# Hello everyone, introducing myself, don't be afraid to befriend me :D!



## GoldenShadow (Apr 21, 2008)

Hello everyone! I love fighting, hand to hand combat, and weapons (not guns of course!) as well. I am a little young, 16, but I did have enough time to get some Jiu-jitsu and Boxing in. I am currently looking for a legit Ninjutsu dojo around my area for some weapon skills and everything else it comes with. I'm pretty sure I won't have enough time in a lifetime to learn the majority of Martial Arts (who does? lol) so I've picked a few based on what I like, saw, and things that balance out.

What do you guys like? I'm curious to hear what others prefer any why. I will list what I like.

Ninjutsu - It seems like it would apply to real life a lot, and I love weapons so it interests me most and is very lethal.

Jiu-Jitsu/Judo - Grappling/Ground-Game, I like these arts for 1 on 1 fighting.

Arnis/Eskrima - I like this art, there are many items that can be picked up anywhere that are like sticks, and to be lethal with them when needed is handy.

Hapkido - It looks very well-rounded and effective. What do you guys think?

I hope my introduction interested some of you and will receive replies!


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## terryl965 (Apr 21, 2008)

Welcome and enjoy


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## morph4me (Apr 21, 2008)

Hello, and welcome to MT


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## Sukerkin (Apr 21, 2008)

A hail and hearty welcome to the Good Ship MartialTalk, *GoldenShadow*.

The question of which martial arts suit whom has been much debated over the years.  Have a trawl about with the Search function and I'm sure you'll find many words to illustrate just what a tangled question it is .


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## MJS (Apr 21, 2008)

GoldenShadow said:


> Hello everyone! I love fighting, hand to hand combat, and weapons (not guns of course!) as well. I am a little young, 16, but I did have enough time to get some Jiu-jitsu and Boxing in. I am currently looking for a legit Ninjutsu dojo around my area for some weapon skills and everything else it comes with. I'm pretty sure I won't have enough time in a lifetime to learn the majority of Martial Arts (who does? lol) so I've picked a few based on what I like, saw, and things that balance out.
> 
> What do you guys like? I'm curious to hear what others prefer any why. I will list what I like.
> 
> ...


 
First off, Welcome to Martial Talk! 

As for your question, if you're interested in Ninjutsu, you may want to check out this link.  You may find a school in your area.  You could also check out the Ninjutsu section that we have here on this forum.  There are a number of people who can point you in the right direction.

As for what I like.  Well, my base art is Kenpo.  I originally started out with SKK under the Villari organization.  I then moved to the Parker system and now currently Tracy.  I also cross train in Modern Arnis and BJJ.  The 3 arts blend very well together.  

There are a number of other arts out there that seem very interesting, but, I doubt time would allow me to train in much more than what I'm doing. 

Mike


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## arnisador (Apr 21, 2008)

Welcome!


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## exile (Apr 21, 2008)

Greetings, GS! Good to have you with us.

Every art seems to run the gamut from dirty-gritty street-useful to competitive spectacle. We're _always_ talking about this on MartialTalk. The two main variables you have to consider with any choice of art are (i) How are you training it? (ii) How good are you (going to be) at it? The first one is all about the way you're taught. Shotokan karate, for example, at one extreme is a point-scoring tournament contest; at the other extreme... well, just take a look at the way it's trained and used here, by the Japanese Special Forces. There's Olympic sparring TKD, and then there's the TKD taught to, and used by, the South Korean Tiger Commando units (and everthing in between). And on and on. The second is about how good the practitioner is... and to some extent, that may depend on whether you feel a kind of 'click' with the art. If it feels right, if you like the overall feel of doing the movements, and the moves, then you're probably in the right place. 

Visit as many schools as you can, check how the training goes, what the school's emphasis is, and ask any questions that occur to you about the art, the curriculum, the instructors, etc. And especially, whether you like the 'feel' of the place. There aren't any hard and fast rules, but usually your intuition won't lead you astray.


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## Drac (Apr 21, 2008)

Greetings and Welcome to MT....


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## KenJoe (Apr 21, 2008)

As far as choosing styles, I have to be partial to Kenpo since it has developed me alot since I started. But like said before, it depends on your goals. If you aspire to do tournaments then I suggest TKD, because alot of schools seem to be geared to the point system.

If you want real self defense, course Kenpo is one of my top favorites, it has a rep for being very Street Lethal and all the moves are natural body mechanics, so you can use it forever, where as some styles need you to tear down some muscles to do some moves.

