We recently had a new student join us and they have quite a vast range of experience in terms of systems that have trained in, just learning the system and competitively. Each one for a handful of years at a time before moving onto something new, which is great for us as they have a lot they can add to a class and give different viewpoints on techniques and movements. From memory they have trained in: Taekwondo Shotokan Muay Thai Boxing Kick Boxing Escrima Aikido Hung Gar Yang Style Tai Chi Mantis and Dragon Style Kung Fu Wing Chun I am sure I have missed a few out. But this got me thinking, how many styles of martial arts do people tend to practice before they settle into one or two ? For me I have only had experience with: Judo 1 karate lesson Boxing Feng Shou Kung Fu Lee Style Tai Chi Have I not dipped my toe into enough styles and missed something, or have I just been lucky to find something that clicked for me ?
We get people who come to our school with a background in a few arts... sometimes because they moved around a lot or sometimes because they were looking for the 'right' school. In the 90s, it almost seemed like every new student had a green belt or two in the other local schools! Nowadays it's not uncommon to get an adult who did a few years of Taekwondo or Karate in their youth, some wrestling, and then a few months at a local MMA school. It sure does help provide a nice perspective on self defense when you can factor other skills and experience values. Our club has always been very open about encouraging people to experiment (try a few classes at all the local schools) and/or cross training with other schools on a regular basis. For myself personally, I was lucky that in my first real school, I found the instructor that has best suited me and I've stayed with him for over 20 years now. I have been fortunate enough to be able to train in the arts he started me on (Taekwondo and Hapkido) around the US, Canada, and Korea as well as explore and cross train with some great people, all the while staying under the same instructor.
Personally I've dipped my toe in a lot of stuff and stayed for few years in handful of things before essentially distilling my interests into the sportive expression of 3 ranges of unarmed fighting. I think when I first started I was looking for the magic of martial arts and I shopped around a lot before having a few epiphanies around efficacy and aims. List of arts I've been involved in is as follows: Taekwondo Jujitsu Goshin jutsu Bujinkan taijutsu Wing chun Hung gar Kickboxing Krav maga Genbukan ninpo BJJ Thai boxing Submission grappling Freestyle wrestling MMA Over the last 10yrs I've been exclusively into sport arts and these days I'm fairly happy to dedicate myself to entirely to striking in a k1 or Thai format and just enjoy the process and stay the course until my body gives up.
Over a period of over 40 years some much longer than others Japanese Jujutsu Taekwondo (pre Olympic) Vellari Kenpo Karate (very briefly) Shaolin Long Fist Wing Chun Jeet Kune Do Police Sanda Xingyiquan (Mostly Hebei, but a touch of Wudang) Yiquan Baguazhang (some Yin 8 palm, some Cheng 8 palm, and a swimming dragon form, but I do not remember the style) Yang Taijiquan Chen Taijiquan Wu Taijiquan Sun Taijiquan
Karate (as a child, no idea what style), TKD (as a child), ~15-18 year break, then Aikido, Japanese Jiu Jitsu, BJJ, Muay Thai (current)
I think it depends if you find something you love then why look elsewhere, problem is we fall in and out of love all the time. My first love was kung fu and I'll list that first Lau gar 10 years Yang old frame tai chi 6years Then I met another sifu who opened my eyes to practical kung fu I trained with him in the following styles of and on for 5 plus years Hung gar CLF Wing chin Bak mei Lung ying He also introduced me to grappling and that's my main love now lol Shoot fighting/catch wrestling 15years Judo 2years Bjj GI 2 years and counting MMA 15 years (also includes boxing, Thai and american kickboxing) The above doesn't count the 5years I spent in Korean arts as a kid or the kick boxing I did whilst doing lau gar. I think if you find something you love stick with it, just don't be blind to other arts especially if what you are looking for is efficiency in all areas, which reminds me got to pick my helmet up for my Kali stick sparring class I've started lol.
I feel like I've gone the reverse of the "try many before settling to one" the bulk of my training started with Judo for 9 years, which also dabbling in Shotokan (as my dad was 1st Dan) and GoJu Ryu. I then focused in kungfu (wuzuquan and long fist) for 8 years, and whilst doing that trained in boxing and kickboxing. Towards the last 2 years of my time in kungfu school I dabbled in Lau Gar, but then spent most of those years in muay Thai, freestyle wrestling, submission wrestling and MMA as I felt the best progress in my training and I enjoyed the sport aspect of expressing my skills. A 7 years break due to parenthood I came back to look for what I could fit into my schedule, and there is a lot of rubbish around! So I found something I could go to that was the least rubbish that fit, until my schedule allows me to do MMA, sub wrestling, BJJ or Muay Thai again. Until then I'll probably dabble in whatever I can get my hands on (I sounds like some sort of MA junkie?) I think it benefits to stay at one place, or at least have a group of partners that you can train with regularly enough to push. If you move around too much you probably find that you spend a lot of time not being about to push yourself as you don't know your partner's limits of you have barely trained at that establishment. That sounds like an awesome Shaw brothers style movie starring Jackie Chan and Samo Hung
Me, too. In hindsight it was a bad idea because it significantly hindered my skill development. (sigh) On the plus side, though, I can talk intelligently with people about a great many martial arts. But I would always advise a person to stay with one thing for a long time, to really get a good handle on it, before branching out. Grow some healthy roots, so to speak. I've spent varying amounts of time in: taekwondo JJJ BJJ judo FMA: Presas and doce pares karate: shotokan and shorinji wing chun kickboxing western boxing serak silat aikido (multiple styles) tai chi chuan kendo
That is one way to look at it. Personally I don't lament my time hopping between various arts as ultimately those training decisions where appropriate at the time, they lead me to ask certain questions which lead to certain answers and regarding a solid base; I don't think I ever developed any real practical skill through training before my first year and bit into BJJ. Everything else was mostly just play acting and theorising and more years in would have been just more years of waste. If I could change anything it would have been to go boxing when I had chance at 13yrs old instead of writing it off as just a sport and joining the wjjf. I should have a permanent palm print on my face.
