Martial Arts

F

Flaremon

Guest
Original poster
So, anyone practice it? My Dad is a martial arts instructor and tried to get me to learn some when I was a kid. I was being a lazy bitch, fooling around his classes and got kicked.

Ah well. It was boring anyway.

My Dad used to teach Shijan-Do, but, I've never heard of it. He teaches Ninjitsu now.

So, what about you? Karate? Tae Kwon Doe?
 
My dad's from Laos. Laos, having been part of a more ancient Thai empire, also utilized a derivative of Muay Boran (modern-day Muay Thai) called, simply, "Muay Lao." It's... pretty much the same thing.

So I grew up learning Muay Lao (which is, again, Muay Thai for all intents-and-purposes). My dad was old-fashioned with it, too. He took a 4x4, shoved it into the ground, and wound rope tightly around the 5' tall post.

And made me punch it, elbow it, and kick it.

(Eventually he padded it.)

Then my dad started showing me Jeet Kune Do techniques. He got into this Bruce Lee thing when he was younger... had all of his art of fighting books, and that big Jeet Kune Do book he wrote. So my dad then taught me a few tenets of Jeet Kune Do.

College rolls around, and my roommate is a huge MMA fan. He shows me UFC. (This was 2004). I become hooked. And check it! He practices BJJ. So guess what I learn?

That's right, kiddies. I'm an intermediate white belt in BJJ. I also learned some wrestling. Basics, but I know a little. Know some Judo take-downs as well.

FINALLY, I joined the fencing club while I was at school. So... I also know the fundamentals of foil fencing.
 
i am learning, informally, ju-jitsu, hapkido, judo, ninjitsu, tai-jjitsu, and Ranger hand-to-hand techniques on top of knife-fighting and sword.
 
Currently taking Martial Arts classes. : D

I am taking four different Arts. TaeKwonDoe, Judo, Gracie Barra (A kind of Jiu-jitsu), and a little boxing. We are mainly working on Gracie Barra, which can get difficult, but fun and exciting. But, I think it has thrown out my spine a bit here and there... >_>
 
My Dad has a black belt in Karate, which is really weird to know if you ever meet my dad. o_____o

I too would like to try Karate one day so I can be like my Daddy. :D Plus, I would not be as scared to go places by myself cause I'd know how to defend myself better than the small things my Da told me how to do. >>
 
Tae kwon do, purportedly I got tang soo do mixed into there somewhere, American kickboxing, some submission grappling, hapkido, fencing in epee, foil, and sabre, and now I'm just straight up boxing.

I've been exposed to karate, ecrima, kendo, and muay thai, but since I never formally studied them, I don't count them.

I gave up on martial arts years ago and focused solely on boxing with some kicks thrown in because the only moves you'll ever really need is punching, blocking, and weaving/dodging. Elbows and knees maybe. But all the other fancier knife-hands, backfists, spin kicks...kinda slow and useless in the real world.
 
But all the other fancier knife-hands, backfists, spin kicks...kinda slow and useless in the real world.
I disagree.

For one thing, people are able to use martial arts to build their body and muscles to an iron-tough state, where not even the ordinary dagger could pierce through, but you are able to do that with proper sports training, too, so I'll digress from this.

Another thing is that you cannot box your way through everything, especially knives. Grappling is part of martial arts, too (though I'm not sure if it's part of boxing as well, so correct me on this one), and it's helpful in preventing knife attacks from the everyday crooks and thugs.

Sure, it's not much help against guns, but hey, I know some professional martial artists leap between alleys. They can do that to get out of the way of bullets somehow.
 
Let's put it this way.

Fights are not organized ever. Sports are, fights no. You do one of three things: run like hell, don't get hit, or hit the other guy. It doesn't matter what you use, I don't particularly care. Punching things down is faster than grappling or kicking and can be used point-blank. They got a knife? Don't fight them. Can't run away? Then hit them, knife or not, or take the knife away.

Having been the victim of a near mugging and more than few bar fights, my own experience with fights has been to make that split decision whether to get dirty or to walk away...and if I decided to get dirty, I gave up on form, techinque, or whatever. I went in swinging--if I get them by surprise or the first hit in, all the better. Then I don't stop swinging. I hit them until they bleed, then hit them until they go down or someone pulls me back. I fight savage, I fight without stopping.

Martial arts gives you a basis, but it doesn't tell you how to fight. Fighting tells you how to fight.
 
