Do you have any experience in martial arts?

I have a black belt in Hapkido. During the entire six years it took me to earn that black belt I studied Tai Shing Pek Kwar (also known as Monkey Kung Fu) with a protege of Paulie Zink and with Paulie himself. This particular style does not award belts so I cannot say I have any color belt, just lots and lots of practice. I have also studied Gracie Jujitsu. Grappling was my very favorite thing! If I was to return to practicing the martial arts I would go with either Aikido or Capoeira.

Hats down. Hapkido is very effective and energetic. Can’t imagine myself doing so many high kicks, even though I’m the right height. Didn’t know Monkey Kung Fu is actually practiced.

Not really a fan of Capoeira. It’s more of a show-off MA, then it is of actual use in an actual fight.If I had to pick a technique with kicking, I’d rather go for TKD or Savate. [maybe even Muay Thai, but I’m not really a fan of that much brutality]

I did Tae Kwon Do for a while. Never progressed very far with it.

I took some mixed-style self defense/streetfighting classes from two former Marines who are currently police officers and martial arts practitioners. Whatever we did didn’t really have a name, but it was rough and dirty. I learned some knife fighting stuff and how to disarm someone who has a gun to my head, and how to fight using car doors and stuff like that. It was pretty rad.

^ Sounds like Krav Maga. It’s a military MA, about disarming and stuff like that. And it is rad. :)

I took one Krav Maga class when I was visiting a friend. If I can afford it, I would really like to sign up for the class when I move there.

I am currently studying Combat Hapkido. I wish I had enough time to learn it well, but, like I said, I’m moving.

I once heard of a martial art in which you preferred to lure your attacker to the ground and fight from there. If I can figure out what it is, I would love to study that one. After all, as a woman, if I am attacked, I will likely end up on the ground. It would be great if that was the place I was best able to fight.

Ahh…..woo….hayawa…..fwaa…..doo….shee…waaaaaa….....Owwwwwwww!! Err, seeing as though i’ve just put my back out, i’m going to say no I haven’t :¬(

@bobbinhood Maybe you should try real Aikido? [real as in realistic, also there is traditional which isn’t really useful] It teaches you defense from knives, guns and similar from all angles. It’s all about joint locking so anyone of any age can learn it.

As for ground fighting, it’s always best to read your opponent’s movement, so you can evade fighting on the ground, but if you do, Jujitsu is always a good pick. :)

I did Shotokan for 2 years and Kyuki-Do for 3. Had an amazing instructor who also taught self defense to the local police. He showed us a lot of “moves” and self defense techniques that were not part of the formal program. Leaned a lot of ways to bring on the hurt. I miss the sparring we used to do. I still practice the forms once in a while as they are great exercise.

I was punched in the neck in the school dinner queue once and was told it was a karate move.

@flutherother Don’t think that counts. :)

@Written I suppose if I ever have both the time and money for it, which isn’t likely any time soon, I’ll just take whatever’s available. I won’t be living in places that have a lot of options. Thank you for the suggestions, though. Jujitsu looks great. :)

I took Yosekan Karate for about six months…it’s not really for me. I was more interested in trying to get in shape rather than fighting, although I thought it would be interesting to get to the green belt and be presented the option to study the bo. But I didn’t last too long. I smoke too much. What a dang shame.

I took kenpo lessons for many years when I was growing up. I loved it and would love to get back to it someday.

@Written I am surprised to hear you say real Aikido isn’t useful. Executed well, Aikido is incredibly effective. Also, while grappling is a kick in the shorts and lots of fun for practice, in any kind of real fight I would avoid ground fighting if at all possible. That isn’t to say that I wouldn’t want to get an opponent on the ground, I would. When they got there they wouldn’t be getting right up and I would be walking away. As for Capoeira, don’t let its beauty and the fluidity of the motion fool you, a talented Capoeista could hold their own against pretty much any style, not to mention the awesome cartwheels, the ginga, and the rhythm.

@SuperMouse No, real Aikido is great! I said traditional Aikido isn’t useful in a street fight. Real Aik. is.

What is the difference between traditional and real Aikido? I have honestly never heard anything about there being a difference.

In real Aikido, you have techniques like disarming an assailant. A friend of mine has to disarm an assailant who has a gun pointed at his head, body, and back in order to get 5th [I think it’s 5th] kyu.

While in traditional Aikido, you don’t have that. It’s just.. traditional. As in, it doesn’t teach you anything you can truly use in an actual fight.