[OT] Yet another martial arts help thread.....so, please help!!

[zdanboy]

Welcome!!!
Some time ago I started looking for a martial art and most of you pointed me to Hung Gar kung fu.....big thanx for that!!!

I started training Hung Gar, and I really liked lit. It had punches, it had kicks, it had chin-na.......overally a very good martial art. I started to really dig the training and.....

Recently I had to stop my training, cause my section dissolved (the sifu had some personal problems)......

But, I do not want to quit my martial arts training, but I must choose a art to study. I wanted to continue Hung Gar, but....the school I went to was the only one that suited me (the others are too far from my house)......so I gotta choose.....

Now, I have looked into the Polish martial arts market and came up with some arts I may wanna study......help me choose.......

Also keep in mind that I prefer strinking to grappling (I know it is stupid, but....)

The sample arts I looked into:

1. Kickboxing (with lowkicks)
2. Viet Vo Dao
3. Karate Ryu-te
4. Hakko Den Shin Ryu Jiu-jitsu
5. Judo
6. Hwa Rang Do
7. Muay Thai (but only as a last resort)

Also, the important thing is I am training martial arts mainly for self-defence......

 

[DanMcS]

You prefer striking, but you already have a good striking background... You'll probably find the Hwa Rang Do and Karate class to be similar in spirit to what you've already studied. I admit to having never heard of Viet Vo Dao, so I can't say anything there.

But you want to study for self defense. With a good striking background in your previous style, I'd recommend looking into diversifying. Try out the jujutsu class. It could broaden your knowledge.

Muay Thai and kickboxing are striking styles, geared toward competitive fighting. Probably not what you want, though there's a lot of good fitness and general good stuff there.

Judo is based on jujutsu, but geared for sport competition. It's a lot of fun, but you don't even like grappling, so I wouldn't recommed it for you.

 

[takyris]

The sample arts I looked into:

1. Kickboxing (with lowkicks)
2. Viet Vo Dao
3. Karate Ryu-te
4. Hakko Den Shin Ryu Jiu-jitsu
5. Judo
6. Hwa Rang Do
7. Muay Thai (but only as a last resort)

Also, the important thing is I am training martial arts mainly for self-defence......

Well, of those, Kickboxing is a sport, Judo is a sport, and Muay Thai is a sport. In terms of actual self-defense benefits, they're liable to get you into good shape and teach you some nice moves that will work well in the right circumstances, but they're unlikely to really help you out a bunch when the lawless nature of the street comes into play.

Don't know about Viet Vo Dao -- can't tell if it's really sport-oriented or self-defense-oriented from the few Web pages I've found.

Hwa Rang Do, as something that ends in "-do", is most likely sport oriented and not as practical, but that's purely speculation based on the "-do means Way Of, and usually implies a rules-oriented sporting competition structure" rule of thumb.

"Hakko Den Shin Ryu Jiu-jitsu" seems to be kind of all over the place. It's part of a Ryu system, which generally means that it's hard (blocks, kicks, punches), and it's got jujitsu as well, meaning that it's gonna have grappling. This could be good, in terms of giving you a balanced martial art that combines the strengths of both systems, or it could be bad, in terms of giving you a martial art that makes you a mediocre punch/kicker AND a mediocre grappler.

The Karate place is at least straightforward, so right now, that seems like a decent choice.

However, given that you studied Hung Gar, I think you're going to be disappointed with moving to a hard and angular striking system like any of the Japanese arts. With the ability you've built up in Hung Gar, the ideal solution for you would be another Chinese school or other soft style. Heck, even something like Escrima would let you keep the circular movements and such.

Regardless, find a good school, and the specifics of the style get less important. Good school, good teacher, and you're set, one way or the other.

-Tacky

 

[Greatwyrm]

If you're looking for stronger grappling, have you tried Ju-Jitsu (sp?)?

 

[Tewligan]

Hwa Rang Do, as something that ends in "-do", is most likely sport oriented and not as practical, but that's purely speculation based on the "-do means Way Of, and usually implies a rules-oriented sporting competition structure" rule of thumb.

This is true. I learned this the hard way when I assumed that my mastery of the video game "Mr. Do" would see me through in a street fight - after all, my initials always grace the #1 high score slot on the machine at the local movie theater. Alas, as my doctors will confirm, those high scores don't mean much in the middle of a vicious knife fight...

 

[Kail]

zdanboy,

Greetings, seems to be that this is going to be a regular feature! As always, more than glad to offer opinions or help, however you want to see them. Sorry to hear about the closing of the Hun Gar school, its always bad to lose a good place to train.

These are the choices to focus on:
Viet Vo Dao: I think, and this is fuzzy memory here, that this is a martial art based out of Vietnam. I don't really know much beyond that, other than it may or may not be somewhat similar to kung fu in type of movement. Ask to sit in on a class or two to get the feel of it.

Karate Ryu-te:Name comes out roughly to be empty hand fist style. Should be Okinawan in extraction, likely to be Japanese though as well. Try to get more info and see the class. The lines of movement will start out hard and angular as others have noted, though the very subtle use of hip and body rotation adds a different sort of circular movement. Again, watch a few to see what you think. It most likely won't have the flash of Hun Gar, but karate is a serious art with plenty of good points.

