Faldoe wrote:In addition to what I mentioned? To have a more integrated being/connection with my body and mind and to push my self physically. I hope it would also in turn help with anxiety.
What I meant was more "what is the most important thing?". Any martial art that isn't some new fanlged bullshit offering you x amount of skills in x amount of time is probably going to deliver you a whole bunch of benefits, most of the ones you named. So working out the most important one is going to help narrow it down.
If you are looking for spiritual development then I'd look at a traditional style of karate, or kendo, jujitsu. If you want to go all hippy maybe Aikido.
Fitness then kickboxing is pretty awesome. As long as the dude running it isn't a dick. Which sadly is not the easiest requirement to fulfill as it does seem to attract a certain sort of person.
Self defence, then something that involves ranged attacks and groundwork. But self defence is a bit of a red herring, as it takes so many years to develop the muscle memory to allow you to apply your knowledge in a controlled way in a random fight or flight situation. So I wouldn't necessarily focus on that.
For me, the most important aspect is two-fold: One is avoiding martial arts that are solely sports-styled. I think there is too much interesting stuff other aspects of martial arts that you miss when you focus on the competitive side of it.
The other is finding a style that is full contact, or close enough. This point goes hand in hand with the point above about avoiding sports-style martial arts, but for me being able to train in an environment where, in a respectful and very controlled way, your mind is forced to deal with physical discomfort I think is the key for developing spiritually (and physically). It's about learning your own boundaries, testing them, pushing them, controlling fear, adrenaline etc. All of these aspects are really helpful in everyday life. That is also why I think choosing a traditional martial art is helpful, as it creates a good framework for that process - a much more positive one than simply wanting to learn to beat the shit out of someone.
Which I guess leads me to my final point - go to the dojo, meet the Sensai and the sempais, get a feel for the vibe and the culture that they bring to it. Even within a given style you will find certain dojos have a certain vibe and attract a certain person, which affects the way they train and how you learn. If it doesn't gel with you don't waste your time there. One of the critical markers is how children/younger people and women participate, especially in a semi or full contact environment. Obviously I wasn't kicking the shit out of kids when I was 6, but as you get older you learn to handle contact more. How the sensai handles that is indicative of how he or she approaches their training as a whole. Similarly with regard to women: the amount of men between 15 and 35 who want to learn how to hit each other harder is apparently limitless. You are always going to attract guys, regardless of what martial art it is. But being able to attract, and retain, female martial artists is a sign that the dojo has more going for it than just the fighting.
@heavy: You build up your strength in your wrists and knuckles, and you aren't allowed to strike with your hands above the shoulders. And for long sparring sessions we'd often use light gloves anyway. I've never really thought about it as it's all I know. I quite liked the fact that hand and elbow strikes to the head were off limits, meaning that you mostly avoided the problems with boxing etc (long term brain injury, boxer's nose etc) but the fact that you could get knocked out by a decent head kick gave sparring increased... I dunno... urgency. Which getting back to discipline was a really important thing. When you got tired, and your form got worse, or you let your guard drop, you could get knocked out (or at least in training cop a light kick around your ears to remind you).
Given that the only martial art I really know is Kyokushin (shit, I don't even know that much about other karate styles) I can't recommend it enough. At least in my dojo I found a great blend of tradition, respect (self respect, respect for others), discipline but also real world applicable skills. But I think you could find that in any number of cool martial arts, depending on the sensai.
