News41 mins ago
Tae Kwon Do...
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For more on marking an answer as the "Best Answer", please visit our FAQ.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.
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
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.
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...
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