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Interested in learning to defend yourself? Welcome to the world of martial arts. Defining which one is suitable for you depends on what you want to get out of it.

There are styles which have a strong emphasis on health and well being, with martial skill as a secondary component, and styles which encourage their students to train their self defence as their highest priority. Tradition and ancient heritage can be a part of many styles , and many schools encourage their students to keep to these traditions out of respect for the art. And then there are the more sporting styles, which often hold competitions and award their students with trophies.

That is putting the world of martial arts into four major categories, now it's up to you to choose what is most important to you. However keep in mind that every school is different, and the instructor may find many different aspects just as important as each other.

If you're learning a martial art for self defence there are a few options you can take. Your size will help you define which style to suit you. Smaller built people, as well as women and children are recommended doing styles such as Wing Chun Kung Fu, which was designed by a woman to overcome strength and size. Others styles to consider which are specifically designed for self defence are Aikido, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, Jeet Kune Do, or Muay Thai.

To learn self defence is to try and prepare yourself for anything, this also includes weapons used on the street. Many martial arts will incorporate weapons, however styles such as various forms of Kung Fu, some Karate forms, and Indonesian forms such as Pencak Silat, and Philippines forms such as Kali, Arnis, and Escrima will prepare their students for weapons including as clubs, knives, half-staves, hand guns and syringes.

However if you are more interested in starting a martial art as a sport, styles such as Sport-based Karate, kickboxing and Tae Kwon Do focus more on earning points in competition and may encourage their students to compete in local and national martial art sporting events. All martial arts have a degree of competition, however be wary that learning how to earn points from your opponent may not stop them if they were to attack you on the street.

To learn a martial art is to learn a sport, so there is always going to be an emphasis on physical development, however it remains up to the particular school to decide how to encourage their students to increase their health and well being. But it is important

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