My boyfriend want's me to learn hand-to-hand combat?

martial arts are not just beating people up! they are very good for your health and you just feel all around special :D

i say shop around and find the martial arts school that you like most; remember the teacher is very important so make sure you like them too.

if you want to start out with any martial art then do the one your bf is doing, it'll be really fun

Can i just ask do you actually want to learn a martial art (hand-to-hand or weapon). If you are just going to take lessons "because" your boyfriend wants you to, then you could be waisting your time and he could end up with the opposite result to the one he is hoping for.

First of all when you're taking training in any subject you have to have INTENTION, in other words you must want to be there going through all the boring bits and the hard uncomfortable bits or what most people call the "basics" if you are there JUST because some one has said you "must" or "you must to please me!" then you are soon going to get to a stage of resentment, to the art and to the person making you attend. You have to have the INTENTION to learn other wise you won't pay ATTENTION, because one leads the other.

I would say give it a go, you may develop a taste for it, but let your boyfriend know you are just trying it out and if you decide not to carry on you will still support him in his interest. Some times martial artists can't understand its not every body's cup of tea.

ADDITIONAL: Please be careful in viewing some of the suggested examples of magical martial arts on you tube, in 36 years I have yet to see this type of non-contact knock outs work. IMHO it ALWAYS end very differently and usually the opposite to the "masters" expectations!!!

EXTRA: I think we do read the questions quite well, however if you are not going to ask a specifically detailed question you can't expect the answer you are after. So on the note of your second additional question extension, I would stick to a simple one sided blade, it is the most common knife you are likely to come across, and as you state Hand to Hand combat and self defense in your original question, reality precludes any fancy sword or dagger like a "Claw I" or "Claw II" manufactured by Gill Hibbern of Hibbern knives as this would be a little to specialized for day to day self defense.

martial arts is no different then music, painting,playing chess, jumping with parachute or any other good exercise for brain or body...

the problem is, people seem to confuse it with aggresive showoff that people do with the new jackie chan skills they learnt. that'S not it. a martial art mostly focuses on dicipline(it always does but some de that even more than others,) , training and using the body succesfully andnot fighting. i know this sounds awkward but yes, there are more martial artists out there than u can imagine and they re not the ones that get in fighs, they re the ones that dont.

there is a story about three samurai's which is my favourite

a samurai is walking in the street while a thug attemts to rob him, he does a quick move with his sword which kills the thug, and he walks away without even looking back

this happens to another samurai too but this one drops his sword and beats him up with bare palms.

and lastly a more wise and skilled samurai sees a similar man, who tries to rob him but instead, he feeds him for the night and he finds him a job.

the first samurai here defended himself cold bloodedly which makes him frightened, willing to use his skills on weaker targets which makes him unwise and weak

the second one gives the man a chance, but he knows he will win and that means he is even more scared

the third samurai does not care about winning or losing so he does not fight back, instead he helps this guy which proves that he is skilled enough not to be frightened and help him .

an acomplished martial artist is confident so he does not fight until he gets attacked. would you beat up a 10 year old boy if he attacked you? no! thats how u feel when a martial artist.

and just to make u know, smaller hands=better for punching

If your boyfriend is saying "hand to hand combat" it just shows how little he knows.... the last time I checked there is no neck-to-neck combat, or knee-to-knee combat...;)

If you are thinking of taking up an art, do it for yourself. Find one that inspires you, that makes something go click in your spirit. It is the only way you will continue long enough to have any use for it.

Good luck.

Male Ego thats what he sounds like. The truth is i bet your boyfriend (if you really have one) could probably be beaten up in 10 seconds flat by a standard 12yrs old kid with no martial arts experience at all.

If you want to learn a hand-to-hand combat learn krav maga, its good for your build and ull learn to defend yourself from large men

Training that takes time of course.It's maybe the first time you are training martial arts.So good start.

I'm pretty sure smaller hands don't equal better punching.

Jujitsu or Kung fu IMO...something that will help you strengthen your "weaknesses"

To me it seems the best self-defensive martial art is NOOKKUMARMAM and CHOONDUMARMAM practiced in KALARIPAYATTU-an age old martial art of kerala,india.In this WITHOUT TOUCHING THE BODY OF OPPONENT ONE CAN DEFEAT HIM.for illustration simply type'prakasan gurukkal: in google.THIS great master lives near KALLUMTHAZHAM[in the neighbourhood ofMAAKRIELLAKKULAM],KOLLAM,kerala,india.