Martial Arts

I'm a martial artist and do many forms of it. Do you do martial arts? If so, Whitch do you do? NOTE: despite the exteme unlikelyness of a 13 year old doing all these, I started alot of these about 2 years ago, only a few ive been doing for a while. A TON of these I have to do over the summer or durning a school break through means of webcam chat because of the lack of dojo's in america. It's also a male family tradition to know atleast 100 forms of martial arts by 13 but a certain rank is not required. It's also a male family tradition to be a body gaurd, somebody in law enforcement, or a job that uses martial arts. My dad's the only person who has broke this tradition by going into the oil buisness. I'm used to people doubting me about this so if you don't belive me, I don't really care.
I do( Took the list out due to lenght. If you would like the list of martial arts I do, Please PM me and I will give you the list but you may not PM me back with comments about the list, positive or negitive.

I have been doing fencing for a few years. I also know some of the very basics of tae kwon do and judo and a coctail of moves taught by friends (I know many people who are into martial arts!).

I'd really like to know more about martial arts. I think that FCS would be very interesting, and another thing I'd really love would be fighting with a fan.

I am a first dan (First degree blackbelt) in Tae Kwon Do. I've been doing it for about 4 years now. :)

I like to look at other martial arts, though Tae Kwon Do has remained my favorite so far. My favorite weapon is the Nunchuks (nunchaku). :)

My favorite form.. I just recently learned Keumgang, and that's my favorite next to Tae Geuk 8 and Koryo. Ever since I was a white belt me and my friend wanted to learn Tae Geuk 8 because it looked so cool. :3


It's also a male family tradition to know atleast 100 forms of martial arts by 13 but a certain rank is not required.

I'm just curious, what's the point in learning all those styles if you have not LEARNED all of those styles (you know, by moving up ranks and sticking with it for a long time..)? or am I misunderstanding? I'm not meaning to be rude. :)

I'm a black in karate, albeit we branched from "traditional" and got into a tournament circuit. I qualified for the WMAG in germany this summer but didnt get to go cause of visa issues...

my number 1 problem with the martial arts are people who think they know how to defend themselves just because of a strip of cloth on their waists... I know plenty and i mean PLENTY of people who would get totally destroyed if the situation ever arose for them to try and defend themselves yet they act all high and mighty because they have red/brown/black belts...

its ridiculous.. i will be honest im not close to the best in anything, but if anyone did try to mug me, they would get crushed... cocky people annoy me to no end... sorry i've been ranting.. last thing...

people who think twirling a featherweight hollow wooden staff at lightning speed is actually self defense... oh god... no disrepect to those who do it, because that requires and insane amount of skill... however those who think it will help protect them in a fight... :no:

my number 1 problem with the martial arts are people who think they know how to defend themselves just because of a strip of cloth on their waists... I know plenty and i mean PLENTY of people who would get totally destroyed if the situation ever arose for them to try and defend themselves yet they act all high and mighty because they have red/brown/black belts...

people who think twirling a featherweight hollow wooden staff at lightning speed is actually self defense... oh god... no disrepect to those who do it, because that requires and insane amount of skill... however those who think it will help protect them in a fight... :no:

I totally understand and agree. There is Bo staff, and then there is TOURNAMENT or DEMO Bo staff. Bo staff itself is self defense. Twirling featherwieght hollow wooden or aluminum staffs are for Tournaments and demos. That's cool, I like both. The only practical one is the first, of course.

I also agree about those who think they are all that. I admit that I would probably be able to defend myself, but I am still working on honing my skills. I need to up my self confidence, and that's one of the things you really need to be able to defend yourself. I admit I need to work on it. As my instructor put it, even though we are blackbelts now, does not mean it is the end of the journey. Far from it. Now we are like white belts again, being taught all over but on a different level. Our education is far from complete.

Hello Martial Arts people! So...Me and a bunch of girlfriends are going to do like this self-defense basic skills thing. Any recommendations on what kind of class we should take? Or if we should take one? Does this question even fit in this thread? It was the closest I could find. ;)

Basically my self-defense skills are zero. I hold my keys like a knife when I walk to my car from work, because I work in a bad neighborhood all alone at night...but that's really all I know. And I don't think the key thing would be much use if something did happen, but I vaguely remember being taught to do that in a very very old self defense video. :blush:

Hello Martial Arts people! So...Me and a bunch of girlfriends are going to do like this self-defense basic skills thing. Any recommendations on what kind of class we should take? Or if we should take one? Does this question even fit in this thread? It was the closest I could find. ;)

Basically my self-defense skills are zero. I hold my keys like a knife when I walk to my car from work, because I work in a bad neighborhood all alone at night...but that's really all I know. And I don't think the key thing would be much use if something did happen, but I vaguely remember being taught to do that in a very very old self defense video. :blush:

I'd look for a local Martial Arts school near you. Talk to the instructor inside, and talk with them about what you're looking for. Just say you are not there to get into Martial Arts per se, just that you and your girlfriends have been looking for some basic self-defense lessons. More than likely he could work something out for you, or at least refer you to somebody else that could help.

