# thinking about taking up FMA



## Seidogirl (Oct 29, 2006)

I've been practicing Seido karate for about a year.  I never had any martial arts training before that.  There is someone near where I live who is teaching the FMAs, and I was thinking of checking that out, but I was wondering if it would be too confusing to do both karate and FMA at the same time.  Any thoughts?


----------



## Brian R. VanCise (Oct 29, 2006)

Really I think it all depends on you and your ability to grasp what is being taught.  Some people sometimes have a problem and others do not.  I would however recommend that you go and check out this place that teaches FMA.  FMA's are beautiful dynamic and practical.  Definately when taught right they can really improve your martial skills.  Good luck and welcome to MartialTalk!


----------



## MSTCNC (Oct 29, 2006)

Seidogirl said:


> I've been practicing Seido karate for about a year.  I never had any martial arts training before that.  There is someone near where I live who is teaching the FMAs, and I was thinking of checking that out, but I was wondering if it would be too confusing to do both karate and FMA at the same time.  Any thoughts?



Hi, Seidogirl!

WELCOME TO MARTIAL TALK!

artyon:

:drinky:

First off... you'll just LOVE THE FMA's! I know that I sure do!

And I'd also agree with Brian... check the school out before making any choices!

Hmm... interesting questions though! All I can really say is this... I've been studying Martial Arts and/or fight sciences off and on since I was 12... I'll be 40 in February...

Currently, the I'm learning the FMA's of Modern Arnis (Professor Remy A. Presas lineage), bits and pieces of Balintawak (Monong Guro Ted Buot lineage), and I sat in on my first Pekiti Tersia (Tortal Family as taught by GM Leo T. Gaje) Kali class  last week!

%-}​
In addition, I'm returning to finish working on my black belt in Tang Soo Do Korean Karate (2nd Brown), will be returning to my EPAK (Ed Parkers American Kenpo Karate) "roots" in the New Years to pick up where I left off as a teen (Orange Belt)... and have also recently decided to get some qualified instruction in JKD concepts and Jun Fan Gung Fu...

"Take what is useful... discard the rest!" - Sifu Bruce Lee

So, it all depends on you... :mst:

Since you've said that you really had no experience in the Martial Arts prior to starting Seido about this time last year... you MAY (stress may) get a few brain cramps trying to do both at first... but, after a while, things may blend...

My vote! Jump straight into the deep end of the warm waters that are the FMA's! Swim around for a bit... and see how you make out. If it gets to be too much... fall back to the Seido only, and practice the FMA stuff enough that you will still retain the knowledge...

Good luck in whatever you decide! :asian

And, again... WELCOME!

Yours in the arts,

Andrew


----------



## Seidogirl (Oct 29, 2006)

I just turned 40 last month, so I only started in the martial arts when I was 39.  Better late than never, I suppose.  The guy I found who teaches FMA is a college student and is teaching out of his parents' garage, so it's pretty informal.   Even though he's young, he has a good reputation and knows his stuff.  I think there's only 3 or 4 people in the class.  I'm going to go check out a class soon and see what I think.  I've heard so many good things about the FMAs so I'm curious to see what it's like.


----------



## Mcura (Oct 29, 2006)

Here's a few things to keep in mind.

There's a tradition of FMA being taught in the fields out back, behind the shed, and after hours.  So being taught in someone's garage has historical precedence.  You might be started off with a complex-looking stick twirling pattern, or not.  Don't worry, it'll make sense to you as you go along.  Clashing and bashing sticks can get pretty loud.  Again, don't let that phase you.  If it seems like "Eeek, that stick is gonna hit me!", just slow down and take it easy.  Relax, and let it flow.


----------



## arnisador (Oct 29, 2006)

Lots of people mix these arts. In fact, some FMAs, like Modern Arnis and Kombatan, mix in Karate directly!


