Hopefully I can begin regular posting again tomorrow — though I’ll try to throw up some short, fluffy posts in the meantime.
Like, for instance, this one — in which I ask your opinion on martial arts. I’ve been thinking about taking up Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and Aikido with my wife and son — an extension of my p90X training, the first cycle of which I’m about to complete (and a program that I highly recommend; when I’m through, I’ll post a detailed review of the program, for those interested).
A neighbor of mine, though, just gave me a card for a free month of classes in Tae-kwon-do, a discipline about which I’m not very well versed. And another friend has lobbied for Kung-fu.
Any of you with martial arts experience want to chime in? I have a wee bit of experience in Kenpo karate, but no real formal training.
Both the Aikido and BJJ places I’ve looked at have classes for children — as does the Tae-kwon-do dojo, though that one is a bit more expensive.
Opinions? Thoughts?
Maybe I can convince Malkin to take classes with us.
Still not over the puking, huh?
I keed. Glad you’re feeling better.
Hi-ya! Scare ya?
fluffy is good. I’m very excited to have you back which is not to say that Dan did not do a great job while you were gone because he really did but still I am very excited.
Can we get closure on the abortive adult league baseball thing first? What happened with that?
I would vote for the Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. It would be awesome to see you on UFC beating the holy hell out of Oliver Willis, or see the Gleens tapping out from a naked rear choke. Just sayin’
What’s your objective with the martial arts?
I studied aikido in my impetchus yoot; it’s a good art when you and your joints ain’t getting any younger.
Kung fu? What style?
Gracie Jiu-Jitsu is effective, but in a serious fight, winding up on the ground on purpose is not usually a good idea.
Any Krav Maga studios around you?
I’m more of a gun-kata or firearm-fu guy myself. However, if none of those work for you, I could show you some nasty stuff I learned while playing rugby. Might qualify as Scottish martial arts…
Akido. beacuse it’s so freaky. No one will ever mess with your kid, twice.
In my (albeit limited) experience northern Kung Fu styles are very closely related to Taekwon-do in that they both emphasize the legs – through kicking and dynamic body movement.
I’d focus more on the qualities of the instructors available in your area, regardless of the named Art, and how willing/able they are to meet your own specific goals.
I’m with Great Mencken’s Ghost on this one. I took Jiu-Jitsu and the hand grappling is good stuff but if there is a Krav Maga studio around I’d fo that route. As far as practical application goes Krav is geared towards effectiveness in real life situations and not for show. Plus, if you have a good instructor, the workout you’ll get from it really solid.
There is a Krav Maga studio near the BJJ studio. Care to speak to its strengths and weaknesses?
I am not looking to train my kid to end up on the ground, naturally. But if he ever does, I want him prepared. Hopefully the aikido will keep him from finding himself forced to grapple. But if not, knowing BJJ, which can negate the advantage of being being, stronger, and a better puncher/kicker, is not a bad thing.
All the places I’ve looked at have certified instructors with over a dozen years experience.
For me, the more I’ve done yoga and Kenpo Karate, the tighter, ironically, my hamstrings have become, lowering the height of my kicks.
This is probably because I’m doing double workouts and a lot of jump training, which is stiffening me up. But still, if I can avoid the necessity of a lot of high kicking, impressive as it is, I’m cool with that.
Though I have it as a goal to be able to one day do one of those Van Damme splits.
In my mind.
As far as goals… For me, just something to stay fit and help with concentration. Plus, it’s nice to be able to defend oneself with authority should the need arise.
But I think it would also be a wonderful thing to do as a family. And Satch could learn control, balance, confidence, etc. — you know, actually earn a bit of self esteem, rather than having it legislated for him by those who would do away with scorekeeping and dodge ball, etc.
Krav Maga is a sensational workout. I would like to revise my vote and recast my ballot in favor of Krav. If it is good enough for the IDF, it is more than enough for a chickenhawk ;-)
I’m going to speak up here for TKD, partly because of the stretching. I’ve studied for a while now and even though I’m no spring chicken, I feel pretty scary most of the time. There’s a lot of confidence the comes from repeating simple motions again and again. So you get useful self-defense training along with some pretty awesome conditioning.
Fianlly, it’s great for kids because a lot of the training isn’t really focused on kicking ass. Little boys don’t need to be better at kicking ass, they need to be better at defending themselves from boys kicking their ass. I don’t know much about other martial arts, but I think TKD has the most to offer in this respect. Others may know better than I, however.
I would do the one I looked best in the outfit. Let’s call that the LA perspective.
If the legs are going, look at southern Chinese kung fu style like wing chun or jow ga.
What’s the one where you learn how to rip a man’s heart out of his chest? I’d go with that one.
T-web – That would be called Roadhouse-Fu
There is only one Art — Pud-poun-do, the Way of the Scarlet Monkey.
(Demonstrates “Hollow Hammer” and “Shivering Banana.”)
Aikido is the least ‘offensive’ of the bunch, in that it seeks to avoid harming your opponent as much as possible.
Krav Maga is pure combat training (NTTAWTT.)
Kung Fu, if for no other reason than I’m given to the impression that all of the instructors just make you carry water and do chores instead of teaching you. Which is, I’d say, a workout for both the body and soul.
As for the fighting part, I guess he’ll teach you some special kicks when your spirit is fertile enough.
I’ve always been a fan of Goju-Ryu, but admittedly it’s hard to find a teacher. JKD (Jeet Kun Do) is awesome for its non-dependence on fixed styles, but ditto on teachers. For the record my experience in MA is “broad but shallow,” so take it for what it’s worth.
It depends on a lot of things – find someone who’s spent time with a dozen arts or done inter-art competition to get a feel for what fits your needs. An “expert” in just about any style is a formidable foe, but some are more sport than fighting art.
It’s almost more important to find a good school / teacher than the right art – because if you just do it for three months and then quit because the sifu’s an ass, you wasted your time and money. This goes doubly for kids.
One of the advantages of Kung Fu (and to a certain extent Aikido) are the weapon styles – which help extraordinarily with coordination.
A gun is better than a blade is better than a stick is better than a fist. But you’d be right to say that training with the former exclusively doesn’t do much for fitness. :) And it’s more expensive.
IMO:
Krav Maga and BJJ are quite similar in the sense that they are pragmatic and direct arts, edging toward the brutal. They’re good. Goju Ryu is similar but even more focused on low attacks and maintaining balance.
TKD is more of a sport than a martial art, as generally taught. That being said, it can be very effective as both physical training and a fighting style, its advantages being emphasis on speed and sparring and disadvantage being flowery crap and overextension.
Aikido is pretty unique, but as a philosopher you might be able to stand the “lecture portion” better than I could. The normal emphasis, even in Shodokan (the more practical form) is on controlling an opponent without harming them. Sparring is normally less realistic. Good for bouncers, less so for life-or-death because you WANT to disable your opponent, not just toss them around.
