Whats your extra-curricular activty?

[Kacey]

Heh. I was just wondering about this. How many of you out there have an interest or area of study, that while not in itself martial arts, does in some way link back to it? And why do you study it? I want some nice big discussions here people

Well, I read a lot - mostly science fiction/fantasy, with an emphasis on authors who explore the potential of the mind, although that's by no means all the SF I read.

I also do a lot of needlework - mostly crocheting and cross-stitch - as it is calming (usually... until I misread the pattern!), it's a great way to create unique gifts, and it keeps me from eating in front of the TV - there's no way to eat while sewing without getting something on the project!

 

[tradrockrat]

well, being Adult ADD I like to:

Ride my motorcyle, camp, rock climb, perform theatre, study history, read novels, paint / pinstripe, build woodworking projects, go geode hunting, shoot guns, ride my bicycle, golf, work on my autos, watch movies, play my bass guitar, listen to live music, write short stories, drink at a good Irish pub... mmm beer... sorry, what was I saying?

 

[Flying Crane]

I have two interests, one of which I hadn't really thought of in terms of how it relates to martial arts, but now that I consider it, I guess it does in some ways.

My wife and I are avid scuba divers. I was an instructor for a short time, but I realized it wasn't for me, so I let that part of it go. But we love to dive, and while our goals are mostly as underwater visitors and sight-seeing, I think there is a lot to scuba that can contribute to your martial skills. There is a lot to the body control in a mostly weighless environment, and control over all of your equipment, that can be a mental, as well as physical, exercise. Breath control is also a big part of it. Learning to relax, and breathe deeply and slowly to get the most out of your tank, can take some focus and concentration, especially when you are working hard. We dive here in NOrthern California where the waters are cold, so we are wearing thick wetsuits and a lot of lead weight, there is definitely a physical fitness aspect as well. All in all, I think all these things can cross over into your martial training.

The other thing I do is artistic metalworking. I work in silver and bronze, and I got into this because I wanted to start rebuilding swords. Many of the swords that are available for Chinese martial arts are very poorly constructed, so I decided that if I could get a decent blade, I could rebuild the hilt and the scabbard, so that is what I have been doing. I've also been experimenting with some jewelry designs in sterling silver, mostly inspired by scuba (sharks, whales, sea turtles, etc.), and I recently started a business and hope to be selling my work soon. My company's name is Flying Crane Designs, and I am a California company located in San Francisco. Maybe someday I can quit my day job...

 

[Steel Tiger]

I study archaeology and anthropology with particular reference to martial traditions. My main focus is Mesoamerica and Vedic India, though I have an interest in any systematic martial training I can find in the historical and archaeolgical record.

 

[bookworm_cn317]

I read, play guitar, listen to music, make jewelry, play The Sims 2, and cook (on occasion).

 

[donna]

I used to really get into endurance horse riding, but change of circumstance sees me horseless at the moment. I love leatherwork, reading(sci-fi), crochet, cooking . I am hooked on genealogy at the moment too.

 

[morph4me]

My wife and I are avid ballroom dancers, we try to go at least once or twice a week, there are some similarities in principle to aikido. I also enjoy word puzzles, and tests, cryptography and that kind of thing.

 

[Carol]

Business management and employment law. Kind of a long story there but both are interests of mine and neither is what I actually do for a living. The interests are from a variety of experiences over the years, mostly from small-time entrepreneurial tasks that had varying degrees of success.

How does it relate to martial arts?

Well...I'm starting to think seriously about opening some kind of martial arts club/school, but doing something different than what I've seen many others do: what I start wouldn't necessarily be about what I want to teach.

Instead of placing myself as "head instructor" and bringing people up through my "system", I'd rather take a collaborative approach. I'd rather find an instructor (or instructors) that loves to teach and make arrangements so they can focus on teaching and I can focus on the organization/business aspect, even if the group grows in to nothing more than a small club.

Who knows where the idea will go...

 

[exile]

I also enjoy word puzzles, and tests, cryptography and that kind of thing.

I knew it! Another pattern-decipherment obsessive!

Well...I'm starting to think seriously about opening some kind of martial arts club/school, but doing something different than what I've seen many others do: what I start wouldn't necessarily be about what I want to teach.

Instead of placing myself as "head instructor" and bringing people up through my "system", I'd rather take a collaborative approach. I'd rather find an instructor (or instructors) that love what they do are better than I am and make arrangements so they can focus on teaching and I can focus on the organization/business aspect, even if the group grows in to nothing more than a small club.

Who knows where the idea will go...

What an interesting and constructive idea! This is yet another refutation of the claim that you can't do MAs professionally and survive unless you cave in completely to the McDojofication of the MAs...

