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The Official Martial Arts Thread

Don't think this one has been done in this manner before, so I'll make a thread dedicated to the Martial Arts, Calisthenics, Stretching, Conditioning, Fightsport, etc...

Here's some starters:

What style/non-style?

How long?

What rank?

Recommend it?

Personal Stories, pictures, vids, etc...

I started TaeKwonDo about 4 years ago. I attained my black belt in April 2004 and would highly recommend taking TaeKwonDo for many reasons. It's changed my life in so many ways, I can't even begin to describe how great the Martial Arts are for people with enough drive to succeed at something valuable in life.

I've been instructing for about 2 years now, but recently had to quit at the beginning of the summer because I moved away from my home Dojang in Colorado to attend College in Florida. It's hard finding a new school around my area - and I'm not betting too many people are going to hire a broke kid off the street to teach people self-defense But I make sure to practice a few times each week just to make sure I don't slip in my flexibility and flow/power. I figure that now is the time for mental growth rather than physical (though ideally, you want to have both)

I would recommend styles like TaeKwonDo for women, seeing as how it takes full advantage of leg strength and leg flexibility, but don't sonsider that a limitation - every Martial Art worth mentioning has merit somewhere within it; things just depend on the instructor and the student's determination and willingness to learn (SOOO many people forget that last part!)

So how about you guys? Anyone do Karate, Kung Fu, Muay Thai, Kendo, Judo, Krav Mage, or any other means for self-enlightenment or expression... or just plain, ass-whuppin'? (I kid, I kid!)

Brazillian Jiu Jitsu (black belt) and Muay Thai (red belt) for 8 years. I recommend it if you're in to serious self defense. I've continued it because I'm in the military and plan to join law enforcement afterwards. So its greatly beneficial to me in many respects. I also did Gymnastics for 5 years, and now I'm really in to running and biking.


*shrugs*

There was a huge thread on this a while back... whatever, all the search button nazi's can stuff it, this is a good topic.

One of these days I'm going to take Jeet Kune Do. I just wish the damn place wasn't almost an hour away.

im 17 and i would like to start as well. im not sure where to start though and what to take. any recommendations?

i took martial arts as a little kid.. i think everyone has at some point hehehe...

lets see...

Kempo (Orange belt) for 2yrs

moved and had to start over...

Tae Kwon Do (Red Belt) for 2yrs

started lifting weights instead...


i always wanted to take like some crazy Chinese martial arts like Jit Kun Do (spelling?)...and train at a buddhist monastery hehehe...ok ok....i've seen too many movies...but wouldn't that be the shit?!!

I'm going to try to clarify things here...

Jeet Kune Do is not a style, persay. If any of you have thoroughly read Bruce Lee's Tao of Jeet Kune Do you will realize that he emphasis (through JKD) a sense of non-style. Even though Tao of Jeet Kune Do was released as a book, it clearly states in the introduction that Lee did not live long enough to finish it - so everything in the book consists of pieced-together notes compiled by his wife and other loved-ones/friends. This being said, the book is absolutely excellent. There are chapters on wisdom and zen and buddhism, filtered by Lee's excellent philosophical mind. Take this, for example:

"Jeet Kune do favors formlessness so that it can assume all forms and, since it has no style, Jeet Kune Do fits in with all styles. As a result, Jeet Kune Do uses all ways and is bound by none and, likewise, uses any technique or means which serves its end. In this art, effeciency is anything that scores."

This basically says, or atleast is condicively affirmative with the rest of the book, that Jeet Kune Do is not necessarily a style to be "learned". Or at least, not in the sense like you would learn Tae Kwon Do or Karate. It's more of a philosophical application for your Martial Arts career - a sense of formlessness and pure effeciency, not being limited to any branch or flower of the martial arts, but keeping the "roots" in mind. Gilbert L. Johnson, an acquaintance of Lee, states in the introduction:

"Inevitably and regrettably, the book may also cause a rash of 'Jeet Kune Do' schools, headed by people who know the reputation of the name and very little about the movement. Beware of such schools! If their instructors missed the last, most important line, chances are they failed to understand the book at all."

Here's the last line of the book:

"If people say Jeet Kune Do is different from 'this' or from 'that,' then let the name of Jeet Kune Do be wiped out, for that is what it is, just a name. Please don't fuss over it."

