I used to go to karate classes at the local YMCA for about 6 years, give or take. Definitely not the best school in the world, but I enjoyed it and learned some useful skills. I took Shu Ko Kai style, and reached 3rd Kyu (3 belts below black, which was the first of three brown belt levels in my style.)
So Dopers, who among you has studied martial arts? What style? What did that style emphasize? What did you like/dislike about it? I’ve been thinking of studying again, and I’d like to get opinions on what styles are best.
I got my degree in Acting at a fine arts college, and because of the emphasis on movement and body awareness, we studied a hodgepodge. We did Tai Chi for warmup and flexibility, we based our study of broadsword combat on kendo (and of course we learned standard fencing techniques, including foil, sabre, and epee), we threw in a little aikido for smooth motion and awareness of energy flow, etc., etc. We didn’t study any one discipline to the extent of dismissing the others; it was a pick-and-choose situation.
Given all of that, the one that most appealed to me was aikido. I can’t really explain why; it just made the most sense to me, physically. If I were to do back and make a specific study of a particular martial-arts discipline, that’s the one I’d choose.
I took tae kwon do for about a year. I was actually assigned to write a story for my newspaper about the studio, and when I went to do the interview, I got sucked in. I finally called it a day because I couldn’t keep track of all the katas.
I have occasionally entertained thoughts of trying martial arts again.
Why, doesn’t everyone know that John C. Kim can float off buildings, change direction while airborne, injury people without touching them, cure AIDS, read people’s minds, ad infinitum?
caveat *for entertainment puposes only. This is a cult. Mr. Kim is currently in Federal Prison for tax evasion. *
Now for the people on this site who are serious martial arts practitoners…
Studying Kendo and Naginata. Style? Don’t think there is any such thing per se? Am a registered member of U.S. Naginata and Kendo Federations. I like the focus and clean unified movements in Kendo, and the intricacy of using a Naginata.
However, while technically I could carry a sword around, these aren’t really practical martial arts (but then, few are). Probably wouldn’t recommend for bar fights unless the bouncer let you bring in a boken.
Well, maybe you could make one out of the leg of those flimsy tables people get knocked back onto in bar fights. Hmmm.
Would like to get some iaido and cutting practice in, just to get the feel of how to use a real blade, however.
Should clarify, while I’ve seen a lot of different styles of kendo, I don’t think there are any different schools, at least for those which operate under the auspices of the AJKF.
I studied Shotokan Karate while I was in college. I got up to 1 kyu in rank. I enjoyed it for the most part. We were part of the ISKF federation which was tied to the Japanese Karate Federation. It’s definitly a different world. Let me just say that lessons of respect were sometimes taught very physically.
I’m no longer active in it because I have an hour commute to work and the nearest dojo in my style is yet another hour away. I do miss it.
I’ve taken up duelist fencing (also known as light weapons in the SCA) as a means to continue to temper my aggressive nature.
I studied Kung Fu and T’ai Chi for a number of years, from several different schools/styles. I had a lot of fun, and got into great shape. Kung Fu typically emphasizes kicking and punching over grappling and throwing, and ‘street fighting’ over point sparring; T’ai Chi is the same thing abstracted and slowed down.
When people ask me what the best style is, my reply is that the teacher is far more important the the style. Find a teacher whom you feel comfortable with, and whose classes you enjoy. Don’t worry too much about what the sign over the door says–all martial arts systems end up in about the same place, whether it is T’ai Chi or T’ai Kwon Do.
If you think the school costs too much, especially if there are a lot of ‘hidden fees’, or if you think the practice includes things that might hurt you–drop out at once. I have encountered both, by the way.
I learned most of my martial arts from TV and in practice. Pathetic, I know, but I once fought a Karate brown belt who said that in his opinion, my abilities were probably equal to that of a red belt. I thought that was cool, even though I dont know what level Red is, 'cause I’m sure it’s relatively high and I’ve not taken a lesson in my life.
I also took broadsword lessons. This is definetly my area of expertise. Stopped because of time constraints, and also because I didnt feel they were teaching me much. I consider myself damn good with one.
I want to, as soon as I have the money/time, take Muay Thai kickboxing. Just seems to be my style…
I studied for approximately 4 years during high school. It was a mixture of styles, mostly Kenpo, Shotokan, and Uechi Ryu. For those who don’t know, Uechi Ryu is a soft style, utilizing locks and throws. I acheived 4th Kyu before going to college, and then moved 2000 miles, and am still looking for a good school.
My Sensei was an 8th Dan in Shotokan, 5th in Kenpo, and held a total of 6 black belts, in different styles. I guess 35 years of studying will do that for you. He taught the art of fighting, not just the technique. The first thing he taught, was that martial arts is ONLY for self defense. I have met many people who claim to be martial artists, only to see them attempt to start fights. A true martial artist should never have to fight.
OK, I’ve studied at a dojo that teaches a combination of Shaolin, Kempo and Karate. The basis is to learn both katas and real life self defense techniques for almost every situation imaginable.
Well, I did Kuk Sool Won (Korean Royal Court) for around 5 years… I was about to start testing for my black belt when my instructor left to do his own thing. I followed him, and continued training his personal style for about a year (broken into 2 halves).
Lately, I’ve been fooling around with a Bujincan(sp?) Ninjitsu guy, and that’s fun, but not a lot of structure.
I’ve been doing SCA Heavy Combat for 4 years (sort of a formalized style of medieval tourney combat) and that is my favorite right now, and compatible with the other arts with very little effort.