I've never had the need for martial arts, but I always feel like it would be nice for a Muslim girl in NYC to be able to defend herself. Just in case, :P.

So I'm currently enrolled in that new kind of MA~ the gymnastics one~ It's modernized or something x3

And then I'm thinking of taking shaolin, too, but it's more delicacy and balance than kickingbutt...

EDIT:
Here we go~ got the info from the clubmaster :3

TRICKING:
Tricking is the informal name of a relatively new underground alternative sport movement, combining martial arts, gymnastics, breakdancing and other performing arts to create an "aesthetic blend of flips, kicks, and twists."Tricking incorporates a variety of moves from different arts such as the backflip from gymnastics, 540 kick from Taekwondo, butterfly twist from Wushu and double leg from Capoeira. Tricking is recognizable by its flashy kicks, complex flips and twists, and its highly stylized movements which separate it from other arts. An individual who practices tricking is typically referred to as a "trickster" or "tricker".
 
I fenced for about three years, competitively for two. I learned the three swords: foil, epee, sabre, but mostly competed in foil. A nasty injury, and the fact that I did not get much joy out of competition with others, caused me to slowly phase out-though I still visit my old classmates to fence with them, every once in a while.

I've been doing traditional Japanese Jujitsu for almost three years and I have no intention of ever stopping. I've met a lot of amazing people, and learned to be a better, more compassionate person.

I have a bad temper, like, a really bad temper. The black out and jump on you, forearm to the throat, knee to the sternum kind of temper. Without going into too much detail: I had to fight A LOT until about age 16. After that, things got better, things calmed down. But I didn't know how to turn it off.

Being in martial arts isn't about kicking ass. It's about being a better person. Anyone can fight, I can fight, a lot of people can fight. Can you control yourself enough not to fight? What if you're out with a friend/family member/lover and they are snatched right in front of you, and are being dragged away? You can't just punch or tackle the bad guy. . . unless you're comfortable with harming your loved one in the process.

Can you control yourself enough to not harm your attacker, because you realize that it's just a young, autistic man who has simply gotten too excited. Do you know hot to restrain him until he calms down? I've seen it happen, and the man who did it was smaller and lighter than me, and the young man was easily 5'8 and 200lbs. My senpai didn't even break a sweat, and the young man calmed down after a while.

Whoo! Got a little long-winded, there. Simply put: Jujitsu has changed my life for the better. I have much better control of my emotions, and that has helped me in every aspect of my life.

Also, I love it because it covers ground fighting, stand up, pressure points, every weapon under the sun and defense against them (yes, even guns), escaping techniques and even healing techniques (what good are you if you can't tend to what you break?). The best part? It requires ZERO physical strength, just good positioning, breathing, clarity, and a little knowledge of human anatomy.

Sorry about the long-winded message, I get a little carried away with these things. ^^;

Videos!

[nomedia="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R2Tmpq7Z_QA&feature=related"]YouTube- Ogawa Ryu Jujutsu Mugen Mukeru Small Documentary 2/2[/nomedia]

[nomedia="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_QZyJhMo674"]YouTube- Ogawa Ryu Jujutsu - Shoden no keiko II[/nomedia]

http://martialartsoftucson.com/video_player_superlg.php?video=jujutsu_final This vids fancy, and a little dramatic, but it has beautiful sword technique in it.
 
The self control begins and ends here: Choose to walk away or choose to fight.

In training, you learn to pull your punches; that's less self-control and more just being a good sportsman or a good student. No sense in hurting your buddies.

But if you need to defend yourself, I should hope that you've the self-control enough to make a rational decision about whether to fight or not. Because me, if I choose to fight, I'm going full out.

Someone tries to hurt me, my own, or my friends, the fight won't end until I'm broken and bleeding, they're broken or bleeding, or the cops get involved.

I have no illusions of "fighting." With me, its gonna be a savage brawl. Self-control starts before the fight and ends the moment a fist is swung, because by God, there's no way in hell I'm showing any quarter against someone dead set on hurting me back.

If you learn to make a wise decision not to fight, all the better. But understand that the other guy may not be as wise and will probably do his damnedest to make you hurt.
 
Let's put it this way.

Fights are not organized ever. Sports are, fights no. You do one of three things: run like hell, don't get hit, or hit the other guy. It doesn't matter what you use, I don't particularly care. Punching things down is faster than grappling or kicking and can be used point-blank. They got a knife? Don't fight them. Can't run away? Then hit them, knife or not, or take the knife away.