I’m a big fan of Kung Fu, but there are like a hundred and fifty styles, and they differ radically. Wing Chun is probably the most common and is a “good” style, fast and direct. Animal styles are popular but “honored more often in the breach than the observance” if you catch my drift.
There is no such thing as a style in which it’s better to be small than big, short than tall, or weak than strong. Physics still applies. If you’re not “big and strong,” you need to be more skilled than your opponent, plain and simple. Or more sober, my favorite.
For exercise, discipline, and self-confidence, just about anything will do a good job with a good teacher. For actual combat, I prefer something that maintains separation, i.e. a non-wrestling art (even though I started out wrestling), like traditional Karate or King Fu variants.
Well, enough of my esoteric blather, get your rest and get well, take care of the kid, and I hope your wife didn’t catch it!
Long ago I studied Aikido because its philosophy and approach appealed to me. It is extremely defense-oriented, but no less effective for that. It stresses holds and locks, which if resisted can lead to serious damage to your attacker. For this reason Aikido does not allow competitive sparring — it’s just too easy to end up with a dislocated shoulder or broken wrist. I enjoyed it very much.
This seems like the smartest advice so far. That’s a very good point really.
Krav Maga, my friend. It’s helped make me the man I have become.
Did Aikido for six years, dropped it because of the lack of ground fighting skills involved. Every fight I’ve been in went to the ground. Plus, the whole “harmony” thing got on my nerves the more I did, as the universe is a most unharmonious place.
I’m personally a fan of Muay Thai – the roundhouse kicks are brutal (can break legs), the boxing skills are important, and the elbows and knees can cause a lot of damage. However, the torque involved in the kicks is hell on us old geezers – I now have a lot of problems the muscles in my hips and upper buttocks from it.
Something that brought in a lot of Muay Thai, along with classes in submission grappling, would be most helpful. I also have heard good things about Krav Maga.
I’m gonna have to chip in with the Krav Maga types. It is a method of self-defense, where defense is defined as “ending the aggression – at once and finally”. You could also check YouTube or Google for “Bas Rutten” (he is a former UFC Champion and bar bouncer) and see what you think.
I recommend asking to sit in on a class of each of these, before deciding. The actual class, not just a videotape. My daughter’s dance class doesn’t allow spectators, but they do have a closed-circuit camera hookup in their waiting room.
I think the system/martial art is nowhere near as important as the teachers at the dojo. Try to participate in or at least watch a class and concentrate on how the instructors work with the students over what is actually being taught. Any of these systems can be a lot of fun and good training but if you wind up with the wrong style teacher for the student then no one is happy.
I practiced a hard style of Japanese karate for quite awhile (though years ago.) Being practiced in hand to hand combat is a valuable thing .. So is knowing what it feels like to take a good punch.. Gracy JJ would be a good compliment to any kind of Karate or Gung Fu. Gotta know how to grapple as well as strike to be an effective fighter.. but for real self defense I’m with Major John.. I kinda lean toward Sig-Sauer-kido (preferably in .40 S&W).. With a flat tire in a bad neighborhood a cell phone and a Sig P229 make me feel safer than all the blackbelts in the world..
..but you know.. being an expert in Jooooo Jitsu has a really nice ring to it.
What Merovign and happyfeet said. The teacher/school is what you need to look closely at. If you sign the contract with the impressive, patient, humble instructor, and instead his pool boy leads all your classes for the first year, you won’t be happy.
Since you’ve had Kenpo experience, I probably won’t tell you anything you don’t know, but just in case…
Look closely at the other people in the school, and ask yourself if you would want your boy to be and act just like them. Those people — your boy’s training peers, instructors, random flakes — will be his role models. Bigger role models, possibly, in a couple of years than Daddy in this regard (no offense). Just be aware of that.
Having said that, from your other training posts, it sounds like you want to go pretty hard core. You get out what you put in, of course, but martial arts makes you use your brain much more than “plain” workouts. Will your boy be able to go as hard, or will you be able to “take it easy” with him?
Aikido is much less about raw fitness and power, lots more about flexibility, balance, joint movements, brain-work. Great for older folks looking for pure self-defense, you really don’t do anything until your opponent decides to put a hand on you.
Brazilian Jiujitsu is more like ultimate fighting, like learning how to pound away for 3 minutes on your opponent’s ribs until he lets go of your head. Unsurpassed for long-time (minutes instead of seconds) fights.
TKD (my personal favorite) teaches you lots of self defense, kicks, punches, a small # of techniques should disable most attackers or discourage the heck out of them. Emphasis on using it for defense based on its culture and history, but of course it can be used otherwise. In studies of karate and tae wkon do schools, they found that young boys became calmer and more laid back when there was a good history component int he classes. If they didn’t get that, they became *more* aggressive, and not in a good way.
I don’t pretend to have practiced the other arts, this should just be food for thought.
It’s really addictive, frankly. I trained for 14 years and was an instructor for 7 years, second-degree black belt in TKD
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It’s really addictive, frankly. I trained for 14 years and was an instructor for 7 years, second-degree black belt in TKD
[Aw heck]
It’s really addictive, frankly. I trained for 14 years and was an instructor for 7 years, second-degree black belt in TKD {– that and $10 will get you a nice coffee at ANY coffee shop.
Good luck.
Another reason to do Krav: no need to wear any special outfits that make you look like you’re in some sort of mid life crisis, or trying to hide your gut.
Also, Krav is refreshingly free of heightism.
If you’re able to convince Malkin to join you, we’re going to need, nay demand, video!
Sigs are high-quality, Ouroboros, but don’t fit my hands well. Ironically both Glocks and 1911s do, which if you know grip frames is odd.
So I have both. :)
I didn’t mention in my long-winded post above that there are some very good firearms training schools. I haven’t been to Front Sight in a few years, but back then they were the “Big Money” in training and I even got a free class there during a promotion. Again, more expensive than martial arts…. but for a reason.
If you don’t own a gun yet, get a 12-gauge pump shotgun. A good one can be had for less than $200, which is less than any decent handgun or rifle, and a 12-gauge is about the most devastating short-range weapon available to civilians. Seek advice about loads, storage and tactics if you happen to do that, won’t muddy up the thread any more today… :)
Tai Chi, in my opinion, is the way to go. Build yourself up from the inside out, learn balance, control and flexibility. It takes longer to learn, but you can practice it the rest of your life, and has immense power when applied martially.
Jeff, if you are talking about the Aikido dojo run by Gaku Homma, Nippon Kan opposite the Auraria campus, they are an extraordinarily well regarded dojo. And I have to say that a huge factor in their favor is that they are the most ethical martial arts studio I’ve ever seen. Too many martial arts studio’s attempt to get you to commit to multi-year contracts. Gaku Homma does not, only taking monthly membership fees. This cannot be overemphasized because the other scheme is a scam.
