vantheman

Hey everyone! With the pandemic keeping us locked in for the better part of the last 15 months, indoor exercise/training equipment has been flying off the shelves everywhere. I'm curious—what have been your favorite lockdown, at-home martial arts gear buys over the past year(-ish)? Any fun experimentation with trying to create at-home dojos? For my part, I picked up a tried and true hanging heavy bag (the freestanding ones just didn't cut it at home, and I missed the feeling of hitting a hanging one after a few months). Finding a way to mount in the garage required some architectural creativity (there isn't a ceiling; just the sloped roof), but it was a welcome addition! Happy 20th Birthday KF Van

I've long been of the opinion that the way in which you train is infinitely more important than the "style" you train. Is it true that Muay Thai generally trains in more realistic fashion than many forms of Karate? From my experience, the answer has been yes. But there are a fair number of full-contact karate folks out there, too (and, for what it's worth, a handful of MMA fighters that have done Shotokan, etc). When training is "live", with resisting partners, and relatively few "rules," the ineffective techniques, strategies, etc. will tend to "self-select" themselves out of practice. In part why you don't see a ton of one (or worse, no) touch chi knockouts in most sparring/boxing/MMA/kickboxing venues. Ultimately, "realistic" is in gradients – aside from those who work as law enforcement/correctional officers/bouncers, few will have the opportunity to regularly engage in "true" combative self-defense... but, as Alan alluded to, that might not be everyone's cup of tea. Muay Thai also involves a fair amount of getting hit relatively hard, occasionally in the head. There are certainly times in my life where family and work have precluded my ability to regularly subject myself to that level of training. St. Paul is credited with once saying "Try everything; keep what's good..." – in that spirit, I'm glad you're transitioning and trying out different styles. Hope you find something that works well, fits your preferences, and gets you excited!

Hello Seafarer, Certainly! More than most components of martial arts, non-sparring weapons training is probably one of the things that can be most effectively learned at home/virtually. The key is to know what to look for in your own technique, in emulating others, and in judging what is good/bad on the internet. I'm not familiar with many (any) people who train the staff primarily for self-defense (if that happens to be your case, there's probably another conversation to be had), so I'm assuming you are training for some mix of fitness, coordination, and/or commitment to the art/weapon. There are plenty of good videos on YouTube. Personally, I'd recommend sticking with traditional Japanese/Okinawan (kobudo) or Chinese (wushu) styles. There is a lot of flashier stuff out there, but, in my opinion, that's really not sticking true to the history or art of the staff. Others may disagree. Best of luck with your training!

At my (kempo) school, we had a nidan in Aikido start training with us. Given that we don't rigorously divide classes by rank anymore, we allowed him to train with the black belts/upper level adults. He'd been doing martial arts for longer than most of us, so it didn't make sense to send him to the beginners' classes. Seeing that Kempo is not much of a "purebred" martial art anyway, it's not uncommon for black belts from across the country to have limited overlap in technique anyway. I believe he technically is considered a Shodan in our school, but he's more interested in training than moving up the ranks, so it doesn't make much of a difference anyhow.

In a sense, a BJJ gi is just a judo gi with a more conservative cut, as to give opponents less material to grab onto. So long as you are within regulations, a BJJ gi will work fine for judo.

No martial art style is perfect (except for Ameri-do-te, of course), so experimenting with several different styles seems like a fundamental, if not vital, part of developing an effective self defense ability. Unless you're blessed with an incredible style or an incredible instructor (which, more often than not, means the style is hybrid or the instructor is well versed in several styles), you're not likely going to be able to get a full spectrum of defense. Standup kickboxing, standing grappling/wrestling/takedowns, ground fighting, weapon defenses, situational awareness, etc.... I've come across very few styles, if any, that approach doing justice to ALL of the various components of self-defense simultaneously. Sure, if you're at a point in your "martial arts journey/career" that you're interesting in pursuing the ART of martial arts, as I am presently, then it might make sense to focus and specialize in one art for a prolonged period of time. But, at the end of the day, cross-training can only improve your self-defense abilities. In addition to my kempo karate, I've incorporated a fair bit of Aikido and Danzan Ryu (improve standing jujitsu techniques, which are lacking in kempo), BJJ (wrestling, ground fighting), and Israeli CQC (weapons defense). If there was one martial art that was objectively better than the rest, everybody would be training that style!

Shotokan Karate developed from a mix of Okinawan arts and White Crane Kung Fu. Very structured and the quintessential "hard" art. Kenpo can refer to Shorinji (Japanese) Kenpo, Okinawan Kenpo, and a broad group of styles know as Kenpo Karate. Shorinji Kenpo is interesting: It literally means "Shaolin Ch'aun Fa" (think Shaolin Kung Fu) in Japanese. It is considerably "harder" than many forms of kung fu, but sometimes incorporates shallower stances and a little more Japanese Jujitsu than karate. I'll admit I don't know much about Okinawan Kempo. I haven't seem too much of it around. You asked about Kempo Karate, so I will give it the most coverage: Kempo Karate is probably the largest category, and was developed initially in Hawaii from Japanese kenpo. There's a lot variety here, but in general, it tends to be a little more circular and looser than karate. Depending on the specific style, you'll see various levels of grappling. Major branches are American Kenpo and its offshoots (Ed Parker) and Shaolin Kempo and its offshoots (Fred Villari). Both schools have their pros and cons. There are other kenpo karate schools out there that don't fit in those two categories, but they tend to be similar from the perspective of the art. Kempo is not a "purebred" art. Over the years, a lot of other stuff has been mixed into it, including the Pinans (Heians) from Shotokan. What is taught is often highly continent upon the sensei and who taught him/her. Unless you're in Villari's (or one of his former students) franchise associations, there is not a tried and true cannon, except for combinations and forms (and even then, there's a lot of variability). Kempo Karate is technically not a type of karate. It was initially called that in Hawaii because nobody knew what "kempo" was. It was also called Kempo-Jujitsu... more of a way of letting people know what it was and associating it with better-known arts.

