who studies martial arts on here?

[robtex]

I noticed a few of you guys listed some martial arts stuff and I was wondering who did what and who studied what?

To list mine. I started with Tae Kwon Do in 1985 in Houston Texas. That is a big TKD city cause of the large korean population. I left for college and bounced from school to school for two years just dropping in and training. I made the tranistion from TKD to kickboxing.....which I dropped when I turned about 32ish....In college I studied Tae Kwon Do under different school and Aikido. They were both taught in the same school. The TKD instructor didn't believe in rank.He was really big into kickboxing. PKA style. Which means just like boxing but can kick legs heavy contact lots of protetion I belong to karate team my freshman year and the aikido club in the later years. I studied wing chun at another school on top of that while in college. . After that I went with one of the students there to a jujutsu school in 1992. The Townlake jujutsu club in Austin. This was before the big jujutsu rave brought on by BJJ. It also was against the idea of belt ranks and was run by two guys who had been training partners since 1974. They both studied tai chi on the side on the side and both retired in 2000 one of them stared teaching tai chi instead. Wu style. In 2000 I joined a differnt jujustu school and have been there ever since. Texas is one of the three really big states for martial arts..being behind Cali and of course Hawaii. What that means is the martial arts communty is really strong all alot of schools scare and everybody cross trains around here..which means if you are a member of one school you probably still train at others and vice versa. That extends to other cities too..and when I was younger (and had more time) I use to go to Dallas alot to train up there...and sometimes to Houston. When I was in college I would drive 30 miles into Austin to train at various schools. I boxed in high school and college. I was wondering what others had done and where they have been?

 

[cardero]

I have always wanted to study martial arts. I have a great respect for the art, the discipline, the challenge and the mastery of it.

 

[Quoth The Raven]

I did Kendo for a while...it's very hard to get to training with 3 kids though. I plan to get back to it eventually.
My husband started Judo in when he was in primary school. Then he did TKD for about a year or so, then started Karate when he was 15 and did that for about 10 years. He was Sempei before he left. He did kick boxing for a couple of years after that.
He keeps meaning to go back and start training again, but he's interested in Aikido. Once again, not easy with 3 kids to deal with.

 

[robtex]

lady lazarus kendo is really big down here in Austin. I have seen a number of kendo matches down here and I did a few kendo drills in an old school because one of the teachers studied it for a while. I remember being told to float the back heel all the time. And everyone yelling their shots mostly "kote man" . In Aikido there is sword-like work with a bokken. How long u study it and what do you remember about it?

Carredo you are in NYC right? If so there is this school I always wanted to visit that I am almost positive is in NYC but I can't find the address on the net. It is the nihon jujutsu school run by a fella named Norm Belsterling. Anyway NYC as a city has one of the oldest established martial arts communities in the country. From what I hear, and I may have heard wrong, is that the popularity of it drops off after one leaves NYC and surrounding area.

 

[Master Vigil]

Martial arts is the only physical activity I haven't quit. I've quit every sport,but not martial arts. I started taking tang soo do 10 years ago and to this day still take and teach it. I've studied ninjutsu, aikido, kickboxing, and tons of weapons. My favorite weapon is nunchaku, and sword. I took a little Kumdo a while back. I am a second degree black belt in the International Tang Soo Do Federation and was an instructor at the C.S.Kim karate school in Pleasant Hills Pa, for 2 years. I was on the Pittsburgh Sparring Team at the World Championships in Orlando Florida last august, which we won!!!!!! I also do freestyle martial arts. I can do 540 outside inside kick, 720 round kick, 540 back wheel kick, double leg flip, jackknife, and am working on the full twist round kick. Basically, whenever I'm not meditating, I'm doing martial arts. Here is a picture of me that I posted in the introduction forums, I am doing a nunchaku form at a tournament in Cincinnati earlier this year...

 

[Quoth The Raven]

Things I remember about Kendo...having to learn to sort of bounce along while still maintaining the shinai at the same level at all times. It's a very sort of half shuffle bounce thing, but you have to have your feet doing what they do and your body doing what it has to. Calling the strikes, Kote, Men, Do (wrist,head,body)...there's a throat strike - ski - but you're not allowed to do that below 3rd dan, I think it is. It's a little dangerous.
Kata with boken. We didn't do oodles of that,really. The day when we were free sparring and I got to spend the session with Nagai Sensei, who was this 5ft tall wizened little Japanese man with glasses...I think I picked up more technique in that session than I did the entire year before.
I chose Kendo I think chiefly because of the anachronistic element...a lot of people get into martial arts to learn how to defend themselves - at least initially - and the thing I liked about Kendo was that there was no way that could be a reason.
'I want to learn Kendo, so that if I'm ever beset upon and I have a bamboo stick handy, then I'll be right.'
There's a school in Japan that teaches traditional sword strikes against traditional armour, which I think is terrific, because it is really no earthly use. I'd love to do something like that.

