Whats you Favorite Martial Art and Why

My training..
Atemi jujitsu, aikido, Kenpo Karate and boxing,,

I hold a 2nd Dan in jujitsu and have been involved in the cagefighting sport ( it was called the Valle Tudo and shootfighting at that time)

The best art that i can think of ( if you can call it an art..) is the art of being able to run very fast...I look at it this way..if your a martial artist and you have progressed...you have bugger all to prove...so I believe in the art of the long stride!!lol

Any silly bugger can fight...but real martial artist develops the art of fast legs...when there is nothing to prove!!

Thats my way of looking at things been a Dan grade for a long time ,,even trained boucers..funy thing is though..I have never have had to use any of it!!..I havep racticed in the art of fast legs!!lol

Originally posted by BASSPLYR
I like Hsing-I. I think it's pretty cool to watch. never been able to study it before though.

As for me I have done Akido and Hopkido for a while and like that martial art a lot. Kempo is pretty cool to.

There is a place down the street from me that is a pretty serious and traditional gong fu school. Nobody shakes hands in there they all just bow and say amitofu or something. They are very friendly and seem to study it in a more traditional fashion. the head shifu is even a decon at the shaolin temple in china but lives in the US now. I'm thinking of taking some classes there. The shifu said that he would start me on some basic qigong and then move to basic gong fu a few months later. he seems to have a very internal strength leads to external hard strength approach. SO I might join up.

Since you practice kung fu what advise can you give me about taking the journey into learning the art.

All my experience has been in external arts like kickboxing, tae kwon do, aikido (sorta internal, sorta not)

[edit on 17-8-2008 by BASSPLYR]

if your heading towards Qigong or an internal art, start now because they will start you off with standing and stretching breathing exercises that are rather simple but effective in getting you ready. Google Falun Dafa or check out the basic gigong stuff found all over youtube, the basics are rather easy, and meditation takes a while to get good at (or quiet at)

Qigong is slow and requires a buttload of patience, expect it to be a part of your life from now on if your serious. Most of it is non moving and not too complicated and once you join a school they can help you polish up your form but you will still clear up some meridians (chi paths in the body) in the mean time

If you like Hsing-I or are looking to go into any soft art like Tai Chi or Bagua then I recommend researching Fa Jing as it is the heart of it all

Fa Jing is the secret that China kept until the 60s

Bruce Lee started teaching fa Jing in his Gongfu classes and this is why he got so much crap from the Chinese presence in the US, it is the core of his two inch punch, and that is about as good as he got at fa jing, it is also why his punches in Jeet Kun Do required less forward momentum

Since then China has opened its doors to fa jing because of a dwindling interest in the old cultures as China became more urban and modern

Even the Shaolin Temples have opened their doors and allow foreigners in

Originally posted by UFOTECH
I have studied several martial arts and I like many of them for different reasons but if I have to choose just one it would by Aikido. It develops an individual's ki while being the least aggressive of martial arts and also highly effective. It is as much a way of life as a martial art. With Aikido you can do as little damage or as much as is needed. It is very flexible in that way. The more someone pours on the attack the more they get messed up. Tia Chi is likely considered less aggressive even than Aikido but if it is done at a higher speed what is called hard Tai Chi is is far more aggressive than Aikido.

I have to agree with you, Aikido is a beautiful art, I wish I knew it and it is one that is on my list to dive into some year

I do know that to begin you must first learn Ukemi which is an art unto itself

Ukemi is the art of falling and getting up, and you have to be decent at it before they let you start throwing each other around

then they start the intercepts and chin na (grappling) combined with throws with some minor punches and low kicks (shin down)

I may be wrong on some of this because of my lack of intimate knowledge of the art

Truth is we see so much on tv of perfectly executed techniques on TV ..in a real sitaution if they are not knocked out by your first technique...it get very scrappy and messy...even cage fighting has rules...no biting, butting gouging or grabbing of the nether regions...I think from my knowledge no one matrial art is weak...but with todays scenarios one traditional school of martial art is weak alone!

