(no subject)

[em_h]

So ... if I were going to try to pursue doing some sort of martial arts class, anyone got ideas about which specific kind might work best for me?

And, Toronto people specifically (I know there aren't many on here), any ideas of good places? Ideally near the university, but near Bathurst and Queen might also work.

Comments

[misslynx.livejournal.com]

I would recommend visiting a few different dojos teaching different martial arts, and watching a class (most will let you do that) to see if it looks like something you'd feel comfortable with.

If you're looking for something fairly gentle, you might want to check out Tai Chi (as someone else recommended) or Aikido. If you're looking for something a little more hard-edged, maybe Karate, Ju-Jitsu or Kung Fu (Wing Chun style is supposed to be particularly good for women).

Personally, I found I got more benefit from the hard styles than the soft ones (Ju-Jitsu is what I stuck with for the longest) - they required me to push myself more and ended up giving me a lot more strength and confidence. If you're trying to break out of your usual habits and expand your boundaries, sometimes something that pushes you further out of your comfort zone is best. But everyone is different, and checking out several different things is the best way to get a sense of what might work for you.

[em-h.livejournal.com]

Yeah, part of my problem is that I have so little open time in my schedule, I want to just FIND A THING and not think about it further. But this is not necessarily the best way to proceed.

After consulting with A, who was concerned that some things might just reinforce my slightly scary guided missile energy, I'm wondering whether yoga or something is the better thing to try. The great advantage of yoga aside from anything else is that Downward Dog is two blocks from my house. I feel rather more interested in karate than yoga, right now, but may not be either practical or the most useful ...

In fact, it'll be a small miracle if I manage to get it together to do any of these things, but you never know.