And a quick tip: If anyone grabbed you from behind and you couldn't move, try either stomping down as hard as you can on the top of their foot, or kicking backwards into the groin. :eyebrows:

Im a 3rd dan blackbelt in karate and have been doing it nearly for nearly 8 years. I love it so much and would never dream of giving it up. For a while now ive moved on from learning and teach more than i learn but this is still good for experience. Theres me and about 3 others who help run the club.

my number 1 problem with the martial arts are people who think they know how to defend themselves just because of a strip of cloth on their waists... I know plenty and i mean PLENTY of people who would get totally destroyed if the situation ever arose for them to try and defend themselves yet they act all high and mighty because they have red/brown/black belts...

its ridiculous.. i will be honest im not close to the best in anything, but if anyone did try to mug me, they would get crushed... cocky people annoy me to no end... sorry i've been ranting.. last thing

I agree with you godrics hollow im a black belt n could proberbly defend my self against most people but if a 6 foot macho man came up to me and attacked me for some reason, would i stand a chance? No, of course not im a small young woman n he would be strong man, it doesnt take a genius to work out the difference in strength no matter how good at karate i am.

Im a 3rd dan blackbelt in karate and have been doing it nearly for nearly 8 years. I love it so much and would never dream of giving it up. For a while now ive moved on from learning and teach more than i learn but this is still good for experience. Theres me and about 3 others who help run the club.



I agree with you godrics hollow im a black belt n could proberbly defend my self against most people but if a 6 foot macho man came up to me and attacked me for some reason, would i stand a chance? No, of course not im a small young woman n he would be strong man, it doesnt take a genius to work out the difference in strength no matter how good at karate i am.

Well, it depends on the situation. There are pressure points and things you could use if he pinned you down right, or whatever. There is always a CHANCE, but everything depends on the situation.

Well, it depends on the situation. There are pressure points and things you could use if he pinned you down right, or whatever. There is always a CHANCE, but everything depends on the situation.

I do get what you mean because depending on the situation anything could happen, there is adrenline to consider and a whole lot of other factors. What im trying to say is just because a person is whatever belt in a martial art doesnt mean they should take for granted the fact they are great fighters, because that isnt all that martial arts is about and size and other factors can make a difference.

I do get what you mean because depending on the situation anything could happen, there is adrenline to consider and a whole lot of other factors. What im trying to say is just because a person is whatever belt in a martial art doesnt mean they should take for granted the fact they are great fighters, because that isnt all that martial arts is about and size and other factors can make a difference.I agree. If you have too much faith to yourself it makes you do mistakes. And this can happen in everything, not just in martial arts.
It's true that in a fight every single detail can count. Experience, strength, agility and speed, but also a place where you can stand to get advantage, tricks that startle the opponent and make him/her do mistakes-some psychology can sometimes save the day. Even the classic pointy pen in the pocket or an umbrella can be great weapons if you are cornered in a dark road (btw, has anyone ever tried umbrella fencing? It's a great laugh!:D) If you can see you are better in something than the tall muscular man that wants to harm you, I believe you should use it to your advance at once. I never had such a serius situation that I had to beat the **** out of someone before he let me go, but this way of thought has always worked for me till now.
For example, once 5-6 furious boys had surrounded me in the middle of a dark road and I got away without a scratch because of some foolish psychology trick (I think I was only 12 but it was still a sweet victory, saving my skin and most of my pride!)
But one of the best self-defences is never being alone, and do not act as a weak and fearful person. If you walk like you're afraid of your shadow it is like telling "I'm a victim". Bad idea! I try never doing it, but I carry a knife or umbrella in case it doesn't work :p I prefer the second, the knife scares some drunk hobos but the real hard guys might be 100% to take it and use it against you. But if you're quick enough you can use umbrellas-the ones with the sharp edge-to keep the distance. And give pain in a safer way than you probably would with the knife. That's what I think at least, cause I'm more comfortable with fencing than with carate. The more experienced people like you may have a diffrent opinion, though.

