A serious question

[SKS]

Ok there are many valid striking styles and I know people have their favorites. I personally don't care what your favorite one is. My question is which one will be the most effective for me. Now some background on me:

- 5'2"
- 113lbs
- Dual BB's in Combat/Kosen Judo

Now my goal is to end up fighting the bigger girls at 125, maybe even 135 if I can get my weight up high enough without getting fat or overly masculine. So something that meshes well with my Judo and can be utilized well by a shorter fighter would be ideal. I live in Northern California so I have just about any type of gym available to train at. Thoughts?

[TheCronik]

Ok there are many valid striking styles and I know people have their favorites. I personally don't care what your favorite one is. My question is which one will be the most effective for me. Now some background on me:

- 5'2"
- 113lbs
- Dual BB's in Combat/Kosen Judo

Now my goal is to end up fighting the bigger girls at 125, maybe even 135 if I can get my weight up high enough with getting fat or overly masculine. So something that meshes well with my Judo and can be utilized well by a shorter fighter would be ideal. I live in Northern California so I have just about any type of gym available to train at. Thoughts?

Def boxing short doesnt translate well into kicks and knees and all that but a short boxer/judoka would be your best bet and my two cents.

[Lamer]

One of the tougher questions I've seen asked related to MMA. I started by eliminating as many choices as possible. Off the bat MT is gone(you will be smaller then those you are fighting so the plum will be ineffective) Western Boxing(You'll probably have a shorter reach then most of those you are fighting and with out properly trained kick I can see it being ineffective) Wing Chun(I don't know much about it, so I can't really say much about it other then two general observations. In one way it will be helpful by making you unorthadox and less predictable then most fighters. However, generally speaking styles like this are unpopular for a reason, it simply might be too ineffective) Next I'd eliminate Karate( Sure it could work for you, but aside from Machida, the style hasn't worked well in MMA and Machida is a Karate champion) Savate(Well I could eliminate this simply because it's french, but traditionally done with shoes on, the style is less effective without shoes) and finally I'd eliminate TKD, why? Because it's useless.

So that leaves us with Western Kickboxing and Sanda. Sanda would mesh better with your Judo background, but I think Kickboxing(I'd prefer dutch kickboxing, but Western Kickboxing will hold up in a pinch) is more established in MMA. I'm gonna vote for Sanda.

[SKS]

One of the tougher questions I've seen asked related to MMA. I started by eliminating as many choices as possible. Off the bat MT is gone(you will be smaller then those you are fighting so the plum will be ineffective) Western Boxing(You'll probably have a shorter reach then most of those you are fighting and with out properly trained kick I can see it being ineffective) Wing Chun(I don't know much about it, so I can't really say much about it other then two general observations. In one way it will be helpful by making you unorthadox and less predictable then most fighters. However, generally speaking styles like this are unpopular for a reason, it simply might be too ineffective) Next I'd eliminate Karate( Sure it could work for you, but aside from Machida, the style hasn't worked well in MMA and Machida is a Karate champion) Savate(Well I could eliminate this simply because it's french, but traditionally done with shoes on, the style is less effective without shoes) and finally I'd eliminate TKD, why? Because it's useless.

So that leaves us with Western Kickboxing and Sanda. Sanda would mesh better with your Judo background, but I think Kickboxing(I'd prefer dutch kickboxing, but Western Kickboxing will hold up in a pinch) is more established in MMA. I'm gonna vote for Sanda.

IDK if you knew Kyok but that was his recommendation too. Sanda and Western boxing seem to be the best options. I might see if I can take up both but with the baby on the way I will probably on have time for one if I intend on keep up with Judo training/teaching.

[Lamer]

One of the tougher questions I've seen asked related to MMA. I started by eliminating as many choices as possible. Off the bat MT is gone(you will be smaller then those you are fighting so the plum will be ineffective) Western Boxing(You'll probably have a shorter reach then most of those you are fighting and with out properly trained kick I can see it being ineffective) Wing Chun(I don't know much about it, so I can't really say much about it other then two general observations. In one way it will be helpful by making you unorthadox and less predictable then most fighters. However, generally speaking styles like this are unpopular for a reason, it simply might be too ineffective) Next I'd eliminate Karate( Sure it could work for you, but aside from Machida, the style hasn't worked well in MMA and Machida is a Karate champion) Savate(Well I could eliminate this simply because it's french, but traditionally done with shoes on, the style is less effective without shoes) and finally I'd eliminate TKD, why? Because it's useless.