Ukemi is probably the most important and useful physical skill that martial arts can provide you (aside from basic physical fitness). Learning how to do it correctly can be a huge boon. I know an Aikido and a Danzan ryu, both of whom are more than willing to take a flipping break fall on concrete or asphalt. Not a terrible thing to practice once you get up to that level of ukemi.

My two cents on how my dojo runs things Currently, anyone that would instruct any class (Adult or otherwise) is an adult, and is at least at Nidan. Generally speaking, however, most classes are taught by Sandan or higher. For younger kids classes, teenagers that have black belts (very select few) or extremely mature teenagers under black belt (even fewer: only one over the past ten years) can assist. For adult classes, adults shodan or higher can assist. As mentioned above, in grappling classes, its very common to see purple belts (and an occasional blue belt) teach.

For you personal desire to learn weapons/kobudo, I'd say start training weapons when you want to. Within your particular style and dojo, this tends to be up to the instructor. In the kempo I practice, which has been, for lack of a better term "modernized and streamline" with focus more on combative technique (supplemented with forms and more traditional stuff), weapon training is completely optional: we use it primarily for demonstrations or person desire to study kobudo art (although it can be done on a test if the student whites to perform it for test proctors). As far as an objectively "proper" time to begin weapons training, there tend to be two different camps/schools of thought: The pragmatic/practical/Okinawan principle states that you should actually learn kobudo (weapons training) before karate (hand training). Their philosophy on the matter is quite straightforward: an untrained person with a weapon can still somewhat easily overcome an trained "expert" in empty hand combat (we still see that today: if a man with a gun or knife comes after a skilled martial artist, there is a decent likelihood the armed individual will come out on top). As such, in an "ideal" situation, the Okinawan would have some form of weapon at all times and would only use karate if the weapon broke, got away from him, etc. The ideal/Chinese/personal mastery argument is that because the weapons are so much more deadly and powerful than the empty hand, they ought not be taught until the student has demonstrated that he/she can handle the responsibility of unarmed techniques before they are given even more power (sort of follows the "great power, great responsibility cliche). From those Chinese Martial artist with whom I've trained, it appears the actual progression of weapon training also follow this (less deadly weapons like staves are trained before swords, etc.)

As others have mentioned, the effectiveness of an art in a real-life situation depends almost entirely on the instructor and how the style is trained. Certain styles tend to generally have "better" training practices than others, but, once again, I feel with a decent instructor and realistic training, with enough time, people can become combat effective. (The human body only bends and absorbs pain so many different ways: with enough training, you'll find something that works!)

If you truly believe that all chi is some form of anatomical psychometric function, just think of the chi ideology as a metaphor or narrative of sorts that just does an extremely good job at explaining the science behind it. In a sense (and this risks entering a philosophical debate beyond the original scope of this post) if science is a numerical-scientific approach to how Tai Chi works, try to think of the Chi explanation to be a mystic/Eastern Asian philosophy on how it works. Ultimately, its just two different ways or languages of describing the same phenomenon. At least, that is how I feel about the matter. The body can only move a certain number of ways. Different styles can train and explain and philosophize it differently, but in the end, the human body functions the same whether you can it "flowing chi" or "relaxed muscle movement." (N. B. I'm aware flowing chi and relaxed muscles aren't synonymous per say, nonetheless, I feel it demonstrates the point I'm attempting to make). In short, Tai Chi and science are different doors to the same house. The body moves the same whether you use scientific or chi-based explanations/descriptions. In any case, I wish you well in your Tai Chi adventures!

Mixed weapon as in two man forms with different weapons? If so, yes, I have an Aikido Jo v. Bokken form.

As someone who has studied theology and has an interest in its applications in situations like those described above, I don't see a real conflict between bowing and any Abrahamic religions (save one minor exception, which I will detail below). Christianity, Islam, and Judaism, to some extent or another, distinguish between veneration or respect and worship. In these respective religions, worship is reserve for God and God alone. To worship something that is not God would be idolatry, which Abrahamic religions see as gravely, egregiously bad. Showing elevated respect for another person or a likeness of a person or idea, however, is acceptable, so long as your are not worshipping it as a deity. To the outsider, this can be a somewhat nuanced concept, but the easiest example in Christianity would be how God is seen versus how the Saints are seen. Now, given that bowing in martial arts comes from a sign of respect, not a sign of worship, most Abrahamic religions shouldn't have an issue. They're bowing to Sensei out of respect, not because Sensei is God incarnate. Hardcore Fundamentalists may see things differently, but they tend to represent a minority of religious individuals. The only issue I've come across that goes against the general rule of thumb described above is bowing from Seiza, which more closely religious rituals practiced by significant numbers of Muslims. At that point, it could be seen as imitating a religious practice in an inappropriate context, which could raise some issues. Then, of course, the issue becomes what do you do when someone's religious beliefs interfere with the ability to effectively practice a particular style, which delves into a massive political debate. Luckily, there are PLENTY of great styles and instructors out there that do not require bowing, so everyone *should* be content at the end of the day.

Not to resurrect an old thread, but after stumbling around the internet, it would appear that Villari has now attained the rank of FIFTEENTH dan!!! The only other 15th Dan I've ever heard of was Professor Chow, who appeared to do that as a way of kindly spiting students of his that left his school at first dan and ended up 10th degrees a few years later...