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Um Hi! ^.^
I was wondering, I've been wanting to take martial arts for a really long time and I've never been able to, I mean everyplace around here is either to far or to expensive. I really want to learn it and I was wondering, what are the best video's to get? They have alot, but I cant figure out what to start with and all sweatdrop I used to take karate when I was younger, but not for long becuase I had to quit going there and since then I wasn't able to so I dont know much.
Thankyou for your time and help!
Take care alwayz,
~ Akira <3

Like she said, clubs or any official place will always promote you as long as you pay them. I don't really believe in them personally. If you want, go to http://www.titleboxing.com/ and look through their instrutional videos. Even if you watched a cario tape like tai bo or joined a class like that, the actual application to these moves are lont in the exercise. Start with boxing as your first style, where it focuses on only hands and foot work. Those are the fundamentals of all fighting. Once you get use to them and feel comfortable look for friends with similiar interests. You can buy gear (head, gloves, mouth piece, and so on) for cheap and play around (safely and controlled) just to practice your movements. You'll never become good at anything without actual experience in it (even when learning to read, you couldn't really practise without picking up a book) You'll become better with time and then you can branch out to other styles that you like smile I would suggest muay tai (kickboxing) to learn how to use your legs with those movements. smile Good luck and I hope this helps.

Be careful when sparring without a trained professional there to supervise. Sometimes fights can get out of hand and the instructors step in to stop it (and you can get punished for it - anything from doing numerous pushups to getting kicked out of the club). I really don't advise you doing this, but no one here can stop you. It is best to join a club so you can learn to fight safely and with control.

smile I won't tell anyone

I have to save for a car and possible (community) college.

Oh god, I haven't been here in ages....I'm really sorry! sweatdrop

Sorry for reviving dead threads, but I'm also interested in martial arts, and was in a similar situation a little while ago.

If the classes are too far away or too expensive in your area, do you know anyone who is currently studying martial arts? If you ask, they might be willing to show you the basics-it'll help them cement their learning while helping you as well.

I was in a similar situation early on last year: My friend showed me some footage of him sparring in a kendo club when he was studying in Japan, and I really wanted to learn too. He offered to teach me-no grading because technically he isn't at a high enough rank to teach-but he could teach me as much as he knew. After a couple of months he started teaching a few more of our friends so now we have our own (unofficial) kendo club.

Because it is not official, (in kendo you must be 3rd dan or higher to teach, and the closest person in our group to that level is my boyfriend, who is 2nd dan) there is no pressure to learn everything at once. Our friends and my boyfriend teach us thoroughly and go over anything we don't understand and we also learn the etiquette side of things too. (The 'ritualistic' -lack of a better word, sorry-movements for the routines, the bowing and meditating before and after practice to show respect, etc)

Also, it's free! blaugh The only time we pay is when we use our university's sports stadium facilities to train, and we have to buy our own equipment (but because it's not an official club, those who can't afford the kendo hakama and gi just wear stuff like trackpants and t-shirts, and for just over $100, it's possible to buy a bokuto, shinai (bokuto is a wooden sword used for technique training and the shinai is bamboo, used for sparring) and case-essential equipment)

And like KaseyBaby said, in a free club, you're not paying to grade, you're training to grade. Even if, like me and my friends, you can't be graded, you'll learn much more if the pressure of grading is not hanging over your head the whole time. At a later date when I start studying in Japan, I might see if I can be graded, but at the moment I am completely happy with learning as much as I can to the best of my ability.

If you can find some friends who share the same interest as you do, you could start your own 'club.' DVDs are a good way to start, and you can all watch each other and make sure you are doing it correctly, as well as encourage each other. Our group was originally just my friend and my (pretend) big brother. Then my boyfriend started studying here in Australia and he started teaching my 'big brother.' Then I started learning from all three of them, then another of my friends, then another, and another....now we have about 10 friends regularly training together, then we also have friends who have trained with us for brief periods before returning overseas, but are still members of our 'club.' blaugh It's a great confidence booster to learn with your friends. We are serious, but every now and then someone will slip up and do something funny and we all crack up laughing.

Sorry, I've gotten way off topic! sweatdrop If you really want to learn, find someone who could teach you (even if it's just as a friend for free) or go to your nearest martial arts stores and ask them what DVDs they recommend. If you can get a group of friends to join you, it'll make it much more enjoyable and you'll learn more!

I hope this helps! Good luck! heart