But at the end of the day no matter how skilled anyone is in any given martial art...its how they deal with real situation ...with fear and confrontation...the Dojo and the ring are controlled environments!!..in the real world ...The koto gaishe or tenshinage you perfected in the dojo..will not be anything like you had trained in!!

from my perspective,,learn style that have and emphasis on Kicking punching, jujitsu and groundwork..learn to how to get aggressive...then learn about threat awareness...( switching on looking at environment and observing for potential threats and calculating risks ...ie people )

Learn that lot...then you will feel a lot more safer..paranoid but safe!!lol

I personally love Krav Maga and would like to visit Israel within a few years to train if possible. What I like about it is the fact your trained to fight with in the smallest of enclosures to defend yourself.

Peace

Hello,

My name is Jake.

I just turned 41 years old a couple of months ago and I've been training since I was 10.

I've trained with and met many great people here in the States as well as training in Japan and Taiwan.

I began in 77 in Tae Kwon Do and after getting my blackbelt in that, I had the opportunity to begin studying Chinese fighting systems and haven't looked back since. Of course I've studied western boxing, wrestling, many methods of street fighting (as well as having been in a lot of fights myself when I was young, dumb, and looking for it), Some Silat and Kali, lots of other little things thrown in here and there, becoz once you learn PRINCIPALS and you do it for a long time you begin to see and understand so the mix gets bigger...

But I've always returned to the Chinese systems... The internal.

My wife's name is BaGuaZhang... But my mistress is named Hsing-Yi Chuan... And I love her.

There are a lot of reasons why this is so.

Also to the guy who asked about suggestions on where to begin, I offer this peice of 2 cents...

Think about the things you'd like to be able to do, then find a good teacher.... The rest will follow if you have it in you.

Cheers and good luck!

[edit on 17-8-2008 by sumtingwong]

Originally posted by shuck
Truth is we see so much on tv of perfectly executed techniques on TV ..in a real sitaution if they are not knocked out by your first technique...it get very scrappy and messy...even cage fighting has rules...no biting, butting gouging or grabbing of the nether regions...I think from my knowledge no one matrial art is weak...but with todays scenarios one traditional school of martial art is weak alone!

But at the end of the day no matter how skilled anyone is in any given martial art...its how they deal with real situation ...with fear and confrontation...the Dojo and the ring are controlled environments!!..in the real world ...The koto gaishe or tenshinage you perfected in the dojo..will not be anything like you had trained in!!

from my perspective,,learn style that have and emphasis on Kicking punching, jujitsu and groundwork..learn to how to get aggressive...then learn about threat awareness...( switching on looking at environment and observing for potential threats and calculating risks ...ie people )

Learn that lot...then you will feel a lot more safer..paranoid but safe!!lol

Obviously you have experience.

So many people think it'll look like a movie... Then they try to make it like they want it to be... And get killed trying it. LOL!

Also what you say is true... Or more to the point... You REACT the WAY you TRAIN!!!

Any EF.com .net people here?

Ah yes... The light is revealed in the fight.

[edit on 17-8-2008 by sumtingwong]

Hmm i would have to say Korean Kickboxing AKA Freestyle Tae Kwon Do.

Only because im a Blackbelt 2nd Dan in Korean Kickboxing!

~JDN24

Originally posted by BASSPLYR
Wanna bet an angry greco roman style wrestler would take down a brazilian gracy wrestler in about 3 seconds. All topped off with a nasty elbow in an incapacitating blow to the sternum of the MMA guy. Any one of those guys could wreak havoc in the MMA ring if they wanted to but wow they have no desire too.

Uhm... Randy Couture(Olympic wrestling alternate, coached Oregon State University), Dan Severn(4 time All-American at Arizona State University), and Dan Henderson(competed for the United States in the 1992 and 1996 Summer Olympics in Greco-Roman wrestling) and got SUBMITTED by a Brazilian Jujitsu artist(Anderson Silva) @ UFC in March?

Greco-Roman wrestlers have a great BASE to start with in becoming an MMA fighter. But it's just a start. Other skills have to be developed.


[edit on 8/17/2008 by DiabolusFireDragon]

what techniques other than punching could the greco roman wrestlers have used in the sport of UFC that are legal. all the stuff they would have used would have been illegal. Like I said driving your elbow into a sturnum and splintering it while landing on top of somebody while you have their arms and legs locked up in about 3 seconds is illegal in UFC. but in a street fight thats what one would do.



