Occam

So, I have been trying to get a new school that would be willing to teach me martial arts that I want to go to. After a bit of searching I came across a little Tai Chi place. I met them when they where practicing at the park for a bit, and I wowed the master by knowing the form they where doing and telling my freind what it was. They motioned us over and we had a nice talk, I learned he started training at the old school I went to and we sort of hit it off. Since then I've been thinking about joining. But should I? In all accounts I have seen, generally the martial artist begins with the hard styles and becomes very good with them before moving into the soft styles. I can say with certainy that I am still in need of much practice in the hard styles. Would it be wrong of me to jump into a Tai Chi school, as I am young and still able bodies, capable of pushing myself to the extremes that the hard styles require. Or is it acceptable that I join this, and learn In an irregular pattern and start the internal styles at a young age?

Thank you, and as always, I'm prepared to make this jury rig of sparring gear until I have the cash I need. I've been reading, but it's always a bit rough trying to learn from pictures. I don't plan on sparring for a while, I mean, the last thing I need is a broken bone, but thank you for the concern. There aren't kendo classes nearby, unfortunately, but I'll see if I can figure something out. @Wastelander I tried my best to figure this all out, and I am pretty sure they're Shinai. I Doubt I'll break them, but then again, I'm not going to be the one that does.

That was very great! May I ask where you got this?

Hello my new friends. I only now, after a week and a half, found out that there is a introduction tab. I guess now is better than never so let me introduce myself. My name is Sebastian, I am a young man who only recently turned 16 living in the decent sized town of lexington in kentucky. I've had a bumpy road with martial arts, but I'm trying my best. I don't intend to do much with martial arts, it's more of a hobby to me but one dear to me. I read a lot of martial arts books or videos explain technique as I struggle to find any place I can actually get to. I'll probably be a frequent poster as I am searching the Internet for martial arts during my school Lunch.

So a sparring friend if mine suggested we begin to practice with more than just our hands. He suggested that we attempt to use weaponry as well. In my youthful eagerness and and ignorance I hastily bought myself Kendo sticks. I have limited training with a dao blade and read a few things on Kendo and hoped for the best. Now that they have arrived I'm anxious. What if they break? The only equipment for armed combat we have are thick leather gloves. What should I do to prepare?

So, I found a place that teaches tai chi and they appearantly have ties to my old school where the master trained there for a while and had the same complaints as I did. I think I may try that. What are you alls thoughts on tai chi

I suppose it's only natural, but he really had just assumed I knew what to do. He watched me sit and watch while others put on their gloves and pads, and me coming from a school without such had no clue what was happening, or when he told me to hit the heavy bag, I ended up really hurting my wrist from not being told how to do it. Granted he has a lot of people he needs to be taking care of, and teaching me is too time consuming for that, but my lack of knowledge in this sort of thing mixed with the high speed of everything just baffled me and left me feeling abandoned.

I have come in and out of various martial arts boards, all of which as a guest until now, and I always thought the same thing when I look at them. "All these guys signed up just to ask where to start?" The question, at the time, was a silly one for me. Now, only a few years later, and I find myself signing up to this very forum just to ask where I can start again. A bit of background before we go any further. I am a young man, not even halfway through my high school days and I've been in and out of a few places of practice. Most of the reasons stem from some sort of family problem. Usually, I can't get a ride, or it's a struggle on my family or we can't afford it (The last one only happened once). I'll be able to drive soon and with that comes a lot of freedom, and I chose to use that freedom to get back into martial arts. This led me on a chase for any martial arts studios, or dojos, even random people in their homes willing to teach me. I've checked all over: Craiglist, facebook, forums, yahoo and I asked around and found a few decent places. I found only a few on my side of the town, and most of which were closed or I had visited and they seemed like they were focused more on young children. I live in the city of Lexington, which as explained by my previous martial arts school, was not a very reliable source of income for a martial art's instructor. The few options I've narrowed myself down to are as follows: 1. I could return to the first studio I truly respected, which was a traditional Chinese martial arts school. I'd have to start over, and apologize sincerely as they do not like insubordination. I had left because I heard people saying that the style they taught, Shaolin-Do was fake and either a poorly fused mix of multiple styles or just designed to look like martial arts. The school is small and tightly knit, but I was having trouble getting rides and felt very bad when I accepted others help to get there. 2. I could return to the most recent gym that I respected. This was a gym that taught MMA and also worked with body builders. They had very good credentials and the people there seemed enthusiastic about their work. They teach MMA, Boxing, BJJ, kickboxing, and self-defense, all of which you are free to go to if you purchase and continue to pay for a membership. I did feel as if I was harshly neglected and expected to understand what I was supposed to do, though I am sure I could quickly adapt. They are focused mainly on sports competition, something I am not too interested in, but it never hurts to try. 3. The third option I had was to return to a friends house and work with her and her father. Her father has been practicing and teaching martial arts since he was a very young adult, in MMA, kickboxing, Boxing, and BJJ. Working with him guarantees hands-on training, a very evenly trained sparring partner, and a nice environment. This is also the farthest away from me, and recently he has had knee surgery which may stop him from being able to show me kicks. The said sparring partner is unsure about me sparring them as well. This leaves me really just learning muscle memory. 4. keep looking: I could always keep trying to find a place better suited to me. I understand that there is no perfect martial arts dojo suited just for me and perhaps I do just need to settle down and train under one of these places for good, or I could continue to search for better places to practice. For now, I'm just on a workout regimen that barely keeps my body fit. I'm not able to spar or practice with anyone and my muscle memory and body is slowly deteriorating. If you have any suggestions or advice, I would gladly take it. Just the notion that people want to help will be able to give me some sort of boost to try.