Martial Arts
 

I'm interested to find out which Music Banter participants have also studied and still study martial arts in their lives.

I myself studied Judo as a kid (6-11) and tried 8 months of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu at age 18.

I'd like to know what you all have studied and your opinions on fighting as a whole.

I prefer martial arts & crafts personally.

i'd like to learn tai chi chuan, which i think more or less sums up my views on fighting.

I did karate for a few years when i was younger. I got a pair of nunchuks or nunchaku at a garage sale about ten years ago and started practicing and got pretty decent with one hand. I can now use speed chuks, but im not that good. I dont know any names of moves or if i do it correctly, but i look pretty sweet doing it and its a workout and about as much exercise as i get these days.

I studied a derivative of Kung Fu called Shaolin Chuan Fa also sometimes referred to as Chinese Kempo.

I have thought often about learning a martial art and not for the aggressive aspect. I greatly admire the philosphy of mind and spirit behind martial arts and when I get back to working I will give it serious consideration.

I took Tae Kwon Do from grade 6 to grade 8, then I took Karate from grade 8 to grade 9 and I boxed for a year when I was 23, I wish I would have stuck with boxing and tried to go somewhere with it, but with my busy schedule it just couldnt happen.

I was training in Tae-Kwon-Do for 7 years. But after an injury 2 years back I can't now proceed professional career. Now I only sometimes train in Capoeira (not as a martial art, but like fitness).

I did Kenpo-JuJitstu American Style for 7 years. Have my first degree black, but never continued to second.

I've dabbled a little in Soo Bahk Do (Korean). I made it as far as orange belt because it was offered for free at my college last semester. Interesting. I learned a lot about breathing techniques, which I LOVE. As for fighting in general, I'm not much for it, but I will most definitely defend myself.

Well dear great i would like to know the place from where i can learn the complete Martial arts with all the techniques.

I studied a bit of Hapkido for a while.

That's impressive. I was considering getting into an art like Wing Chun because there is a studio in my town that opened up a couple of years ago. Unfortunately money is way too tight for me to make that work right now. The whole combination of mental stability through physical dedication has always been very awe-inspiring for me, and to see the kind of image they put on professional fighting with what the media has done to the UFC is disappointing. Mainly portraying fighters as ignorant meatheads that are in it just to hurt people and be "bad ass". It makes sense why no true artists have decided to get in the octagon.

i took judo for 3 years back when i was a kid. i wasn't really smart enough then to fully apreciate the value of what i had learned. some of it came in handy later in life though, because eventually, all fist fights go to ground.
i would love to try some thing nowadays, but an ankle injury has ruined any chance of that, except for maybe kendo, which i plan to look into soon.

I've been wanting to learn some kind of self-defense, preferably one that's a bit more practical, not focusing on fancy moves or only being effective in the right environment. Anybody have any suggestions?

Well, they all have their practical uses. I remember hearing about how Jean-Claude Van Damme got his ass handed to him by a Hell's Angel while he was trying to clear room for them to fight. Haha! But see, that's the thing. Van Damme is an actor. He's in it for the show. Anybody that takes a martial art to put on a show, that's exactly what they're gonna do. It's an art form, and its all about Kata. So it's kind of like dance moves.

Judo and Jiu-Jitsu I found to be very effective in resolving fights quickly because its all about grappling and submissions. 90% of fights end up on the floor anyway, so learning how to fight on the floor is key. I've never taken a martial art that incorporated blows. But any legitimate martial arts class will teach you something about keeping yourself safe from most people.

I'm considering Jiu-Jitsu, and a friend of mine wants me and him to train in the arts of ninjitsu over the summer, should be interesting.

I train in Western Combat Tradition, which is an amalgamation of all the European forms of combat from 13th century through to the early 1900s. We aren't really a martial art group as such because a lot of what we study has the intent of causing death, we just make sure we don't hurt each other irreversibly, cuts, bruises, breaks and sprains kinda thing. It's like a self-defence course for every form of melee combat in Europe for the past few hundred years. My trainer doesn't call it a martial 'art' because it isn't an 'art' but an actual practical skillset. It causes no end of problems getting funding.

My prefered martial art is called Kobujutsu (or Okinawan Kobudo). I always liked it because of all the interesting weapons that survived and were preserved.

It's a weapons-based martial art. Although you can still kick and hand strike. I train with 12 traditional weapons. The Bo, Tonfa, Sai, Nunchaku, Tekko, Nitan Bo, Suruchin, Kama, Timbei-Rochin, Kuwa (a garden hoe!), Tecchu, and Eku (boat oar).

Kobujutsu originated in Okinawa, and uses often very simplistic weaponry modified from everyday tools like the sickle, horse shoe, hairpin, or rice mill handle. I also like how readily accessible many of the weapons can be, like a simple broom handle for instance can replace a Bo, or a pan lid can even substitute for a Timbei (small shield!) :D

I don't have any formal training but I'd like to get it in Judo.

I used to spar with my cousins growing up and we would always practice trying to trip each other starting out in a grapple position so I've learned how to keep my feet planted well so sweeps are ineffective against me. I know about three throws and all of the submission moves I know , I have learned from watching professional wrestling so I think it would be a smooth transition for me to pick up on Judo.

