Picking up a Martial Art.

OldSelf

Space Monkey
space monkey
Joined
Feb 15, 2016
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54
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LA
Hey all,

After reading some articles about living a life with a mission, and grit, and being a badass, and learning things to better oneself - I came up with a great idea for myself: I want to (not for the legacy, not for the attention [I had to tell myself this]) master a martial art: Bruce Lee-style mastering.

"When the mind and body become one, they move as a unit and conquer." This is a basic paraphrase from Arnold Schwarzenegger that I'm incredibly driven to know first hand.

Because I have no attention or money driven agenda I don't care how long it takes me to do it - I want to literally just master a fucking art so well that I am the art and the art is me.

I know a lot of y'all do martial arts :) What does one recommend as a great tool for real world fighting?

-ST
 

OldSelf

Space Monkey
space monkey
Joined
Feb 15, 2016
Messages
54
Location
LA
Thanks for your response, Drexel.

I've done some research on Krava Maga after your post and it did draw me in. I'm most likely ($$) going to tie in boxing as a specialization.

IMO, there isn't much more badass then a Toot-Toot! and someones out cold.
 

Drck

Cro-Magnon Man
Cro-Magnon Man
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Feb 14, 2013
Messages
1,488
Also, think what you want to accomplish by martial arts. It's all relative and there are hundreds of different schools, but there are very hard or aggressive styles of fighting overall such as Kyokushin karate, Thai Boxing, Shotokan Karate (or other Japanese karate), boxing, MMA, above mentioned Krav Maga,... You will simply have lots of bruises, perhaps even broken bones, but you will be tougher fighter as you learn to absorb and give lots of hits...

Then there are 'softer' styles (if I can call it that way), more technical or even elegant, for example Wing Chung (see Bruce Lee, Yip Man,...), jiu jitsu, aikido, ... I don't really mean "soft", perhaps the philosophy of these styles is little bit different...

Tae Kwon Do might be a good option if you are flexible and want to do lots of kicking, if nothing else it is beautiful just to watch all the kicking combinations...

Check out Russian Martial Art Kadochnikov System, IMO very good and elaborated for real combat fighting. If I had the opportunity I would definitely try it out...

Consider your height and weight, e.g. Wing Chung may not be the best option for you if you are 6'5", there is simply no reason... OR if you are very stiff and not so flexible with height 5'3", you will be wasting your time on Tae Kwon Do. It's just not going to work out for you, your quick feet will not reach anyone...

Try different styles if you have the chance, see what works better for you. If I were 15-17 again today, I would start with Wing Chung, add some Tae Kwon Do for elegant kicking, learn basic Jiu Jitsu or Aikido... I know that nobody could go wrong with some boxing, and like I mentioned above I was quite impressed by watching Kadochnikov System... Personally I don't like MMA or similar, too much blood for nothing...

I practiced Shotokan before, it is good and hard enough but IMO they waste too much time on technicalities (katas) and kumite wasn't close enought for real street fighting... not to say that if you are good in Shotokan you don't really need much street fighting skills. All you need is couple of seconds before your oponent (or you, LOL) end up unconscious on the ground... if that is what you really want.... but again, what's the reason for it today to beat somebody to blood and unconscious? Probably something wrong with your mind...

In the end, it is not really about doing some better or worse fighting style, it is more about personality of the fighter; you can be really good fighter in any system...

Don't forget weight lifting, it is a good supplement for weakness...
 

OldSelf

Space Monkey
space monkey
Joined
Feb 15, 2016
Messages
54
Location
LA
Great angle to think about.
I never really tied personality into it but now that you mention it, Jeet Kun Do, Krav Maga, Boxing, and Wrestling are definitely up my alley.

I think what you meant by softer is more graceful and less barbaric/intense.

Beating some to a pulp has always been way to sick to me, too I do, however, like with anything else, love having preparation and training in anything that will be of a huge advantage in certain situations. (Driving stick, fighting, knowing how to bartend, seduction ;), etc.)

Will definitely look into the Russian martial art, swamped with tests at the moment, but I'll add it to a sticky. Russians are usually pretty intense at anything they specialize in. Spetznaz - enough said.

Thanks Drck,

SilverT
 
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