Martial Arts for the Unfit

Another vote for wing chun at Phillip, Sifu Graham’s an excellent teacher and exponent of the art. I’ve also heard good things about brazilian ju-jitsu and krav maga (I think there’s a class held at ANU). In terms of losing weight I’d suggest it’s a matter of training three times per week and watching your calorie intake. Martial arts will also do wonders for your self-confidence after a little while.

Kempo with Bobby Farquhar, Anu Basketball courts 5.30 pm on Tuesday and accross the road at the Rugby Club building on Thursdays at 6pm. Good mix of fitness, abilities and ages, and loads of fun. Look for the people in black. Great instructor.

Strongly recommend National Tae Kwon Do, they have classes running right around Canberra, I personally go to Conder Classes (Monday and Wednesday nights) and Kambah classes (Tuesday and Thursday) there are also classes running on Friday nights and Saturday’s in other locations.

It costs $65 per month for as many classes as you can fit in (or want to go to)…

http://www.nationaltaekwondo.com.au/canberra.htm

Wing chun is a very effective martial art, but isn’t necessarily going to do much around fitness or weight loss. I’d by looking for something a bit more active.

There is no such animal as THE world’s mixed martial arts champion, but the sport of MMA had its genesis in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.

BJJ is a practical martial art, unlike some of the karate style ones, and will get you very fit if practiced regularly. A lot of the karate style ones are a bit of a wank

I do a Korean art called Soo Bahk Do, which I started primarily for fitness. There are six women in the do jang I attend (about a third of the class), and a similar proportion at the other do jangs. My instructor was very understanding about my back problems and general unfitness, and altered the program to fit me. I’ve been doing it for about 18 months now and I’m still loving it (especially the weight loss and muscle toning!).

These are the Canberra do jangs for Soo Bahk Do:
Gungahlin (where I go) – http://www.soobahkdo.net.au/
Florey – http://www.capitalsbd.com.au/index.php
Hughes – http://soobahkdo.chirp.com.au/where.html
Bungendore – http://bungendoresoobahkdo.editme.com/

Hope this is helpful!

Creekgirl +1 for Peter Morton.

Thanks Ozi, I might give that one a go. I wont be able to attend the St Eddies one though as it will need to be after hours.

gospeedgo – I have the Zumba DVD’s and I do it at home, but I wanted to try something different, and maybe get some new skills out of it as well.

You should try this:

http://soulpoweryoga.net/

ticks all the boxes.

Wing Chun Kung Fu may be worth a look.

http://www.wingchun.com.au/courses/self-defence/womens-classes

ZUMBAAAAAAA!

I used to go to kickboxing at the Phoenix Gym in Mitchell and it was excellent for fitness (which was the reason I went). Was very good and had a diverse range of people from inept/uncoordinated to professional/competitive. That was a few years ago now though, so I don’t know what it’s like now. They have expanded their facilities in Mitchell in the interim though, so I guess they must still be popular.

http://www.petermortonjujitsu.org.au/

They have a range of different branches and clubs. The classes are not “grunt/shouty” at all, but are great for fitness and the like. Our branch and Griffith (St Eddies) has between 4 and 7 people per class of varying abilities. You’d be welcome to come along for a class to any branch: first class is free and then you can chose if you want to come back. $50 for the term (10 weeks) so very reasonable prices, and you can do multiple classes per week if you want: ie. St Eddies on Wednesday, and Queanbeyan on Monday etc.

I work with a guy who is involved with Brazilian Jiu-jitsu. This is a wrestling/throwing/grappling/ground fighting technique related to judo. It is apparently (according to my colleague) very effective generally, and for women in particular. It relies on technique rather than a lot of physical strength. I believe there are a couple of dojos around Canberra. There is also quite a lot of info available via Google.

I think the world mixed martial arts champion is a BJJ practioner.

I hope this helps.