Martial Arts

wonko221

I play judo and aikido, and love what martial arts have done for my life. I encourage you to go out and visit a number of dojos.

the number one thing to be aware of is that there is poor quality control in martial arts schools. It can be quite tough to tell a good school from a bad one, particularly if you don't know what to look for.

For myself, i would look at:

1. Are the students safe? If you see a pattern of people regularly getting injured badly enough to have to miss practice, the teachers aren't running a safe program.
2. Is the school clean and well-equipped? It's pricey to furnish and run a school. But there is no excuse for poor conditions. If the equipment is torn, is it mended quickly? Do they sweep/mop the floors regularly? Are any locker rooms/restroom clean and stocked?
3. Is there a good vibe? Some formality can be expected, but in some programs they encourage cultish devotion to the teacher/style/lineage - in my experience, if the practitioners aren't smiling at least some of the time, i don't want to be there.
4. Finally - will they give you clear expectations? They should be able to provide you with a solid idea of how frequently you can take class, and average time to advance in grade. On top of that, they should be able to tell you their fee structure, including sign up, monthly (or per-class), annual, testing fees, organization fees, competition fees, etc. Some schools don't have all these fees... just don't let them surprise you!

When all is said and done, finding a good MA program can be a life changer. I have a level of trust and affection with the people that i throw, and get thrown by, that rivals my best friends from off the mat. You can't beat the feeling of fighting somebody ferociously, and then getting up and shaking their hand in gratitude for whuppin ya!

duguth

I just want to echo what @wonko221 said. It's everything I wanted to say, more eloquently than I would've done.

kcjchang

Depends on your goal, a good workout, fun, or learning the art. To add to @shadowfax_c11 pay attention who is actually leading the training. Many commercial store front substitute their black belt candidates to lead the class and water down the significance of the black belt to signify the start/beginning journey of learning the art.

wonko221

kcjchang wrote: »

Depends on your goal, a good workout, fun, or learning the art. To add to @shadowfax_c11 pay attention who is actually leading the training. Many commercial store front substitute their black belt candidates to lead the class and water down the significance of the black belt to signify the start/beginning journey of learning the art.

I'm curious about the "water down the significance of the black belt to signify the start/beginning journey of learning the art." statement.

I hold a 2nd degree black belt in judo, and 1st degree in aikido. I'm confident in myself, but at the same time know a lot of people that can kick my *kitten*. I'm definitely still on the start of the path to developing my understanding/mastery.

What does a black belt mean to you?

shadowfax_c11

I don't know what that water down statement is about. I started leading classes now and again when I was 5th kyu. Something like 5 years ago. I took my Shodan last June. One of my instructors told me that she had a regular class that she was teaching at 4th kyu purely because she was the only one available to lead the class.

Often a dojo cho will have their lower dans lead classes because really they do a better job of teaching basic technique and it frees the higher ranking sensei up to spend the time to continue the training of the black belts in the dojo. It also means they can continue their own growth by using higher ranking lower dan students as uke. Those students are going to be better able (in many if not all cases) to provide the feedback and withstand the intensity of a high ranking martial artist throwing them around the room.

My own dojo is quite small and the head instructors teach almost all of the classes. As a fairly new shodan and my teacher's senior student. I often find that I have the problem of not being able to really spend time furthering my own training because my teachers are bogged down with teaching basics to beginners and I of course am helping them with this.

If anything a higher ranking sensei teaching beginners is not going to be as able progress they way they should as a high ranking sensei who allows his junior dans to teach the kyu ranks while they focus more on their black belt students.

I do see shodan as just the beginning. The way I look at it everything before shodan is kinda like grade school through high school. You learn your ABC's and 123's (basic technique)

Mitsugi Saotome sensei expects at Shodan that we know good basic technique. At Nidan we develop smoothness and power. At Sandan we should be starting to make the art our own.

kuftae

ninerbuff wrote: »

Muay Thai rocks!!! As a kickboxing instructor, I can say that the workouts alone are tough. Plus all the striking thickens your bones to a much higher degree than lifting, cycling, or yoga.

A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

Don;t doubt this is true.

I got heavily into muai thai and bjj a while ago, stopped lifting and lost a ton of mass (some of it was fat though). Don't be stupid like me if you want to look jak'd n tan as well as being a badass.

kcjchang

wonko221 wrote: »

What does a black belt mean to you?

A significant achievement and mastery of the fundamentals of the craft.

Only familiar with JKA and to test for black it requires mastery of nine katas (movement, form, power, rhythm, and expansion and contraction of the body) and demonstrate correct power and speed, and, above all, exercise good control of three type of kumite (basic, ippon, & jiyu). I only took JKA Shotokan for three years and reached the first belt (yellow); I wasn't the fastest learner nor the slowest (mom didn't want a fighter and took it up doing college).

I have a number of good friends from various martial arts back ground who are third to fourth degree black belts. All old school and devote their entire youth (6ish to mid twenties; e.g. live, drink, eat, and sleep) to achieve it. One friend's father runs a dojo and is a sixth degree black belt. That school is very traditional. His son, a third degree black belt opened two dojos and followed the commercial route (test every month or so and tons of strips and color belts for each of ten levels). He does not bother with true teaching until his students test for black. His business plan is carbon copy of some of the biggest franchised dojos in SF Bay Area.

ohpiper

I absolutely love Krav Maga. It is very practically oriented. It incorporates a variety of disciplines and we work on scenarios including self defense in situations where the attacker may be approaching you with a variety of weapons. We work on single attacker and multiple attacker situations.

Soy_K

I've been doing Shaolin style kung fu and recently started modern Chinese wushu. Both aren't as "martial" as other martial arts, but are more performance based these days. My classes concentrate mostly on forms and jumping, but for a workout that combines agility, flexibility, and endurance these styles are great. In conjunction I have started basic acrobatics classes to help me learn to jump and flip more safely since I'm kinda old!

aikilady

Highly highly recommend martial arts!!
3rd degree brown belt in Aikijitsu here; been training for over 15 years. I have also done Krav Maga and taekwondo, and just recently started training Brazilian jujitsu six months ago.
Every art has its own set of benefits. Taekwondo was my least personal fav but I have actually enjoyed every art I've ever trained in.
Krav Maga is in my opinion the most realistic for self defense purposes. Brazilian jujitsu has been the most challenging mentally and physically to me so far.
I don't even know who I would be today without the Martial Arts. I believe it has kept me lean and healthy my entire adult life.

janettles

I have a 1st degree black belt in Kempo Karate. Changed my life. I learned a lot about who I am on the inside as well as on the outside.