Martial Arts

NickSCFC

NickSCFC

Banned
18 July 2003
Stoke-on-Trent, UK
Stoke City/Liverpool
How many of you are currently practising Martial Arts? I'm thinking about starting Karate at the gym I go to, if anyone else is into Martial Arts I'd love to hear what you do.
 
Brazilian jiu jitsu is what u wanna be learning mate. You'll learn how to grapple and fight on the floor for example. Cos at the end of the day thats where most fights end up. I did some a while back with kickboxing, but I don't have time the anymore. I'm actually thinking of starting it up again this summer hopefully. It's keeps you very fit and you'll get so much more strength that you can't obtain simply by going to the gym.
 
Cheers, I think my gym only does Karate which I see as a good starting place. I would really love to do Jeet Kune Do but I don't think anywhere in Stoke does it :(
 
Yeh JKD has always intrested me cos I'm a big fan of Bruce Lee, but I was in the same postion....there was no local teachers. That's why I did a bit of brazilian jiu jitsu cos it was inside my gym, but Karate is a good starting point.
 
I don't have any experience myself, but I know karate isn't very useful to pick up on. BJJ, like Mattster said, appears to be good and also great fun. Be ready to get choked out though.
 
It depends what you want to get out of it.

I started Tang Soo Do at the beginning of the year, I'm grading next week and I absolutely love it. It's a Korean art, Tae Kwon Do originated from the same school. It's very kick-oriented, and you learn and develop a lot of flexibility.

Most martial arts cover self-defence and locks, so if that's what you're after BJJ isn't the only option. If I had the choice I'd love to try Hapkido too, very impressive. If you want to learn for actual fights then anything like BJJ is good. For me the self-defence is only a small part. Getting fitness, flexibility, a bit of discipline and finding a likeminded bunch of folk were my priorities.

Be prepared to work fking hard if you want to get something back from it too. If you do, it's the most rewarding thing ever. I train three times a week (twice in TSD, once in XMA/tricks) and the days I'm not training I'm counting down the hours until I can. We also do some Bo staff work and seminars, learning weapons is good fun :) We do takedowns too, and lots of sparring which is really enjoyable.

Have a look here to find out what you can do in your area, then have a look and ask any questions about a specific art on the martialartsplanet.com forums.
 
I would do Origami or KaraOKE

sorry i had to add that as its my usual joke when Martial Arts crops up in a convo, my apologies :)
 
Yes, what FD said. Of course Babs is right (I'd love to see Babs in a Gi) when he says it's all about why you do something. I know guys who started kickboxing just so they could fuck a guy up in a fight. Of course, the words Martial Arts tell it all; it's an art.
I like the explanation of Babs really. His reasons are very understandable. I don't practice anything, that is if talking crap isn't considered art.
 
Today was my first lesson in Karate "Way of the empty hand", I really enjoyed my first hour and half of training which followed a gruelling warm-up (gruelling for me anyway). However I enjoyed nothing more than being told the fact that once a week classes are completely free with my gym membership.

Today I've practised basic hand and blocking maneuvers along with the group as well as basic form and foot-work with the help of our Sensei, who is 6th Dan and is very confident in what he teaches, and assistant Nick, who's also experienced in other forms of Karate.

Please don't ask me about belts, for now "belt hold up pants" and certainly isn't needed to keep up my Adidas trackie bottoms which I'll be training in for the next few weeks (I swear I nearly asked about where I could buy a Kimono instead of a Gi).

ANYWAYS, ONWARDS AND UPWARDS!
 
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Get into a Gi/Dobok asap, it really makes you feel part of the group. glad to hear you enjoyed it!

It's true, the warm-ups are killers, it still leaves me exhausted. I'm currently doing my grading assesment, so in a couple of weeks time I should have a natty clean yellow belt, instead of the grubby white one I now have :)
 
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Did me red belt grading today, passed of course ;)

A couple of the lads from my dojo were going for their 3rd stripe on brown. The difference between them was huge, one was quick and aggressive and the other was slow and kept stopping for mistakes.

Needless to say the other guy battered him, but they both came away with the grade.
 
I'm starting kendo soon. I teach English to a kendo instructor's two little girls and he said he'd trade lessons with me. I did fencing when I was in England, but I'm sure this will be very different.
 
Im a big fan of MixedMartialArts so if i would start practising i would prob choose Sambo,Judo +Muay thai training They dont teach Sambo here tought :( i like Fedor Emelianenkos style, also Bas Ruttens style and Mirko "crocop" Filipovics style so MMA training for me.

almost forgot Mark Hunt.
 
I don't know the grading/belt structure in what you do nick, is red your first grading? What style is it too?

I had my grading for yellow (9th Gup) a couple of months back and passed, working towards Orange now.

