My most recent knee sprain has me thinking: What MA would I want to learn if I could no longer kick (or anything else with a chance of torque on the knee)? Boxing would be interesting and Xingyi (focus on 5 elements not animals b/c of more leg/knee involvement). Any internal, but it’s difficult to find a good internal teacher in my area that would focus on just internal AND the fighting applications of it. Also some southern styles come to mind with their minimialistic leg techniques.
What do you guys think? What MA would you prefer if you couldn’t really kick or torque the knees?
Ok, let me clarify. I would want a more complete art, with strikes, throws and locks, but one that minimizes chance of injury to the knee. Sitting on my knees and drawing a katana is a beautiful art, but I would want somthing that I could apply in defense situations.
What MA would you prefer if you couldn’t really kick or torque the knees?
lol @ the answer judo for this problem. While MK’s intent was that judo doesn’t have kicks. Judo is BRUTAL on the knees. Think about it. - the whole concept is to take a person off their feet as quickly as possible. I do not know a person who has done judo at a high level who has not had at least one major knee surgery. In fact I just had arthroscopic surgery for a torn lateral meniscus last week. Pulling, twisting, blocking, cutting,
Now BJJ on the other hand is an excellent art for someone with knee problems.
Originally posted by ShaolinTiger00 lol @ the answer judo for this problem. While MK’s intent was that judo doesn’t have kicks. Judo is BRUTAL on the knees. Think about it. - the whole concept is to take a person off their feet as quickly as possible. I do not know a person who has done judo at a high level who has not had at least one major knee surgery. In fact I just had arthroscopic surgery for a torn lateral meniscus last week. Pulling, twisting, blocking, cutting,
That sucks. I figured lots of back pain, broken toes, and shoulder dislocations, but didn’t think about knees.
I change my answer to Kung Fu. Who says you have to kick?
while it is more than likely there are a few good martial art systems out there that may not be rough on the knees in practice
if you’re gonna end up in a fight of some sort, theres always the risk of that shot someone might take to that area.
Okinawan Karate or real old school Shotokan. Kicks are just tools. I can no longer kick high but I can still use my legs for low kicks, stomps, sweeps, knees, blocks. Nice thing about some of the older arts is they give you a nice selection of tools to pick from.
I had knee surgery a few years ago and still have problems. Bagua Zhang and Sun Taiji Quan were probably easiest on my knees at that time. I actually had trouble with Wu, Yang, and Chen Taiji.
I figured lots of back pain, broken toes, and shoulder dislocations,
plenty of those too. Seriously in all my years of wrestling and kickboxing I’ve never seen the nasty or numerous injuries as in judo. nothing gentle about the gentle art.. to quote the Donn Draeger judo is “the great crippler”
Yeah, except for the whole breaking knee thing they got going on.
Knee bars are only done at the higher level and every competent instructor I know demands that when someone is learning knee bars that they are paired up with an experienced partner. I’d wager that shoulder & ankle injuries are much more common and even they are usually the result of negligence in safety among new students (or those at high level competitiors who stubbornly deny a submission.)
I don’t know man, My knees act up a lot more than they used to know that I’m doing BJJ again.
Of course my CMA teachers never had me trying to fight out of some super low goofy stance.
I think if we’re discussing blown out knees, something like Boxing or even Muay Thai would be the way to go. They just don’t seem to stress the knes as much as the grappling arts.
Big problem with ankles is that you hear the pop before you feel the pain, so beginners or stubborn dont wanna tappers will wind up with a broken ankle before they know it… POP “Was that my ankle?”
Then a few seconds later you know it was your ankle…
I had bad knees, and shuai chiao mixed with weight lifting actually made my knees hella stronger. I dont even have to wear a knee brace anymore.
yeah that’s the danger of heelhooks and knee bars. you go from “fine.. resisting.. no pain.. SNAP oh ****! something tore!”
ex. when I tore my lat meniscus, it made a huge sound (the entire class just stopped and looked at me) but it didn’t hurt at all, but my adrenaline kicked in and I knew something was wrong.. 20 minutes later the swelling and the pain set in.. goodtimes..
I think boxing is very low impact. although you’ll do alot of twisting and torquing if you’ve got decent enough stabilty for kungfu you should be fine.
Originally posted by ShaolinTiger00 yeah that’s the danger of heelhooks and knee bars. you go from “fine.. resisting.. no pain.. SNAP oh ****! something tore!”
I’d agree with heel hooks, but I’ve never found that to be the case with knee bars - just like arm bars, you feel the pain before the damage.
Ok, let me clarify. I would want a more complete art, with strikes, throws and locks, but one that minimizes chance of injury to the knee. Sitting on my knees and drawing a katana is a beautiful art, but I would want somthing that I could apply in defense situations.