So that leaves us with Western Kickboxing and Sanda. Sanda would mesh better with your Judo background, but I think Kickboxing(I'd prefer dutch kickboxing, but Western Kickboxing will hold up in a pinch) is more established in MMA. I'm gonna vote for Sanda.

IDK if you knew Kyok but that was his recommendation too. Sanda and Western boxing seem to be the best options. I might see if I can take up both but with the baby on the way I will probably on have time for one if I intend on keep up with Judo training/teaching.

Yeah, I knew who Kyok was. Not very well, but his posts were quality and he seemed like a very knowledgeable guy. So I think you'd should go with Sanda.

[TheCronik]

Seems to be a serious question for the blackbelts and up to answer

[SKS]

Seems to be a serious question for the blackbelts and up to answer

Did you see where I said Sanda and western boxing if I have the time? I appreciate everyones recommendation

[ThirdCoastCombat]

MT in my opinion...

[JonB]

First of all: Good luck Sarah.

Secondly: I think I concur with Boxing/Kickboxing and/or Sanda. Muay Thai will do as well.

Karate (Half star and ^ lol) -Not all Karate is created like, so I would just recommend that if you go this route that you go for full contact or knockdown. I only practiced traditional styles (Shorin Ryu, Sanchin) when I was younger, so I don't have the best knowledge of it minus experiences. I have sparred with a few kyokushin guys though, and they are ruff. lol

TKD* (Also not created equal) and Savate^ would be great to develop accuracy in your kicks. The hand strike mileage may vary though. The guy I sparred with it was great all around though.

Boxing*- Definitely gets the job done, and I've noticed a nice mix between it and great grappling like you have. Of course kicking, knees, and clinchwork are neglected.

Kickboxing*? Hopefully in this case your hands and feet would be a good set of weapons.

Muay Thai*- You should already be good to go in the clinch with your grappling, but it might complement well with adding a strong strike game to that place too. Plus your striking in general improves. If anything: I don't know your frame, but if you have short arms and legs, you always have knees and elbows to bring the pain.
Some throwing (Mainly sweeps) may be included as well, but you're already good to go there.

Sanda- I've never practiced Sanda (Sadly lol) nor sparred with anyone from that style, so I can only go off of experiences and personal research.

I recommend it from what i've seen though. Your strikes will be good, and depending on the school, there might be some grappling differences that might add to that part of your game too. I don't know the Sanda grappling well though. I've heard it's wrestling (Shuai Jiao) with an almost Judo flare at times.


Wing Chun^- I've only taken one class of it, but my brother and his best friend (Who is an instructor) practice it extensively along with TKD, Muay Thai, grappling, and more.
I'm considering taken it along with Muay Thai recently (And BJJ). Really I don't think it should be your primary if being in the ring is your goal. It can definitely help with reactivity and countering though. There's some concepts that really help, and I've noticed a few mma gyms here and there (I.e. The wooden dummy, chi sao) that use some of the pieces from it to help. The only problem is at times full contact sparring might be non existent, or something that takes a long time to be done, but that of course depends on the school. At the same time, the style was originally meant for smaller people, so I wouldn't throw the baby out with the bathwater.

I was much less experienced the last time I sparred with my brother, but coming up with TKD/Boxing/Kickboxing wasn't enough when we did. He tore my ass up, but he has many influences.


At the same time though: Even when you consider a person's physical features it's only a guide based on thought, and not a set in stone rule. You don't have to consider you build at all if you don't want, and if you're still unsure, there's nothing wrong with going Martial Arts shopping. You should anyway because a crappy school is crappy school regardless of style and vice versa.



*(I've practiced)
^(I have sparred with someone with a background here)

[SKS]

First of all: Good luck Sarah.

Secondly: I think I concur with Boxing/Kickboxing and/or Sanda. Muay Thai will do as well.

