NationStates Jolt Archive

Have you studied a martial art or martial arts?

Are you currently studying?

Which art(s) do/did you study?

Please vote and discuss.

When I was little (about 8) I started taking Tae Kwon Do, and was a red belt when I got bored with it and quit. In high school I started Danzan-Ryu
Jujutsu, which pwns all.

used to do judo at school. got up to blue mon/belt IIRC, but it was years ago now :(

would be interested in taking something up again if i wasn't so out of shape

Lee Jun Fan gung fu (JKD)
Pentjak Silat
Inosanto blend system Kali
Mixed grappling
Boxed a little
All those arts were offered at one school making it quite convenient.

I'm planning to start taking Chang style Tai Chi soon.

When I was little (about 8) I started taking Tae Kwon Do, and was a red belt when I got bored with it and quit. In high school I started Danzan-Ryu
Jujutsu, which pwns all.

I've studied Jujitsu (or -utsu) and Judo

and you're right, jujitsu owns all.

used to do judo at school. got up to blue mon/belt IIRC, but it was years ago now :(

would be interested in taking something up again if i wasn't so out of shape

...then take aikido -- not much kicking! hehe

A few conventional ones... and a few of my own invention.

Would you care to describe those you've invented?

Aikido, Karate, Tai Chi. And got bored of them all eventually :p

I've been into various arts

Thai Boxing (I fought in an ameture circut for a while)
Tae Kwan Do (and Tang Siu Do... pretty much the same)
Karate (Wotokai, to be specific)
Kali
Escrima
Kenpo

I'd like to have studied Pancrates as well, but could never find a teacher.

Ninjitsu. My best friends mom own a dojo and is a master is several styles of martial arts, including Ninjitsu.

And I watch alot of Kung-Fu movies.

Kyokushinkai karate for about 4 years.

Isshin-ryu karate, +/- 2 years

Fencing.

none

But if I where to study one my interest would be in Ninjitsu the shadow martial arts

I was a student of Tae Kwon-do for a number of years...

I did Shotokan, once, when I was little. And my dad used to do Jujitsu.

Kempo, Tai-Chi, Systema, and a little bit of Judo, Jujitsu, Aikido, Bagwa, and Kosho Ryu.

Of the arts that I have studied, I would have to say that my favorites are Systema and Kosho Ryu. Although Tai-Chi is probably the greatest of them (if it is possible to make such comparisons.)

Would you care to describe those you've invented?
No....

Hey, do stealth and assassination techniques come with a standard Ninjitsu package?

Hey, do stealth and assassination techniques come with a standard Ninjitsu package?
No, those are optional, but the ninjitsu does come with CD player and anti-lock brakes standard.

I studied Iaido for a year or so. Even got my own bokken (wooden katana). :)

Kung-Fu for 4 years.

Not bored yet...

No, those are optional, but the ninjitsu does come with CD player and anti-lock brakes standard.

I've got to get me one of those, now!

<snip>
Tae Kwan Do (and Tang Siu Do... pretty much the same)
<snip>

I've done...

Jibushikido (a made-up style by a guy with black belts in a whole slew of styles)
Shotokan (same instructor as above, but it was the only pure style he taught)
Tae Kwon Do
Akijiujitzu (a particularly lethal form of small circle jiujitzu)
Tang Soo Do
Hapkido

I have first degree black belts in three of those styles, and was very near my third degree in Tang Soo Do before my last move, when I switched into a school where I am not interested in attaining further rank. I may test more if I switch again.

And incidentally, Tang Soo Do and Tae Kwon Do are related, but not identical. One is the traditional form, and the other has been "modernized" to fit into the sensibilities of people participating now.

Kung-Fu for 4 years.

Not bored yet...
...and you're not likely to be. Some of it is particularly difficult and takes a while to do correctly.
*nods*

When I was little (about 8) I started taking Tae Kwon Do, and was a red belt when I got bored with it and quit. In high school I started Danzan-Ryu
Jujutsu, which pwns all.

I also started when I was 8... but my parents made me continue through the "bored" stage. And actually, red belt is about typical. Most people, if they're going to get bored and quit do it about the upper end of the mid-ranked belts. Before that, you're still figuring out how to get into it... after that, you're too close to black belt, and it starts tempting you. Most often they get hung up either on trying to get control of their technique, or trying to refine it so it's actually right, not just kinda approximately in the right vicinity. It seems like too much bother, and they're not learning new things as fast as they did when they first started.

