Muay Thai or Capoeira?

[b12]

Me and a friend want to get into mixed martial arts. He's been taking jiu jitsu, and i'm going to start as well. That'll be perfect for grappling and ground fighting, but we want a good base for upright fighting. So we were deciding between muay thai and capoeira. I'd rather do muay thai, it seems more powerful and to-the-point, but capoeira is just SO freaking COOL! What do you guys think?

[Oneironaut Zero]

If you want something that actually has some substance, when it comes to fighting, I would say Muay Thai. If you aren't really all that serious about the fighting aspect, and want something that's just beautiful and acrobatic (and will require a lot of flexibility and upper-body strength), go Capoeira. Both are awesome, in their own right.

[ClouD]

Taekwondo, Hapkido or Aikido imo... Out of those two though, I'd say Muay Thai since I have a background knowledge of it and not Capoeira. Muay Thai is strong and straight-forward.

[Serkat]

If you want something that actually has some substance, when it comes to fighting, I would say Muay Thai. If you aren't really all that serious about the fighting aspect, and want something that's just beautiful and acrobatic (and will require a lot of flexibility and upper-body strength), go Capoeira. Both are awesome, in their own right. +1

[CryoDragoon]

Yeah... If you want efficiency, go for muay thai. If you want flashy stuff, do capoeira. It looks cool, but I doubt it'll be very effective (note that I'm quite ignorant on this particular martial art, so please correct me if I'm wrong). That, but it also looks damned hard to do... @ Original poster, and Cloud: As for the aikido part: if you have a very good teacher, then you could do that too, but do note that it is more so a study than an actual martial art. Sure, it does cover effective techniques from time to time, but for the most part, it's just the study of body movement, bodily mechanics, using the smallest amount of energy as possible, timing, and the principles in all martial arts (using centre, breathing, leverage, etc.). It focuses on the perfection on all these things, instead of brutal efficiency (though it will be very effective when perfected). This is why it would (possibly) take a LONG time before the standard aikido techniques (i.e. not application techniques (which, when you have a good teacher, WILL be taught also) will be effective. But at the same time this is also why aikido is a perfect base martial art... It covers every principle that is to be found in every martial art, and will aid you ALOT in whatever martial art do now, or that you will do later in your life, be it karate, kung fu, tae kwon do, or even capoeira. Example: not to brag, but just a while ago, just to try it out, I went to a class full of blue belts in Judo with my neighbour (with myself just being a 6th kyu aikido (the lowest grade imaginable)), and when it came to sparring, they had the hardest time doing techniques on me, as I just wouldn't move (positioning, stance, and the knowledge on all the principles of martial arts)... And at the same time I dragged them and moved/lead them all over the mat (bodily mechanics, correct stance, using centre), and most of the times, they found themselves being positioned on the ground in the most smart and sly ways (again bodily mechanics). Then again: their teacher wasn't impressive in the slightest sense of the word, and my teacher's a fifth dan, on the national dan-grading commission, and is, quite frankly, totally awesome ^^. So there you have it... Though it wouldn't seem effective, aikido certainly is, especially when coupled with other, more effective grappling arts such as jiujitsu (as, by my knowledge, is a bit more oriented to effectiveness). But, if I were to choose on the couple you've selected, it'd certainly be muay thai... Good luck on deciding, and byebye! -CD P.S. Please do notify us of what you're going to do

[ClouD]

^ Agreed. I am a 2nd dan blackbelt in TKD, and use AKD as a basis in every move I do. As said, it is a great base, and a gives a definate advantage to technique, as well as the elegant grace it encompasses.

[b12]

I've wanted to explore aikido. I talked to my friend about it. He's really interested in the meditation and centering aspect. But that would be an extension of our training, as for right now, we want a good fighting base before anything. I'm not that into tae kwon do, i don't really know why, i took it for a little bit a couple years ago and just wasn't interested. We're going to check out a muay thai gym today. And we found a capoeira gym not too far away, we're gonna check that out in a few days.

[Kushna Mufeed]

Hey, I'm getting into mixed martial arts too. Right now, I'm taking Tae Kwon Do and planning to start Jiu Jitsu when I get my black belt. If I can afford, I'd like to continue Tae Kwon Do while starting Jiu Jitsu. IMO, you should take Tae Kwon Do to develep your kicks and Boxing for your punches to become well rounded in upright fighting.

[ninja9578]

Karate is very effective and trains you in both ground and stand-up.

[b12]

I'd think Muay Thai would be enough to learn kicks, as they focus a lot on both arms and legs. We've chosen Muay Thai. We checked out the gym today, and the instructor is a 7-time world champion and holds some kind of record for belts. In thailand, they called him dragon legs...his legs are freaking BEAST.