ANYONE OUT THERE PRACTICING MARTIAL ARTS?

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Milos
Lone Wolf, or something cool.
286
I was wondering today if someone is a martial artist on RMN. I practice Krav Maga (and while I'm not yet a graduate) and I tend to surpass some of the moves into my games - at least hinting at them. Does anyone do the same around here?
Craze
why would i heal when i could equip a morningstar
15170
I practiced mixed martial arts (Karate/Jiu Jitsu) for seven years; four of those years were classes where I had three sensei... and I was the only student.

It was intense. I still practice off-and-on, but not as much as I truly should. I'm still way more flexible and agile than people expect me to be, though!
I practiced Taekwondo for two years. I haven't been able to take classes since April though due to working nights. I'm fixing to move to Dallas so maybe I can get back into it again.

God, there is no way I'm going to still be able to do blue belt stuff though. I'm so out of shape. I tried doing the splits the other day and I got stuck.
Does Muay Thai count? Anywho, just recently started it; the trainings are great but the only thing I'm not fond of is the 'pre workout workouts' which take half of our time (I'd rather reserve my energy for later ._.)

I want to try Taekwondo after I'm done with it but I've heard some of my fellow practitioners say that the moves are just 'for show'(?) and our kicks are actually more powerful than theirs (something about them being a 'snapping kick'?)

I've always thought Capoeira looked cool, would love to try that too sometime in the future!
Milos
Lone Wolf, or something cool.
286
@Craze, it's good that you stay in shape. I paused Krav Maga for three months, but I emphasized swimming everyday in a attempt to stay nimble. It worked!

@Irili, I practiced Tae-kwon-do as a child - good thing - I was really agile and fast as a result. I could do a split, but I think I would castrate myself if I tried now.

Tell me about the problems that occur if you pause. I had to defend myself once (thank God it wasn't a real fight) and I found myself to be unable to block normally, like I forgot everything :O Luckily, a well-timed nut-shot got me out of a pinch!

Keep working, you can do it. The core quote of every martial art is to never give up, right? You could do some regular runs or swims, or even a few visits to the gym - that should keep you in shape.

@ivoryjones

Muay Thai counts, it's a real nice martial art, sort of a advanced form of kickboxing, only that you emphasize on the usage of knees and elbows, right?

Hah, the famed warm-ups... Krav Maga training lasts a hour - first and last 20 minutes are pre-workout workouts and post-workout workouts :O
But you get used to it.

I don't know really, Krav Maga rounds up ultimately everything you can use, from your feet, fists, shins, knees, elbows to more brutal-like things like teeth, nut-shots, fingers to the eyes, but that's life, right? You need something brutal and efficient if you get attacked in a street fight, especially if it's you against many.

As for the Tae-kwon-do question, don't get fooled by the "it's just for show!" talk people throw around. In this case, your fellow practitioners are just probably expressing their feelings towards it. I don't see how a sport used in the Olympic games can be just for "show". It demands a high agility, however.

Capoeira is a very beautiful fighting style, but it's more of a dance than a fight. You need to be very very very agile to be able to fight Capoeira-style. It's a real admirable skill, however.

It's good to see there are fellow warriors around here as well. Fight on, my brothers! :)

I have another sub-question, however.

Does it ever occur to you that, in times where you got into a fight suddenly, you forgot your knowledge of whatever martial art you were practicing? Happened to me once, and I want to know if someone ever had a similar experience.

It allows you to use your legs too rather than normal boxing, but yes, elbows and knees. I'm already done with the punches and am learning the kicks. :3

First and last 20 minutes??? Wow ours is only the first 30 minutes, after that we're done but we still need to do 20 push ups + 25 sit ups ._.

The "show" part I'm taking he meant the kicks. I have a friend who does Taekwondo and she said they 'snap' their legs back after kicking, but in muay thai, you rotate your hips along with the kick, making it more powerful than the others (and because of that if we miss, we need to do a 360 spin to turn back to our original position or stop our kick in midair and result in a counterattack from the opponent.)

As for the last question, I really can't answer that since uh, where I live it's pretty safe here. >_>
Milos
Lone Wolf, or something cool.
286
Glad to be right for a change :)

Yeah, tell me about it. My instructor is a real sadist, but he's a real hero of a man. The drills are the part that kills me, for example :

People separate into groups of three. While two spar, one does ten push-ups, after which the two attack the one who finished doing push-ups, and the one has to do the 360 degree defense (If you look up Krav Maga 360, you'll see what I mean). It is very exhausting and painful, especially if you do the choke defense - which has you push your fingers quickly towards your opponents' windpipe (if you are the attacker, it's very painful). I had a lot of bruises, and as a matter of fact, have a injured chin as well as a black eye whilst writing this. (I just took off my ice-pack) :)

Hah, you probably have never been to Serbia, here every other guy will taunt you - especially in high school. Arrogant pricks high on testosterone have only one way to learn not to pick on people, if you see what I mean. This whole country has gone downhill... They never learn until you toss them head-first into a wall. Of course, I tend to control myself and resort to violence only in self-defense.

I kind of use this to practice my skills.

