Beginner's Guide to Martial Arts

The martial arts encompass many styles of fighting, meditating, and living. Learn martial arts in this video.

Take Action

Pick martial art
Try Taekwondo, Karate or kickboxing
Try Israeli martial arts for self-defense
Strikes & hits for Karate
Grappling for Jujitsu

About this Author

Julio Rivera is an instructor at Premier Martial Arts in New York City, which presently has three locations in Manhattan. Mr. Rivera holds multiple black belts and has extensive experience as a fitness and martial arts trainer. His articles have appeared in numerous national and international magazines.

JULIO RIVERA: Hi, my name is Julio Rivera. I am the head instructor and manager here at Premier Martial Arts in New York City. This is the beginner's guide to martial arts. Now there are many martial arts to choose from. When choosing one, you have to go by your body type, what your goals are as far as fitness goes. If you are going into something just to get in shape, you may want to try something that provides more cardio for you, taekwondo or karate or kickboxing. If you are into it for self defense, you may want to try Israeli martial arts, because they are all about down and dirty self defense. If you want a combination of both, look into doing maybe mixed martial arts. You will learn throwing, you will learn jiu-jitsu techniques, you will learn kickboxing all into one. RICARDO BELLOT: Also, if you want to learn karate and taekwondo or striking techniques, a lot of it consists of hand strikes, elbows, knee strikes; these things are also practical for self defense. You can also--you can use anyone, woman, children, men. It does not matter what size you are. If you can strike, you can hit, if it hurts, it works. It is my motto. JULIO RIVERA: If you prefer grappling, you can do jiu-jitsu and there is traditional jiu-jitsu or Brazilian jiu-jitsu. They will involve locking techniques, choking techniques, armbars. You can do judo, which involves throws where you pick up a larger opponent and you toss your opponent. So there are many, many options for you. Make sure you check out the school thoroughly, check out the instructor and feel comfortable wherever you are. That is the beginner's guide to martial arts.

Beginner's Guide to Martial Arts Video

Take Action

About this Author

Member Comments