Should I take Aikido, Tae Kwon Do or Kick Boxing? This will be for fun/exercise at my college.?

Explain why I should take it xD|||That%26#039;s hard... I%26#039;ve been doing Taekwondo for 18 years and I%26#039;ve been doing Aikido for 14 years. And along the line of my martial arts experience, I%26#039;ve come across Thai King Boxing fighters (mostly the tournaments I went for were multi style) - trust me, I hated it when I have to fight against them... they%26#039;re tough as a rock and kicked really well too :(





Main reason I chose Taekwondo and Aikido was because it would give me balance. Taekwondo gives me speed and that long range fighting ability, while Aikido gives me the knowledge and ability to take down an opponent without using much of my own energy, and it%26#039;s close contact, can be used on a lot of other fighting styles.





But if you only want to choose one, then I%26#039;d say go with Aikido.





It gives you a lot of options to handle a lot of situation, mainly close contact, and I found this really useful, because on the streets, if you have enough room to kick then I%26#039;d rather use that space to run.





Plus... Aikido is a lot of FUN, and you%26#039;ll learn how to direct opponent%26#039;s energy so you won%26#039;t need to use yours.|||I would say kickboxing but I would also qualify that with training only and only sparring in class with other students there. Sometimes coaches try to get people to fight on some ones fight card and if you are doing it for fun and exercise then you don%26#039;t belong in the ring. Aikido and Tae Kwon Do are serious martial arts and a student being there for fun and exercise may not fair well with a serious minded instructor that wants serious type students.|||It really depends on your personal preference.


I have been taking Tae kwon Do and I enjoy it very much. It involves mostly kicks and uses agility. To do some of the kicks, it is good to be slightly flexible, but it%26#039;s not necessary.It also uses some joint locks and throws.





Aikido is a mostly grappling art and uses throws and joint locks. You mostly %26quot;blend%26quot; with the attacker%26#039;s motion and then strike.





Kick boxing has many different variations but all of them involve kicks, punches, sometimes throws, and focuses on strength.|||I was in Tae Kwon Do for over seven years. It was an amazing experience. I met some of the nicest people. My instructor was awesome as well. He taught us a lot of Korean also and had us use it during class. I just thought that added a little extra. I can%26#039;t say that this type of martial arts is better than any other(b/c it%26#039;s the only kind I was in) but my personal experience was wonderful. I feel like it really is a confidence booster and I think I really took something away from the class. Plus, it was fun and definitely a good way to lose weight! Oh, I only quit because I shattered my heel btw.|||to me kickboxing is more fun...if you like more physical contact. aikido is less striking and more grappling. and taekwondo is more practicing in the mirror type training.





of course this is a generalization(perhaps an over generalization)|||My personal answer, while not on your list, is Boxing. It is the largest striking style in the world, and will teach you how to use your fists. You will be able to bob and weave any shots thrown at you, and crack open the other person%26#039;s face at the same time.|||Aikido if you are really skillful and can apply the techniques efficiently is best for larger people as the other arts either focus on over powering or out speeding someone.





TKD is good for multiple opponents as it focuses on FAST and snappy knockout kicks (but make sure you don%26#039;t fall down yourself when you go for the head shot, else you might find yourself in a heap of trouble)





Kickboxing is ideal for 1 on 1 combat. Matter of fact, thats all you do is 1 on 1, in the ring competing or at the gym training. So you definately will develop alot of good tactics for that area.





For fun I would definately say TKD or Aikido. Kickboxing tends to be rather.... monotone to me.





PS. I just saw your avatar and noticed your a girl. Oh yeah, Aikido would or TKD would definately be your thing then. Girls tend to be faster and more direct at kicking then we men are. Plus Aikido totally focuses on weilding to the force.