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[GiglameshDespair]

Exercise. To some, a necessary evil. To others, a way to improve. To me... probably the first. So I wondered.

At lot of Bay12ers seem to do martial arts. Doing Shotokan karate myself, I want to know; what martial arts do you do? What are they like? Would you recommend them?

[Erils]

Bujinkan. Modern name for Ninjutsu. Lots of learning and practice of actual combat and fighting techniques, not for tournament use. Also learning a lot of techniques for breaking or dislocating limbs. Even learnt how to disarm a gunman (only if he has a pistol at point-blank range).
We also use weapons.
To summarize weapons: Swords are cool, but I'd rather have a 6-foot staff handy.

[LeoLeonardoIII]

Shito-Ryu karate, but originally learned from this guy who taught American Freestyle which was a mishmash of whatever. His deal was cramming so much into each belt level, his green belt was equivalent to someone else's brown, so they did well at tournament. But he was a jackass-type coach guy who would argue with judges etc.

Personally, of melee weapons, I'd be really happy with a spear. I've trained on staff but I feel like in a D&D type dungeon environment it would be really great to have a spear to keep your distance and attack safely over the front rank's shoulders. Plus most civilizations have used significant numbers of spears, up until bayonets were discontinued. They must have known something. So I agree with wanting a two-handed long-range weapon. Face stabs from 5' away are so quick and end things so completely.

Affinity-wise, I like a pair of tonfa or sai. They feel closer to an enhancement of my unarmed fighting than a separate object.

I want to get into a good grappling style because while I learned a lot of sweeps / throws / hold releases, it was inadequate compared to the groundfighting and wrestling you see. I figure Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu has a good rep and gets around widely - any other suggestions?

[GiglameshDespair]

One of my sensei(s?) does a lot of brazilian ju-jitsu, and from the few tricks he's shown me it seems quite effective. Could definately find a worse grappling style, that's for sure. I thin kmost martial artists now do a mix, because no one style is perfect.

Long weapons are always good, yeah. There's a reason they're a staple weapon of most armies up until ring bayonets. Considerign the british army has used bayonet charges in iraq and afghanistan (to success) they still seem to have relevance.

So what's particular unique about Shito-ryu karate? What does it dedicate itself to move wise? A lot of sweeps, etc?

[Baffler]

I dunno. A long spear might be nice in a group of other men with long spears, but alone I would rather have a kukri.

On topic though, I did Kenpo (the American school) for almost 2 years, but had to quit when I moved out of town. There were no studios around in my new city, and I don't have the money regardless. I would sure as hell do it again, and it isn't difficult to get into. It focuses more on quick strikes and breaks from a solid stance, and is more of a defensive school. I'm not really built for grappling, so it was a solid choice, I think.

[Xantalos]

Go Ju Ryu (probably needs hyphens or something) for around 11 years now. No black belt ... yet, but getting there.
Gods that's going to be terrifying though. The tests for it last over 3 hours.

[GiglameshDespair]

Man. All you guys are blackbelts and higher grades, and I'm just a beginner.

[Arx]

It's fine, Gig, I don't even martial art. 

Instead, when I can be bothered, I do yoga and skipping, and I play squash as much as I possibly can every week, which normally means one or two hour-long sessions. They say squash players are the fittest people in the world!

I would kinda like to be able to take up a martial art. Maybe someday I'll manage.

[NAV]

For exercise I work out at my schools gym 3 days a week. I also bike to school in the summer, go scuba diving most weeks in the summer, and sometimes I play airsoft on the weekends. Shovelling my huge driveway in the Canadian winters also counts for something.

In my airsoft group I am the guy with a shield in one hand and a rifle in the other. Haha. It's heavy.

I might start martial arts one day.

[BFEL]

My high school taught Kwan-mu-kan (we never went over the spelling) karate, though only on a "therapeutic" level. So I know all the kata and such, but have no sparring experience.

It was pretty varied, though mostly what I got out of it was punch oriented

I would like to get into tae-kwon-do eventually to better use my legs, seeing as my legs fit the thread title and my arms are...not quite.
After that I would also like to try aikido, as that seems to be a good style to teach dodging and generally not being beat into the ground

[Karkov]

Not necessarily a martial art or anything, but I did fencing for at least a semester.  Had a blast with it.  I'd totally do it again, or any martial arts really.  I'm not exactly the most fit guy out there, but I get shapely really fast whenever I actually have a reason for it.

[My Name is Immaterial]

I fence recreationally at the local university with people 1 to 4 years older than me.
Firstly, no, we don't use rapiers, and secondly, for all you other fencers out there, I prefer the Épée, then the Foil.

[MaximumZero]

I like the saber to fence with.

 Also, *ahem*. Second degree black belt in traditional Ninjutsu (not Bujinkan, I did everything but horsemanship [no longer relevant], making gunpowder and poisons [illegal and easy to track], and water training [I cannot swim]), Yellow glove instructor in Savate (French kickboxing and street fighting,) and instructor in Muay Thai. I've been studying various other schools of fighting (kendo, iaido, kung fu, wushu, etc.) for 15 years or so, but I am effectively retired from martial arts due to injury.

I really want to get into a grappling form, like Aikido, Judo, or Jujitsu, or a school that will help me get my form back, like Hapkido or Taekwondo. I've also never done Karate, which I should probably rectify at some point.

 Biggest barriers to reentry: money, and Wolfeyez is terrified that I'll get seriously injured again, which is a legitimate concern.

[My Name is Immaterial]

For me, the sabre is to quick, it's harder to play your opponent.

[Jelle]

Shotokan is good to get strong leg muscles. Nice and deep stances for strength and stability.