chinese martial arts help PLEASE.

[FangPwnsAll7]

To the person who posted above me... Lol, that's an exact copy of datguy's post.

Anyway, yeah, you can't learn any form of martial art by yourself. Trust me, I've tried. I'm sure you can find a good chinese martial arts school located near you.

[darkfighterg6g]

im going to do tkd when my parents are done with taxes but since there arent many hand strikes in tkd im going to contiue teaching my self boxing which ive been doing since janurary or so.

now i do have a few questions which illmpost in the coreect place

[JusticeZero]

Well.. ask your teacher how to do the hand strikes that are there, then spend extra time working them on a heavy bag. A heavy bag will give you -some- feedback. Your teacher can help with the rest.

[darksoul]

I'll just quickly chime in to reinforce what everyone has said...

Don't try to self-teach yourself any martial art. It's a bad idea.

[evergrey]

The problem with self-teachng and not having anyone to watch your form is that you can, without realizing it, develop improper form which can harm you, or which can lead to bad habits that will be much harder to un-train later on when you DO have access to learning what you want to learn. It is easier to just learn right the first time.

You may be eager to learn right now, and not want to believe what we are saying here. Of course you can choose to listen and agree or not!

But these are good people and I think that they are trying to give you the best advice they can, and some are speaking from experience.

This is the advice that I will give to you.

If you are going to be taking up TKD, then put the whole of your heart into TKD. All martial arts have holes and weak points. TKD might not be strong enough with it's punches for your taste- for me, Kyokushin has no grappling, and I would like to learn ground fighting techniques.

Why do I not try to learn them now?

Because a martial art is hard to learn well. It takes a great deal of time and dedication. As a beginner, learning two martial arts at the same time is especially hard. It confuses the body, and you do not yet have anything trained into you as an automatic response to stimulus.

I feel that it is best to first develop your core martial art. Focus on it until you are quite good at it- this will take a number of years, depending on your natural talent level, and your dedication. It will depend on how much you practice it outside of class, and how much you go to class, and the quality of your instructors as well.

Once you have become good at that style, if you have the time and resources, then take up a style that is better for hand strikes. Cross train. Expand your horizons then- but for now, focus on the style you are training in, and wait until you have someone to watch your form.

My Sensei started training in his style, Kyokushin, 35 years ago. About 22 years ago, he and his Sensei had a falling out. He wandered and trained in some other styles, and practiced Kyokushin at home. He had no one to watch his form in Kyokushin.

When we came back to the dojo, he started getting major knee problems. The reason? He had, during the decades he was away from his Sensei, forgotten to pivot his foot when rotating into his roundhouse kick. This put a lot of nasty strain on his knee, and when he came back to the dojo and started doing a lot more of those kicks... it hurt his knee. Thankfully now he has people to work with and check on his form.

He can watch me and see exactly what I am doing wrong. All the knowledge is there. But even looking in a mirror, he can't really see everything about his own form. He needs someone to watch him and give him feedback as an outside observer who also knows exactly the proper form of whatever he is doing.

It is like riding a horse. There is nothing that can really teach you the ways your body has to move in order to properly ride and balance... except for actually riding a horse. There are not even machines that truly simulate the complex oscillations of the horse's body. This is a thing that you can only learn by doing, and experiencing.

It is the same with learning how to fight... and you are way more likely to do it properly and a lot more safely for yourself and your partners if you have a guide to watch over you as well.

I hope that this makes sense. Please always feel free to ask more questions, and know that I am speaking to you with only care for your well-being, because I want to see you do well in your martial arts journey, and find great success!

OSU!

[sensei8]

The problem with self-teachng and not having anyone to watch your form is that you can, without realizing it, develop improper form which can harm you, or which can lead to bad habits that will be much harder to un-train later on when you DO have access to learning what you want to learn. It is easier to just learn right the first time.

You may be eager to learn right now, and not want to believe what we are saying here. Of course you can choose to listen and agree or not!

But these are good people and I think that they are trying to give you the best advice they can, and some are speaking from experience.

This is the advice that I will give to you.

If you are going to be taking up TKD, then put the whole of your heart into TKD. All martial arts have holes and weak points. TKD might not be strong enough with it's punches for your taste- for me, Kyokushin has no grappling, and I would like to learn ground fighting techniques.

