Many people want to learn martial arts at home and it is understandable as we all have busy lives. You may not have time to go to a dojo five days every week or you may not have a proper martial arts gym nearby or you may just simply want to practice martial arts in the comfort of your home.
However how you should choose the best martial arts to learn at home? There are many important factors that you need to consider. Is your goal to achieve an amazing physique or learn self-defense? Which ones are actually suitable for a home?
What do you need to consider beforehand?
You need an area to train in your home. And in some cases, small areas are not enough. You will need gears, equipment for the martial art which you prefer so you can actually practice that martial art properly and learn techniques.
Even though you can save time by not going to a gym, learning martial arts requires a lot of your time and dedication. Also, a proper training schedule, nutrition plan should be prepared by experts as they know what your body needs to recover. However, in the beginning, you can find beginner workouts, training routines online and start learning martial arts.
However, as you progress and get better at martial arts you need proper guidance. So hiring someone, who is an expert at that particular martial art and has the necessary certifications, is a must. Or you can go to a martial arts gym and ask them to prepare a workout and eating plan for you. However, everything should be clear such as your goals. If your goal is to learn self-defense they can prepare a program for that or if the goal is to lose weight fast then the routine would be different.
There are many martial arts that you can choose from. However, some are more suitable to learn at home and you can pick one which caters to your needs.
3 Martial Arts to Learn at Home
BJJ
BJJ is one of the grappling martial arts styles. With enough practice, you can learn the techniques and can defend yourself against stronger and bigger opponents. If you are serious about learning martial arts or your goal is to be in UFC, then BJJ is definitely one of the most useful martial arts to learn when it comes to competing as we watch how fighters, who focus on BJJ, win a lot of matches.
Why it is perfect for you to train at home?
Firstly, you can build a mini dojo easily. You need to purchase some good shock-absorbing mats, gi, rash guards, finger tapes and a couple of grappling dummies. So why would you need more than one grappling dummy? The reason is that it is the only piece of equipment that you can try different submission techniques, chokes… So even though grappling dummies can be bent and get into different positions like kneeling one can’t get into every position. You can wear them BJJ gis and the training becomes even more realistic.
Even though nothing replaces a good sparring partner grappling dummies allow you to practice many different techniques.
There are triangles, chokes, and many other techniques that you need to master to get to a certain level so free training videos generally do not cut it. So I highly suggest checking out the videos that are made by black belts and learn from them.
How much does it cost?
Setting up a BJJ gym costs some money but it is not nearly as much as joining a dojo and paying the monthly membership for it. Also when you train at the gym you may have extra sessions with black, brown belts for learning escapes and they charge a huge sum of money. Over the years, these add up and may cost a small fortune.
Mats cost around two hundred dollars. BJJ gis and other essential BJJ gears like dummies cost around six hundred dollars. And the DVDs cost around a hundred dollars. So you need to invest at least nine hundred dollars to get started.
Example BJJ Training Routine: Firstly you need to warm-up and do stretching exercises so you don’t hurt yourself while doing submission techniques. After these, you can continue with learning submissions or defense techniques according to your training plan.
Boxing
Boxing is a stand-up fighting style. You do not only learn different styles of punching. It is also effective for self-defense. You also learn head movements and footwork with it. So you can have an advantage over your opponent and it can make a huge difference in real life. Boxing is also great for cardio. People of all ages start going to boxercise classes for getting in shape.
Why it is perfect for you to train at home?
A set of different types of gloves, boxing hand wraps, boxing shoes are the essential gears. In addition to that get a speed bag platform and a heavy bag you are good to go. These actually don’t cover a lot of space and you can buy portable equipment like free standing bags. After you finish training, you can store them in another area like a garage. So you don’t even need a real space to have boxing training sessions and learn punching techniques.
How much does it cost?
Considering the price of quality bags, boxing gloves, wraps, boxing boots, a platform and speed bags; you need to shell out at least eight hundred dollars.
Example Boxing Training Routine: It includes a warm-up, stretching just like any other martial arts training routine. You might continue with learning how to move in the ring, footwork drills, skipping rope…
Note: I know this is not for everyone however there are some incredible boxing systems that can give you a realistic striking experience, help you learn fundamentals, combos and punching techniques at a faster rate. Who would not want these, right? However, these cost a lot! Nexersys Trainer is one of the best if you are serious about learning standing fighting techniques and have the cash.
Judo
Judo is perfect for self-defense. It includes throws, chokes, grappling and locking techniques. Most of these techniques can actually be used in real life situations. You can be effective with judo after a short training period and get good at hand to hand combat situations. According to many experts; if your primary goal is to protect yourself, you should learn judo first. It is one of the most dynamic martial arts. You can control and pin your opponents with various techniques.
Judo also teaches you how to win a fight or match by using your opponent’s weight against him. It improves physical skills like flexibility, explosive power that you can’t improve much with many martial arts.
Why it is perfect for you to train at home?
You can get a dummy for judo, a judo gi and many shock absorbing mats as you need a big area for this martial art. Many dummies are quite versatile and you can change the position of limbs so you can practice different techniques, throws with them.
How much does it cost?
The total cost of the gears is between four hundred dollars and five hundred dollars.
Example Judo Training Routine: Warm-up is necessary at the beginning of a session. It might be a session that you learn about chokes or throws with the dummy. You will practice and master different throwing techniques in most of your sessions.
Can you learn Martial arts at Home?
You can definitely reach a certain level at home. However, you need to have a routine and train regularly. Obviously, it is not the same as going to a gym and no one teaches you fundamentals, corrects your technique, form at home. So it is far from ideal and it is not as efficient as you learn it in a proper martial arts gym with black belt instructors.
When it is time to go to a martial arts gym, dojo? After you are no longer a beginner and can’t seem to make a progress then it is time to go to a proper martial arts gym.
Final Thoughts
You can have physical skill benefits like agility, strength while practicing any martial art. However, martial arts also help you have more discipline, patience and you will start to be mentally stronger just after a couple of sessions. Is not this incredible?
Learning any martial art is quite challenging. However, when you learn it at your home it becomes even more challenging. This is why you need to dedicate most of your time every week so you can actually make a progress in martial arts. The martial arts above are more suitable for you to learn at home as some require fewer gears or these are easier to learn alone at a home. So these can be considered as the best martial arts to learn at home. If you have any comments feel free to leave them below.
