General Chat & Info Board

Taylor Evans2 said:Hey there!
I'm looking to get into some kind of martial art, just for fun and fitness. I want something that isn't really about throwing punches or taking hits, though. I'm more interested in stuff focused on defense, self-protection, blocking, and just dodging strikes... so what would you guys recommend? I was thinking maybe Aikido?...

Look, if you actually want to be able to defend yourself, you gotta learn how to hit and how to take a punch.🙂 Anyone telling you otherwise is full of it or clueless. For real self-defense, go with Krav Maga or Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu—or if you’ve got money to burn and all the time in the world to actually make it useful, maybe Wing Chun (just do your homework on where to go).
As for non-striking sports, stick to wrestling, Judo, or BJJ.
But hey, if you wanna be an Aikido hippie ballerina like our resident forum expert Larry Hayes, 😍 I'd suggest checking out Takemusu Aikido or Aikikai clubs.

Daniel Garcia said:Look, if you actually want to be able to defend yourself, you gotta learn how to hit and how to take a punch.🙂 Anyone telling you otherwise is full of it or clueless. For real self-defense, go with Krav Maga or Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu—or if you’ve got money to burn and all the time in the world to actually make it useful, maybe Wing Chun (just do your homework on where to go).
As for non-striking sports, stick to wrestling, Judo, or BJJ.
But hey, if you wanna be an Aikido hippie ballerina like our resident forum expert Larry Hayes, 😍 I'd suggest checking out Takemusu Aikido or Aikikai clubs.

How much cash and time are we talking about here? Just give me a ballpark estimate, obviously.

Ten years and one solid ride

Daniel Garcia said:Look, if you actually want to be able to defend yourself, you gotta learn how to hit and how to take a punch.🙂 Anyone telling you otherwise is full of it or clueless. For real self-defense, go with Krav Maga or Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu—or if you’ve got money to burn and all the time in the world to actually make it useful, maybe Wing Chun (just do your homework on where to go).
As for non-striking sports, stick to wrestling, Judo, or BJJ.
But hey, if you wanna be an Aikido hippie ballerina like our resident forum expert Larry Hayes, 😍 I'd suggest checking out Takemusu Aikido or Aikikai clubs.

Go to hell.😍
You don't have a clue.🙂

Sam Roberts said:Ten years and one solid ride

Wait, you mean Krav Maga and DSJJ?

I’m looking to sign up for a martial art—primarily one focused on building endurance. It doesn't necessarily have to be the sole purpose, but I want the discipline that pushes cardiovascular limits the most.
I’d lean toward Eastern disciplines—not boxing or anything like that—but I'm open to suggestions. What are you all recommending?

Also, is starting at 19 too late? I have no intention of going pro; I just want something to prepare me for my service in the military.

swifttrucker33 said:I’m looking to sign up for a martial art—primarily one focused on building endurance. It doesn't necessarily have to be the sole purpose, but I want the discipline that pushes cardiovascular limits the most.
I’d lean toward Eastern disciplines—not boxing or anything like that—but I'm open to suggestions. What are you all recommending?

Also, is starting at 19 too late? I have no intention of going pro; I just want something to prepare me for my service in the military.

Endurance in terms of cardio, or endurance in terms of toughness (taking hits, throws, grappling...)?

Either way, BJJ would be great for that, or traditional Jiu-Jitsu, maybe wrestling too... basically any grappling style...

swifttrucker33 said:I’m looking to sign up for a martial art—primarily one focused on building endurance. It doesn't necessarily have to be the sole purpose, but I want the discipline that pushes cardiovascular limits the most.
I’d lean toward Eastern disciplines—not boxing or anything like that—but I'm open to suggestions. What are you all recommending?

Also, is starting at 19 too late? I have no intention of going pro; I just want something to prepare me for my service in the military.

Every sport needs some level of conditioning, but let's be real—cardio for striking vs. grappling is a whole different beast.
Muay Thai counts as an Eastern martial art, obviously. There's also Sanda (Sanshou), which is a great Chinese style—lots of striking like Muay Thai mixed with throws—but I'm not sure if anyone even teaches that around here.
If we're talking Japanese striking, Kyokushin Karate is probably the king of conditioning. For grappling, you've got Judo, or you could just mash them together with Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.
The other stuff is mostly traditional niche styles where they spend way more time drilling specific techniques than breaking a sweat.

Emily Moore47 said:Endurance in terms of cardio, or endurance in terms of toughness (taking hits, throws, grappling...)?

Either way, BJJ would be great for that, or traditional Jiu-Jitsu, maybe wrestling too... basically any grappling style...

Cardio-style endurance....
Yeah, I did a little digging on Google—traditional JJ sounds pretty tempting....

swifttrucker33 said:Cardio-style endurance....
Yeah, I did a little digging on Google—traditional JJ sounds pretty tempting....

