Hey, yo...

Discussion in 'General Martial Arts Discussion' started by callsignfuzzy, May 20, 2006.

  1. callsignfuzzy

    callsignfuzzy Is not a number!

    Hello, folks. Been lurking for about a year or so, finally decided to come out and play.

    Personal history in a nutshell: born in '80 in a small Virginia town on the Chesepeak, lived there all my life 'til I went into the Navy right out of high school. Did four years as an Operations Specialist, which basically means "radar operator". My unit, the carrier Kitty Hawk, was stationed in Japan; we participated in both Operations Enduring and Iraqi Freedom. I've gotten to visit Singapore (excellent), Sidney, Aus. (excellent), Thailand (not my cup o' tea), Hong Kong (great shopping), Pusan, Korea (don't want to ever go back), Guam (great chill-out port), and Sapporo, Japan.

    Now I'm out of the Navy (decided I there was stuff I had to do while I was still young) and attending college near Atlanta: Kennesaw State University. Haven't declaired a major yet. I love history, but practically all you can do with it is teach, which I'm not into. PhysEd may be an option, just in case I decide to be an MA teacher/coach. We'll see.

    MA History:
    Took karate from age 5-18. It was basically Shotokan with a different name (Seikukan Shorinji-Ryu). Emphasis was on Kihon and Kata. I credit that training for my ability to pick up on body movements fairly easily. While I wouldn't describe the school as a Mcdojo, it certainly wasn't very in-depth. There was very little bunkai taught, and all of it was the standard stuff (ie "this is a downward block"); I've come to prefer Iain Abernethy's interpretations more. The sparring was all point-based, and there was very little self-defense training (in other words, defense against a grab or something).

    During my school years (and still today) I picked up everything I could on different martial arts, including judo, karate, Muay Thai, Wing Chun, Jun Fan, etc. Practice the different moves with my buddies. Mostly stand-up stuff at first. I did get Gene Lebell's "Grappling Master" and practiced static submissions with one of my friends who also did karate.

    Which leads me to...

    During my time in the Navy, I got involved in submission wrestling. At least once a week, often several times a day, the guys in the berthing I lived in would basically "rassle" 'til someone gave up. Some guys had skills (scholastic wrestling, freestyle MA, judo, BJJ), so while it's not like there was top-tier competition, most guys knew what they were doing. I faired pretty well, just 'cause I knew so many subs. My approach at the time was, "Whatever possition I'm in, I'll find a way to tap you". Also spent time crosstraining with the guys in whatever discipline they had, so I got exposed to more Wing Chun, some Kajukenbo, some VERY basic aikido, some boxing and kickboxing, lots of folkstyle wrestling, and anything else I could pick up. Also, during our "Iraqi Freedom" cruise, kung fu and Goju-Ryu karate were taught, so I took about two months of that. Also took about two weeks of BJJ during my Navy time, but didn't like the teacher's attitude, so left quickly.

    When I got out, I had no one to train with for almost two years. Had a buddy who did BJJ and Aikido, and we rolled, but with respect to him, he wasn't much competition.

    Now I live about 2.5 hours from Knoxville, so I get to train with one of my "dream" coaches, Mark Hatmaker. I go up there about once a month, whenever our schedules mesh. I've also got a little workout club down here, pretty informal. We focus on MMA, and we have guys with experience in boxing, judo, Olympic TKD, wrestling, and BJJ.

    I've also got about 200 MA books and over 100 vids/DVDs, and that doesn't include periodicals. I just can't seem to learn enough about martial arts.

    My biggest influences are Mark Hatmaker, Geoff Thompson, and Bruce Lee (for his writing far more than his films.) I'm willing to learn anything that someone's willing to teach me, but these days I tend to lean towards MMA and it's root arts. I've also had a recent obsession with kata interpretation.

    So, um... that's it. Oh, yeah... got a bit of a potty mouth, I blame it on the Navy, but I'll try to behave and stay off the Mods' radars... Well, I look forward to actually interacting with you folks. Take care...
     
  2. Wolf

    Wolf Totalitarian Dictator

    Welcome to MAP! It's nice to have another Georgia resident on here! Sounds like you have a good foundation. See 'round the boards.
     
  3. Melanie

    Melanie Bend the rules somewhat.. Supporter

    Hiya

    Nice to see such a well presented and extensive introduction for once!

    Thanks for the heads up on the swearing - please note - this does not stop you getting into trouble for it - just means I am now watching a little more closely :D
     
  4. Saz

    Saz Nerd Admin

    Awesome intro dude :) Nice to see something well written! Sounds like you've a shedload of MA experience there.

    Have fun now you've come out to play
     
  5. callsignfuzzy

    callsignfuzzy Is not a number!

    Thanks for the kind words, folks.

    Yeah, the heads-up on the swearing was just kind of a warning that some times I like to, um... spice up my conversations! Already had to censor myself, I know I'm gonna slip up sometime.

    Picked a heck of a time to jump on board. I'll be working most of this week, right when I wanted to start chiming in on some theads!

    Thanks again
     

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