I strongly urge you to go try their beginners class, it is very reasonable in cost and you will get an idea whether or not you will enjoy the art. They have no special uniform requirements or other equipment to buy for the beginners class.
http://www.tibetankunfu.net
sorry – here’s a working link to my sifu’s page.
http://tibetankungfu.net/
I have a black belt in Tae Kwon Do, which I took for seven years. I was an amateur boxer. I’ve been in dozens of fist fights. I’ve taken Brazilian Jiu Jitsu for a year, and just started taking MMA classes. So I have some experience. ;-)
Here’s the thing…. Why are you taking it? For self-defense? For fun?
If for self-defense, the answer is astounding simple: Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. It’s not even a close call. Really.
If you’re just taking it for fun, then any martial art will do. However, it always seemed strange to me to take a martial art that wouldn’t actually be useful in a self-defense situation. But YMMV.
I could elaborate on why BJJ is superior. But I’m sort of tired (from my MMA class). Just rent UFC 1. Among serious thinkers, that put an end to the “Which martial art is best?” debate.
What the hell was that 70’s Blaxploitation flick where the one guy goes through his whole Kung Fu-esqe intimidation-kata, only to have the other guy pull a .45 and blow him away?
The line was “Karate this, muthafucker!”, I believe…
For me, the more I’ve done yoga and Kenpo Karate, the tighter, ironically, my hamstrings have become, lowering the height of my kicks.
Odd – I had the same experience when I was doing Kenpo. At the time I was much younger and more interested in the “wow” factor of the high kicks (which look neat when sparring but I would imagine don’t have a huge practical application) and found that my legs just weren’t up to it the more stretchy I tried to become.
Haven’t done anything other than karate, so I can’t offer much opinion there.
Oh sure… invite Malkin cuz she’s Asian and should have a knack for it?
I see how it is….
High kicks are cute but not usually useful. Most of your work will be done waist-level or below.
I would rather WATCH high-kicks, especially axe-kicks. Not so much on doing them, however, I’d rather take out a knee or an ankle than flash my groin at everyone.
This is all starting to sound like a really big commitment.
My husband and sons practice Aikido. My hubby has been doing it for nearly 20 years. He’s in awesome shape. He trains 3 times per week and really enjoys it. It is easier on the joints and body them some of the other martial arts. As for my sons, its really improved their coordination. All in all, a very enjoyable family activity.
The Krav Maga taught in dojos today has about as much self-defense application as, say, soccer. However, it gives a decent workout and I understand that many schools have family programs; as such, it’s a good option as long as you don’t fool yourself into thinking that it’s about real fighting. It isn’t. It’s not what the Israeli army is being taught, despite the name.
BJJ is probably not for the missus, but it’s very popular. I remember going to a Rigan Machado seminar (had some women and some children there) and Machado goes (trying to describe how much material there was in the BJJ program), “Zhhu-zhheetsu…it’s…it’s like a big hot wet poosy waiting to be fucked.” You need to already be in shape to do a great deal of it, especially in things like your grip strength and neck muscles, which a lot of people don’t habitually work out (unless they’re martial artists).
Aikido’s fun, but it’s mostly for people who want to get into the Asian martial arts thing: bowing, use of foreign terms, dressing up in the pj’s. Forms, kata, fancy-looking movements. Steven Seagal made it work in the movies, but on the street it’s not terribly practical.
I’d really advise against TKD; it’s hell on the knees, hips, and back. The belt/advancement system is geared more toward taking your money than gauging your progress (in the martial arts industry, tae kwon do is referred to as “take your dough”). It’s wholly impractical as a self-defense system, but it’s very family-friendly and Satch is likely to meet plenty of peers. Again, the problem is that the movements are pretty hard on the body, especially after having practiced it for a few years.
Blackwater is building a training facility not far from here. Why mess around?
Steven Seagal studied Aikido, so I would recommend that for the comedic potential alone.
Seriously, though, Aikido would be great for Satch to start with. I’ve heard a lot of good things about, it comes across as a pretty deep art.
If it turns out he likes martial arts, he’ll end up studying more than one art anyway. You can always study a different style, and something is better than nothing. Ditto the stuff about finding a good teacher.
Krav Maga. Nothing like lefyt stalker ass and saying “Israel says Hi!” /snark
I enjoyed Krav Maga. It focused on real, full-strength contact, and was an excellent workout. I learned a lot from it.
I will agree that a good teacher and school is as important as the form chosen. So, more on that P90x thing? It looks very cool.
…nothing like beating lefty stalker ass…
Sheesh.
I’ve practiced Judo for almost 20 years, Freestyle Wrestling most of my life, and now Krav.
I’ve been in more than my share of fistfights (Philly can be a rough place), and KM is by far the most explosive means of (I)ending(/I) a fight I can imagine.
Whatever discipline you choose to learn, be sure you address your mind is as well as your body. Bushido coupled with Zazen makes for a formidable package.
And weapons work is important to cover; both offensive and defensive techniques should be studied.
Make sure your sensei grades you for to correct your style and technique, and not just to get that next-level expensive colored bit of cloth that is meaningless to your average thug.
fluff tease
happyfeet – My better half still thinks you are the best. She signed up for a class based entirely on the fact that the outfit looked cutest on her.
Chi Tea? As a self-defense, will invite retaliation after spitting in someone’s eye.
Prefer to exercise in front of the tube with the “The Bean” exercise machine. Less sweaty than kicking and yelling foreign words.
It makes a lot of sense for real – the amount of time you’ll spend actually using the martial arts versus the amount of time spent practicing kind of settles the argument with respect to getting your money’s worth. Mostly if I ever took martial arts it would be to meet people and to be able to tell people I couldn’t make it Wednesday until later cause I had on Wednesday until nine or whatever. I also agree that taking martial arts to get in shape is way less productive than being in shape and then taking martial arts, which, I’m in the kind of shape where I look like I’m in shape but really, hah, so I would have to actually put in some honest work before that was even an option. For the real deal, I think Ouroboros and Major John have the right idea there.
whoops – it was supposed to say I had [insert cool-sounding martial arts class here] on Wednesday until nine or whatever but I used the wrong brackets
Wang Slap-Fu
The more I think about it really I don’t think I’m the kind of person that martial arts would enhance in a cool way but more in a your co-workers are concerned way.
There is a truly brilliant aikido sensei near you — I’ve forgotten his name, but they literally has a sushi-ya to finance the dojo. The secretary at the Buddhst Church should be able to tell you his name, or drop me a note.
If you want to teach your kid to fight, krav maga is good. If you want to teach your kid to never need to fight, go for aikido.
The best thing about teaching your kids martial arts will come a few months after they start, when you start forcing them to mortal combat with playdates in the living room.
ARE YOU NOT ENTERTAINED, DADDY!
It depends on what your goal is.
I would definitely advise you to at least consider Tai Chi or Aikido because of the “internal” aspects. Even if you never get into a fight, you will have dramatic health benefits that simply can’t be achieved with a purely external martial art.
