Martial Arts for Geeks?

I don't know whether it helps, but a few friends of mine do kickboxing. They don't seem to think it hurts - and even when it does, it doesn't hurt for long.

Also, once you start working out, your tolerance for pain is much higher.

There are many different styles of martial arts, with a wide variance in philosophy. Some martial arts discourage hurting the body, in stark contrast to those that seem to promote it. Personally, the philosophy of Chayon-Ryu matches me really well. If you do a bit of research and try out some styles that look promising to you, you may find one that you like. I recommend checking out aikido, which encourages safety and does not require much physical strength.

I think the best martial art for long term health and well being is Tai-Chi

It's simple to learn, for young people it will not even seem like a workout, but it's likely the most powerful of all the arts and it's integrated with a chinese system of medicine if you want to explore nutrition as well.

You can also study push hands, swords, and even beautiful fans[1], all very gentle and peaceful.

[1] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D5RzZC0aB6I

Well, if your instructor is good at running the class you shouldn't be getting hurt any more than incredibly sore from using new muscles and some scrapes and bruises. Nothing broken or torn unless you aren't paying attention. Most of the time you cause your own injuries through stupidity.

That being said, martial arts is a chance to learn about fighting and the pain and suffering it causes in a controlled environment. That's something most men these days never learn, which you can see by how they threaten and insult people on sites like this.

For martial arts to study, you'll obviously be limited by your geographic region and what's available. Honestly, you should just try a whole bunch and see what you like and if you like the instructor or not. Good ones to try are boxing, judo, aikido, shorin-ji kempo, wing tsung, and most forms of karate.

I'd avoid MMA (Mixed Martial Arts) unless you want to hang out with roid juiced douche bags with no sense of honor.

In your case, I'd start with either aikido, judo, or shorin-ji kempo. All three of these teach non-violence, are very structured, effective, designed for small people, and generally run as non-profits or taught at universities. I recommend judo especially for women.

Finally, you need to avoid scams more than pick a good martial art. To be honest, at your level just about anything will help, but if you pick a bad instructor you'll be in more trouble than if you picked a incompatible martial art.

When you meet your instructor, if he's immediately trying to sign you up for long term contracts or sell you shit, then walk away. If he talks in religious terms, or talks too much, then walk away. Meditation is great, preaching is not. If he makes claims that are "magical" then walk away. Floating, levitating, mind control, are all bullshit. Ki, chi, "energy" are fairly common and alright. If it feels like a religion and the students don't think for themselves, it's a cult walk away. If you get "love bombed" when you first walk in, it's a cult, walk away. If there are tons of belts walk away. If you see the instructor get his ass kicked by a student then don't bother.

Picking a good teacher is far more important than picking a "good martial art". If it feels like a scam, then just trust your gut and avoid it.