Having spent a fulfilling year and a third doing Tae Kwon Do, and having found my TKD legs and being well on my way to blackbelt (hopefully! ) I return to an idea which I considered at the beginning of my TKD career but never really got round to - taking up a second martial art. However, there are so many out there, I wanted to hear from you guys to tell me what's what, as it were. I have a couple of rough ideas about what I do and don't want to do, but other than that feel free to suggest anything. Don't want to do something similar to TKD - for me the whole point of branching out is to learn something that will fill in the gaps that TKD misses out. Don't want to do something that involves solely groundwork. I tried this in Judo and decided it wasn't for me. I don't mind doing something that involves groundwork, just as long as its not groundwork only. From what I've seen, MAs involving weaponry (either sticks or blades) seem to be expensive, so I'd prefer not to go for those, but please correct me if I'm wrong and you know of a reasonably priced weaponry system - I will take this under consideration as well as any other systems suggested to me. Thanks for your help. Xue Fang
maybe I'm missing something, but I think you just ruled out every other system? My first recommendation would be western style boxing, followed closely by BJJ. TKD lends itself to coupling nicely with either, IMHO.
Kali/Escrima does ground work (and the only system I know that directly addresses weapons on the ground) and will fill in gaps in regard to your lack of trapping, grappling, etc. You can buy yourself a set of bastons for less than $20. After thining about this for another minute, your restrictions at first seem very restricive but are actually almost completely pointless. Every style I think of has weapons to some degree but arent addressed until later on (except Kali), and even then its not expensive...The only style I can think of that deals ONLY with ground work is BJJ or wrestling--not even Judo is solely ground work, and just about every style I can think of is fairly different from TKD and will address areas that TKD doesnt. So really, the only art you really dont want to do is BJJ/wrestling.
Have you considered any of the numerous chinese martial arts? Not sure whats availible in your area, but you'll learn quite a bit of useful skills within that arena. Though since your a TKD player, changing up from rotating on the ball of your heel to the ball of your foot may prove a bit awkward at first.. at least thats how my style plays out. They also encompass a wide variety of weapons at later levels including some very pecular items of destruction not found in other styles Whats availible in your area sir?
Dark Jester - well, I live pretty close to London, and London has most martial arts as I understand it, so anything is available really. And that should be "ma'am" not "sir" . hux - did I really just rule out every other system? Well, let's just say, not Karate, and not Judo. I know I definitely do't want to do those. Only reason I ruled out something with swords was because I was under the impression it was ridiculously expensive, and I obviously can't afford that as a student, but I'm quite happy to try it if it's not going to bankrupt me.
Xue Fang, Assuming that the weapons are not too expensive, are there any weapons which you particularly do or do'nt want to study?
OK - weapons not a problem (provided not too expensive.) Next question - what are the gaps you feel exist in TKD which you are hoping to fill by doing another MA?
No weaponry training either ranged or melee. No locks. No takedowns. No groundwork. No real close work... it's all distance stuff, kicking and punching and then backing off... but in sparring I've seen it very often get into close quarters fighting and no ones knows quite what to do or how to get the advantage when that happens because TKD really isn't designed for that. Also, TKD has an absolute total lack of weapons training. TKD teaches you how to defend yourself when you're unarmed. I'd like to know what do do before it gets to that stage of being disarmed, how to use a weapon. Any weapon - blades, sticks, bows... I only said no weapons before because I thought it was expensive. *shrugs*
So you want: - weapons - locks - takedowns - groundwork (some, but not too much) - close work I imagine most styles of Kung Fu would fit the bill. Ours (for example) covers all those things, as well as the longer-ranged stuff which you already cover in TKD. We don't actually do a great deal of groundwork, but we do a little.
Sounds like its got Kung Fu Tiger Clawed all over it to me. But the next question would be which style..........oh dear.
Sounds like most large systems of Kung Fu... Eagle has some of that, so does mantis, so does monkey, Chang Quan has it. Shuai Chiao has a whoooole lot of that.. Thats one hell of an aggressive chinese grappling style..
