Do you study martial arts?

[Magic Rub]

You know, I'm not certain I agree.

For the most part, I tend to equate "textbook" with "formal". We (ITF) have a literal textbook - Magic Rub is probably intimately familiar with it - General Choi's "Taekwon-Do", the Condensed Encyclopedia (frequently referred to as the Bible), or the more detailed 15-volume Encyclopedia.

Yup, very familiar with it. That & the CD ROM

I hope I have been properly representing the ITF style in this thread Hyper. As you are a 4th Dan I thought I should ask. Due to the fact that you haven't corrected me, I'll take that as a "Good job little 1st Dan." lol

 

[Magic Rub]

To the orginal poster...

[edit for space]

armed forces. Learn to fire the weapon of the modern martial master, the gun, and learn what close combat techniques are necessary if your other skills fail you. I guarantee that with a fast draw and excellent aim, a modern special ops, is going to, nearly, insure a win against a less well armed martial artist of any level. Thats reality.

later.

This is not the thread you're looking for If you want to talk about that then go start a new thread... like...
How to kill people
How to use guns to kill people fast
The Armed Forces & You
Martial arts suck & The Armed Forces Rule


We're talking about this because we all like it. If you would like to add to the thread, then be nice about it please . Tell us of your hand to hand experiences, & what you found to be effective. We are a peaceful group relating our experiences to one another about self defence. None of us (& I may be over stepping my bounds) None of us here are doing this to learn how to kill people. Instead we do this so we can... learn how to defend ourselves & friends against aggressive actions, for fun & friendship, to stay in shape, to learn an interesting & useful skill, for the sport, & even the "Pit fighters" seem to do it just for the money. There may be more reasons but I'm fairly certain none of the people here are in it to kill. Yes the armed forces have a place & are effective in their duties, they are a fine group of brave men and women charged with protecting the interests of there country (regardless of the country). They all do deserve respect (as do all humans). However their vocation has no place on this thread in the way of which you seem to be relating it. I mean you no disrespect Lannon & I hope you enjoy this thread as much as the rest of us.

 

[Hypersmurf]

Yup, very familiar with it. That & the CD ROM

Yeah... the CD ROM is a good resource... but I think it fell shy of being a fantastic one. There are too many errors in the patterns, for example... the edition of the Encyclopedia they used is not the most recent one... and why-oh-why couldn't they have made it hypertext, or a searchable PDF like the Dragon archive?

Consequently, I almost never use it... but I know many people out there get a lot of mileage out of it.

I hope I have been properly representing the ITF style in this thread Hyper. As you are a 4th Dan I thought I should ask. Due to the fact that you haven't corrected me, I'll take that as a "Good job little 1st Dan." lol

Looks fine so far

I think if I were filling out that stat block, though, I would have noted our "Distance" as "Long", rather than "All". Yes, we learn, practise, and drill techniques for all ranges... but our strength is at the leg-circle or just beyond. We don't have the emphasis on grappling techniques, for example, that would allow us to handle getting caught in close range with Jiu-Jitsu or Hapkido, and our mid-range is weaker than, say, a karateka or kickboxer.

You may find something different, but I know most Taekwon-doin around here are most comfortable at long range.

-Hyp.

 

[shurai]

Barsoomcore-

*bows to the fellow sword student* Nice to meet you! Thanks for the compliments regarding my article, too.

You've got it: We do the Zen Nihon Kendo Renmei's curriculum of 12 iaido forms, the seitei gata. Our instructor has been teaching my sempai ('older brother', a student senior to myself) and I the beginning of the first set from Muso Jikiden Eishin Ryu iaido. Come to think of it, I think our instructor showed us some Katori Shinto Ryu iai forms as well, as sort of an introduction to the larger world of sword techniques. KSR has some really interesting sword forms.

(For the curious, Seitei gata means 'basic techniques'. Zen Nihon Kendo Renmei means the All Japan Kendo Federation, and is the overseeing body for the other kendo federations, such as the AUSKF, the All United States Kendo Federation. Originally kendo did not have iaido forms at all, but in the 1970s higher ups in the art decided that it would be a good idea for kendoka, people who study kendo, to learn how to handle real swords. So, they invited a number of iaido masters from different schools to compile a curriculum of representative forms for kendo practitioners to study. Originally there were 7, but since then one or two get added every few years. Now there are 12. The koryu, the old schools, are still around, and eventually most iaido practitioners who start with the seitei move on to begin learning one of the old iaido schools. The old schools have lots more forms than the seitei gata. For example, I believe in Eishin Ryu there are five sets of ten kata each, so there are about 50 in all.)

-S

 

[shurai]

If the original poster wants to learn how to fight, then the original poster should join the armed forces. Period. There is no civilian garbage out there that will teach you to fight in any way rivaling what you will learn in the armed forces.

