Martial Arts in Lebanon

Ive been doing MMA for 4 months now and i absolutely love it. It combines everything from strikes to kicks to grappling and jujitsu.
It also teaches you self defense.
The fitness part of every class is insane. It will test your limits especially if you lack endurance. In those 4 months i went from barely able to run 5 minutes to doing entire routines which include runs, pushups, squats, situps (all while running you stop and do them) jumps, one foot jumps, rolls, crawls, burpees etc.... . Other routines involve working out on a tire or doing obstacle courses which sound easy but in reality they are insanely difficult. You will be covered in sweat which was a first for me given im not very athletic.
Also im more fit than ever even without weights and im much stronger than before.

@reppinhighz where do you train?

Did you think about Taekwondo?

A.L wrote@reppinhighz where do you train?

Place on Corniche el mazraa called GEMZ. Its not a weight gym but more of a place that offers all sorts of courses from fitness to music to martial arts etc...

geekevo wroteI don't really like excessively violent and sporty nature of mma. I would like something more specialized in self defense rather than sport.

I highly recommend Aikido. It requires finesse rather than fitness and great efforts. It is specialized in reversing your opponent's momentum against them. It is also great for self defense.

The problem with Aikido is the fact that it requires years to master and actually use in everyday situation not to mention the lack of fitness for someone who is looking to improve physically in terms of strength and form. Source is a friend whos been doing it for over 8 years.

The OP is looking for something with fitness and strength and in my opinion MMA is best. It trains you physically and psychologically. Teaches you self defense as well as attack and everything in between. Its brutal in how much it can push you and thats just the fitness part.
We do a lot of sparring, a lot of work on the bags, we do workouts between sets and spars, we learn different punches, elbows, hooks knees, kicks, dodging, self defense techniques, pressure points etc.... just learned how to break someone's shoulder/arm in a 1 second move as a self defense technique.

This depends on the individual in training, not all people have the same level/pace of learning. The coach also plays a crucial part. A friend of mine trained for four months only and he was improving in a fast pace. He learned some great self defense techniques and submission holds. There is no need to fully master Aikido in order to be able to defend yourself.

I know the difference between MMA and Aikido. If it comes to me, I would choose MMA, but the OP mentioned that he didn't need something very offensive and competitive, he mentioned that he doesn't need MMA in particular.

The OP mentioned that he want something specialized in self defense, Aikido is one of the best martial arts in that field, it might be exactly what he is looking for.

The problem with Aikido is the fact that it requires years to master and actually use in everyday situation

If you're using your MMA training in "everyday situation", you're probably doing something wrong in your life :P

I second the Aikido suggestion. It's a very interesting martial art and sounds close to what you're describing. If you couple this with regular Tai Chi Chuan routines you'll reap benefits very quickly.

Tae Kwon Do is very fun. However you should keep in mind that there are 2 different schools of TKD:

• WTF: It's an olympic sport
• ITF: More geared towards self-defense

I know only of a single ITF school in Lebanon. As far as WTF goes, there are plenty. I recommend my old club, the Black Eagle Tae Kwon Do club.

Joe wrote

The problem with Aikido is the fact that it requires years to master and actually use in everyday situation

If you're using your MMA training in "everyday situation", you're probably doing something wrong in your life

I second the Aikido suggestion. It's a very interesting martial art and sounds close to what you're describing. If you couple this with regular Tai Chi Chuan routines you'll reap benefits very quickly.

Tae Kwon Do is very fun. However you should keep in mind that there are 2 different schools of TKD:

• WTF: It's an olympic sport
• ITF: More geared towards self-defense

I know only of a single ITF school in Lebanon. As far as WTF goes, there are plenty. I recommend my old club, the Black Eagle Tae Kwon Do club.

"If you're using your MMA training in "everyday situation", you're probably doing something wrong in your life"

Do i really have to comment on the fact that im not looking or attempting to beat people up on a daily basis?

everyday situation means the ability to defend yourself in a street fight or an urban environment against people who could potentially be dangerous or have weapons. Certain martial arts can prove useless in such scenarios unless you are extremely experienced.

Id refrain from taking cheap shots at people in forums when they are clear enough :)

On a more relevant note, Aikido sounds like the right thing for the OP as it specializes in self defense. Id say go for it and hopefully ud be on a fast pace and a quick learner. Nonetheless, MMA does teach self defense and if you are a quick learner, you could see major improvement in as little as a few months especially if you can get a heavy bag at home and practice on your own.

Good luck in whatever the OP chooses.

geekevo wroteI don't really like excessively violent and sporty nature of mma. I would like something more specialized in self defense rather than sport.

What you're saying is somewhat of a paradox. Self-defense is usually necessarily violent, so it doesn't make sense to not want to train in something you would consider as such. Having said that, the best self-defense systems are the ones designed for the military. Krav Maga and Military Sambo immediately come to mind, but I'm betting that neither are taught in Lebanon.

Combat Sambo and MMA (most likely a combination of Muay Thai and Judo/BJJ) are your best options.

Joe the Tai Chi Chuan techniques seem interesting can you tell me more about it, I had a hard time finding something useful on the internet.

I'm not the biggest authority on Tai Chi Chuan, I've only taken a few classes/seminars here and there, but here goes:

Tai Chi in a nutshell
Tai Chi Chuan is probably the most representative of Chinese martial arts. Legend has it that it was developed by a traveling monk, going across China, learning every style he could, and developed the ultimate style by mixing all the different ones he learned.

Today, Tai Chi Chuan is considered to be the root of all Chinese martial arts (popularly known as "Kung fu"). There are lots of schools of Tai Chi, and serious practitioners will generally learn multiple ones (but only master one). Most schools share a lot of similarities:

• Movements are practiced very slowly, which enables a lot of people to start (old people, people in bad shape, ...)
• Very high focus on philosophy (especially Taoism and Confuscianism) and deep study of the human body
• Infinite amount of real world applications

You probably seen very large groups of Chinese people practicing the slow gymnastics of Tai Chi together. For many people, it is the equivalent of a morning exercise routine that allows them to stay in shape, working different parts of the body in a serious but non-agressive way.

Don't be fooled by the slowness of movements, an hour long session of Tai Chi can be extremely physical!

Real World applications
There are many ways to apply the teachings of Tai Chi outside the limits of slow gymnastics. There are mainly 2 big schools of "real-world Tai Chi":

• Kung Fu (or sometimes called Wushu) consists of applying Tai Chi to fighting. There are of course multiple schools of Kung Fu, most of them were developed by observing nature. The styles are usually extremely aesthetic and physical.
• Qi Gong is the application of Tai Chi to healing and improving your body. Qi Gong practitioners aim at increasing their longevity and avoiding most "old people" sicknesses.

Tai Chi in Lebanon
Last I heard there were multiple schools offering Tai Chi classes, but I can only STRONGLY recommend checking Pathlessness. It's definitely a world class school.

Geekevo, I did Aikido a couple of years ago before life became too busy and free time became a rare comodity.
I would deff recommend it after all its the most noble of martial arts.. One more thing about finess and lack of physical effort.. I dont know about that since i use to get soar muscles in places i didnt even think muscles existed lol and not to mention the bruises!!
Anyway if your looking for a great aikido clup i recommend "Chidiak Aikido Academy" they are the best! :)