neoravencroft

Wish I had a bag at my YMCA.

I never claimed to say that Muay Thai or Boxing could be learned easier alone, only that it's so regimented that it could be picked up easily if need be. Thank you all for the wonderful advice. I will keep this all in mind.

I wanted to get some opinions on this subject. I know that there are people that do live in the middle of nowhere with no school/dojo/kwoon within a reasonable driving distance or if a person was introverted enough to not interact with anyone. My question is: is self taught martial arts a good idea (and practical) to practice? I know that some martial arts such as Muay Thai or Western Boxing could be self taught well enough, but I'm pretty sure Karate, Taekwondo, Kung Fu, BJJ or a multitude of other arts might be out of the question due to forms. Oh, and "self taught" could mean being taught from a book or a video.

It's also on Netflix if you have that.

Because of finances on my behalf, I have taken it upon myself to learn boxing from former champion Dino Newville. Not only for the sake of learning how to box, but I also needed a reason to get in shape seeing as going to the gym is not as fun.

Now normally we focus our martial arts against human attackers, but we seem to overlook attacks from animals such as dogs. So if possible, I would like to discuss self defense against animals such as dogs and the like. Predicting an attack from humans is one thing, but from a wild animal, no pun intended, but that is a different beast altogether. Has anybody here used their martial arts against a wild or otherwise hostile animal? To start this off, I wanted to show a video about some defensive techniques against say a dog attack.

Sweet! Thanks for the post. This will be a good starting point.

From the Korean MA experts here, can someone here tell me what the real difference between Tae Kwon Do and Tang Soo Do is? From what I read, the only difference that I read is that TSD has more punches.

Michael Jai White (been in films such as Spawn and the Dark Knight) has a black belt in Shotokan, TKD, Kobudo, Goju Ryu, Tang Soo Do, Wushu, and Kyokushin.

Well, favorite kung fu (or martial arts in particular) usually is subjective. One person's favorite is another person's poison. My advice, try out different kung fu that offer a free trail then make a decision based on what you are most comfortable with.

These have been some good advice. I will take all of the advice under consideration. Thank you guys.

I'd not fill it all the way with sand because if it gets that cold, then the base might crack on way or another. Would you be apposed to bringing the Wavemaster inside of the house, if there's room and your wife won't object?!? Cause, it would be a hassle to empty and fill the bag every time you want to work out...I sure wouldn't. Do you have a way to hang a regular heavy bag? If so, I'd go that route because it won't require water or sand or rock salt; just a strong beam to hang from. That might be the only option open for me depending on how insulated this garage is gonna be, because my fiancee would object bringing that thing in and out of the house all the time.

Most garages in Michigan aren't insulated well in order to cut costs. It's enough to battle the elements and just warm enough for frost to not develop in the inside. It still gets pretty cold though. As for bringing it into the house, I could just empty the bag every time I were to bring it into the house, but that seems to be quite the hassle IMO.

Well the bag I was referring to is a hanging bag just filled with water. I'll provide a link: http://www.titleboxing.com/punching-bags/water-unfilled-heavy-bags/title-liquishock-thai-foam-water-hvy-bag

Oh wow! I've been gone for so long I didn't even realize I got the reward. Thank you everybody!

I'll be getting a new home soon that actually has the room for me to start up my own area for MA as well as a small gym. I was thinking about getting a water filled heavy bag for bag training. However, the gym is going to be located in the garage and it gets no heat. I'm from Michigan and if anyone is from the US here, our winters get weird. So my question is: do you think the shell of the bag would provide enough insulation for the water bag to keep from freezing?

Congratz

I wish you the best of luck.

Good luck to everyone that was nominated.

Good point. I'll see what I can find out.

Well... OK then? Thanks for the talk.

Trying to be fit is not possible without cardio. Yes, the dreaded "cardio" work that everyone cringes over. People get psyched over martial arts drills and pumping iron, but when it comes to cardio the first word on most everyone's mind is "#@&!" I'm one of those types that doesn't like cardio. I think it's my association of cardio with "running" is what I hate about it because running is the first thing that comes to mind for me. My 6 years in the US Army made me realize that I HATE running. Mainly because I find it just boring. So for all you fitness gurus on the forum, do you have any alternative cardio workouts that you do? I need to lose a tremendous amount of weight.

Greetings, I've been a practitioner of Uechi-Ryu Karate for at least 6 months. Currently a yellow belt (much of my time is spend at work due to overtime). Initially I liked the style I was in, but as I keep going to the classes, I realized that I was getting bored with the style. The instructor uses the same teaching routine day in and day out and I'm just getting bored with it. I want to go to a different school that supplement with my Wing Chun classes at a different school, but my city of Grand Rapids, Michigan has a very limited range of styles in the city, predominantly Shorin-Ryu Karate (a karate style I use to take but didn't like) and Tae Kwon Do (a style that requires lots of flexibility, which I don't have). I could really use some help. If anyone is from that area, please offer some advice.

Hi guys, I found a school near where I live that teaches Tai Chi Praying Mantis. It peaked by interest and I was hoping to find some information on it. Here lies the problem. I'm looking on Youtube and Amazon and they barely have any information on Tai Chi Praying Mantis (Or Praying Mantis Kung Fu in general). Is there anyone that could lead me to a good source of information involving this style?

I know this might be strange to talk about in a MA forum, but I figure I'd give it a shot. I'm trying to increase my stamina in sparring so I'm gonna be hitting the gym. Seeing as it's been a while since actually working out, I'm probably gonna get my fair share of DOMS (Delayed Onset Muscle Sorenes). For those of you that do this on a daily basis, do you have any tips that you could provide in easing the DOMS?