Martial Arts

I've dabbled in stuff: A little kung fu, some krav maga, and once in a blue moon I'll roll with some friends on the weekend. Nothing with serious intensity though; I wouldn't say that I have anything resembling skill in anything that I've trained in.

10/03/2012 06:14 PMPosted by Velviana

I've dabbled in stuff: A little kung fu, some krav maga, and once in a blue moon I'll roll with some friends on the weekend. Nothing with serious intensity though; I wouldn't say that I have anything resembling skill in anything that I've trained in.

Dang. Krav Maga is serious business. That's some deadly stuff once you get proficient.

I think it's been mythologized a bit, and suffers from the McDojo effect, unfortunately. I wouldn't say that it's inherently more dangerous than anything else, though some would argue that it's much more practical than traditional forms. It believe that it was developed so that a high degree of comparative proficiency could be taught in a relatively short time, without the years of training that some arts demand.

It's mostly a system that borrows from other established arts - it's like Jeet Kune Do in that respect. Lots of muay thai style striking, with an emphasis on practicality, physical endurance, developing the correct mindset, and situational awareness. The training was really fun - we'd occasionally do workshops where we'd train on the beach in the surf, in almost completely dark rooms, in parking lots near cars, in simulated bar rooms and the like.

Let's not disparage other styles, please. There's a certain inherent competitiveness between different systems, but down that path lies a locked thread.

In other words, settle down, grasshoppers.

10/03/2012 07:13 PMPosted by Goku

I've dabbled in stuff: A little kung fu, some krav maga, and once in a blue moon I'll roll with some friends on the weekend. Nothing with serious intensity though; I wouldn't say that I have anything resembling skill in anything that I've trained in.

Kung fu isn't a style of martial arts. Kung fu is the term for studying ANYTHING that requires patience and time to complete. If you learn to be a carpenter, you used kung fu. If you learn to play the violin? Kung fu.

Learning karate? Kung fu. Learning Taekwondo? Kung fu. Learning to draw? Kung fu.

So yea. Anyone you learned "kung fu" from was riping you off.

It was described as Northern Shaolin and Praying Mantis. I just didn't feel the need to mention it.

10/03/2012 08:45 PMPosted by Bijit

The organization I train with considers grades a distant second to learning the skills you need to defend yourself (IKMF and KMG are both like this).

McDojo was probably the wrong word to use. What I should have said is that it's become a bit of a martial arts 'fad', and that there are competing federations all claiming to teach the real deal. Most of them do, but a couple of them... don't.

I trained at a KMG gym.

I've studied a little in the past. Not very much and I didn't get to go for long. Unfortunately, it was a time/money thing. But I have the utmost respect for it. For reference, a semester of Aikido in college and some time with Kung Fu and Tai Chi (a more deadly art form than it gets credit for).

My Grandma once told me Tai Chi was deadly.

So she challenged me.

Hips break easy.

:(

I hope your recovery is a speedy one. ;)

Been training in MMA off and on since before we changed the name from NHB to MMA. Competed a few times back when I was in college, and I still hope to maybe fight on one of the Texas "minor league" cards at some point. Unfortunately, I find it tough to train seriously enough when I'm working forty hours and odd shifts.

Martial arts are crazy fun, I recommend them to everyone! Video games too of course. :)