# Tetsudo



## Rabbitthekitten (Jan 20, 2017)

Does anyone have information not this art form? There are about four or five clubs in my city and I'll be honest I've never even heard of it. I initially thought of Roman soldiers and their tortoise formation with their shields which it obviously isn't. 

Apparently it's Tibetan? Is it a striking art? A grappling art? Something else? Just surprised that something that seems reasonably popular in my city has completely passed me by.


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## Tez3 (Jan 20, 2017)

It seems to be quite vague about what it is doesn't it? 'The Art' isn't really much of a description. Very odd!
Tetsudo - About


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## Midnight-shadow (Jan 20, 2017)

I've never heard of it, but from the little I've read it appears to be an amalgamation of many different Eastern and Tibetan arts. According to Sheffield Tetsudo - The noble martial art it says that the creator trained under many different Masters of different styles and found a "common underpinning" of them all, and so created the style to represent that.






I'd be interested to see if "Flying Crane" has any information about this, as he is the resident Tibetan White Crane practitioner here. From watching the various clips of it on youtube it seems like your generic Eastern Martial Art with nothing really to stand it out from arts like Karate.


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## Rabbitthekitten (Jan 20, 2017)

Tez3 said:


> It seems to be quite vague about what it is doesn't it? 'The Art' isn't really much of a description. Very odd!
> Tetsudo - About



Yeah, I did see that website. It is very vague. 



Midnight-shadow said:


> I've never heard of it, but from the little I've read it appears to be an amalgamation of many different Eastern and Tibetan arts. According to Sheffield Tetsudo - The noble martial art it says that the creator trained under many different Masters of different styles and found a "common underpinning" of them all, and so created the style to represent that.
> 
> 
> 
> ...



That sheds a bit of light. It seems like it was invented here rather than in Tibet.  Probably explains why there are so many schools locally. I counted 12 in Leicestershire. 

I don't know much, or even anything about Chinese martial arts. Does it look typical? Or not? 

I might go have a look at a class out of curiosity. It'll probably be free anyway. Not sure it's something It's want to pursue. I was just surprised at the number of clubs locally for an art which I'd never heard of.


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## Rabbitthekitten (Jan 20, 2017)

I just found this review on the web.

*"Tetsu or not tetsu...do*
_
Despite being full of aches and pains from my first session in months, I was determined to keep up the pace of attending new clubs as often as possible. Before last week I had never heard of Tetsudo, a tibetan martial art, but a quick visit to the website confirms that there are about forty clubs in the UK and at least 10 in Leicestershire and the surrounding area.

Tetsudo is an offshoot of Goyararu, itself a very modern combination of several arts that are tibetan, asian and western.

So is tetsudo just another MMA club?

Nope!

Training in a small primary school hall with just four other students I was welcomed by instructor Bill, who had not been expecting me (I did my usual email and text combo but both went unanswered...) he was very gracious in having to abandon his planned session (as his class are all green belts and above) to accommodate this new beginner.

Bill's teaching is outstanding. Every elements from the bow to the warm up was explained and had a purpose and meaning. His technique is pretty much flawless and his application and explanations are clear and effective. He quickly rumbled me as no beginner, but was not afraid to highlight my strengths and weaknesses politely and firmy as he did with the other students. I've always had a problem with rooting my feet on turning kicks and limiting my range, I hide it well and it's rarely picked up on, but Bill saw it instantly (offering me a bit of a ****-sandwich by complimenting my front kick first). Similarly a lazy knee during a roundhouse kick was gently chastised.

Bill allowed me to join in with the basics, asking me to step aside for the sparring and kata or "keds". I was a bit disappointed not to be allowed a go, but he sensibly explained that I was uninsured. As a teacher Bill is self-efacing, good-natured and jolly without losing etiquette and discipline, his students clearly have the utmost respect for him and he in turn for the art and the association to which he belongs. He talks too much, that's my one tiny negative, but only because I'm struggling to find one.

As an art Tetsudo is not massively different from karate, the stances are low and strong for the most part and the elements of kicking and punching are the same but it's the nuances of technique, the precision which is taught from the very beginning which makes this so intriguing. Perfection is key right from the start, so bad habits (even my 20 year old ones) aren't allowed to sneak past. So if you want a black belt in the next couple of years this is not the association for you. There are only five or six belts before Black but the standards and knowledge required at Blue/ Purple/ Brown are extremely high, and there are no "basic" patterns.