I compete in boxing and muay thai, also I have submission grappled, feel free to ask any questions on here or via pm.

Thaiboxer

I Also study and take jiu jitsu classes at Grand rapids Brazilian Jiu jitsu in Grand Rapids Michigan. This is definitley my favorite martial art, by far. I've competed in a few tournaments so far, with a silver medal in 145 pound division, and my first two were no placers with some very stiff competition.

Nicely done. I didn't stay in it long enough to compete. It was something good to keep me away from my self-destructive behavior at the time, but it got to be a hassle after a while because the instructors weren't very serious.

Mm, I practiced Kung Fu for a few months, but I had to quit for silly reasons.
My dad, on the other hand, has been practicing all sorts of Martial Arts for years, he used to teach it but now he doesn't have the time.

I've been interested in Aikido for a while, not necessarily just for the physical aspect of it, but also for the spiritual and interpersonal parallels that go along with it.

Definitely. That was something I reflected on after the fact, was that when I was really into Judo so much that it was a large part of my lifestyle, I was really centered and focused, even as a little kid. And if there is an art that I would like to get into, besides maybe getting back into Judo, it would probably be a form of Kung Fu. There's a small studio that teaches Wing Chun in my town, but I can't swing the fees right now.

Im pumped for 107 tonight. Especially that guida kenflo fight.

I practiced Jiu-jitsu for 8 or 9 years, and I'm hoping to pick it up again soon. I've been really busy! Thinking back on it, Jiu-jitsu is like a mild form of MMA fighting! I also did Karate for about 2 years.

Well, Jiu-Jitsu is the main form of grappling and ground work in MMA fighting. Although, I've seen Judo fighters do really well in there, too.

I could usually handle myself when I was younger. But when I was in a fight with a big group of people 2 times, and I lost, I decided it was time for some training.

I got my black belt in Hakko Ryu Jujutsu, a stand up traditional Japanese jujutsu. I made them prove they could stop jabs, round leg kicks, and single leg take downs- the 3 things I am most wary of, before I would sign up.

I was in 2 Brazilian jiu jitsu tournements with no real BJJ training and took 2nd both times based off my trad jujutsu. Since then I have had some of BJJ, Judo, boxing, and kickboxing. I have a dojo in my garage and my room mate is as xepereinced as I am, so we don'ty have to waste all day teaching white belts, we can grab 30-40 minutes when we can and train a little.

I started in martial arts for self defense, but I have learned so much more from it. Interestingly, I no longer got in fights after I took martial arts. I have never been a bully, but I must have been putting off something that attracted aggression before, because after learning some skills, no one approached me anymore. :usehead: Martial arts taught me so much about how my body works, balance, and respect. I was very rebellious before. When you are sitting 2 feet from someone that without a doubt can mop the floor with you (instructors grand masters), there is no room for rebeliousness. So I learned to treat people with respect, and an inner balance that I try to maintain always.

I love watching UFC. I find most of the top guys are far from meat heads, are usually very respectful, and are usually well educated in something.

For a beginner, I recommend movement based arts like Cali/ Escrima, kickboxing/boxing. It is very difficult to spring into action operfectly at the perfect time like many traditional arts teach. Right now, grappling is king. If you don't know what to do on the ground, you will be toast. Brazilian Jiu Jitsu or Sambo are comprehensive ground arts.

Krav Maga. It's what I do and it's awesome.
Find your local center:
Krav Maga Association Of America Inc., Israeli Self Defense

I did Judo intensively with three different clubs for quite some time and was competing for a while other than that I haven't really looked into it but I've been going to the gym and getting back into shape and looking at trying to get to this jujitsu club for a while now. I quite liked the look of doing some Aikido, it's quite passive aggressive but my Uncle got quite good with it and seems like an interesting one.

I shoulf start practicing kendo in March, but that is still uncertain

i've done 3 years muay thai... interested in judo or picking up muay thai again... where i trained they made grappling/mma a big priority... i know it's important to be able to work on the ground, but i don't get in fights outside the ring anyway... i just don't like wrestling

Judo is excellent not only for self-defense, but it's a really fun sport as well. It's nickname is "The Gentle Way", and the motto is "maximum efficiency with minimum effort". It's a great way to learn how to use balance, momentum and body weight to sway the bout in your favor.

And I don't really get in streetfights either. I can usually talk a situation down, and I'm not what you'd call agro in any way. But I like the idea of submitting somebody without actually hurting them, which is really what Judo is all about.

i'm not aggressive by nature either, but i like the intensity of muay thai training... i'd never have to work again if i had a dollar for every punch kick knee and elbow i've thrown on a heavy bag

St. Pierre owned Hardy Saturday and Jorge Rivera looked outstanding tonight!

Anyone catch that Strikeforce last night? Shields was interviewing after his win, Mayhem (yeah, that dude from MTV) interrupted him and all hell broke loose. All I really saw was the Diaz boys beating Miller while he was down. A bit deserved IMO, but either way it was entertaining.

yeah Mayhem has kind of a loud mouth... and the diaz brothers are always ready for a throwdown... i was pretty disappointed in mousasi's performance..certainly not the best fights i've ever seen

I did shotokan karate for some years, was a blast, but required alot of time. I must say that the more traditional martial arts are more to my taste