I also have a nuts kickboxer friend, and we spar all day :D However, he has more powerful - I call it reinforced shins. I only have one more stronger leg, the right one, which I use more frequently to kick.

Do you spar on your trainings?
i am out of shape and i don't know kung fu : (

i know a lot about martial arts, though. i would say that i have a broad theoretical knowledge. certainly enough to find this topic fascinating. just no practical skill.

Tell me about the problems that occur if you pause. I had to defend myself once (thank God it wasn't a real fight) and I found myself to be unable to block normally, like I forgot everything :O Luckily, a well-timed nut-shot got me out of a pinch!

why would you kick someone in the gnards if it wasn't a real fight? O.o

Does it ever occur to you that, in times where you got into a fight suddenly, you forgot your knowledge of whatever martial art you were practicing? Happened to me once, and I want to know if someone ever had a similar experience.

i saw this happen to a childhood friend when i was much, much younger. taekwondo was basically his life but when he was actually being bullied by a kid like six years older than him he essentially critically failed to defend himself and got his ass kicked. it was embarassing. (even i once punched him in the solar plexus so hard he threw up, lol)

after he got beat up, his dad kicked his ass even further for failing to defend himself. in hindsight, his dad was a mean abusive drunk asshole and this isn't a particularly funny story. (good times)
I trained extensively in Wing Chun and Jeet Kune Do. During my first semester of college, I actually supported myself as self defense instructor. I also learned a lot of classical stance work from Shaolin Long Fist. Transitioning from the high to low positions was an excellent workout, and the endurance work from holding extreme stances for long periods of time was great training.

I used martial arts to put myself back together after a catastrophic back injury, but then I kind of went nuts with it for a while. I did Iron Bar training to toughen my arms and develop close in striking power. I went from using a 5 foot breaker bar to using a barbell loaded to 3/4 of my body weight. Mind you, this is a training set that includes rolling whatever you're using out to the back of your fingertips.

I started doing one armed, two finger push ups (plus a thumb) and inverted rope climbs for warmups. Not sure if there is a proper name for it, but my inverted rope climb involved wearing ankle weights, and a backpack with two twenty five pound weights in it. I would grab the rope, kick my legs up over my head so that my body was straight, and climb the rope and over hand holding that position.

Things got really crazy when I started total body trauma conditioning. It became a running demo for my classes. "Come up and hit sifu with a baseball bat." Arms, legs, abs, chest, and back. With breathing, chi direction, and all that die hard training I was doing, they couldn't budge me.

As an interesting aside, one student wanted to see if I could stop one of those aluminum training chinese broadswords. I decided to take the hit in the abdomen. He sprained his wrist with the impact, and I didn't move, but I had a wicked bruise for a while after that.

I've sparred and fought with just about everything out there, and I've absorbed techniques from everything that I liked. The simultaneous attack and defense from Krav Maga fit in perfectly with the foundation of Jeet Kune Do's straight blast. The kicking from Taewondo always looks good, and Muy Thai elbows and knees are excellent in a clinch (not to mention to shin desensitizing routines. Gotta love kicking something hard until your leg is on fire, icing it down until it gets numb, and repeating). Some of the pressure point/muscle separation hits from Uechi Ryu/Pangai Noon are something no martial artist should be without. I've even been lucky enough to pick up some McMap (Marine fighting style), and even S.C.A.R.S. from a SEAL friend of mine. It isn't as dramatic as some of the other sets, but I also have a soft spot for the locking/submissions from Hwa Rang Do.

I've performed pistol and knife disarms in real life, though I'm not looking forward to repeating either anytime soon.

For the final question - No. I've found that when threatened, I drop into my core system automatically. I did tend to stick to the Wing Chung & JKD movements, with a lot of the extra stuff only coming out in friendly sparring as opposed to dangerous encounters. One of the first moments where I actually considered myself a martial artist was when I came under attack and felt neither fear nor excitement, I was simply in the moment, my body acting, practically on its own, doing what it had to in order to survive.

As for putting my knowledge into a game? The problem with JKD and some of the other things I know is that what works well in real life is usually very non cinematic. In the past, when I had the opportunity to choreograph public performances, I leaned more toward things like Baguazhang, Taekwondo, Ninjustu, and so forth.

Two of my favorite martial arts memories came not from winning fights, but from teaching. One of my students was attacked in the campus parking lot, and was able to escape and incapacitate her attacker. The other happened much later. One of the friends I used to have regular sparring matches with went on to a military career, and actually worked as a combat instructor. One of my later students ended up going into the military as well, and found himself under my friend's instruction. My friend actually called me up one night just to tell me, "You produced a hell of a fighter."
Milos
Lone Wolf, or something cool.
286
First : Cause my instinct worked and I thought I was in danger, only to find he was kidding around later. (He does not joke again like this, however)

Second: Well that's a sad story :( But I'd wager he'd learn to defend himself after that... Fear is a powerful thing, it seems :O
He does not joke again like this, however


i'll bet!
Milos-
Well I was actually 3 weeks late at the sign up than everyone so no, not yet unfortunately. ;<

HK is p. safe. But I bet I could put my skills to good use if I've moved back in Philippines again lol x) (You can't imagine how many thieves/addicts you'll encounter there sheesh >_>)

Killer Wolf-
Wow, you're like the most hardcore person I've ever met haha. I know someone who does Wing Chun too, don't know much about it though other than it being in the movie "Ip Man".
I've always been quite a fan of martial arts and I intend to learn after I get myself a job. I'm not quite sure what though...
@ Milos: Well, it's been five months now but when I first stopped I literally suffered from withdrawal. I had been doing it an hour or two a day four days a week and then just stopped. My body really craved the exercise!