I went to the seni show at the NEC and it was just so amazing. The displays and competitions were great and it was nice to meet some famous peeps there. Chuck Liddell, Ramon Dekker and others were about, as well as John Saxon (who was miserable as sin) and Danny john-Jules (who was uber-cool). Spent a fortune and had very sore feet after 2 days of standing, but it was well worth it :)
 
I practice ValeTudo ie "anything goes" this is proper mixed martial arts. Mixes BJJ, Muay Thai, Boxing, wrestling, Judo and anything else my instructor can think up. Very physical and great fun. I also practised JKD for a few months.
Personally, I would avoid any of the traditional martial arts; Karate, Jeet Kune Do, Tae Kwon Do etc....
Although it really depends what you are training for. Most traditional martials arts are at times not very effective in real fight situations, its handy to have the skills to defend yourself even if you are just practising for your hobby. No offence intended, but personally I would avoid Karate like the plague, IMO its one of the least effective martial arts in comparsion to what there is available. If you saw Saturdays UFC event, you would have seen how effective an experienced Karate black belt is!! :)
If you are training for a hobby, then grand, Im sure you enjoy it. But if you want to train to learn how to defend yourself, then I would choose boxing (techically not a martial art, but much more effective) over karate any day of the week. Though for a truely effective martial art I would choose Muay Thai for vicious stand up and brazilian ju jitsu for some slick submissions and control on the ground. If you have both, as alot of professional fighters do then your laughing.
 
I guess it all comes down to what you train for. For me it's twofold mainly - the fitness and the tradition. I really enjoy doing a traditional art and learning everything that goes with it, not just fighting. We learn Korean, internal breathing techniques, history etc. For me it gives me a great sense of pride.

It's true that traditional arts don't always have a lot of application in modern brawls, and if it's that sort of thing you want then I agree, nothing would make you safer than MT and BJJ. That said, we do some great self-defence work, knife defence, weapons work etc.

Horses for courses. Pick an art for the reasons you want to study and stick at it. Everybody gets something out of MA, just make sure you're doing it for the right reasons.
 
Fully agree with everything you said Slasher.

@Babs, where do you live?
 
babs said:
I guess it all comes down to what you train for. For me it's twofold mainly - the fitness and the tradition. I really enjoy doing a traditional art and learning everything that goes with it, not just fighting. We learn Korean, internal breathing techniques, history etc. For me it gives me a great sense of pride.

It's true that traditional arts don't always have a lot of application in modern brawls, and if it's that sort of thing you want then I agree, nothing would make you safer than MT and BJJ. That said, we do some great self-defence work, knife defence, weapons work etc.

Horses for courses. Pick an art for the reasons you want to study and stick at it. Everybody gets something out of MA, just make sure you're doing it for the right reasons.
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I agree, it is horse for courses. I respect those who choose to train for the fitness, disciplne, art, philosophy etc...
I train because its a hobby, an interest, keeps me fit, active, I've followed MMA for a number of years now, as closely as I've followed football, if not more so and wanted to particpate in that to get a true understanding of it.
Whilst I train for the above reasons, it is also beneficial as when it comes to social situations I am confident when it comes to handling myself. Though I dont go round telling many people that I do train in MMA and fortunately I dont get into situations where it has to be of any use, except when I have to armbar my girlfriend for a laugh! :) Though she doesnt find it too funny! :P But seriously, it is good to have it in your back pocket if something does kick off. Though you will usually avoid confrontations by living by the adage "dont go out with dickheads and you wouldnt bump into dickheads" Well thats usually the case!
 
PLF, South-West England.

I know what you mean about having it in your back pocket. We often socialise together outside of the club and being sat in a noisy bar/club it's nice to know you're with a group who can handle themselves if things kicked off :)
 
babs said:
PLF, South-West England.

I know what you mean about having it in your back pocket. We often socialise together outside of the club and being sat in a noisy bar/club it's nice to know you're with a group who can handle themselves if things kicked off :)
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Im a black belt in that well known English martial art... brute force ;)
 
NickSCFC said:
I always thought ValeJudo was for meatheads ;)
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Well, shows how much you know ;) I always thought Karate was for was fags and 12 yr olds, but what do I know, being a meat head and all :)
 
NickSCFC said:
So I'm right then ;)
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No, not at all actually. I'm a team manager for the Halifax, so I certainly don't meet the description or definition of a meathead. I was being sarcastic whilst being truthful about a few things. Alls I originally intended was to try to give you advice on different types of martial arts (I was a late reader of this thread) but you obviously took offence about what I said on Karate. I stand true to my original post.
 
I actually meant unless you have a massive build you probably won't be that good at Vale Judo or Judo, especially on the street. I'm pretty new to this stuff myself mind, and haven't seen alot of UFC to get an idea of modern styles.
 
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Fair enough. My definition of a meathead is someone who is a big, strong dumb and violent etc... Its a derogatory term. I relatively meet the big and strong part. I say relatively because there is always someone else who is bigger and stronger than you. I train with skilled people in lighter weight divisions. Notably, my instructor is alot lighter and weaker than me, but a hell of a lot more skillful.
Vale Tudo is essesentially the definitive of mixed martial arts because it incorporates the different styles, but you certainly do not need to be massively built to practise it. Vale tudo translated from portuguese basically means "anything goes".Fighting tournaments were hence named this because the fighters didnt wear gloves and had no rules whatsoever. Therefore Vale Tudo became infamous to some, so maybe this is where your misconception comes from.
 
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