Learning different MAs - Your experience

[sensei8]

Great topic!!

- Why did you start doing a different martial art?

I learned TKD for about 1 year back in the early 1970's when I was a JBB in Shindokan. I was a very active weekend warrior back then and I was tired of having the TKD practitioners at these open tourneys handing me my own rear-end with their fancy and effective kicks. Shindokan only kicks waist down!! So, what better way for me to learn how to counter these kicks was to learn the methodology of these TKD kicks.

- Did you have an criteria for the new one (should it extend your MA skills: Like first Karate (focus on striking) then Aikido (focus on joint locks throws etc.)

My only criteria was to learn the kicks of TKD; to add the effectiveness of TKD into Shindokan for my own useages. Adding the TKD kicks into my arsenal added quite a lot at tourneys as well as in the "streets"; not many Shindokanists use TKD kicks.

- Do you practice different martial arts at the same time or did you quit one and started another one?

I did Shindokan under Dai-Soke Yoshinobu Takahashi AND TKD under Grandmaster Young Ik Suh at the same time. The learning of the two at the same time had no ill-effects on me in either of the arts.

Do you think you should try and practice different martial arts or should you stay with just one?

After that one year with TKD, I've devoted my entire MA life in Shindokan, however, I've cross-trained unofficially for well over 3 decades exchanging with many, many MA styles and not for rank; pure knowledge was sought for.