What martial arts would you recommend?

"self-defense, fitness and confidence building"

Ok so lets narrow it down a little more.

Take Jujitsu, Judo and Brazilian Jujitsu out because those wont work for self defense. Atleast not the gyms you will most likely train in.

Also take out Wushu, thats not exactly very good since most Wushu gyms only teach for sport.

Taekwondo and Aikido seem to be it for now. I don't know ANYTHING about Aikido so someone else will have to cover that.

All i know is that its a version of a Jujitsu Ryu with a mix of Karate.

I do however know alot, if not the most about Taekwondo. More than anyone you'd ever meet online.

All the martial arts however, depend on how good the gyms are.

Advice:

-Gyms cant charge more than $100 a month. Even more than 80 is steep but acceptable.

-There has to be atleast 2 or more instructors. One highly ranked one, for Dan gyms that would be a 4th dan, and a lower ranked one which is normally a 1st dan but 2nd and 3rds can also be seen.

-If they have kids in the same class as you then dont join them.

Those are the basic tips to avoid a Mcdojo which are very common in the US and UK.

Now for the question.

Taekwondo's main training method is Conditioning/ Fitness over Self Defense. So expect ALOT of tough workouts, especially since you only get one 5 second break after an hour.

The Self Defense, IMO is almost flawless. Almost isn't good enough though because that means it has flaws but nothing major.

You will def get good confidence in this system and im sure you will impress girls with this ;) i know i did :D.

Its your choice. Don't let anyone pressure you.

EDIT: "Taekwondo, BJJ, and Wushu, since all are primarily taught as sports" Wrong and True. I already commented that alot of Gyms mostly teach sport but alot dont. A good Taekwondo gym wont teach Sport.

Most Jujitsu gyms in the US and UK mostly teach for sport now a days and the only good place for Jujitsu training is in Japan or when its taught by someone who actually learned in Japan.

Aikido is a great form of self defense! I took it for over 7 years and from experience it does work no matter how muscular the guy is! Aikido is taking the energy that a person attacks you with and using it agenst them. If you are serioius on taking a class I would highley recomend it and suggest sitting in on some of the classes to make sure it is what you are looking for. Most places have just womens classes if you perfer or coed classes. Children are also usually put into seperete classes so you don't have to worry about haveing some 8 year old in your class not taking it seriously. To let you know just how much it works my dad and I were joking around in the house when I was 17. I was about 110lbs. soaking wet, and my dad was the work out type that lifted weights an ran every other day like a religion. He came up behind me like the students were doing in class that day so I did a move that I learned. Next think we knew he was on the ground, needed reconstruction surgery, and was out of work for almost 1 year. After that I never used it unless I had to. Best of luck!

i don't agree with eps925. im in taekwondo and im a black belt. you cannot judge a martial arts just from what you've seen and im sure hes never taken taekwondo either. please don't let people tell you to go with a certain style. this is something you have to find for yourself. im a girl too and i also don't like hand to hand combat so i went with a more kicking style ( taekwondo). check out some schools around your area and study how they operate. make sure you have no doubt in the school that you choose because you have to be happy if you want to get the most out of a martial art. and please don't judge a martial art just by one or two schools every school is different and even if the martial art is the same, the focus and atmosphere of the schools could be way different. don't be afraid to check out a bunch of schools. sit down and watch the instructors...for example say you want a style that is not so much hand techniques and you need an instructor to help push you towards your goal. if this is what you want the first step would be to look for a school with not alot of hand focus and look for a strict but nice instructor. remember an instructor can be your friend but they are there to be your humble guide! good luck and have fun :)

Have you considered Karate (shotokan)? While there are many false dojos that teach badly and are quite probably ineffective in a fight and many more which only teach for the competition, fitness or art form. There are however some very effective and well taught groups. Having been intimidated by a largely taller peer group for most of my life after the first four years of my shotokan life i felt loads more confident. As it concentrates simple block counters and doesn't require strength, height or weight for throws it is suitable for girls (don't take this like i'm saying girls are weaker). Also attacks are targeted at key areas so they don't rely as much on strength. My club has a particularly strong womens section, how many times have i tried to attack in the dojo and ended up staring cross eyed at a fist at my throat, the fist belonging to my sister.

There are women specific self defence classes which take stuff from other styles, but they wont be traditional or contain kata which you seem keen on.

Wing chun style kung fu was supossedly developed by a woman. It involves fast hand movements and punches without use of hips. This means it is very fast and hard to block. Also the style of bruce lee.