 

[cardero]

Maybe somebody can help me here. I really enjoy the martial arts movies.....deeply. Is it fair to equate these movies with a serious study of martial arts or is one entirely make believe and the actual execution the reality? Is there anything to learn from these movies (nobility, fighting styles, culture, disciplines)? Has anyone who is into martial arts been influenced by these movies before they began their training?

 

[robtex]

Patrick I am allergic to the tv. I couldn't tell ya hardly ever watch tv or movies. Did nt want you to think I blew off your question though.

 

[Runt]

I'm a baby martial artist. I did some karate when I was about nine, then switched to Taekwondo when I was ten. I trained until I reached my green belt at age eleven, then had to quit when my family moved. I didn't practice again for several years because I got involved in ballet. Then, when I was 17-going-on-18 I started practicing Taekwondo (Songham Taekwondo with ATA), and now I'm 19 and a 2nd brown belt. I've still got about 6 to 10 months to go before I get my first degree black belt. This upcoming semester I'm also doing karate at my college once a week.

 

[cardero]

Robtex writes: Patrick I am allergic to the tv. I couldn't tell ya hardly ever watch tv or movies. Did nt want you to think I blew off your question though.

No its alright, I think your answer gives me an idea that not all martial artists are inspired by what they see in the media.

Runt writes: I didn't practice again for several years because I got involved in ballet. Then, when I was 17-going-on-18 I started practicing Taekwondo (Songham Taekwondo with ATA), and now I'm 19 and a 2nd brown belt. I've still got about 6 to 10 months to go before I get my first degree black belt. This upcoming semester I'm also doing karate at my college once a week.

Runt, do you find that your training in martial arts can BE conveyed and applied easily to other arts such as ballet or are these two separate artforms?

 

[robtex]

This upcoming semester I'm also doing karate at my college once a week.

college and martials is so very cool. When I went I had been studying TKD about as long as you have and I found all these people who did different things in the same room. There were judo player, kickboxers, TKD, chinese boxing, collegic wrestlers...everything it was so cool. I had a blast and I bet you will too......networking..was awsome and I still know some of them today...more than 10 years later. I would love to hear about who u see when u do this and who u meet and what you learn......It will be a lot of fun.....

 

[Quoth The Raven]

Maybe somebody can help me here. I really enjoy the martial arts movies.....deeply. Is it fair to equate these movies with a serious study of martial arts or is one entirely make believe and the actual execution the reality? Is there anything to learn from these movies (nobility, fighting styles, culture, disciplines)? Has anyone who is into martial arts been influenced by these movies before they began their training?

We watch a goodly number of 'head kickers' in this house...I can personally say they never influenced me toward Kendo. The Chinese ones are the best I think in terms of thumping.
On the other hand, my husband said he was doing Judo as a kid, and then he saw Enter The Dragon, and that's what led him into Karate.
I guess it probably has as much to do with what normally influences a 12 year old boy to do anything, really.

 

[Master Vigil]

About martial arts movies. Some are good, some are not. Like everything I suppose. Personally, this is the only thing Bruce Lee was ever good for in my opinion. He was sloppy in his technique and I think people over exaggerate how good he was. He was wonderful for movies, but he wasn't the greatest martial arts legend he was made up to be. He was a good Cha Cha dancer. A Cha Cha champion if my memory serves me right. But not all that he was cracked up to be. But then again, chinese martial arts are so much different than korean and japanese. But still, even for wing chun and wushu he was sloppy. I dunno, my opinion of course. Now Jet Li. There is a GREAT martial artist!!!!! Faster than Bruce Lee and not sloppy at all. He is amazing.

 

[Quoth The Raven]

The technical difference isn't necessarily that obvious to the general public though. I had a flat mate who could watch a van Damme movie, followed by Brandon Lee, followed by Steven Seagal and as far as she could see there was absolutely no difference between the three of them, other than the fact van Damme has an accent and Brandon Lee was a hottie.
I agree on Jet Li though...he's awesome to watch, and a man who knows where his bread is buttered as well.

 

[Master Vigil]

"The technical difference isn't necessarily that obvious to the general public though."

And it is only the inexperienced martial artists that I've known that like him. All the others (with some exceptions of course) feel as I do. That is why he was good for movies, but not necessarily the martial art legend he was made up to be.