What are some types of martial arts that don’t involve sparring/using headgear?
I trying to find a martial art that is very good insofar as someone being able to effectively defend themelves. Moreover, I’m looking for a style that doesn’t require any tournament style sparring, but is also reasonably priced($30-50). Thanks.
Chinese "internal" martial arts are a bit stylized but can be used effectively in a self-defence situation. So "Ba Gua Zhang" (sometimes "Pa Kua Chuang") or "Xing Yi" (sometimes "Hsing-I") are good choices. But they’re also rare, depending on where you live. I know for a fact that I’ve had difficulty finding Ba Gua schools in Canada but had little trouble when I lived in Europe.
Perhaps a slightly more common non-competition form of martial art is Ninjustu. But there are many "fake" schools where the instructors are unqualified or are trained in an entirely different martial art and are simply using the mystique of "ninja techniques" as a marketing ploy. The best way to find out if the Ninjutsu dojo is legit is to make sure they are officially aligned with the Bunjinkan ryu- the most well-reputed Ninjutsu ring of schools in the Western world. Also, you can always try asking them their lineage. If they give you a blank expression, you will know they have no idea what they’re talking about.
Shotokan Karate is a last resort. They tend to teach very common sense self-defence manuevers that a person would not really require to throw money out to learn. "Kick them in the crotch and run away" is not only a person’s natural first impulse in a fight-or-flight situation, but it’s also easier said than done when your adrenaline is pumping, your opponent is fighting back and you haven’t been trained properly to deal with the stresses of being attacked by someone bigger, stronger and angrier than you are.
Krav Maga is the penultimate form of self-defence, in my opinion. But schools are impossible to find. The only way to really get an education in it seems to be to join the military, specifically the Army.
So, in short, seek out schools that teach Ba Gua, Xing Yi, Ninjutsu or Shotokan Karate. In that order of preference.
Hope that helps 
Brandon CD
It’s been said many times before and I’ll post it here again. Don’t look for a particular art, just look for a good instructor regardless of the art. The place you look for should let you feel welcome and help you achieve your goals. It should also have a safe friendly environment and you should feel comfortable there. Focus on quality training. Belts and ranks shouldn’t mean too much.
In general though, you should consider looking into a grappling art, such as Judo, Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, SAMBO and maybe even Aikido. Even if most of them include sparring (known as rolling) and have some emphasis on tournaments and such, they will probably not require you to participate in them though. They don’t require headgear either.
As for the prices, it all depends on where you live and train at.
References :
gordie
To effectively defend your self you are at some time in your training going to have to spar.The leung ting Wingtsun system that can be found all over the world is a very good self defence and they dont have tournaments.
References :
Inconcordium
Chinese "internal" martial arts are a bit stylized but can be used effectively in a self-defence situation. So "Ba Gua Zhang" (sometimes "Pa Kua Chuang") or "Xing Yi" (sometimes "Hsing-I") are good choices. But they’re also rare, depending on where you live. I know for a fact that I’ve had difficulty finding Ba Gua schools in Canada but had little trouble when I lived in Europe.
Perhaps a slightly more common non-competition form of martial art is Ninjustu. But there are many "fake" schools where the instructors are unqualified or are trained in an entirely different martial art and are simply using the mystique of "ninja techniques" as a marketing ploy. The best way to find out if the Ninjutsu dojo is legit is to make sure they are officially aligned with the Bunjinkan ryu- the most well-reputed Ninjutsu ring of schools in the Western world. Also, you can always try asking them their lineage. If they give you a blank expression, you will know they have no idea what they’re talking about.
Shotokan Karate is a last resort. They tend to teach very common sense self-defence manuevers that a person would not really require to throw money out to learn. "Kick them in the crotch and run away" is not only a person’s natural first impulse in a fight-or-flight situation, but it’s also easier said than done when your adrenaline is pumping, your opponent is fighting back and you haven’t been trained properly to deal with the stresses of being attacked by someone bigger, stronger and angrier than you are.
Krav Maga is the penultimate form of self-defence, in my opinion. But schools are impossible to find. The only way to really get an education in it seems to be to join the military, specifically the Army.
So, in short, seek out schools that teach Ba Gua, Xing Yi, Ninjutsu or Shotokan Karate. In that order of preference.
Hope that helps
References :
I’ve been teaching Tae Kwon-Do and Ba Gua Zhang for 6 years, practicing both for 12. Former soldier.
Beatchanter
Many styles of Kung Fu do not practice free sparring. You’ll have to check at individual schools.
References :