# Greetings from Cobra



## CobraUSA (Jul 12, 2012)

Hello all, new character here at Martial Talk. I've been observing the discussions here at Martial Talk for sometime now and feel this place is the best choice for martial artists, both experienced and inexperienced.
First, i'll tell you a little about myself:
I come from a very small town, where I was born, in Texas. I was a Navy brat, so I moved around a lot throughout my life, until I became an adult. Now i'm nearly 25 years old, married with a lovely, beautiful wife in the U.S. Navy.
As for my martial arts experience, i've some training under my belt, but have not a very grand resume to speak of.
I've trained in BJJ, cross-trained some in Kali, Escrima, Okinawan Karate, Muay Thai, Sambo, Wrestling and Sanda, and have dipped around in Judo, Aikijujutsu, Aikido, and Krav Maga.
Most of my experience came from Shootfighting.
I'm not an extremely well-developed martial artist, however, I do have far more extensive experience in the use of firearms.
As a fighter (i've, unfortunately, had more than several physical altercations), I feel that my strong points are: sense of awareness, avoiding/escaping confrontations before they occur, a developed strong and solid base stance, speed and agility with movement, physical and mental strength, delivering and manipulating my own/opponent power in punches and kicks, physically adapting to positional circumstances/maneuvering, continual flow of attack, resistance to many different basic and intermediate grappling techniques, stance switches, and grappling. My preference is to stay on my feet and stay off the ground.
I also, as a lesser experienced martial artist, know many basic principles and facts about martial arts, including:
1.) No style is truly superior to the other - there are only superior individual levels and differences in theory, principles, one's physical ability to perform the specific technique effectively, and the specific training purpose.
2.) Martial arts training and experience does not suddenly make you a superhero, or supernatural in any way.
3.) Martial arts training typically includes a heightened natural sense of awareness, most often helps one achieve a higher physical fitness level, helps one develop better sound judgement(s), and (as always a given) provides technique.

Anyway, my goal here at Martial Talk is to make friends in the Martial Arts community. I've been looking into some Martial Arts styles local to my area (San Diego, California) and have really taken a liking to a few based on my own research, such as Kajukenbo (KArate, JUdo/jujutsu, KENpo, BOxing). Hopefully, I can make some good friends here and develop some relationships with teachers, mentors, and potential peers.
My ultimate goal as a martial artist is to develop myself into an effective, self-defensive martial artist; to better protect myself and my family.
While training in martial arts, I can tell you that i've already developed a love and passion for it. I want more.

Anyways, cheers to all of you guys! Hope to hear from you soon! :supcool:


----------



## Cirdan (Jul 12, 2012)

Hi, welcome to MT CobraUSA.:cheers:


----------



## seasoned (Jul 12, 2012)

Thank you for your service, and welcome to the MT community, enjoy............


----------



## grumpywolfman (Jul 12, 2012)

Pleased to meet a person of your caliber Cobra, I look forward to reading your posts. Thank you for service, and welcome to MT!


----------



## Bill Mattocks (Jul 12, 2012)

Welcome to MT!


----------



## oftheherd1 (Jul 12, 2012)

Welcome to Martial Talk.  Look forward to your input.


----------



## sfs982000 (Jul 12, 2012)

Welcome to the forums!


----------



## CobraUSA (Jul 12, 2012)

Everyone,
Thank you for the warm welcoming!

@grumpywolfman, very many thanks for the compliment, actually made me feel pretty good! However, I wouldn't consider myself a very seasoned martial artist! Maybe i'm just humble, but I've not even earned my black belt in a single martial arts system to this date. What i've done is involve myself in the martial arts community, and practiced many different techniques by cross-training during my experiences mostly through shootfighting and practicing MMA. I did, however, obtain my blue belt in BJJ. Meanwhile, while I feel this is good, I don't feel completely developed and I have some work to do in terms of my form (for example, with many joint-locks) and developing my muscle memory into the principles and theories that go along with the techniques of a single martial arts system.
In other words, I've done well with Shootfighting and Mixed Martial Arts; but I haven't solidified myself with a strong foundation of excelling in a single martial art system - so i'm still lacking in many areas. Also, my interest at the moment is in favor with Kajukenbo! My ultimate goal is strictly for self-defense, so i'm almost having to start completely over. All Shootfighting and MMA has done for me, in terms of self-defense, is help prepare me for a complete martial art system without getting completely confused about the technique, principles, and theories. In other words, for example i've watched several katas and spar drills of a few martial arts systems and understood many (but perhaps not all) of the principles and techniques behind the theory of that particular martial art system.
So, I have an empty cup; but I have a decent cup to start with! :asian:

Also, off topic, thank you all for supporting! Maybe i'm forgetting, but I don't remember disclosing that i'd served myself! I did actually serve more than six years in the U.S. Army! I ETS'd at November of last year, after my fourth deployment (2 Iraq/2 Afghanistan). Now i'm married to a [female lol] Sailor in the U.S. Navy.

Anyhow, thank you all very much for your warm welcoming to Martial Talk!


----------



## Yondanchris (Jul 13, 2012)

Welcome and thank you and your wife for your service! *Salute*


----------



## Josh Oakley (Jul 14, 2012)

I think you will fit in quite well here. Welcome to martialtalk!

Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk 2


----------



## Gentle Fist (Jul 16, 2012)

Welcome to the forum!


----------

