singularity6

As I've mentioned several times already, we train TKD and Hapkido "simultaneously." Submissions are great, but so is palm-strikes to the face.

I try!

I started watching it, and got about half way through before needing to tend to other things. One thing that stood out: the claim that the Okinawans developed it because they were not allowed to have weapons... I'm pretty sure this "myth" was dispelled.

I don't have a spiritual bone in my body. The "keep living" moto is easy when nothing serious is happening. The choices you make when something bad happens will shape you as an individual, however. It's in these times that you learn the most about life, and about yourself.

Bruce Lee was in a sense correct that thinking that any particular martial art was superior to others. When taught correctly, they are all striving for similar goals, and end up fairly equivalent (my opinion, of course.) Modern Kung Fu seems to be suffering from some degree of commercialization, but I don't think that'll hurt it in the long run. When it comes to watching folks use Kung Fu in the ring, I feel it's not fair to judge a martial art on the performance of a handful of individuals. Competitors are self-selected, and that's not the way statistical comparisons should be done. In these cases, I'd blame the fighter, not the art itself.

Yes, community outreach is key. Cops need to mingle with the people they protect. Teachers need to mingle with the people they teach. Respect is a two-way street. The human race would be better off if we all realized this more frequently.

To the bold type above... Now...that's funny as all get out!! I aim to please!

Ah! Happy (belated) birthday!

As I said above, You cannot consider it a traditonal MA. It is purely self-defence oriented kind of thing. However self-defence is the essential of any martial art so I consider it very straght to the point and formless. I think that Bruce Lee, if he was alive, would have appreciated it. Yeah, I have always understood that defense is important, and yeah... Bruce Lee would have appreciated its efficiency!

The computerized voice made that video feel MUCH longer than it was. This reminds me of a conversation that I had with my friend. MA classes tend to be quite costly. It'd be nifty if some of the bigger schools in metropolitan areas could have one or two classes per week where all are welcome. No uniforms required (though a t-shirt from the school would be nifty) and no real ranks. Those who couldn't afford traditional lessons would benefit by being able to try it out, and maybe even learning something. It could also attract new students. Anyone who's savvy at grant writing could try to get the costs mitigated through the community or local donors. Just a thought.

I'm not much for physical altercations (though sparring can be fun in class!) One of my instructors, on the other hand... if someone on the street picked a fight with him, it'd be the best day of his life. Okay, I'm exaggerating a bit, but he is scrappy! He's also a pretty physically tough. He does manual labor 10 hours per day, and trains in TKD daily. I'm pretty sure he sleeps standing up.

Welcome! I'm pretty new too, but overall, I've enjoyed the forum.

Hmm... My experience was quite limited. But based on what I went through, find a good instructor! Mine spent almost no time on basics (how to hold the sword, stances, swings, basic motions) and started right off by making me doing waza that were far above a beginner's level. He'd demonstrate a waza, and ask us to mimic it. We'd do it twice, with some general criticisms, then he'd demonstrate the next one. He claimed that was a traditional method of teaching (which it might be.) But it seems like it'd make sense if there were several classes at the beginning on fundamentals only.

My brother was a body builder and a wrestler (ranked second in the state at 171lb his senior year, and also placed in states during his sophmore and junior years.) Looking at him, most people would have thought he was healthy. But he ate like crap, and drank way too much. He was also known for saying things like "I don't want to live past 30." Well, he didn't. This really impacted me and the decisions I've made, too.

Have you considered trying each school for a period of time to see which resonates best with you? That's what I'd do. When I started taekwondo where I live, I was really close to choosing one of the local karate schools instead because I wanted the "Japanese" style over "Korean." In the end, I settled on splitting the difference - TKD and Iaido. The guy who taught iaido ended up running a belt mill when it came to kobudo and karate (hardcore iadio, but not a great instructor.) The TKD school is far more serious and rigorous. I'm glad I opened my mind to try it.

I think you need way more flexibility to do ballet. If I did the splits, I'd stay there.

I'd love to cross train in different martial arts. The school I'm in already does TKD and Hapkido simultaneously. There are some Uechiryu Karate, Kobudo and Iaido schools locally, but I simply don't have the time or money at the moment.

If Bruce Lee was my teacher, I would want to learn from him on ways to win against him.This is the way I teach my students, to learn how to defeat me and not stringing them along with 1000 techniques. I don't want to have students hanging on to me for years on end. I want them to learn martial art principles that last a lifetime and not with the usual concept similar to a box of puzzle pieces that takes forever to piece together. Keep what is useful and discard the rest "Bruce Lee" But martial artists are ironically bogged down with their boxes of puzzles trying to fit them all together, fine idea if getting old doesn't interfere with this concept. Bruce Lee was a top gun martial artist. My suggestion to become a top gun martial artist, then don't try to make many techniques work for you, make a difference and make a handful of techniques virtually unstoppable!!! Bruce Lee also used the term "Organized despair" give this concept away to your opponents to live by. I only recently learned about Bruce Lee as a person. He's probably one of the most inspirational people I've ever heard about.

I've always been curious about Krav Maga. One of the things that kept me from it when I lived near Detroit were the type of people who were drawn to it (the ones that I've met, that is, not a general statement.) They were typically more of the "bro" crowd, and wanted to learn martial arts to be tough-guys. Well, the prejudice wore off, but I no longer live near a school. =/

I've yet to see a Bruce Lee film. I should remedy this soon!

At around age 19 or 20, I took a self defense class at a local community college. The instructor had a couple black belts in various styles (I think Judo/Aikido, Karate and maybe Taekwondo, but I never found out.) He was actually the guy who taught hand-to-hand to the college's police academy. Overall, I found it to be quite fun, but not remotely "traditional" in any sense. Several years later, I took an Aikido class at the university where I did my master's degree. The structure was far more traditional, and again, I had a blast. I finally ended up in a taekwondo school a couple years ago. At the time, in my mid-thirties. Things didn't bend the same way they did 10 years before... And I found myself not having nearly the same stamina as I did when I was younger. It really was a humbling experience!

In our school, our "Master Instructor" just asks to be called Mister in class (your choice of first or last name after mister.) Outside the dojang, it's a strictly first-name basis. We line up by rank in class, but everyone pretty much treats each other as equals. It's really quite nice!

For me, martial arts is not just about combat and self defense (those are actually secondary or tertiary for me.) It's a way of life, and being a better person through discipline, your actions and your thoughts.

I think it's still going! Always restomp the groin!

One of the primary reasons I chose to take up martial arts was because of physical fitness. I'm pushing 40, and I was getting close to 200lb (at 5'10", that's not bad, but I was softer than I preferred to be.) Before taking a break, I was down by about 15lb, and way stronger than before. I'd highly recommend it to anyone for fitness, but please realize that it's not a magic bullet. Just going to class for 2 or 3 hours per week is a start, but it won't be enough. Practicing outside of class, as well as other exercise routines, combined with an appropriate diet will help yield faster and better results.