Training 2 different styles

[Aspida]

Greetings!

A year ago i started off with Muay Thai up until May,then me and a couple of friends decided to start training Shotokan Karate and in doing so i stopped going to MT. Recently i started missing MT and wish to start training again,but i want to train Karate as well, and i'm thinking of going with both of them. And here is the question,since these 2 are completely different styles and i wanted to ask if i train both will i have any troubles with executing the moves or training, etc... ?

 

[Monkey Turned Wolf]

Quite possibly, but you won't know until you try.
Did you have any issues adapting to Shotokan? Either way, I would try both together if that's what you want to do, and just pay attention to if the principles go against each other and are causing you issues. If they do conflict, choose the one you like more.

 

[JowGaWolf]

Greetings!

A year ago i started off with Muay Thai up until May,then me and a couple of friends decided to start training Shotokan Karate and in doing so i stopped going to MT. Recently i started missing MT and wish to start training again,but i want to train Karate as well, and i'm thinking of going with both of them. And here is the question,since these 2 are completely different styles and i wanted to ask if i train both will i have any troubles with executing the moves or training, etc... ?

I don't think you'll have as much trouble as you will one system bleeding into the other. The mechanics of Shotokan and Muay Thai are different so expect it to bleed into each other. It's not a death sentence for training. I will eventually even out but there will still be hints and flickers that you train 2 different systems.

With that said, if it does cause too much conflict then do what kempo disciple suggested about choosing the one you like more. If you don't plan on doing competitive fighting or forms competition then I wouldn't worry about it. Do both, especially if you are just taking them to stay fit.

 

[Monkey Turned Wolf]

With that said, if it does cause too much conflict then do what kempo disciple suggested about choosing the one you like more. If you don't plan on doing competitive fighting or forms competition then I wouldn't worry about it. Do both, especially if you are just taking them to stay fit.

This is a good point I didn't think about. Whatever your focus is is important. If you just want to stay fit/learn basic self-defense and be around your friends, even if they do conflict it shouldn't matter. It's only an issue if they conflict if it bothers you (you compete or feel like you're learning too slowly). It's easy to forget people may have different goals when training...

 

[Aspida]

Thank you so much guys ! I really appreciate it

 

[MA_Student]

If the money and time is no issue then sure

 

[drop bear]

Doing different styles forces you to engage in fighting mechanics that you may be able to avoid by specializing.

So it should make you a more complete martial artist.

 

[Kung Fu Wang]

A year ago i started off with Muay Thai up until May,then me and a couple of friends decided to start training Shotokan Karate and in doing so i stopped going to MT.

The MT roundhouse kick is completely different from the Karate roundhouse kick. Do you use both, or do you just use one?

 

[Flying Crane]

There is an argument that consistency is Important and leads to higher skills.

Differences in methodology between systems can cause inconsistency in how you train and use your techniques. That can hinder and undermine your growth.

Training multiple systems can be a good thing, or it can be a mess, or anything in between.

In my opinion, most people do not train one system well, much less multiple systems.

So, you decide for yourself if the potential benefits outweigh the potential pitfalls. Just understand that the pitfalls are real.

 

[Charlemagne]

I certainly don't have a problem with people training in more than one martial art. I would suggest however that the combination of arts that are quite different from one another would make more sense. At some point, the combination of two striking arts, which use different mechanics and operate off of different assumptions is likely to be problematic. It makes much more sense in my view to combine arts that compliment each other by filling in holes or providing solutions that the other art lacks.

Having said that, it's your time and your money, so you can make your own decisions.

 

[drop bear]

I certainly don't have a problem with people training in more than one martial art. I would suggest however that the combination of arts that are quite different from one another would make more sense. At some point, the combination of two striking arts, which use different mechanics and operate off of different assumptions is likely to be problematic. It makes much more sense in my view to combine arts that compliment each other by filling in holes or providing solutions that the other art lacks.

Having said that, it's your time and your money, so you can make your own decisions.

I don't know. I tried to pull guard in wrestling last night. And to be honest if that is the down side of either being able to learn submissions or learning takedowns. I will accept that every now and then in a wrestling match I might move a bit wrong for the rule set.

 

[Kung Fu Wang]

I tried to pull guard in wrestling last night.

One time a guy used pull guard on me. I dropped my elbow right on his throat. He was very mad and asked me why did I do that for. I told him that in Chinese wrestling, to use pull guard is a no no. In the old time, by using pull guard in a Chinese wrestling field would cause "fist fight" after the sport.

Different rule sets for different sports can cause problem. It's better to understand the difference before the match starts.

 

[webmaster786]

Yes man in my opinion. All Muay Thai and MMA champions are trained karate.If you want to join Muay Thai, do not spend all of your time training Muay Thai. That would be stupid. Take several hours a week that can be used to train Muay Thai and use it instead to train Karate.

 

[Aspida]

I can do both pretty good

The MT roundhouse kick is completely different from the Karate roundhouse kick. Do you use both, or do you just use one?

 

[MI_martialist]

They are different? There are really only two ways to fight...armed and unarmed...