So you see - Jeet Kune Do isn't a style of patternized moves to be learned, rather just an applicational philosophy for those who understand effeciency in its purest form - merely a label, not a branch at all. Still a beautiful, nebulous label, nonetheless.

quote:

Originally posted by Halcyon+On+On I'm going to try to clarify things here... Jeet Kune Do is not a style, persay. If any of you have thoroughly read Bruce Lee's Tao of Jeet Kune Do you will realize that he emphasis (through JKD) a sense of non-style. Even though Tao of Jeet Kune Do was released as a book, it clearly states in the introduction that Lee did not live long enough to finish it - so everything in the book consists of pieced-together notes compiled by his wife and other loved-ones/friends. This being said, the book is absolutely excellent. There are chapters on wisdom and zen and buddhism, filtered by Lee's excellent philosophical mind. Take this, for example: "Jeet Kune do favors formlessness so that it can assume all forms and, since it has no style, Jeet Kune Do fits in with all styles. As a result, Jeet Kune Do uses all ways and is bound by none and, likewise, uses any technique or means which serves its end. In this art, effeciency is anything that scores." This basically says, or atleast is condicively affirmative with the rest of the book, that Jeet Kune Do is not necessarily a style to be "learned". Or at least, not in the sense like you would learn Tae Kwon Do or Karate. It's more of a philosophical application for your Martial Arts career - a sense of formlessness and pure effeciency, not being limited to any branch or flower of the martial arts, but keeping the "roots" in mind. Gilbert L. Johnson, an acquaintance of Lee, states in the introduction: "Inevitably and regrettably, the book may also cause a rash of 'Jeet Kune Do' schools, headed by people who know the reputation of the name and very little about the movement. Beware of such schools! If their instructors missed the last, most important line, chances are they failed to understand the book at all." Here's the last line of the book: "If people say Jeet Kune Do is different from 'this' or from 'that,' then let the name of Jeet Kune Do be wiped out, for that is what it is, just a name. Please don't fuss over it." So you see - Jeet Kune Do isn't a style of patternized moves to be learned, rather just an applicational philosophy for those who understand effeciency in its purest form - merely a label, not a branch at all. Still a beautiful, nebulous label, nonetheless.

yeah i know...i was just trying to keep it simple

quote:

Originally posted by josh4 i've been considering martial arts for a while now. let me ask you guys, i'm in my early 20s now. do you really have to start this stuff young or does it make a difference. im not trying to be a world master or anything but itd be cool if i could get good enough to do competitions or something

It's NEVER too late to start.

Truthfully, though, as far as competetion goes it's very common for the world champions to be very young and energetic and nigh-flawless in their technique - this is because they have been practising since they were 4 and 5 years old! It's a great advantage to have started when you're younger - I won't refute that. But each individual has endless potential. I, myself, started when I was 14... a stumpy, slow, uncoordinated, inflexible kid. Now, at the age of 18, I have a 170 degree-stretch (still working on it), I can bust out a decent 540 tornado kick, and I have a black belt (just a status symbol, really) - absolutely nothing special to other people, maybe, but I consider it a pretty damn fine achievement, especially looking back at what I was before I started the Martial Arts.

As you get older, your flexibility *does* suffer, and your body tends to heal slower, but are these truly the measures of a good martial artist? No. A good martial artist is one who has bettered himself through self discipline - if you have that, your sense of achievement and self-respect will superscede any desire to leap off of roof-tops and fly around like Jet Li.

Competetion is a way for bettering yourself, and is very fun to watch and learn and even participate in (some people LIVE for it ) but is not the end-all point for a worthwhile martial artist in my opinion.

Very cool stuff, though

Oh, and...

I trained for three years in combat sambo, but I've since moved and I can't find a good place to train anymore. Sambo does not typically assign ranks except for titles given to the most renowned practitioners.

Sambo was developed in the Soviet Union as a system of techniques to train police and military personnel to carry out their duties even if they were disarmed. Today sambo is usually divided into three different - albeit overlapping - categories: sport sambo, self-defense sambo, and combat sambo. In sport sambo the emphasis is on competitions, and maneuvers that can be used to score points. Self-defense sambo focuses on defensive techniques (naturally).

Combat sambo generally includes all techniques. As opposed to other forms of sambo, the emphasis in combat sambo is survival at any cost. Thus, highly aggressive techniques intended to incapacitate one or more enemies are the focus of the training. Combat sambo therefore includes many techniques that would be prohibited in some or all martial arts competitions, for example spine locks or attacks against the eye or eye socket. Combat sambo also includes training to prepare you to fight in any situation: against multiple enemies, armed or unarmed against an armed opponent, using objects in your immediate environment as effective weapons, fighting in closer quarters or in uneven areas (such as on stairs), tactics for fighting as a group against one or more opponents, and techniques to quickly kill or incapacitate an enemy silently when performing covert operations, for example.

