Wandering and Lost- looking for an all around MA

[Gerry Seymour]

MMA fits your bill head on.

It's a reasonable fit, but not quite the direct hit - it misses on a couple of points. No bowing (at least that I've ever seen) or similar rituals, and most gyms don't have a belt progression. How much that matters, of course, is a question the OP has to answer.

 

[Buka]

You could choose with the coin flip method.

One side of the coin - means visit every dojo within a reasonable distance, pick one that that appeals to you and start training.

Other side of the coin - wait for that perfect dojo to come along.

 

[thanson02]

Hello there.

So I've been involved in martial arts when I was living on campus in college and a lot when I was little (karate, tkd, aikido, and kendo) and starting to seriously consider rejoining once finances are back into order (usually the reason I had to quit in one way or another. yay for student life) I know I have awhile to go before I can get my foot into the door and be able to stay or leave of my own will, but I figured getting the information while I have the opportunity is helpful.

The first question is a matter of balance. My primary issue is that I want to do too much, I think. I want to get into martial arts but dont really want to give up the gym at the same. Are there those that have any advice that manage both? In part I really want to add to my routines as part of a daily training regimen, but likely won't be able to get to class 4x a week with a shifting work schedule depending on the time of year. I realize that this will slow down my progression, but I'm ok with that. I don't need a black belt, I just need progress. Are there particular martial arts that lend themselves well to this?

I guess I'm also looking for a well-rounded martial art. Everything that I've seen has been highly focused while ignoring other aspects completely. Shotokan or TKD completely ignore grapples and groundwork, while those that focus on groundwork seem to largely ignore striking. Most don't seem to cover weapons at all... While I would love to join a HEMA school or traditional archery, but that just adds into the problem in question 1.

Third is a mixed bag... if I can find something that is well rounded and I dont feel too deficient in any area I am perfectly happy to find that one and stick with it forever. Failing that, are there any sort of groups that lend themselves well to cross training, like training with a particular style for a given amount of time and switching to a different one and bouncing between them? I don't really think so, but thought I'd ask.

Misc:
I really like a progression system, such as belts, as a visual reminder of how far I've come since I started. I need these reminders to a degree.

Contact sparring with gear is good.

Competition is good. Having something to show for the effort is important.

I like the respect and seriousness of shotokan in some aspects. Bowing at the door and the mat, among other things, I've found really helps my focus and concentration on the tasks at hand. It has almost the same effect as clocking in at work or reading the community board at the gym does.

Not real fond of having to memorize japanese/korean/chinese names for things. It really doesn't matter what language I count in and while its a minor thing its sort of a pet peeve.

I don't buy the mysticism aspect, but I do like the 'making yourself a better person' aspect in addition to the physical training. Meditation, reflection, and the like.

Asking for all of them is impossible of course, (I presume) but would like to explore the options among those more informed than I regardless. I very much appreciate your time for reading this and replying. Thank you.

Actually, what you just described is Hwa Rang Do.

However to the best of my knowledge, there's no active HRD schools in Florida. I do know there's a few people down there who used to be involved with HRD, but they've moved on to do their own thing or to do other things. I think there's one instructor down there who might be running a club for kids, but I have to double check to see where she is located. I don't know if she's anywhere near where you live.

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[Juany118]

My initial reaction covers a lot of conflicting answers, so I'm tossing out food for thought:

• If you cross-trained between two solid arts, you can build your own complete system. I bring this up because I don't know a single art that has competition, both sides (grappling and strikes) in quantity, and uses belts but not original-language naming.
• BJJ carries a lot of what you're looking for: belts, competition, and grappling. I don't know about the bowing aspects.
• MMA carries a lot of what you're looking for: competition, grappling, and punches. No bowing, and no belts (in most places).
• There are arts that have a lot of what you're looking for, but I think miss on a big one. NGA (my primary art), for instance, meets all but the competition requirement (mostly English, basic bowing, belts, both throws and strikes, but no competition). That last point sounds important to you, so that's not a fit.

You might look into a BJJ school or two, and cross-train in something to fill in the strikes. BJJ is not entirely devoid of strikes (and they do pay attention to the possibility when rolling), but they won't fill your desires there.

I think this covers it but would add something else and use my school as an example. We study Wing Chun and Inosanto Kali (which is basically an MMA that adds sticks, swords and knives into the mix). WC has belts (though the testing happens at the Mother school), Kali doesn't (which we test directly at our school). On the Kali side we have ranks there but belts only kick in at Black or Red (Red being a Guro) but we all know each other's ranks and line up accordingly.

We spar a lot and compete BUT the real competition comes at tournaments like Kuo Shu because you don't want to break training partners lol.

So what does that all mean? Don't look only for a particular art look at the school itself, the teachers. What do they do because you can have 3 schools that teach the same art on the advert but when you see how they teach it there are big differences between them.

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[lklawson]

While I would love to join a HEMA school or traditional archery, but that just adds into the problem in question 1.

HEMA is an extremely broad group, analogous to saying "Japanese Martial Arts."

Some HEMA schools cover Striking, Grappling, and various weapons. My friend Bob Charron at St. Martin's Academy of Medieval Arms | Stoughton, WI teaches Fiore de Liberi which includes grappling & weapons (and some striking depending).

If you come to my club, we focus on 19th C. American martial arts, including common weapons of the time (particularly bowie knife & tomahawk as well as cane, slungshot, military saber, and others) and Bare Knuckle Pugilism which included a lot of grappling. We also study Bartitsu (grappling + cane + pugilism).

It's a very very broad range.

Peace favor your sword,
Kirk