Does anyone know anything about the martial arts?

I'm looking for some sort of strength training that will keep me interested and I've never really been able to get into weight lifting or going to the gym, etc..

Over the years I've found that the only exercise I really stick with is always goal oriented. For cardio I've found that dancing for grades is my "thing" (eg, DDR). I never tire of that and that's why martial arts comes to mind for strength training (always working toward "grades", i.e., belt colors).

I was wondering if anyone here has trained in the martial arts and, if so, have you found it to be a form of body resistance strength training? Or is it mostly comprised of cardio & swiftness of body movement?

I know there are a lot of different kinds of martial arts and from what I've read so far it seems that the different types of Kung Fu are more strength oriented. Is this true?

Thanks for any input that anyone can offer!

I've been doing martial arts for years, and yes, it's a great workout. I do both karate (stand-up punching and kicking) and jujitsu (grappling on the mat), and I'd say karate is more cardio and jujitsu is more strength training. I lost 60 lbs doing karate about 10 years ago, and I couldn't recommend it more highly for somebody trying to get in shape.

Good luck!

It depends what type of class you go to and what kind of warm-up they do. As for strength training, I wouldn't really class any martial arts as strength training, since most martial artists would strength train to improve their martial arts...

However, it is GREAT. So go do it. Once you get started and motivated to become a better martial artist, you may find the motivation to get into the gym and strength train with free weights to aid your martial arts.

Thanks to both of you.

Yes, after doing more research and speaking to a couple of studios I've found that the martial arts really don't build strength in and of themselves. I would have to strength train by some other means in order to enhance the martial art training.

I guess I'll have to pick something because I sure need to build more muscle. I suppose my search continues now....

See if you can find a Brazilian jujitsu studio where you are. They teach "grappling," which is basically rolling around on the ground wrestling. It definitely has a strength training element to it because you've got the weight of the other guy to worry about.

Just a thought...

it really depends how much strength you want to build... most martial arts will help with strength, enough to help you look toned and give you a bit of lean muscle. Do some serious research into the martial arts, and figure out what you need from it. Are you looking at an internal or external style? a soft style or hard style? also, depending on the school you may be learning a more traditional version of a specific martial art, or a westernized version. Also, you don't really need to do strength training as a supplement to your martial art. There are many styles (and the most interesting from my experience) that teach you the use of your opponent's strength against them. One I'd really recommend is tai chi.

On a side note, yoga is fabulous (i love it) but not a martial art, even though it is traditionally combined with Indian martial arts, we in western society don't typically do the martial art part.