I wanna get in shape FAST!!!!

I'm considering a martial arts regimen but I can't decide which route to go. Do any of y'all SERIOUSLY have any insight/firsthand knowledge of this matter?

Do I start doing:
Kickboxing?
Tai Chi?
Qi Gong?
Wing Chun?
Wushu?
Boxing (western style)?
Jeet Kune Do?
Aikido?
Shaolin gungfu?
Kenpo?
Ninjitsu (the real deal)?

Anyone with honest martial arts experience should give me the lowdown on the best way to start conditioning now. I'm tired of being a self destructive schlub.

Raise the stakes a bit. Deposit yourself on an island where rich white guys hunt humans for sport.

isn't the point behind most martial arts time and patience?

anyhow I do Tai Chi along with cycling, freeweights and eating good food and this program has produced good results so far.

He's right. Do what he said.

Are you calling me a liar?

A few of my friends have had good luck with kickboxing. There's a program called Turbo, offered at some gyms, that's sort of an intensely hyper-spastic version of kickboxing (similar to what "Spin" classes are to stationary bikes).

What shape?

Rhombus.

Make it happen punk.

What do you want to get out of it?

I'm partial to Tai Chi. It may not directly cause you to lose weight or get yourself in shape, but it will cause you to be more in touch with your body in general, allowing you to make good decisions about where to go from there.. As far as eating, other training..

[Edited on Jun 11, 2005 by pygmy]

I think my chain saw needs some fuel.
I'll do it in the morning.

Tae bo. It's the only real martial arts. Ask Billy Blanks.

I have this aversion to get in shape gimmicks like Tae Bo and stuff. I want to learn how not to be the guy passed out in the middle of the bar on too many drugs to count as all my job prospects, love interests, and friends vaporize in slow motion in utter disgust/contempt.

I guess I wanna turn over a new leaf and do something worthwhile for a change.

do you want to get in shape or learn a martial art? you seem a bit confused. the former will come with the latter, but to excel you need to do it for the right reasons.

if you just aren't all that cool with being a couch potato anymore then there are quicker ways to get into shape, although boxing and kickboxing will do the trick rather quickly. you just have to ask yourself if you want to be punched repeatedly in the head while doing so.

Martial arts can help, but it's no cure all, and it sure as hell isn't a guaranteed (or even optimal) way of getting in shape.

The sensei gut (or chi storage device) is a really, really common affliction for martial artists, even for ones who can flip, fly and stab like a ninja motherfucker.

If your goal is to improve strength, stamina, and flexibility, then martial arts can help. If you push yourself, it's a good way to make gains in all three areas - again, it isn't the optimal way (a sensible lifting program is better for strength, for example) but it's nice for improving all three areas simultaneously.

It probably isn't gonna make you thin if you're tubby, though. It didn't help me, for example - despite the fact that I can twist my body into a pretzel, and practice for hours at a time after too many years of kung fu, changing my diet was the only thing that got me thin.

As to what art to take, there are only 2 concerns:

1) The style you take must, must, MUST be one that interests you. It's all well and good that FIGHTER X is hard as nails cos' he studies karate, but he isn't you. If you don't like the style, I guarantee you won't be taking it a year from now, and I guarantee you won't work hard enough to improve in any meaningful sense.

2) The quality of your local school. If the art is great, but the school stinks, then you won't have success.


Incidentally, a really good boxing gym, with a good trainer, can harden you up in record time. It's good, good stuff.

If I lose any weight, I'll disappear. I want to get healthy.

Thanks, that is the kind of advice I was soliciting. I am interested mainly in boxing and Wing Chun because I can relate to the style of swiftness and fierceness and how you're never to give up. But finding a Wing Chun teacher in these parts has been a martial art in itself. The internet is no help.

edited because this isn't group therapy.

[Edited on Jun 12, 2005 by Meaney]

I meant kickboxing in general but suggested "Turbo" in case you wanted something non-traditional.

