Martial Arts

[Rowan]

I'm seriously considering taking up a martial art. Im leaning more towards taekwondo because I'm flexible and can already kick above my own head hieght (im 5'11 btw) but I really dont know many other types of martial arts that are out there. Do any of you practice? Do you know of many styles that might be commonly taught?

[SuperSabin]

I used to take Taekwando 2 different times in my lifetime, its a great entry level into the martial art field. I practice with a Bo-staff on the side even though I'm not a part of any program anymore. There is also Ju-Jitsu, Judo (that involves throwing I think), and there's the brazilian one (I don't remember the name). That's as much as I remember.

[Heartless Angel]

I haven't gotten really serious about it, but I've dabbled in a few disciplines. Ving tsun, Karate, little bit of Muay Thai. More shit I've done in my own time than formal training. I was taking a Ving tsun class a while back, but due to schedule conflicts, I had to quit after about a month. I quite liked Ving tsun. It doesn't require much physical strength, and doesn't focus so much on muscle training, Ving tsun is more about efficient use of the design of the human body. Of course Muay thai is a shitload of fun, nothing beats a good knee to the face.

[noxious.sunshine]

I was really drunk like 2 weeks ago or so and decided I -really- wanted to learn how to box (I still do, but shit is difficult). So teh bf was like "You gotta learn how to jab the -right- way first" and tried making me do it for like 85 million hours. Finally, I was like "F*ck this. I'm out." and went back to drinking more.

I think I used to want to learn karate. I've seen Muay Thai fighting on t.v. it looks pretty .. cool! Brutal, but cool!

[che]

I was an orange belt at age 10ish in karate. Someone told me the belts were backwards; it's the 4th one up. I quit because my intructor was a douchey cop. But not before I won a first place trophy. It was called the Sagashu school of self defense. It was really good discipline for your body and a great workout, but soccer soon took over my life as I played on multiple teams. I'd love to do it again someday. But I would probably try a different martial art. Probably would do Wing Chung, which is what Bruce Lee practiced. After seeing Ip Man 1&2 and learning about Bruce Lee's master, it makes perfect sense to use that style. It's the style of defense while attacking at the same time. Seems like it would come in handy if I needed to defend myself or family some day.

[loaf]

I did Tae Kwon Do when I was 5 years old, got my 3rd belt which was Purple. Think it went White, Yellow, Purple, Green, Orange, Blue, Blue Brown Stripe, Brown, Brown Red Stripe, Red, Red Black Stripe and then Black and all the degrees.

[che]

Er, whoa. Mine was totally White, yellow, orange, green (i had just received my green belt before I stopped, my original post was a mistake). Purple after green, blue, and then the weird stripes. Interesting.

I remember, I had to spar a green belt to be granted my green belt promotion, and it was a girl. A family friend, and she was like 1 year older. I was like...this is gonna be easy. She ****ing kicked me in like the first 15 seconds and punched me straight-on in the stomach. I had this deep realization that I was getting my ****ing ass kicked, and I felt so sick to my stomach. Some spark lit up in me when that happened, and I took control of my training, but used my own personal self-defense as I round-house kicked her. They broke up our fight early and awarded me the belt. I'm positive she wanted to actually kick my ass after that. But being so butthurt, and physically feeling sick because of being owned in the stomach, we bowed and acted professional. I never really talked to her again, but she kicked my ****ing ass tbh.

That shit was real.

[Josh_R]

I used to do quite a bit of martial arts. Now a days I just practice BJJ, and some Judo. I also used to do amateur mma fights.

Kyokushin Karata : Green Belt

Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu: Black Belt

Judo: Brown Belt

I also used to box a little bit. Have thought about taking some Muay Thai kickboxing as it seems cool, but never really got around to it.

I recommend getting into some form of martial arts. It is great for staying in shape which I know you are all about, and it is a great way to get rid of unwanted stress and anger.

[che]

I used to do quite a bit of martial arts. Now a days I just practice BJ

HAHAHA

owned! You see what I did there?!!!!!

[Josh_R]

I can change peoples quotes like a **** hat to.