Once my kids start school full time, I’m thinking of either going back to get my belt in KSW, or starting something brand new.
Blackclaw, if you can, you should try the Heavy Fighting… talk about aggresion therapy, whoooo nelly!!
I’ve been studying martial arts on and off since about age 8, although it’s been “off” now for around 8 years. In the past, I’ve taken kung fu, shotokan karate, aikido, muay thai, and a tiny bit of isshinryu; of those, aikido was my favorite. I’m pondering taking something again, probably kenpo, although I’ll have to see if my schedule permits it.
Kyberneticist, I’ve never even met anyone who’s studied naginata, that’s pretty cool.
Mnementh, be warned that muay thai training can be extremely painful. Much of the training concentrates on building up a layer of scar tissue that’ll make you capable of taking massive amounts of punishment (lots of kicking poles with your shin, letting others kick you in the thigh, punching yourself in the stomach while doing crunches, that sorta thing). However, if you can make it through that, you’ll be one bad mofo; muay thai practitioners are fast as cats and hard as iron.
I started off in heavy weapons. It certainly does get out your aggressions! I still miss the whump! sound of two combat lines coming together. I moved into light weapons because they get to use actual steel and I love swords. In heavy weapons I really was just using a club, which certainly has its benefits, but it never really felt like sword fighting. Of course using steel forces some limitations on what we can safely do, so heavy weapons still has some advantages that light weapons is lacking. They’re both fun and if I had the time I’d still do both.
That’s why I want to take it. I’m rather slow moving, so in fights my strategy has always been to simply dole out punishment, 'cause I can sure as hell take it. I’ve taken some really good shots without flinching. It suits me. And I’m well aware that when I start I’ll be broken to little pieces. It was actually the stories that people left practices with broken ribs and such that made me decide on Muay Thai instead of another art. It’s so… Me.
I have dan/instructor rank in: hapkido, okinawan karate (chino-te, shiho karano kai), torosamado (American Japanese/Viet mixture), Kung Fu, and an American sport karate system. Kung Fu was where I channeled most of my personal training. When I taught, I stressed practicial technique over stylistic integrity, but I believe very strongly in establishing a firm base of body position and movement before all else.
I have also spent a fair amount of time working with Philipine weapons (stick, bolo, knife).
I have been idle for the last few years (since blowing out my knee. Again.) but I have no doubt that I will return to active training before much longer. Once it gets deep into you, it rarely lets go.
Oh, and I hit people with sticks in the SCA years ago and fenced even more years ago.
Taekwondo for about 6 years. Got my black belt and screwed my foot up while testing (had to do half the test with a ton of pain in my foot, but surprised even myself and did well), which ended up with me taking the summer off for it to heal (tore some ligaments or something in it, I’m not really sure…). Started college at the end of the summer, found out just how little free time I’d have, tried to keep going to classes for a few more months, then just gave up as I was only able to get to a few classes a month if I was lucky. All I do now is go to class, do homework, and sleep, heh.
I’d like to try kung-fu sometime (wing chun looks fun), as doing TKD we learned how to use our legs, but not much with the hands, so it would be nice to learn something for in close like that.
And yeah, I’ve heard all the “TKD is useless, you can’t do flying kicks in the middle of a fight” stuff. You also can’t go into an elaborate kung fu pose in the middle of a fight, and you wouldn’t try to, just like you wouldn’t try to do a jump-spinning hook-kick out of nowhere. I’ve seen TKD people who can throw insanely fast kicks (faster than a lot of people can punch) combo after combo (in some clips of a tournament in Korea they’ll get knocked off their feet and throw 4 kicks while falling backward, jeeze). And while kicking may be useless up close, grappling is useless when you’re far away. If you aren’t starting off an arm’s length away, you’re going to have a helluva time getting that close. I’m not trying to say TKD is better than any other style or anything (as there’s no “greatest” style), I just figured I’d throw that bit in because TKD seems to catch a lot of flak, heheh…
I’ve studied karate, judo and tai chi. None to any great mastery. A few years ago Zaphod and I started up an open style fight club where I was introduced to a few others - (usually in a painful manner) Muai Thai, Jiu-Jitsu, good old fashion boxing, etc… I learned that while religiously studying a particular style of martial arts is rewarding on a personal and disciplinary level, in actual practice it is often a death sentence. The ability to change your tactics and adapt to a situation far outweighs your mastery of a certain belt.
Tristan, mentioned SCA Heavy Combat. I would like to say this: FUNfunfunfunfun!!!
Our fight club was introduced to sword fighting by a large crazy Frenchman who’d studied with claymores in Europe. We started off with the big two-handers but eventually added other weapons - shorter swords, martial arts weapons (ask Zaphod about nunchuku - snicker) and the ‘wrecking ball’ (morning star) These padded/pvc core weapons are indeed the most fun we’ve ever had beating each other up.
The wrecking ball is one of the most intimidating weapons out there. The studded ball is about 7inches diameter on a 2’ rope chain. The weilder has to keep it swinging otherwise you can see a strike coming a mile off and I’ll tell you, with one of those serious thumpers swinging over your head you think twice about getting too close. A good solid whump on the back from this thing will rob you of breath for a good little bit.
My favorite is my long sword. The ‘blade’ is about 4 feet long and the handle about a foot. There is no guard on it, so I use a sai in my left hand (perfect for trapping blades or tying up psycho wrecking balls).
Ok. Now I’m getting excited. There’s too much snow on the ground and it’s too cold to be thinking about this. sigh. There’s an idea for a wickedly fun dopefest somewhere in here.