Plus, there is a great deal of emphasis on proper motion and use of body weight which can be widely applied in other arts.
And Tae Kwon Do is all about the big dramatic kicks, so it’s not really great for guys with less flexibility or mobility.
I don’t have a lot of experience with other arts, except that my uncle is a Krav Maga master and can seriously put the hurt on.
Charlie, Nippon Kan.
Grasshopper, just pick one at random.. They’re all about the same.. What’s really important… what really sets you apart from the dime a dozen pogue street fighter is a good Kiai.. Like Aaaaiiiiieeeeeeee !! -or- Oooh Oooh ! If you can master that kinda monkey/cat in heat sound that Master Bruce used in Enter the Dragon then even the the biggest, meanest goons will shake with fear and bend over, exposing their bare buttocks to you in a show of utter submission… especially if you can couple it with some scary finger action like The Dragon’s Paw, The Tiger’s Beak or The Dim Mak Touch of Death.. True masters can even do this all while standing on one foot.
For the most part I’d second the Krav Maga suggestions for the building of dual use neural paths. Just basic wrestling and boxing for the ground and power strikes (available through clubs and schools for free). Some gymnastics or diving, for the inevitable high kicks that go very, very badly… very, very quickly. With a solid grounding in those move on to escrima for the improvised weaponry theory and practice. Then you can appeal to Michelle from a cultural understanding stance.
You’ll have improved situational awareness, multiple styles and techniques, and an immeasurable ability to get disqualified from any tournament for mixing up your styles.
Then take some fencing for a good workout, superfine eye-hand, and something to put on the resume if you want to do any pansy-ass acting.
Dude, just run triathlons, they are much more manly.
That is why I was made comment #69 of course.
I had never heard of Krav Maga before today. There’s a center or whatever right down the street in Sherman Oaks, which is a lot Jewish really and also where Jennifer Aniston was born. Here’s about the kids training stuff. They do birthday parties – there’s a pdf there.
I think mostly it looks expensive. Everything in Sherman Oaks is expensive. Like if I wanted to do that, there are things I would consequently not be able to do or have or whatever.
Black Belt in TaeKwon Do here. It’s a great martial art and I highly reccommend it. However, In martial arts it is always good to diversify – taekwon do has no throws that I am aware of and does not teach you what to do if you are knocked down to the ground. By the way – go International TaeKwon Do Federation, not the World Taekwon Do federation. It’s the original and proper form of Taekwon Do
Meanwhile, back in reality..
It’s already been said but I have to agree; finding the right school & instructor is most important.. The character of the school will determine whether you get what you want out of the training.
Things were very different back in 1970 when I first took up Karate training. Schools were small. The martial arts community was tight.. It was kind of a man among men experience. We trained hard. Got bruised and scraped up.. Lots of emphasis on real world application.. Not so much on tournaments and belts..The people drawn to martial arts back then were competitive, physical people that didn’t shy away from a scrape. But starting in the mid 70’s (Thanks Bruce Lee, Billy Jack and Kwai Chang..) Martial Arts went mainstream and like everything else that gets overly popular it’s become in many cases a watered down version of what it was.. Martial Arts as a business demanded that the combative art become more of a sport accessible and attractive to a larger group of people.. More emphasis on tournaments and trophies, colored belts and katas.. Bumps and bruises were for the Neanderthals being left behind..
If you’re looking for a good workout and an enjoyable, satisfying hobby.. any of the martial arts will meet the need. Just go with the instructor that you feel comfortable with..
If you’re looking for the art of ’empty handed’ combat and self defense make sure you find a school/style/instructor that is focused in that area.. It’s not a given by any means..
I don’t have any first hand experience with Krav Maga but their philosophy of all out fighting for survival applied exclusively to real world application (no sport side) appeals to me very much..
Exactly right, Robin — Gemma Sensei. I’ve talked with him at the Temple on several occasions, and seen him demo at Sakuramatsuri. I did shotokan for 30-some years, before my joints and I had to come to a new understanding.
I’m going to second whoever it was that said judo upthread. I played judo for years and it has 2 distinct advantages IMHO
1 it’s an olympic sport cool in itself, but it is great to watch. I’ve seen 95 pound girls hold 200 pound men to the mat for a full 30 seconds. No bs. You can bring satch with you to practice, you can start at the same level and who knows, in 20 years he could be wearing Olympic gold.
2 judo means “gentle way”. You’re probably less likely to get hurt than you are practicing a martial art with a lot of strikes.
Judo really lends itself to a lot of other sports, not just wrestling, you really gain an appreciation for leverage and balance. You will end up with an extremely strong core. Pay no attention to the fact I’m typing this from a hospital bed, I said you will have a strong core, not me.
Feel better or heal or whatever, Mr. Cookies, cause you are funny and insightful. I have a friend who lost her foot but they put it back on and now she’s in the hospital cause they sent her home and it got infected but there’s no connectivity in her room. You would think all the hospitals would have wireless by now. All she has to pass the time is an old lady who lost her legs to the diabetes and is on a couch instead of a bed. I just can’t imagine.
Dante @6:32
Most any instructor is going to give some lip service to what to do “in the unlikely event you end up on the ground.” That’s crap, and why I reccomend wrestling and some form of tumbling (gymnastic or diving) for mobility. Honestly, most fights end up on the ground if the opponent is as bloody-minded as you. Akido and hap-ki-do teach some very useful leverage locks that stem from a judo heritage. Wrestling teaches a different style, but it has far more adaptability (in my experience) plus an almost psychotic mindset that you can only learn after sucking on lemons and spitting out water weight for a week before weigh-in. Also, the coaches do not say “never do this” , they say “never get caught doing this.” I’m pushing good old-fashioned boxing for the immediate results, the power and the reflexive slipping and protection. After that we can start on the fine-tuning. Being born in the Philippines gave me a rich heritage of improvised weapons to deal with. Charming, friendly, lovely folk… but everything to them is a force-amplifier, if not multiplier. That’s why I was such a terror as a bartender. Even intimate you’re going to throw a punch…whapeta with the heavy glass ashtray, followed up by a pint glass and a couple of empty bottles for luck. Think of it as a stop-punch from a 5’6” 125 lb. guy inspiring fear and respect in a crowd of big, hairy Scandis from eight to ten feet away. Used to do the same thing in high school. Apparently, if someone pushes you, you are supposed to push them, rinse and repeat until broken up. Nobody told me. Consequently, after a couple of trial runs, nobody tried to push me.
My advice is to end fights as soon as they happen. Not before, not after a decent show has been put on. Learn how to, and teach your children how to crush the enemy. Work on the subtleties of the martial arts later: the mindset is the most important and the willingness to do what your opponent can not. Quarter-century later, I’ve still got a tooth in my elbow from a guy who wanted to win just a little bit less than I did. He and I still call each other to talk about fencing, which we do as a workout even though it has martial applications.