I also like BJJ, Kenpo under Parker had some joint lock training but was later removed over the years. You get alot of that type of stuff in BJJ, but I would also take some interest in Greco-Roman Wrestling because it has moves and applications that are quic and easy to learn and could be applied to a style easily, and can be used to defend in a street fight were you do end up in a grappling situation.

But all in all I would look at the students at the schools in your area. If you watch the students and the ones at the higher levels all look the same when they do their thing, no matter how they look physically, then you know the training is good and turns out a good product, if they all look different and it doesn't get addressed then you might want to wonder why.

Also look at the size of classes, if it looks impossible to get any kind of personal instruction you might want to think about that as well.


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## tshadowchaser (Apr 21, 2008)

Welcome to the forum

remember the martial arts is not always about fighting and hurting someone else it also is about mental discipline and being able to diffuse situations or avoid them by recognizing what may be about to happen and finding ways to not get into a fight.
Each art has many ways to defeat a person , some deadly , some hurt , and some only doing enough so that you are no longer in danger.


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## 14 Kempo (Apr 21, 2008)

Hello and welcome to MartialTalk ... enjoy!


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## GoldenShadow (Apr 21, 2008)

Thank you everyone for taking the type to give me useful information! Also thank you MJS for the Ninjutsu link! I will remember all the information posted, I've learned a few new things just from what I've read. Much appreciated!


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## Ping898 (Apr 21, 2008)

Welcome to MT  :wavey:


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## Jack Meower (Apr 21, 2008)

Greetings!


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## IcemanSK (Apr 21, 2008)

Welcome to MT!


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## Steel Tiger (Apr 21, 2008)

Hello and welcome to MT.

Not a bad list of arts, I note the Chinese arts have been left out again:uhyeah:.

Seriously though, you need to go with what you feel most comfortable with.  You cannot choose the 'cool' art just because its cool if it doesn't suit you.  Can't learn if you're not comfortable and happy with the art.  And how you feel about an art will have a lot to do with how you feel about the teacher.  

So, find a good teacher and the rest will follow.


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## MBuzzy (Apr 21, 2008)

Welcome to MT! 

honestly, I think that you can find what you are looking for out of just about any martial art.  My personal opinion though, I would advise against only staying in one style for a few months and moving on.  As you said, you have a lifetime, so take your time and become well versed in the art before moving on.


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## SeanKerby (Apr 21, 2008)

Howdy dude! Every style has advantages and disadvantages. I like to find ways to beat my deficencies. That's why I train in the styles I do. To be well rounded and to see how good I can be. I'm not into competitive "sport" martial arts either, but your always competing against yourself.


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## stone_dragone (Apr 21, 2008)

Greetings and welcome to MT!


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## GoldenShadow (Apr 21, 2008)

Good advice everyone, I will take everything into consideration for sure! I also appreciate all the welcomes, this site is very friendly! 

My area around Northern Virginia is a bit limitted, but I guess making the longer trips is part of the dedication to the art. Hopefully gas prices won't kill me before I can advance far into arts . But I'm definitely focused on Ninjutsu for now, after doing some research on the arts. So I'll see some of you in the Ninjutsu forums soon, hopefully!


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## newGuy12 (Apr 21, 2008)

Welcome to the board, GoldenShadow.

Good luck in your search, and remember -- you are a young man, if you really want to, you can move to a different city if that's what it takes.  The world is yours, if you make sacrifices to go to the best school (the best one for YOU), you can.

Myself, I like TKD the best, it suits my personality, I like the motions.  I also like American Kenpo, but do not practice it right now. 

I am also now getting involved with lifting weights, which, at least for now, is very fun.


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## Kacey (Apr 21, 2008)

Welcome, and happy posting!  :wavey:

You've gotten plenty of good advice - please let us know how it goes!


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## SeanKerby (Apr 21, 2008)

Northern Va? How close to Manassas? I know a Muay Thai/BJJ/Boxing place there....www.vanguardgym.com. The owner is a friend.


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## Hawke (Apr 22, 2008)

Greetings GoldenShadow,

Welcome to Martial Talk.

Have fun on your martial journey.


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## GoldenShadow (Apr 22, 2008)

*newguy12 - Yeah I always lift weights and jog, its always great to be  prepared, and also makes a lot of things  easier!

SeanKerby - I'll definitely save that  link! I intend on making it big on MMA, so I'll be needing that for sure! I  appreciate it very much! It's very hard to decide what to do first, with having  to do other things while outside of the gym/dojo. I'll try and work it out  though, I love both MMA and weapons (Ninjutsu) so I'll dedicate whatever time I  have to both. Thank you for the help!

To others  in the thread - Thank you all for the welcomes, this place is very cool  *


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## OnlyAnEgg (Apr 22, 2008)

Welcome to Martial Talk!


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