Which type of martial arts to choose?

newbiehere

Hi.
I have a young son who is showing an interest in karate, taekwondo, muay thai etc. I'd like to enroll him in a class but don't really know what the differences are between all of the different types of martial arts.
I don't want one where the end goal is a fight, or one that is overly focussed on 'attack' (for want of a different word) moves. I'd like one that teaches discipline and self defence and something that he will enjoy. I've heard taekwondo is quite good for that but I'm fairly clueless around it so was hoping someone could point me in the right direction.

Thanks in advance.

(Excuse my ignorance/cluelessness, I know little or nothing about any kind of martial arts)

CianRyan

It matters more on the school and teacher than the style itself.
As a means of defending himself and not being the one to attack, Brazilian Jiu Jitsu would be on top of my list, mix it with some Muay Thai and you have a great base for defence as well as strong discipline.

Where are you based? We can give suggestions of good schools.

newbiehere

Thanks Cian. I'm in Limerick.

Chairman Meow

newbiehere wrote: »

Hi.
I have a young son who is showing an interest in karate, taekwondo, muay thai etc. I'd like to enroll him in a class but don't really know what the differences are between all of the different types of martial arts.
I don't want one where the end goal is a fight, or one that is overly focussed on 'attack' (for want of a different word) moves. I'd like one that teaches discipline and self defence and something that he will enjoy. I've heard taekwondo is quite good for that but I'm fairly clueless around it so was hoping someone could point me in the right direction.

Thanks in advance.

(Excuse my ignorance/cluelessness, I know little or nothing about any kind of martial arts)

Im sure youll get better answers, but if you want a martial art that isnt essentially attacking (im guessing youre probably concerned about your son getting hurt) you can at least rule out Muay Thai straight away as it is essentially kickboxing and is quite tough.

TKD is focused on kicking mostly so it would be an attacking type of MA. But some of dojos will just have you learn nothing but the "patterns" or "katas" (essentially like learning dance steps but, with kicks/punches and not against a live sparring partner).

Karate depends on the type of Karate you do. There are plenty of dojos that just do training without sparring, just learning katas so that could suit your needs. Just ask the instructors what type of training they do there. Kyokushin (if im spelling that right) Karate does focus on full contact sparring.

I might be biased as i train Brazilian Jiu Jitsu but i think BJJ sounds like the martial art youre after. Its very self defense oriented, there is no striking involved (kicks or punches), you learn how to take down and control and opponent and submit them using chokes/joint locks and one of the big things that makes it sound like its for you is its not very attacking focused, you can essentially wait for someone to dive on top of you and then choke them out with thier own collar . There are all ages at our club and a kids class for very young children around age 5 and up. Judo is quite similar to BJJ and probably cheaper too so that might also be worth looking into.

I think its pretty much agreed upon that BJJ and Judo are probably the 2 most effective MA's in a real life scenario. Muay Thai too, but as i said its very attacking oriented and probably not what youre after.

granturismo

CianRyan wrote: »

It matters more on the school and teacher than the style itself.
....

Agree. I'd suggest going to a few different classes and watching. You'll get a feel for the instructors style, ability to deal with younger kids, what might suit your son etc.
We went to watch one class my son was interested in at 6 years of age - there was little to no control or effort to make it interesting for a huge class of under 10's.
We didnt realise there was a different style class on immediately afterwards. We stayed to watch it even though I had a bias against the style having tried it out in my 20's - it was everything the first class wasnt. My son has now been attending for 7 years and loves it.

We're not in Limerick so cant help you and I dont think there's any point in mentioning the two styles above.

Blackthorn Fight School

A lot of great points also worth doing is seeing what classes are out there with times that suit your son and then see if you can take him to a few of them and see what he enjoys most.

If he does not mind getting hit then TKD, Karate, kickboxing or Muay Thai will be good
If he does not mind getting hit in hard then Boxing, kickboxing or Muay thai

If he does not want to get hit and wants a more self defense applicable art then Judo or Brazilian Jiu jitsu

But as was said before its all down to the school and teacher you could do one art and down the road could be very different.

arybvtcw0eolkf

Try find out what clubs are in your area and visit a few of them.

BJJ (its a wrestling/grappling style) or Judo come naturally to children, its how they play with their mates actually.. All the grappling, rolling and tumbling around!.

Its easier to find a BJJ club than a Judo club in Limerick (depending where in Limerick you are?).

All the rest are striking styles, and IMO if you want him to strike then bring him to a boxing club.

newbiehere

Thanks for all of the replies. I'm not in the city so there are a couple of classes around and I might be able to work one into our schedule. I've got a rough idea of which ones are the gentler types now. All of you seem to suggest going to the classes to watch first which sounds like a good idea and we will probably do that. Thanks for your help it is very much appreciated.