ravenzoom

Yes, get the streetfighter series, you won't be dissapointed, ntrust me.

When speaking of trained martial artists, fact is (as it was proven by the UFC) grapplers tend to always get their opponets to the ground, so I believe it is a legitimate question that b3n is asking. After 8 years of hard work taking punches in Kyokushin he should be able to defend himself in pretty much any situation. The problem is if he gets taken to the ground, chances are he will be like a newbie or the average guy that that doesn't know what to do. My opinion would be that if you can't take two martial arts at the same time, take a break from Kyokushin (after all you've taken it for 8 years, just come back to it later if you want) and take a grappling MA for a while such as Judo, Wrestling, BJJ, Sambo, etc. Only then will you know you can defend yourself effectively in any kind of situation. And who knows, you might really enjoy grappling, I know I do.

I believe one of the best that often gets overlooked, possibly because he is from over seas (well in fact he lived in Canada where he won gold medal in 88 olympic vs. Riddick Bowe, but that's another story) is Lennox Lewis. He really dominated his opponents in the ring with his jab. People tend to say he rarely wanted to mix it up in the ring, and that's true to some point, but he was more of technical fighter using his jab (think David Tua!) than a brawler.

Wow! I can't believe someone said Goerges St-Pierre. That's great, he comes from Quebec, Canada where I'm from and seems to be a very great guy. By the way he has a third degree black belt in Kyokushin. Now he mixes Muay Thai, BJJ, Olympic Wrestling, and boxing with his Kyokushin. He is a very promising fighter, hope he fares well in his future bouts. I know he is very dedicated. He also trains with David Loiseau who is making a name for himself in the states lately.

Good point, I agree with what you say

In your poll you asked between grappling vs. striking. So I'll speak about the one I picked, grappling. With the preferences you mentioned (real martial art, able to fight) Judo would be a good choice. Like mentioned earlier you get to practice with resisting opponents and try to throw them on the ground. You get to practice ground work also. Plus it's also a traditional martial art so you might like it for that also. It's good that you ask between striking or grappling because they are very different. I did Wing Chun before Judo and although I liked it, I enjoy Judo a lot more because striking was never something I was big into. I always liked to wrestle/grapple more than to strike so that's why I chose Judo. I also did a bit of BJJ, and I like I very much, but I prefer Judo because it starts from standing and to effectively throw someone to the ground, and you also learn enough ground game to kill an average Joe in the street if the fight goes to the ground. My first advice to you is to figure out if you prefer to strike or to grapple (if you don't know try out at first) and then make a choice. Hope that helped a bit in your decision making.

Oh, boy I wouldn't like to be in your shoes. Up here in Canada we have laws against such contracts. I can't believe it's tolerable to sign 3 year contracts (for martial arts) where you are liable for $ 8000. It's ridiculous. I'd be panicking to if I were in your shoes. In my dojo there is no contract. In fact I haven't even yet paid for my summer courses and they don't mind, guess I'm lucky.

Yeah, but if he does decide to join, he might as well say bye-bye to his trip. Only thing he'll do is train. 'What did you see during your trip son?' Uh, a Muay Thai ring, boxing gloves, plenty of sweaty guys' I think it really depends on what kind of trip he wants.

I've read every post, and some give really good suggestions, but I believe you should try out a new style just to see the differences and have a breath of fresh air, at least for a while to see something different, more focused on self defense. If you don't like it after a while just find something else or go back to Shotokan (even though you aren't sure of its self defense effectiveness). But something new might do you some good and give you a new perspective on things. Perhaps you might enjoy Shotokan even more because of this. Learning more techniques and acquiring new self defense techniques can only be beneficial to you.

Is he any good? Or is he too slow?

Every fighter should know a minimal amount of ground fighting. How are you going to use your wing chun if you get tackeled to the ground?

I believe both of you have valid arguments. Fact is, that the UFC and other similar organizations have helped develop 'sports' martial arts in a huge way when mixing them with each other (cross-training) and prove them to be a very efficient way to defend yourself. However, I don't think these same organizations (UFC, PRIDE, K!, etc.) have helped develop traditional martial arts, not because they are innefective, but because they do not adapt well to ring combat sport since their priorities are directed elsewhere. Most MMA fighters mix the same baggage of martial arts because these proved to be effecient in the ring, however these fighters could still learn very useful things from traditional martial arts.

Could not have said it better myself. I agree with everything said

Ok, but how long does it take before you can effectively use hapkido in the streets? Is it like Aikido and it takes forever, or is it quick?

Yes but does it have ground fighting. And I doubt its grappling is as good as Judos'. At least Judo has proven itself effective in the ring so I'll stick with that, but from what I hear so far traditional Hapkido doesn't seem too street effective. I think I'll stay away from it. Thanks for the advice.

I concur!!!

The colour of the belts come from how many posts you've written. When you reach 25, you'll reach yellow belt Eric_

I watched it two weeks ago. I liked it, the stunts are really good. However, the action does take some time before arriving, but it's well worth the wait. My brother didn't like it however, he didn't like the storyline I believe. Nonetheless I'd recommend watching it for the stunts and Tony Ja's (I believe that's his name?) incredible athletic ability, but I wouldn't say it's my favourite martial arts movie.

Hi, I'm curious in knowing how long it takes to become efficient in Hapkido where you can use it in the streets? Is this martial art good compared to other reknowned street effective martial arts? And would it be good to crosstrain in both Judo and Hapkido? I'm speaking about traditional hapkido. This question came to me because there is a Judo dojo where it also teaches Hapkido and Aikido. So if I ever move to this city, which could happen soon, I'd be interested in taking both Judo and Hapkido

I think you're really pushing it. Wing Chun is an excellant martial art when mastered successfully, as well as other chinese martial arts. Yes it has it's weaknesses, but so does all the other martial arts you've mentioned. I've never seen a Muay Thai guy fight well from his back before. I did briefly practice Wing Chun, and can be very efficient in a street fight, so you shouldn't over generalise all chinese martial arts that way.

But the question still remains: Could he do this in a real street confrontation?

For sure there is ground fighting in Judo. In my dojo it's about half and half with randori on the ground. Judo is based on throws and ground fighting with chokes, arm bars, etc.

But he was, In my opinion, too slow to fight in the octagon. Some Sumo fighters are really big and quick, but he was huge and slow. I think others would have a better chance than him

Good post, however there are kicks in Wing Chun. My question would be, can a Wing Chun practitioner compete and beat a muay Thai fighter if the wing chun guy also trained hardcore? People always refer to the differences between these two arts' training, but what if they trained equally hard?

I agree.