Poll: Martial Arts - Yay or Nay?

[Okysho]

Tried karate, didn't like it. I prefer fighting my own way anyway, so bleh

Karate is very systematic and relies heavily on forms. It's not very good for everyday fighting since once that form is disrupted, unless you know how to immediately adapt to that situation, you've screwed yourself over. Only masters are really effective in that style.

A good base for self defenses involves knowing how to quickly block a strike and knowing what your options are from that position. Martial arts relies heavily on body mechanics, no matter what style, and should be one of the first things taught, followed by showing how to effectively use them.

You can't generalise all karate just on Kata. It maybe a large part of traditionalist systems but not all systems are the same, Kata is more about the contribution of the whole in ones technique; the mind, body and spirit acting together as one in complete harmony as a form of meditation more than self defence. Many freestyle systems (such as mine) practice real life situations such as being punched, grabbed etc so the body becomes used to countering street fighting but the importance of Kata isn't forgotten.

Mine does too (although I've since left the school, I practice a bit still) we even had flowing forms to familiarize yourself with the various situations, but a) very little and b) we were then trained on the individual positions for which the forms represent. I guess it is a poor judgment, but that was my experience with Karate. I joined a Karate group at my University. I didn't dedicate to it not only for the previous reason, but it felt like it'd break the style I'd already learned... maybe it was the Karate style, but it was quite rigid and stiff

 

[FalloutJack]

It would be more proper to say that I understand Jeet Kune Do. As more than just a martial art but rather also a kind of philosophy, it would be safe to say that I know it and yet I know nothing, that my life is open to many possibilities and adaptations...while seriously being able to fling a 300 pound man into a wall. (No shit, I actually did this.)

 

[Draco Kaiser]

Brazillian Jiu-Jitsu, Muay Thai and Judo.

 

[A.A.K]

mm...different forms of kung fu for as long as i can remember (and am still practicing) - currently a northern dragon style and a southern dragon...but in my travels I've dont some ninjutsu, 2 forms of karate, muay thai and wing chun....and I have a bokken but havent found a good enough teacher.

People have tried mugging me 14 times. 5 people have broken into my home (with me still in it) and I've come out of 3 gang fights relatively fine...So I'm all for martial arts - It is NOT to be fucked with.

I envy your dedication friend. I've been meaning to take up my training again, my reflexes have dulled and my groundfighting is hazy... Doing a few kicks and basic defenses to the air does not suffice...

-sad face-

Well the road of martial arts is a long and very painful one, even when done "correctly", but so long as you're doing something, even if it's the glancing thought, you'll never lose it.

and as to the whole doing a few kicks and basic defense in the air - Even if that means you do 30min every week, so long as you put who you are, or you put your whole self into it, It'll be just as rewarding as some of the people who do 3-4 hours a day.
Reason being, most people dont practice outside the dojo/do-jong/kwoon etc, and a majority of those that do are just going through the motions, and that doesnt do shit.

 

[Swny Nerdgasm]

took some classes, totally hated it, never went back

 

[Zykon TheLich]

I got up to red belt in TaeKwonDo before all the spin kicks took their toll on my knees. (I'm old.) Now I fence. The two are surprisingly similar.

Pretty much exactly the same here.

..and another for "well duh!" on the Penn and Teller thing. Unless you are very good at a martial art that is designed specifically for self defence you are more likely to get yourself into trouble and even then it's more sensible to hand over your wallet. That said the original blanket statement of:

Pretty much proved what a bad thing they are.

Is bullshit. Although I believe the poster hasclarified their statement to a slightly more reasonable one.

 

[Okysho]

mm...different forms of kung fu for as long as i can remember (and am still practicing) - currently a northern dragon style and a southern dragon...but in my travels I've dont some ninjutsu, 2 forms of karate, muay thai and wing chun....and I have a bokken but havent found a good enough teacher.

People have tried mugging me 14 times. 5 people have broken into my home (with me still in it) and I've come out of 3 gang fights relatively fine...So I'm all for martial arts - It is NOT to be fucked with.

I envy your dedication friend. I've been meaning to take up my training again, my reflexes have dulled and my groundfighting is hazy... Doing a few kicks and basic defenses to the air does not suffice...

-sad face-

Well the road of martial arts is a long and very painful one, even when done "correctly", but so long as you're doing something, even if it's the glancing thought, you'll never lose it.

and as to the whole doing a few kicks and basic defense in the air - Even if that means you do 30min every week, so long as you put who you are, or you put your whole self into it, It'll be just as rewarding as some of the people who do 3-4 hours a day.
Reason being, most people dont practice outside the dojo/do-jong/kwoon etc, and a majority of those that do are just going through the motions, and that doesnt do shit.

I suppose that's true in it's own way, but I still feel like in order to really pick up where I left off I at least need... I dunno a wing-chun dummy or something. Kicking bags are one thing, but if I want to blocks or self defense techniques (from a basic strike if nothing else) I feel like I need an... automatic sucker-punch machine to at least keep my reflexes in check.

That being said I don't think many of those exist... maybe I should invest in a mannequin. I can label my pressure points on it or something.

The reason I say this might be because of how I was trained, usually we'd pair up when doing our techniques and testing requirements, which rarely focused of flowing forms, but our Si-Gung also made us take shots (pressure point shots) from time to time depending on the technique to get a feel for the pain, kinda like how psychologists get psychoanalyzed before they get to practice. It also helped to build something of an immunity, even if little. Eventually I could take a shot to the top of the thigh (more like on the side of the hip, if you know which I'm talking about) and still manage to stand. In the end nothing beats real training I guess

side note: Kwoon. Wow I haven't heard that term since... well since I was in one. It's been so long...

