Doing Pushups to get BIG!!

[FlyGuy]

It depends on what you are looking for. Pretty much any martial art style will get you in shape as long as you have a good instructor who pushes you (or if you can push yourself...) Personally I don't think there are any "ultimate" styles, each one has its advantages and disadvantages. If you just want to learn some effective self defense techniques and get in shape then Karate, Tae Kwon Do, Boxing/kickboxing, Jujitsu (primarily a grappling art in the U.S.), etc. will work great. Kung Fu and Tai Chi require a bit more work before you gain effective technique, but those styles are IMO more well rounded and have more depth.

If you want to learn more about the "art" as well then I would suggest you do some of your own research into the different styles available and make your own decision.

To me the more important decision is WHERE you are going to learn. There are a lot of crappy schools out there that only care about money and not about whether you become good. Don't sign any contracts, and don't pay more than $80-90 (tops!) a month for lessons. If you want to see how good the instructor is, look at the students in higher ranks. Do the upper rank students seem like they could use their skills in a real fight? What do they do for a warmup, 40 pushups or 100? Also obviously look for a good instructor. How much experience does the instructor have? Does he seem like he enjoys teaching? Where did he learn his art? Do they let other students teach? If so that's a red flag. Check out different schools in your area, go to each one, meet the head instructor, and ask some questions.

 

[Soshyopathe]

Flyguy is right. It isn't so much the style but who teaches you. Find the cheapest school you can. Ask around, they probably don't advertise. You don't want to buy your belt, you want to earn it. You'll find that the sensei that cares least about the money cares most about the art.

There is no ultimate style, Hiten Mitzurugi Ryu aside, you only use what works for you. Learn as much as you can, take what is useful and throw the rest out.

I've seen combat Tai Chi.... goddamn is all I can say. Unbelievable as are all the chi-gungs. But I would speculate that it would take a long time to be effective because you must be a master to handle yourself well.

Doing 300-400 pushups a day is no small feat. I looked down upon pushups untill i had to do 500 during one lesson. It was like being in a cave and there was no light at the end of the tunnel. 10-15 at a time, or whatever you can manage while your chest burns like fried hell. Done intensely, you can build some good mass, but it would be much MUCH easier to get on the flat bench and pump away.

 

[Soshyopathe]

Originally posted by FlyGuy
If you want to see how good the instructor is, look at the students in higher ranks. Do the upper rank students seem like they could use their skills in a real fight?

Yeah, I'm tired of black belts that throw puss-punches and are slow and can't take a hit. If your sensei doesn't impress/scare you a little bit, it's not worth your time. My school sends in white belts that take down brown/black belts of other schools. Belts don't mean S in America. Make sure your school is in touch with the asian aspect of your art, and that they are HARD CORE!

 

[mongoose]

Truthfully, with all the sh!t I've been going thru lately I might take Tai Chi for the health aspects (stress reduction and sh!t like that). Open up my chi and what not. Then later get into the martial aspect of it. I found a teacher that has been instructing for 30 years in the Cleveland area. I'm gonna check him out.

I tried the pushups with a 25 lb weight on my back-tough workout.