I practice Northern Long Fist KungFu and Shaolin KungFu. I have also practiced Uechi-Ryū in the past.

I chose these styles because all have practical applications in combat and have been used for combat at one point during their existence. To me, this alone proves they’re useful to learn.

I also spar and have applied what I’ve learned to matches. So I do believe these styles are worth looking into and learning.

To bring it back to your post. Self defence is great to know wherever you live, even if you’ll never use it. Most teachers are very loud and use visuals for teaching, I don’t think you’ll have any issues.

I did Judo as a kid. But it was more for health and fun. Never really needed to defend myself.

Not for self defense (obviously) and due to personal reasons on hiatus currently (if all goes well I will start again next year) - but I do Historical European Martial Arts (HEMA).

It’s fencing, but mainly with longsword (tried sword&buckler and a bit of rapier), techniques recreated based on historical fencing books and manuals. Really fun!

I did wushu aka chinese kungfu, but not for self defence, but for athletic reason. I doubt anything that doesn’t involve sparring with a knife is helpful in real world situation, but it’s definitely helpful when it’s time to run.

Jiu Jitsu, a rather traditional method. I’ve practiced lots of things over the last 3 decades, and have now landed on this because there’s a lot of good people practicing it.

What I like:

• it has a bit of everything
• judo throws are fun

What I don’t like:

• wrestling / grappling, never liked or been good at that
• kicks are pretty practical, no fancy acrobatic stuff
• no traditional weapon (staff, sword, nunchaku, etc) techniques

I suck at martial arts, but I’ve done it for so long that I’m sometimes able to fool people into thinking I’m not bad.

I am not. I was doing a year of kick-boxing when I was young but yeah that was it.

But my daughter is doing it and she just got her black belt level 1 3 weeks ago!

I was forced into taekwondo, never got past the white belt. And frankly, I was never interested to get a new belt anyway.

The only skills I still remember from that isn’t even the self defense stuff, but it’s counting in Korean.

Martial arts? Hell, the only rounds I do these days are with a needle full of fent or some nitro buzz in a McDonald’s bathroom, just trying to keep my head above water. Did some boxing when I was a kid, but now my self-defense is more about dodging the cops and finding a spot to crash before the tranq kicks in. Lip-reading? Man, the only thing I’m reading is the bottom of the bottle. But hey, if you’re thinking of getting into Kung Fu, good on you. Maybe you’ll be the one to punch through the mess the rest of us are drowning in.

Yeah, I throw dynamite around.

Not me but my SO is a black belt judoka. He started as a kid and kept on practicing all the way through college where he managed to train and compete as a professional. Went to one edition of panamerican games and scored a first place.

My FIL is also a black belt judoka and at one time him and my SO taught classes for beginners and advanced students alike, they even had a class for little kids with some behavioral issues. They were beloved teachers by many students.

At one point they even had a student with impared vision and a student with impared hearing and that never stopped anyone from practicing judo safely and learning techniques.

Regarding your bit about using martial arts as self defense, I think it is more of a hollywood idea. Noone is faster than a bullet so good judgement is better than any martial art.

My SO has taught me that “It is better to be a warrior who can garden, than to be a gardener who has to go to war” and he is the most level headed, peaceful individual you can imagine.

He also says that judo is the discipline that has shapen his whole life through “Jita Kyoei” and “Seiryoku zenyo”: Mutual benefit and maximum efficiency.

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I’ve done several years of grecco-roman and freestyle wrestling, a little boxing, and several years of taekwondo, hapkido, and judo.

I’m an okay striker, but I like the close-up stuff more; joint locks, submissions, take downs, etc.

Looking to transition into Chinese martial arts in a few years.

Not since I was a teen

I got my Kendo first dan during winter, and work toward the second (and the Iaido first dan).

Obviously not for self defence because I don’t carry a katana, but hitting people with swords while yelling is fun. I feel like the whole mold the body and the mind through the sword in order to build better human feels a bit like bullshit. That said, it’s a great patience school both with the slow learning and the don’t do anything stupid, and wait to be 100% sure before attacking

I have been kick boxing for 3 years and I’m about to grade for my blue belt, I’m going to pick up some muay Thai as well soon which is very similar but adding in elbows and more clinching. I also did 3 years of karate reaching second green belt around 10 or so years ago. I stopped karate because I went travelling so couldn’t regularly visit the same gym to train.

I do it for a combination of reasons. It helps keep me fit although I do a lot of other sports / weight training that all play a role in overall cross training. It keeps me flexible which is more and more important as you get older and I like to fight. Coming into training and letting out some aggression on some pads whilst working up a good sweat is a great cathartic release from the stresses of day to day life. I also enjoy the sparring a lot, it helps hone your reflexes and I don’t mind at all getting hit to condition yourself for that possibility. I’ll hopefully be competing in some inter club / amateur fights soon which I can’t wait for. You do also have some peace of mins that should you need to defend yourself in day to day life you are able to do that.

Karate was a lot more ‘Zen’ in that the school I trained with didn’t do much sparring and was more concentrated on your technique and working through your katas. It builds up your body and technique as well as building up respect for your sensei and the other students you train with. It was a lot of fun and has given me a great basis with technique for moving onto kick boxing but I prefer kick boxing because it is a lot more aggressive. The training sessions are more intense physically and I want to spar and get hit etc, which isn’t for everyone.

Every school will be different, even if they are teaching the same style of martial art, in the way they approach things. The way they teach and way they go about things but you will always find a good supportive group of people who aren’t out to hurt you intentionally and are invested in you training well and hard and supporting you.

I wouldnt worry too much about your hearing, most things will be shouted at you and you can follow people around you if you get lost but I would recommend you give it a try if it is something you are interested in. If you go to a place where people aren’t respecting each other, their respective levels and their well being then leave and find yourself a better gym because I know they are out there. If you find a good one you can be part of a great community whilst pursuing fitness as well as a great skill.

In terms of what you should do, that is down to personal choice. Maybe try a few different ones. Obviously some concentrate on one thing or another like judo is a lot of throwing, muay Thai a lot of striking etc, so try and figure out what you want from it and maybe try some classes to see if you like it! :)