Tae Kwon Do...

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Used to do Karate when I was 13 then did a bit of boxing in my late teens. I am now in my late 20's and thinking of getting back into matial arts. Looked at taking up kung Fu, but its too expensive. Now looking at Tae Kwon do. Anyone here do any martial arts that they recommend? Or any opinions on Tae Kwon Do or Kunf fu?

[Fish Kid]

It depends on what you're aiming to achieve - if it's fitness TKD is fine, but for more practical martial arts, try Thai Boxing, Jeet Kune Do or Wing Chun.

Controversial, but I see TKD as more of a sport than a martial art...yes, I know it's (short!) history, bla blah blah, but I find it too flashy and impractical.

You say Kung Fu is expensive - I would have thought you could find reasonable priced classes if you look around (obviously depeneds where you live!),

Try finding a copy of Combat magazine - the school directory used to be pretty good.

[jake-the-peg]

I started Shotokan karate about 5 years ago when my son did and kept it up when he dropped out - I always found the gym or swimming too boring but you can't let your mind wander with martial arts. Now I'm fitter and more flexible than I've ever been so I'd say it's a great idea.

Having said that the martial arts world seems to have more than it's fair share of people who are after a quick buck or who are on a permanent ego trip. So my advice is check out classes affiliated with the proper governing body here for TKD

http://www.britishtaekwondocouncil.org/

and see if you can drop by to watch a class one evening to "see if it's for you" if they're touchy about that idea or if you don't like what you see, move on and try another class.Beware of anybody who wants a load of money up front.

Make sure the class has enough adults - some seem to cater mostly for kids which is great but probably not what you want.

Best of luck and remember it's less important what style you choose as how much you put into your training

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thanks for yopur advice guys. Fish Kid, its funny you mention Wing Chun, ive just looked at a local Wing Chun school, what are your thought son this martial art? Seems alot of arm and no leg (kick work)?

[Fish Kid]

Wing Chun is very effective for self defense - not much kicking above waist height (makes you vunerable if your leg is up in the air) but very good all the same - Bruce Lee started off as a kid with Wing Chun.
Takes patience and practice, but that's the same for all martial arts...you can't fail to be impressed when you see two practioners do 'sticking hands' exercises.
I would certainly recommend giving it a go, not the prettiest/flashiest to look at, but that is not what it's all about.

[chinadoll]

why not look at some of the soft martial arts...aikido,judo and tai chi.... your previous experience seems to have been made up of a lot of "hard" stuff...meaning kicking, striking etc....aikido and judo use balance and redirecting the opponents energy and force ...they might round off your knowlege these arts...

[spaced]

ok, well I have just contacted 3 local martial arts centres (Surrey) - one does Wing Chun, the other Kung Fu and the 3rd Tiger and Crane Kung Fu. I will see what they charge. What costs should I be looking at (joing fee, class fee and clothes)?

[jake-the-peg]

Can't help you with Kung Fu but for comparison in Karate I pay �60 a year for my license and association fees which covers the insurance and �20 per month for unlimited training. (I believe that's generally considered to be pretty cheap some charge about �5 per class) Grading fees are about �25 for kyu grades (coloured belts)

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just been told by a local wing chun club that they charge �35 per month (1 day a week) or �45 per month for 2 days a week training. No joining fee. Is this good fish kid? What is the difference between kung fu and wing chun?

[Fish Kid]

Wing Chun if a form of kung fu.

I would say to make decent progress you need to train 2 days a week in a class (and a lot more training at home!).

By my calcualtion, that's roughly 5 quid a lesson, seems reasonable to me (I guess this is at least a 2 hour lesson).

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decided to stay a bit more local studying Tiger Crane Kung Fu, which is a kung fu based on Southern Chinese kungfu styles of Tiger and Crane.

�40 per year and �5 per class. Each class is an hour and you can do sparring class after for an hour. not sure what the extra cost is. I start on Monday.

[Greyskull]

For street based stuff ie practical and non traditional arts - check out the SDF (Self Defence Federation UK) run by Dave Turton at http://www.selfdefencefederation.co.uk

You'll find a whole host of clubs/scghools that tech street based self protection and the licence/insurance is only �15 per year