Martial arts for sweaty people

January 24, 2016 10:29 AM

I sweat. I've tried martial arts before, I love it but noone wants to pair up with the sweaty guy. I get it - I wouldn't either. After a few sessions I felt humiliated and quit. What forms of martial arts wouldn't make me feel this way?

Note: I'm doing this for fitness and self development, not defence or sparring. I've previously tried Shinkendo and Aikido. The former resulted in my flicking sweat from the end of my bokken onto the guy beside me, the latter leaving a foot-wide wet patch on the sensei's gi. Without fail, after warm up I'm ready for a shower.

I've tried strong antiperspirants and technical clothing, but nothing prevents the big wet "splash" on the dojo mat, or the constant wiping away of sweat from my forehead.

I'm relatively fit, believe it or not. I run and when I do I sweat a ton, but I can run good distances and my recovery is fine. So I don't believe this is just a fitness issue, rather one of just naturally sweating a lot.

Should I just give up, buy a bucket of fried chicken and let my dreams of being the next Bruce Lee die? Or is there something you can tell me, some suggestion, or some martial art out there which is right for the cold-loving likes of me?

posted by tzb to Health & Fitness (23 answers total)

I think karate (or another striking art) might work for you. Have you worn a heavy weight gi before? Somewhat counter-intutitvely many people find them cooler than lighter weight gis. You might also want to see if you can find a dojo with a wood floor (since sweat can discretely be wiped away by a cloth). Finally, you could use the cold to your advantage if you were able to find a instructor who doesn't believe in such luxuries as heat.
posted by oceano at 11:02 AM on January 24, 2016

Tae kwon do. Not much of a focus on grappling (it's very heavily kick-based) so you can keep your sweat at least a leg's distance from your opponents. Many of my teammates would sweat heavily and it was totally fine beacause we were rarely touching them. A layer under your dobok/gi/whatever might help soak up some sweat, too.
posted by TwoStride at 11:08 AM on January 24, 2016 [2 favorites]

Well, kendo is not going to keep you from sweating, but it is one sweaty-ass martial art and it's perfectly normal for your gi to be several pounds heavier after practice. Kendo practice makes the whole gym smell (you don't notice if you're practicing but you sure as hell notice as a spectator) so at least you won't stand out. Also most of the parts of you that come in contact with another person's body are covered with armor, so it's not like you're getting your sweat all over their skin.

Just wash your gi semi regularly. Nobody cares if you're soaked or if you smell like fresh sweat, but month-old funk is not cool.
posted by telepanda at 11:11 AM on January 24, 2016 [1 favorite]

My kickboxing instructor used to leave a literal puddle. I don't recall ever actually touching one of my fellow students (on purpose).
posted by WesterbergHigh at 11:14 AM on January 24, 2016

I used to do shotokan karate with a sweaty guy. It's mostly punches and blocking and not so much grappling. He kept a hand towel discreetly tucked into his gi belt that he would wipe off with. A sweat-wicking undershirt under the gi might also be helpful.
posted by jessamyn at 11:15 AM on January 24, 2016

Find a better dojo/dojang (easy for me to say, right?). At my kids' TKD dojang sweat is a mark that you're working hard. Even better if you can leave a sweat-angel on the mat.
posted by tayknight at 11:18 AM on January 24, 2016 [1 favorite]

Taekwondo is a great solution. You aren't grappling as much as striking, so sweat is NBD.
posted by heathrowga at 11:51 AM on January 24, 2016

Fencing. We're all sweaty. No one can tell inside the mask
posted by chapps at 11:56 AM on January 24, 2016 [2 favorites]

Most people don't think of fencing as a martial art, but it is. In modern fencing, you only touch your opponent with your weapon, and you're covered in protective clothing anyway. In HEMA (historical European martial arts), there might be some grappling, but it's still mostly sword contact, and there's even more protective clothing. HEMA should not be confused with the Society for Creative Anachronism or LARPing, where people dress up and pretend to be from other time periods. People who are serious about HEMA study period manuals and learn historical techniques. It's not as widely available as modern fencing, but there seem to be more and more clubs forming all the time. There are also schools of Japanese swordsmanship, but that's not something I am personally familiar with.
posted by FencingGal at 12:03 PM on January 24, 2016 [3 favorites]

Came to say fencing!

PS, never put your head in a mask without checking for sweat, except perhaps your own. *shudder*
posted by Room 641-A at 12:05 PM on January 24, 2016 [3 favorites]

FencingGal was just in before me - I was going to mention HEMA as well! In summer we are all sweating disgustingly under all that protective gear, so couldn't judge another sweaty person. However, I think in your case I'd recommend sport fencing (or HEMA that uses the same protective gear, like smallsword, rather than something like longsword where you need all the heavy gear) - I'd worry that you'd sweat yourself into some dangerous dehydration exercising with really thick protection on.

