and we'll dance dance dance all night lawng...

[bushidomartialarts]

went dancing with the wife last night, noticed a marked improvement in my own feeble skills (we do partner ballroom -- swing, blues. i attempt some salsa. she's very, very good at all three).

she's been teaching me for about four years and i've noticed a distinct improvement in several aspects of my martial arts as a direct result.

anybody else have this experience? anybody have any theories on the why of it?

 

[stickarts]

I had noticed that some great martial artists had danced so i did it awhile myself. I learned jazz, swing, and I even took a ballet semester in College.
The ballet class was mostly women but they were impressed that I would even dare to try it so they would clap anytime that I did anything even though I am sure I was quite clumsy sometimes!
(Guys I knew made fun of me until they saw me meeting the other students and having a much improved social life )
I noticed that the stretches and exercizes really helped to limber up and gain control over my body better than before and i started to feel that i moved better in my sparring.
It also helped me overcome a nervousness of dancing that i always had and I met lots of people and had fun so it was a great experience for me.
I found the dance was similar in some ways to karate. One main difference was that the energy was applied differently in the moves.
One is expressive while the other is to cause damage.

 

[Adept]

Bruce Lee danced before he fought, and would often offer dance lessons in return for martial arts lessons.

 

[SenseiBear]

I have a student who is a dancer. She picks things up quickly, and is progressing faster than others at her experience level. My theory is that as a dancer she is far more in touch with what her body can do, and is used to having it respond as she wishes.

 

[Jade Tigress]

That's an interesting correlation. I would think it would help improve balance, fluidity, agility, etc. I would love to take dance lessons and I've considered it, but there is so much I want to do and so little time to do it all. *sigh*

 

[Kacey]

I agree with the other posters - anything that teaches you to control your muscles the way dance does would have a positive effect on other activities that require that type of control.

Years ago, I knew a woman who was a BB in TKD and a ballet dancer/instructor - very flexible, very fluid and controlled in her movements.

 

[Brian R. VanCise]

I find that dancer's can pick up the subtle movement's that I teach.

 

[Tames D]

Bruce Lee danced before he fought, and would often offer dance lessons in return for martial arts lessons.

I believe William Chow was a dancer as well.

 

[morph4me]

Martial artists and dancers both tend to be more attuned to balance, movement and rythm, probably because all are intirinsic to the practice of both. When you dance you have to maintain your balance, because you have a partner that is also moving and there is a real possibility of one of you pulling the other off thier feet. There are really only so many different ways to move, and they are the same no matter what you're doing. When doing kata or sparring you get into the rythm of the kata and/or of your opponent, in dancing you use the music.

I have been practicing aikido for almost 20 years and dancing for half that time and have been able to transfer both techniques and principles from one to the other and make improvements in both.

 

[Carol]

Lynn Swann (former Superbowl MVP) had ballet training in addition to being a kick-butt Wide Receiver. If you ever see any old clips on NFL films or wherever...you can see his dance background in his moves and how smooth they are.

 

[tshadowchaser]

I have not danced in years but I do remember that when i did dance and do martial arts at the same time I was smoother in my martial moves.
I have 2 dancers in class right now and they move with a more fluid movement than most of my other students

 

[stickarts]

That's an interesting correlation. I would think it would help improve balance, fluidity, agility, etc. I would love to take dance lessons and I've considered it, but there is so much I want to do and so little time to do it all. *sigh*

I have worked with dancers and they did have great balance and flexibility. Often times their challenge was that they kept falling into dance foot positions they were used to and had trouble getting used to our stances. They eventually did fine with a liitle extra effort.

 

[CuongNhuka]

I have a book on ball-room dancing and anouther on salsa. I mettle in that stuff sometimes. I mostly bastardize them with my Karate/Vovinam foot work. Their was a dance I went to recently (the story has a point, I swear), when I told my sensei I was gonna miss class to go to it he asked me if I can dance. I was honest and said "no, not really". He responded with "if you can do karate, you can dance".
What I think about doing dance, is I'll randomly start 'dancing' with my opponent. Ball-room dancing is a little more basic, but salsa (or any sort of latin dancing) is little more up close. So it's easier to apply in sparring. I'll get moving, and I get my opponent to tie him/herself up as they try (and fail) to keep up. If your good at kicking and/or can get some good snap in your strikes, you can really screw with people. But it takes alot of practice, and if your not careful you'll tie yourself up, or simply fall over.
i got into the idea of doing dancing from (once again) Bruce Lee. I knew he did Salsa, but I didn't know he would dance before fights. It makes sense...

 

[Drac]

My wife was a comptetion level ballroom dancer when we met and I attended a couple of classes with her, talk about feeling inadequate..She flowed I didn't...

 

[bushidomartialarts]

My wife was a comptetion level ballroom dancer when we met and I attended a couple of classes with her, talk about feeling inadequate..She flowed I didn't...

same boat here, drac. she takes me out every few weeks, helps keep me humble.

but man, it sure is great being married to someone who can move like that, ain't it?

 

[Brian R. VanCise]

My wife was a comptetion level ballroom dancer when we met and I attended a couple of classes with her, talk about feeling inadequate..She flowed I didn't...

You know Drac even if you had flowed it probably would not have been enough to hang with a competition level ballroom dancer.

 

[Sukerkin]

Quite right, Brian. Don't feel bad. Drac, I'm sure you 'flow' well enough out on the 'street'. Horses for courses, my friend.

 

[Tarot]

I danced for a very long time competively and was very serious with my ballet training. Even though it's been years since I have danced, muscle memory and training are still there. It helps a great deal with my MA training. I have great balance and can pick up moves fairly quickly. Being aware of my body and how it moves has been such an asset to my training.

 

[Blindside]

My sister and her husband were both professional ballet dancers at a major company. I've worked with my brother-in-law on a bit of kenpo and kali and I'd certainly rate him as a "fast learner" or "natural." He picked up on footwork quickly and the armed and unarmed hands came naturally to him. I will say that the muscles he had developed were completely different than used in the MA, after a heavy bag workout he told me that he was more sore than he had ever been in his life. He was known for being one of the strongest guys in the company, and holding 130 pounds of live ballerina at arms length takes some serious strength.

I used to dance alot, particularly in college, mostly merengue, salsa, and whatever it is you do at night clubs, and while I wouldn't say it impacts my martial arts, it certainly develops body awareness for yourself and your partner.

"Never give a sword to a man who can't dance."
-attributed to various people

 

[bushidomartialarts]

I used to dance alot, particularly in college, mostly merengue, salsa, and whatever it is you do at night clubs, and while I wouldn't say it impacts my martial arts, it certainly develops body awareness for yourself and your partner.

really? i found that, even coming to it after, dance has helped my footwork and movement immensely. and to 'develop body awareness for yourself and partner' sounds like something that would come up often in sparring, chizau, etc....