. . . may I respectfully point out that the original poster asked which martial arts others here on the boards study? . . . . And may I also point out that the replies have mentioned a wide variety of reasons for their study -- self-discipline, fitness, spiritual development, social interaction, and more. The thread is emphatically not about the "best" fighting style.

"Civilian garbage" is a tad inflammatory and insulting, don't you think? My reasons for practising Taekwon-do have nothing to do with wanting to know efficient ways to kill someone. If I discuss breaking boards, it has nothing to do with combat - it's because breaking boards is something one can practise for its own sake . . . . I respect an Olympic archer for his skill in his chosen discipline. I don't insult him because he can't kill someone as efficiently as a Special Forces veteran. It's not what he trains to do.

This is not the thread you're looking for If you want to talk about that then go start a new thread... like...
How to kill people
How to use guns to kill people fast
The Armed Forces & You
Martial arts suck & The Armed Forces Rule

You know, this reminds me of a story. Musashi and some other samurai were sitting outside on a balcony, and there was a bird perched on a nearby tree. They agreed that it would be pleasant if the bird would sing, so they debated about how to induce the bird to do so. They all had different ideas, but Musashi said this: All we have to do is wait. If we do nothing, the bird will eventually sing on its own.

I missed the chance to reply to Lannon before you all said what I would've said anyway. Except I will offer this excerpt from my web page:

lifted from http://www.c-dart.com:8000/tom/
But nobody carries a sword. How can I use iaido to defend myself?
You can't, really, not directly anyway. The techniques themselves are practical enough to use for self-defence, at least as far as I can tell, but I have no delusions about ever using them in a fight . . . if practical self-defence is what you're seeking, you probably want to go elsewhere . . . . Like all seriously practiced martial arts, the greatest benefits are less obvious and more useful than the simple application of the techniques in a fight . . . As many have said, iaido is practiced as an art of self-development, rather than self-defence.

-S

 

[Hypersmurf]

You know, this reminds me of a story. Musashi and some other samurai were sitting outside on a balcony, and there was a bird perched on a nearby tree. They agreed that it would be pleasant if the bird would sing, so they debated about how to induce the bird to do so. They all had different ideas, but Musashi said this: All we have to do is wait. If we do nothing, the bird will eventually sing on its own.

Heh.

"It was destined to be a short-lived spectacle. A chicken, suspended from a balloon, floated through the door of the samurai bar..."

-Hyp.

 

[Drakmar]

I have found this thread rather interesting.. pretty cool to hear everybodies views..

so.. just to add to it some more..

do many of you use isometric exercises to develop strength/power/chi?

in Hung Gar and a few of the other kung fu's i have studied it has been one of the things I have found most rewarding.. I found that six months of Hung Gar with isometric exercises increase my strength/power considerably.. (just what I needed considered my motorbike was almost too heavy for me to lift)

so.. my question is.. what kind of supplementry exercises do you use?

 

[shurai]

Drakmar-

Most of the time, just practicing either iaido or hung gar on my own is all I need for strength and power, at least as far as I've seen. Usually when I think to myself, "What else can I be doing?" the answer is "I could be training harder."

But I'm curious: What are isometric exercises? Is it another term for something else we do in practice?

-S

 

[Drakmar]

I believe there is a chinese term for it.. but.. I can't remember it.

basically.. isometric exercises are "resistance" exercises. they are done by yourself.. like that section in you forms.. where you are pushing you hand outwards.. breathing out.. yet resisting with all your might. It develops considerable strength.

there are exercises that work on the muscles in you ribcage.. that help you develop resistance to body shots.. and so on. it is hard to describe without being there in person.. or having a video camera.

I have always believed there is more to it than just training harder.. there is training smarter. Years ago.. when I was young and innocent I was taught some bad stretches.. this led to be "slipping" two discs.. and keeping me out of active martial arts for about a year.. now that I that behind me.. I think about what every particular exercise's goal is.. and how it might damage me.. and is there a better way to do it.

 

[shurai]

Ohhhh, that kind of stuff. Yeah we do that all the time. I don't know the form yet where one pushes out as if to strike while maintaining a very tense resistance in the muscles, but we do have that sort of thing as a sort of block/pressuring technique in the form I've learned.

When I say that I wish I was training harder, I guess I mostly mean 'more often.' There's only one practice each week, and I do train on my own once or twice a week but I'm shooting for at least some training every day.

On the other hand, I am trying to train harder too. I feel like if I really wanted to I could hold a stance just a little longer, reach just a little further on a stretch, do the form just a few more times, and in so doing the training would be that much richer. It's not the sort of feeling like I'm about to hurt myself with a stretch, because I know what that feels like. Instead, I feel like I'm giving up too soon because the pain and exhaustion is getting to me. The self is the most difficult enemy, don't you think?

-S