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!)

___________________
There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio,
Than are dreamt of in your philosophy.

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.

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NEW MIX [Feb/March 2008]

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.

___________________
There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio,
Than are dreamt of in your philosophy.

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

___________________
There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio,
Than are dreamt of in your philosophy.

Oh, and...

___________________
There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio,
Than are dreamt of in your philosophy.

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.

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NEW MIX [Feb/March 2008]