I highly recommend it as I believe that no other martial art offers the breadth and depth of fighting techniques that combat sambo includes. However, this naturally makes it a difficult art to learn. I've trained three years and progressed much faster than the average student, but I would still be considered a beginner in terms of my abilities.

I can play hacky sack....does that count

I can do some sick ass Kicks

quote:

Originally posted by Halcyon+On+On I'm going to try to clarify things here... Jeet Kune Do is not a style, persay. If any of you have thoroughly read Bruce Lee's Tao of Jeet Kune Do you will realize that he emphasis (through JKD) a sense of non-style. Even though Tao of Jeet Kune Do was released as a book, it clearly states in the introduction that Lee did not live long enough to finish it - so everything in the book consists of pieced-together notes compiled by his wife and other loved-ones/friends. This being said, the book is absolutely excellent. There are chapters on wisdom and zen and buddhism, filtered by Lee's excellent philosophical mind. Take this, for example: "Jeet Kune do favors formlessness so that it can assume all forms and, since it has no style, Jeet Kune Do fits in with all styles. As a result, Jeet Kune Do uses all ways and is bound by none and, likewise, uses any technique or means which serves its end. In this art, effeciency is anything that scores." This basically says, or atleast is condicively affirmative with the rest of the book, that Jeet Kune Do is not necessarily a style to be "learned". Or at least, not in the sense like you would learn Tae Kwon Do or Karate. It's more of a philosophical application for your Martial Arts career - a sense of formlessness and pure effeciency, not being limited to any branch or flower of the martial arts, but keeping the "roots" in mind. Gilbert L. Johnson, an acquaintance of Lee, states in the introduction: "Inevitably and regrettably, the book may also cause a rash of 'Jeet Kune Do' schools, headed by people who know the reputation of the name and very little about the movement. Beware of such schools! If their instructors missed the last, most important line, chances are they failed to understand the book at all." Here's the last line of the book: "If people say Jeet Kune Do is different from 'this' or from 'that,' then let the name of Jeet Kune Do be wiped out, for that is what it is, just a name. Please don't fuss over it." So you see - Jeet Kune Do isn't a style of patternized moves to be learned, rather just an applicational philosophy for those who understand effeciency in its purest form - merely a label, not a branch at all. Still a beautiful, nebulous label, nonetheless.

Well, one thing Lee was very careful to emphasize is that "the way of no way" doesn't just mean "anything you do can be Jeet Kune Do." There is some very specific groundwork he would teach his students, like footwork, straight blasts, various techniques, etc. From there though, it was mostly up to them to discover themselves and what techniques worked best for them and their body type.

quote:

Originally posted by nrjizer Well, one thing Lee was very careful to emphasize is that "the way of no way" doesn't just mean "anything you do can be Jeet Kune Do." There is some very specific groundwork he would teach his students, like footwork, straight blasts, various techniques, etc. From there though, it was mostly up to them to discover themselves and what techniques worked best for them and their body type.

Very true - that's why it's not for people looking to learn a new style. He taught basics that he felt would be the most effective according to him. People have taken that as gospel and have set up a style of Jeet Kune Do based around Lee's teachings. If they'd actually paid attention to what Lee said, Jeet Kune Do was never intended to be a style of martial arts- just a contrasting albeit encompassing philosophy about how one must remain formless to attain true victory over conformity and limited patterns. Needless to say, he got in a lot of trouble with the rest of the martial arts community at the time

In Tao of Jeet Kune Do, several pages are dedicated to Lee illustrating and describing the defensive maneuvers and movements he considers the most effective. He states as sort of a disclaimer that there is no true and right way to properly defend ones-self - for that would be a limitation. Instead he merely offers a small glimpse into what he deems as core principles from his observation and experience in the martial arts.

It's unfortunate he had to die so early - the world could have used some more clarification from him!

.Wikipedia, is there anything it can't do?

Jeet Kune Do (?B�?�� in pinyin: jie2 quan2 dao4; in Jyutping: zit6 kyun4 dou3; literal meaning: "Way of the Intercepting Fist"), also Jeet Kun Do or JKD, is the system based primarily on Chinese martial arts developed by Bruce Lee.

This eclectic system combines techniques taken from from other martial arts; the trapping and short-range punches of Wing Chun, the kicks of northern Kung Fu styles as well as Savate, Muay Thai, some footwork found in fencing and the techniques of western boxing, among others.