See what I did there babygirl.

[che]

See what I did there babygirl.

I didn't change anything, I just quoted you out of context!

Haha, it took me a second to get what the four letters were. Usually "hat" only follows a three letter word.

.....which is "Yay" for all you 12 year olds.

edit: SCOFF I WOULD NEVER USE THE WRONG VERSION OF "TOO".

[RamesesII]

Used to do Zen Do Kai a while back which is more of a no holds bar form of self defense. I would love to get into Aikido though if I ever took up martial arts again.

Back in the days before pads etc (when the competitors bound their hands in rope) Muay thai claimed more lives in the professional ring than most mainstream forms of martial arts because of it's brutal style.

[Heartless Angel]

Back in the days before pads etc (when the competitors bound their hands in rope) Muay thai claimed more lives in the professional ring than most mainstream forms of martial arts because of it's brutal style.

Most sport martial arts forbid the use of elbows and knees, just because they're a lot more damaging and can easily be fatal, Muay Thai focuses very heavily on elbows and knees specifically BECAUSE of their potential lethality.

[Unknown Entity]

I once did Ty-Ga Karate, which was mixed martial arts (taekwondo, jujitsu, kickboxing, etc) lessons.

I don't remember how far I got with belt collecting, but I progressed quickly - went up three belts before my first tournament. Which I sucked at, tbh. I was asked to fight someone a grade higher, twice the size of me, and I wasn't aware I was actually supposed to be physically brutal. Bitch could have broken my nose with that round house kick to the face... I'm also sure that that was supposed to be a disqualifying move. The look on my sensei's face told me all the disappointment she felt at me.

I don't think I lasted long after that. I was made to feel like I brought shame to her community centre, and I thought **** that, life's too short to be actually beaten up by someone who's supposed to be teaching me to defend myself.

Funny story; we had some guy coming door to door a few year ago, promoting his new martial arts classes. He did a demonstration with me, right outside my front door. He grabbed my wrist and asked what I'd do if some random stranger grabbed me like that. Well, he was standing there, within kicking distance and his legs apart in a fighting stance. I threw a kick between his legs, and he squealed and jumped back in fright at what I'd done, but I was already throwing a punch towards his face. Wasn't quite what he had in mind, but it worked. And I didn't actually hit him, but my no nonsense method was better than his.

[Cyric]

I took Tae Kwan Do during my teenage years and in my adult life I migrated towards mixed martial arts. I prefer mma for the simple fact that, to me, I see more practical application for many of the moves taught over what I learned in Tae Kwan Do. It's generally a little more expensive, but in my experience it's worth it.

Definitely continue your research and consider why you want to learn (discipline, self defense, exercise).

[Odin1199]

I'm seriously considering taking up a martial art. Im leaning more towards taekwondo because I'm flexible and can already kick above my own head hieght (im 5'11 btw) but I really dont know many other types of martial arts that are out there. Do any of you practice? Do you know of many styles that might be commonly taught?

Wouldn't advise taekwondo. Kicks become predictable, not fast and can be countered, mostly by getting on the insde of the opponent before he/she get the chance to swing the kick or waiting for a good opening. And if you want to really rely on kicking, you have to become really good at it. Mixed martial arts is where it's at. I'd do jiu jitsu. It teaches all kinds of things, including disarming, which is very useful in certain situation and wrestling on the ground is very important as well. A friend of mine also showed me this Philipino martial arts they do with knives, sticks, hand to hand, it's crazy stuff. Knowing how to fight and disarm at that level is really cool. That's what they teach all the CIA, MI6 and Mossad forces, because it's brutal and very effective. I'd do that actually.

[Pete]

Hey necropost!

I took Goshin Jujitsu for several years back in the day, and was a green belt with a stripe (only had brown to go before black). I would highly recommend it because it's mostly a self defense art where you use the attackers force and momentum against them, to get them on the ground and then make them wish they never screwed with you to begin with. It's also very practical and intuitive, and is very easy to remember with some instruction.

Still kicking myself for not getting my black belt...