Alex

Hey guys,

I have began to watch martial art shows at a growing rate, which has made me myself want to have such an experience.

I am 13 years old and relatively big for my age (182cm 75kg), and I am really interested in becoming involved with a full contact martial art sport.

I already know that at my age nothing will be able to compare with anything I have seen on TV, and I also know that anything with strikes will involve a lot of safety equipment and training, However I am still interested.

In the past I have spent around two years fighting judo, eventually making it to state tournaments. However I eventually began to break away from the sport.

I am really looking for a sport that involves a lot of stand up fighting (or sparring), however If the sport involves both grapples and stand up then that we be great.

At the moment I have considered Muay Tai and Kick boxing, however I am open to anything.

Also, I live in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia, so If anyone knows of any clubs around that are then that would be fantastic

Smiling Jack

Hapkido, but that is an extreme martial art, you spar and fight alot, but you use protective gear. It has alot of punches, kicks, knees, elbows, headbutting, gouging, jumping and arial attacks, throws, grappling, pressure points, submissions, knife hands (chops) and even weapon training like knives, throwing stars, katanas, staves, etc. But when I say it is extreme I mean the competition is crazier than UFC, I did Hapkido and have a black belt 2nd dan my friend is a 3rd dan he does like front flips and he did a backflip kick in competition once and knocked the guy down.

Kick in the Face

MMA is exactly what it sounds like: mixed martial arts. It is a combination of all the martial arts, in no determined order.

So, judo is a part of MMA. UFC fighters Karo Parisyan, Dong Hyun Kim, and Sokoudjou are just a few examples of fighters with judo backgrounds.

The primary striking martial arts are boxing and/or kickboxing, and (less often) Muay Thai. The primary grappling martial arts are wrestling and Brazilian Jiujitsu. I recommend having at least a little knowledge in each of these combat sports to have a well balanced MMA game. That being said, most fighters do come from a certain pedigree, and choose to use their best martial art as their main strategy.

Also, there are several gyms that do combine all the martial arts in one MMA class. I don't know any in your area, but I'm sure they exist. Still, however, it is imperative to learn the fundamentals of the important martial arts by going to the individual classes, not just the combined MMA class.