Karate (Half star and ^ lol) -Not all Karate is created like, so I would just recommend that if you go this route that you go for full contact or knockdown. I only practiced traditional styles (Shorin Ryu, Sanchin) when I was younger, so I don't have the best knowledge of it minus experiences. I have sparred with a few kyokushin guys though, and they are ruff. lol

TKD* (Also not created equal) and Savate^ would be great to develop accuracy in your kicks. The hand strike mileage may vary though. The guy I sparred with it was great all around though.

Boxing*- Definitely gets the job done, and I've noticed a nice mix between it and great grappling like you have. Of course kicking, knees, and clinchwork are neglected.

Kickboxing*? Hopefully in this case your hands and feet would be a good set of weapons.

Muay Thai*- You should already be good to go in the clinch with your grappling, but it might complement well with adding a strong strike game to that place too. Plus your striking in general improves. If anything: I don't know your frame, but if you have short arms and legs, you always have knees and elbows to bring the pain.
Some throwing (Mainly sweeps) may be included as well, but you're already good to go there.

Sanda- I've never practiced Sanda (Sadly lol) nor sparred with anyone from that style, so I can only go off of experiences and personal research.

I recommend it from what i've seen though. Your strikes will be good, and depending on the school, there might be some grappling differences that might add to that part of your game too. I don't know the Sanda grappling well though. I've heard it's wrestling (Shuai Jiao) with an almost Judo flare at times.


Wing Chun^- I've only taken one class of it, but my brother and his best friend (Who is an instructor) practice it extensively along with TKD, Muay Thai, grappling, and more.
I'm considering taken it along with Muay Thai recently (And BJJ). Really I don't think it should be your primary if being in the ring is your goal. It can definitely help with reactivity and countering though. There's some concepts that really help, and I've noticed a few mma gyms here and there (I.e. The wooden dummy, chi sao) that use some of the pieces from it to help. The only problem is at times full contact sparring might be non existent, or something that takes a long time to be done, but that of course depends on the school. At the same time, the style was originally meant for smaller people, so I wouldn't throw the baby out with the bathwater.

I was much less experienced the last time I sparred with my brother, but coming up with TKD/Boxing/Kickboxing wasn't enough when we did. He tore my ass up, but he has many influences.


At the same time though: Even when you consider a person's physical features it's only a guide based on thought, and not a set in stone rule. You don't have to consider you build at all if you don't want, and if you're still unsure, there's nothing wrong with going Martial Arts shopping. You should anyway because a crappy school is crappy school regardless of style and vice versa.



*(I've practiced)
^(I have sparred with someone with a background here)

Wow, thanks for all the insight. I will of course go gym shopping but I wanted to have something in mind.

[ryyonvin]

why are people saying she wont be good at Muay Thai cuz she's short? have you seen the Thai race? The average male is like 5' 6. and their women are even smaller.

take Muay Thai, it's the most devastating out of all the arts.

[ShadowMoses42]

why are people saying she wont be good at Muay Thai cuz she's short? have you seen the Thai race? The average male is like 5' 6. and their women are even smaller.

take Muay Thai, it's the most devastating out of all the arts.

agreed...

[halal pig]

[quote="ryyonvin"]why are people saying she wont be good at Muay Thai cuz she's short? have you seen the Thai race? The average male is like 5' 6. and their women are even smaller.

take Muay Thai, it's the most devastating out of all the arts.[/quote]


yes but in mt there are very light weight classes. if shes ganna compete with 125/135 who are cutting weight its not going to be a fair fight. mt is a lil slower paced than boxing and kicks are mainly wat slows it down. i suggested boxing but specifically id recommend a fast pace duck and slipping style.

[SKS]

why are people saying she wont be good at Muay Thai cuz she's short? have you seen the Thai race? The average male is like 5' 6. and their women are even smaller.

take Muay Thai, it's the most devastating out of all the arts.

yes but in mt there are very light weight classes. if shes ganna compete with 125/135 who are cutting weight its not going to be a fair fight. mt is a lil slower paced than boxing and kicks are mainly wat slows it down. i suggested boxing but specifically id recommend a fast pace duck and slipping style.

That was my thought. It's not that short people can't do MT, its that I will most likely be giving up Matt Serra style height differences.

[Officialaccount]

I would say muay thai since your using all of your weapons, shin, knee,elbow, fist .etc