AboutMike Casto Expertise My primary area of "expertise" (for lack of a better term) is in Filipino and Indonesian martial arts. However, I've been involved in the martial arts since 1978, trained in several systems and been exposed to many, many others. I've also done a fair amount of reading about martial arts in general and about various systems. I can answer questions about Filipino and Indonesian martial arts and I can often answer questions about martial arts in general. Feel free to ask me any question about martial arts. Even if I don`t have an answer I can often point you in the right direction to find the answer.
Experience I've been involved in martial arts since 1978. I started in Tae Kwon Do and, when my instructor quit teaching, I began training in Okinawan Goju-Ryu. In 1995 I was introduced to Filipino Kali/Arnis/Eskrima and Indonesian Pentjak Silat. I've been training primarily in them since 1995. I've taught private lessons, classes, seminars and workshops all over the United States, in Europe and in China. I have also trained with a wide variety of martial artists in different disciplines. Between hands-on exposure to various martial arts and reading about many others I have a very well-rounded knowledge of martial arts in general.
Expert: Mike Casto Date: 4/23/2008 Subject: which would suit me
Question after taking your earlier advise i have chosen the following Chinese boxing,kick boxing,kung fu,ju jit su.
all of them are in my area and they all seem good but in your opinion which would suit my build 6,3 12 stone and good alround strength due to going to a gym (weightlifting and cardio) and which one would maximism my stength and stamina
Answer Like I said, physical build is only one part of the equation. Are you interested more in sport, or in health, or in protection? And even that doesn't really address the whole situation. You have to make that call for yourself.
Based on your post, though, I would say that you're thinking more in terms of sport fighting - i.e.: you're concerned with strength and stamina.
I would say that, given your background (and, I assume, lack of prior training), kick boxing would be most comfortable for you. It would certainly be hard work but the workout would be pretty compatible with what you're used to and probably pretty similar to what you expect.
Jiu-Jitsu is a very different kind of workout from what you're used to. You'll use different muscles and in ways you're not used to and cardio workouts don't really prepare you for the stress of rolling around on the ground with another person pressing down on you.
I would guess that Chinese Boxing will be the most different from what you're used to, because of that, the most challenging for you.
