Hikeon3

Honestly, a good Muay Thai gym will hold the age requirement of 16+ because it is such an intense sport on the limbs and joints. A young growing adolescent should not be submitted to the various joint blows that they stress in both Muay Thai and Savate. So your age is not a hindrance, but an advantage.

Or those cool internal "Iron Body" arts.

You could take the Happy Gilmore approach and subject yourself to being hit with flying baseballs at a batting cage? But seriously, if you want to learn to take pain then you need to pad yourself in that area. Sculpt some muscle with a medicine ball and your stomach will be rock hard and ready to receive blows in no time.

The slap was completely un-called for, but remember, self-defense techniques which are apropriate are perhaps in order. Explain that their own ignorance has led them to question your dedication, and perhaps they should come to a class and learn more about the subject before condemning it outright.

I usually just hang mine up and let the sweat air-dry out. It doesn't start smelling until the third or fourth class after I wash it.

It varies greatly between styles and dedication. I have been in American Kenpo for a little over two years, and I am at red belt. I will be until August, when I take my brown belt test. White: 1 month Yellow: 3 months Orange: 4 months Purple: 4 months Blue: 5 months Green: 7 months Red: 4 months so far I learned fairly quickly and made more testing sessions than most other people, so I could probably pickup black in another year, maybe year and a half. thats 3-4 years total. Problem is the location that I am moving to late in August has no kenpo studios nearby, so I am switching styles. Maybe if I move back to my hometown here and marry my HS Sweetheart after college, I will complete my black belt in AK.

I do not wear a cup, and yes sometimes that is dangerous in AK, but with our downward blocks and knee checks I can often halt incoming kicks or backknuckle punches. Sometimes though, a good shot gets in and it hurts, but after it happening a few times you learn to shrug it off and continue with a slight stomach ache

In a basic street fight, if you have a background in martial arts I find that you will fight instinctively but with some of your karate background mixed in as well. For example, often the blocking techniques that we learn in AK are unreasonable, so I find myself disregarding them but using some of the techniques that have been programmed into my mind as instinctive.

I pay 120US a month for American Kenpo. That kinda sucks considering I don't even like the style that much anyways.

Does Aikido have kata that can be done by oneself? Or does every technique need uke? Thanks.

Can someone explain to me the basic principles of: T'ai Chi Qi Gong Hsing I Ba Gua Thanks in advance.

That's something that I actually would like to see in American Kenpo. The closest thing we have to any form of internal aspect is our breathing exercises...

Is Pa Kua basically Ba Gua? It seems very interesting. There is also a studio of Taoist internal self defense nearby called Hsing Chen Internal Martial Arts. They offer T'ai Chi, Qi Gong, Ba Gua, Hsing I, and Internal Shaolin.

Yes, I am also considering studying Ba Gua. I just need to find a good dojo in my area for next year.

From what I've seen in videos (yeah, demo videos aren't that great of a judge) Aikido is extremely combat-effective when: a) Demonstrated by a long-time student or teacher, - and/or - b) Countering punches that are awkwardly thrown by uke in order to give tori an easier time in performing the technique, Just from what I've seen, mind you. There are no Aikido dojos nearby where I can spectate a class, so I've downloaded videos on the matter. It does look very aesthetically graceful, but I am forced to question its effectiveness vs. most other forms of striking or grappling techniques.