Do you study martial arts?

[NoOneofConsequence]

The number one training that we do is stance training. At every grading, we have to hold stances for a specific set of time. I'm at the stage where for my next grading, I have to be able to hold a low horse stance for ten minutes. (My current record is eight)

We also do a lot of conditioning exercises, toughening shins, inner and outer thighs, stomach, three sides of the wrist. When your training by yourself you do conditioning by beating on yourself with bundles of bamboo - it's surprisingly effective. During sparring I've taken some nasty leg strikes and not even bruised.

Very senior students are also taught iron palm in my gwoon, but I'm not at that level yet. I'm not even sure exactly what's involved, but when I take hist from those who've been doing it for years, boy it hurts!

 

[Drakmar]

at the moment.. I wish I was training more often.. to be more precise.. training at all. past few months have been low motivation. my own self is my worse enemy.

but yeah. when I train.. I get quite frustrated when my body gives up before my mind does.. I can usually push it just a little further..then fall to my knees.

currently... I have to talk to my last schools master.. to find out where one of his former instructors (it was a multi-discipline school and as I said earlier.. is now Drunken Fist/Tong Long... not Wu Shu/Hung Gar.. RAH!!) is.. so that I can start up Hung Gar again.. Brisbane seems to have a lack of Open Hung Gar schools.. at least.. ones that I am willing to go to.

and.. well.. I am my own worst enemy in this.

Actaully.. one of my limitations.. is my extreme dislike of kicking.. I loathe it.. (and I did four years of TKD.. enjoyed it then).. I don't see to point of stuffing up my centre of gravity by taking one foot off the ground.. (I understand intellectually.. by my..um..heart tells me it is bad)

 

[barsoomcore]

Dance or Punch? I guess that's my question. To me, it's a punch, and if I'm going to drill punches, I'm bloody well going to drill punches, not dance steps. Does that make more logical sense to you?

That makes total sense to me.

The term is "zanshin". It means "aware mind", and is often used to refer to keeping your mind focused AFTER a technique has been completed. It was used in a broader sense at Sugino Dojo. We were constantly exhorted to maintain zanshin, or an awareness of what we were doing as a combat manuever. That is, never perform the move just for the sake of getting from pose A to pose B -- make your cuts full-on, your thrusts powerful and your every attack with all your intent focussed. The KSR kata were very well-designed so that you are always able to finish every cut -- your partner's timing keeps him moving out of the way always at the last minute, so you can go at full power without needing to hold anything back. Zanshin is what keeps you focused at all times, so that it never becomes "Dance". Always be aware of everything.

What made it really annoying was that we were ALSO constantly being exhorted to maintain "mushin" which means "no mind", which means not thinking about anything at all.

So we're supposed to be aware of everything while thinking about nothing at all. Oh, that's a snap.

Hmm, this is taking on a life of it's own *lol*.

That's because it's an interesting and important subject. I'm glad you brought it up.

NoOneOfConsequence muttered:
I do this whenever faced with conflict.

And a wise response it is, too. Thanks for all your kind words.

LGodamus announced:
In Ninpo when you are facing an opponent you look at their shoulders,they are the most telling feature of any attack,whether it originates from the arms, legs, body, or the head.......it's called gazing at the distant mountains.

Is that what that term refers to? Sugino Sensei was far more inscrutable on that topic.

Me: "Where should I be looking, Sensei? How do I know if I'm looking at the right point?"

Sensei: "Can you see the distant mountains?"

Me. "? ... No."

Sensei: "Then you're not looking in the right place."

Me: "Thank you, Sensei."

I want to add my voice to the multitude expressing admiration for this thread having lasted this long without dull displays of insistent superiority. Are we all feeling okay?

 

[Hopping Vampire]

i used to study kendo, but not anymore

 

[ThomasBJJ]

Most people train in martial arts for a number of reasons. If you had to narrow it down to the ONE most important reason that you are training, what would it be?

Me: To defend myself, family and friends.