Why do I not try to learn them now?

Because a martial art is hard to learn well. It takes a great deal of time and dedication. As a beginner, learning two martial arts at the same time is especially hard. It confuses the body, and you do not yet have anything trained into you as an automatic response to stimulus.

I feel that it is best to first develop your core martial art. Focus on it until you are quite good at it- this will take a number of years, depending on your natural talent level, and your dedication. It will depend on how much you practice it outside of class, and how much you go to class, and the quality of your instructors as well.

Once you have become good at that style, if you have the time and resources, then take up a style that is better for hand strikes. Cross train. Expand your horizons then- but for now, focus on the style you are training in, and wait until you have someone to watch your form.

My Sensei started training in his style, Kyokushin, 35 years ago. About 22 years ago, he and his Sensei had a falling out. He wandered and trained in some other styles, and practiced Kyokushin at home. He had no one to watch his form in Kyokushin.

When we came back to the dojo, he started getting major knee problems. The reason? He had, during the decades he was away from his Sensei, forgotten to pivot his foot when rotating into his roundhouse kick. This put a lot of nasty strain on his knee, and when he came back to the dojo and started doing a lot more of those kicks... it hurt his knee. Thankfully now he has people to work with and check on his form.

He can watch me and see exactly what I am doing wrong. All the knowledge is there. But even looking in a mirror, he can't really see everything about his own form. He needs someone to watch him and give him feedback as an outside observer who also knows exactly the proper form of whatever he is doing.

It is like riding a horse. There is nothing that can really teach you the ways your body has to move in order to properly ride and balance... except for actually riding a horse. There are not even machines that truly simulate the complex oscillations of the horse's body. This is a thing that you can only learn by doing, and experiencing.

It is the same with learning how to fight... and you are way more likely to do it properly and a lot more safely for yourself and your partners if you have a guide to watch over you as well.

I hope that this makes sense. Please always feel free to ask more questions, and know that I am speaking to you with only care for your well-being, because I want to see you do well in your martial arts journey, and find great success!

OSU!

Solid post!!

[bhikkubodhi]

Dark fighter

The story regarding the child watching the fight is the historical??? Story of

Tang Soo Do

All 6 defeated by kicks probably bogus

Master Hrang was the child

Online books can support and help but not replace a class

Do both

[madtanker]

Saying what answer you want to hear does not make that answer more correct. The best thing to train "on your own" is the art that you can get someone to work with you regularly on. If you have no instruction then you need to find someone to teach you.

in my opionion i think i can learn online so boxing/kickboxing, muay thai, or wing chin.

I am personally in this quandary myself, and I have weighed several options. I do have SOME experience, albeit non-linear technique (law enforcement and military self-defense classes etc.) and even I am being told that self teaching is a mistake from the top down. If you are learning how to fight just to kick a$$, then you are learning for the wrong reasons. If I could go back with what I have learned (I am 38 years old) I would have taken, like some of your friends here have said, wrestling (which is a martial art by definition, even if it is not inherently asian...) or boxing, both of which will give you stamina, poise, confidence, and a sense of self-reliance that you are seeking. Do not pick up a weapon unless you know how to use it, why you want to, and what you will do if that one weapon fails (these are the words of one of my old law enforcement instructors)...

Take wrestling or boxing, graduate, and then when you are making money, then investigate a school. (I grew up dirt-poor, and this is part of why I could not take MA as a child... one reason of many which will take too long to list)...

If you get a basis, then eventually, you may be able to benefit from self study as a supplement, but not to rely on as a whole (think bread as opposed to a meal).

Edited August 16, 2012 by madtanker

[madtanker]

I am awsome on a flight simulator but can i fly a plane?

How do you think pilots train? In a flight simulator!! So, to answer your question...yes!!

I was actually going to say 'bad example'... however, we do get the jist. But again, we are back to what has been oft repeated; if you HAVE to try the tapes, use them as a supplement, and then AFTER you have had some basic training in the first place...

[Himokiri Karate]

My advice to you op is, find a reputable boxing/muay thai gym and learn your timing,distance and basic techniques.

Once you have done so, see if you can find a good kung fu instructor perhaps through networking in yoga studios,meditation meets and once you do. Your Sifu can incoportate his kungfu in to your boxing/kickboxing!