Martial arts gives you a basis, but it doesn't tell you how to fight. Fighting tells you how to fight.

I completely agree.

I rarely have any reason to fight. Almost everyone I know will offer me a drink if they see me in a bar. But when I do get in a fight where I can't avoid, I fight dirty. That's what I was taught(by my busmates) and that's how I learned(lol drunken bar fights).

A chick that practices Aikido taught me to avoid fights, even the ones I can win.



Back to Martial Arts, I was into Tae Kwon Do when I was a kid. But I stopped when I learned you can't high kick school bullies(it's far easier to just punch them before they can hit you). I joined the Arnis club in my freshman year in High School, it was fun but I changed clubs(Band) the year after.

No other formal training after that. Barfights doesn't count.


I've been wanting to try Muay Thai/Boxing, anything I should know before I break anything?
 
As with anything, get a reputable instructor. Ask around. The Muay Thai/UFCtards in the area will be more than happy to tell you which gym is good and which ones suck.
 
I practiced TKD for two or three years when I was a kid, but I had to stop when I was a freshman in High School, because it was getting expensive. :|

Kinda sucks, because I really enjoyed it. I have some anger issues (my friends can tell you) so whenever I practiced TKD it really calmed me down. I never thought of using what I learned into a real life combat, because tbh, I doubt I will. It's like Raz said: you either fight or you don't. The only time I had to fight was when I was in abusive (I use the term lightly, it was mainly verbal) relationship. The guy decided to punch me and I quickly dodged and countered punched. It was a matter of defense really. I chose not to fight most of the time.

What I would really like to learn is Capoeira, just for fun and shitsngiggles.
 
i'd have to disagree with your views on the usefulness of martial arts training during fights Raz, and its totally my opinion. with the number of fights i've been in i find that i use the vast majority of my training during the fight. without self control you cannot gain control of your opponent in order to take advantage of the holes in their form. if you maintain control and keep the "one-mind" (see: The Last Samurai) you are open to being jumped by the poor slob's mates and having you skull cracked. the knife-hands and other "fancy" techniques come in useful especially when you are fighting multiple assailants, spoken from experience. i've been in brawls where it was me against 6 or 7 others and without the self-control and the usage of the stunning attacks and other techniques to give me some time to pick them off is the only reason i came out on top with some bruised ribs and a mild concussion whereas they ended up in the hospital when the cops eventually found the pile of them.
 
Aikido over here, fourth Kyu.

I really should pick up Parkour..
 
Basically black belt in karate, tae kwon do, and kung fu. :D RAWR KUNG FU!!
 
Formal training is good for one main thing:

The fact that you're training.

You're working out, maintaining a certain degree of discipline to keep your body healthy and in shape. Sometimes having a well-maintained body is an awesome weapon in and of itself. You're faster, stronger, and you'll heal better than if you weren't in shape.

Second, you've gone through the movements. You've better prepared yourself for a combat situation. Are you ready for it entirely? No. But you're better prepared for it. You know how to take a hit. You know what it's going to feel like when your hand connects. You know to keep your wrists straight, to line your knuckles up a certain way, that it's wise to go ahead and take that shot off the crown of your head, or to deflect the punch with your shoulder is preferable to avoiding it entirely.

Having said that, formal training is NOT the be all, end all for a fight. The main thing is who wants to win, and who wants to win more badly than the other guy. That will and burning desire for victory can go a long, long way. It can make a man take a bottle to the other guy, or go after his car long enough to get in a low blow, etc., etc..
 
I used to take Tae Kwon Doe and at one point was pretty good with it. The instructor told me I was a gifted learner and that I'd make Black Belt before the others in my class. Unfortunately, the other people in my class were two faced jackals who employed dirty tricks when the instructor wasn't looking...liking kicking me in the face when we bowed before combat.

So I stopped going entirely because I didn't like the people.

Silly reason perhaps and a part of me regrets it now.
 
I used to take Tae Kwon Doe and at one point was pretty good with it. The instructor told me I was a gifted learner and that I'd make Black Belt before the others in my class. Unfortunately, the other people in my class were two faced jackals who employed dirty tricks when the instructor wasn't looking...liking kicking me in the face when we bowed before combat.

So I stopped going entirely because I didn't like the people.

Silly reason perhaps and a part of me regrets it now.


And now you understand how to fight. =)