cheesefrysamurai

is it an art one can take later in life? I found getting the "ju" in judo very difficult to aquire. I can't imagine being half as flexible and slower and achieving that finesse.

I agree. Over time as the system gets canonized, it becomes tradition. Necessary for what? For learning the art of Shotokan - absolutely necessary, for learning to protect your life . . . not so much.

Beautifully put

Kata competition doesn't offend me, but deviating from traditional respect of the kata does. Who knows, maybe at their dojo thats how they teach and grade, then it's fine for them, I personally am not interested in adding glam to my kata.

what hes saying makes sense - hes talking about directly diluting the kata as opposed to MMA replacing it. I never considered this.

So Abnernathy is calling his bunkai practical?

This article would help any martial artist. thanks

If i was taking martial arts strictly for practicality, it would probably eliminate most martial arts. I would probably end up with krav maga as its extremely practical. Minimal unnecessary movement IMO the need for practicality and cutting out anything extraneous is born out of necessity. Many of us like those stories, like the belt that starts out white and yellows over time and discolors over the years of hard training. It expresses a philosophy that we try to live by. Heres a piece of practicality I derive from that saying - the color of your belt doesnt matter nearly as much as how it got to be that color. In truth those martial arts masters who seem mystical, aren't magicians, they practiced to the point where their level of finesse is not something we can easily understand, where their technique became so efficient that they could hit that "sweet spot" every time and generate a level of power that some think isnt possible

WOW thats a great saying - and I beleive it to be true

Right now I am learning goju and judo. But I was always a big admirer of aikido

First let me start off by saying that I have always been a huge fan and that it may be part of my own evolution. My misconceptions regard the training. I have the impression that for the first leg of the journey you are learning ukemi, terminology, and etiquette. The next leg is years of being an uki. What is the flow of an aikido class, can you give me a broad overview of the first let's say 3years, is it possible to start aikido later in life and how? Thank you.

Thats really out of the box thinking. One day when I will incorporate that into my training. I can see it making movement more fluid

Wow great story. I am glad that I started this thread. Its nice to know there are other people that have had such rewarding experiences. My Sensei is loyal to a fault. He is loyal in business and is supportive of his students. He is the type of guy who would go down with the ship to do the right thing. He has a old school mentality but adapts and is reasonable. He appreciates what should be appreciated. I consider myself lucky to be with him at this point in our journeys

I agree with this statement whole heartedly. You can be an amazing martial artist and not have the ability to defend yourself and you can have no martial arts experience and go bezerker on someone. I think, to directly answer Muttley I would say that if your sole purpose for training is self defense, I probably wouldnt go with sport fighting, In the same respect, krav maga isnt worth much in the ring. I wanted a traditional type system and I wanted to be able to defend myself. I looked at the systems available to me. I filtered through the instructors, goju ryu was the obvious choice for me, street effective and traditional.

I'm right there with you but, as hard as it is for me to accept, some people just arent looking for tradition, or kata, or lineage or spirit building. They want to learn MMA techniques like they see on TV. They want the workout, they want to compete, and learn how to fight. Nothing wrong with it.

Your words ring true to me. Your logic is sound.

I feel (and you may disagree) that there are 2 definitions of MMA. 1. Involves Cross training in 2 systems, for example: incorporating throws from your judo into your shotokan 2. Involves the new branding of martial arts used mainly for full contact sport fighting. I am speaking more to the second. When someone tells me they are taking MMA, the first thing that DOES NOT come to my mind is a nidan in goju who is cross training in aikido. What comes to my mind when i hear the term MMA, is 1. Blue gi with lots of patches 2. Spandex shorts and shirts with "no fear" and other brands 3. Someone who trains w to compete in the "octogan" using pieces of what works from specialties in different martial arts, like ground work of bjj+ stand up of boxing or muay thai I can't take issue with it. Its effective. If I started earlier, had a better foundation in systems I wanted to learn, MMA would be a great hobby.

Let me clarify what my opinions mean. There is nothing wrong with learning a mixed art. There is nothing wrong with learning MMA. By MMA i am talking about sport MMA. I mispoke. I consider sport MMAists, martial artists. I do not think Sport MMA will displace a traditional system as most people who really want one, won't accept the other as a replacement. I did not mean to insult anyone. I just feel like what muttley described is the trap i was falling into. I would go to schools that were advertising Karate or MMA and there was no coherent system, their description was either "a little of this and a little of that" or a teacher that is qualified in 1 system, say karate or taekwondo and teaches a combination of that system and what they learned from a few classes at other schools or what they saw in the UFC. (tricks they picked up as they say) I've met Renzo Gracie, seemed very nice and almost humble, not what you would expect, I've met traditional Senseis that have succumbed to the all mighty dollar. I believe "its not the art, its the practitioner" You take for granted, the integrity of the teacher you follow. There are many that are not so ethical. MMA being the hot thing at the moment, the money maker in martial arts, is going to attract people looking to cash in. Those people are the kind of people I want to steer clear of. Those people are the very ones i believe muttly was referring to.

My teacher is American so the lessons are in English but Japanese terminology for most every technique, kick, punch, block, etc.

I was wondering how those of us lucky enough to find a good Sensei were won over by them. When was the moment that you made that decision, what actions or words triggered that level of respect and loyalty. I know loyalty isnt required or necessary. I know a great teacher doesnt have inspire the student in this manner I am just wondering about those of you who had that experience. thank you

It's very profound, I understand it as being true to the truth, what I mean is, as sure as death is coming, with that same level of momentum you are going to be laboring to build your spirit. (if that makes sense) I find it very meaningful to hear about a students devotion to their Sensei. Your sentiment was touching. I am sure he lived and trained as he died welcoming each as if they were old friends.

There are some good krav maga instructors. Letting the bad ones represent the system doesn't work. It's brutally efficient and effective. Unfortunately there are offshoots that call themselves krav maga as well and they are less then ethical. It's not about it being "your thing". It's what you would want your daughter to learn before she goes away to school. Its what you would want to learn if you were going to fight for your life in a week. It's not about kiai's internal power, Kata and tradition. All of that is replaced direct combat training. Given the choice, I chose Okinawan goju ryu. If I was taking an art because I was fearful of walking in the street it would be krav

I have a female friend with 3 black belts. Shes brutal. Shes 5 or 6 inches shorter then me, and I must say if she felt a reason to attack you, you better defend yourself or hope you run faster then she can. Her finishes almost always involve a combination of fish hook or eye gouge or ear tear, head stomping etc. Bottomline: No one has the right to hit anyone. A man has no more right to hit a woman, as a woman has the right to hit a man.

is a cheap one like this ok? http://www.ebay.com/itm/wing-chun-accurate-wall-punching-bag-martial-arts-punch-bags-Iron-Palm-JKD-/261178260267?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&var=&hash=item3ccf6ffb2b or could you recommend another?

You are 10000 pecent right. Its always about the money. Consider yourself lucky for finding a Sensei who isn't in it for the money. I definitely consider myself lucky. There are people out there who will open any business that is in demand. There is such a demand out there for MMA that lower ranks are opening schools. Could you imaging a brown belt opening a Karate school?? MMA is the evolution of sport martial arts, not of true martial arts. They are displacing the mcdojos or I guess the mcdojos are actually evolving into MMA schools Keep fighting the good fight! That's just it isn't it...it's all about the money, and that is a great shame. When I went to train on Thursday the Sensei only had 5 students in his class, he still ran the class, he could have cancelled and probably would have if he was only after money, but the fact that students turned up to train was enough for him.