Regarding Tricking

[hoshin1600]

I think the more important question is...how does a martial artist start dating a dancer?

I'm...asking for a friend.

Join a school that shares floor space between MA and dance.

 

[_Simon_]

Join a school that shares floor space between MA and dance.

Haha one of the styles I tried a few months ago was renting a hall, and as we were finishing up class there'd be a dance group setting up!

Albeit they were quite elderly folk, but it DOES happen! XD

 

[skribs]

Haha one of the styles I tried a few months ago was renting a hall, and as we were finishing up class there'd be a dance group setting up!

Albeit they were quite elderly folk, but it DOES happen! XD

So a dance school for Tai Chi martial artists to pick someone up at.

 

[Mitlov]

i think Balrog may have a point, in that the lines between actual self defense and performance art get blurry. those who do not have a solid back round in self defense do not have the experience to know real from fantasy. i think the martial arts has a hard enough time with this as it is and XMA stuff only makes matters worse. but i am talking as a general over arching collective rather than the individual.

I have never seen or heard anyone who trains in tricking who "blurs the line" between tricking and practical fight training. They know it's something different, and they do it because it looks cool and it's fun.

I think tricking is cool, though I don't train in any tricking myself. It's incredible physical training, and (1) physical conditioning, whether it be tricking, plyometrics, or Crossfit, helps support everything martial arts related, including fight training, and (2) it's one hell of an athletic challenge of self-improvement, and if you're more into that side of martial arts than the "I'm ready for a back-alley fight" side of martial arts, it's going to dovetail nicely with the rest of your training.

One of my favorite highlight reels:

 

[Gerry Seymour]

I have never seen or heard anyone who trains in tricking who "blurs the line" between tricking and practical fight training. They know it's something different, and they do it because it looks cool and it's fun.

I knew one Kuk Sool Won school that blurred the line on minor tricking like running up the wall to do a flip (they taught it as an evasive maneuver in a fight). But that's the only one I can think of. I'm pretty sure the other schools that did tricking mostly understood it to be fun and flashy, but not practical. There's a grey area where flashy seems practical, but that's not really tricking.

 

[skribs]

I knew one Kuk Sool Won school that blurred the line on minor tricking like running up the wall to do a flip (they taught it as an evasive maneuver in a fight). But that's the only one I can think of. I'm pretty sure the other schools that did tricking mostly understood it to be fun and flashy, but not practical. There's a grey area where flashy seems practical, but that's not really tricking.

I could see it happening where movie fight moves are deconstructed and taught, and when learned by the student they assume these are realistic moves. Things like Ginger Ninja Trickster's youtube tutiorials on signature kicks like the Guyver kick.

 

[Obsidian Fury]

I can't see it as detrimental, unless it takes too much time away from your main training. By the way, you forgot to add to your list "it's probably fun" and "it looks cool" - each of which is a good enough reason for learning tricking, on their own.

That is true being fun is a big part of it endorphins are great for everyone.

 

[Tony Dismukes]

If your only goal is combative effectiveness and you have a set amount of time to train, then tricking is a suboptimal use of your time. It does develop useful attributes (explosive strength, speed, coordination, etc), but those same attributes could be developed in less time with other exercises leaving more hours available for training combative skills.

On the other hand, most of us don't have a fixed number of hours to train. The main limiting factor is motivation. Some students may be bored by time-efficient training methods like weight lifting but entranced by the fun of something like tricking. If that leads them to spend more time training in order to develop the physical attributed for tricking, then that could certainly benefit the combative side of their studies.