I'm going to go with plumdragon in saying that a FMA sounds like a good choice for you. From what you've said, ninjitsu, or jiu-jitsu would also be a good style. Really though, I would recommend FMA (kali/escrima/arnis).
No disresepct, but after a year and a half and achieving your green belt you're not even a senior student yet, never mind well on your way to black belt. I don't think this should necessarily put you off, just realise that you have a long way to go in your TKD career. Remember, bb is where it starts, not the end. If your TKD school does not teach the full range of TKD takedowns and throws, then you could pick these up from elsewhere. If there is a school nearby I'd go for Hapkido. Another Korean art so you'd be keeping it in the family. Hapkido is relatively uncommon though, so an easier option might be Ju Jitsu (assorted spellings). This will give you the holds, locks and throws that you seem to be missing out on, without much groundwork. Depending on what you want, you could go for the Art approach and study classical Ju Jitsu. However, if you just want basic, stripped-down practical techniques which would be quick to learn and "bolt on" to your TKD then I suggest finding the nearest Defendo class and trying that. There is no emphasis on the ritual or art side, just application of realistic techniques. Silly name, but what can you do? PM me and I can give you the contact details for Clive Elliott who runs Defendo, or get his details from Martial Arts Illustrated where he often writes. Best of luck whatever you choose. Mitch here's a link for you Clive Elliott Defendo
It sounds to me like you are asking for FMA- Kali, Eskrima, Arnis, etc. FMA are all very practical, they incorporate weapon and non-weapon situations, and focus on things that other MA tend to ignore- timing, range, footwork, etc. Also, just about any Kali/Eskrima/Arnis Guro will have a healthy knowledge of Silat or Panatukan (styles of grappling, including throws and locks). So, you should be set! London, btw, has some of the finest FMA instuctors in the world- Bob Breen, our own Pat O'Malley, many others... Hapkido is another good idea. The kick structure is very similar to tkd, and it is alot "dirtier" (for lack of a better word)- joint strikes, cane fighting, etc. I don't know as much about hapkido, but it is nothing to take lightly. Also, I think it will meld better with tkd because, as was mentioned, it has similar origins.
Are there really MA's which ignore timing, range and footwork? Last time I saw a post from Pat O'Malley it said his location was in Yorkshire. I know England seems pretty small to you Americans, but London is actually quite a long way from Yorkshire!
There aren't really MA's that ignore timing, etc., but more specifically dojos/gyms/instructors. Also, in my experience, some arts stress it more than others. For example, Karate doesn't stress footwork the way that Kali does. This isn't a style bash or a vs. attack, just my observation. In Kali I've spent weeks of class (2-3 classes/wk) at a time just practicing zoning off. The only other style that put such an emphasis on footwork that I've found is fencing. Also, in a related note, FMA instructors seem to be hard to come by, in part I think (hope?) because FMA don't really have any McDojo-type schools. I dunno- maybe I'm wrong about all this. I know that in Manhattan there are tons of kung fu, karate, and tkd schools. There are fewer muay thai schools, and I can count the number of FMA schools/instructors that I know of on one hand. All the FMA schools are very impressive, and that isn't the case for the numerous karate/tkd/kung fu factions... *sigh* The more I type the more I feel like I'm picking a fight. I don't mean to, so I'll just stop now and await a reply. Ha! I didn't mean it like that- my bad! The only reason I said Pat was because someone else recently recommended him in another thread to a person living in London... Yeah, hopefully... but there are two parts to that statement: (1) some styles focus on footwork more than others (see above), and (2) finding a quality school/instructor that is worth it's salt. (We all know that is not a given, esp. not for a person new to MA)
And by the way, Gotham is down the road from Nottingham here in the UK . It's a real place and the inspiration for Batman's Gotham. I'll tell you the story of how the whole of Gotham went mad some time. Mitch
