Martial Arts?

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Judo seems to be a good martial art becuase its uses your attacker's own strength against them.

Kendo might work.
It is the Japanese version of fencing.

How about Capoiera?
It is a cross between martial arts and break-dancing.
Brazilians invented this.

Capoiera does not use any weapons at all.

It promotes movement of the human body
and uses martial arts in a more stylized manner.

For self-defense, it would be good to find something with both striking and grappling, at least to some degree. Beyond that, I think that finding a sensei and a dojo that fit your needs and your personality is more important than finding a certain art, at least to begin with. I've been doing aikido for years, now, but there are some aikido dojos that I wouldn't have stayed in past the first day. Ask the instructors of the various clubs on your campus if you can come and watch a class, or even participate for a day, and then join the one that you like the best.

I second the Wing/Ving Chun/Tsun endorsement. I've used it both in real life and in sport, and it is quite effective in both. "Vanilla" Chun should give you some great reflexes for dealing with someone with very aggressive forward pressure. Adding in some kickboxing and boxing type sparring will give you more tools at more ranges, many of which are a little better for sport but still have applications to self-defense.

Don't forget reality, though. You will never be Rambo. What really will help you more than any punching ability is awareness and knowledge. You can cultivate these by reading police reports and articles by other instructors.

You say you are primarily interested in self-defense. Check out "Violence Geeks" to make sure you have the right mindset (although I resent how he portrays geeks... its like we're less than human somehow!) in your self-defense training.

Get used to paradigm shifts. Your instructor isn't all knowing, neither am I, and none of us ever will be. If you read articles and expand your insight to the various martial ways, you will develop a brain for martial arts much quicker, but you will never know everything, and even what you do know you won't always be able to apply when you need it. Last time I was in a fight I was ticked off and turned my back on a guy. He hit me hard in the back of my head, and I almost blacked out. The first thing my teacher of five years taught me and drilled into me was to never turn my back on someone aggressive.

Train, train, train!

it depends neither karate nor tae kwon do use many weapons but if you want to spar you will need protective equipment if you live in or near crystal river in citrus county, florida there is a tae kwon do gym run by master schrade he is a wonderful teacher

There is a technique developed in Oregon by a couple who were looking for ways to stay healthy physically,
mentally, and emotionally.

It is called NIA and is practiced worldwide.

nianow.com has more information.

Currently, I take Karate

I wanted to take Judo, but classes for that were full.

I also wanted to take Hung Gar, Wing Chun or Wushu, but there were no Kung-fu classes I could find.


I would love to learn how to use feudal Asian weaponry...weapons they used during the Three Kingdoms era of China or the Sengoku era of Japan...Guan Dao spears, Katanas or Cho Ku No crossbows, ext.

Brazillian Jujitsu is an easy one to get into, it consists of getting into and out of holds (where fights usually lead to)

I would personally suggest taking karate, boxing, or kick boxing. The reason I didn't say Tae Kwon Do is this, I have seen many Tae Know Do fights, both on youtube and watching demonstrations (my sis took Tae Kwon Do) and there is a real lack of punches in that martial art. I mean they teach punches, but the likelihood of a I suppose the reasoning behind that is this, in Tae Kwon Do, you want punches to be your last resort, you will use kicks to distance yourself from opponents. I'm not saying it is ineffectual, but it is very one sided technique wise.

Karate is good, from what I've seen, it combines more punches and kicks than Tae Kwon Do does. However to be effective combat wise, you can't follow the techniques exactly as they are seen traditionally, you can't keep your hands down at your waist when executing Front punches and reverse punches. The kicks work as well as Tae Kwon Do and Kickboxing kicks, although I think kickboxing kicks are a bit more concise and sharp, therefore more powerful. Karate uses elbow strikes, but they are only effective in Inside Fighting. You learn a lot of kata (or ritualized routines) to memorize fighting patterns, which don't work too well in an actual fight. But Karate, overall is a good sport.

Now I must say that your best bet is kickboxing or boxing, boxing moreso if you're more interested in throwing punches rather than kicks. I am a former Golden Gloves boxer and a boxing instructor, and boxing punches are the easiest to learn, and are the most effect during a fight. The Jab, Cross, Hooks, Uppercuts, Overhands, they aren't hard to throw once you know how to use them and they DO land. If you want to sharpen your arsenal and throwing punches and kicks, do kickboxing. The kicks in Tae Kwon Do, Karate, and Kickboxing are very similiar, if not exact. But in kickboxing, you do quick snap leg kicks which can wear an opponent down.

So I will show each style and let you decide based on what you see.

Tae Kwon Do Sparring

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9VopHPJqiKc&feature=related[/youtube]


Karate Kumite (note how many more punches than Tae Kwon Do)

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W7cHghqmUEg[/youtube]


Boxing Sparring (light sparring)

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SLZaRoJgjt8[/youtube]


Kickboxing Fight


[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mxMzYedmdN0[/youtube]

As confusing as this thread may seem, I've learned one thing from Bruce Lee. All arts are like pieces of steak, at least to me. When I get one, the first thing I do is 'cut off the fat'.

Whatever you learn, what matters most is not as much the art itself but the one executing it. The art itself is only action. Do not limit your mind to anything. If you truly want to be the one in control of the situation, you will be.

Cut out the tradition, the ceramonial BS (if any), and don't do what's not practical for you in a given situation. You know yourself better than anyone else here.

I've never officially learned an art, but I have watched and learned many things. Some of the most practical, that I happened to see applied "on the street" was simple US Army self defense tricks.

While practicing whatever art(s) you do decide on, imagine these moves/applications in a real world situation. What will you do if someone runs up to you with a knife? What if someone jumps on your back unexpectedly and gets you on the ground? What if someone puts a gun in your face while sitting in a nonmoving car? USE YOUR MIND.

If you want a good read I recommend Tao of Jeet Kune Do by Bruce Lee.

If all you're interested in is self-defense, then sure: cut out the ceremonial stuff.
Some of us like the confucian grace of a little ceremony, though - like going to (Catholic) mass where it is still spoken in Latin, once in a while.