Do-It-Yourself Martial Art

[ArmorOfGod]

Why not just take boxing? All of the gyms in my area are free to train at if you are 16 years old or younger.

Another idea if for you to build a martial arts workout group. You could meet at a local park and work out with others. You could find training partners through your local newpapers and at places like www.meetup.com

That would give you an environment focused on working out and no issue of ranks.

AoG

 

[searcher]

I am with everyone on this. I have trained in several MAs, including boxing. Don't think that boxing is easy from it's simple appearance. You can hurt yourself and pick up some very bad habits in the process. Most boxing clubs have a minimal monthly fee and the coaches will give advice in a non-pushy/intimidating way. You push yourself at your own rate. It can be a very good place to be, not just for training.

If you can't push yourself and be motivated in a boxing club you are most likely not going to push yourself on your own. JMHO.

 

[exile]

Ditto to all of the above. The instructional aspect is all-important: you really can't learn material of the technical depth most MAs contain on your own. But apart from that, you really should take into account the fact that most people find it much harder to motivate themselves when they're flying solo than when they're in the company of others who both share, and can further stimulate, their enthusiasm for some enterprise. The existence of a community of interest is for many people the basis of their pursuit of some domain of skill or knowledge. Being able to talk---literally!---with fellow learners about the fine points of throwing a punch, chambering the leg for a kick or moving to the inside or the outside in responding to an assailant's strike is not just a way to obtain crucial information, it's also a way of allowing the intensity of others' motivation to stimulate your own desire to continue to improve. So if, as you indicated in your second post, commitment is the main problem you have with continuing in activities you've gotten involved with, you'd be doing yourself much more of a favor by joining a club or taking a class than by trying to do it on your own, where you'll get none of that `reverb' to amplify your own dedication that you would from a group.

 

[kosho]

Hi,
Is there a system you would like to learn??? Once you find this, find a teacher who will fit your needs not there's.

second train with your teacher 1 or 2 times a month for 2 hrs each class. this will give you the Info and over seeing you are looking for but will not make you feel tied down.

this gives you the space you want and the power to push or not push at the speeds you what to learn. once you get going you may add more classes a few months and then back down again. but the key is to keep it going. there are teachers out there that should have no issues with this scheadule. and if they do move on...

the system should become part of you.

not you become the system

also where are you liveing maybe i could help you out with finding a school to help you...
best of luck.
steve

 

[Rocky5000]

First of all, thank you all for your reactions, I really appreciate it. After reading your comments I think the best approach would be to indeed join a club, but do my "homework" first, visit a lot of clubs before I make a decision.

What style I want to do, well I haven't figured that out yet, I think something self-defence oriented like jujitsu etc. Anyway I live in Belgium, should not be too hard to find a good club here.

 

[exile]

First of all, thank you all for your reactions, I really appreciate it. After reading your comments I think the best approach would be to indeed join a club, but do my "homework" first, visit a lot of clubs before I make a decision.

Good idea!

What style I want to do, well I haven't figured that out yet, I think something self-defence oriented like jujitsu etc. Anyway I live in Belgium, should not be too hard to find a good club here.

Rocky---bear in mind that virtually all martial arts are inherently `self-defence' oriented. The trick is not the art, but the way you train it. Karate or Taekwondo can be trained to yield good results under the nastiest hand-to-hand combat conditions---battlefield or critical-situation law enforcement---that you can imagine, but both can be trained for pure sport as well, and the difference between the way the resources of these arts are applied in the two respective types of situation is vast. And the same holds for other MAs which have various kinds of artificial rule-governed competitions as possible components of training. So when you visit these schools, make sure to ask a number of direct questions that will enable you to gain the information you need on this score:

---at what point in the curriculum are explicitly self-defense driven applications of the MA taught?

---what kind of self-dense defense drills are practiced? Is protection (padding, gloves etc.) used which potentially interferes with the realism of the self-defense apps (because the protective apparatus may make certain important techniques unusable)?

---if the MA uses forms or patterns, the way Japanese, Korean, Okinawan, Filipine and Chinese MAs do, are the self-defense apps concealed within these patterns extracted for use? Do students learn how to parse patterns into chained self-defense scenarios?

---how much is training for point-scoring ring competition emphasized relative to street-combat applicability?

Talking to the school owner/senior instructor(s) about these particular questions will give you a much clearer idea of whether the training emphasized at the school you're visiting is what you're looking for.