Hakko Den Shin Ryu Jiu-jitsu: The name is long mostly because of Japanese methods of naming styles. They often denote liniage and masters and connections to other styles. Jujutsu styles usually focus on ground work and throws during modern teaching, but the more traditional styles will teach locks used in up right fighting and plenty of striking skills as well. While those skills may not be as diverse as ones in kung fu or karate, they should exist in the older styles.

Judo: Though sport based, it offers good conditioning and lots of solid ground training. Just becasue it is "safe" in a sporting sense doesn't mean it doesn't work very well. It allows for the art to be used full out, as it is taught, and in full contact mode during almost all phases of training. No "pulling punches" here, you either can or can't do a movement.

Hwa Rang Do: Though the "Do" forms of many martial arts take a bad wraps at times, don't always rule them out right off. The "do" terminology comes from the Meji{SP} Restoration period when arts were on the way out as fighting forms and their existance was being justified through the addition of life lessons/ethics etc. Those same arts still have plenty of bite in them though as they came from old, hard core fighting men. Hwa Rang Do encompasses, unless I'm totally off base, the old fighting traditions of Korea. It involves the full range of fighting, punches, kicks, locks, throws and weapon work. It could be the answer for the dynamic feel Hun Gar was giving you. Again, ask to see a class or two.

I'm going to go out on a limb here and say Hwa Rang Do should be the best call for you. Gut feeling, combined with the feel of the art makes me think you could enjoy it greatly, and benefit from the training. It also has the traditional feel you may like as well if Hun Gar got you going.

Best of luck and just keep training.

Kail

 

[Lord Pendragon]

Kail describes Judo very well. -do martial arts need not be "practical" simply because they're geared towards competition as opposed to actual combat. Kendo is like that, in that a strike to an unaccepted area doesn't count as a point. But believe me, a kendo master can easily hit "unaccepted areas" in a real fight.

One thing, though. It's been said already, but let me stress that judo is almost entirely grappling. I haven't practiced myself, but I taught at a school with a judo team for three years and went to a lot of matches. If you prefer striking, judo is definitely not for you.

 

[mythago]

I highly recommend the various Okinawan styles of Karate; they are, as previously mentioned, very angular and straightforward. There isn't a lot of show-offiness or wasted motion.

 

[zdanboy]

Firstly......the replies are really helping me.....please, post further...

Secondly....please, do not confine yourselves to the styles I mentioned....those are mearly examples.....

Thirdly.....Kail.....what is your opinion on Kickboxing??? I have a pretty good kickboxing school near me.....and is kickboxing pratical??

And of course big thanx to all who posted.......thanx!!!

 

[DDK]

Thirdly.....Kail.....what is your opinion on Kickboxing??? I have a pretty good kickboxing school near me.....and is kickboxing pratical??

Ok, this is gonna sound totally hypocritical because of what I've said in another thread but...

I like kick-boxing and boxing. If you're talking about the American-style competition kick-boxing, then that's the one I like.

Out of all the martial arts I've either done or looked into (though, having said that, there are friggin' MILLIONS of the buggers), I'd say they've got the best chance of helping you in a real life situation.

One of the best features both teach is how NOT to get hit. Staying on your feet, the whole, 'float like a butterfly' thing, is a damn fine way to fight 'cause, to be honest, it doesn't take much to down most people. A good slap to the face and the sheer shock of it is enough to put 'em out of action for half a second, and if they're out of action for half a second, that's more than enough time for you to start laying into them full pelt. So NOT getting hit is a great thing in real combats.

Also, the kicks and punches of both styles are powerful. I'd choose a roundhouse over a karate punch anyday for sheer power (although... again, training counts... someone who has the whole body swivelling, weight behind the blow, step into the punch thing downpat with a karate punch can do some serious damage, but then, again... takes practice and it's also slow and telegraphs your move and can be easily deflected). Most people can take a slap to the face and will be shocked but will recover quickly, so if you can get a punch in, you want it to count.

And kicks... forget about the high kicks, you're likely to end up on your arse if you try any of that in a real fight, either from being on uneven/slippery ground or simply from the other guy grabbing your leg and pulling you over. I love kicks and my style is virtually perfect (or at least it was several years ago ) but I could never get much power into a kick and recovery for me was always slow. It's fun in the dojo, but I'd never do a side kick in a stand-up fight. But the low-kicks of kick-boxing can be nasty and if you combine it with a bit of intuition, you can make someone really hurt with them. Best of all, they're really nice as a distraction and lead-in for a punch

So... I'd say go kick-boxing or boxing. They do a LOT of sparring and the places tend to be full of thugs (this also goes a long way to conquering the fear factor) so you end up having full-contact matches This way you're going to get a lot of genuine fight XP which is much better than regular dojo, tap-tap sparring. Know what it's like to get hit and, to actually make contact with a persons face, is a good experience because it's NOT like hitting a punching bag and a good solid whack to the face WILL make you see stars... best to know what it's like so that you don't end up standing there in shock whilst the other guy starts laying into you for real...

Oh, and on a side-note, does anyone know anything about that kro magna stuff? From what I've heard, it's my kinda martial art