What is your favorite aspect of martial arts?
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For me it's learning to fight. A more accurate description would probably be learning how to actually use the applications to where you can use them in a fight. This alone requires (training, sparring, forms, biology, human behavior, history, punching bags, and some other stuff.) There's so much to fighting than punching and kicking. There's an understanding, that in my opinion, that can't be reached without fighting/ sparring. Learning how to manage that fear or uneasiness that comes with a real fight is something that a person can only experience by really fighting. Sparring will get you half way there if it's intense enough. But being able to have that amount of control over oneself and the emotions that occur takes practice and an honest experience of having to deal with those emotions and keeping it together.
There are other things that occur during fighting and sparring that seem to only be triggered or become of importance, when I'm actually fighting and sparring. I understand myself as a person through martial arts. In my opinion martial arts is the most selfish thing a person can do because, it requires that the person self-reflect almost constantly in an effort to gain "true" control and understandings of oneself mentally, physically, and emotionally.
But that's just my perspective on it and what I find most enjoyable about MA. For me it's one of the few things where the more honesty that you put into the training, the more you'll get out of it.
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In a world where people thrive by being fake or dishonest with who they are as a person, Martial Arts is one of the few things that I know of where being fake or dishonest with oneself will prevent you from doing well. Rock climbing is the other activity that requires a high level of honest training and honest acceptance of who you are as a person.
I'm the opposite. In the past 27 years I have switched from jacket to no-jacket. To put Shuai-Chiao jacket back on just remind me to go backward instead of to go forward.
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My main MA interest is "to end a striking game and start a wrestling game ASAP".
If I can establish a successful clinch while my opponent delivers his
- 1st punch, I'll be very satisfied.
- 2nd punch, I'll be OK with it.
- 3rd punch, or ..., I'll still need to work harder.
It's a very challenge goal for myself.
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This would be the opposite for me. My fighting interest would be to deny you, the wrestling game that is so important to you.
1st grappling attempt. Deny and punish the person for the attempt
2nd grappling attempt. Deny and punish the person for the attempt
3rrd grappling attempt. Deny and let the person's doubt punish him through the rest of the fight.
You would make a good training training partner for me because of these opposites. One of the things I've learned about fighting is that I want to plant doubt within my opponent as soon as possible. And the best place for doubt to grow, is in the soil of my opponent's goals.
JR 137
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It’s honestly impossible to say what my favorite aspect is. It truly depends on the day anywhere I am. Inside the dojo and on the floor, my favorite thing is when I do something I thought I couldn’t do. And those moments when you look at a lower rank doing something that’s now easy to me to do, yet felt almost impossible when I was that rank.
Outside the dojo, it’s really easy to say what my favorite aspect is - the outside world ceases to exist for that hour and a half I’m there. Now matter how aggravated I’m am, how tired I am, how outright pissed off I am, it all goes away pretty much once warmups start. If not, the longest it’s ever lingered was up to the first thing after warmups. Seriously. Once I get going, none of the outside world thoughts have ever entered my mind. Inner calmness through outer violence? No other physical activity has ever taken away the outside world.
Outside the dojo, it’s really easy to say what my favorite aspect is - the outside world ceases to exist for that hour and a half I’m there. Now matter how aggravated I’m am, how tired I am, how outright pissed off I am, it all goes away pretty much once warmups start. If not, the longest it’s ever lingered was up to the first thing after warmups. Seriously. Once I get going, none of the outside world thoughts have ever entered my mind. Inner calmness through outer violence?
No other physical activity has ever taken away the outside world.
I don't know about that latter one. I spent 3 years going back to Black Crack (a 5.10+ climb, as I recall), always certain I was more than ready for it. I never did manage to get past the crux. There's a reason I preferred top-roping.
Interesting. How does the jacket make you feel like you're going backwards?
It took me a long time to break away the jacket dependency. It's like you spend 10 years to quite smoking. One day you pick up a cigarette, all your 10 years effort was wasted.
Ah! That makes sense. It'd be like going from gi to no-gi in BJJ, I guess. I've mostly trained in a gi, but mostly not depending upon it for throws, so I don't have that same association.
The day that I started my Sanda training (kick + punch + throw), the wrestling only training just don't excite me any more. Also the jacket wrestling skill can't help my Sanda training because the gloves.
I brought my
- Chinese wrestling team to compete in Taiwan in 1984.
- Chinese wrestling team to compete in China in 1985.
- Sanda team to compete in Taiwan in 2005.
I may bring another Sanda team to compete in China. But I'll never train Chinese wrestling team any more. To move forward make sense. To move backward doesn't.
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This is where the honesty comes in.
Why did you never manage to get past the crux?
I was never good enough. My strength wasn't enough to cover my lack of technical skill at that point. I could cruise up to it, then work at the crux for a few minutes before burning out my grip. Peeled off every time.
Anarax
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Difficult to say what's my favorite, but I can definitely say forms are my least favorite.
Yeah it depends I guess in what sense you move backward. Sometimes it's nice to revisit old places/styles/traditions/methods to see just how much you've grown, learned and progressed, and it can also help to gain a greater depth of understanding on those older things, practicing them in more depth or with a different perspective. Obviously wearing a gi isn't really a biggie in that regard, but who knows
. It may just remind you of other things you loved about training in the pas, and revamp certain motivations.Michele123
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There are many things for me that others have already stated. I love the way the world disappears during classes. I love how in-tune with my body I am becoming. I love the greater self-control, both emotional and physical, I love the comradeship with other students, I love the feeling of accomplishment when I finally learn a new technique.
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Challenging myself everytine I train.
Sometimes I fall short but sometimes I win
Sometimes I fall short but sometimes I win
drop bear
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I lost 2kilos in GI jujitsu class the other night. From just the heat here. I mean I look fabulous but it is a high price to pay.
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