Martial Arts Discussion!!!!!!

I think I'll be quite committed to it, but the main problem I might have to simply what section to get into.

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

I'd personally recommend Shaolin and Baji style Kung Fu, but that's just because I'm in love with Kung Fu in general. It's hard to find good practitioners in some areas though, as Taekwondo is by far the most popular. If you're into more of an upper body style workout, go for Shotokan.

I am a dolphin, do you want me on your body?

Well, my main for strength is upper body, but hey. I think the best thing to do would be to actually talk to an instructor and to show me just what type of fighting techniques I can learn. Thanks for the help, appreciate it.

I was speaking idiomatically.

Originally Posted by LeHah

I took karate - or what passes for it - at the YMCA for about 5 years. I started when I was 8? 9? I got to be a seven gyp Blue Belt before I quit. I never really stopped practicing per se but I never went back to classes.

As of last November, I'm slowly starting to learn some Krav Maga. Okay, yeah, it's from a book which is the wrong way to do things but it's pretty damned simple (knee people in the groin, gouge eyes with your thumb, kick their knees in) and easy to pick up if you have a fair understanding of body positions. I'm afraid to take classes because they literally beat the piss out of you; not like body blows and flags and points, but like you have one guy in a defensive curl and the other guy is stomping on your hands and back.

Hahahahaha... learning martial arts from a book. I love the idiocy of that. You don't like taking martial arts classes because it's too close to being like at home with your abusive parents? How hilarious. Poor little fucker.

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?

Originally Posted by LeHah

I took karate - or what passes for it - at the YMCA for about 5 years. I started when I was 8? 9? I got to be a seven gyp Blue Belt before I quit. I never really stopped practicing per se but I never went back to classes.

As of last November, I'm slowly starting to learn some Krav Maga. Okay, yeah, it's from a book which is the wrong way to do things but it's pretty damned simple (knee people in the groin, gouge eyes with your thumb, kick their knees in) and easy to pick up if you have a fair understanding of body positions. I'm afraid to take classes because they literally beat the piss out of you; not like body blows and flags and points, but like you have one guy in a defensive curl and the other guy is stomping on your hands and back.

Although that sounds a bit... rough... that's the thing about taking martial arts. You're going to get punched in the face. And kicked in the balls. A lot. Especially with a grappling style like that, it's going to be a necessity to get beaten up, otherwise in a real fight you're in for quite the shock when your nose gets broken (like mine , luckily this was a tournament fight) The more brutal the style, the more blood you're going to lose learning it. I'd suggest Tae Kwon Do if you don't want to get hurt too badly while training, though TKD is more of a sport than a fighting art if you ask me.

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What does you guys'es tournament records look like? Here's results from pretty much every tournament I've ever fought in. A few are missing from the list.
2001 Cherry Blossom Open: 3rd Place
2001 Rattler Roundup: 3rd Place
2001 State Championchip: 5th Place
Kevin Book Invitational: 1st Place (Middleweight Division) 2nd Place (Kata) 2nd Place (Private Division)
2002 Rattler Roundup: 3rd Place
2002 Cherry Blossom Open: 1st Place
2002 State Championchip: 1st Place
2003 Rattler Roundup: 2nd Place
2003 Cherry Blossom Open: 1st Place
2003 State Championchip: 1st Place
2003 National Championchip: Last Place =(
2003 Sunshine State Games: 3rd Place
2003 Gainesville Tournament: 4th Place
2004 Rattler Roundup: 2nd Place
2004 CHerry Blossom Open: 2nd Place, 3rd Place (Kata)
2004 Disney Martial Arts Fesitval: 2nd Place
2005 State Championchip: 1st Place
2005 Disney Martial Arts Festival: 2nd Place
2006 Cherry Blossom Open: 2nd Place

And that's all so far. I look forward to actually getting good results in the national championchip this year.

What, you don't want my bikini-clad body?

I've been practicing the Chung Do Kwan style of Tae Kwon Do on and off since 2000. I had to take a break from it for about a year due to an operation I had. It was really difficult, comming back to TKD after having not trained for so long. It was like being a white belt all over again...

The class I'm in meets at the local community college 2 nights a week. I'm currently a purple belt, working toward brown.

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though TKD is more of a sport than a fighting art if you ask me.

That depends on the stlye. The older, more traditional TKD stlyes are more of a martial art (and very similar to Karate), where the newer "modern" TKD schools teach it as more of a sport.

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But anyways, what type of martial arts should I take? Karate, judo, dojo...?

There are basicly 2 types of arts, grappling arts (things like Aikido and Judo) and striking arts (things like Karate, TKD, and Boxing). I'd go with whatever you think you'd be better at...

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/me awaits all the shitty comments on how boxing isnt a martial art.

