Mixed martial arts

[Aliquantic]

Has anyone here practiced mixed martial arts, and if so what was your impression of it? I've been looking to take up some sort of martial art now and I'm curious about MMAs now that I know my stereotype of ultraviolence was off the mark... so enlighten me please (There's no clubs nearby so I can't easily go to a trial session)

[Gus]

You should probably look into something like BJJ. Trust me, stuff like Tae Kwon Do isn't worth shit in a real fight.

[Ruldra]

Trust me, stuff like Tae Kwon Do isn't worth shit in a real fight.

Any martial art that doesn't involve real sparring between students is useless in real fights. I'm looking at you Aikido.

I actually did 2 years of TaeKwonDo but I eventually grew tired of my teacher's insistence on practicing Katas (which IMO are a huge waste of time). That, and he never failed anyone in his tests. I almost got to blue belt while being a sloppy fighter.

I tried doing Judo next but I never could last until the end of the class. Being a sedentary sucks.

[xris]

Learning to defend yourself is one of the best things you could ever do, every man should expect at least one very violent encounter in their life.
The best thing to do is to consider practicality, your own body type, and what style apeals to you. Ground fighting styles are really great, but almost useless against several opponents, like being mugged by three people. But, fights deffenatly end up on the ground - I've lost bad because of this myself. Some serious boxing experiance is a must. A strong hand style will hold up against most experianced street fighters. If you're a big guy go for judo, it's a great style for sensible self defense.
TKD can be a strong style, it just takes a little longer in training than most because it is a sport style at heart. A guy that only took a year and doesn't have a good mind set can get crushed. A life long student will drop you with a casual kick.
Full contact sparring against as many well trained people as possible is a must. Try to look for this, especially if they want you to go up against two people at once, fights will never be fair! Kick boxing is a good style for entry level training, but always be clear that you are trains to defend against someone try to stab you, you're never going to square up one on one.
Fighting is deadly serious. You will get hurt. You will get hurt in training, you'll get hurt if you win a street fight, you will be very hurt defending your life. You will hurt others, a hesitancy against that will cost you your life, it will cost you your freedom. You will never be good enough to fight in prison.
Learn some basic skill, but learn as much as you can about it as well. There is so much mentality that goes along with it. When you learn how to fight, becoming willing, and truly understand why to fight, you will do anything to avoid it. The book - The Little Black Book of Violence - is a must read. It will plainly and honestly put it in perspective. The opening line of the book has always stayed with me, 'When I felt the knife scrape across my teeth, I knew I was in trouble.' That sums it up perfectly.

[Aliquantic]

Just to clarify, I'm currently more interested as a sport/competition, with self-defense being more of a bonus, though a welcome one (especially in places where you can't legally carry anything at all, I'm looking at you Britain). My body build is... not especially suitable for fighting to say the least (And I'm a feather-weight at best)

And like Ruldra, I'm not too keen on the idea of kata either, and definitely not something like aikido, but other than that I've only had a little bit of judo in my youth

[xris]

I'm actually rather skinny myself, and did very well with Kenpo. It's basically a dirty fighting style of Karate. I got lucky and found a school that focused on real fighting and self defense. That made a huge difference in what I learned and how long it took. I would really suggest kick boxing then, a great mix of fitness, safe practice, solid techniques, and practical use. Once you have a little experiance you can try out a couple other styles.

[Ruldra]

If you've been sedentary lately, I'd suggest doing at least a month of running or some other aerobic exercise before taking up a martial art. Lack of fitness will make things a lot harder for you, and it was the main reason I had to quit Judo.

And xris, that book you mentioned is amazing. I love reading about that kind of stuff.

[ebarrett]

oh shit ali was serious about punching me, I'M SORRY ALI

[MovingTarget]

I'm surprised no one here has mentioned Muay Thai, by far my favourite technique.

To give yourself the best hope to survive any encounter, a mixture of Muay Thai, Krav Maga and BJJ is probably best.

For fun I'd say Muay Thai, it wil hurt, but for me much more enjoyable than BJJ, which makes me wince just looking at it. It is also highly effective.

[jonny5]

I'm surprised no one here has mentioned Muay Thai, by far my favourite technique.

To give yourself the best hope to survive any encounter, a mixture of Muay Thai, Krav Maga and BJJ is probably best.

For fun I'd say Muay Thai, it wil hurt, but for me much more enjoyable than BJJ, which makes me wince just looking at it. It is also highly effective.

Beat me to the punch. Muay Thai for sure. Ground skills are all great, but if you get knocked out before you have a chance to grab them, its not much good. Plus Muay Thai trains a lot of techniques people aren't used to defending; elbows, knees, etc...

It's amazing for cardio as well; the training and workouts are intense!