I've tried half way to every style you care to name but i have tend to get bored, I have yet to find the right one for me, I have found that having the basics in a wide range of styles while advantageous when you can use it (makes you less predictable) will annoy the hell out of you when trying new styles because you want to incorperate things from the old ones. (the teachers get realy stroppy about this)

Fencing.

Thats more a martial sport really.

The fencing techniques, although derived from actual techniques (some of which can be seen here. (http://www.fioredeiliberi.org/gentlemanly_arts/)), are no longer really martial and its more strike first, even if you get hit yourself. Plus with things like sabre with its rules of engagement... bla bla bla.

That said, under this, even things like Kendo can be classed as Martial Sports and not Martial arts.

And as for what I do myself, I have done fencing and kendo, although not to a point where I would consider myself handy at either.

But I now study Kunst des Fechtens. In other words, its German martial techniques involving Longsword, Sword and Buckler, Dagger and Wrestling.

Learn more:

http://www.myarmoury.com/home.html

http://forums.swordforum.com/

http://www.chivalrybookshelf.com/

Tae kwon do, but only about 1/2 a year of it. I remember trying a karate class many years ago and not liking it. For some reason the thought of trying a martial art again never occurred to me until recently, when a friend of mine decided to. I'm glad I signed up, though; it's fun and a good way to get exercise.

No....
Don't a lot of the moves involve severely offensive body-odour techniques? :D

question:

Was Gung Fu the ancient Chinese style .... while Kung Fu is a more modern version of Gung Fu?

Or are they the same thing?

Don't a lot of the moves involve severely offensive body-odour techniques? :D

Fran Glan Do Karate features the sour armpit face technique.

Fran Glan Do Karate features the sour armpit face technique.
LOL
:D
Hopefully i will be able to manipulate my qui so that the sheer immensity of the ego that i am assumed to have will outweigh the heaviness of any altercative situation. *nods*

I was guessing that Hopkaido meant Hapkido.

Me? I've done:

Tai Kwon Do - I'm a Green Belt, I think
Hap Ki Do - Currently a Black-Belt Candidate (Brown-Belt Black Stripe)
and a bit of Tai Chi

That and I slam-dance. :p

I was guessing that Hopkaido meant Hapkido.

Me? I've done:

Tai Kwon Do - I'm a Green Belt, I think
Hap Ki Do - Currently a Black-Belt Candidate (Brown-Belt Black Stripe)
and a bit of Tai Chi

That and I slam-dance. :p

Very cool... we're just about to actually get a rank system set up in the Hapkido... But the grandmaster refuses to organize it or something, so it's taken a while to get off the ground. Are you in the US or the UK?

I've been taking Krav Maga for almost a year, and am presently considering taking up some of the 'western martial arts'.

I'm very interested in Sambo, but there's no way i could train it around here, so I'm forced to make do by analyzing examples on the internet.

Aside from that, I'm skilled in Irish/Scottish style dirty brawling. Which is like the regular kind of dirty brawling but it's harder to understand what you're saying.

I've been taking Krav Maga for almost a year, and am presently considering taking up some of the 'western martial arts'.


Ohhh which ones?

Kajukenbo - no longer study

I want to get into Aikido when time and finances permit.

I've studied Muay Thai, Kung Fu, Tae Kwon Do, Jujusto, Aikido, Karate and Judo all at one point when I was younger.

The older I got, I focused on Muay Thai because my height always made that fun and Judo to help with my wrestling. Also, I've been studying weaponry with martial arts for a while. While I still study the others every once in a while, I've let them go for a while.

Ohhh which ones?

Not really sure yet, I'm still looking into what there is; I know I want to learn to use my sword (Albion Armorers Landgraf) though.

Would you care to make any suggestions?

Not really sure yet, I'm still looking into what there is; I know I want to learn to use my sword (Albion Armorers Landgraf) though.

Would you care to make any suggestions?


Landgraf? Nice sword to begin with :D

Well depending on where abouts in the world you may be, I suggest going to:

www.myarmoury.com

www.swordforum.com

and ask where clubs, societies etc are near you. Concentrating on German school ideally, but italien longsword would be fine.

