Bobd400

I realize this is over a year old now but I do apologize for not having responded to this. The school was called "Martial arts American Freestyle". Honestly I believe that name was chosen because the previous name of the school (prior to my joining) was Martial Arts Academy of Flanders (a town in NJ) and they wanted to keep the abbreviation "MAAF". It was a local school. Actually as I've done some more research I believe it was more related to Tang soo do, as looking at their katas they seem to be the most similar to the katas we performed.

I am fortunate enough to have a lot of land . I made a level spot out the front of the house with the tractor , so its fairly large ( no Mum or Wife to complain about carving up the garden ) it soon got covered with grass . Now I call it ' The Circle of Death ' The last 12 years , our 'club training ' on the weekend has been in a public park in town . It seems to have become popular , now the local aikido club trains there on the same day . Outside training is the go ! Much more to offer ; being aware of a much larger 'field' / environment , yet not being distracted by it , uneven ground and correct footwork ( for outdoors, that is - dont try doing what you learned to do on a smooth gym floor when outdoors ) , tactics (like maneuvering another into uneven ground , or so they have the sun in their eyes, etc ) . Weather can be an issue , sometimes we evacuated the park and went and trained in a nearby covered car park . This is sort of the conclusion I came to. I have a space in my basement that's about 10 by 10 but being 6' tall and a rather large guy that only allows enough for maybe 2-3 steps. So when it's really bad weather I can train there, But I think I'm going to have to start training outside particularly as I start to work more forms. Of course I'm going to have some interesting times come winter!

For the week of April 10th (I always "start" my training week on Saturday, as that's when I do my heavy lifting) Saturday April 10th Close grip bench press and Strict curls (currently training for a bench press and strict curl contest in June, so all my training is focused on improving these for now (had a lay off due to a shoulder injury recently, trying to "catch up")) Sunday April 11th 30min Tang Soo Do (Virtual class) Just basics (white belt stuff...Front kick, Front punch, high and low blocks, moving and stances) Monday April 12th "Lap" Curls and JM Presses Tuesday April 13th 30min Tang Soo Do (Virtual class) Just basics (white belt stuff...Front kick, Front punch, high and low blocks, moving and stances) Wednesday April 14th Dumbbell curls and Overhead Triceps ext. Thursday April 15th 30min Tang Soo Do (Virtual class) Just basics (white belt stuff...Front kick, Front punch, high and low blocks, moving and stances) Friday April 16th (off day)

When I trained there (NJ) it was called Martial Arts American Freestyle, I believe that was the second name as previously it had a local town in its title (thus the unusual word order). The new name was to keep the MAAF. Was a good group of guys and the teacher (Pete) was quite skilled. Sure I'd be glad to keep a log. Thanks to all by the way!

Thank you!

Thanks! (again )

Thank you Sensei8, I appreciate that! Looking forward to it.

Good day all, Short bio...had studied a couple of arts as a child, but got more serious in my late teens and by early 20's was a red belt in an "American" Tae Kwon Do style. Unfortunately a series of factors, (School, work, family, other sporting interests) forced me to chose and I stopped training. Over the years (I'm 52 now) I have studied other arts (Wing Chun, BJJ, Aikijutsu) but generally it would be for 6 months, maybe a year or year and a half and inevitably life would happen and I'd stop training. But I'm at the point in life now where my other sports pursuits (powerlifting, highland games, etc.) are winding down (more a factor of injuries than anything) and I'm sincerely interested in using the benefits of marital arts to help fight off what I see as two of the biggest enemies of older age...losing mobility and losing mental flexibility. The unfortunate part is due to my rural location and work schedule, I have not been able to find a school/style that I like that is in line with my availability. So I have started training using a virtual school. I know the thoughts on this generally are negative, but (as I wrote in another post) my goals here are not fighting focused, but for exercise and body/mind improvement primarily. Looking forward to hearing/learning from others training as I progress on my own. Best Regards -Bob

I think, like much in life, the answer isn't so clear cut. As some have already alluded to, there are factors to be considered. Two of the most important are 1)what's your background and 2)what's your goals? If your goal is to become proficient in self defense and/or fighting, AND you have no experience in either previously, then I think most would agree no, this wouldn't work. But let's change a variable...if you have experience (or already are training elsewhere) training "live", then it's a maybe. If you can integrate your virtual training into your live experience it may work. You may still be rusty on things like timing, position, etc. But your virtual training should offer SOME benefit. Now let's change another variable, your goal is not to fight and/or enhance your self defense skills, but rather are looking to get the other qualities of martial arts...exercise, physical skills (balance, awareness of body, etc.), mental simulation, etc. I'd say yes. Again, prior or current "live" training will make this much more productive. The closer you get to live training the more beneficial it will be. Does the virtual training allow questions? Do you submit videos for review/grading that get true feedback? Virtual is never going to be a substitute for live training, but that doesn't mean it won't have value. It depends on your situation and your goals. Incidentally I think we all would agree that you should direct yourself to what you want to do, regardless of the opinions of others.