Martial Arts - What Do/Did You Study

[AD720]

I don't know Karate, but I know Ka-ray-zee!

[12stones]

Meibukan Goju Ryu - 12 years. Studied first four years in Okinawa.

You can see my sensei (Ikemiyagi Masaaki) on Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GHRQPgx4_bU

Wow, I am late to this thread

I did about 4-5 years in Wado Riu, an Okanawan form of Karate. Emphasizing grace over power, using the opponent's power against themselves (these "soft" styles don't typically compliment a "big guy" as myself. Oddly though, I think it has allowed me to be much more graceful in life, important at many junctions I have come to). It also included aspects of Juijitsu and Ikiado if I remember correctly. This was probably about 15 years ago. Almost got my black belt, but then family turmoil drew my focus away and I dropped it...then soon moved.

Years later I tried TKD. I can't remember if it was World or International....one uses "sine wave" motions, the other does not.....the one I was in insisted on "sine wave" motion in all the moves. They knew of my background, but wouldn't allow me any rank exceptions. So, I was asked to go to tournaments as a white belt, they all knew I was almost a black belt in another style (even then years rusty though), and by that time I had recovered many of my moves. I declined because that was just unfair.

I soon moved on because I couldn't stand the ineffective and simply wasteful and rediculous "sine wave".

I guess I am longing for the day when I find a Wado class again in my region. Its unfortunate, in a way, that I came across my first instructor, Les Mansfield. That guy was such a great teacher (really had an inspiring knack for teaching late teen-agers) that I am tainted from now on, not seeing any other instructors as "on par".

But, there you have it.....another rambling from me.

Cheers

Cyanide

[Old Sailor]

Tae Kwon Do in my early teens while in High School.

Originally Posted by Kreth

Traditional Japanese jujutsu doesn't have as much of a focus on the ground game, so it's more versatile in my opinion.
But those UFC fanboys are pretty dangerous.

Krav Maga, 20 years and counting. If you want to consider it a "Martial Art".

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SD6la...eature=related

[zitro_joe]

Kajukenbo from kid to 16.
Wrestled and boxed in HS
Took TKD off and on for two to learn how to kick.
BJJ for the past six years. Taking a break at the moment. Three kids now something had to be put on hold.
Border patrol uses our gym and they do something similar to Modern Military Combatives, 'll join them every now and then on the open mat. I used to be a tech school instructor for the AF. My co-instructors were Army and Marines so I would work out with them on Combative skills, as well.. Fun times.

[bonjing]

i can't believe that no one broke out the judo

ju don't know if i got a gun, ju don't know if i got a knife

[taltos]

I once dated a girl who was a black belt in lung fu.

Originally Posted by bonjing

out of curiosity, for those that have studied jiu jitsu, how does it deal with multiple opponents? does any form factor in multiple opponents?

Quoting from "Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu" by Renzo and Royler Gracie: "Probably the most common complaint with regard to grappling as a viable means of self-defense is that grappling is useless against multiple opponents. The argument is that in locking with one attacker, one is easily attacked by his partners in crime. This is entirely true. Grappling skills will not allow you to destroy several attackers at once. Brazilian jiu-jitsu makes no claim to teach a method of overwhelming mass attacks. Should you be heavily outnumbered, Brazilian jiu-jitsu will not save you. It is the contention of the authors that no other style of empty-hand fighting will save you either. The martial arts is full of overinflated claims. One of the most common is that one unarmed man can defeat many aggressive, dangerous attackers at once. The irony is that many of the stylists who made suck grandiose claims proved entirely incapable of defeating even a single attacker when put ot the test in mixed martial arts competition. Such claims are the stuff of fantasy and belong more to the realm of martial arts movies than a book concerned with real fighting."

I'm only a lowly white-belt, so I don't want to answer myself, so I thought I'd give it to you out of the horses mouth, so to speak.

I see no horse.....

From my black belt test I had to take on 3 oponents, mind you only 2 had attacked at the same time, and I had to get punched by one of them to take them both out, but yea..... it's possible, no matter what style you're in. Just depends on the circumstances, what you understand about your capabilities and what you can do....

Originally Posted by LordOfWu

Quoting from "Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu" by Renzo and Royler Gracie: "Probably the most common complaint with regard to grappling as a viable means of self-defense is that grappling is useless against multiple opponents. The argument is that in locking with one attacker, one is easily attacked by his partners in crime. This is entirely true. Grappling skills will not allow you to destroy several attackers at once. Brazilian jiu-jitsu makes no claim to teach a method of overwhelming mass attacks. Should you be heavily outnumbered, Brazilian jiu-jitsu will not save you. It is the contention of the authors that no other style of empty-hand fighting will save you either. The martial arts is full of overinflated claims. One of the most common is that one unarmed man can defeat many aggressive, dangerous attackers at once. The irony is that many of the stylists who made suck grandiose claims proved entirely incapable of defeating even a single attacker when put ot the test in mixed martial arts competition. Such claims are the stuff of fantasy and belong more to the realm of martial arts movies than a book concerned with real fighting."

I'm only a lowly white-belt, so I don't want to answer myself, so I thought I'd give it to you out of the horses mouth, so to speak.

Originally Posted by Hardcz

I see no horse.....

From my black belt test I had to take on 3 oponents, mind you only 2 had attacked at the same time, and I had to get punched by one of them to take them both out, but yea..... it's possible, no matter what style you're in. Just depends on the circumstances, what you understand about your capabilities and what you can do....

Exactly.

I too have fought multiple opponents at once (training situations). I usually got my ass handed to me, but the potential for survival was there.

A former colleague of mine was mugged by 5 guys with sticks and knives and he survived. I can't say the same for his assailants though. I think 2 made it, but will never walk again.

