? for those already doing martial arts

In my opinion no. You need someone in real life to teach you it. If you don't the technique will be sloppy and you will never know if you are doing it a hundred percent right. You also need to spar to get used to coping under the stress of fighting. If you don't you won't be able to fight properly... sorry if this isn't the answer you where looking forward to hearing but no. From a kickboxer who has been doing it for three years.

I practice Taekwon-do for 6 years, and i have to say a master is needed always. Not just to correct you, but is needed to guide you. A martial art is not just learning how to fight, there is a philosofy behind it, and a sense of master-disciple that has to exist to consider it a martial art. In addition, a good master is not just someone who teaches you, is someone that you can trust and have to respect. Doing that you learn how to be trusted and gain respect from others.

I was trained in Goju Ryu for a while, before I began teaching myself. Being self-taught when it comes to martial arts is not an easy thing to do, and can be extremely frustrating. I taught myself Tai shing Pek Kwar, which in it's self is a difficult martial art to learn, and it took me years before I could perfectly get down just the most basic of moves, even though I've studied martial arts my whole life.

Watching videos and movies will help if you plan on practicing in your spare time, but nothing is better then being physically trained by a person in front of you. so, I say practice however you can for the time being, until you can find a way to be properly trained by an instructor.

hi im new to this but i have a vast collection of martial arts dvds both training and fictional you are welcome to have a copy if you like ....obijohn ps i recomend wing chun and jui jitsu mtfbwy;)

Wait for a real teacher. Prepare by dancing. Pursue a martial art that paces well with the dancing you do for fun, without form.

rugadd

I have done akido, kendo, kyudo, and iado from teachers. That is the best way do learn. If you have nobody to train against ot learn against then it is hard to do. Learning from books and videos is a good way to learn once you have a foundation built up first.

hi,
i've studied a few martial arts while living in differnet places - its not something i've ever tried - but theres no reason you couldn't try to learn from the internet

however with alot of martial arts there are very small moves which make a difference to how you apply the techniques (e.g - the position of the hand when grappling) which may not come across on youtube videos (i guess it depends on who has made them!!)

in my experience there isn't really a substitute for a live teacher

I hope you find something that works for you

Having a personal instructor is not necessary on a regular basis. When you take things on your own, your progress will be slow, but you will progress.

The major reason to have correction from an instructor is so you don,t do something that will hurt you, like punching incorrectly or taking stances that strain the knees or something along those lines.

The nuances of each "style" are not important. A punch is a punch, a kick is a kick. A rear naked choke is the same in MMA as it is in jujitsu. There are only so many ways to move and manipulate the human body.

Your "necessary" equipment should be a bag to hit and kick and a buddy to spar. With those two tools "bad form" becomes quickly apparent.

I am not saying NEVER get instruction from someone who knows what they are doing. You can attend weekend workshops to get that personal correction of form. Go, learn, get spot checked, come back and work hard.

For practice is better than art. Your exercise does well without the art, but the art is not much good without the exercise. -Hanko Dobringer, 1389