How may martial artists are out there in the Rpg world?

[Dalamar]

I've been studying Tae Kwon Do for three years (I think...), but only as a hobby. Just once a week one class for one-and-a-half to two hours.
Street effective? I don't know, sparring isn't really my forte. But AFAIK, it can help you to hold your own in a fight.

 

[Comert]

I practiced Tae Kwon Do for a very little time. Now I am practicing Karate, which I like much better.

 

[Mercule]

Since we seem to have at least one other swordsman here, I was curious as to how any of you learned how to fight; there aren't many formal schools for western martial arts, so I'm pretty much self-taught via lots of trial and error interspersed with a bit of manual study. My question is this: In this day and age, how prevelant are swordsman, amateur or not?

I'm a self-taught swordsman, mostly. I'm getting a bit rusty as I've currently got no one to spar with . I started out in jr. high with my friends, beating each other over the head with sticks. I eventually moved into steel and have some sparring experience there, too. By my understanding, I'm fairly good, but only in the regards that I'm no longer willing to risk breaking a bone to improve my game.

I did some fencing in college, too. I was not bad, but it really didn't hold much interest for me. Felt a bit dainty after holding broad blade. Amusingly enough, saber was the worst for me.

I also did some Tae Kwan Do and some Hap Ki Do. I enjoyed both, but preferred the Hap Ki Do. Tae Kwan Do felt more "right" to me as an accessory to the Hap Ki Do.

I'd love to pick up Hap Ki Do some more. Unfortunately, it's awefully hard to find a Hap Ki Do instructor. Anyone know of one around the Cedar Rapids, Iowa area?

 

[Agback]

How many of you ENworlders study/was studying martial arts? What martial arts did you study? Did they help you in your life?

Presuming that you don't count L1A1-jutsu, M60-do, and bayonet kata, the closest I have come to studying martial arts is two years of Tai Chi and a year of fencing at Uni. But a large majority of the people I have played RPGs with in the past seventeen years has been into martial arts in a fairly serious way. Yu Shih Tao kung fu is pretty popular (the GM of the RuneQuest campaign I play in on Friday nights is an instructor), also Aikido, Jiu-jitsu, and Tae Kwon Do.

As for street effectiveness, I have found that if you are huge, look mean, dress scruffily, and don't give anyone a hard time, no-one gives you a hard time. Which is just as well, since I can't run much.

Regards,


Agback

 

[Synicism]

Since we seem to have at least one other swordsman here, I was curious as to how any of you learned how to fight; there aren't many formal schools for western martial arts, so I'm pretty much self-taught via lots of trial and error interspersed with a bit of manual study. My question is this: In this day and age, how prevelant are swordsman, amateur or not?

I started with modern sport fencing. Before anyone goes off on me about how it's not "real" swordfighting, there are certain principles that remain the same.

1. You want to hit your opponent with the dangerous part of your weapon.

2. You want to prevent the dangerous part of your opponent's weapon from hitting you.

Sport fencing provides endurance, foot speed, reflexes, and the ability to read body language. Those little pieces of wire move WAY too fast for the average fencer to track so you learn to rely on other cues.

From the SCA, I learned to use both hands (and to fence left handed), to break out of linear movement (although I already had that with TKD training), and one very important concept:

Dead is dead. It doesn't matter if you kill your opponent if you die in the process.

From my fencing buddies, some of whom are involved in some more historically accurate WMA stuff (the Chicago Swordplay Guild), I learn to adapt what I know from my TKD and hapkido classes and what I know from sport and SCA fencing to an even more kill and don't die oriented system.

It's a lot of practice, mainly - learning to adapt what I already know to a variety of situations and incorporating things I pick up along the way.

 

[Synicism]

As to the street utitlity of these styles, I dunno; I've never really used them in sparring or combat, but find them fun to learn (especially the 'Push Hands' from Tai Chi). There are, of course, the standard stories/anecdotes about the styles, but I've never actually witnessed anything that would attest to their utility, and (luckily) have never had to use the stuff myself--frankly, I'm not sure I'd even try (unless my life were at stake, of course).

My father practices Tai Chi. He learned it from his father when he was a kid in Hong Kong.

Sound hokey enough? It's true though. <g>

Anyway, from observing and working out with him, I've noticed that a lot of those flowing, graceful Tai Chi moves are, if done at full speed, actually aikido-style joint locks and breaks combined with crushing throat-strikes.

So yeah, I guess it would work pretty well. As with any martial art, it's important for you to understand the why as well as the what of a particular technique and to be willing to use it as intended.

 

[ejja_1]

Super Kung Fu Sunday

I took 3 years of Tea Kwon Do when I was like 13 or so, it was through the local YMCA. I learned a few things there, like how to split your gi in the crotch in a room with several girls in it...
New and inventive ways to look silly in trying to defend myself against the local jocks. ( See how you fare against my face hitting your fist style!)
The fact that you really cant get the sweat smell out of those big blue mats they use for tumbling....
That being able to kick in a straight line over my own head is useless against smaller fighters.(wich is just about everybody since im 6'5.)
And finally that breaking boards may look impressive, but is usless unless you are being attacked by animated objects at the local Home Depot.
Watching saturday morning wrestling however taught me that if I can grab my attacker long enough to throw them that they are in serious trouble. ( Broke a jocks arm that way, it was also enough to get the rest of the guys who regulary kicked my a$$ to back off.) It wasn't until after college that I started western style fencing.( not SCA, but similar in the fact that it was a sport more than an actual art.) Now I sit at home and play Bushido Blade when I want to attack someone with a sword, or I wait until one of my players wants to DM......

Ejja_1

 

[Ruavel]

I guess I'm what you could call a former martial artist... I started with judo while quite young and then trained in tae kwon do for a number of years... then a period where I tried a few different arts... most recently I trained in a zen dojo studying aiki justsu, iai jutsu and ken jutsu (as the primary skills amongst an eclectic group)...

these days I'm a fencer (trying to break down the door into the national team), which really has lost its 'martial' focus and as such I couldn't IMO realistically call myself a martial srtist any more...

 

[zdanboy]

Thanks for all the replys guys! And by all means keep em' coming!

On a sidenote.........two questions:

1) How do you rate Hung Gar kung fu as a martial art? (usefullness and such - obviously this question is for people who know the style)

2) Could rate kung fu in comparison to other martial arts? (again usefullness, strong and weak points)

Thanks!

 

[Drakmar]

I would rate Hung Gar as a quite useful kung fu. It just depends on what aspects you consider useful. Hung Gar begins as an external kung fu, with some interesting internal styles in the later stages. It develops power and strength over speed, but is not a slow style. I find that the isometric exercises and the toughening/conditioning exercises quite useful. BUT it is a traditional kung fu... which means that it takes a while for it to be really effective (a few years)

As for rating Kung Fu vs All the Other MAs in da world. Good Luck. Kung Fu is a catch all for all of the varied styles of martial arts from the China region. That is a huge number. Near that Shaolin Temple that teaches Shaolin Kung Fu in China, there is something like 80 different schools of kung fu.

basically, what I am saying, is that it is impossible to rate kung fu in general to other styles in general, in terms of strengths/weaknesses etc.

I would say that I prefer the mindset that all of the kung fu's I have done have to say, the japanese styles mindsets.