lowereastside

My experience in learning different Martial Arts - In a nutshell - * Boxing was geared for sport but it was taken to a different level. - *Karate the school I attended was meat and potatoes - *Self Defense School was dirty tricks - *Kung Fu - was both mental and physically frustration - Kali filled in some of the gaps. However, I tend to lean toward Kung Fu.

I started with Boxing - @ a Boxing Gym - my uncle got me involved - I was 9 1/2 years old - this year will mark 50 years of involvement - where have the years gone. I then switched to Karate ( my uncle was not to happy about that ). Next stop was a School that taught only Self - Defense - the Teacher was a former Hand to Hand Combat instructor for the US Marines during WW 2. My next stop was Kung Fu - Then Kali. I never trained in more than 1 art at a time. All of my Teachers had something to offer - some more than others.

I've done Pekiti Tirsa Kali - It's a good compliment to any system IMO.

I figure I'll throw this out - How many have switched from Karate to Kung fu or vise versa. And why the switch.

Many Instructors in Martial Arts are Overweight - and some of them move pretty darn GOOD and some don't. In the last year or so I lost 20 lbs - I did not do it for martial arts - I did it for Health reasons - I did not want to go on Blood Pressure Medication ................My blood pressure is now normal - It SUCKS getting old - I still have 20-25 lbs to go - and i'm taking it off very slowly. And believe me it's not easy.

If you can avoid the fight - avoid it - no need to escalate it. If you cannot avoid it - then its on - remember never underestimate anyone.

If any of you guys live near a Chinatown - see if you can find/or someone recommend an Herbalist - I had problems with my shoulder - Dit Da Jow helped with the pain - but the pain keep coming back - I found a Bone Setter who after 2 treatments got rid of the pain for good. These days I'm trying to learn as much about Healing oneself and others.

"There is nothing worse than getting into a self defense situation when you have your partner with you. Their instinct is to grab your arms and pull you away. This happened to a friend of mine, his girl friend grabbed his arms leaving him helpless in the face of the attack. I have warned my wife, if we are ever in danger of attack, "for God's sake stand back and give me some room." WELL SAID - It also happened to a friend of mine - It's funny I said the same thing to my Wife.

Here's some Chinese pole forms http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1JV1nLte8uU

Everyone is bringing out valid points - different strokes for different folks - I Have a classmate who is 85 years young - His technique is not the most refined - but the man hits like a mule - there are many variables. Its not just one thing - by the way my friend today is very physical he can still do 40 pushups and 150 situps. I also know of 2 other individuals from different styles who are also up in age who follow the same path my 85 year young friend. Look everyone is different with different situations - like i said good points by everyone.

" That said, I wholeheartedly agree that there is so much more out there to be learned and if we do nothing but perfect the foundation then we will never get our house built." Well said - The foundation is very important - the basic techniques must be developed - having said that - it comes a time when one must go - jeez its hard putting this into words - Let men give this example - When my daughter first started school she would do her A,B,C's following those little dots - how many of us write like that now - Just like writing - martial arts is a progression - your martial arts should be like writing in script. I'm not saying to forget the basics - Just like a teacher in primary school - you must teach the basics but not practice the basics on that basic level. Hope I'm making some sense out of this.

"But, I also think that there comes a time when other aspects have to added to the technique in order to improve. Strength training, speed training, things like this are important to improving us as athletes, and not just technique." I Agree - take Boxing - its not just learning to Box - it's also the conditioning involved in the training - hitting the speed bag - running - hitting the heavy bag - the pushups............

"At training on Monday night one of the Sempais corrected me on something in one of the early Heian katas. Nothing major, just a case of having my fist oriented 90 degrees to where it should be (I had palm facing towards me and it was supposed to be facing down). However, I've now been doing this incorrectly for almost 2 years and even though I now know the way my fist should be, the muscle memory keeps putting it the other way and then I remember and switch. Beyond just doing it a billion times the right way, is there anything I can do to extinguish the incorrect response more quickly?" Don't worry it can be done - It's just going to take a little time - I've got students who have 30 years in other Martial Arts - Its not easy to undo something or change to something else - But again it can be done. I had 10 years experience in other arts - Boxing - Karate - and when I started Kung Fu - had to unlearn and relearn many things. Oh! just one thing - make sure the Sempai is doing it correctly - go to the main source if you can.

There are many ways to condition your body - Kata - Weights - Exercise. - Having someone throw blows at your body - Medicine Ball............At my age I don't think its a good idea for me to stand there and let someone take shots @ my Body. I don't know what damage it can cause internally in the long run. But again different strokes for different folks. In my day - I've taken some pretty good body and head shots - while training - fighting - sparring...... But getting older makes me rethink a lot of things.

I train every day - and teach 3x a week - Years ago I asked my Kung Fu Teacher how much he trained - his reply was " I'm always training - when I'm walking - driving - talking to you now........ " . It took a while to understand - many of my lessons were learned after an early practice with my teacher having Yum Cha - ( Chinese Breakfast ) or @ lunch - Dinner or just hanging out with him.

My 2 cents - sport is ok - but must be put in perspective. You have to separate the Art from Sport. When I practiced Karate in the 60's - it was mayham - very tough - it was survival - however the sparring was nothing like the katas we were doing - It was boxing hands with kicks and sweeps. At tournaments without the patch on the uniform you could not tell one style from another - so 2 much of the sport takes away from the original purpose.

I hope this helps - there are a few Bare Knuckle Boxing info - Google http://www.livestrong.com/article/419304-how-to-train-for-bare-knuckle-boxing/ Good Luck

You have to have a PASSION - and be a little nuts . - the nuts part applies to me. I know of certain individuals who love Martial Arts - but cannot make the full commitment - some have even made Black Belt - some put in 10/15 years into the arts - but sometimes things get in the way - some lose interest - some say they love it but! For me its FAMILY 1ST - Then Job - to support the family.

"The way I see it, as much as any one of us try to imitate what an instructor teaches us for years and years, we can only become so much like that person, as we cannot become that person entirely. We're all a bit different, and so our experiences are a bit different than those we learn from. We all end up spicing the MAs in our own way." Very well put -

"I enjoyed it" And that what counts - Good Luck in your Training

I have many favorites - these days I gravitate to historical books. My partial list off the top of my head is- Okinawan Karate by Mark Bishop Martial Musings by Robert Smith Chinese Boxing and Methods by Robert Smith Southern Praying Mantis by Gin Foon Mark The Karate Dojo by Peter Urban Also Richard Kim wrote some informative Books and Jesse Glover wrote a book about Bruce Lee during the Seattle Years. I'm not saying that everything in the above mentioned books is correct -never the less I enjoyed the read.

Thank You for your input - For myself I don"t think of sequence when doing my Kata/Form(s). I just run with it -

Should we think of the next sequence or movement when doing/performing kata - I figured I'll throw it out there.

It's all good - it depends on whose throwing.

My Uncle got me into Western Boxing at 9/10 years old. Then came the Green Hornet TV Series - and then the fantasy started - and the rest is history.