 

[IWishToLearn]

I agree with just about everything Exile said. Come to think of it, I usually agree with just about everything Ex chimes in with. ;-)

My only comment from my own experience mirrors what someone else said - I was suffering burnout with every style I studied just because it didn't really fit me. I needed a very logically organized system and teaching method - as well as access to someone with the answers to my constant desire to know WHY, HOW, and FOR WHAT PURPOSE I was learning anything I did. I found my home in Kenpo.

 

[RED]

Hi Rocky,
Welcome to the forum. I'm new here myself. I was in a similar frame of mind as you. Wanting to be self taught. For me though it was money. I started classes then rates would get out of control. I though of it as a McDojang / Mc Dojo. But with plenty of searching at local churches and clubs I found one that is very economical and teaches more than most of the schools I've attended. Yes my situation is a little different from yours. But I have found that if I'm not learning at the school I loose interest. I went into schools charging me $250 a month and I would spar black belts that where obviously well payed for. It became very discouraging for me when I didn't have the extra cash to pay for my next belt so I wouldn't move on to the next level although my technique and sparring was better than SOME of the black belts. Thus, I wasn't learning and lost even more intrest. Recognition is a tricky thing. I stopped focusing on belts too. When I workout I wear my original Whtie belt I got back in the '80s. When it is black I will have a black belt. Maybe you can judge your own progress with something (a belt) that can take your attention off of levels / ranks. Also, have you considered finding a workout partner? This is a big help for accountability.

LOL,


Hope I don't offend anyone with the Mc Dojang comment.
I don't mean to disrespect anyone, just my experience.

 

[ArmorOfGod]

But with plenty of searching at local churches and clubs I found one that is very economical and teaches more than most of the schools I've attended.

I agree completely! Excellent point.

AoG

 

[shrek]

My experience with sports clubs is that I lack the endurance to make a long term commitment. I train enthusiastically for a few months, then I get tired of it and I quit. I guess I just don't have enough patience to work my way through all those belts, sad but true.... But I guess I should take your advice, join a club and try harder this time. Or maybe I'll go along with the punchbag idea just for the cardiovascular exercise....

I would actually suggest an art that doesn't USE belt ranking...there is almost always at least one school in every major city that does this...more of a traditional style like Chinese Goju..look around . Your belt is there to hold your gi closed and in some cases it makes a handy grappling location to throw someone. A club is also a great way to go because they generally aren't all about the belt, they are about personal knowledge & personal acheivement.

You can go to many places and "Receive your black belt within a year"...these places are dubious at best and negligent at worst...either way it's not a good thing. Black belt mills just give our whole industry a black eye.

 

[Kwiter]

To paraphrase Daffy Duck Subtlety shmutelty, I just want to be able to punch holes in a brick wall and knock chunks out of 4*4 beams oh yeah and maybe leap 30 feet in the air like them folks in Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon ;-)


Or maybe the Conan School, "To crush my enemies......."

You can learn something from the Videos but you won't realize the things yer inadvertantly buggering up, tho that may not be all bad. Lookit
Bill Wallace, only kicks with one leg but if he hits you WOW he ain't called Superfoot for nothing eh! Not exactly the same idea true but similar gist.

Methinks if you "learn" via tape you'll get something but unlikely the whole concept.

Quack Fu and you ;-)

Daffy's actual line was "Consequences Shmonsequences as long as I'm rich"

 

[KeeblerElf]

I wanted to try to learn the martial arts like not through a large class because I was always afraid of messing up, and I never actually did it (I learned several musical instruments instead) then I joined a class and I got a great instructor who really cares about how much we learn and what else we get out of the class and also about us individually. Now I think taking classes is the only way to go. They can correct mistakes that will cause injury or make the technique ineffective.

As for the belt rankings, I view working towards earning my next belt as reaching a goal and accomplishing a part of my training. It's not wow look at my new belt, it's wow, look what I can do. Which is how I feel after I learn each new technique.

I hope you find a school that you like!

 

[Shaderon]

Keebler, I totally agree with you, I never realised it was that way before but I enjoy grading mostly so I can learn new things, it gives me a part-milestone and makes me feel good that I can get on to the next part of my learning.

The Aikido class I used to go to used a white to black belt method, and to be honest it left us stabbing around in the dark a little, but that could have been a bit because of the uncaringness of the instructors.

Rocky I know I'm not as experienced as everyone else here but I echo that you need to find a class. I have the same problem as you, I run out of steam after a while when something's no longer "new" and exciting.

I've found that having grades and them being four times a year gives me that bit of excitement and "something new" every three months and stretches me enough to stay interested. I've never stuck with anything for over 6 months, I get bored after four and then tail off. You have to find "your art" too, I've found you can't just study anything, Karate left me cold for example, I didn't even go to a single class, just watched one.