Nah, you got it wrong—you’re mixing up modern Japanese styles with traditional JJ. On the traditional stuff, they stick strictly to techniques from that era and the philosophy behind them, whereas modern is all about being sports-oriented.

Like I said, different sports require totally different kinds of conditioning. An MMA fighter or a grappler would probably drop dead during a heavy striking session, and vice versa.

Daniel Garcia said:Nah, you got it wrong—you’re mixing up modern Japanese styles with traditional JJ. On the traditional stuff, they stick strictly to techniques from that era and the philosophy behind them, whereas modern is all about being sports-oriented.

Like I said, different sports require totally different kinds of conditioning. An MMA fighter or a grappler would probably drop dead during a heavy striking session, and vice versa.

I actually just called a gym about 100 yards from my house, and they told me they offer BJJ, Muay Thai, and Kali—though from what I gather, Kali involves cold weapons, which isn't really my thing 😁)...

Anyway, BJJ or Muay Thai... I'm leaning more toward Muay Thai. It seems like BJJ is heavy on ground fighting and takedowns, whereas my main priority right now is leg endurance—and it looks like Muay Thai involves much more footwork. Or maybe I've got that wrong?

swifttrucker33 said:I actually just called a gym about 100 yards from my house, and they told me they offer BJJ, Muay Thai, and Kali—though from what I gather, Kali involves cold weapons, which isn't really my thing 😁)...

Anyway, BJJ or Muay Thai... I'm leaning more toward Muay Thai. It seems like BJJ is heavy on ground fighting and takedowns, whereas my main priority right now is leg endurance—and it looks like Muay Thai involves much more footwork. Or maybe I've got that wrong?

Where at? I'm actually pretty interested in Kali.😁

Daniel Garcia said:Where at? I'm actually pretty interested in Kali.😁

It isn't in America... it’s in Mostar....

swifttrucker33 said:It isn't in America... it’s in Mostar....

Was that at the Gracie Barra academy?

Daniel Garcia said:Nah, you got it wrong—you’re mixing up modern Japanese styles with traditional JJ. On the traditional stuff, they stick strictly to techniques from that era and the philosophy behind them, whereas modern is all about being sports-oriented.

Like I said, different sports require totally different kinds of conditioning. An MMA fighter or a grappler would probably drop dead during a heavy striking session, and vice versa.

I was thinking about that JJ taught by Hrvoje Znaor over in Split, but whatever... 😁
I heard their training sessions are absolutely brutal...

Come on, explain why a wrestler would die in a striking drill. It sounds backwards to me, since wrestlers pull those crazy heavy workouts...

Emily Moore47 said:I was thinking about that JJ taught by Hrvoje Znaor over in Split, but whatever... 😁
I heard their training sessions are absolutely brutal...

Come on, explain why a wrestler would die in a striking drill. It sounds backwards to me, since wrestlers pull those crazy heavy workouts...

Give it a shot and see.😁
It’s because their conditioning is totally different. In American wrestling, it’s mostly anaerobic, whereas striking is way more aerobic.

I’ve been seeing people on this forum calling this club a total cult. I’m really curious why that is and what they actually mean by it...

I’m looking to start training in some kind of martial art, and this gym caught my eye because the location is perfect, the schedule works for me, and the price is right. But then I started digging into reviews and kept seeing this word "cult" popping up everywhere. I have zero interest in joining some weird sect, so I want to know why they have this reputation. If these are just lies, I don't want to let that stop me from signing up...😁

Daniel Garcia said:Give it a shot and see.😁
It’s because their conditioning is totally different. In American wrestling, it’s mostly anaerobic, whereas striking is way more aerobic.

What should I try, guys? Not sure where to start... 🙂
Yeah, fair enough. It's tough to really talk about conditioning when you're doing anaerobic training... 😁

Michael Evans46 said:I see people on here calling this club a total cult. Now I’m wondering why everyone’s saying that and what actually makes them tick like that...

I'm looking into starting some martial arts, and this one gym keeps popping up for me—the location is perfect, the schedule works, and the price is actually decent. But when I started digging around to see what people thought, I kept seeing people call it a "cult." I’m definitely not trying to join a cult, so I’m curious... why do they have that reputation? I’d hate to pass up a great gym if these rumors are just total lies...

Go take a look... 🙂

Emily Moore47 said:What should I try, guys? Not sure where to start... 🙂
Yeah, fair enough. It's tough to really talk about conditioning when you're doing anaerobic training... 😁

Go take a look... 🙂

Just try both—then you'll see they're both exhausting, just in different ways.
As for that last bit, here's an example 🤦. Wrestling is basically all anaerobic training. ☕

Daniel Garcia said:Just try both—then you'll see they're both exhausting, just in different ways.
As for that last bit, here's an example 🤦. Wrestling is basically all anaerobic training. ☕

Of course it’s exhausting, man. Every martial art wears you down differently...
I don't think you get what I'm saying... anaerobic conditioning is nothing compared to aerobic, which is what people actually mean when they talk about being fit... 😛