Ya, I would agree that hopping around led me to things I would not have otherwise seen. And in the end it all fit together. Eventually. For me, boxing was the glue. I got into to very, very late (age 45) but WOW, all of a sudden, out of nowhere, everything I had ever done before made sense. Hip rotation, torso rotation, weight shifting on the feet, stepping off line -- it all makes sense now. I have that same palm print on my face, man!
Wow, you all tried so many arts! I started with karate, although truth be told not too long ago... and stayed with it. Only added not that frequent classes of kobudo, that also nicely complement that. I have met senseis who started this style maybe 40 years ago and never tried anything else either. I suppose it is good to have an idea about other arts and methods, teachings styles and whatnot. I jsut can't imagine how you people were able to really try so many MAs! That's also kind of cool. I would like to say I should work on myself in this regard, but... I am happy where I am, so...
Most Shaw brothers movie-type training occurred during my days in Police Sanda. I was outside, with my sifu, training and we got into his version of push hands training....as the thunder clouds rolled in, we kept on going...then the lightning started and the wind the rain, we kept going..... Since we were on a concrete patio next to an office building I imagine it looked really cool and rather dramatic in the storm. However since we were in a large concrete patio next to an office building and the tallest things in the patio with lighting flashing around us...we decided it was best to stop and go inside....so our Shaw brothers movie fight ended rather anticlimactically
LOL, very simple, actually -- In part, I moved: WA to IN to CA to AZ. And in part, some of the schools were eclectic JKD concepts: JJJ class one night, escrima another night. Or a module of wing chun, followed by a module of escrima, followed by a module of silat. Not hard.
I ended up training more styles parallel to each other, but having my focus on JJ. The other styles also work well with it and add to each other. I started out with Hapkido. After a couple of months, I asked the main teacher there, what he would advise to train in addition. His answer was Judo, as most people there wouldn't throw properly no matter what. Looking for Judo I ended up with JJ, because the club I contacted didn't really have Judo for grown-ups but a rather new JJ-teacher. So JJ it became. A few months after that, I added to actual Judo (once the week) to it. After that I was looking at Ajukate and had planned to join that class towards the end of that year; but in the middle of it, I got stucked in yet another club. I'm still there and because they offer it I now also do ATK, Karate and Kickboxing. Makes me being active in JJ (3/ week; in a few months I might add a fourth day); Judo (Planning to finally go back there, 1/ week) and ATK, Karate, Kickboxing (1/ week). If I could fit it, I would love to add BJJ or LL, but aside from being too expensive for me, I'd need do find classes in the afternoon or midday or so. I quit HKD after two years in favour for another club and because I didn't feel too welcomed at the club anymore anyway. Went to training with an aching tummy. I do still see the main teacher all now and then, who is just honestly happy, that I still stick with MA in general and that I found a place, I like. I'm also allowed to graduate in Ajukate because it's a mixed system, consisting from Aikido, Judo, JJ, Karate and ATK. Since I train four of the three anyway, and do a little Aikido in summer the people are fine with it - of course it helps, that my JJ-teacher has a 5th Dan in Ajukate and I befriend two other high grades. It helps *not* because: Yay, we're friends. But because they know, some of it is included in my JJ-class anyway and because they are very aware of my training pensum. Plus: Ajukate needs people; and because I can still imagine joining it at some point and I am hard working, they allow me to grade. Also: So far it was only yellow-belt (after a seminar and the only grading ever I was satisfied with, until my Sensei spoke after the other two ), and and some point this year orange; so it's not like I could go for a higher grade anyway. I don't have higher grade anywhere at all anyway So I trained or dipped my toes in Hapkido (Pseudo-Japanese) Jiu-Jitsu Judo Ajukate ATK Karate Kickboxing Which is nothing compared to most here If I'd have to chose: At the moment it would easily be JJ.
Boxing and some karate. I'm older and fatter, but not old and fat, yet! There might be some time left for more. I think it's amazing so many people have trained in so many things, it wasn't long ago people had the time or luxury for a couple at best. People can pick and choose to learn many different arts.
Great to see the variety in peoples training, makes me feel like I should have tried more systems out !
For me training in multiple systems has been a result of... A: Moving around for education and work (Southern England first, then midlands then northern England). B: Getting bored or dissatisfied with what I was doing (stopped enjoying TKD). C: Fads and fashions in martial arts (the advent of MMA and the rise of grappling) D: Actively seeking out what I was after (wanting to be more rounded led me from TKD to hapkido and cross training). E: What was available at the time around me (TKD was the most prominent art when I started training and another time I started training Karate because I met the instructor through Thai boxing). I'd like to stick with one club or art but I'm too easily distracted by other fun stuff and have never found a club I was 100% satisfied with all the time.