Looking at your profile, you're in the UK so check out the BFHS list of groups - that list is not exhaustive, as there are a number of non-BFHS affiliated clubs out there, so if there's nothing in your area have a google :)

Also, is the sweatyness a problem outside exercise? If it is, you can talk to your GP about it, as there might be something more that can be done about the sweatyness generally.
posted by Vortisaur at 12:09 PM on January 24, 2016

Honestly I am an extremely sweaty man and I have been welcome in both Brazilian Jiujitsu and Judo. Although I still remember, like eight years later, the one time a guy dripped his sweat into my mouth.

(I've also seen a person hounded out of a BJJ gym because he was stinky sweaty, but watery sweaty seems OK.) I also know a guy who is really sweaty and brings a towel with him.
posted by Comrade_robot at 12:16 PM on January 24, 2016

Speaking for myself, having trained in multiple dojos and multiple arts, over many years, I would have thought something was wrong if people weren't sweating, and I wouldn't have gone back to a dojo if anyone made a big deal about it. It's a physical activity and if you're not sweating you're either doing it wrong or you've got a health problem. After some classes I would have an equal weight of my partner's and my own sweat on me by the end of class.

When I wrestled the studio had some sort of spray they would use to keep from spreading nasties around via sweat, but the sweat itself was just a fact of life.

It's certainly respectful of you to try and mitigate it for the comfort of your training partners, thank you for being thoughtful. Others have good suggestions about how to mitigate. I would not let this get in the way of your training. Shower beforehand if you're worried about smells, shower afterwards to keep yourself clean, and go train. Maybe keep a towel nearby to wipe off when you get breaks.

I mean, maybe I'm an old man bloviating "back in my day", but seriously, anyone who would make this an issue is a dickhead and not worth wasting your time on. Find another dojo if you have to.
posted by natteringnabob at 12:27 PM on January 24, 2016 [3 favorites]

Why don't you try a striking art? In kickboxing, people sweat all over the place, but you never notice because you're just hitting them.
posted by deathpanels at 12:43 PM on January 24, 2016 [1 favorite]

Seconding Comrade_robot. I sweat pretty easily and I practice Brazilian jiu-jitsu. You will get really sweaty at BJJ practice! But everyone gets really sweaty at BJJ practice, so it's not that big a deal if you are the sweatiest by some margin.
posted by egregious theorem at 12:49 PM on January 24, 2016 [1 favorite]

What about boxing/kickboxing conditioning classes? If you're not interested in sparring, then the only thing you're going to touch is the bag with your gloves on, and I seriously doubt anyone would notice your sweat at all.

As a datapoint, sport fencing made me (and nearly everyone else) utterly sweat-soaked, but it was also very warm in the salle for much of the year, likely not a problem in the UK. If you want to try it, definitely get a sweatband you can wear under the mask.
posted by tautological at 1:12 PM on January 24, 2016 [2 favorites]

3 of my sons have done Ishinryu Karate, I did it for a little while years ago, One has kept it up and is a black belt. I have gone to many karate demonstrations, and nobody cared how much anyone sweated.
posted by mermayd at 1:14 PM on January 24, 2016

It has a reputation for being an old-people thing, but Tai Chi (Tai Ji Chuan) is a martial art which creates almost zero sweat.
posted by chainsofreedom at 1:21 PM on January 24, 2016

Best answer: No one cares if you're the sweaty guy as long as you're not the stinky guy.

(source: am sweaty person in martial arts)
posted by hollyholly at 3:23 PM on January 24, 2016 [1 favorite]

I don't know exactly how much you sweat and what's considered normal because I don't sweat much myself (I overheat and pass out). If it's really a lot, or if it really bothers you, talk to your doctor about it. I take Ditropan (for overactive bladder), which is primarily used to control sweat. I was looking into the extended release version (good for my purposes) and found a forum that amounted to university professors talking about how they take a dose before lecturing and it lasts a few hours (extended release didn't work as well for them, for that). Anyway, it's cheap and has few side effects, so I thought I'd mention it. IANAD.

(That said, my husband and son both sweat a TON. Maybe make mental notes of who else is leaving puddles - I doubt you're the only one!)
posted by jrobin276 at 4:37 PM on January 24, 2016

I used to train at Muay Thai with a guy who sweated profusely, and he would change his shirt part way through the class. It made him less wet, of course, and you couldn't really get annoyed with him if he sweated on you because he'd basically done all he could at that point.
posted by smartyboots at 9:22 PM on January 24, 2016 [1 favorite]

Go back to Aikido. Wear a t-shirt under your gi. Bring a spare t-shirt, hand towel and washcloth. Keep the washcloth tucked in your gi and wipe down your hands and head before each exercise (n.b. our class structure was instructor demonstrates a technique for 30 s - 1 min, then everybody pairs off and practices for 2-3 min, and yes, I would have to wipe myself off before and after that 2-3 min practice). After 30-60 min, step off the mat, change your shirt, and towel yourself dry as much as possible.

Bring a cold pack. Ask your instructors about bringing a fan. This is real life and you're worthy of attention here.
posted by disconnect at 7:55 AM on January 25, 2016 [1 favorite]

another vote for brazilian jiu-jitsu. everyone sweats. your gi will soak up some of it, and you can always use the sleeves to wipe your forehead.
posted by osi at 12:50 PM on January 25, 2016