----------



## Carol (Oct 29, 2006)

Seidogirl said:


> I just turned 40 last month, so I only started in the martial arts when I was 39. Better late than never, I suppose. The guy I found who teaches FMA is a college student and is teaching out of his parents' garage, so it's pretty informal. Even though he's young, he has a good reputation and knows his stuff. I think there's only 3 or 4 people in the class. I'm going to go check out a class soon and see what I think. I've heard so many good things about the FMAs so I'm curious to see what it's like.


 
It's never too late to begin training   Start off slowly and learn what you can at your own pace.  Most FMA systems do not have belt ranks and the ones that do generally don't much pressure to promote.  Your teacher and classmates should be encouraging you ot do what you can do as you can do it, instead of tying your performance to a belt testing cycle.

Try out a class and see for yourself how you like it!  I'm fairly new to the FMAs but I'm enjoying my training very much


----------



## Cthulhu (Oct 29, 2006)

Age doesn't matter.  We've had many students in our FMA group much older than that begin their training with us.  

As for cross training (that is, if you're intention is to continue with your karate studies), just be honest with yourself.  Check out the FMA class and honestly assess whether or not it will cause your karate training to suffer, as a lot of the material can seem counterintuitive to what you've trained in karate.  My usual philosophy is to wait until you've had some appreciable training in one system (say, 2nd or 1st kyu or higher) before beginning training in another...especially in one that can be significantly different, as the FMA can be from karate.  However, the rank isn't as important as being able to determine yourself if training in both systems at the same time will be confusing.

Either way, at least give it a try.  If anything, it would be beneficial to experience what the FMA have to offer, even if you don't decide to take it up now.

Cthulhu


----------



## MJS (Oct 29, 2006)

Seidogirl said:


> I've been practicing Seido karate for about a year. I never had any martial arts training before that. There is someone near where I live who is teaching the FMAs, and I was thinking of checking that out, but I was wondering if it would be too confusing to do both karate and FMA at the same time. Any thoughts?


 
One thing I love about the FMAs, is that they blend very well with many arts out there.  I find myself adding in alot of Arnis to my Kenpo.  As for your question:  I feel that someone should always have a good base art first, before looking at other things.  Then again, alot depends on the person.  Check out the school, watch/take a class and see what you think.  

Good luck! 

Mike


----------



## Cebu West (Oct 29, 2006)

Hey Seidogirl
 Where are you located? Maybe the people here on Martial Talk can direct you to some FMA schools in your area and give you some choices on where you can train.

Sal


----------



## Seidogirl (Oct 29, 2006)

I live in New Jersey.  I did a search on the Internet and the only school I could find near me was the college student I've already mentioned and another school that was very expensive.  If anyone knows of any others, that would be great.


----------



## Carol (Oct 29, 2006)

What exit?  (Sorry, couldn't resist).

If you are in south Jersey, Guro Sal Todaro's school, Cebu West, is based at the Folsom fire hall in Folsom, PA.  He also has women-only class.

I've had the good fortune of working out with Guro Sal.  He is an excellent teacher, has excellent lineage, and a really nice guy.   He posts on FMATalk.com as "Sal" and here as "Cebu West"

He has posted his contact information in other threads...I'll post it here so you can contact him if you like:  

Sal Todaro
610-543-2624 
salvi1@aol.com 
www.cebuwest.com


----------



## Seidogirl (Oct 29, 2006)

Thanks for the info, Carol.  Unfortunately, I live in central NJ so that wouldn't work for me.  Sounds like exactly what I'm looking for so it's too bad.  If he ever has a seminar though, I'd like to check that out.


----------



## Mark Lynn (Oct 30, 2006)

Mcura said:


> Here's a few things to keep in mind.
> 
> There's a tradition of FMA being taught in the fields out back, behind the shed, and after hours. So being taught in someone's garage has historical precedence. You might be started off with a complex-looking stick twirling pattern, or not. Don't worry, it'll make sense to you as you go along. Clashing and bashing sticks can get pretty loud. Again, don't let that phase you. If it seems like "Eeek, that stick is gonna hit me!", just slow down and take it easy. Relax, and let it flow.


