How many martial arts have you taken?

[KarateK]

I voted 2 - Kick boxing and karate, but have taken two forms of Karate, Shotokan and Shukokai, have also taken the odd wing-chun lesson.

[Zauriel]

I have taken only one martial art. Arnis/Escrima

[y2_sub]

I voted 3 :

1- Kyokushin

2- Boxing

3- Muay Thai

[karatekid1975]

I have trained in two main arts. Tang Soo Do, then I moved and I studied TKD at two different dojangs. All three dojangs mixed in other arts into the curriculum, but I didn't officially train in them, except for jujitsu and Judo. And I dabbled in a couple of others, but not long enough to count them. Now I'm just getting back into TKD, sort of.

So I would count three. TSD, TKD, and Jujitsu.

[baronbvp]

Well, in basic chronological order I've TAKEN:

Judo

Fencing

Wrestling

Shotokan (I think) with judo

JKD

Boxing

TKD

Military combat arts

KB

Shorin Ryu

What am I GOOD at?

Staying alive!

[cross]

Thats quiet a list baronbvp, which ones would you say influenced you most?

[baronbvp]

My list is long because I like to try things and I've been around awhile. But I haven't taken any of them for years at a time because of moving around and being gone on deployment, so I wouldn't say I excel at any of them. Let's see...

I started judo as a young pup, since a "friend" of mine was bullying me in school. Turned out he was in my judo class and did it there too. Gave it up after he rolled me up in a judo mat and almost suffocated me. Later, I took it again in college for real from some black belt friends when I joined their shotokan/judo club. (Early MMA!) Like you, I learned stability. But to me, the best part was learning how to fall from all kinds of angles, including being upside down. Judo has led me (along with watching Royce Gracie in UFC/MMA) to BJJ, which I will start later this year.

Shotokan taught me how to see everything, look at nothing. Wipe the window clean and defend against all strikes. Sort of Karate Kid but I like the striking. I found sparring more effective than waxing cars or painting fences.

Fencing (with foil) in high school actually taught me a LOT about footwork and the beauty of speed. I am naturally fast for a tallish slender guy and I use that to my advantage, even now. Fencing also taught me aggressive attack and to have fun while fighting. I really enjoyed it and wish I'd kept with it.

I wrestled for a year in high school, which taught me the beauty of the takedown and the reversal - more clinching than judo. I also learned I don't like smelly armpits on my face - motivation to keep my shoulders off the mat.

A fight in high school with a big friend of mine, who turned bully on me in front of the rest of our class, taught me that when the smaller guy stands up for himself, bullies stop. That was huge in my life, and the story of that fight spread like wildfire all over the school. There's some bully threads on here that elaborate. I think we all know that bullies must at some point be confronted.

JKD in college from a BB roommate taught me how to punch by aligning the two big knuckles with the two bones in my wrist. A simple early rule but one that has saved my scrawny wrists and finger bones numerous times. I also learned humility (see another thread) and flow of one technique into another.

Boxing taught me how to duck, bob, and weave and how damn tiring it is to keep your hands up. I like boxing and have a long reach but not the power of someone with some bulk and more strength. I boxed some in flight school, but I felt after MA that I should be using my legs too.

TKD taught me that I shouldn't do TKD. I can't kick high at all no matter how much I stretch my hips. Luckily, I don't expect to attack anyone on horseback - at least not without a 9mm.

Various sparring with friends and acquaintances, military combat arts, knife and gun fighting, etc in the Navy, along with survival, evasion, resistance, and escape training taught how to come back if I ever got shot down or put myself in the dirt or ocean. And how to fight fiercely, violently, but in control - him or me style.

Shorin Ryu is the style I trained in most recently and I guess most extensively. It taught me that I am too old to spend all my dojo time on kata and simple group exercises, that I prefer to spar over dance, and that I want to kickbox. I liked karate, though, and would go back to that dojo if I could. I would just spar even more.

Watching muay thai fighters in Thailand on several deployments and seeing Royce Gracie own early UFC taught me that MT and BJJ rule the new day. I am in agreement with you, Bushido Man, Sohan, and others that a full-spectrum style or hybrid of styles that cover striking, clinching, and ground fighting is what's best in the modern age. Look at MMA today and tell me those guys wouldn't do well against a legacy judoka, karateka, etc - at least without weapons.

I learned everywhere how to avoid and deescalate a situation. This has been my single greatest lesson. I doubt I am as good a fighter as many people on the forums because I just never got that much time actually fighting. It came in a lot of one-month and three-month periods - fits and spurts - and the occasional other situation, quick training, or drunken brawl with friends. Oh yeah, and tackle golf.

I also love to lift weights. But I'm an ectomorph, so I don't get big. I'm excited to start a three-month KB class next week and BJJ later in the year, at least that's the plan. I may do both if my body can take it once I get back in shape. My own version of MMA.

Sorry for the long post.

Edited January 3, 2007 by baronbvp

[cross]

Thanks for the info baronbvp. Sounds like you have a good mix of everything in there.

Like you, I learned stability.

You might be confusing me with elbows_and_knees, who mentioned learning stability in regards to judo???

[baronbvp]

Doh! My mistake. More beer!

[cross]

Doh! My mistake. More beer!

Haha, sounds like a good idea.