I agree. OVER confidence is definitely a bad idea. You get too full of yourself, and you think NOTHING can beat you. It's the whole Tortoise and the Hare thing. Also you get to over confident and you forget a lot of your training.

Well, there are not much martial artists over here, are there? ;). I've been doing Pencak Silat for about two years now. I don't have a 'rank' yet, but in March I'll probably participate in the gradings. I don't know whether anyone knows what Pencak Silat is, but it's an indonesian martial art.

I don't think that the main point about self defense is how much skill you've got. I mean - everyone can deflect an attack & hit their attacker after a couple of training sessions. What skill is needed to step aside, possibly strike and run away? However, the core of the whole self defense thing is: are you willing to actually DO something?
A couple of months ago, I was threatened with a knife and even though I had my keys at the ready (in my pocket) and even though I've been trained in what to do, I still didn't do anything because I just couldn't. It wasn't from fear, it was because I knew what the implications of my actions would be (the person wielding the knife wasn't that skilled) - the whole thought of possibly maiming my opponent was just... And eventually, the situation resolved itself and, looking back, I'm glad I didn't do anything.
I mean, over confidence isn't what you need, but 'under confidence' isn't good either... If you want to use martial arts for self defense, you need to be confident in what you're doing. If you're not ready to kill someone, your skills will be quite useless because all techniques can go wrong and kill someone. I don't know how most of the people train their art, but my teacher teaches quite some techniques which could, when (accidentally) overdone, lead to permanent damage, like a strike to the eyes. Well, when you're nicely training in the gym/dojo, you'll not be thinking about 'if I were to do this for real, I'd poke someone's eye out' because you're either missing your partner on purpose or he's shielding his face with his hands or a pad. However, when it's for real, when you are about to use that technique, realization will kick in - I COULD blind someone with this technique - and, well, are you ready for that?
(I'm my example I'm using a 'pecut' - a whip-like strike to the eyes which is used in all the jurus (kihon) and seems to be very 'easy', it can be done very quickly and usually, you'll just do it without thinking. However, such a 'simple' and seemingly harmless technique CAN have disasterious results if you're not careful).

That kind of thought, deciding for yourself how far you want to go, is to my opinion more important than knowing the skills, because the skills in itself are quite simple. It's the 'mental' part that's hard.

I'm a martial artist and do many forms of it. Do you do martial arts? If so, Whitch do you do? NOTE: despite the exteme unlikelyness of a 13 year old doing all these, I started alot of these about 2 years ago, only a few ive been doing for a while. A TON of these I have to do over the summer or durning a school break through means of webcam chat because of the lack of dojo's in america. It's also a male family tradition to know atleast 100 forms of martial arts by 13 but a certain rank is not required. It's also a male family tradition to be a body gaurd, somebody in law enforcement, or a job that uses martial arts. My dad's the only person who has broke this tradition by going into the oil buisness. I'm used to people doubting me about this so if you don't belive me, I don't really care.
I do( Took the list out due to lenght. If you would like the list of martial arts I do, Please PM me and I will give you the list but you may not PM me back with comments about the list, positive or negitive.

I believe you its easily possible(im 17):

3rd Degree Black Belt TKD
2nd Degree Black Belt HKD
2nd Degree Black Belt Karate
2nd Degree Black Belt Judo
Brown Belt Brazilian Jujutsu
1st Kyu Shorinji Kan Jiu Jitsu
Goshin Jujitsu
Kokondo
Kickboxing
Boxing

I'm going to indonesia to learn Pencak Silat this summer been doing them since the age of 6

What type of weapons (if any) do you guys use? Right now I am training in Nunchaku, but I also do Bo Staff, Sword (Haidong Gumdo, I think it was called? Been a few years since I practiced that one), and Escrima. I've been wanting to learn Sai, but haven't yet.

Like I said, I am mainly training in Nunchuks right now. I'm just starting on double nunchaku. :)

I believe you its easily possible(im 17):
I'm going to indonesia to learn Pencak Silat this summer been doing them since the age of 6
Nice! Where will you go and with whom will you be training?


