Martial art without punching?

July 6, 2005 6:49 AM

I broke both hands and both wrists several years ago and can no longer make a complete fist with my left hand. Now I'm interested in taking a martial arts class. Any ideas for a discipline that wouldn't involve too much punching? I've looked online and Aikido seems to be a good bet, but I'd love to hear from anyone more knowledgeable.
posted by richmondparker to Sports, Hobbies, & Recreation (18 answers total)

There was a post last week about this topic. Judo is my vote since it is a good mix of sport as well as self-defense skill building. You learn throws, chokes, arm-locks and pins. It is all about learning to control your opponent and you get to practice by going all-out on an opponent but not hurting them.
posted by jduckles at 7:09 AM on July 6, 2005

Best answer: As a practicing aikidoka, I highly recommand aikido, but make sure you know what you're getting into. Some aikido schools are quite hard and are guaranteed to stress your wrists and fingers. I don't know if this is an issue for your injuries. Almost all aikido schools involve punching but only insofar as you need to be able to simulate a reasonable attack for practice purposes. Ideally, you'll never be landing the punch on anything ;) I'll also mention that aikido can at times be boring, frustrating, and may not give you the work out you're looking for (this is a big deal for some people). Again, different dojos, different experiences.

My limited experience with judo and jiu-jitsu style grappling have been positive if extremely humbling. I've noticed that most longtime judo players have pretty messed up hands (mostly from broken fingers, I gather), but that may just be the folks I know.

My advice would be to find a dojo doing something that looks interesting and give it a go.
posted by abingham at 7:33 AM on July 6, 2005

I don't know about Judo if your wrists are weak. Judo can be pretty intense on the parts of your body that bend.

Aikido also involves some wrist-bending but probably not as much.

On preview: What abingham said. My judo instructor was a total mess physically... big scars down each shoulder from competitive sparring. It's definitely a high-risk art for injury IMHO.

The ultimate "open fist" art would be T'ai Chi but a lot of people might not consider it a martial art. Depending on the style you learn you may not ever even bend your wrist, much less form a closed fist.

Are you just looking for good exercise or do you want self-defense training (which is IMHO a bad idea in general)? Do you want to "spar"? Aikido and T'ai Chi can be very good exercise but aren't incredibly useful for defense unless you're extremely good at them. T'ai Chi has sparring but it's kind of... weird.
posted by selfnoise at 7:39 AM on July 6, 2005

I took Tang Soo Do for a number of years in grade school and high school. Think of it as a tamed-down version of Tae Kwan Do...We learn a lot of the same stuff, but isn't as geared towards sport and fighting. For the first couple of ranks, some closed-fist moves are required but after that, it's all open-palm techniques. However, IIRC, one of the earlier tests does require you to break a board with a closed fist though that may have changed by now.
posted by jmd82 at 7:47 AM on July 6, 2005

Jujitsu or Brazilian jujitsu have very little punching, but the wrist/finger grapples can put a lot of stress on the hand. If you're not planning on doing this competitively, you could ask during practice that people stay away from the hands and do everything else.
posted by Anonymous at 7:48 AM on July 6, 2005

Best answer: Another Aikidoka here... Aikido has punches, but are not practiced as such (i.e. no working on a makiwara). But I will re-iterate abingham's advice - it can be rough on the hands & wrists.

But, a more basic question is, what do you want from a martial art? And be honest with yourself; to get in shape, self-defense, spiritual reasons, etc.

My experience with Aikido is it can be a little "new agey, flakey, wacky" - people talking about ki, and flow, and so forth with no grounding in the practical aspects. Don't get me wrong, though. If practiced properly, Aikido can be quite effective. But there are a number of not so good schools. Where are you located? I know a few excellent places in various parts of the US.

Bottom line, try out a number of styles, and find one that suits your needs and personality. Most reputable schools will let you take a class or two for free or a nominal cost. Try them out.
posted by ObscureReferenceMan at 8:00 AM on July 6, 2005

Taekwondo as I learned it is mostly kicking, with arms and hands just used for blocks and basic punches.
posted by brownpau at 8:25 AM on July 6, 2005

Response by poster: To clarify: I'm in the Atlanta area, and while I like the self-defense aspect, I'm really more interested in a decent form of exercise that's not as boring as some of the others I've tried.
posted by richmondparker at 8:26 AM on July 6, 2005

