Which martial art is best?

Ma'am,

the problem of asking "What's the "best" Martial Art?" has two major problems here on this Q & A forum:

1: people just start blurting out names of disciplines that they may (or worse MAY NOT) have studied that're not even available to you in the area that you live in.

2: just because someone here recommends a Martial Art either because they want to study it or find it interesting, or they've studied the discipline and it worked for them to get what they wanted out of it doesn't mean that you take your sons to a class of that same discipline and they like it or have any interest in it or that it's going to work for them to get what THEY (or YOU) want out of learning Martial Arts.

The only thing you really need to do is find out what Martial Arts schools are available in your area by looking in the phone book or on a internet search engine for local schools (up to a fifteen minute drive away is a far enough drive), and choose (along with your sons, because the main point here is that if THEY like the class then they're going to want to go on the days they're supposed to, if they don't like the class, they'll quickly lose interest and you'd have wasted a lot of time and money) at least three that interest your boys the most.

Go with them to watch a couple of the classes from each of the schools that were narrowed down to the three chioces to make a final decision on the school of choice, Next ask the school if they have some trial classes (up to a weeks worth without being hassled to sign a contract) for your children to try out and see if they like it and to see if YOU like the instructors TEACHING style and how he or she handles the class with the same age range of children as your sons.

If you like the school, then enroll them in it. Any Martial Art is going to show them how to utilize their body by learning self defense.

You just need to find a Martial Arts School that will provide a safe "family oriented" environment for your children. The discipline they study DOESN'T MATTER because there is NO discipline that is better than another since they all have a strength and a weakness.

Also there IS NOT a Martial Art that is a “best fit” for people with SPECIFIC body characteristics (height, weight, body type, gender, physical handicap, etc.) or personality traits (ie passive or aggressive personalities).

What matters is that you feel comfortable (and like the classes) in the classes and you feel comfortable that the instructor can properly teach your children self defense and not have the "smoke and mirrors" aspect.

The instructor should also like the fact of as a teaching aspect rather than doing it to "making money" which it is a business to make money after all, but it should not be the only reason for teaching the discipline.

just watch out for school's that're a "McDojo's" or "belt factory" type of school.

these schools usually do a lot of boasting about how soon their students make their 1st degree black belts (like having several "young black belts" that're usually 9 or 10 yr old kids, which should be a rare thing to see unless the child started learning the discipline when they were 4 yrs old), and often boast about students making their black belts in about a year’s time (which it should be up to 5 years or better) which often means that they have a high student turnout rate.

They'll also often try to get you to commit to a contract, usually one that's 6 months long or more or try to get you to pay down a large sum of money for that kind of time period. which is a BIG red flag

These schools will also brag about how many tournaments their students have entered and placed in or won a trophy. While Tournaments are good to go to and test your own skills as a point sparring contestant, but competitions are the LEAST important aspect to concern yourself with in Martial Arts.

Long story short, these schools will basically "give" you your belt ranks every few months as long as you are paying the outrageous fees per month, and you won't really learn self defense

a good Martial Arts school won't do that to you as a member of their "family"

Check out your local martial arts schools, a lot of it comes down to the ability of the person teaching. Also, I would probably recomend something on the gentler side and or something that involves a good amount of discipline. Kids can always use both those.

I'd recommend Shaolin Kung-Fu (Wu-Shu) for the youngest since, in my experience, there was a heavy emphasis on meditation as a part of disciplining the mind as well as the body. That's actually the goal for all martial arts, but you want to chose one that incorporates meditation (which isn't as common as it used to be) for a better understanding of not just how to fight, but why and when to fight and to achieve a deeper sense of balance. Tai Chi Chuan is also effective for this and far gentler as well as subtler. As for the elder, most martial arts are effective in building confidence and bringing one "out of his shell," if he's willing. I know that either Kung-Fu or Tae Kwon Do are good choices.

Well, from taking a typical parent's perspective, you are trying to build your children's characters and you are trying to teach them to defend themselves if needed, not turning them into violent ruthless people. All the other Martial Arts suggested are known as "External Martial Arts." Since you are not trying to teach them to kill someone, I reccomend tai chi or its branch, ba gua Jeng (8 trigram Palms). Tai chi and Ba Gua are known as "Internal Martial Arts." They are used to relax the user and it teaches them to be at peace with the world. These internal martial arts also focus on redirecting your opponent's energy back at them, so your children won't be able to bruise eachother, only defend and push the force back. When the force is redirected, however, it is fatal. The force will go past the aggressor's muscles and damage their organs if they attack with an enormous amount of force. This shouldn't be a problem for your sons since they will learn to be calm and confident by learning these arts. Tai chi and ba gua are also good exercise for the elderly and can help cure back problems, sores and it may be able to stop athritis.

for eldest son- tae kwon do , wushu or any other martial arts that is more "showy" or "fancy". That should bring him out of his shell more effectively while building fitness at the same time

Youngest son- judo would be great because it allows your son to use his power without having to throw a punch. in a more reserved and controlled manner.

both MA have competitive sides so your sons can learn good experiences and build confidence. boys like to compete

I second Todd D's reply. I've studied Kug Fu for 2 years and they have a Wushu program there. All the kids get involved and the main emphasis is partner skills, ie working and helping one another. There's no way your son could stay in his shell with the type of encouragement and teamwork I see in their classes. Also teaches discipline and using fighting as a last resort for your other more aggresive son...

you havn't said* how old they are which would help with an answer.anyway my suggestions would be stand up styles,you dont want to be on the ground and you dont want your kids there.freestyle karate would be the best,but try a few.obviously you have to use the resources that are available to you.avoid ones with the big golden arches aka MC DOJOS.from what i read though in seppoland that doesn't appear to be that easy. anyway their only kids and they need to have fun as well as serious training,any good instucter will know this.as for your youngest* maybe swimming will help as well to use up some of that energy,or you could bottle it and send it to me i could use it(hahahaha) and he'll learn to swim,so you kill two birds with 1 stone.if not put 'em on a plane send 'em to me i'll sort 'em out hahahahahalol-just kidding.

check out the schools. it's not so much which art is better than another. I think what your looking for is more character building, than a$$kicking. So ask around, you want a good teaching philosophy, as opposed to someone who teaches how to beat people up

Karate , kung fu, kajukenbo , tae kwon do , kenpo , judo , any of these styles may help , you may also want to put them in different styles to suit their needs .

Quicksilver gave the best answer however .

I would suggest Judo. Why? Because its more gentle than all the others. Not as aggressive for a youngster. Good luck.