There are some large organisations like the ARMA ( www.thearma.org ) who have a proper sylabus, but not everyone likes them (mainly for formalising study), so look around, find some one near you and go along. We're a pretty good bunch over all.

question:

Was Gung Fu the ancient Chinese style .... while Kung Fu is a more modern version of Gung Fu?

Or are they the same thing?

One is wade-giles, the other pinyin.

I also started when I was 8... but my parents made me continue through the "bored" stage. And actually, red belt is about typical. Most people, if they're going to get bored and quit do it about the upper end of the mid-ranked belts. Before that, you're still figuring out how to get into it... after that, you're too close to black belt, and it starts tempting you. Most often they get hung up either on trying to get control of their technique, or trying to refine it so it's actually right, not just kinda approximately in the right vicinity. It seems like too much bother, and they're not learning new things as fast as they did when they first started.

I really wanted to be a black belt, but had a fit when I went to my first interdiscipline tournament. The rules were really weird for my age group. You actually didn't have to make body contact to score a point, and I got beaten because I was used to blocking and countering, so I would block an attack, but the opponent was creditited a hit for it. I freaked when I lost, and had no idea why. After that I decided that Tae Kwon Do sucked and was boring. Later, I tried to find the most "bad ass" style, so when I started again in high school, I went with Danzan-Ryu.

I spent a few years in a school run by this crazy guy who supposedly invented his own style based on what worked from several others. He talked about that from time to time, but I never understood what he meant. What I did understand was that when he gave us this crazy smile as we walked in, we were going to the "Dungeon" which had no padding, was cold, and tended to get slick from sweat.
As of late, however, I have moved away from that delightful little man and invented a style of my own. I call it "Kick his 'nads up into his throat, snatch his wallet, and run like Hell." I think it is fairly self explanatory.

I I call it "Kick his 'nads up into his throat, snatch his wallet, and run like Hell." I think it is fairly self explanatory.


I cant even believe that was not a poll option.

Very cool... we're just about to actually get a rank system set up in the Hapkido... But the grandmaster refuses to organize it or something, so it's taken a while to get off the ground. Are you in the US or the UK?


US. We're in the World Hapkido Federation. I don't know if our belts are specific to the school or the federation.

And as for what I do myself, I have done fencing and kendo, although not to a point where I would consider myself handy at either.

But I now study Kunst des Fechtens. In other words, its German martial techniques involving Longsword, Sword and Buckler, Dagger and Wrestling.

Learn more:

http://www.myarmoury.com/home.html

http://forums.swordforum.com/

http://www.chivalrybookshelf.com/
How awesome :eek:

Anyway, I myself have done Wing Chun Kung fu, yet I am clued up about most martial arts. I want to try Aikido, Krav Maga or possibly Ninjutsu. Kunst des Fecthens looks awesome. Like real knightly.

LOL
:D
Hopefully i will be able to manipulate my qui so that the sheer immensity of the ego that i am assumed to have will outweigh the heaviness of any altercative situation. *nods*

LOL

"Do you not feel my forcefield of strength? It emanates from my pores like a million tiny iron fists. Kneel before me while I exit the bar quickly!"

Blue belt in Shaolindo kung fu. Gonna get back into it this summer. I learned under Senior Master Frank Mingione. He did some crazy demos for us when we did well.

There's also a hapkido/taek won do/judo place near campus and I'm gonna start going there after spring break, likely.

I'd like to take krav maga and maybe ninjitsu.

Spinning fist of the west side, motherfuckers.

How awesome :eek:

Anyway, I myself have done Wing Chun Kung fu, yet I am clued up about most martial arts. I want to try Aikido, Krav Maga or possibly Ninjutsu. Kunst des Fecthens looks awesome. Like real knightly.

for a second there i thought you'd typed "Kunts des Fechtens"

sorry, brain is mush. time to go home!

LOL

"Do you not feel my forcefield of strength? It emanates from my pores like a million tiny iron fists. Kneel before me while I exit the bar quickly!"
Yeah! LOL
Sigworthy. *bows*
That's how you win, by them giving up. If you can't do it with odour or ardour, do it with sheer non-presence!

for a second there i thought you'd typed "Kunts des Fechtens"

sorry, brain is mush. time to go home!
Haha :p An odd transposition to make. Very funny one too.

for a second there i thought you'd typed "Kunts des Fechtens"

sorry, brain is mush. time to go home!

