# Martial artists - who's out there?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/martial-artists-whos-out-there/186654>\
**Category:** In My Humble Opinion\
**Created:** [July 6, 2003, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/martial-artists-whos-out-there/186654 "2003-07-06T23:31:28Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 6\
**Page:** 2

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**Author:** ![X\_Slayer\_ALE](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/bbe5ce/32.png) [@X\_Slayer\_ALE](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/X_Slayer_ALE)\
**Post date:** [July 7, 2003, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/martial-artists-whos-out-there/186654/21 "2003-07-07T17:10:09Z")

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4 1/2 years studying AiKido and I am up to first Kyu. Another year and a half and i may be good enuf to try for a black belt. Dont spar much, since aikido studies both offensive and defensive moves, there really isnt a good way to see who is winning or not. I am confident that except for the 3 black belts and my sensei, I can probably outmatch all but 2 in my class but then I cheat 😃

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**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\
**Post date:** [July 7, 2003, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/martial-artists-whos-out-there/186654/22 "2003-07-07T17:46:00Z")

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\<---- Read the username.

This is in judo. I have been a shodan for a little over twenty five years. Just not interested in promotions. A guy who made black belt after me is a rokudan by now - go figure.

I have done a bunch of other styles (tae kwon do, jujutsu, wing tsun, another style of ch’uan-fa called “White Eyebrows”), but tae kwon do is the only other style I practiced that did belt rankings. I quit tae kwon do when the instructor wanted me to teach the beginner’s class and still pay for my advanced training.

Regards,  
Shodan

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**Author:** ![NinjaChick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/71c47a/32.png) [@NinjaChick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NinjaChick)\
**Post date:** [July 7, 2003, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/martial-artists-whos-out-there/186654/23 "2003-07-07T18:45:01Z")

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> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by Shodan \*  
> \*\*\<---- Read the username.
> 
> [snippity]but tae kwon do is the only other style I practiced that did belt rankings. I quit tae kwon do when the instructor wanted me to teach the beginner’s class and still pay for my advanced training.
> 
> Regards,  
> Shodan \*\*

Huh - what level were you at this point? At my school, its genearlly assumed that the hihger-ranking belts (black, brown, and sometimes red belts) do at least help out with the lower belts (ie, warming up classes and leading stretches, etc) as part of the curriculum. I was under the impression that that was a pretty standard part of martial arts training. Unless, of course, your instructor wanted you to completely _teach_ an entire lesson, which would be kind of strange, especially if you weren’t a black belt.

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**Author:** ![Aglet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/aca169/32.png) [@Aglet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aglet)\
**Post date:** [July 7, 2003, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/martial-artists-whos-out-there/186654/24 "2003-07-07T19:13:47Z")

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I’ve been taking Thai Kickboxing for about 5 months. I have not attended the sparring, grabs-and-holds, or weapons classes (it is a different sign-up and commitment level). But I have tested white to yellow and yellow to orange. We are not tested on forms until black belt testing. For all levels of testing, we do board breaking, a set number of push-ups dependent on belt, and a particularly grueling class for stamina and technique. I know it is not an ancient martial art, but I think it is considered a martial art. This is one of the best things I have ever done for myself.

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**Author:** ![Balance](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ccd318/32.png) [@Balance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balance)\
**Post date:** [July 7, 2003, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/martial-artists-whos-out-there/186654/25 "2003-07-07T20:05:02Z")

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I studied in a very free-form dojo for about 4 years, splitting my time among Modern Arnis-Aikido, American Kenpo, and kickboxing, with occasional forays into grappling. I wouldn’t say that I advanced very far in any one of the arts, but I did get a solid grounding in all of them; on the whole, I think that’s better achieving rank in just one style. Arnis is definitely my favorite style, though.

On the kata/sparring matter: We did forms in both Arnis and Kenpo, but there was a lot of sparring as well–there’s no way out of that when there’s a kickboxer among the instructors. We also did posting, which is sparring for the pathologically masochistic–you stand unarmed in a ring of people armed with sticks, and your job is to disarm them as they attack you. When you’re just starting out, they attack one at a time, but that doesn’t last. I miss it. 😃

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**Author:** ![Bippy\_the\_Beardless](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ac8455/32.png) [@Bippy\_the\_Beardless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bippy_the_Beardless)\
**Post date:** [July 7, 2003, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/martial-artists-whos-out-there/186654/26 "2003-07-07T20:53:41Z")

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I studied Bujinkan Budo Taijutsu (formally Bujinkan Ninpo Taijustsu) for 6 years before repeated back trouble made me quit. Before that I had a few years of Judo. The Bujinkan is a group of nine old Japanese Jujutsu (and similar) schools, including a significant amount of weapon use.

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