I am unsure of the wrestling styles, people tell me bjj is effective as on the ground the longer range and strength of people is equaled out, yet i reckon if you have a massive fat bloke sitting on you no matter how good you are at ground fighting youre screwed.

Taekwondo, can be amazing and effective but like karate there are loads of rubbish clubs around.

If you like Aiki pick Aikijutsu over Aikido. Aikijutsu is more martial and a little better suited for self defense. The moves are very close to Aikido but the Aikijutsu has more lethal application. If the moves are too brutal for you you can always 'soften' them up and make them Aikido but if you only learn the soft part you will not be able to 'crank it up' if you would ever have to.

Judo, BJJ and jujitsu make sure you end up in a school that teaches them for self defense and not for sport. Sport stuff does not work in self defense. Most of these are now taught for sports only thanks to the MMA and UFC craze. What works in the ring will not work in the streets. There is a whole different set of 'rules' in the street and no time limits.

Taekwondo also is mostly sports and very little self defense but you might get lucky and fall into a school that teaches it for self defense.

Wushu as much fun as it is and as much as I love it (i am having a blast with it) teaches no self defense. It is great to learn timing, speed, flexibility, agility, body awareness, conditioning and has many health benefits it does not teach actual applications. Everything it teaches though will give you an edge over an opponent but you will have to learn a fighting art to go with it if you want self defense.

Wing chun kung fu - close quarters self defense. No fancy moves, relies mostly on hand techniques with few kicks. Requires little strength to be effective. It would be good to learn some grappling with it since it has next to none.

Out of the list you made, personally, I'd choose jiu-jitsu. There are a variety of strikes, throws, and joint locks that could come in handy in a street situation. I see you also listed wushu. If it's "contemporary" or modern wushu, you won't learn self defense, since it's all for show. But you would get in shape and very flexible.

Whatever you decide, be careful of charlatans and scam artists. If they tell you to sign a contract, look elsewhere - the school/art should sell itself. Beware of schools with a cult like atmosphere. Not trying to paint an ugly picture, but I know these types of schools exist.

well striking arts such as taekwondo and wushu are probably the quickest way and most apliable way to go for self defense as they are quick to pick up and use were ae all the other martial arts you mentioned focus on grappling which takes alot more practice before making it applicable for self defense in my opinion, also the grappling arts tend to only work on one oponent at a time and usually involve taking your opponent down but if there is more than one attacker the ground is the last place you want to be, traditional japanese jui jitsu features both strikes and grappling so if your looking for one quite well rounded martial art i'd suggest that.

all should be good for fitness maybe not aikido but the rest will definately improve your fitness

aikido is a defensive martial art it features no strikes which means it's all about using your attacker energy against them but would take a while before been able to use it in the street effectively.

i would suggest taekwondo or jui jitsu personally

all will improve your confidence

brazilian jui jutsu are good for girls as girls tend to be natuarally more flexible than men,

as for self defense all i'll say is if its a mugger or rapist and you can't run then strikes to groin, eyes and throat are all you really need to know :-)

all i'll say is go down most places offer atleast one free lesson if you enjoy it and it works for you then join that gym,

as martial artists will tell you its not art but the practioner certain martial arts work better for different people just give em a go and find one you like

Riashiku has given you some correct points and some less than correct points. If you want self defense, it is best to avoid Taekwondo, BJJ, and Wushu, since all are primarily taught as sports. If you can find one that teaches self defense then it's fine to go with it, but be careful of sport aspects if you want self defense. Judo is acceptable, but only under certain conditions and in certain areas, so I advise avoiding that as well.

Jujitsu (actual japanese Jujitsu) and Aikido are excellent self defense from most points. The issue is that they, like most grappling arts, have long learning curves. This means a few extra years of work to get good at them. The positive is that they are both usually self defense centered. The negative is that neither one is very much conditioning.

The ones good for fitness and staying in shape are generally the ones with more sporty aspects. Thus, If you can find a good self defense centered gym in one of he other four, it's best to take it.

HOwever, you should go to each place and examine them thoroughly, then choose based on where you feel most comfortable.

Honestly it's best to go to a school and find out for yourself. I see SO many people on here giving false information about martial arts.

This is the kind of question that you itself must answer, you are the one who knows your capability especially on handling some physical activities.

Besides, style must not be the basis if what to choose, every style has an edge, advantage and disadvantage if we compare them, all you need is a legit instructor that can teach you an efficient skills and knowledge, he can give some important details, an accurate and efficient skills and knowledge.

Just try to visit some dojo near your place, observe and ask some important question, maybe through that effort, you can decide what's better for you and not.

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