Yeah, hence why we have KDF written instead. Saves a lot of explaining :D


But saying I have one of these (the one with the red grip, custom made hand and a half, the arming sword is a cheap mass produced single hander which is ok for practice)

http://img355.imageshack.us/img355/3209/dscf10973cw.jpg

usually gets a good reaction.

I got a black belt in Tae Kwon Do and was also taught a little Hopkaido on the side. I need to get back into it though: I'm starting to get fat(ter).

So where's boxing, wrestling, ect.?

There's more to martial arts then that Eastern crap :p :D

So where's boxing, wrestling, ect.?

There's more to martial arts then that Eastern crap :p :D
Yeah, Eastern "crap." :rolleyes:

Hapkido: Black Belt (done)
Haidong Gumdo: Green Belt (its a Korean Sword Style to those who dont know.....also its wat Samurai where originally based off of.)
Shotokan: Orange Belt (still doing)

I've also learned some Juijutsu, Hung Gar, TaeKwonDo, Kung Fu, and Judo...free lessons from people i knew who took other styles

I almost completed a white belt in both tae kwan do and karate, but I got bored and quit. I know a little kung fu, but don't have any formal training and I have created my own style, it is quite effective. Oh, yes, and, fencing.

Yeah, Eastern "crap." :rolleyes:
It's a legitimate question, you think Asians were the only ones to develop fighting methods? Boxing, Wrestling, Savate, La canne, Bata, Zipota, Schwingen, and more. They're just not as popular or (sometimes) wanked out as Eastern martial arts are.

It's a legitimate question, you think Asians were the only ones to develop fighting methods? Boxing, Wrestling, Savate, La canne, Bata, Zipota, Schwingen, and more. They're just not as popular or (sometimes) wanked out as Eastern martial arts are.
No, I agree. What annoyed me was the adjective he used. Krav Maga is one of the most powerful martial arts of the West, and it is often completely ignored. Same with Systema.

This thread reminds me of a story I once hear:

Long, long, ago, the king of Hong Kong thoght that he had the best fighters in the world. They studied Kung-Fu. The king of Camobdia also thought that he had the best fighters in the world, Moi-Thai fighters. So, in order to resolve the conflict, the King of Hong Kong decided to send his best five fighters to Cambodia to take on the five best Cambodian fighters. The agreement was they would fight, with any weapons they wanted to, one at a time, to the death, and whichever side won the most matches would be declared the winner. O
On the way into Cambodia, just to make sure the Kung-Fu fighters were realy good, an army of two hundred men was sent against them. All were killed, and not a single one of the Hong Kong men was injured.
When the fighters finally reached Penom Phen, they engaged in their battles, and all were killed. All five fights took a total of seven minutes, and the moi-thai fighters used no weapons (other than the standard elbow spikes and the like... but they didn't have swords and stuff like the kung-fu guys)

Anyway, moral of the story, kung fu is an art, moi-thai is just how to kill someone efficently. Having dabbled in moi-thai and white crain, I agree;)

Anyway, moral of the story, kung fu is an art, moi-thai is just how to kill someone efficently. Having dabbled in moi-thai and white crain, I agree;)
Ever seen Wing Chun Kung fu or Jeet Kune do? Both are based on Kung fu, both are lethal, both are efficient. Many arts out there can be used to kill efficiently and lethally. Muay Thai holds no monopoly on this. Krav Maga is even more efficient in fact.

Thank you Kellarly. Just out of curiousity, why did you pick the German schools over the Italian ones?

Krav Maga is very efficient when it comes to killing people, yes, but it's more than that. . . it's killing people and living to tell the tale. And sometimes getting your friends out with you.

Krav Maga is very efficient when it comes to killing people, yes, but it's more than that. . . it's killing people and living to tell the tale. And sometimes getting your friends out with you.
Indeed it is. :)

I have studied in:

Jujitsu (Brazilian and Traditional)

Penjak Silat (And Kuntao)

Wing Tsun

Tae Kwon Do

Ninjitsu

Druken Style (With incorporation of monkey)

Wushu (Broad sword)

Shaolin (Long pole and traditional)

I took some summer karate courses when I was a kid. In high school, I practiced TKD for a couple years.

