I started northern-style shaolin Kung Fu at 20 when I was in college. It was a great program. Very disciplined (scratch your nose without turning around first results in push-ups), very thorough. The warm ups and breathing exercises I learned are my gold standard for a full body workout that doesn't require any more equipment than the floor.

Nowadays the gym I go to specializes in Muay Thai and Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. I haven't gotten into BJJ but I really enjoy Thai boxing.

Something us hackers can appreciate is that learning the difference in styles between Kung Fu and Muay Thai is like learning different programming languages: you learn to do more things, or learn how to accomplish the same but in different ways.

For example, every move in Kung Fu has a discrete set of states and is meant to be highly controlled. Your feet are almost always flat on the ground and you move by sliding them across the floor so you can always be sure you're on stable ground and your weight is appropriately centered.

Muay Thai, on the other hand, is always in a state of flow. You rock back and forth between your forward foot and the balls of your back foot so that you're lighter on your feet and more able to react to various attacks. If you ever watch boxers/Thai boxers warming up, you'll notice that jump ropes are a common sight.