Also I don't agree with going to the ground at all in a fight. it
s unrealistic. what is a jujitsu guy going to do wen his attention is focused on the guy he's attacking and that guys buddies step in or on the jujitsu guy in the middle of he fight.

reply to post by Founding


"Serious" MMA happens to be a sport with too many rules for a real martial artist to perform. Just about any semi-finalist at a Kumite will kill most MMA competitors today in a real match without rules. That's right, you won't find them in an MMA cage; they don't play that game. When was the last time you saw a broken arm or leg from just a block in an MMA match? Internal bleeding, death from a blow to the chest?

Originally posted by BASSPLYR
what techniques other than punching could the greco roman wrestlers have used in the sport of UFC that are legal. all the stuff they would have used would have been illegal. Like I said driving your elbow into a sturnum and splintering it while landing on top of somebody while you have their arms and legs locked up in about 3 seconds is illegal in UFC. but in a street fight thats what one would do.

Please cite me the rule that says driving an elbow into a sternum is illegal during a take down. Only vertical elbows are forbidden.

Also I don't agree with going to the ground at all in a fight. it
s unrealistic. what is a jujitsu guy going to do wen his attention is focused on the guy he's attacking and that guys buddies step in or on the jujitsu guy in the middle of he fight.

You may not -like- going to the ground, but what happens if you do? If you don't know any groundfighting you're in trouble.

To the poster above who mentioned fa jin, it's not clear that this is what BL was doing.

Many feel he was using the 'drop step' more than fa jin, which is a method of issuing internal power. I spoke to one of the originators of the one-inch punch and he seemed unaware of this concept. (James DeMile)

2 cents.

reply to post by deathpoet69


BJJ It's one of the few fighting styles a small person can kick butt with.

My favorite fighting style (to watch) is TKD. I love all the fancy kicks. Most practical fighting style, from my experience is conceptual JKD. You can't really beat it.

I've trained Judo, Aikido, Bujinkan Budo Taijutsu and a little bit of Kenjutsu.

I have to say that out of all these, my favorite by far is Bujinkan Budo Taijutsu. I'm not going to say that it is the 'best' martial art, as I think the whole concept of trying to say a certain way to destroy bones and ligaments is better than the next way. There are uses for every type of martial art otherwise they would have disappeared.

What I like about Bujinkan is that the unarmed and the weapons training is performed basically in the same way. What works with a weapon in your hand also works without one. Also, while I do miss the Hakama from the Aikido, a black Gi is much more cool than a white.

Next on my list that I want to experience is Capoiera. It's perhaps not the most effective fighting system but it does look very cool.

Originally posted by Szticks
I've trained Judo, Aikido, Bujinkan Budo Taijutsu and a little bit of Kenjutsu.

I have to say that out of all these, my favorite by far is Bujinkan Budo Taijutsu.

Next on my list that I want to experience is Capoiera. It's perhaps not the most effective fighting system but it does look very cool.

Have you ever met grandmaster Masaaki Hatsumi? Where did you train, if you don't mind my asking?

BTW did you know Capoiera is a favorite art of the Brazilians who do BJJ? They mainly use it as a type of calisthenic, but it helps to develop good body control, or so I've heard.

Originally posted by Badge01

To the poster above who mentioned fa jin, it's not clear that this is what BL was doing.

Many feel he was using the 'drop step' more than fa jin, which is a method of issuing internal power. I spoke to one of the originators of the one-inch punch and he seemed unaware of this concept. (James DeMile)

Well of course I cant say that I was there as he explained it, but I did read BL's book and fajing is the heart of physical internal power (not the chi). And in my own understanding of fa jing (which is far from its potential), I can simply see the fajing at work as I watch him do it.

There are two principles in the release of the Internal force, the physical portion which is fajing and the externalization of the chi. Fajing is a wave of physical energy that can start from the feet arms or which ever according to your move.

Imagine your body is a football stadium, and your muscles decide to do the wave, exploding and then relaxing as the wave travels to the desired limb. There is a great deal more potential for power here than just tightening up your muscles and then driving them into something, although that can be extremely devastating too.

For instance you can, from a relaxed stance, send up the leg, an explosive expansion of muscle (instead of a muscle contraction like in the hard forms) that will channel through your torso and into the opposing arm. The left leg sends power to the right arm unless your punch moves laterally which Bruce's one inch punch does not.