What type of weapons (if any) do you guys use?
In our style is the cabang (it's a lot like a sai) and the staff (I think it's got the same length as a bo staff). I've only learned how to use a cabang, as we don't really emphasize the weapon part. My teacher thinks that it's important to master the unarmed part first. In Pencak Silat Setia Hati, the jurus (kihon/kata) each represent a certain principle ('how to block a certain kick' etc) and you'll have to master those first. If you've mastered the jurus, you'll also master the weapon quite easily, because you already know what to do with it. (by the way, it's not just 'knowing the movements of a jurus' but rather, 'knowing how to correctly incorporate the jurus in any other sequence / jurus / situation'. So you need to know how to use each seperate movement.)

I've also started training Iaido (japanese 'kata based' sword art) and well, in that art, we use the sword ;). The only problem is that bokken and iaito are really, really expensive so I don't own one yet...

I started Jodo around the same time (it's in the same dojo, and since the dojo is a 1,5 hr distance by train, it can't hurt to take advantage of the few times that I'm able to get there) adn in that art, the jo (staff of 128 m.) is used. That art is also quite kata based.

I've been wanting to learn Sai, but haven't yet.
I don't know how long you've studied your particular art, but if you know a bit of the basis principles, it won't be too difficult... The only thing that's really 'hard' to get in the beginning, is how to 'flip' the sai. If you know how to do that, you could try to do a pattern (kata? poomsae?) with the sai in your hand - a couple of tries and you'll understand how it's to be used. Of course, there are lots of sai-specific techniques, but you don't need to learn them before knowing how to incorporating them in the unarmed part of your art.

Nice! Where will you go and with whom will you be training?

well i started martial arts at the age of 6 but pencak silat only about 2 years ago.

not sure yet 100% on indonesia its a toss up between boston or indonesia at the PGB White Crane school it has branches, im leaning towards boston.

hey guys!!
its a lil late but i used to do karate (imma loser so i hated my intructor and nvr came bakk agter like two weeks :()

i also did kickboxing

i was in asia once and did some sword lessons
and i wish i could do the whole numchuk thing :D

i dont really do martial arts anymore tho
i just stik with sports and working out :D (im not a crazy buff girl tho)

I have been learning Tae kwon do for about two and a half years and I love it. We learn self defence as well so if I am grabbed I know what to do. I like that fact that I can get away and or defend myself from someone if I am attacked. It's also fun to do and as a club we have a laugh.

Hiya :wave:

It sounds like most of the people on this board do external martial arts - anyone do any of the internal martial arts? :)

Well, you could describe Pencak Silat as an 'internal art' if you look at its principles... However, that only applies when you see external arts as arts in which you utilize your (muscle) strength and internal arts as arts in which you use the attacker's strength (momentum).

For instance, we don't block an attack, but we move aside. That's because we don't want to try whether we're stronger than the attacker, it just has to miss. Also, we like to use the attacker's momentum (just like aikido, for instance) to get him to the ground.
Actually, Pencak Silat looks a lot like tai chi quan (the martial variation, that is) and I believe that it sometimes uses the same principles as we do.

However, we don't use qi, if that's what you mean with 'internal art'. It isn't necessary to use/have qi to make internal principles work...

You guys that do martial arts are lucky. I've ALWAYS wanted to learn, but couldn't (mainly because I lived in a rural area most of my life, and the closest martial arts studio was in a gang infested city). I might learn at least one or two forms later on in my life. Can anyone give me some recommendations as far as Martial arts goes?

Taekwondo is good ^^. But thats becuse I do it lol. But they are all good. Depends what you want out of it. Weather its being able to throw peopul or self-defence... Each helps in diffrent areas. But some have simmiler qualitys.

Taekwando? I was just reading about that today. :D It sounds pretty fun, so does Karate. They are pretty similar I heard...right?

Well, anyway, Thanks. :)

But they are all good. Depends what you want out of it.

:tu: I have to second that and add it also depends on the teacher too. The right teacher for you will make all the difference, they turn something ok into something brillant & something brilliant into Ummm even more brilliant :whistle:

I would really say have a look around and try out some different stuff, most good teachers in my experiance will be fine with that, and some actually let you have a free taster class. Expect to be a bit clueless on your first class, look at stuff other that how good at martial arts the teacher is (class atmosphere, how well they communicate etc) becasue lets face it on a first class none of us can really judge how tallented the teacher is!

That said don't let not enjoying a class put you of that particular martial art - it might be that the class or teacher were just not right for you. :)

Yeh Taekwondo and Karate are simmiler. But TKD is faster.

And yeh. If you have a bad teacher then you can get into bad habbits. But don't worry about too much unless you plan to take it to a competision kind of standard. And having other students that are good will help. My instructor's two daughters are in the natsinoal team so I am lucky. Just go for a couple of lessons and see how you feel.

