher, fellow students that feels right for you. One that teaches safety in the dojo, if you hurt each other you will quickly run out of training partners 8-)

How do they treat beginners? If a student has an injury or disability will they work around it? Watch advanced classes and beware of schools where they will not let you watch classes. When I saw my instructor Pat Hendricks of San Leandro Aikido I got a sense of amasement. You should too from a good instructor. All those things are more important than this art or the other IMHO.

It's a long haul, a lifetime of study. I think if you ask any martial artist we are not in it to kick butt. I seriously never ever want to "use" my 20+ years of study in real life. If you really want something for self defense your best bet is a good self defense class, check with the local police office or womens group. Take a 1-3 day self defense class and then embark on a lifetime of fun and training

but don't forget your bike!

TREK420