I've heard good things about Aikido as well, as far as getting in tune with your mind in body as well as getting in shape.

I have a friend that is a cardio kickboxing instructor and she is in really great physical shape. It's very high intensity, though...I've taken several classes...so if you have any knee or back problems, you probably don't want to do anything like that.
I have taken Kenpo for years, and when I was really into it, I was in peak physical shape. The thing is, though, that it won't happen fast. Most of the beginning stuff in any martial arts is very simple, and very low intensity. It builds muscle and stamina and technique, but slowly. I did my Kenpo classes with weight training, running, and pilates on the side, either before or after class. Before class was dismissed on days we sparred, we did Tai Chi to relax our muscles and calm ourselves before we left. So, if you are looking to get in shape, I would not recommend Tai Chi. Tai Chi is a great tool to use to tone muscles once you get them and to center yourself, either before or after a high intensity workout.
If you really want to take martial arts, my recommendation would be Kenpo...most Kenpo schools across the US now teach a style developed by Ed Parker- which combines Ju-Jitsu, Judo, Kenpo, and street fighting. It's very disciplined, and it really does teach you things that can make you fast, and in good shape. It just won't happen overnight, or even over a few months's worth of nights. You will, however, gain muscle and stamina, and won't lose weight.
Check around on the web for futher information.

see if you have a Krav Maga studio near you...Israeli matrial arts with real life training....great to get into shape and you will learn simple, effective, highly damaging ways to protect you and yours

Keep posting until you pass MisterSatan in number of comments.

It's a good workout.

Plus, he is the very picture of health.



[Edited on Jun 11, 2005 by SirPsychoSexy]

Yes, come to my island.

Best shape I ever got into was from Kung Fu. It was 2 hours of intense calesthenics and stretching 2x a week.

Sheer hell and toruture, but dang, I could do a hundred push ups after two months (I was like 20-21 years old at the time)

[Edited on Jun 12, 2005 by stockula]

Sounds like you're coming at it from the same angle I did. You're a (self confessed and proud!) skinny guy, so 'get in shape' means 'gain muscle' rather than 'lose body fat'. If you've not done a lot of hardcore physical exercise before, I'd recommend starting on taichi and chikung.

The slow movements will give you ample opportunity to become aware of exactly what your body can and cant do, and will build up the small muscles for a nice sort of overall fitness. It's really easy to wind up holding your back the wrong way, or tensing up muscles you aren't actually using. I'm not, like, trying to hang crap on you... but if you were sedentary like I was before I started on karate (and subsequently tore a muscle in my groin), you might not have a good idea of the 'best' way to move your body around. Like learning to walk again after a stroke... sort of.

Er... of course, if you read my profile you'll see I'm a lunatic taichi fanboy, so it's not like you should just follow all (or any of) my advice. I would recommend some kind of free-flowing sport too, like skateboarding, parkour, rockclimbing etc. That way you won't get too tied down to technique and wind up doing yourself an injurious disservice by, like, overworking certain bits.

Yeah and krav maga is awesome city. Both it and taichi will totally appeal to your aversion to gimmicks.

Boxing seriously. It'll get you in kick ass shape. Swimming will help a lot, too. If you've got to do a martial art though, take aikido. It won't really get you in shape on its own, though.

I have both the above mentioned problems but I am working on getting better with some light exercises as instructed to do by my physio therapist. I live close to a Kung Fu school now and I'm really interested in giving it a go. I still suffer with my back. Is it a no no for me to begin training with these injurys?

I have been in awe of (read: Fear) people who are good at any martial art after watching my friends practice years ago when we were in school. On occasion I was on the recieving end of their practicing just for a laugh. At the time I was not impressed as I always found myself on the ground rather quickly. I am always impressed by the fact that my friends had to expend such little energy to fuck me up (in playful self defence)

(Edit: Spelling)

[Edited on Jun 12, 2005 by TheTimebomb]