I was four, and my big brother practiced\. Naturally, being the clingy little bugger that I was, I made my parents sign me up as well. However many years later, he no longer practices and I still do.
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My early years were largely made up of quick advancement, on to the next thing, keep it interesting. In hindsight and with the wisdom of years I began to realizable how shaky my foundation was. In recent years I have embraced the repetition and the boring, the stuff that should have been in my early training. It is really fulfilling and it's where you can see the progress.Looking back, I think some people would find my early training-as in the first 8 years or so- "boring." It's also about the individual attitude...I'm almost of the opinion that most Americans should take up knife-throwing before starting martial arts, so they have some experience with practicing the same thing over, and over, and over again, and getting it wrong many times before they get any gratification.........or piano.....or guitar.....
did it for 2 and a half years and got to second green belt so yeah I did stick with it long enough. Anyway I may be wrong but I think we're talking about 2 different styles the one I'm talking about was founded by ticks Donovan
I'm really curious, did the martial arts that he used and taught you differ much from how they're taught today? Are they still fundamentally the same styles?
But I never forgot about Isshin Ryu; it is basically the unofficial Marine Corps martial art (I have plenty of Jarhead friends who study other arts, but Isshin Ryu is or was at that time very popular with Marines).
Fantastic that your MA brought gains in your life outside of your training.. would you be able to say please what was the way that your MA helped in respect of a violent temper? Thank youI was 7, and had a horrible violent temper. My mother thought MA training would help. It did.
Fantastic that your MA brought gains in your life outside of your training.. would you be able to say please what was the way that your MA helped in respect of a violent temper? Thank you
I was 12 and my best friend signed up for the Isshin-Ryu class at the local community center. I didn't do it for self-defense, I did it because it was fun. I remember getting my butt kicked at my first tournament and I remember testing under Sensei Armstrong which was supposed to be a big deal.
Bill, I am afraid that I cannot remember much in the way of practical self-defense instruction. I was in the adult class for several years (through blue belt). Lots of kata, lots of fundamentals, lots of line drills, some sparring. I still have seisan and seiunchin hardwired in despite it being 32 years later.
Ah, I see. Yes, that would be a completely different style. I have no idea about whether or not that style is either effective or boring, so please carry on.
For what it may be worth, despite "Ticky Donovan's" convictions, Isshin Ryu existed quite a long time before he seems to have spontaneously invented a completely different style of martial arts with the same name spelled with one less 's' in it. Isshin Ryu means "One Heart Way," not "everybody with one heart." But he's entitled to believe whatever he wants.
I apologize for my response defending Isshin Ryu, as I see now you meant a different style entirely, one I was ignorant of until now. I would only add as an aside that 2 and a half years is hardly enough to learn any martial art, but again, since I know nothing of your former style, carry on. Perhaps it is useless and boring, I don't know.
I'm not saying the style is bad but the teaching was. The way it was taught made it pretty useless. In those times I must've sparred once and 99 percent of the time was going up and down the hall doing basics for an hour. I'm not writing it off completely because it did teach me basics of punches kicks and blocks which helped me transition to kenpo and I'm sure if it was taught more effectively it would be better. I did not mean to disrespect any style but that's how the style came off to me by the end
did it for 2 and a half years and got to second green belt so yeah I did stick with it long enough. Anyway I may be wrong but I think we're talking about 2 different styles the one I'm talking about was founded by ticks Donovan