Can someone with experience give me the differences between Judo and Aikido. I admit I’m partial to aikido because I like the use of leverage and the defensive nature. I had planned on coupling that with a more offensive-minded self-defense regimen, like BJJ or (now, thanks to you guys), Krav Maga.
Others of you have mentioned disciplines I’ve never even heard of. So if you have links to info about the ones you prefer, please do offer them.
Is the combo of aikido and BJJ a good one? Judo and Krav Maga?
I’m in good shape, and I’d like to chose a couple disciplines that will provide good (if different type) workouts.
Because I’m planning on playing baseball again next year (if I can raise the money for Lasik or those retina reforming contacts), both power and balance / core are important to me.
As I mentioned upthread, I feel like my hamstrings are tighter (and my knees more prone to ache) than when I began p90X, but then, I’m doing the doubles program, which has me doing a lot of plyo work, which is tough on the knees, and two rounds of workouts means you tend to tighten up later in the day. So it’s that second workout where I tend to feel most of my flexibility being strained.
Muay Thai kickboxing!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
*biff*pow*blam*
It’s SO fun. And extremely theraputic. But it’ll hurt you.
Plus, no one is going to offer Shotokan as an intramural. Wrestling is free through schools, boxing is dirt cheap if you can find a gym and gymnastics or diving are readily available in most schools. A singlet costs a hell of a lot less than a gi and a swimsuit is a multi-tasker. Mouth-guards are inexpensive and headgear is for pussies anyway. One of the things we used to do was make a key to the wrestling room ( padded on the floor and the walls) and go in on the off season. Called it softshoe, cause we’d wear our Asics and tell anyone who asked that it was dance practice. That way everyone who took some form of fighting art contributed to the general knowledge. We’d wrap our hands, but no gloves. ‘Cause in real life, folks don’t wear pads. Did cup up. It was a lot of fun, and probably helped some people who might have gotten a diploma mill black belt without ever being in a full-contact situation. Surprising how many soi-disant karatekas cry when they’ve been punched hard for the first time.
Do I know you, Uncle Pinky? Cause you just described my teenage years In Fresno, California practicing Shotokan Karate under Sensei Bob Halliburton… and slipping into the gym after hours with my buddies for some full contact training.. Those were the days.
Merovign(#46)and Uroborous(#73)- Uh huh,what they said.
If I might also share a few thoughts for you to you to consider.
First, as Uroborous mentioned, decades ago, you had to find them if they were in any way worth learning from and often the physical and mental price was as high for you as it had been for them when they’d learned whatever it was, in wherever it was they had come from. Now so many are just franchisees.
Second, is that you’re not trainning for when you are at your peak, rather for when you are at your worst. The sociopathic mutants from whom you wish to defend yourself survive and thrive on detecting weakness. What could you have done say, three days ago, at home or in transit to the drugstore? Post motorcycle accident?
Related to this is after you may have spent the better part of a decade training, what will you have left twenty-thirty years out? Delete raw athleticism…what will you have?
In what environments do you most often find yourself. In a highly urban environment think of stairwells, elevators, between parked cars or tables, narrow hallways…and my favourite for Tae Kwondo buffs…frozen ice-covered parking lots. These are more likely to be the kinds of places where the style you choose will have a maximum of 3 seconds to work or not… rather than the world of perfect fitness, sprung wooded floors and wide expanses.
One last thought. If you decide to transition from your Kenpo-Japanese/Korean/Thai philosophical base to Chinese derived philosophy/style, as one other commenter mentioned, a year of tai chi in preparation would do you well.
Then go for the hard stuff.
Jeff,
I’d forgotten your circumstances and original request re:hamstrings in an effort to provide a balanced but psycho-nutter regimen to raise children with. This may sound extremely stupid, but I’ve never been shy of that before.
If you have a couple of months: fencing. First two months it will feel like your calves and hamstrings are giving birth to the salamanders of the alchemists, but they will fall into line. The important thing is the after-exercise. Swimming. Get a pass to an indoor pool, start with freestyle, but switch over to breaststroke. You may find a tendency to scissor-kick, but this is normal and should not be fought. Switch hands with the blade, observe which muscles you use in your duck walk and concentrate on them while swimming. What you are aiming for is slow-twitch, long muscle on the isolated groups that cause you difficulty. Take it slow- take it easy. Use a kickboard if you are comfortable enough in yourself. Rest up. Once a week is okay. Spa and suana as you see fit, but definitely spa if you do any push-stretching.
Your knees hurt because you’re getting older. Learn to live with it. You can try to minimize it by building up the lateral flexors. Wear a weighted belt for a couple of hours. Two times a week.
Judo/aikodo: Judo tends to use the rotary power and leverage of the trunk. Aikido is more fluid and extended. We’re dealing with horsepower vs. torque here. Better check with Iowahawk. He’ll tell you that since your heart isn’t a hemi, he’ll have nothing to do with you. Poser.
Krav Maga is very good, but so is everything else. What I like about it is the dual nature. Every defense is a simultaneous attack. Every attack covers the most likely stricken area. Unfortunately, dojo does not translate to street. What if your opponent has taken the same classes? What vital spots should you protect, now that it is fashionable and your attacker might be versed in it? Krav Maga is better than some, but unless you have access to a good teacher, you are limiting yourself to rote block/strikes.
Brazilian Jui-Jitsu has exactly one move, but it is a killer. A choke. Amazing no one ever thought of it before. This one pisses me off. Horion Gracie won standing up eight out of ten versus Joyce who gets humped like a Chihuahua until he chokes someone out. I can not reccommend a style that wants you to lie on your back and receive your enemy unto you, lock your ankles behind them and choke that last breath onto your sweaty neck, though it seems to have worked for Maureen Dowd.
Honestly, your body already knows what to do. Warm-up stretches, a nice jog, a cool down period. Yoga is dandy, but do not overflex. The small muscles and the tendons will cry foul, and life will suck. Swimming is super butt-load awesome if you can, but even lukewarm baths can help keep things from getting over-inflamed. I’ll continue to push fencing, but switch hands and blades. You work many different groups that way. If your muscles are giving you problems, take it a little easy on them, but don’t let the atrophy. Best of all, go do some rock-climbing or huck a baseball around with some squirelly kid.
The Ouroboros on 10/10 @ 7:58 pm
We’ll never see those days again I’m afraid. I was strictly East Coast, but made a name for myself by getting DQ’ed pretty much anywhere. Now that I’m an uncle, I’ve looked around for some hard coaches, like in the old days. ‘Fraid to say, if I want the little demons to get any training at all I’m going to have to turn my den into a rumpus room. Good to hear that the noble sport of softshoe made it countrywide. I do remember hearing about Bob, and he was (from all reports) damnably good. Someday, I may actually write about when Bill and I found a pair of rollable rubber pigs that were some form of dice on “the Continent”, took a bunch of mescaline, created a drinking game andby the time we got back to Florida arrived to people playing our game using xeroxes of our instruction sheet from Cali. Could actually prove it too, ’cause we wrote them in Lisa’s pen with purple ink and the other instruction sheets were good old toner. Far as I know it was the first meme tracking and we never saw a dime from it. Fun factoid for the obituary writers though.
