Sometime in my twenties, and as part of my personal self-development journey, I decided to pick one martial art, devote myself to it, and make it a lifelong hobby of mine.
I had no specific one in mind, but I had a clear idea of what I wanted it to deliver and what I wanted to avoid. I therefore went through that election process methodically, trying to select the candidate that would best suit my vision:
Efficiency
I wanted to master a martial art to build a stronger body and eventually defend myself if, God forbid, I needed to.
No disrespect here, but some martial arts are more on the artistic side of things; the kicks, the hits, and the moves look sexy and spectacular, but the efficiency itself is limited.
Just contrast the deadly punches and kicks that boxers and kickboxers land with how the other sexy martial arts do it, and you’ll understand clearly what I mean here.
No wonder those sexy martial arts do not stand out in a mixed martial arts combat; they lack efficiency!
Attack & defense
I wanted to do something where I learn both to attack and to defend.
There are martial arts that focus solely or primarily on the defensive side. In life, there are simply situations where attack becomes the best defense, and I wanted to be capable of both (while still hoping to never need to).
Competitions
I wanted to become proficient in it, compete against my buddies during training, and take part in tournaments to challenge opponents and see how well I’m progressing.
I wanted more than just theory; I wanted to put knowledge into practice.
Moderate aggressiveness
I enjoy watching boxing, kickboxing, and MMA, but do I want to be hit that hard in the face? No thanks; our faces and brains are so valuable that they need to be safeguarded. Though I appreciate these sports as a viewer, I didn’t see myself participating in tournaments.
The vibe
If I’m going to training multiple times every week, I really wanted a place where people would be nice and friendly; people who could become my friends.
Again, no disrespect here, but some martial arts draw more “angry” guys than others. You step into the training ground, and you feel the vibe is way too serious; you see fighters.
This is totally subjective. It’s simply not the vibe I was looking for.
Adequacy over the long run
I was looking for something that I could continue to practice as I grew older.
I believe in long-term, consistent work; I’m not the type who constantly jumps from one thing to another.
Tolerance to quitting
There are kicks that require so much agility to be executed (you won’t be able to deliver a kickboxing high kick or a taekwondo back kick if you haven’t trained in a few months).
I wanted a martial art where, in case you decide to stop for whatever reason, you don’t completely lose all that you’ve learned.
Strategy-oriented
This was a bit optional, but I felt I wanted a martial art that incorporated some elements of strategy and intelligence, not only speed and brute force.
Judo was the only one that scored high in each one of these categories, and this is how I ended up stepping into a judo dojo for the first time in my life.
It was one of my best decisions ever.
