BooBoo
Yellow Belt
Hi I found the discussions in this forum interesting and I am hoping to gain from people's experiences, opinions and advice on this forum, as well as to share any relevant information I have myself (if any).
I have trained in Tae Kwon Do at a young age, although I don't really count that since it was at a typical McDojo.
When I was in Unversity I trained for about 3 years in Muay Thai, and that was what actually re-ignited my interest in Martial Arts. The beauty in Muay Thai is that is a simple, yet very effective and practical art. Since we practiced the same drills over and over, we developed our speed and technique quite well, and we practiced sparring daily, which in my opinion was immensely helpful in building up my confidence for a real right, since I had much less fear of getting punched or kicked, as well as knowing how to respond better, after sparring regularly.
However, the main problem I had with Muay Thai was that despite a given person's skills, a bigger and more muscular individual definitely had a huge advantage over them (in terms of reach and power), which was kind of dissapointing. Based on the advice of my Muay Thai instructor, once I re-located towns, I tried out Tai Chi (in his opinion, Tai Chi and Aikido were excellent martial arts).
Now, after 2.5 years of Tai Chi, I have mixed feelings. On the one hand, I feel more focused and relaxed thanks to the Chi-Gong exercises, and my balance has definitely improved. But I am not so sure about the applications. My teacher is very good, and has an excellent reputation, however, I have the impression that he is reluctant to teach us full-on sparring just yet. I don't know if that's because he wants to improve our techinique, or what. The point is, I am contemplating switching to Aikido since I have heard it is purely application, therefore, more effective for defense in a real-life scenario.
I have no doubt Tai Chi is just as good, and I don't feel good about leaving after having invested 2.5 years in it. But I don't know if I am going to be able to progress in it or not. If I do know that I will "get there" eventually, then I am patient and can wait for years to become proficient in defense and attack.
So, I am hoping to read people's experiences in the internal art of Tai Chi, and other similar experiences, and hope to advance my knowledge, and to share any useful observations I have when relevant.
Peace.
I have trained in Tae Kwon Do at a young age, although I don't really count that since it was at a typical McDojo.
When I was in Unversity I trained for about 3 years in Muay Thai, and that was what actually re-ignited my interest in Martial Arts. The beauty in Muay Thai is that is a simple, yet very effective and practical art. Since we practiced the same drills over and over, we developed our speed and technique quite well, and we practiced sparring daily, which in my opinion was immensely helpful in building up my confidence for a real right, since I had much less fear of getting punched or kicked, as well as knowing how to respond better, after sparring regularly.
However, the main problem I had with Muay Thai was that despite a given person's skills, a bigger and more muscular individual definitely had a huge advantage over them (in terms of reach and power), which was kind of dissapointing. Based on the advice of my Muay Thai instructor, once I re-located towns, I tried out Tai Chi (in his opinion, Tai Chi and Aikido were excellent martial arts).
Now, after 2.5 years of Tai Chi, I have mixed feelings. On the one hand, I feel more focused and relaxed thanks to the Chi-Gong exercises, and my balance has definitely improved. But I am not so sure about the applications. My teacher is very good, and has an excellent reputation, however, I have the impression that he is reluctant to teach us full-on sparring just yet. I don't know if that's because he wants to improve our techinique, or what. The point is, I am contemplating switching to Aikido since I have heard it is purely application, therefore, more effective for defense in a real-life scenario.
I have no doubt Tai Chi is just as good, and I don't feel good about leaving after having invested 2.5 years in it. But I don't know if I am going to be able to progress in it or not. If I do know that I will "get there" eventually, then I am patient and can wait for years to become proficient in defense and attack.
So, I am hoping to read people's experiences in the internal art of Tai Chi, and other similar experiences, and hope to advance my knowledge, and to share any useful observations I have when relevant.
Peace.
