Capoeira
 

My martial art of choice, Capoeira Kicks ass
Capo-wiki
I've been studying for a little under a month, but damn is it cool. Capoeira focuses on kicks and dodges, with a heavy emphasis on Malicia, or deception, Capoeira is an Afro-Brazilian martial art invented during slavery by(duh) African slaves in Brazil. To hide the fact that they were learning how to fight, they disguised it as a dance/ceremony, with singing, music, and acrobatics.
There are two main types of Capoeira
Regional and Angola
Angola is usually slower, lower to the ground and more focused on deception and trickery
Regional is faster, higher and more focused on agression. You may have seen Capoeira(or stuff like it) in
Tenjou Tenge: Bob's A Capoeirista, apparently(never saw it)
Tekken Eddie Gordo and Christie Montero
World Of Warcraft: Trolls dance emote
Samurai champloo: mugen does stuff similar to Capoeira
One Peice: Sanji does too
Tales of Symphonia: Regal's normal kicks are a Ben Sau, A Mea Lua de Compasso and A Rastiera(sp?)
Full Metal Alchemist: many characters incorporate Capoeira Like moves into their ill-defined martial arts
The protector: Lateef Crowder, a famous capoeirista fights tonay jaa in the monastery scene
Only the Strong: nuff said
Capoeira Vids of mine all the clips used in this post can be found here, plus some
discuss, opinions

Capoeira is one fighting style I'd personally never be able to handle. I'm too bottom-heavy. Not fat, but that's where more of my muscle is. I am, however, well-suited to traditional Drunken Fist, as I have great balance and flexibility, a knack for improvisation, and it involves me staying upright. If you're suited to Capoeira, I'd highly suggest looking at Drunken Fist and Long Fist as well. :3nod:

Grapplers eat capoeiristas, a balanced view of martial arts is needed, capoeira is great for building strength, balance and aerobatics, but please don't try it other than in sparring in class, you'll get hurt. After you progress a good way into Capeoira I would suggest trying out some mixed martial arts or some kick boxing to round yourself out.

I've taken a couple of classes in Capeoira, but I don't have the build for it. It is one of my favorite striking martial arts and watching two masters put on demos is amazing.

I was actually thinknig about getting into Boxing for upper body and punching skills(as well as ability to keep my cool upon gettnig punched in the face) and kick boxing to bridge the gap, for striking purposes, there's some kind of odd, African headbutt style that I want to look into, just 'cuz. What grappling styles do you recommend?

Again, I'm gonna suggest a Kung-Fu style. Namely Eagle Claw, but I hear it takes a LOT of training. But the entire point of it is pressure point strikes, joint locks, and takedowns. I can't think of any other Asian style built so heavy around grappling, as most I know throw their focus into strikes. Kung-Fu, Karate, and Tae Kwon Do all feature lots of different strikes, with few styles I know of using grappling heavily. I can't speak for Muay Thai, but I understand people can get hurt from it. Badly.

For straight-up grappling Judo is a good investment.

If you want to actually be super effective in a fight, go with Krav-Maga or Systema. Both are no holds barred violence.

Just go to a local studio and ask about some mixed martial arts classes with grappling. I did that for seven years, I loved it.

Jeet Koon Do is where it is at. I trust Bruce Lee.
Though it's only really that effective when you are in fact Bruce Lee.

All I know about Capoeria, I learned from Tekken. Of course, that's not saying much.

If you want fight effectiveness there's three things you need, in this order:

1) Don't give a shit about hurting/killing the other person. You manage to knock them down? Good! Now stomp on their fucking throat before they get up. I'm talking being ruthless enough to shatter someone's kneecap before, or as, they throw their first punch. Fighting isn't about being fair. It's about winning--if the fight is unimportant enough that you can't justify really hurting the other guy, you shouldn't be fighting in the first place.

2) Learn the body's natural weak points. Along with number one and three this means you can completely fuck someone up before they even realize they're in a fight.

3) Speed. Be fast.

After that all you really need is experience. Martial arts are great for learning forms, and everything, but very very very few martial arts teachers actually teach you how to FIGHT. They teach you the moves, but that's entirely different.

That's all I'll bother saying on actual fighting.

As for Capoeira--it's probably one of my favorite martial arts. Really impressive to look at, and I respect anyone who can pull off those complicated moves. Teaches good muscle memory too. So have fun with it.

'Sides, you can probably use it to win a few break dancing competitions.

Edit: Also, dude, you forgot KoF. That one dude uses purely Capoeira.