You guys that do martial arts are lucky. I've ALWAYS wanted to learn, but couldn't (mainly because I lived in a rural area most of my life, and the closest martial arts studio was in a gang infested city). I might learn at least one or two forms later on in my life. Can anyone give me some recommendations as far as Martial arts goes?


Like some of the other posters I would recommend TKD having a 3rd Degree Blackbelt in it and it being my first martial art, i can easily say its a great art to start with. But like any martial art i will tell you it requires dedication, so if you feel you can dedicate the time to a martial art i recommend starting with TKD or HKD but if you want a more practical martial art day to day i would say Brazilian JuJistu is the best

Thanks for the info. :D

Hm... I think that almost every martial art is effective... It only depends on 1) yourself (what you can and can't do) and 2) the teacher. Even an art like Tai ji can be very effective for self-defense... if you've only got the right teacher.

So, I think you need to define your goal first... What do you want? Do you want a good work out? Then every martial art is right for you. Do you want realistic self-defence training? Find a school, regardless of martial art, that trains that way and stick with it... Do you want a weapons based art? Try Iaido, Jodo, a kenjutsu style or a western historical martial arts school, or Escrima, Kali etc. etc. etc.

There are just too many arts to recommend one...

Of course, I could recommend my own art, but everything depends on what you want to get out of the art...

Anyway, if you put value in training a legitimate art under a legitimate teacher, be very careful... Ask your teacher for his credentials - are they with an association? Look up the association on the internet etc. etc - or ask people at martial arts forums. There are too many frauds out there...
Especially if you're looking for arts like ninjutsu or kenjutsu - there are many legitimate school, but just as many teachers that just made something up...
However, this applies to other arts as well, anyone can call him/herself a Xdegree black belt, so it's important to make sure that such a person (whom you pay for proper instruction etc.) is what he says he is.

Good luck ;).

I've been learning Nihon Tai Jitsu for 3 years now (but I'm considering stopping it since I'm not really interested anymore in it).
It's not really known, it's a martial art based on self-defence techniques and adapted from Japan by a French guy.

I am a first dan in Judo. I have not practiced recently, but I hope to go back (less eriously than before) when my sons are old enough to learn themselves. (Could even be this year, my older one will turn 5). I enjoyed the sport aspect of Judo the most. Before becoming a mommy, I was a national-level competitor in the sport.

I have trained in Karate, Tae Kwon Do, & a traditional for of Jiu Jitsu in the past. Right now, I train in MMA, Muay Thai Kick Boxing, Brazilian Jui Jitsu, Boxing, Submission Grappling, & Wrestling.

TKD.... :tu: :clap:

I'm 1º Kup in Tae Kwon Do... and now i'm working really hard so that next year i'll be 1º Dan. This is the only martial art... and sport that i truly love!

I'm a second-stripe green belt in Tang Soo Do (although compared to you guys that's nothing XD). I haven't trained in a while though. I'd like to get back into martial arts.

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I'm an orange belt in Judo, but it has been years since I trained. My son is a green belt in the Isshin-ryu discipline of karate.

I'm a second-stripe green belt in Tang Soo Do (although compared to you guys that's nothing XD). I haven't trained in a while though. I'd like to get back into martial arts.

High-five to you, good sir/madam! I'm in Tang Soo Do, as well, have been for about six or seven years...I'm a second degree Black belt. It's all worth it in the end (Trust me, once you get to brown belt you start with the staff if you haven't already, and when you hit red you start learning complex forms like Pyung Ahn Oh Dan and Bassai. It's quite fun).
I'd like to try Judo, Kendo and Tai Chi in the future.

I do world tkd fed taekwondo and compete frequently. I'm going to England this weekend for a competition where the other three girls in my group have a ton more international experience than me lol but it should be fun. I'm a first dan black belt and will hopefully be testing for my 2nd dan next month. I love taekwondo and it has changed my life big time. I train around 3-4 times per week, 2 of these at different clubs which I've to travel to to get extra sparring practice and 2 are my own club. My highest poomsae is Sipjin and my favourite is probably taebeck, although I have to say I really prefer the kyrougi side of things. Wish me luck for my comp, heading over tomorrow and can't wait til after my weigh in to eat what I want again!!!

My journey through the martial arts has seen more than one style, but most of my training is in TKD...as it seems is the same for many here. Good to see others using their bodies in positive ways.