For all the names thrown out here today there’s really just a couple basic types of unarmed martial arts: Those that focus on striking and those that focus on grappling.
The Strikers: these would include Boxing, Karate, Kung-fu, Kenpo, TKD, etc. For all their myriad styles and idiosyncrasies they all come down to learning to effectively strike your opponent with your hands, feet, elbows, knees, head or what-have-you… to cause injury and incapacitate him… and of course to avoid being hit yourself by dodging, deflecting or blocking your opponent’s attacks.
The Grapplers: These would include wrestling, Judo, Jiu Jitsu, Gracie Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, Judo. These each have slightly different philosophies but come down to wrestling your opponent in close combat, throwing them to the ground and either choking them or applying pressure against their joints to cause pain, unconsciousness or incapacitation… and of course to counter your opponent’s attempts to do the same to you.
There’s the bulk of it… Those that make it a stand up fight and those that take it to the ground as they say in the UFC.. That’s why MMA is popular.. A balance of the two types is the ideal.. If you train hard and are serious the specific brand name isnt so important..
Of course there are others that don’t fit into the above.. Tai Chi Chuan is supposed to be very healthful but I think I could probably kick ass on the old Chinese people that do it outside my work many mornings.. Kenjutsu is way cool but Seattle cops frown on carrying a samurai sword around openly like Blade.. and as much as I admire the sport of fencing, face it, unless you’re on your way to play Mercutio in the latest production of Romeo & Juliet, walking around with an epee hanging from your belt looks pretty ghey and more than a little crazy. (Christ, even the name is French.. nuf said)
Uncle Pinky- Hah! Best description of GJJ I’ve ever heard…! If I was drinking coffee this late I would have snorted it out my nose…
Happyfeet — there are several KM studios in your area, that are probably less pricy than Sherman Oaks. I know there’s at least one up on Burbank in NoHo/Van Nuys…
… but for really low, low cut-rate martial arts prices you have to go places like Pomona or Orange or Fullerton or La Habra … I mean, you dont go expecting Big Lots prices on Rodeo Drive do you? =)
I’m going to look into it and see if it’s feasible, but I have some work to do to become martial arts guy. I’m not really good at just sticking my toe in things, so that could be a big step. Happyfeet of vengeance I could become.
I am well versed in the Exquisite Art of Whooshboomsmash.
Thing is, if you meld styles to find a truly effective style for you…DQ and out of the dojo. Everybody is different, as is every body. Classes are pointers to guide you to your personal style.
I maintain that all martial arts are good exercise.
I also maintain that biting the opponents sack is not only allowable, but to not do it shows infirmity of will. I relish the concept of awaiting the day when my niece is called (with me as caretaker) before the principal to explain why she took unilateral action. I’ll argue that she smushed the bastard’s head with a rock because she hates violence, and strove to minimize it. Then I’ll buy her some ice cream. From Baskin-Robbins. With Peanut-butter cups in. And when we get off a main road, I’ll probably let her sit in my lap and steer the car. I’ll go out and steal a semi full of My Pretty Ponies for her room and I’ll steal a real pony for her as well.
Because virtue should be rewarded.
Now when my nephew does it, he should do it with his hands. Double standard, and all that, but by that point in time he should have good hands. If he answers the charges correctly (or close to, with a wink to help him out) he gets a special knife and hatchet, with a difficult riddle. When he solves it he gets my ’67 Impala parts car. Engine…works. Kinda’. This way he can learn, first-hand, about what double standards seem to be and what they really are.
Ponies are nice but Impalas are magic, and a ’67 is magic enough to run over a pony-unicorn-pegasus and leave nothing more than a red mist and a stain on the asphalt. She’ll probably beat him over the head and kidneys with her pony to get a shot at that car.
I took Krav and BBJ and between the two it’s tough. I like the wrist locks and leverage moves that BJJ has because they are really good for the “ego fights.” When the random dude just “has to kick your ass” to prove he’s tough in front of his girl, nothing beats getting him in an wrist lock and making him eat grass. There’s no way to save face there.
On the other hand, I was attemptively mugged once by 3 guys. Krav defiently aided me better in knowing how to move so they they got in each others way and so that I hurt them and they didn’t get to use their number to hurt me. In that, Krav is way more useful because fights just don’t stay one on one anymore.
Jeff, the basics of Judo and Aikido are very similar. The founders of each, Kano Jigoro (Judo) and Ueshiba Morihei (Aikido) shared a similar desire to come up with a version of Jiu-Jutsu that was more defensive in nature. The two men were actually friends and had a great respect for each other.
Philosophically, the two arts are almost entirely defensive in nature. Neither will initiate a combat, but will respond to attacks. The judo practicioner will resort to holds and throws; the aikido practicioner will resort to throws and dislocations. Judo emphasizes standing and groundwork equally, since most fights (as has been mentioned already) end up on the ground. Neither art goes in for the kicking and punching of Karate styles; they are more grappling and throwing arts.
Of the two, judo is more practical and has less emphasis on philosophy than aikido does. Aikido is a bit more roughneck and results in more trips to the hospital than judo, because of the emphasis on locking/dislocation techniques.
Another good alternative that has been mentioned already is tai chi. This is the slow-motion exercise that you see Chinamen doing a lot on TV. It is actually a martial art slowed way down for exercise purposes. The forms of tai chi, when speeded up, are a potent martial art themselves, something that doesn’t get emphasized much.
Of the three, for self-defense I’d personally pick Aikido, with Judo a close second. If you just want to stay in shape and keep in shape for the rest of your life, tai chi is what you should look into.
Try the United States Marine Corp. Jeff. They’ll teach you to fight. And you don’t pay them for the training, they pay you.
There is a little catch though……
[What’s the cutoff age for Marines? Anyone know? And do they have full-time child care? Because I’m the primary care giver for my son just now, and we all know that Culkin got lucky in Home Alone – ed.]
Maintenance! one of our latest trolls is malfunctioning, it keeps spitting out the same lame “argument”.
It’s actually called a “suggestion”, Yay!
And it’s called the Marine Corps, DK. With an “s”. Putting a period after it kinda suggests you think it’s some kind of nautical limited liability company.
Well, we almost made it to 100 without a dumbass troll.
Anyway, I’m glad Pinky addressed the BJJ ego issue so I didn’t have to. :)
There’s one important issue that was just touched on by Rob, and that is multiple opponents. Grappling is pretty much useless in that case, which is not uncommon.