I tend to think of it as more of a sport than a martial art, but I still have alot of respect for Boxing. I'd hate to have to fight a good boxer...

Actually, I've considered taking up boxing, but I have no idea where to go to learn...

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This question is going to look dumb in a martial arts thread, but for the people who practice martial arts, why do you practice martial arts?

Different people tend to have different reasons. I've seen alot of people join our class whos only reason for being there is that they "want to kick ass". Those kind of students normally drop out after they realize that A: learning a martial art is hard, and B: that it's not really about "kicking ass" anyway.

I personally have a number of reasons, but the main one is that I don't want to kill anybody if I don't have to. I have a CHL (concealed handgun license) and carry a pistol with me pretty much everywhere I go. I realized that, while it's a great self-defense tool, a pistol only gives you one option: kill. There are situations where you might need to protect yourself, but shooting someone isn't the way to go about it. I decided that, should I find myself in such a situation, I'd better have something I can use, aside from the gun. When all you have is a hammer, all of your problems will begin to look like nails.

So I started taking classes at my college. It's a good, cheap, practical way to learn. Over time I realized there were alot of benifits to practicing a martial art, I'd list them all but other posters have pretty well covered them.

About the other question, no, I've never used what I've learned in a "real" fight, and I hope to keep it that way...

Also, whats up with people getting black belts in a year? Can you really pick up a martial art that fast, or will they just hand out a belt to anybody these days?

Jam it back in, in the dark.

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Boxing and muay thai is the toughest sport on the planet, the training that I have to go through before fight is torture.

I'm sceptical to the validity of this statement. You can't say that unless you've tried just about every single martial art/sport out there and prepared for a competition.

There's nowhere I can't reach.

One of these days I'd like to try Kyudo.

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

Originally Posted by David4516

That depends on the stlye. The older, more traditional TKD stlyes are more of a martial art (and very similar to Karate), where the newer "modern" TKD schools teach it as more of a sport.

The guy I had was very "progressive," meaning no tradition or anything else, but basic application and sparring. Not fighting, sparring. And it was Songahm Tae Kwon Do, though I'm sure it was just that teacher and not the style, as I had a friend who studied the same style under someone else and he had a well developed sense of practical application.

Originally Posted by David4516

Also, whats up with people getting black belts in a year? Can you really pick up a martial art that fast, or will they just hand out a belt to anybody these days?

I don't know about that either. I mean, it takes two years just get brown belt at the dojo I study in now, and then you spend a whole 'nother year as a brown belt (there's three levels) until you can make black.

I am a dolphin, do you want me on your body?

I've been taking Tae Kwon Do for about three months now. I'm about to get my second belt.

I was speaking idiomatically.

Well . . . I was in Tae Kwon Do for 10 years or so . . . only got to first dan since it was way too expensive to advance to second dan. It's been a while though . . .

As to why I took it up . . . At first it was self defense for school . . . Used to get bullied a lot. But now after doing all the patterns for 10 years, I love martial arts because I find a thrill in the fight . . . An exciting challenge of going up against your opponent and pitting your skills against theirs . . . Whenever I try to explain that though, I look like a bloodthirsty savage . . .

And that thing about a year to get your black belt . . . I find that kinda weird. I was in a national tournament once as a 1st dan and I went up against an american 8 year old 2nd dan. I was 10 at the time . . . took me 4 years to get my 1st dan.

And a question for everyone here . . . Is fencing considered a martial art?

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?

Originally Posted by horseman85

And a question for everyone here . . . Is fencing considered a martial art?

Yes, absolutely. It's a european martial art.

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I really wish they had fencing lesson where I am. I've always had a great deal of interest in that sport.

What, you don't want my bikini-clad body?

Well, if you can find a local chapter of the Society for Creative Anachronism, you can learn there. It won't be olympic-style, but if it's like the group I'm in, it should be cheap and include all weapon styles.

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You could try a local university . . . that's where I took my fencing lessons . . .

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I practiced Kung-Fu for about 4 years when I was a kid, and then came back for another 5-6 when I was in my teens. I'm 22 now, been out of practice since I was 18 and left for college. Made 2nd kyu brown belt, and was moderately leet. I really don't think I was as good as I could/should have been, but I'm a lot more confident walking around Chicago (IIT is in the middle of a rough neighbourhood), since I can hold my own in a fight and know a few magic striking points.

I want to get back into martial arts, probably with jiu jitsu. Additionally, I'm still entertaining notions of joining the Illinois Fencers' Assoc. and learning to fight with a foil. Katanas were never really my thing, plus I'd like to learn a Western martial art that's a little more refined than the classic Irish bar brawl technique which, while in my blood, doesn't necessarily look as pretty as fencing.

