Martial Arts

[Midi]

At least I was able to stay anonymous for a few months

[FatherAlabaster]

At least I was able to stay anonymous for a few months

So glad to see you've gotten over your coke habit and picked up the cello! Now, stop posing as a teenager, that's just creepy.

[RelentlessOblivion]

I really miss my Tae Kwon Do. Wish I could see well enough to go back but that simply isn't on the cards. Best I can do is practice my old TKD movement patterns as meditation. Judo and Jiujitsu are the only martial arts it would be practical for me to participate in now and coming from a discipline so focused on striking it could be quite a challenging adjustment.

[Midi]

Judo and Jiujitsu are the only martial arts it would be practical for me to participate in now

This sounds somewhat close minded. What are you looking for in a martial art?

[FatherAlabaster]

This sounds somewhat close minded. What are you looking for in a martial art?

[RelentlessOblivion]

This sounds somewhat close minded. What are you looking for in a martial art?

Ideally something where my significant vision impairment doesn't place me in potentially dangerous situations. That is why grappling disciplines seem the best option. Plus I like the idea of throwing people around or causing intense pain through the manipulation of joints and pressure points.

[Kei1]

I've practiced Shorin ryu and Shotokan Karate for a short time but then moved on to Tae Kwon Do and different forms of Kung Fu and now I am studying a lot of the philosophy of Jeet Kune Do which now is what feels the most comfortable for me.

[Midi]

Plus I like the idea of throwing people around or causing intense pain through the manipulation of joints and pressure points.

Judo is indeed known for its throws, but I found judo to be really disappointing. In my eyes it had become a sport more than a martial art. Jiu Jutsu was fun, but I preferred aikido, which basically consists of the same techniques altered because of another more peaceful philosophy. Joints and pressure points... Ever thought of hapkido or kyusho jutsu?

[RelentlessOblivion]

Aren't they more striking based disciplines? If I could see well enough Krav Maga would be my ideal discipline. What can I say? I like hurting people.

[Midi]

Aren't they more striking based disciplines? If I could see well enough Krav Maga would be my ideal discipline. What can I say? I like hurting people.

I don't know about hapkido, but I think it's pretty evenly based. Kyusho is indeed primarily based on atemis. If you don't want a striking art, you could always join us on our aikidoey path. It might be peaceful, but we can hurt people if we want.

[RelentlessOblivion]

I'm more avoiding the striking disciplines because if I don't see a knee, kick, elbow, punch, or headbutt coming I could end up seriously injured. When I was doing TKD I'd come home with huge bruises on my legs (from checking kicks) and torso (from when I didn't see the strike coming) but generally avoided being hit in the head. I don't particularly want to go home a week later because a Shorin Ryu blackbelt has knocked me out cold and broken my jaw.

[Midi]

I'm more avoiding the striking disciplines because if I don't see a knee' date=' kick, elbow, punch, or headbutt coming I could end up seriously injured. When I was doing TKD I'd come home with huge bruises on my legs (from checking kicks) and torso (from when I didn't see the strike coming) but generally avoided being hit in the head. I don't particularly want to go home a week later because a Shorin Ryu blackbelt has knocked me out cold and broken my jaw.[/quote'] It's sad agression has to be a part of martial arts nowadays. I'm not against striking, but I'm really against striking with the purpose of 'defeating' someone rather than a functional strike in order to disbalance or confuse someone.

[RelentlessOblivion]

I disagree to a point, excessive force does take away from the fun, but a good sparring match is like a game of chess: you have to make the right moves, either defensively or offensively, at the right time considering what your opponent is likely to do. I always really enjoyed sparring for that reason.

[Midi]

I disagree to a point' date=' excessive force does take away from the fun, but a good sparring match is like a game of chess: you have to make the right moves, either defensively or offensively, at the right time considering what your opponent is likely to do. I always really enjoyed sparring for that reason.[/quote'] There seems to be misunderstanding here. Although both sparring and force aren't parts of the martial arts I practice now, I'm not against them as I know they can be used for several helpful purposes. Both of them, however, are completely unrelated to aggression, which is without doubt a destructive factor in any martial art and even in life in general.