JKD not only combines some aspects of different styles, it also simplifies many of those aspects that it adopts. For example, Bruce Lee almost always chose to put his power hand in the "lead," with his weaker hand back, therefore he almost always used the right hand stance of Wing Chun and Boxing in JKD and discarded the left hand and center stance. This is not the case in all modern branches of JKD.

Lee emphasized what he believed to be the combat effectiveness of JKD, and did not stress the memorization of kata or quan (�?, the same word as the kune in Jeet Kune Do) solo training forms the way that most traditional styles do in their beginning level training. While practicing western wrestling moves, Lee was once pinned by a skillful opponent, who asked what Lee would do if he actually found himself in this situation. Lee replied, "Well, I'd bite you, of course." The JKD theory being that a true fighter should do whatever is necessary to defend themself. Lee's goal in JKD was to break down what he saw as limiting factors in the training of the traditional styles, and seek a fighting art which he believed could only be found in the event of a fight. JKD is nowadays seen as the first of the modern spate of mixed martial arts.

JKD followers claim that it is not a fighting style so much as a fighting philosophy. An apt statement is that "JKD is the link between Fight Club and Martial Arts." What JKD practitioners describe as the weakness of traditional martial arts is its rote memorization. They argue that these memorized movements will not be of help in an actual street fight. JKD does not make one a good fighter, they claim, it makes one a better fighter.

Bruce Lee's comments and methods were seen as quite controversial. Many teachers from traditional schools disagree with his opinions on these issues, especially seeing what Lee described as their lack of strategic flexibility due to "rote" teaching methods to be a misunderstanding on Lee's part. Most, if not all, traditional martial arts teachers say "fluid" strategy is a feature of martial training that is indeed addressed in the curricula of most traditional styles at advanced levels, when the students are ready. The schools Lee criticized tend to see their initial conservatism as a safety feature; a legacy of practical experience passed down from generation to generation, said to insure that their students are thoroughly prepared for advanced martial training, skipping nothing and developing intangibles such as good character, patience and discipline. The hierarchy of the traditional schools is said by this reasoning to provide a level playing field for all students by instilling respect and care for one's seniors, peers and juniors, so that everyone, not just the physically gifted, has an opportunity to benefit from the training provided in a martial art school.

Since Bruce Lee's death, JKD has split into two major branches:

The Original/Jun Fan JKD branch, whose main proponents are Taky Kimura, Ted Wong, Tim Tackett and Lamar Davis II, teaches only what Bruce Lee taught, and leaves individual development of the art beyond this framework to the individual student;
The JKD Concepts branch, whose main proponents are Dan Inosanto, Larry Hartsell, Paul Vunak and Burton Richardson, have continued to develop JKD, under the philosophy that it was never meant to be a static art but an ongoing evolution. This branch has incorporated elements of Kali, silat, Gracie jiu-jitsu, and elements from many other martial arts into the main fold of its teachings

Well like the Wiki article said, there are some very specific techniques that Lee incorporated into it, but it's not limited to just these techniques, that's up to the individual.

I took a bunch of shit, there was no belt rankings. We trained to train, belt are for people that need to show off.

I remember from the Karate kid when Daniel first finds out that Miyagi knows Karate and asks him what belt he has and Miyagi replied with "Leather, $3.99, you like?" and Daniel asks what color belt in Karate he has and Miyagi says "Karate is in your mind and your heart, not around your waist".

Anyway...

Karate, Taekwondo, Kick Boxing - 1 yr.
Judo, Sambo, and Ju-Jitsu - 3 yrs.

I've always wanted to learn Capoeira, Tiger Style Kung Fu and Snake Style Kung Fu.

quote:

Originally posted by josh4 any tips on the kinds of places someone should look to train in martial arts? i mean i dont want to end up taking a class with preteen kids in the local mall

Uh, well - preferably, you'll probably want to go to a school closer to you home. I'm not sure what else advice I can give you

Look em up in your phonebook, on the internet, etc... many YMCAs offer martial arts programs if you'r ejus tlooking to get a small glimpse into what its like (not sure if this would be totally representative of what you would find at most dojos). Ultimately, though, it will be up to you to teach yourself - whatever school you go to, you will be your own best guide. After all, you are the one who decides when/why to go and you know what drives you the most. This is why the word "sensei" means guide - not necessarily "teacher". Dojos can only get you so far - it will come to the point where you must be the catalyst for change. Maybe this is why I love the Martial arts so much - limitless individual responsibility for ones-self exemplified. After all, the only incenctive for change will be... you.