Which is why I Stopped Grappling And Learned To Love The Strike. Or words to that effect.
By all means, spend some time grappling. It’s nice to know how. But to fend off a few toughs in a movie theater, let’s just say that if you take one to the ground in a choke hold, the other two will kick the shit out of you.
I think the suggestion to fence was with regard to physical training, flexibility and coordination, which is a good idea. A little bit of Kendo can help you learn to move with a weapon, sword or otherwise. Swords are pretty, but I don’t know of any places where I can have a sword but not a gun, and given the choice of the two…. well, you know.
Tae Kwon Do. Good exercise, no silly metaphysics, high power (mostly kicking, and your leg muscles are bigger than your arm muscles), lots of board breaking. Great fun. Also, very good for the kids – teaches self-discipline as well as offering good PT, and any decent do jang trains their senior black belts to be patient and supportive with the young’uns, instead of slavering “kill-kill!” lunatics. Both my kids are in it (6 yellow & 8 green) and love it.
I play Judo at the local YMCA, and have gotten to the point where I’m helping to teach the kids classes. We’re fortunate to have an excellent instructor – whose sister, a former women’s national champion, often helps teach. All in all, it has been very good for my health in a number of ways.
Our group is most interested in the sporting aspects – if Krav Maga was available locally I would give that a close look for practical close combat skills.
Judo has the advantage that you can play at ‘full speed’ with less risk of injury, which is an advantage over ‘harder’ arts. I can throw someone with full strength in practice without hurting them, but you can’t hit someone at full strength in sensitive areas without running out of practice partners pretty rapidly!
I agree with those who say you need to take a class or two to check out the instructor and the facility – there is a lot of junk in this field, as well as things that just aren’t a good fit for you.
My seven year old is enjoying TKD, but wishes there was more sparring. I have mixed feelings about the class. They are very patient and gentle, while still being serious about the rules. BUT…they seem to promote kids to the next belt pretty quickly. Some of the kids just shouldn’t have purple or brown belts, IMHO. So I agree about checking out a class. See how they deal with kids and adults mixed together–if it’s all about the kids, you won’t get much out of it.
I’ve got to agree with Major John: All the unarmed self defense styles are great for exercise, but when it comes to actual self defense you can’t beat ka-pistol.. Except with shotgun-fu of course. It’s the only martial art that truly makes a 90 pound, 80-year-old the equal of a 240 pound, 25-year-old.
Try Moo Goo Gai-Pan.
I have a goal one day to get one of those resistance pools for the basement, but first, I have to finish the basement, which I can’t do until after I have enough money, which I won’t have until I get my eyes fixed, the french doors put on the office, the kitchen counters redone, and a new convection microwave / Jenn Air stove installed.
And none of that will happen until we pay off the furniture (which is coming due), and the credit cards (which are clogged up).
Although I suppose I could go swim in the pool at the rec center…
Interestingly, somebody mentioned duck walking. One of the exercises used in the P90X leg and back routine is “Groucho Walk.” Also, I do a lot of plyo work, so the quick twitch muscles are worked on. It’s just that the last round, incorporating the 4 doubles in seven days, takes its toll on your hammies and knees.
I am taking a joint supplement (recommended for those over a certain age), and it does seem to be working. Beats taking aspirin all the time.
I really only feel the hamstring tighten on side kicks. I used to be able to get my foot up higher, but now, everything is just tight — on my plant foot and my kick foot. It doesn’t help, either, that I strained the top of my left foot somehow, either, which has probably forced me to make adjustments that could be screwing up other parts of my legs.
No worries, though. The doubles end at the end of this week, and I won’t be picking them up again for 40 or so days — the second round of the second course of P90X.
Meantime, I’d like to begin fight / defense training to help with balance, coordination, etc. Maybe I’ll just mix up between Aikido and Krav Maga, because the Krav Maga place near here offers courses in ground fighting: see here.
Ugh, Jeff. Not a resistence pool. Get a real pool that the boy can enjoy and do laps.
Hmmmm.
@ Jeff
Personally I prefer Akijujitsu (DaitÃ…Â-ryÅ« Aiki-jÅ«jutsu).
WikiPedia definition
Here’s a video of a master and his students.
YouTube
This is a style that combines both the hard style of Jujitsu and the soft style of Akido. It’s rough though. When you view the video keep in mind that my teachers did that to me pretty much every single lesson. They taught me how to do those moves, but they also do those moves to you repeatedly so you not only know where the limitations are, but how far you can go before someone pees himself out of pain. Plus it keeps your joints flexible.
Frankly if the choice is Akido and anything that is not Akijujisu, then I’d go with Akido.
Tae-kwon-do, a discipline about which I’m not very well versed. And another friend has lobbied for Kung-fu.
Do not bother with Tae-kwon-do. I was stationed on the DMZ in Korea where all the Korean soldiers had to be at least first degree blackbelts….
The US GI’s beat their asses like gongs in fights.
I was in fights with Korean Tea-kwon-do black belts: it did them no good and they didn’t even look good getting beat up.
Jeff,
The link dont work.. Is it this place you’re looking at?
http://www.coloradokravmaga.com/
Nice website… Sounds like they teach KM as well as other MMA skills to round it out.. Check ’em out in person.. Watch a class or two.. talk to some students and instructors.. Hint that you’re a Mossad deep cover agent and see if you can get the Israeli government discount..
If you’re going to choose Karate, all other things being equal, look to the Okinawan Goju style. It’s not so great if you care about mixed style or open tournaments and that sort of thing – Shotokan has flashier katas and higher kicks, but the premise behind Goju is defeating a grappler.
I’m old enough to be in the AARP, and I couldn’t kick anyone in the head unless I was standing on a chair. The serious kicks in Goju are knee level or below…
You may have more choices, as far as I know there are no Krav Maga or GJJ dojos around here. There is an Aikido dojo that looks interesting, but it was not around when I started. My wife and son train, too so karate is something the family can do together.
If you do go with Goju, I’d advise hitting the gymn on alternating days. You still want the strength training and the running for endurance. I’ve never needed to use karate in a fight, so no guarantees. Then again, you need to be careful if you do use it. People have been sued for using excessive force, even in self defense. One of the guys I train with is a lawyer and he says even having a black belt could be a factor in a civil suit in NY. Your laws will probably differ.
If you seriously anticipate real trouble, buy a shotgun.
Jeff:
I didn’t read through all the posts, so if this has already been suggested, I apologize.
Awhile back, when I first got interested in martial arts, I was heavy on Jiu-Jitsu. At my local gym, there was actually a martial arts class. After talking with the instructor, I found out it was Kajukenbo. Basically, Kajukenbo combines Karate, Jiu-Jitsu, Judo, Kenpo, and Chinese Boxing.
I have to say that, from my perspective, this is probably one of the most well rounded disciplines. It takes the weaknesses of individual forms and hides them by use of other forms (for instance, Jiu-Jitsu is great, but it lacks the striking emphasis to help with multiple attackers. The addition of arts like Karate, Kenpo, and Chinese Boxing fill in these gaps).
