I am deciding to enroll in a martial arts call, what type of martial arts do you recommend.?

I am looking for an intense training program. More of a combat/self defense martial arts style. Kung Fu? United Studios of Self Defense? Akido? so many choices...

I am deciding to enroll in a martial arts call, what type of martial arts do you recommend.?
I think it's a safe bet that anyone who has trained in a particular art will advocate their own art. If not, they should really be rethinking why they are training in that art, IMO.





So, of course, I'm going to advocate Aikido.





But I think it's been said that you should pick an art based on your own personality, convictions and inclinations. I'm forced to agree (but, really, Aikido is best, really, no, I mean it, I'm not kidding).





I didn't come to Aikido directly. I've tried out and trained briefly in Karate, Judo, and what they called "Kung Fu" (although that probably wasn't what it actually was in hindsight). I've dabbled in several other arts (by "dabbled" I mean read some books, tried out what I could, attended a class or two, exposure but nothing you could call actual training).





The upshot of all of this is when I settled on Aikido I did so with open eyes. I didn't know everything there was (or is) to know about all the martial arts, but I had an inkling of what it was about Aikido that attracted me over other arts.





A lot of people I know in various arts who are truly happy in their chosen art came to it by a similar path.





Just one thing: be honest with any potential instructor about what you are doing. As an instructor it just kills me when someone signs up, promises a full commitment and then leaves with no explanation after six months. It doesn't help to find out they've started training in another art even when I understand why.
Reply:There is no "best", only what you are interested in learning and are willing to spend the time and effort to learn. Go to several different schools, take some free lessons, and find one that has all of the following:





You are interested in the style


The instructors are professional, knowledgeable, and engaging


There are no "contracts" so sign up for and up-front money to pay


The style is one with a history and the school belongs to a national and/or international group promoting that style


They teach both kata and sparring





All martial arts can be effective in real life situations, they wouldn't have lasted this long if they weren't, but they only work well if you learn how to use them properly.
Reply:Go with Jiujitsu. It's practical and if you've ever been in a fight, more often than not, you end up on the ground wrestling, so you want to be sure you know what you're doing. If you don't end up on the floor, you want to be able to disable your opponent quickly and without effort.
Reply:The Jujitsu bandwagon is getting old. Try some of them out and see what you like best. Anyone from any dicipline can beat someone up.... its not about that.
Reply:The best art for you is the one that has a good school in your area.


The quality and frequency of your training far outweigh the style you are training in.





Never pay for rank testing and never sign a contract.
Reply:I would say mix it up take Mauy Thai or regular old boxing for stand up fighting and Ju-jitsu or grecco roman wrestling for ground. Then learn to mesh the two and you would be an outstanding fighter. but if you just take one I would say ju-jitsu.





Don't go for that bull about one style isn't better than another because it's not true if you were to take Karate than you will get beat up by anyone who has been in more than 1 fight in their life. Karate gives out black belts to 12 year olds... please.
Reply:All of the advice give so far are good advice, so I will just throw in my 2 cents in. Don't conform to just one style learn what is usefully to you...what may work for one person may not always work for you so you need to see what is being taught to you and ask yourself can I pull this off and if the answer is no then discard it.
Reply:JerryL and Spidertiger have had the best answers, you have to find a local school that interests you, try a few classes to see which one interests you the most.





Make sure that they teach it with quality and integrity, and not just trying to sell you belts.





and make sure that they have a good well thought out curriculum for training.
Reply:im really into tae kwon do (im a 2nd degree black belt) and i tihnk its great.
Reply:Anything with good conditioning and medium to full contact sparring would do. Don't sign contracts and observe classes first. Also beware of exorbitant fees.