I 2nd that Taekwondo tip. You could effectively spar using your left arm for blocking only, and still have a lot of fun and a good work out. I'm sure there are also kung fu variants that could be practiced that way.
posted by Jack Karaoke at 8:34 AM on July 6, 2005

yeah, hands get a lot of work in most martial arts, regardless of punching. As others have said, work out what you want from the training, and most important, visit a few places to find a school that fits you personally. Which art is practiced is not the only element that differentiates one place from another - one central thing is who the master is, and how he personally divulges / interprets the art he teaches.

lotsa previous threads on general topic...

on preview, if you're looking for fun exercise, I wouldn't worry too much about the punching, as you'll generally be punching the air. TKD usually does do a lot of punches, though, so if you really can't close your fist, you may have some difficulty doing the forms accurately. If the concern is more about punching bags, just a)check out the expectations of different schools (as I said, it will depend as much on individual teachers as arts) and b)let the instructors know your limitations wherever you end up training (most schools are very happy to work with you... we had a guy at our school for a while who didn't have any arms - naturally he was frustrated some of the time, but the idea is to work with what you've got - achieve your greatest potential, not lament your external limitations).
posted by mdn at 8:46 AM on July 6, 2005

To clarify your question more, what is the actual current status of your wrists & hands? Is the problem just that you can't make a complete fist with one hand, or are the joints still fragile? I know a number of folks who have broken hands or wrists and have healed enough to function just fine in the dojo. If the problem is just forming the fist, you've got a lot more options than if the joints are still weak.
posted by tdismukes at 9:32 AM on July 6, 2005

If your grip strength is good you might consider kendo.
posted by nicwolff at 9:41 AM on July 6, 2005

T'ai Chi is definitely a low-impact art for hands and wrists. There is no hard "sparring" (in the sense of combat training) at lower levels, but in most schools there is Tui Shou (Push Hands) where you work on sensing energy via your hands and forearms from your partner. Many of my students have found increased flexibility in their arms, wrists, and hands after practicing Tui Shou. So maybe some work in Tai Chi may be beneficial. You certainly never will bend them or be forced to use wrist strength to do either the form, the push hands, or even the higher lvl sword work.

I would try a softer school like Yang form instead of Chen or Wu.
posted by Dantien at 10:09 AM on July 6, 2005

Best answer: Another Aikidoka here. I agree with the advice that you should determine what it is you're looking for first. Then, I would suggest that you go watch classes in different schools/martial arts. I'll always reccomend Aikido, but as mentioned before the styles and dojos vary quite a bit. I would suggest that you can learn a LOT about a dojo by watching a class.

In particular, do a lot of the students appear to be nursing injuries? Is the sensei? I think that says a lot about the practice at the dojo - no matter what the martial art. If they're hurting people often, particularly in Aikido, they're not teaching techniques correctly.

But I think the most important aspect is after watching a class if you feel like you'll get what it is you really want from training there. If you want a disciplined practice where they will take into account your physical limitations, does this place seem like a school that will offer it to you? If not, move on.

And good luck!
posted by mulkey at 10:29 AM on July 6, 2005

I would stay away from grappling arts for sure. Judo, Hapkido or anything that's going to involve joint locks. Not so much because you won't be able to do it as because you might not have a training partner who would remember to go easy on your weak spot.

I'd look to something like Karate or Tae Kwon Do. They all will involve punches or blocks, but they don't have to. The weapons you use are sort of up to you to a point.

Mostly though, I'd just go talk to a couple of instructors. Explain what your issues are and try to determine if they can devise a practice that works around your issues.
posted by willnot at 11:02 AM on July 6, 2005

Best answer: Try Dogwood Aikikai. I practiced there on & off around 1996 while I was in Atlanta and then Warner Robins. The instructor (Dale Nordenberg) is excellent, students very nice. The style is a little on the "soft" side - with a few students who practice a little "harder".

Aikido Center of Atlanta is good too. But I thought the dojo wasn't quite as nice as Dogwood. But instructors are also excellent.
posted by ObscureReferenceMan at 11:52 AM on July 6, 2005

Response by poster: Thanks for all the help! I'm headed to Dogwood Aikikai tomorrow to observe...
posted by richmondparker at 7:26 PM on July 7, 2005

I practice kendo, and if your wrists are fragile, I'd get some protectors - the wrist area is a target for strikes, and can get smacked pretty hard. But it is a lovely art.
posted by korej at 9:32 PM on July 7, 2005