 

[Drakmar]

the reason why i do martial arts?

hmmm...

easy. when I was young.. and full of rage.. it used to be as a way of venting.. because I believed.. and still do.. that striking anybody is wrong. Nowdays.. I could probably only get violent in the defense of somebody else, heck.. not even sure if I would resort to violence in defense of myself.. probably would.. strong survival sense..

but.. I digress..

I do kung fu as a way to focus my mind through the control of my body.

Kung Fu Good.. um.. lets see.. um.. ar.. Macramai Bad!!! Yeah.. All your base belong to us!!

 

[Darklone]

Most people train in martial arts for a number of reasons. If you had to narrow it down to the ONE most important reason that you are training, what would it be?

Me: To defend myself, family and friends.

Nah. Not my reason. I wanted to develop a good feeling of my body. That helps in defending anything too

Trying to highjack this thread with a little story about drunken friends...:
Three months after I broke my left patella in a bike crash, I went to town with a friend, his girlfriend and a friend of hers (both pretty, long legs... you get the image).

Well, I was glad I could walk again (or creep) and enjoyed the evening. Then my friend and his gf got rude to each other... they do this rather often (married nonetheless since then ).
We were walking on the street and the two started yelling at each other. Then a guy with some friends walked by and said to my chap:"Hey man, stop yelling at her, look at her legs!"

My friend got crazy. He's good at insulting others and he proved it again. He likes to play halforc barbarians... or machinegun sorcerers. Seconds later 5 guys stood around us... you get the image.

Sadly his girl was only amused about the trouble and encouraged the berks further... Gladly I was able to discourage them by telling them that the two were drunk and liked to insult each other... And that the girl was NOT asking for knights in white plate. (Another thing I learned in martial arts over the years: stay cool, even if you are going crazy or would rather run)

Thankfully the other girl dragged my friend away then. Then, right after the berks were out of listening range, he said: "Too bad, I would have loved to see how YOU beat them to crap."

I wished I could have kicked him.

 

[ranix65]

This is a favorite quote of mine that a friend sent to me in the mail, it basically sums up his view of the martial arts, it was post-marked from the Phillipines, the lucky bCHEESEstard, that's like the 3rd Asian country he's been through, on his "world tour" of the martial arts world(he inherited a lot of money from his family).

"His muscles ache and his heart pounds, his lungs burn for oxygen, but he does not allow himself to gulp for air like some silly stupid fish. He merely grits his teeth, forcing his body to align with his will, to become as powerful as his mind is. Such is the secret of true mastery of power. After a long moment of focus, his body bows to the whims of his mind."

Not sure where he got it from though.

 

[cardinal sinister]

Interesting. Where did you fight and how much money did you make in those 5 years? How did you get into the business and are you still involved?

More interesting, to me, why did you do it? Did you enjoy it?

Sorry about the late reply...been away. I fought all over really...NYC, Phillie, Montreal, Bangkok, Kyoto, Mexico City, Prague...the circuit runs all over the world. A club owner in NYC where I worked as a bouncer was well connected and liked my style. He became my promoter and I wound up fighting a couple times a week or so depending on the odds and the opponent and such. I made quite a lot of money in those five years, pretty much put myself through college, paid my parents rent, and put my kid sister through private school...and had enough left for medical bills.

I think at first I did it because I was angry all the time and needed to vent. But the most seductive thing I've ever experienced is the roar of a crowd screaming your name. It still sends shivers down my spine. And yeah, I enjoyed the adoration...but the actual fight was all business. I didn't hate my opponent, didn't enjoy hurting anyone...but my job was to win...and I did that to the best of my ability.

 

[NoOneofConsequence]

Thankfully the other girl dragged my friend away then. Then, right after the berks were out of listening range, he said: "Too bad, I would have loved to see how YOU beat them to crap."

I wished I could have kicked him.

The sifu at my school tells the story of how he was always getting into pub brawls when he went out with a particular mate of his. For years he just thought this was part of life.

He went to study in Hong Kong et al. for a while and never got into one fight (except tournaments).

He came back to Perth, went out with his mate and ended up in a fight. That was when he realised that his mate was just using him to mouth of and be an idiot and get away with it.

George (the sifu) talks about this like a real wake up call. He says "Some friends aren't worth having." A harsh call, but a lesson learned the hard way.