 

[Flying Crane]

Business management and employment law. Kind of a long story there but both are interests of mine and neither is what I actually do for a living. The interests are from a variety of experiences over the years, mostly from small-time entrepreneurial tasks that had varying degrees of success.

How does it relate to martial arts?

Well...I'm starting to think seriously about opening some kind of martial arts club/school, but doing something different than what I've seen many others do: what I start wouldn't necessarily be about what I want to teach.

Instead of placing myself as "head instructor" and bringing people up through my "system", I'd rather take a collaborative approach. I'd rather find an instructor (or instructors) that loves to teach and make arrangements so they can focus on teaching and I can focus on the organization/business aspect, even if the group grows in to nothing more than a small club.

Who knows where the idea will go...

Cool idea. My wife and I also kick around the idea of opening a big space with several training rooms, and setting up a collaboration between skilled instructors of several arts. Sort of give the really good teachers an alternative to having to open an expensive mcdojo just to survive. Of course this all hinges on our winning the lottery...

 

[Shaderon]

Actually thats pretty interesting. Are there any good sources you'd have on the subject?

Not really, I got taught originally by a Shaman, mainly through meditation techniques, but I took it further when I went on a customer service course with my company around 4 years ago. One of the excercises was quite simple. She paird us up and asked us to stand back to back not touching. She asked us to decide who was A and who was B. First of all person A had to think of a really sad thought and person B had to try and feel what they were feeling. Then we swapped. We did this 5 times each. Out of 7 groups of 2 people, 12 of us got it right at least 4 out of five times, and one person 3 out of 5 (I got it right 5 / 5 times) but one person got it wrong every single time! I found out later she totally rejected the training and didn't want to do it before we started.

There's lots more excercises to do, you can make your own up as long as you have a willing helper. The important thing is to stay open minded and trust your first feelings.

Kidswarrior:

Yes is does closely relate to instincts and intuitive feelings. Something my trainer said to me once makes sense "The word Inspiration comes from the phrase "The Spirit Within". It means that you are connecting your spirit with something that is giving you the information. I've never forgotton that and over the years it's helped me learn, especially with MA.

 

[CuongNhuka]

JROTC Raider team. If you don't know what JROTC is, think Major Pain. We do marksmanship, knot tieing, orientering, first aid, and lots of PT. Compitions include a 2 mile run, a 10K run (thats 6.5 miles), 2 miutes of push ups, and 2 minutes of sit ups. Thats about it for me.

 

[Bigshadow]

Oh, let's see, camping, hunting, fishing, paintball, reading, off-roading in my Jeep, doing my own jeep maintenance (therapy), reading or watching anything that is engineering related, study of history, astronomy (enjoy looking at the sky), geo-caching, hiking, bicycling, archery, sport shooting, traveling.

Training is in everything I do. It is a life long endeavor, not a hobby I do once or twice a week. Life is training.

 

[bluekey88]

I work as a psychologist with children/adolescents with intellectual disabilities and behavior disorders. There is a certain synergy between this and my training. I find that my job requires a lot of patience and the ability to recognize and celebrate the "little" victories. My training helps me develop that patience. My job helps me to develop skills in teaching that I can bring to the dojang. Also, I occassionally have to deal with people who are in crissi and out of control...It's generally frowned upon to put the beat down on fols at these times. It is required of me to excercise extreme levels of skill and self-control to protect my clients, my coworkers, and myself...this sharpens my training and gives a greater purpose to what I do. I'm training for a real purpose...not waiting for that pseudo-mythical street attack to come my way.

As a hobby/avocation I also am a musician. I find the focus and skills needed to be a good musician also feed into MA training. If you think about it, playing an intrument (mine is piano, also some guitar) is nothing more than fine motor physical skills that happen to result in sound. It's a similar kind of thing to doing forms. Just yesterday, my little daughter asked me how I was going to remember a 23 move form. I figure, if I can remember all the moves required to execute a beethoven Sonata from memory (hundreds, if not thousands of motions) then that's a peice of cake.

In addition, the kinds of awareness needed to play in a group and improvise are similar to sparring. You have to work with what the other people give you to get where you want to go musically. Same thing when sparring. You can't force a move that's not there. You have to take what's given to you then use your knowledge and skill to flow to where you need to go...to create that opening as it were.

Sorry for thre lecture...just my .02.

Peace,
Erik

 

[John Bishop]

Hunting, shooting, fishing, mountain biking, and writing.

 

[searcher]

Piantball. I am super into playing speedball. It is a great workout and it is fun. I also have a great time working out:weights, running, swimming, biking, and off-road riding(morotcycles). I love to work on my tracking skills and I enjoy being out in the woods.

The only problem is, there is not enough time in the day. I am voting for the 36 hour day.