What are the best martial arts to learn at home?
Here we look at 6 of the best, in my opinion, due to their effectiveness and simplicity, as well as quality online learning resources.
Learning martial arts at home solo or with friends and family as training partners is sometimes the only option for many people.
Hands down the BEST place to learn martial arts at home would be GMAU (Global Martial Arts University).
Below are the martial arts available to learn, train and become certified in through the GMAU online University.
So below, in my opinion, are 6 of the best martial arts to learn at home.
These martial arts are chosen due to :
- minimum equipment requirements – most of these can be trained effectively with just a heavy bag and gloves. Or no equipment at all.
- quality online learning resources available for each of these martial arts
- effective progress through solo training with each of these martial arts and you can make a lot of progress without a training partner.
1. Muay Thai
Of course this would be number #1 as this is the main martial art I have trained myself mostly at home with online learning and travel to Thailand, Singapore, Australia and the United States for live training.
With a simple homemade punching bag or a cheap store bought bag and some gloves you can make great progress training muay thai at home.
It all depends on your determination and commitment to training even if you cannot access a gym or have face to face instruction.
The heavy bag is a crucial tool for muay thai training at home.
The heavy bag allows you to train your technique, strength, speed, power and endurance, all with solo training at home.
There are many great options to learn online both free and paid.
2. Boxing
Boxing or Western boxing is another great fighting art and also one of the best martial arts to learn at home.
However the chances are there is probably a gym somewhere in your area you can attend.
Boxing gyms are far more common than muay thai gyms across the world. And as an Olympic sport and popular professional sport also, there are boxing gyms you can access in just about every country in the world.
Still you can make a lot of progress learning boxing at home for all the same reasons as learning muay thai at home is good.
Also with a wider availability of gyms you could also train at home for a while and then join a gym to train at.
This is especially if you want to train at home first and get comfortable and build your foundation in order to join a gym later.
There are also many great online learning resources for boxing as well.
Try to find one that is structured with a foundation and gradual progression from simple to more advanced techniques.
3. Wing Chun
The Wing Chun or Ving Tsun taught by one of Ip Mans top students, Wong Shun Leung is definitely one style to check out if you are interested in learning kung fu on your own.
It is great for home learning as the forms are very very simple in comparison to many other styles of kung fu.
Therefore Wing Chun is included as one of the best martial arts to learn at home.
The techniques are fight applicable.
Wong Shun Leung was known to test his techniques regularly in ‘beimo‘ or full contact fights against other styles.
Gary Lam and David Peterson are two well known students of Wong Shun Leung who have produced great learning resources you can use to begin to learn Wing Chun from home.
This style of wing chun is what I learned and studied from David Petersons DVD series covering the first three forms.
Sifu David Peterson also says that 80% of the techniques and knowledge you need to deal with most self defense situations will come from the first two forms.
Namely the Sil Lim Tao and Chum Kiu forms.
While partner work is very important in Wing Chun and all of the martial arts in this post – you can still learn a lot and establish an excellent foundation through solo training.
This way when you have the chance for live face to face training you will be in a better position to learn and improve even faster through the time you put in with your solo training at home.
4. MMA
MMA is another great applicable fighting art that you can start training from home.
Unlike boxing there are probably less gyms in your area to train at.
But you can still begin to learn MMA from home. And make excellent progress all with dedicated solo training.
There are many great online learning resources, Books and DVDs that you can learn from at home.
These MMA learning resources have grown in popularity due to the rise of MMA and the UFC to the mainstream sports arena.
You would be more effectively training striking than grappling aspects of MMA at home. As the grappling areas require partner work.
However there are also many many solo drills for MMA grappling that you can use to get started and make great progress.
MMA Shredded by Pro Fighter Jeff Chan is a great learning resource online for MMA.
I would highly recommend you check out ‘The MMA Striker’ online course by Pro fighter Jeff Chan. This is a solo training program for MMA striking anyone can use to learn and train at home.
Read my review of Jeff Chan and his online MMA courses.
5. Karate
The great thing about Karate is that it is almost available to learn in every country in the world.
It is also usually not too expensive to attend classes also.
As one of the best martial arts to learn at home, Karate has many quality online learning resources Books and DVDs to learn from.
YouTube is another great source of free video learning material for Karate as well.
6. Kickboxing
Yes kickboxing is a distinct martial art from muay thai.
They take similar approaches to training with a large focus also on discipline and solo training.
Lots of bag work and shadow boxing can easily be done at home.
Kickboxing is a cross between Karate and muay thai to a large extent.
It then morphed to include Dutch style and K-1 tournaments.
One of the main differences between Kickboxing and muay thai is that kickboxing often doesnt utilize elbows or extensive clinching.
Both elements are major parts of traditional muay thai.
With a heavy and consistent focused training you can make a lot of progress in kickboxing on your own with the help of learning resources like DVDs, online videos and Books.
Best Martial Arts to Learn at Home – Final Thoughts
If the martial art you are interested in learning at home isn’t on this list.
Don’t worry about and try to find a way to learn it.
Use books, DVDs online videos and any other resources you can get a hold of.
But more importantly put time into practicing what you have learned.
Consistent time dedicated each week to learning martial arts at home will pay off in time.
And you will see improvements in your technique, speed, body control, power and overall fitness and health as well.
If possible after a period of time learning at home it would be good to seek live instruction or even get feedback on your training from online communities.
