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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Synicism" data-source="post: 378654" data-attributes="member: 489">When I was a kid I took Isshiynryu karate. I loved it but after awhile, I had no time, which was unfortunate. I like the vertical fist they use for punches - no twisting at the end.Started fencing in high school. Went with saber because I could use the point and the edge of the blade.In college, I switched from strip fencing to SCA rapier combat. It generally is not perfectly historically accurate, but the group I hooked up with adopted a "what works" philosophy to swordfighting. Some moves come right off the fencing strip, others from dusty old books written in other languages. It's fun.I also picked up Tae Kwon Do in a group called the World Tae Kwon Do Association. Later I would learn that it's a style called Chung Do Kwan. Very little in the way of spins and very few jump kicks except as a situational thing. Most people can't really jump high enough to pick a guy off a horse anyway. We did forms and sparring. Matches were full speed, but with no-contact. The emphasis was on control and knowing that had you closed that last half-inch, you would have really messed your opponent up. Got my first degree black belt.That all ended when I left South Carolina. Took a summer off in NJ to see relatives. Kept up with SCA fighting. Found out that a lot of strip fencing moves can be adapted into a very effective, though unconventional smallsword form. It's hard to do those graceful period passes when someone's just stabbed you in the hand. Continued rapier fencing and met up with some of the folks from Maestro Ramon Martinez's fencing academy in New York. One gentleman was the best swordsman I have ever seen. He could explain to you just how he was going ti kill you, and then do it. Wow.So summer ended and now I am in Chicago. I still fence with the SCA. I've also hooked up with a school about a block from my apartment that teaches both traditional and Olympic competition TKD. I'm trying to adapt to the slight differences in form, but the old man that ran the school knows the old man who started the World TKD Association, so he took my rank straight across. I was deeply honored that he had so much respect for my teachers.Recently, I also started with Hapkido. It's a great style that adds short-range nastiness to the medium/long range moves that TKD is known for. I'm still a ground-based fighter. I hate jumping and spinning (though they both have their uses) and I have problems adapting to olympic sparring. They use a bunch of moves that work well within the confines of their rules, but I would never try in real combat.I also experimented with Wing Chun briefly. I love some of the basic philosophies, but it conflicted with my schedule. The idea of blocking a punch and counterpunching with a single move that only involves one hand is really cool, and it actually really helped my TKD sparring because of its emphasis on cutting off angles of attacm while leaving one open for you to exploit. It's contributed to an aggressive form of defence that relies on body positioning to cut off an opponent's lines of attack while setting them up for a fast series of blows. And the throws and breaks I'm learning in Hapkido have just sort of meshed right on in there.I'm in total agreement with those people who state that "it's not the style, it's the student." I don't care what someone studies. If they apply themselves, devote time and effort to understanding the application of their particular moves, and are willing to use them, then they will be effective.When it boils down to it, there are only so many ways you can punch, kick, lock, throw, stab, or cut someone. We all have the same joints that all move in the same ways. A student who takes the time to understand why a particular move works and how it interacts with other moves will go a lot farther than someone who learns blindly by mimicry.I like my new instructor because he is open to questions and challenges. If I think something might work better one way, he will listen and we'll go through to see what the best way to apply a certain technique would be in a given situation. This leads to flexibility and adaptability for many situations.And it's a damn good workout too.</blockquote>

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