The body starts and ends in total relaxation. This relaxed movement can also create crossover in the the meridians and allows for maximum chi to accompany the blow as well. It is like using your body as a whip, but in a manner that allows chi flow to externalize out of the tip of the whip.

BL's foot drop is a fa jing principle because it channels energy from the feet to the fist. Notice that his right foot drops for his right hand punch. This creates an energy flow from his left foot and the drop replaces the explosive force that would normally come from the left foot. he is also doing all this in a hard stance with muscles tense (compared to total relaxation like in drunken kung fu).

If you wanted to you could do a lateral one inch punch but you would have to drop the left leg instead of the right and use less hip torque. fa jing can be used in hard arts but it has less potential for externalization, yet internalized chi is a whole other ball game, and allows you to withstand alot of punishment.

So in essence he is coming from a hard place and "relaxing" his foot to allow for a whip like action to come from the already tense foot. He simply channels that through his hips, and with some torque he delivers a staggering blow. its almost like an anti-fajing with a similar effect LOL

this is my take on it anyway

it is genius

peace

MMA is a sport.

In real fight theres no rules, no crotch guard, no mouth guard for your teeth, theres no ref to try to ensure your head doesnt get smashed in, etc. In a real fight you can attack to the eyes, groin and throat to stop the fight very quickly. Gee .. these just happen to be the three most popular attacking spots for a traditional martial artist, particularly Chinese arts, as Bruce Lee tells the world in his interview just recently posted on ATS. It's black and white, called the lost interview? He explains all of this. He learned fighting based on Chinese traditional .. it was only then that he branched out and made his own "style. In the end, EVERYONE makes their own style, they just do not name it .. unless it becomes so ridiculously proficient that people beg you to teach them, then it becomes legend, and is named, and becomes a style to pass on you see? so all these styles, were just things that worked for ONE guy .. in the end, everyone will have a different form of perfection.

In MMA, when someone takes a solid groin hit, an accidental finger to the eye, or gets punched in the throat, the referee is inbetween the two men in an instant calling a timeout, as one is on the ground reeling in pain. We've all seen it .. I'm tired of the MMA fan boys. I like to watch it, but I know it is not literally fighting, it is comparable to a harder form of boxing or kickboxing. But they go around talking all this crap about traditional martial arts. Do you realize that every single one of those MMA guys practice traditional martial arts and incorporate them into their fighting. Did you know Jujitsu is a traditional art? It came from Judo, which can be traced over time to Northern China, IMO.

In the early days of martial arts, you had to train for 3 years in something other than Taiji or Bagua, then when you were proficient enough, you could be taught at the next level. And even then, Taiji and Bagua are a set a concepts more than a structured system. All the fancy flowing forms are NOT how we move when we actually use these arts to fight. You don't rely on a pre-set form to fight. The form is a set of movements that has hidden within it OTHER movements and applications that do not become apparent until 2 or more people are using the forms together and practicing, then you can unlock all of the actual movements and attacks and defenses.

I hate to do this but .. look up my boy BlackTaoist on Youtube. He has a channel where he posts up clips, showing the form THEN the applications, or the applications and then shows you the little piece from the form that it came from. Often times, you're left scratching your head because the fighting movements and the form movements do not look the same. But when you perform them, they FEEL the same..

Here's a link to his most recent video: www.youtube.com...

[edit on 8/18/2008 by runetang]

Originally posted by BASSPLYR
Gotta agree with UFO tech on the tai chi. I've seen videos of it performed at combat speed the hard form you mentioned. and it's seems pretty damned effective. very cleaver and subtle. the attacker wouldn't be able to figure out what form or where the next blow would come from. very subtle cleaver art form when done in that way.

I totally agree it is very subtle. It is difficult to see that the slow graceful movements done in the video I put in my OP are deadly when applied in a yang format.

this is a pretty basic example and you will even see the same moves that were in the OP video, but used to hurt

Originally posted by _Heretic
size doesn't matter but for the case of reach

weight doesn't matter

Not always.

Sometimes smaller, lighter people find "leaping" styles easier. And taller, heavier people sometimes fine "rooting" styles easier.