[RelentlessOblivion]

As someone who happens to enjoy watching the UFC and Muay Thai I can see some point in aggression. Surely it is better to work it out in a controlled environment with the disciplines of the martial arts.

[Midi]

Other than not being held back to beat someone into the hospital in a non-competitive environment, which isn't really a point anyway, I don't see a point in that. I used to watch UFC every now and then and I can still find competitive fights entertaining, but I call it 'sport' since I think it has lost the essence of martial arts.

[RelentlessOblivion]

That's my view on the matter as well actually. It's probably better to work out aggression in that environment as opposed to starting a barfight or something but martial arts is about discipline and mastering both the mental and physical sides of your being. That and flashy jumping/spinning kicks.

[Midi]

You're right. If there is aggression of which one has to be relieved, it's for the best to let it happen in a controlled environment. I could also not agree more on putting the stress on discipline. I'm very serious about this when I have to teach our younger members. I believe that if they take the art seriously, both mental and physical control will follow automatically. Oh yes, let's not forget flashy kicks.

[RelentlessOblivion]

In TKD you couldn't pass a grading without demonstrating proficiency in patterns, sparring, and general knowledge (being able to count to 10 in Korean for example, or giving the correct name for a technique in Korean for higher level gradings). It's no surprise that my grades in school improved dramatically and I was much more focused as a result. I've lost more of that then I care to admit which is why I want to take up a martial art again.

[deathstorm]

I want a learn Ju jitsu the omoplata and gogoplata is what I need to learn

[Midi]

In TKD you couldn't pass a grading without demonstrating proficiency in patterns' date=' sparring, and general knowledge (being able to count to 10 in Korean for example, or giving the correct name for a technique in Korean for higher level gradings). It's no surprise that my grades in school improved dramatically and I was much more focused as a result. I've lost more of that then I care to admit which is why I want to take up a martial art again.[/quote'] You're actually bringing up a very interesting topic. It's interesting to see the difference in what certain martial arts see as 'knowledge'. According to you, one of the things is a feeling for patterns, technique, etc. -feel free to correct me if I misunderstood-. For me to go on to my next grade in aikido, I have to know the basic dojo etiquette, the Japanese names of body parts, location of certain pressure points, breathing techniques, boken and jo movements, location of the nerves in the arms, legs and face and I'll have to perform a randori against some other members. It's fascinating to see which aspects overlap or differ. Whereas both TKD and aikido require basic knowledge of the place they were born for example, the physical execution is completely different: you have to know patterns whereas I'm trained not to know them. I love comparing such differences and similarities. I google'd them to know which techniques you meant. I used the omoplata a lot during randori ne waza when I was still doing judo. I never really liked the gogoplata because it was harder to pull off for me. I've never been really good in choking people, but when it comes to joint or nerve manipulation, I'm a nasty little *****.

[RelentlessOblivion]

The patterns are similar to katas in Karate. For higher gradings there are other requirements such as self defence techniques, board/tile breaking and both 3 and 5 step sparring (essentially a pattern in which one person performs three or five guards while the other performs planned strikes in accordance with those guards).

[RelentlessOblivion]

I want a learn Ju jitsu the omoplata and gogoplata is what I need to learn

Plus Americana, Kimora, the Heel Hook, triangle choke, darce choke, rear naked choke, knee bar, armbar, some basic grappling and a striking discipline most likely boxing.

[Midi]

Plus Americana' date=' Kimora, the Heel Hook, triangle choke, darce choke, rear naked choke, knee bar, armbar, some basic grappling and a striking discipline most likely boxing.[/quote'] The americana, omoplata, triangle choke and armbar are, apart from techniques with names I don't know in American terminology or techniques which are illegal in competition, the only things I ever used in grappling. It worked pretty well up to members of 2nd Dan or higher.

[RelentlessOblivion]

There wasn't a lot of grappling in TKD. Most of what we did learn was an extension of self defence exercises. For example knife defence (part of a blackbelt grading) we were taught to parry the knife (not real knives of course) at first, then it was parry and disarm, then parry, disarm and neutralise (the fun part) which I was excellent at.