 

[Bernzz]

Used to. Did Tae Kwon Do for a while back in primary school, but I quit.

 

[Kingsnake661]

martial arts, for the most part, won't do crap for you in a real fight, or when your being mugged. (martial arts as in, the stuff they seem to teach kids in mimi malls.) I took Tai Kon Do as a kid, and well, outside of making a few friends, the only thing i learn was how to take a punch.. (being a tall kid resulted in my sparing with the older kids in class, all of witch pretty much kicked me around.)

I won't consider it a total waste of my time, but, it's not going to come into play if i were to get attacked now a days. The best choice is to avoid the situation, or run like hell.

But if it boiled down to a nessissity, as in, fight or die, there is no running, I'd at least want SOME kind of idea or training in hand to hand combat. And if I had it to do all over again, as in, learning something as i kid, i'd prolly go with streight up Boxing. I think knowing how to throw a good punch and how TAKE a punch would be more effect for me and my build then fancy kicking. *shrug*

Heres hoping we never have to find out eh? LOL

 

[AngloDoom]

Pretty much proved what a bad thing they are.

Is bullshit. Although I believe the poster hasclarified their statement to a slightly more reasonable one.

More people are injured practicing their martial art than are harmed in robberies. So, yes, martial arts are silly, and if we are going by harm done, they are bad.

But if you want to do them, by all means. Free world. Have fun.

How many people are punched by a drunk guy in martial arts, are stabbed because they have a mohawk in martial arts, or raped in a martial-art?

I don't understand why people are under the impression that you only ever get into a fight if someone wants your money. I've lived in quite a few areas and I've never once been mugged, but plenty of times I've been attacked. Most of the time its due to how I look, groups of mates showing off to each other, or showing off to a woman they or I happen to be with.

These people want to hurt you for nothing else but hurting you. Maybe it's these Penn and Teller guys (sorry, I'm not familiar with their show) focus is more around muggings, but simply allowing the person their way isn't going to work when their one goal is to harm you.

I like martial arts for a lot of reasons, exercise, confidence, generally just fun and meet a lot of interesting characters. However, the main reason I practise martial arts simply because I don't want the guilt of knowing that the alternative is someone I know possibly getting hurt.

Martial arts cannot be rounded up into a single category. Not even styles can. A well-trained martial-artist with lots of full-contact sparring against resisting, aggressive opponents using a multiple of styles will be better in a fight than someone who walks into a fight for the first time. There's not even an argument there.

 

[AquaAscension]

I do not.

I saw a Penn and Teller: Bullshit! episode on martial arts a while back. Pretty much proved what a bad thing they are. Interesting stuff.

P&T are awesome. They can prove just about anything, those guys.

However, when I was still doing Zen Do Kai, I had never had more fun in my life, plus the confidence boost and the fitness aspects were both incredible. I can't wait to get back into it.

Me too. P&T are amazingly intelligent and hilarious.

Basically, they proved martial arts to be a terribly ineffective self-defense tool. Not that there is anything wrong with fun. If it makes you happy and isn't hurting anyone, go ahead, right?

I watched the Penn and Teller show. It made me cringe. Not because P&T are bad, but the people that they had on the show were awful. Probably terrible human beings. The tai chi woman could barely move, and was hardly doing any technique even moderately right. The New Jersey guy was pretty much just a dick, and the guy with the karate dojo was using a crap ton of smoke and mirrors to sell a product. His students' technique was just plain atrocious. So, they made a good point in destroying the credibility of those types of martial arts places. Very effective actually. Because it's a business. But anyhow, I think they neglected to take a view point from the other side. Some martial arts places actually do teach the students good self defense. My first dojo told me to run before I fought, but taught me how to fight in case running wasn't an immediate option. Martial arts, imo, aren't bullshit. People who teach them as shown on this episode are bullshit though. Your post happened to be the one I was looking at when I went searching for the show, so not arguing with you.

I love martial arts. You might get hurt in training, but it gives your body something to do, and the exercise and stress relief are very worth it. A black belt is just a piece of cloth, it means nothing unless the person wearing it has respect and integrity. If you're interested in learning martial arts, don't necessarily be disuaded by the penn and teller story, but do be wary of any school that claims you can "earn" a black belt in a year. Black belt is supposed to mean that you've mastered your basics (stances, punches, techniques in the system). It takes at least 10,000 hours to master anything. That's 10 years at 20 hours/week. Even if you trained every moment of every day and never slept, you wouldn't accumulate enough hours in one year to master anything.

 

[farscythe]

did muay thai for a couple years.. then moved to the uk n havent found a place locally to take it up again yet

did it because i enjoyed it never needed it for anything outside the gym n i'm hoping to keep it that way

 

[Zykon TheLich]

More people are injured practicing their martial art than are harmed in robberies. So, yes, martial arts are silly, and if we are going by harm done, they are bad.

But if you want to do them, by all means. Free world. Have fun.

Or any other form of sport. That does not make them silly or bad. Is American football or Rugby bad or silly because a lot of the players get injured? Really, if that's the way you look at them then I think you are in a very small minority. Any form of physical exercise has risks attached but it also has benefits. Anglo Doom made some relevant points on this, aside from fitness etc martial arts have the additional benefit of making you less likely to take a kicking in a fight. Your best option is always to escape but that isn't always possible.