I genuinely want to go back to Tetsudo and I'm torn between doing so and continuing to get a wider picture of martial arts in the county. For me basically 5 stars. If you're looking for a club for all the right reasons join now. Join Wigston Tetsudo, I don't think you'll be disappointed."_

The writer is a karate black belt who reviews local martial arts schools. This is her blog, it's a bit dated now though for anyone interested. 

Leicester Martial Arts: The best and worst schools


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## Flying Crane (Jan 20, 2017)

Midnight-shadow said:


> I've never heard of it, but from the little I've read it appears to be an amalgamation of many different Eastern and Tibetan arts. According to Sheffield Tetsudo - The noble martial art it says that the creator trained under many different Masters of different styles and found a "common underpinning" of them all, and so created the style to represent that.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Well, the website is extremely vague and short on information.  I've never heard of It before, and if this video is representative of the method, it reminds me a whole lot of Japanese karate of some kind in a general sort of way.

It looks absolutely nothing like the Tibetan method that I have experience with.


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## Rabbitthekitten (Jan 20, 2017)

Flying Crane said:


> Well, the website is extremely vague and short on information.  I've never heard of It before, and if this video is representative of the method, it reminds me a whole lot of Japanese karate of some kind in a general sort of way.
> 
> It looks absolutely nothing like the Tibetan method that I have experience with.



So it's not Tibetan at all then? This doesn't surprise me.

Just repackaged karate?


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## Flying Crane (Jan 20, 2017)

Rabbitthekitten said:


> So it's not Tibetan at all then? This doesn't surprise me.
> 
> Just repackaged karate?


That is what it looks like to me, but from the website it appears that the founder may have had some influence of some kind from what might have been a spiritual guru of some kind who may have had a connection to Tibetan lamaism or something.  The information is extremely vague, so I am just surmising, based on that.  There is acknowledgment that he studied several martial arts, so just what the specifically Tibetan influence was, is anybodies guess.

Sometimes people find Tibetan spiritualism kind of exotic and sexy and "woo-woo" and stuff and it can get romanticized.  Makes them feel like they have secret information that might yield hidden powers or something. So they like to play that up a bit and give it more weight than it deserves.  So I'm thinking maybe he studied martial arts on some legitimate level, but also had some spiritual training that may have been brief and shallow or may have been deep, it's impossible to say for sure, but he made that spiritual aspect a central focus in "his" system, even tho it may not be really justified.

My ancestry is mostly German, some Polish, and a bit of Irish.  If I tell everyone that I'm Irish (with a German last name) does that make sense?  Sure, it's true, but there is a lot more to it than that and my Irish side is the least of my bloodline, even if I choose to feel a stronger connection to it than the German or Polish.  So this Tibetan thing could be kinda like that.

On the other hand, Tibet, as part of china, is a huge place with a long history, and there are likely many unknown martial methods practiced in rural areas of China, that have never been seen outside of those areas.  Is it possible that this guy trained in a little-known Tibetan method of combat?  Sure, it's possible.  But that video still looks a whole lot like karate to me, and nothing like any kind of Chinese method, Tibetan or otherwise.


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## Flying Crane (Jan 20, 2017)

Double post.


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## Tony Dismukes (Jan 20, 2017)

Yeah, looks more like generic Karate than any CMA or Tibetan system I've seen, but that's not my area of expertise.


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## Flying Crane (Jan 20, 2017)

Double post, things are acting weird...


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## Tony Dismukes (Jan 20, 2017)

Double post for me too. The site must be glitchy this morning.


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## Rabbitthekitten (Jan 22, 2017)

Flying Crane said:


> That is what it looks like to me, but from the website it appears that the founder may have had some influence of some kind from what might have been a spiritual guru of some kind who may have had a connection to Tibetan lamaism or something.  The information is extremely vague, so I am just surmising, based on that.  There is acknowledgment that he studied several martial arts, so just what the specifically Tibetan influence was, is anybodies guess.
> 
> Sometimes people find Tibetan spiritualism kind of exotic and sexy and "woo-woo" and stuff and it can get romanticized.  Makes them feel like they have secret information that might yield hidden powers or something. So they like to play that up a bit and give it more weight than it deserves.  So I'm thinking maybe he studied martial arts on some legitimate level, but also had some spiritual training that may have been brief and shallow or may have been deep, it's impossible to say for sure, but he made that spiritual aspect a central focus in "his" system, even tho it may not be really justified.
> 
> ...



That's interesting. Thanks a lot. 

I'm going to have a look in a few weeks and I'll let you know what I think.


