I've been considering bringing some form of martial arts back into my life. I participated in Karate for 5 years when I was younger, and very much enjoyed the physical activity along with the self-confidence and self-control I built along the way. I'm looking to supplement my body-building and other forms of exercise. What are your thoughts on worthy and constructive forms of martial arts for an adult? I've been reading a bit on Krav Maga, as that seems to be a very popular form these days. Thoughts? Thanks for any responses!
Krav maga is great because its practical you can actually use it to defend yourself versus more traditional Chinese forms. Check out Jun fan it's Bruce lees own form and he made it to be efficient as possible
What do you by practical? In defense or in health? Krav might be more practical than say, tai chi or bagua but the Chinese martial arts have way more to offer in health, and I personally think, in fighting, too. For health, find some Chinese forms as they have had hundreds, if not thousands, of years to refine their movement. Bruce Lee is not a contender to their forms in terms of health. I like to ask, what systems have been around the longest and what do they have to offer? A big argument is that these older practices cannot handle an arena of MMA or 'streetfighting' yet they've been around only for a few years. Then I look at Chinese monks that have developed a real physical, mental, and spiritual strength and see something more than fighting. Especially when you hear stories of some of these practitioners being able to withstand extreme temperatures, meditate for metabolism control, etc. Western science once believed that some muscular movements were 100% involuntary and now research is showing otherwise. This is something many of the Chinese systems work on in some fashion.
Not sure if you guys are referring to karate when you say "traditional chinese arts" (mostly because OP says he took karate) but karate is Japanese. If I were you I would take either some sort of kickboxing or Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. Not sure how much truth there is to it but I heard that the reason the japanese started kickboxing was because most styles of karate were thought to be ineffective against the muay thai boxers.
I wouldn't recommend Krav Maga Jiu-Jitsui, wrestling, boxing, Muy Thai, those would be my recommendations.