All in all though, it's pretty damn cool to do things like this:

OK, here's my martial art history:

- Judo for 2 years... became yellow belt (I was 7 years old)
- Karate for 3 years and a half... orange belt
- Ninjutsu for 1 year... There's was no ranking in there... Well there was some but not significant... This is the martial art I prefered... I just didn't have the time anymore for this, too bad...

I'm weightlifting these days and I'm thinking about training in Muay Thai

Peace

What style/non-style?
Punjak-Silat. A Javaneese martial art. high disipline, works around a basic set of movies called dijru's

How long?
16? years

What rank?
no reall rank other than student and guru (teacher)

Recommend it?
i love it. very physicall, and good if you get into a fight.

I did kickboxing and wushu.
Both very fun to do, but kickboxing was still lacking a bit in my experience. It was fun, the group was fun but i missed something. So after 2 years of that i started wushu. That was heaps of fun. Also a very good group. The sifu was a chinese man who wasnt living here for very long. He has won the world wushu competition once for hand-form and once for weapon form. He is very, VERY good. The problem is, he teaches in a chinese disciplinary way. That was very tough to start with, but after half a year it got even cooler. We learned lots of techniques, 2 different styles. After 1,5 year ( yes that long ) i started with sword, after that the stick. And after quite some while i called it a pause. As fun as it was, i still missed the contact of a fighting sport again.

So now im in college, i paid 104 euros for the sportfacility on the college. Now i have free unlimited fitness for a year long! ( sport school is 2 times fitness in the week and for a month costs 50 euros! ). So im very busy doing that and i put wushu on a pause and started thaiboxing wich ive doing for a year ( but kickboxing knowledge helped me with it ).

A very complete art.

http://tv.motionmanage.com/net_hp/navi/navi.aspx?site_id=nodasi&channel=0&movie_no=339&link=ok

brazillian jiu jitsu here.
i compete in every grappling tournament i can here in san diego. I was at the 2003 pankration tournament, which was my first competition that allowed strikes.
Younger, i was in karate. Its not until i look back at it now that i see its just a way to stay in shape and learn discipline, without any real application to hostile situations.
I have tons upon tons of footage of mixed martial arts instructional tapes, especially by the Gracie family, bas rutten and murillo bustamante. I also keep close track of the mixed martial arts events in the world, primarily Pride, which is just plain awesome and highly respected.
I never really train with standup, although my short stay at a job called Family Fun Center let me crack a few jaws with violent customers. The only thing i do about my standup is build up muscle in my striking limbs and accuracy practices. Other than that, wrestle A LOT of love submissions. Gotta love the triangle choke and the classic rear naked.
I've also gotten very interested in learning judo, although i still haven't found any tapes to build up my skills in that art. The ability to take energy of an opponent and use it against him is classic ownage, not to mention the gracefulness of a hip toss.
Royce Gracie vs Bruce Lee? The answer is too obvious

You have to understand that the Bruce Lee everyone saw in the movies was far different from the real Bruce Lee. He emphasized whatever worked, even pulling hair and scratching eyes, and studied Chinese boxing and wrestling and whatever else he could get his hands on. Bruce never participated in tournaments and th elike because he had a reputation to uphold - if he were to lose in one of those tournaments, his career could be damaged, as he might not be taken seriously as a Martial Artist anymore (his financial livelihood).

It's sort of unfair to compare Lee to any member of the Gracie family. They were living in 2 different times and places - Lee got recognition for popularizing martial arts in the US public - I think he's over-deified for a martial artist for this, but that's just the way of things. Lee was on the cutting edge of Martial arts effeciency at the time, if he were still alive today, 1. he'd be very old 2. he'd be a much different martial artist than he was in the 60s and 70s - the scene has just changed SO much, he'd have no choice but to develop his pioneership or become obsolete. Due to Lee's adaptibility though, I think it's clear that he would have continued to have revolutionized many parts of Martial Arts the world over

But that's enough about Lee.

A lot of you seem to do very combat-oriented martial arts. In my very personal opinion (somewhat uneducated, I'm sure) these styles devoted to only self-defense are very far removed from the 'art' aspect of what the Martial arts encompasses. Perhaps the subjection required to properly see them lies in the context of the 'art of war' though? I'm not sure... any thoughts?

Oh, and here's a nice piccie:

Whoa...

check out this vid. If you've ever been even remotely interested in the Martial Arts, this is sure to get your attention.

You're probably going to want to right-click and 'save as' because you'll want to watch parts of it over again just to see what the hell that kid just did.

located right here

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