Ask HN: A martial art for a programmer

Doesn't really matter. Pick a few that interest you and try them out for a month. Try at least two different schools for each style. Saying Tien Shan Pai sucks and Liu He Ba Fa rocks, makes no sense. It's just whatever works for you. I know a guy that was absolutely in love with Hsing Yi Quan, had studied it for 20 years. I found it intolerably boring. Tang Lang on the other hand was a blast.

A lot of it depends on the vibe of the school as well. That's why I say try a couple.

If you want to ground and pound, and that's what gets you off, try a bit of some grappling styles. BJJ is ok, but depending on where you live there's probably some modern style schools you can give a go at also (usually some combo of Muay Thai and some kind of grappling).

If you want to enjoy something with a long history, and steep yourself in the culture, try some kind of Kung Fu style. I find Chinese styles exercise different parts of the brain I don't use as much for engineering and actually can be very relaxing. Most of it is highly impractical in a modern setting, but it's like studying painting or calligraphy or some such.

If you want to be tightly disciplined, Japanese styles, with their strict emphasis on form, ceremony and procedure can be highly enjoyable. I liked my brief study of Shotokan for just that reason, it allowed me to turn off the self-discipline for a bit and let something else take charge.

If you want something you can maybe take to high levels of sport and competition, Tae Kwon Do is probably the place to go. There are a bajillion TKD places around, so choose wisely. Lots of them will be belt-mills selling personal fitness more than the Olympic sport. Try to find a school with lots of Korean students.

But there are others, off the beaten path you can try and have fun with too like Escrima or Capoeira.

Just like it's important to learn multiple languages to be a well-rounded programmer, you should train in multiple styles of martial arts to become a well-rounded fighter.

I recommend kickboxing for learning fundamentals of open-hand stand up fighting, Sambo or BJJ for ground fighting, and Filipino martial arts (Kali/Arnis/Eskrima) for weapons and to tie it all together. Wing Chun fits in nicely as well, and JKD is worth your time too.

I echo the sentiments of the people who say it's less about the style than the teacher. A good teacher will expose you to outside concepts. A good teacher will teach you to be practical and not flashy. I strongly recommend you focus on practicality. Always ask yourself, "how will this actually help me if I have to defend myself?" I've seen practitioners of certain styles get completely taken down because they were not taught to be practical - nothing to do with the style per se, but they didn't have good teachers. In particular, I recall a Tae Kwan Do fighter try to use spinning kicks while sparring. As soon as he started to turn his back, his opponent simply stepped forward and kicked him in the balls from behind.

Value practicality over all else.

Brazillian Jiu-Jitsu. Fighting is without strikes, instead you have holds, locks and chokes. You win by submitting your opponent, usually on the ground.

It's like chess, but with your body. Combat is very close, but still not aggressive. Many technical and tactical aspects.

Develops strength, endurance, balance, timing and a feeling for moving/rolling. Makes your body slick and flexible.

And it makes you enjoy a better in sex.. seriously ;-)

martial arts is not just about the practicality of techniques, the difference between a '-do' and '-jitsu' is just that e.g. kendo - kenjitsu, judo - jujitsu. jitsu's are primarily focused on techniques and kill, where as do's are focused on the spirituality. there are mutual benefits for both programming and martial arts, with the mind set of a programmer you tend to question and try to understand how your body works as a system. Personally regardless of what martial arts you choose, you will get the same benefits, other than the techniques that you learn, you will find out more about yourself. Whats more important is who is your teacher/master/sensei and the attitude of your peers.

> when assaulted, you are trying to do something

"Everybody has a plan until they get punched in the face." --Mike Tyson