Multiple Martial Arts? Recommended?

[bushido_man96]

I'll take the dissenting opinion on this one. Check out the Goju, if you like it and have the time do it as well. I'm a fan of cross training and you'll learn alot of softer, more circular concepts in Goju that might compliment your shotokan well.

Here's the thing, when you're training at the respective schools keep them seperate for now. That will help you keep each system straight and you'll avoid irritating the respective instructors.

As you progress in both, you'll start blending for your own personal response pattern. By then, you'll have been around long enough that this sort of individuality will be expected.

Good luck and let us know how it goes.

I tend to agree with tallgeese here. If you want to do both, and have the time and resources to do so, then go for it. If you find it a bit overwhelming, then stick to one for a while.

I also think that you can master/perfect/whatever you want to refer to it as, more than one art. Its all about how well you can pick it up, and how hard you work on them. Its possible. Maybe not easy, but hey, if it were easy, then everyone would do it.

[ryanryu]

This topic reminds me of a story my friend told me

A few years ago she tried to learn Spanish and Italian at the same time. However because she was new to both, having only ever spoken English, and because both languages were so similar, the only thing she ended up learning was how to cheat on her tests so she didn't flunk the courses. She ended up doing twice as much work and learning half as much material as the other students.

But since my friend was traveling to Argentina in a few months she decided to let go of the Italian and focus solely on Spanish. She speaks pretty good Spanish now, and maybe in a few years she'll go back to studying Italian, which she already can stumble through with only her Spanish vocabulary.

What I'm trying to say is that I think Shotokan and Goju would be too similar to effectively learn at the same time. Keeping straight which school does what would be too confusing and would probably detract from your training. If you focus on one until you're very comfortable with it, then when you study another similar art, or even one totally different, you're already setting yourself up for success and it'll come a lot easier

[tallgeese]

The goal is not to keep the separate in your response pattern. That should integrate.

What I'm talking about is not talking out of turn in a second instructors school until you have the kind of peer relationship with him to be able to do so.

[bushido_man96]

This topic reminds me of a story my friend told me

A few years ago she tried to learn Spanish and Italian at the same time. However because she was new to both, having only ever spoken English, and because both languages were so similar, the only thing she ended up learning was how to cheat on her tests so she didn't flunk the courses. She ended up doing twice as much work and learning half as much material as the other students.

But since my friend was traveling to Argentina in a few months she decided to let go of the Italian and focus solely on Spanish. She speaks pretty good Spanish now, and maybe in a few years she'll go back to studying Italian, which she already can stumble through with only her Spanish vocabulary.

What I'm trying to say is that I think Shotokan and Goju would be too similar to effectively learn at the same time. Keeping straight which school does what would be too confusing and would probably detract from your training. If you focus on one until you're very comfortable with it, then when you study another similar art, or even one totally different, you're already setting yourself up for success and it'll come a lot easier

I think that this is a fair example, and I don't think it is something that everyone will be able to do right away. However, the nice thing about the Martial Arts is that you don't have to hurry. Yes, one still is working for a grade, in a way, but I don't quite line it up the same as cheating on tests in classes to pass both. Everyone will be affected differently by their training, for sure.

[Wa-No-Michi]

Me personally, I am Total Against cross training. But I'm am for learning the triligy of arts that compliment you as a whole - making you the true samurai...

Most Samurai were schooled in multiple arts. Schools or "Ryuha" varied in terms of the diversity of the skills they taught and to an extent how each of these complimented each other.

The complete martial schools were referred to as a "Sogo Bujutsu" Ryuha, in which the Samurai would be exposed to multiple arts to allow core types of training including weaponry, stand up, grappling and any other martial requirements of the day.

The key was how these ryuha integrated the varying skills into their schools. Some had their own "home grown" Jutsu, whilst others borrowed from other arts (heiden bujutsu). Most important though was the fact that the core principles remained constant between your weapon work, stand up and grappling.

I think this is still true today. We have a feast of MA on offer to us and it is very tempting to take a bite out of everything, but my advice would be to train in an art to a level at which you can appreciate the other ma around you and how they can effectively work in concert rather than conflict with your ma training.

If it were me, I would not try to learn two Karate styles (Goju and Shoto) in tandem.... to conflicting IMO

WNM