Which is the best martial art(s) for a jedi

no problem....necessity is the mother of innovation/invention

Ok so we have determined that there realy is no best martial art for Jedi. The argument of the best style is all situation specific. For those that just want to learn a martial art then learn one. Don't be sucked in by the Dojo bull. Studies have proven that you are able to learn just as much just as effectively from a video as an instructor. Here I will list a couple but do your research, some more knowledge is already better than what you know now. John Pelligrini and Combat Hapkido is good empty hand fun, SKKA academy will give you a solid foundation at low cost and you don't have to test just learn, Fred Villari's Shaolin Kempo set on his website is great too. Other sthat are very ninja are Rick Tews sight, Richard Van Donk's site and of course Stephen Hayes Quest site. Hope theses help and they run the range of cost but if you just want to add some knowledge stay cheep and grab a partner, Good Luck.

What studies have proven this?

Black Belt Magazine:

CAN YOUR VCR TEACH YOU TECHNIQUES AS WELL
AS LIVING, BREATHING HUMAN BEINGS?
BY BOBBY NEWMAN PH.D.

There have been others in the past this article refers to VCR to give you some idea of how old it may be but I didn't find the actual article, as I have many copies in storage. This same type of article has appeared recently (read as last few years) but do not recall when. Do some research, they are out there it just might take time to sift through the articles. Good luck and good training.

The article is called CAN YOUR VCR TEACH YOU TECHNIQUES AS WELL AS LIVING, BREATHING HUMAN BEINGS?' not 'Your VCR can etc....', I'd like to see the whole article if you ever dig it out and can convert to PDF please?

I'm not discrediting it but I think there is a limit to what you can learn from videos/DVDs/books etc, especially if you have no previous knowledge of the martial arts. Most human beings (especially Westerners) who aren't martial artists/dancers/gymnasts etc, move and stand awkwardly and unnaturally and an awful lot of the arts is to do with posture and I doubt that without the benefit of a good experienced instructor that most people would even get anywhere near 'mastering' this. I've seen brown belts and above with sloppy balance and posture and I'd certainly question anyone without prior experience actually putting any effort into the stances before fastforwarding to the 'cool stuff' kicks and punches etc.

May the Force be with you,

Matt.

quite true....i spent years just learning balance before actually getting to learn the really cool stuff ie: spinning and jumping techniques...old adage\"you have to learn to crawl before you learn to fly\"...

one of my earliest apprentices was too eager to learn the \"cool stuff\" and had no interest in the basics, as such he was never fully interested in what i was teaching him and failed as an apprentice...his failing was my failing....however i still hold to my method of teaching the very basics first and foremost....good basic skills will beat average \"cool stuff\" any day

Matt I will see if i can find the actual article, also you can goole.book most of the black belt magazines that were in print now converted to pdf format online. If I can narrow down the date I will try and find the actual article and post the link for it here.

I do agree with both your guys comments on the martial arts, it sounds as if both of you are instructors or at least have a decent amount of experiance so I won't bore you with useless info. I will disagree on much you have posted. In the 7+ years that I worked in maximum security for two different prison systems I saw many inexperianced inmates destroy seasoned martial artists. I have seen then do the same to both seasond military veterans and law enforcement so I don't believe it comes down to many years of experiance and most of what we \"westerners\" learn is half garbage anyway. This isn't to take away from anyones experiance but a keen eye needs to be used and the art should fit you not the other way around.

For those that are wondering I hold rank and experiance in Traditional Karate ( Shorin ryu, Isshin Ryu, Goju Ryu, Shotokan) Tae Kwon Do, Tang Soo Do, Aikido, Jujutsu, Shaolin Kempo and have dabbled in Ninjutsu, Hapkido. I have started to look in to Kung Fu Shaolin White crane and Baguazang and Xingyi through YMAA these are video so I will let you know how I fare with this. thay are a great resource for complete explination as well as clear instruction.

For people that end up using video here is the secret watch the video through, then watch it again, then break it into lessons and work through each lesson. Video yourself and compare it to the video you are using to learn you can learn this way you need to be patiant and work hard but it is one of the greatest comitments to yourself and one of the most fullfilling.

To all who read this I am sorry if this appears a little rambling and spotty cohesiveness, I have been up sick myself and with sick kids over the last few days so bare with me.

when i was a white belt i would consistantly beat blackbelts in sparring, it's not just the style or how your taught, but more importantly your dedication. most people just go for the 30-60 mins of a class and they do no additional training. i would not only train in class, but once i got home i would put another 2-3 hours in just going over basics. for me martial arts took up alot of time as i was very focused on being the best i could. i was invited to participte in several team competitions but never considered myself ready for any of them....if i detected even the slightest flaw in my technique(or perceived flaw) i would rededicate my focus to improve upon it...i have recently discovered the jeet kune do organizations home study program, you study from a video, to test and be ranked you video yourself doing the techniques and send it to them, then they critique it and tell you where you need work...seems like a decent way to learn without a traditional dojo, as long as your dedicated enough to put in the effort...

Wow, I will have to check that out. I haven't seen much by video home study for JKD. I try to keep fairly well rounded and knowledgable on most styles because I believe they each offer something to me. I do not agree with the only one style is good mind set. Video learning and testing can be effective and by all means try and get a friend involved. My only real advice is just be careful and considerate of your partner real easy to get injured unsupervised. Arts that promote flashy high jumping spining 360 dgree nonsense, stay away from them, although beautiful to watch about as effective as a wet noodle (but even a wet noodle to the eye hurts, hmm). Though I have enjoyed the arts I have been involved in and searching I will continue to do, for those realy interested in a no nonsense art I would look into Krav Maga. There is a wonderful book series put out by Darren Levine that are realy good, check them out at www.kravmaga.com and see what you think. Good luck and keep me posted on how your training is going I would like to know more about it.

Matt here it is Sep 2003 issue page 101

http://books.google.com/books?id=FtwDAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA101&dq=black+belt+magazine,+CAN+YOUR+VCR+TEACH+YOU+TECHNIQUES+AS+WELL+AS+LIVING,+BREATHING+HUMAN+BEINGS%3F#v=onepage&q=&f=false

its a good article and I think I might even have this issue in storage the cover looks familiar. Hope this helps all.