The reason I ask is because there’s a conversation about one inch punches over at General Questions, and mmmiiikkkiiiee seems pretty knowledgable. I’m wondering who else has studied, what arts, and why. If you know longer study, why did you quit?
I’ve studied Jeet Kune Do for about two and a half years, boxing for one, kickboxing for two, various styles of submission grappling four four, and Kali stick and knife fighting for two. For lesser periods of time I have studied Ninjitsu, Kykushin Karate, Capoeira, and Greco-Roman wrestling.
The only real natural martial art ability I have is submission grappling, but I enjoy all ranges of combat a great deal. I’m not into the spiritual side of things, I just like knowing that I can take care of myself and can remain calm in uncertain situations.
I’m currently studying Muay Thai kickboxing and Vale Tudo/Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. I recently moved to Winnipeg and they have no real schools in terms of Filipino weapon arts, so I’m probably going to lose most of my weapons skills.
I studied good old goju ryu karate for about ten years, starting when I was 9. Haven’t got back to it after I moved away for university. The head-push of our clubs is Masami Tsuroka, and there are many clubs all across Canada. There has been a book written about his style, authored by one of the guys I’ve trained with on occasion. Lucky me, I have my picture in the book :D.
Tae Kwan Do for 8 years. I’ve come to the conclusion that, it can actually be pretty nasty. I know it’s become one of those after school American kids type of martial arts, but it’s got some pretty cool shit.
I kind of got to the level where if you want to get better, you’d have to really adopt it into your life and “strike out a bit on your own” so to speak. You know the level where you’re about as good as the top students, but still well below the older instructors… they can’t really teach you much more because it is their personal tricks/methods and experience that work for them that help make them better - which they can’t effectivly teach someone else. I’m still too busy doing other things to make the commitment it takes to really excell. It is interesting to spend years at something and be well beyond many others, and then have someone even better mop the floor with you - you realize just how much further there is to go, and must decide whether to “mainatin” your present level, go higher, or try new things too. As yet I haven’t tried enough other variations to know exactly where I’m headed… so time will tell.
I did generic Karate when I was very young. Didn’t stick to it very long.
In my former school, I trained in kickboxing for a couple years. I’m considering continuing it in college as an elective course, although I might simply sign up in the campus gym for it.
I did Tang Soo Do twice for about a year at a stretch. I quit because a) the whole discipline thing was difficult to sustain and b) it’s expensive and time consuming. What I enjoyed most was the stretching. I’m pretty limber even without the stretching (hey ladies!).
I’ve spent the summer studying karate. It’s been fun. I like the discipline, building strength and flexibility and confidence, and I like the ways that the philosophies involved can go beyond practice and be applied to other parts of my life.
Now, if I could just get a kick in once in a while…
I’ve been studying shorin-ryu (surprise!) karate for about 7 1/2 years now, and arnis (filipino stick fighting) for 5+ years. It’s pretty much an addiction at this point–I have to give myself permission to take a night off, which means it takes me longer to heal after pesky little injuries, like my current pulled hamstring.
I started studying Tang Soo Do at the age of 6 and received my black belt at age 10. At 13, I quit because I got involved in Boy Scouts and that took too much of my time. As a freshmen in college, I started practicing again for about a year, but college being what it is (sucky and time consuming) I quit again.
Looking back on it, Tang Soo Do was one of the most positive things I could have done in my life. Since I started so young, it was engrained into my personality and is part of me. If I am ever in a situation where I need to defend myself, I go back to my Martial Arts training by default (And I’ve had to use it once IRL too… but that is another story for another time.). Also, being able to say I got my black belt at age 10 is a great topic for parties.
I probably should start practicing again, now that I’m 33, but I’ve grown into so many other interests (Roller Hockey, Paintball, and Magic), plus having a family puts a damper on my extracurricular activities. I’ll get back into it eventually. The kids will probably become curious about it when they get older.
I first started with judo and Shin go ju ryu karate when I was 15. It was nice, but I never ever got the feeling that I could actually defend myself with it.
Years later I started doing some friendly classes of Kali, grappling and kickboxing (just some guys who knew it a little getting together in the dance room at college). We occasionally had an instructor from the Minnesota Kali Group come teach a few classes, which was cool and kept us going. I then studied them at formal schools for about 3 months at a time (summer breaks).
Now I study Thai boxing and off/on a Czech-ized version of Kali. I just got up to the advanced class where we put on the helmets and shin pads and get into the ring…Ouch. I’ve sparred a little before, but this is getting serious. I’m now trying to focus on using my right punches (getting the timing and distance down) because I inevitably ended up only throwing jabs against a real person that, y’know, actually MOVES, unlike a bag.
I’m excited to stay in the thai class for as long as possible because I’ve done so much starting and stopping that I haven’t learned nearly as much as I should have. The Kali class is just for grins-n-giggles now, because I have to wait until I’m a higher belt (I hate belts) before we start training with knives (the real reason I want to study Kali) - now its only sticks and self-defense moves.
Studied Kung Fu both northern and southern forms - Hung Gar and S’iu Lum. Did it for several years and got good enough to enter competitions. Then I realized most guys I was competing against were mental cases with nothing to lose. I, on the other hand, wanted to have children some day. So I stopped. Have two kids now. I think it was the right decision.
Still miss the training and the friendly sparring but I don’t miss the competitions. Nasty way to ruin an otherwise good day.
About 5 years of Uechi Ryu Karate with a bit of Aikido, Judo and another art thrown in–the instructor called it Tang Soo Do, but I remain skeptical because he was teaching Shotokan forms.
I feel your pain, Blackclaw. I’ve studied martial arts off and on since high school (I’m 28 now). I started off in taekwondo in HS and college and quit due to way too many sprained ankles from those flipping-jumping-everything-but-the-kitchen-sink kicks. After college, I tried aikido and jujutsu but also quit due to a pretty bad knee injury (note to self: on an o-goshi shoulder throw, don’t drop your sparring partner onto your knee. OW). I do miss martial arts sorely (no pun intended) and feel guilty every time one of these threads comes up.
It seems every time I study martial arts, I end up getting injured. I’m guessing it has a lot to do with my body style – I’m about 6’5", 240 lb, definitely not the small compact body style that has all the advantage of leverage. <slight hijack> I found that taekwondo is tough for us bigger folks due to my inability to really get some air and get off the ground for those flashy jumping kicks, and that throwing/grappling arts are tough due to long limbs and lack of leverage. Can any of you martial-arts-knowledgeable folks recommend a martial art for the larger among us? </end hijack>
Is eating chili then going to public functions considered a “martial art”? If so, I have a friend who is far too experienced in it.
When I lived in Japan, I studied Zen and part of the concept called for me to take part in Shotokan exercises with the monks and other students. I think the guy in charge figured out I wasn’t a martial arts kind of guy.