I can still do all of the moves and forms but I can't kick to head level anymore in a slow, controlled movement like I used to. I haven't had to defend myself for any reason but I did ask my boyfriend to throw a punch at me so I could practice some self defense the other day. I was still fairly fast and bent him over like a pretzel. :) He's such a good sport.

@ ivoryjones: Your experience in Taekwondo will all depend on the type of teacher you have. I loved it but my teacher also set up opportunities to cross train with other martial arts styles. When we were fighting, we didn't just use kicks. We would also use boxing punches and the like.

I think what your instructor might have meant about the "snapping kicks" is how we always chamber our kicks, snapping them out and then back in for a re-chamber. Makes it easier to do double, triple, etc. kicks. I would agree that some of the kicks are less useful in actual combat though. But you have a few basic ones that are always useful.

Side Kick: the most powerful kick. Get someone with a gut-shot when they move in.

Round Kick: the is performed with the ball of your foot. PULL YOUR TOES BACK! This one is really nice because, while not as powerful as the sidekick, you can get in good quick combinations such as mid-high. They think you are going for their ribs, and you switch it up and go for the head-shot.

Front Kick: Again, ball of the foot so for the love of god PULL YOUR TOES BACK! Always useful for slipping in under someones arm and getting them good in the gut or ribs.

Hook Kick: I love the hook kick but it's entirely ineffective if not done right. Hit with the heel, not the flat side of your foot. You want a thud sound, not a slapping sound.
Milos
Lone Wolf, or something cool.
286
@KillerWolf - Wow, nice history there. I'm actually only one year in to these "martial arts", but I would love if I could do at least a partition of what you just said about.

Don't know really, maybe it's just me, but somehow I've always had fears about fighting - one of the reasons why I started doing martial arts. Overall, my knowledge of my surroundings and the potential of using them have increased since I started. I just somehow have that fear in the back of my head. I have done some amazing feats for myself (I mean, they are amazing to me) like managing to take down a man that's more stronger than me by wrestling his neck and turning him to a choke-hold.

I also have managed to subdue a rampaging friend (as I said, fighting around is regular in high-school these days) that is faster than me by maintaining him at a distance while using the time to secure a arm-bar, and wrestle him to the ground.

I also have managed to push out a guy that was taunting me, all to his surprise (I personally loved every second I spent looking at his terrified face).

I however tend to laugh off the taunts from more powerful classmates (although, in wrath I could have the capacity to slaughter them all) until I further advance my knowledge of martial arts. I'm only level P1 (*fiveteen ranks of Krav Maga exist, the last two reserved for truly the best of the best | *if I'm right) after all.
Shotokan karate student here. Still trying to master the hadouken technique, though.
I boxed for several years. I'm really busy and I don't have time to pursue it as much as I'd like, but I'm still pretty good. People don't think of boxing as a martial art, but it is; punching people in the fucking face has a lot more finesse and technique than you might think. I definitely appreciate the fluid motions of martial arts of stuff like Jeet Kune Do and Jiu Jitsu, though.
I play hockey. Does that count?
LockeZ
I'd really like to get rid of LockeZ. His play style is way too unpredictable. He's always like this too. If he ran a country, he'd just kill and imprison people at random until crime stopped.
5958
Kick! Punch! It’s all in the mind
If you wanna test me, I’m sure you’ll find
The things I’ll teach ya are sure to beatcha
But nevertheless you’ll get a lesson from teacha

Kick – Punch – Chop - Block
Once more now
Kick – Punch – Chop - Block

Don’t get cocky, it’s gonna get rock
We gonna move down to the next ya jockey now

Duck – Jump – Turn - Pose
Listen carefully
Jump – Pose – Duck - And turn

Hm, yeah I see you’re gettin’ better
Kick to the limit in order to get her now

Kick, punch – Chop, block – Chop, kick – Punch, block
It’s gonna get harder now
Duck and jump – Turn and pose – Duck and turn – Jump and punch

Come on now, why don’tcha follow my words
Because we’re almost done, I’ll make it easy at first
I wanna see if you wanna see what it takes
To be the man with the master plan
Are you the man now?

Kick, punch, block
Chop, kick, block
Block, turn, and kick it
Block, duck, punch
Duck, duck, turn
Jump, kick, chop
Punch, punch, punch

Hatatatacha! That’s it for today.
Good job, Parappa, you can go on to the next stage.
author=LockeZ
Hatatatacha! That’s it for today.
Good job, Parappa, you can go on to the next stage.

Too bad this wasn't the next stage:


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