I’m not sure if they have one in your area, but I’d highly recommend Kajukenbo.
Hmmm.
@ Jeff
I’ve reconsidered my recommendation and would instead like to point you to the ancient martial art of Bud-Pounda.
All you need to do is carry around a case of 16oz Budweisers. If someone gives you any shit:
1. You’re buff now from carrying all that beer.
2. You’re not thirsty because … well you got all that beer on you.
3. If anybody’s pissed off at you then just offer them a beer.
4. If that doesn’t work then hammer their skulls with 16oz cans of beer. That hurts btw.
5. Well … you got beer!
I studied Yoshinkai Aikido for about 6 years, until my knees got bad. The bigger you are, the harder it is to train heavily, because after you’ve been thrown, getting up is rough on knees. If you’re small, it’s great as you get older because speed and strength are less critical-as an artist you mellow like wine. Currently I’m certified to teach a short class for correctional officers, and periodically train and retrain my staff. My knees can handle light workouts to maintain my skill.
Although Aikido fit my personality, it’s not for everyone. I tried Karate and didn’t like it, tried Tai Chi and didn’t learn too much. The instructor is vital-is he good? Does his approach suit you?
I’d try that Tai Kwon Do class, at worse you learn a little of the style’s strong and weak points. But meet other instructors, watch or take a lesson, and don’t be afraid to switch schools.
Sorry Jeff,I’m with Major John. Ruger-aido and Mossburg pump-fu. For exercise and concentration I do 12 ounce curls and attempting to not typo…Nice to see you back though,you’ve been missed.
Oh, and as far as Satch goes? Hockey.(skating) I’m serious, it teaches and requires speed,balance,discipline and it’s a HELL of a lot more fun than any martial art…He’s too young for that just now.
Jeff, I’ve taken Taekwondo for a little over 7 years. It’s not the end-all-be-all art, but it is a solid art. I have experimented a little with other arts, mainly boxing. And what I have gathered from all of my experience is this simple rule.
Don’t choose an art, choose an instructor.
Sure, all the arts have their pluses and minuses. And everyone will have their own skill levels despite belt rankings. And also, fights tend to go rock-paper-scissors, where one style is better versed against another.
The point of learning a martial art is to gain discipline, confidence, agility, self-control, balance, strength, etc… And what is the fun of gaining that if you don’t like the instructor. Learning a myriad of arts is the best way to gain self-defence skills. Be knowledgable in both striking and grappling. Have decent kicks and punchs, know how to throw and grapple. Know what to do in the clinch. But most important of all, know how to talk yourself out of a fight.
Again though, I am going to emphasize that you take classes from instructors who are knowledgable, fun to listen to, are aware of safety needs, and will teach you without charging you up the ass in hidden fees (like a bank).
PS
Many Krav Maga teachers are bs, be aware that it’s not really an art, rather an amalgamation of street fighting techniques taught by the Israeli govt and most of them just borrow techniques from other arts. And often times, instructors just lay claim to knowing Krav Maga and just toss crazy-ass moves in their regimen to show that it’s not just Billy Jack that kicks ass, if you know what I mean.
Hmmmm.
@ Jeff
Ok. I have to say that this is the best advice all around:
“Don’t choose an art, choose an instructor.”
“Again though, I am going to emphasize that you take classes from instructors who are knowledgable, fun to listen to, are aware of safety needs, and will teach you without charging you up the ass in hidden fees (like a bank).”
This is true. If you’ve got some sort of reject from The Great Santini as an instructor then he could end up doing more damage than good regardless of the art being taught. Chris is definitely on track with his recommendation.
Sorry you are under the weather. I hope you have been following the Colorado Rockies. Still think Clint Hurdle sucks?
Jeff, on the off chance you’re still reading this:
Over here at Zomby’s place, I had a good conversation with Roger who seemed to know what the hell he was talking about. Bonus, I believe you guys are in the same area. You might want to chat him up for some advice.
I teach an Okinawan karate class, and what I’ve learned is the same as many of the above commenters: that the style is much less important than the teacher.
To find a solid teacher (with your goals in mind), ask to sit in for a class or two and watch. If they’re respectable, they shouldn’t have a problem with that. Key things to look for:
1. What’s the make-up of the students? Do they teach the adults and kids together (so you can actually take it as a family)?
2. Ask them what the purpose of the class is (sports/competition, self-defense, fitness, etc.). Avoid volunteering your goals until they describe theirs, so you know they’re not just selling to your response. Sports/competition martial arts is almost as different from self-defense as shooting competitions are to military training.
3. Trust your instincts. Anyone can buy belts, certificates, trophies, etc., but it’s hard for them to fool your instincts. Don’t try to determine if the teacher is a badass – see if he is able to teach so that his students are learning. Most of us have many years of experience being taught a variety of subjects, and you can tell whether someone is a competent teacher.
Is Michelle Malkin out of Denver? Cause if she is and you can get her to go to classes with you I’d definitely recommend Gracie Jiu Jitsu… because doing a whole lotta mat work with her would be a great motivator… She can throw a Kimura on me from a closed guard any time..
P.S. Regarding kicks: one of the biggest problems I’ve seen with schools that emphasize hard kicks (snap /side/round, rather than sweep/crescent) is that it can wreak havok with your knees and hips over time, even with young ‘uns – I know a 26 year-old TKD guy who has amazing kicks and has been doing it for 18 years, and now has the beginnings of arthritis. The most effective remedy for this is to avoid kicking air at full speed – that forces your joints to take the full impact. Only practice full speed kicks against mass (a heavy bag, or a partner with a shield). This has helped my knee problems quite a bit already.
I always said Hurdle was good with the players. His problem was his bullpen use — it was predictable and rote, and not only that, but often unnecessary and safe.
Since the injuries to the starting staff, he’s had to really get to know his pen, and he’s using them much better — though I still think he gave Jorge Julio too long a leash that, save a miracle comeback against Trevor Hoffman, would have kept us out of the playoffs.
But even in that game, had Holliday been called out, and the game tied, he had nearly emptied his pen. Had the game gone much longer, he had very little left in his holster.
So to answer your question, no, I don’t think Hurdle sucks in general, and never really did. I think he has made great strides this year. All the injuries to the pitching staff took the pressure off of him, and he’s looking like a genius now (though he’s done things like left pitchers in to hit, then lifted them before they threw another pitch. With a 40 man roster, that’s pretty silly, I think).
But even now, he often pulls his starters before he has to to get to the bullpen; it’s just that the bullpen has been so phenomenal down the stretch that nobody notices or cares.
I’m not sure he needed to use Corpas last night, for instance. But I guess even if the series goes seven, and Corpas pitches in all seven games, he’ll still get a day or two of rest. So why not?
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