There’s more to martial arts than karate, kung fu and tae kwon do. Alan Grant sizes up the growing number of lesser-known combat skills from around the world muscling in on the scene

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Capoeira 
Brazilians have a reputation for being a fun-loving, free-spirited bunch, so it comes as no surprise that the country’s martial art, capoeira, is as much about having a good time as it is about learning how to fight. 

‘Capoeira is a Brazilian art form,’ says Terence Lau, who helped set up the Bantus Capoeira Singapore school in July 2005. ‘It’s a martial art, dance, music, culture, play – there’s a huge social aspect to it.’ 

Capoeira has its roots in sixteenth century Brazil, where it is said to have developed among African slaves to disguise fighting techniques from their slave-masters. As a result, a bout looks more like a performance than a fight, as the singing, clapping and musical instrument-playing capoeiristas form a circle, known as a roda, around two of their members who appear to be dancing. In reality, of course, they are trying to knock each other down. 

Bantus teaches the graceful but deceptively dangerous arm- and leg-sweeps, dance steps and even how to play instruments at sessions held three times a week at either of two locations. Appropriately, both sites are dance studios. Classes are held under the tutelage of the school’s Brazilian master, Claudinho. 

There are various membership options, including unlimited monthly classes for $120. A casual rate of $20 is available for first-timers or drop-ins, which might be the way to go for the curious. Better still, take a stroll down Orchard Road. 

‘You can catch us outside Wheelock Place on Saturday afternoons,’ says Lau. ‘If it’s not raining, we are there playing capoeira. It came from the streets and that’s why our master says it should stay on the streets.’ 
Bantus Capoeira Singapore, 8 Claymore Hill. MRT: Somerset; 37B North Canal Rd. MRT: Raffles Place (9857 9464, sg.bantus.org). 

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Kali 
If you’re looking for something more spiritual, try the Ni Tien Martial Arts School. It concentrates on the Filipino art of kali, but also emphasises the health benefits of practising taiji quan, an ancient Chinese discipline that, although literally translated as ‘supreme boxing’, teaches strength through softness.

While kali was originally a warrior art – its purpose was to kill one’s opponent – Ni Tien’s guro (teacher) Fred Evrard sees it as an important tool in conquering the enemy inside us. ‘Violence is within us all,’ Evrard says. ‘If you face it in a controlled environment, the less violent you will become. The goal is to control your ego.’ 

So, even though you will learn an art that traditionally teaches deadly techniques with sticks and knives as well as boxing, kickboxing and grappling skills, you won’t be fighting anybody. 

The hard bamboo sticks are key to kali. Evrard, who has been teaching various martial arts for 17 years, says a skilled kali student must have good coordination, and this is best developed by being able to handle the sticks equally well with both hands. As part of this process, he gives his students homework, requiring them to carry out everyday tasks using the weaker of their hands. 

Classes cost $2,500 for a year’s tuition; monthly payment plans are also available, entitling students to attend any of the six weekly taiji or kali sessions. If you’re not ready to make the commitment, though, the school offers a free two-week trial.
Ni Tien Martial Arts School, 14 Yan Kit Rd (9030 0844, www.nitien.com). MRT: Tanjong Pagar. 

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Krav maga 
While Fight Works Asia offers a variety of disciplines, including boxing and muay thai, the gym’s claim to fame is that it’s the only certified facility in Singapore teaching the brutal ‘art’ of krav maga, which was developed by the Israeli armed forces as a close-combat, self-defence system. 

Strictly speaking, krav maga shouldn’t be in a guide to martial arts, as there is no spiritual or sporting aspect to the discipline. While it incorporates many of the fancy moves seen in traditional sparring, the object is to fend off an attack in the quickest, most efficient manner, and it doesn’t matter how you do it. 

‘It’s no holds barred; you can strike a person in the groin, poke him in the eye. In training, we simulate situations that might happen on the street,’ says Sascha Soliano, the owner-director of Fight Works Asia. ‘On the streets, there are no rules, no referees, no judges. You do what it takes to survive.’ 

Soliano, who learned krav maga during his years in the Singapore Special Forces, says it is ideal for those who don’t have the time to learn a martial art, which can take years of following a structured programme. 

‘People come for a couple of months to learn something fast and effective. You don’t have to become a master, you just want general self-defence,’ he says. 

It costs $200 a month to join Fight Works Asia, which gives you access to all the classes available and the gym’s fitness facilities, not just the six weekly krav maga sessions. Due to the brutal nature of krav maga, instruction is only open to those aged 16 and older. 
Fight Works Asia, #04-00, 565 MacPherson Rd (9475 9012). Bus 8, 62, 90,151. 

Muay thai 
A muay thai contest is a study in contrasts. It starts with a graceful prebout ritual, where two boxers wearing traditional headgear and armbands perform a dance paying respect to their teachers. The trance-like music adds a transcendent vibe to the ceremony. Then the viciousness starts: elbows, shins, feet and glove-clad hands are all fair tools for the boxers to pummel each other with. 

Luckily, you can enjoy muay thai without actually having to get in a ring and risk a battering, thanks to no-contact kickboxing gym classes. But instead of going to the likes of California Fitness or Planet Fitness to get your kicks, try out one of the smaller muay thai-specific joints, such as Punch Academy. And according to owner Gideon Lee, you’ll probably do more harm to yourself at a gym class than by learning the full contact sport at Punch. ‘

The gyms offer aerobic kickboxing, which is basically shadow-boxing at a very high speed. It can cause long-term injuries to your joints,’ he says, explaining that throwing strikes into thin air, particularly at speed, will extend the joints and possibly create long-term cartilage problems. 

At Punch, instructors use a combination of punching bags and hand-held pads, which allows athletes to feel the force they’re using to thrust their limbs forward. Training takes place either in the facility’s sparring ring or in the upstairs fitness room, where class sizes are limited to eight, allowing for more individual instruction. Membership packages start at $560 for 20 hour-and-a-half sessions, but a one time- only, one-hour trial class is offered on Wednesday evenings (6.30pm-7.30pm). 
Punch Academy, 223A/B River Valley Rd (6736 2895, www.punchacademy.com). MRT: Somerset.