Originally Posted by Drat

Exactly.

I too have fought multiple opponents at once (training situations). I usually got my ass handed to me, but the potential for survival was there.

A former colleague of mine was mugged by 5 guys with sticks and knives and he survived. I can't say the same for his assailants though. I think 2 made it, but will never walk again.

Difference between training and real life is, can you handle it, will you react on instict from the thousands of times you did the move or will you freeze up.... then once you act on instinct, you then realize you can and will hurt these people. All of a sudden you're not stopping as you touch their throat skin, you're stopping 3 inches beyond that, you follow through with the kick to their knee, and that elbow to the face, well that hurts you too though hurts them much more.

I'm lucky I've only had to use it a few times, and every time I was scared shitless, my adrenaline was pumping, and yea I got hurt 50% of the time... the best thing you learn is not being there.... stay out of the situation so you don't have to do anything...

[12stones]

I love the "this is better than this" and "that is better than that" discussions that take place whenever martial arts are brought up. The fact of the matter is that in a real situation you can win or lose on any given day. One style is not better than the other; it all depends on the practitioner and the situation that takes place. Jiu-jutsu (it is jutsu folks) is just as good as goju-ryu which is just as good as muay thai, etc. It's all about preparation, training, understanding, and ability. And even all of those don't add up to guarantee you won't get your ass kicked by someone untrained; though it does better the odds.

And for those that think TKD sucks, go watch the ROK Marines training in South Korea and see if you want to join them; it's no joke. Again, it's all about the practitioner.

Originally Posted by 12stones

I love the "this is better than this" and "that is better than that" discussions that take place whenever martial arts are brought up. The fact of the matter is that in a real situation you can win or lose on any given day. One style is not better than the other; it all depends on the practitioner and the situation that takes place. Jiu-jutsu (it is jutsu folks) is just as good as goju-ryu which is just as good as muay thai, etc. It's all about preparation, training, understanding, and ability. And even all of those don't add up to guarantee you won't get your ass kicked by someone untrained; though it does better the odds.

And for those that think TKD sucks, go watch the ROK Marines training in South Korea and see if you want to join them; it's no joke. Again, it's all about the practitioner.

I agree with most of this, especially that it is the prep, training, understanding and ability that matter most. I still balk at anyone defending TKD as being on the same level as the others. TKD is, in my and many of my fellow artists opinions, the least rounded defense system out there. That's not to say that it isn't a good way to exercise, build confidence, etc. It just doesn't train you for most practical fighting situations. Most fights, as hardcz mentioned above, happen so fast that it is the muscle memory of years of repetition that will dictate how you perform. And even that has a 50/50 chance of backfiring. When you don't have those years of training in close contact fighting (which TKD certainly does NOT focus on), you don't have what it takes for 90% of fights. Seriously, 90% of fights end up on the ground. I have a great jump spinning hook kick, but it's worthless when I'm tangled up with someone or on the ground...

[Kreth]

Originally Posted by 12stones

And for those that think TKD sucks, go watch the ROK Marines training in South Korea and see if you want to join them; it's no joke. Again, it's all about the practitioner.

I agree, the ROK Marines are pretty hardcore. I think most of the impression that TKD sucks comes from the Mcdojo rank mills that seem so prevalent.

Originally Posted by Kreth

I agree, the ROK Marines are pretty hardcore. I think most of the impression that TKD sucks comes from the Mcdojo rank mills that seem so prevalent.

Don't forget the BS "martial arts" competitions where they dance, jump, spin 3 times in the air and land to the splits but it's cool cause it's too the music and they punch and scream at the end.

These people who put on these shows are not showing any true martial skill, they're doing gymnastics and calling it martial arts. Sure it's cool you can jump and flip... you're just looking for a way to make you not look like a pansey.. hell even though they played with barbies, *the boys* they're straight because they do martial arts, not gymnastics...

Anways, if you really know what to look for, you can tell when a punch is just a punch, and when it actually has power behind it.

[12stones]

Originally Posted by Drat

I agree with most of this, especially that it is the prep, training, understanding and ability that matter most. I still balk at anyone defending TKD as being on the same level as the others. TKD is, in my and many of my fellow artists opinions, the least rounded defense system out there. That's not to say that it isn't a good way to exercise, build confidence, etc. It just doesn't train you for most practical fighting situations. Most fights, as hardcz mentioned above, happen so fast that it is the muscle memory of years of repetition that will dictate how you perform. And even that has a 50/50 chance of backfiring. When you don't have those years of training in close contact fighting (which TKD certainly does NOT focus on), you don't have what it takes for 90% of fights. Seriously, 90% of fights end up on the ground. I have a great jump spinning hook kick, but it's worthless when I'm tangled up with someone or on the ground...

Drat, the thing is that TKD involves most of the technical principles that any other standing martial arts has too. As Kreth says below, it's the mcdojo that's made it seem like a worthless martial art. If, however, you know and understand the principles within your art, then you can apply it whether it's karate, TKD, judo or what. These mcdojos have everyone thinking that TKD is only about the high-flying kicks and so many people write it off as a viable martial art. But, guess what, there's other kicks and punches in there too. It's not the art that invalidates its viability, it's how it's being sold to the masses that's diluted it. TKD practitioners can have muscle memory just like anyone else. Again, it's how they train, know and understand the principles within their art that makes the difference.

Originally Posted by Kreth

I agree, the ROK Marines are pretty hardcore. I think most of the impression that TKD sucks comes from the Mcdojo rank mills that seem so prevalent.

Yep, totally.

[tsolomon]

3 years of Shorin-ryu. Damaged my knee sparring and had to give it up.