 

[hoshin1600]

I never really understood people's rejection of training in more than one style. I believe it is born out of jealousy and even if you are not, it is an opinion passed down to you from your instructor. Your teacher told you to only train one style so you tell your students to only train one style. I call BS on it.
The brain has a lot of plasticity to it. It has the potential to learn more than you will ever feed it the opportunity. Learning a martial art style is similar to learning a language. We can learn as many languages as we have effort and the will to practice. And just like language it does take a little bit more effort in the beginning for the brain to make sense and map out the similarities and the differences between the two. (Or 3 or 4)
"If you learn baseball, you can't learn hockey or football"
Doesn't make sense ,,,does it.

 

[JowGaWolf]

I never really understood people's rejection of training in more than one style. I believe it is born out of jealousy and even if you are not, it is an opinion passed down to you from your instructor. Your teacher told you to only train one style so you tell your students to only train one style. I call BS on it.
The brain has a lot of plasticity to it. It has the potential to learn more than you will ever feed it the opportunity. Learning a martial art style is similar to learning a language. We can learn as many languages as we have effort and the will to practice. And just like language it does take a little bit more effort in the beginning for the brain to make sense and map out the similarities and the differences between the two. (Or 3 or 4)
"If you learn baseball, you can't learn hockey or football"
Doesn't make sense ,,,does it.

The sports analogy may not be a good example. Cricket and baseball will have a similar effect to what some people are talking about. Both are are sports that use a swing to hit an incoming ball, but the mechanics are different. A cricket swing won't help your baseball ability. Muay Thai kicks won't necessarily make you better with karate kicks because the mechanics are differet. karate + judo = great. Kung fu + Shuai Jiao = great. Boxing + kung fu = not so great because boxing stances and mechanics make it difficult to do many of the kung fu techniques. Me knowing boxing won't necessarily help me with kung fu striking.

 

[Monkey Turned Wolf]

I never really understood people's rejection of training in more than one style. I believe it is born out of jealousy and even if you are not, it is an opinion passed down to you from your instructor. Your teacher told you to only train one style so you tell your students to only train one style. I call BS on it.
The brain has a lot of plasticity to it. It has the potential to learn more than you will ever feed it the opportunity. Learning a martial art style is similar to learning a language. We can learn as many languages as we have effort and the will to practice. And just like language it does take a little bit more effort in the beginning for the brain to make sense and map out the similarities and the differences between the two. (Or 3 or 4)
"If you learn baseball, you can't learn hockey or football"
Doesn't make sense ,,,does it.

My opinion isn't based on my teacher, or jealousy. I trained in kempo, then in kempo/kickboxing, had no issues there. I tried to also train in wing chun, had a lot of trouble with that. The training itself seemed good, but my body just had a lot of trouble adapting to the movements in wing chun compared to the other two. Eventually it started adapting, and I started having issues moving how I wanted in my kempo/kickboxing classes. So I quit wing chun.

I still cross train, but not WC, and I'm cautious about adding something new and trying to force it if it feels contrary to what I already know.

 

[Flying Crane]

I never really understood people's rejection of training in more than one style. I believe it is born out of jealousy and even if you are not, it is an opinion passed down to you from your instructor. Your teacher told you to only train one style so you tell your students to only train one style. I call BS on it.
The brain has a lot of plasticity to it. It has the potential to learn more than you will ever feed it the opportunity. Learning a martial art style is similar to learning a language. We can learn as many languages as we have effort and the will to practice. And just like language it does take a little bit more effort in the beginning for the brain to make sense and map out the similarities and the differences between the two. (Or 3 or 4)
"If you learn baseball, you can't learn hockey or football"
Doesn't make sense ,,,does it.

My opinion is based on my own experiences in training multiple systems.

 

[JR 137]

The biggest argument I see is the time dedicated to each art. If I have 6 hours a week to train, I’ll get far better at either art than I will if I split that 6 hours to 3 hours of X and 3 of Y.

So a sports analogy - I decide to take up basketball and soccer at the same time. If I spend all 6 hours practicing basketball, I’ll be far better at basketball in a year than if I only spent 3 hours a week.

I’m a fan of training different systems/styles. But I think someone should have a solid base beforehand, and all outside training afterwards should be to supplement and/or compliment that base style. So if I’m a karate guy, I should get past that learning curve where everything needs a lot of work before I start boxing. Once I’m to the point where improvements are significantly slower and more subtle, then I’ll take up boxing. Boxing will (hypothetically) make me a better karateka - different footwork, mechanics of movement, different sparring partners, etc. But I have to know what I’m doing well enough to know what to incorporate into my personal fighting methods and what to discard. If I don’t know my base and myself well enough, there will be far more trial and error of figuring out what meshes well and what’s throwing me off.

But it ultimately comes down to ultimate goals. Do you want to master one art, are you looking for a better way of exercising and socializing, or something in between? There’s no wrong answer to that. Personally I’d rather get really good at one thing, then take something else that’ll make me better at it and/or fill in the gaps. I’d love to learn Judo. I don’t have enough time to dedicate to both Judo and karate. If I started Judo right now, I’d be halfassing both arts. My brain doesn’t allow me to halfass anything; I need to get really good at one thing before I move onto the next. Not everyone is like that, and it doesn’t make me or someone else better or worse.