 
I use to teach out of my garage until my wife took it over for ebay, so now I tend to teach out at parks, people's houses, etc. etc. where ever one has a stick and wants to learn makes no difference to me.

Saturday, a friend of mine did me a favor and took my sons out to a gun range and taught us to shoot.  He has some medical issues so I have started to show him some basic cane and his son (our kids take karate together) some arnis.  While we were cleaning the guns I showed the kids double stick drills (single sinawali basic and advanced, applications of the techniques, and then some 2 sticks vs 1 drills building off of the single sinawali drills) anyway he was thrilled in that our kids practiced non stop for about two hours on their own out in front of the house banging sticks.  They had a blast, well so did we as proud parents.


----------



## Mark Lynn (Oct 30, 2006)

Cthulhu said:


> Age doesn't matter. We've had many students in our FMA group much older than that begin their training with us.
> 
> As for cross training (that is, if you're intention is to continue with your karate studies), just be honest with yourself. Check out the FMA class and honestly assess whether or not it will cause your karate training to suffer, as a lot of the material can seem counterintuitive to what you've trained in karate. My usual philosophy is to wait until you've had some appreciable training in one system (say, 2nd or 1st kyu or higher) before beginning training in another...especially in one that can be significantly different, as the FMA can be from karate. However, the rank isn't as important as being able to determine yourself if training in both systems at the same time will be confusing.
> 
> ...


 
I really agree here.  I think it really depends upon your primary school, your instructor and the primary art.  If you are looking around at a different system this can be threatening to your instructor, it also might go against your schools policies as well.  Also some FMA styles might be not as good as a fit as others.  Modern Arnis and Kombatan Arnis were mentioned as styles that blend well with karate and I believe that is true.  However other styles that I have seen don't have that quality in a sense.

I don't mean they don't have value or they are not good, rather they might not blend as well with your primary style (if it was a karate background) as one that was based or had similarities on the karate model. 

Also I believe it takes a certain maturity in a primary system to be able to really see the cross over between the two systems, or an instructor who has experience between the systems to really point it out to you.  I have a background in American TKD/karate and my FMA background is primarily in Modern Arnis and Kombatan Arnis.  So I can readily see the basic similarities between the systems and give the student a point of reference, thus helping them to make the connection faster.  However if I went to a system that say was heavily based on edged weapons and had more in common with southern styles of Kung Fu then I might have had a harder time translating or teaching the system to a person from a karate background.

Well got to head to work.


----------



## MJS (Oct 30, 2006)

Here is something you can check out

http://www.pamausa.com/

http://sayoc.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=41&Itemid=37

http://www.professorpresas.com/Schools.htm

http://www.wmarnis.com/schools.html


Not sure how close/far you are from these schools, but its a start. 

Mike


----------



## Seidogirl (Oct 30, 2006)

None of those are near me, unfortunately.  I came across a site for a school called Alex Wilkie's Martial Arts and they seem to teach Escrima a couple of days a week.  Anyone ever heard of them?


----------



## kruzada (Nov 25, 2006)

Seidogirl said:


> I live in central NJ so that wouldn't work for me. Sounds like exactly what I'm looking for so it's too bad.


 
Seidogirl,

I just started an FMA class in Red Bank, NJ on Saturdays from 1PM-2:30PM. You are welcome to come by and take an introductory lesson.

The school that hosts my class is;

Professional Karate Academy
65 Chestnut St.
Red Bank, NJ

You can call me at 732-904-1486 if you have any questions. Visit www.kuntawkali.com for more information.

Regards,

Datu Rich Acosta
Chief Instructor
Kuntaw Kali Kruzada


----------



## forceanchors (Dec 1, 2006)

Both Guro Carl and Darryl Atienza teach in New Jersey. Try to check them out.

www.atienzakali.com

Seth


----------