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

Anyone into MMA fighting? I just recently started fighting in amateur MMA competitions. I'm more proficient at grappling since I've been doing it longer. I've been using Judo/Jiujitsu and Muay Thai techniques the combo seems to work out quite well for me.

I am a dolphin, do you want me on your body?

Hmmmm . . . It'd be really cool if we could have a GFF Martial Arts Tournament . . . yes yes i know. It's pretty much impossible but it would be cool nonetheless.

I was speaking idiomatically.

I did kendo.... I achieved my black belt status... I loved it quite well... but I took the bamboo stright to the knee & it damaged my Patella... its kind of ok now I guess but every so often it will slip out of place... it hurts sometimes too, they classify it as a Maltracking Patlla.. its a bitch & its annoying for other sports.. but when I did do the Kendo I though it was awesome, I loved the long Nanchaku's They were my fav off all!

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?

Originally Posted by Man_of_Pie

Anyone into MMA fighting? I just recently started fighting in amateur MMA competitions. I'm more proficient at grappling since I've been doing it longer. I've been using Judo/Jiujitsu and Muay Thai techniques the combo seems to work out quite well for me.

I'm the biggest MMA fan here. Do you train with any of the famous teams? What weight class do you fight at?

FELIPE NO

I was a paltry Yellow Belt 6th Mon in Judo years back, until I got fed up of us just doing the same practice every lesson (that we'd pretty much mastered) and never actually moving onto anything new.

If and when I can find a school, I want to take some sort of weapons and non-weapons based martial art. Kinda like Wushu or something. Except Wushu looks hellishly hard. ._>

What, you don't want my bikini-clad body?

Originally Posted by Ginko

Actually, I like the idea of boxing for its practical value. I practice Northern Shaolin Kung Fu, but unfortunately, there's not much real sparring. Don't get me wrong, I love the aesthetic aspects of it, practicing the forms and such, but I want to find a school that will really teach me how to defend myself.

I would agree that boxing and muay thai are among the top in terms of training for toughness. You make it seem by the statement that if you somehow merged the two, you'd create the toughest sport. I don't think thats too far fetched... But if you compare it to something like TKD point sparring, its gonna win by a landslide. But its also true that you don't know, since you'd have to experiment with all martial arts before actually knowing.

Have muay thai training techniques changed? I hear it takes quite a toll on the body.. I've heard some say that you won't be able to walk because your bones are messed up. I wouldn't want to train in something so ephemeral. Why learn an art if you can only use it for a short period of time?

@ Jeff: Were there any legal repercussions because you did so much damage to the guy? I know for a fact that you can get into a ton of trouble if you kick a guy on the ground in a fight, if he has no weapon.

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Well I mentioned before that I'd like to try Kyudo. I forgot to mention that I've already tried some sort of Karate, and Judo.

In the Karate, the belt coloring was a bit weird. You started off as a white, progressed to white with a red band, then on to red, then red with a black band, and I forget the rest. I reached Red in a year or two, and then lost interest. Hey, I was still in elementary school at the time.

The Judo was a phys. ed. course I took in college. I missed the last class, so I can't be 100% sure that I didn't get a yellow belt, but I'm pretty sure that I didn't.

There's nowhere I can't reach.

I spent a few years when I was around 11 or 12 in a Tae Kwan Do school. It was pretty fun at first, but I later outgrew it. The school was more of a beginner's martial arts academy, and focused more on posture, keeping still, and constantly responding to your sensei, and less on the actual practice of martial arts.

Fast forward a few years, when I learn that a new accademy opened near where I lived. I decided to get back into the game (mostly due to my then-new love of DBZ and Jackie Chan) and joined this Kung Fu school. Unlike the baby steps in the other school, this one got to the point, having the students engage in some very harsh excercises, leaving me quite exhausted yet satisfied at the progress it would bring.

But then about 2 years ago I severly injured my back, keeping me away from the school for one year. Then an old injury with my foot crept back to me, and is still affecting me now. This has kept me out of the school for an additional year. Lately I think about what I missed, and I long to return, but I need to get this injured foot taken care of. I'm hoping once I see my physical therapist, I can practice Kung Fu again within this year. If nothing else, it was the best way to lose weight and get into shape.

Also, I just learned that my old instructor, the owner of the Tae Kwan Do school, had passed away today due to his struggle with cancer. I haven't seen him in years, but I feel very bad about this. He dedicated himself to teaching various martial arts to young kids, and it's very sad to see someone as inspirational as him leave this world. He was the same age that my father is now.

He also taught another martial art called Krav Maga (sp?), some Israelil form of self defense. My mom tried to get me to join, but I immediately rejected it, having never heard of it before. How many Israeli martial artists can you name? I would rather go back to the tried and true Kung Fu, instead of having to relearn a possibly obscure martial art instead.

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.