What style would be best for moi? (me)

[NPMantis]

Personally I would do what apoweyn said. Often research on the net gives you a false impression, the best way is to go to a class.

I do mantis, it has many long and short range techniques as well as grapplng and anti-grappling techniques, weapons, etc. basically everything I was looking for.

I was originally looking closely at Wing Chun and it looks great but I have a friend who does mantis (southern) which is obviously very different but it got me looking and I decided to try a mantis class (northern) and after seeing the instructor and style (both of which were exactly what I was looking for) I decided to stay.

Have a look but basically remember there are 3 elements which will determine how good you will be : the student, the teacher and the art - all of which must match.

Hope this helps!


DelicateSound - Where abouts you going to learn Wing Chun? (I'm from London)

[Leonidas]

I suggest you concentrate on the styles that intrigues you the most which seems to be White crane or Praying mantis. You can listen to someone a 1000 miles away telling you from his/her computer to study x style based on a few numbers you wrote representing your body type or you could actually learn something you enjoy. Studying an art is 90 % based on enjoyment (someone else mentioned this on another thread) since your not defending your village against an army. You can do an art halfassed and switch to something else in the future anyway or you can gain the most from it and start right away. Body type is really not an issue since Kung Fu was used but Asian men sometimes growing no taller than 5'0, and it is supposed to allow you to overcome stronger opponents using leverage and timing and superior techniques and theories compared to your average arm flailer, all the stuff found in a good art, and most all kung fu styles tell you to kick below the waist even if they contain high kicks which is usually just for training and flexiblity and not for fighting. The general concensus is to base your decision on a good instructor and more importantly what you enjoy learning. Wushu is sure as hell not for fighting but thousands of people sign up for it every year.

On a side note, i'd be crapping my pants if i found a White Crane school, which i cant seem to do. But thats just my personal favorite. White Crane and Wing Chun are pretty similar to each other so thats another plus. Praying mantis is a different animal all together. I'd say their all pretty much equal to each other in effectiveness though which is another reason to choose based on what interests you.