Since college, I've been deciding where to go next and also discovered e-budo.com and bullshido.net. I found out that there is a fifth generation Southern Praying Mantis kung fu master in the Twin Cities.

About kung fu, the stuff you see out of China now is Wushu which is a watered down but more acrobatic version.

And there is always Brazilian Jiujitsu or Muay Thai...

About kung fu, the stuff you see out of China now is Wushu which is a watered down but more acrobatic version.
Not necessarily. Some of it is, yes, but Wing Chun and Jeet Kune Do are still very much faithful to their original forms in China.

I practise Hsing I Chuan, and also Chi Gung to build up energy.

Thank you Kellarly. Just out of curiousity, why did you pick the German schools over the Italian ones?

Krav Maga is very efficient when it comes to killing people, yes, but it's more than that. . . it's killing people and living to tell the tale. And sometimes getting your friends out with you.

Purely caus I associate more with Germany than Italy, having lived there for a decent length of time.

Theres not better style, although the german is a little more utilitarien and the Italien (i'll quote another poster on another forum) is full of dirty tricks.

Still both are effective, multi weapon and no hand systems of fighting. In fact some of the wrestling in both is comparable to Judo.

Needless to say, i believe that given nearly all martial arts have essentially the same aims, they will all have similarities in them, although by no means will be the same, hence you should be able to combine styles once you are trained to a decent level.

Ever seen Wing Chun Kung fu or Jeet Kune do? Both are based on Kung fu, both are lethal, both are efficient. Many arts out there can be used to kill efficiently and lethally. Muay Thai holds no monopoly on this. Krav Maga is even more efficient in fact.
Actually Jeet Kune Do is not a "style". Schools that teach JKD mainly teach Lee Jun Fan Gung Fu as well as other styles of fighting and teach the student to flow between different techniques from multiple styles as well as between tactics and strategies.

JKD comes from knowing several styles, taking what is usefull to the individual at a particular instant during the fight, and using tactics like the "stop hit" to seize the initiative from the opponent. There's more to it, but this is a former student's simplified perspective.

Yeah, Eastern "crap." :rolleyes:
Some of it is. Walk into your local "Mc Dojo" one day and watch people being taught high kicks with no balance, no feignts or strikes to set them up, and no defense against a counter and you'll understand.

I was guessing that Hopkaido meant Hapkido.

Me? I've done:

Tai Kwon Do - I'm a Green Belt, I think
Hap Ki Do - Currently a Black-Belt Candidate (Brown-Belt Black Stripe)
and a bit of Tai Chi

That and I slam-dance. :p

yes, Hopkaido = Hapkido

i should have looked it up on the internet first. lol

okay, i've got a jujitsu sparring story:

The teacher decided to let us spar with him one day... so i got up there and threw him all over the mat.... to make a long story short, i ended up spread-eagle on top of him, totally covering his torso. I realized i didn't know what to do, since i didn't really want to hurt him.

So I'm sitting there pondering the situation when i start to feel light-headed... and that's when i realize he's put me in a cross-handed choke hold and i'm about to go out like a light. lol

i suppose it'd have been harder for him to apply it if i'd been punching him, but still, it was impressive.

Of course I tapped out. I was toast.

Jujitsu and Krav Maga, both which work very well with each other.

And I spit on those doing ninjitsu, as I would a dog. Get rid of the black robes and pretentious attitudes and you'll find that you're actually studying Jujitsu. You're not a ninja. Get over it.

Jujitsu and Krav Maga, both which work very well with each other.

And I spit on those doing ninjitsu, as I would a dog. Get rid of the black robes and pretentious attitudes and you'll find that you're actually studying Jujitsu. You're not a ninja. Get over it.
Why would you spit on a dog? That's just mean.

Why would you spit on a dog? That's just mean.

So I'd be able to use the memory of me spitting on a dog as a retortical device to convey my distaste of those who practice ninjitsu.

So I'd be able to use the memory of me spitting on a dog as a retortical device to convey my distaste of those who practice ninjitsu.

What about Dux-Ryu? That is technically ninjitsu, but isn't a bunch of dorks running around in black pretending to be assassins.

What about Dux-Ryu? That is technically ninjitsu, but isn't a bunch of dorks running around in black pretending to be assassins.

The style taught by the "Bloodsport" guy? I haven't ever seen it used, so I'll refrain from commenting. The guy himself is a nutcase though.