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## hoshin1600 (Jan 22, 2017)

I agree to my eye every move and action in that form has japanese or okinawan DNA


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## Buka (Jan 22, 2017)

Looks like it's some kind of Karate to me, too.


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## clfsean (Jan 23, 2017)

Nothing overtly Tibetan and most likely covertly either.


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## Rabbitthekitten (Feb 25, 2017)

Well, I went to a class. It was interesting, they put a whole lot more emphasis into theory and philosophy than anything else I've ever done. As for the actual style it looked to me like karate. The quality of teaching was very good and the standard of the blackbelts was very good also. I enjoyed it and I'll be going back because it's something a bit different which I feel I could probably learn a lot from.


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## Flying Crane (Feb 25, 2017)

Rabbitthekitten said:


> Well, I went to a class. It was interesting, they put a whole lot more emphasis into theory and philosophy than anything else I've ever done. As for the actual style it looked to me like karate. The quality of teaching was very good and the standard of the blackbelts was very good also. I enjoyed it and I'll be going back because it's something a bit different which I feel I could probably learn a lot from.


Could you share some more info?  What was the theory and philosophy that they worked with and when you say it's Amrit different, in what ways?


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## Rabbitthekitten (Feb 26, 2017)

Flying Crane said:


> Could you share some more info?  What was the theory and philosophy that they worked with and when you say it's Amrit different, in what ways?



Hmm, well I only had 90 minutes training and I'm still pretty new to martial arts in general. But I'll try. 

Basically I was encouraged to think about things, hmm it's hard to explain. When I do taekwondo or karate, we're shown a technique, we practise it so we get better at it. In tetsudo I was encouraged to work through every tiny little bit of the movement slowly and think about what I was trying to achieve in doing so. I've never done Tai Chi but it kind of felt like what I always expected that to be like if that makes sense. Instead of the kicking or punching drills I've done before.

Also at the bow at the start and end of class, again we do this in other arts but to me it was always tradition I guess. In tetsudo I was told whilst doing it to think about what I hope to achieve in class (at the start) and what I did achieve (at the end). 

The other thing was the Katas which they call something else (I forget now). When I do taekwondo patterns it's about building muscle memory, improving technique etc... This was also true in tetsudo but I was told that each pattern also tells a story and represents something. The one I was shown for example was supposed to represent fire, again being new I'm not exactly sure how and I'm guessing the others represent other things. But the two black belts demonstrated the kata for me it had very fast, high impact movements, but also calmer, slow moments for reflection and breathing. 

I hope this makes sense. On the face of it, it did look like karate really. But there was more to it than that. Sort of deeper than I expected. I went in expecting it to be just like taekwondo or karate and it was, but it wasn't. It was different on some level. It could be very powerful at one moment and very calm the next. If this makes sense at all? 

I'm not all that great at explaining things to be honest but I was surprised at how different it was to what I expected.


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## Midnight-shadow (Feb 26, 2017)

Rabbitthekitten said:


> Hmm, well I only had 90 minutes training and I'm still pretty new to martial arts in general. But I'll try.
> 
> Basically I was encouraged to think about things, hmm it's hard to explain. When I do taekwondo or karate, we're shown a technique, we practise it so we get better at it. In tetsudo I was encouraged to work through every tiny little bit of the movement slowly and think about what I was trying to achieve in doing so. I've never done Tai Chi but it kind of felt like what I always expected that to be like if that makes sense. Instead of the kicking or punching drills I've done before.
> 
> ...



What you describe is very similar to Tai Chi in the more slow and methodical approach to learning the movements. That said, I think you'll find what you experienced in many different Martial Arts including traditional Karate and Taekwondo. The main difference between those styles and this is that you generally don't learn the greater meaning of the movements until you have practiced for many years. My instructor was talking about this in training yesterday, where a lot of his students work their way through the system just learning the basic movements and applications, then they reach a point where they realise the importance of the basics and go back to the beginning to refine them. In doing so they discover the greater meaning in the techniques as they analyse the smaller details. 

Expecting beginners to do this sounds like an insurmountable task but then again, who am I to say? If it works and you get something out of it, fair play.


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## Mujician (Mar 9, 2017)

This club (not far from leicester) - Long Eaton Tetsudo Club describes it as a Holistic Martial Art.


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## Midnight-shadow (Mar 9, 2017)

Mujician said:


> This club (not far from leicester) - Long Eaton Tetsudo Club describes it as a Holistic Martial Art.



That can be applied to most Chinese Martial Arts depending on your level of understanding of them.


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