I Want to Put on Boxing Gloves (Learning a Martial Art or Similar Activity)

I am a Black Belt in Tae Kwon Do and I love Martial Arts. Tia Chi, though once a fighting matial art is now a method of exercise and relaxation.
The school I was in taught both Tae Kwon Do (The Art of Hand and Foot Fighting) and Hap Ki To. Hap Ki To is more grappling and take downs, comes in handy for self defense. TKD is 70% feet and 30 % hands, Karate is 70% hands and 30% feet. In Karate you need to be a lot closer to an attacker to be effective. TKD is also considered by the medical community to be an effective exercise program for people with back problems. In order to stay upright while kicking you use your core muscles more, thus stregthening your back. Before you sign up for a school watch a few classes, be sure the instructors explain in detail what the student is doing and how this move works and how you can take a simple movement into a more complicated move as you learn. This should be a part of the class.
I don't recommend just getting a heavy bag and punching or kicking without some instruction. You can break your fingers, toes, hands, feet etc if you don't know how to hit the bag correctly. You will also learn elbow strikes, back hands, and a lot you can't teach yourself. You also learn the pressure points on the body, one light strike on a pressure point can incapacitate an attacker and you can get away without doing permanant damage.
Martial Arts is also a lifestyle of displine and peace. I recommend reading a couple of Chuck Norris' books, no matter what you may think of him as an actor, he is an incredible Martial Artist. Seven time world champion and the first white person to become a grand master in TKD. In his autobiography he talks alot about starting his own school and competing in tournments. And how he got his life together. Looking at him now it's hard to believe he grew up on welfare and food stamps.
Oh, and Happy Birthday Chuck Norris, he's 71 today, I hope I'm in his kind of shape when I'm 71!!!
Good luck and if you need any more info feel free to contact me.

Oh my gosh, I love LOVE my punching bag. I can go to my basement where I keep it and just totally take care of the day's frustrations. I hope to get a heavy bag on a stand one day, especially since they are not very expensive. I bought some videos for kickboxing from Amazon-one is Kickboxing for Dummies-and though I have not had a chance to use them yet I think they will give me the "kick" I need. ; ) For a class, the best type of class to get a good workout and learn self defense (without knowing you are actually working out) is supposed to be a Krav Maga class. This is a technique used and developed in Israel. I think Groupon or similar site had a special for one of these. A coworker bought it and took a class. She said it was better than the personal trainer she used to meet at lunch. Check out Krav Maga techniques in Google and choose the ehow.com site for some videos.

My son is a black belt in tae kwon do and the sparring can get pretty physical.
There are some adults who take classes with my son, but the adults have been rather injury prone lately. Knees, ankles, wrists, shoulders etc are not as flexible as the kids.
I know you want to do this fast, but you need to build up the techniques, strength and flexibility so you can work out without getting injured. Nothing wrecks a work out routine faster than needing to be in a cast for 8 weeks.
Besides going to a class to see what they do before you join, you should also go to a tournament so you can see what the sparring can be like.

I don't know about kickboxing but I took up ice hockey and LOVE it!! There is something that is really relaxing about being able to take out all of your stress and aggression while getting a great workout!

My friend takes kickboxing at Planet Granite in Belmont, CA and she is loving it too, plus she has dropped a ton of weight from all the exercise. Good luck to you!

I started out taking a personal defense class for women. We learned various techniques and I found that in close contact for Judo, when I dropped my center of gravity for the throws, someone could easily step over me - I'm very petite. I did find that I liked the kicking and punching, blocks with hands and feet, etc. and decided that I wanted to pursue an art that focused on both hands and feet. I went the Tae Kwon Do way. I loved it until I started having some heart trouble from a birth defect I didn't know I had (in my mid-late 30's at this point).

I found I got a great workout, worked up a sweat, got to compete for belt advances. It was great both mentally and physically. I know there are United States TaeKwon Do schools around Olympia. Contact Mr. David Mason at ____@____.com for a local class. Most instructors will allow you to observe/try a class to see if it is for you. The USTF-ITF are not hard sell like some others I have run across. They also allow for advancement even if you have a disability and are unable to perform some techniques acurately. They are pretty much the same wherever you go in the US and you are allowed to attend a class outside of home school if registered in USTF. I've been able to attend a class in CO at the home office while traveling to CO, and one in NM when traveling there (at no charge- this may vary).

I found the USTF to be a big family and am bummed that I am not able to get my heart rate up like that anymore. Maybe one day. I could still workout and advance, but have trouble holding myself back. Here is the website http://www.ustf-itf.com/organization.html, look under USTF/region/state for your area rep.

If there are other style you want to check out, try the parks and rec. centers. Many offer classes and you can try different styles and find the one you like best.

Martial Arts is a great way to go for physical and mental performance and to learn to defend yourself. Never had to use it, but was in 2 situations where I thought I might and I was ready.

You don't want to just get a bag, if you are doing something incorrectly, you could get injured.

Krav Maga, is a discipline not a martial art. I think it's the best after dabbling in a lot of the martial arts. Tia Chi is great to help enhance any form.

I guess it would really depend on why you want to learn.
Just for exercise? or so you can actually learn to defend yourself?
I was raised by a Martial arts master, my father.
So he taught me and my siblings lots of different styles.

I agree with Ruby.
You don't want to just get a bag. There is a lot more to punching than just striking the bag :)\
There are SO many styles or activities you could do. But again all goes down to why you want to learn.
there's kick boxing
shadow boxing
Krav maga
Tae Kwon Do
Tai Chi
kapawara
and so on

Figure out what you are learning it for and then do some research on what seems like a good fit for you.