Hi - I've just found this forum today while browsing for something-or-other. I train BJJ a few times a week and I am a blue belt. I compete sometimes. Have been training a little over three years. My holidays are BJJ training camps. I'm in my mid 50s. Back in my school/student days I trained in Judo, Tomiki Aikido and ITF Taekwondo (all at a low level of achievement...) and dabbled a little in Kyokushinkai Karate, Lau Gar kung fu, Shorinji Kempo and Nippon Kempo. Took three decades off, got fit again, took up BJJ which I absolutely love. I have an interest in Shuai Jiao and Chin Na and any grappling or jointlock orientated martial art so I read and watch YouTube on these subjects as well as all the variations of jiu jitsu.
Yeah...always interested in martial arts and when you're young you just do what is available. You also don't really know what is what. I was always drawn to jiu jitsu, although I never studied it as such. Saw some high level people in demonstrations etc back in the day. Over the years I've done a lot of reading of martial arts history and how they all interact and connect. BJJ was a mixture of choice, availability and suitability for my someone my age. It's an art where one can go full contact, full on, but without being repeatedly hit in the head which is something that might be OK for 20 year olds but doesn't appeal to me. Because of my judo and aikido background I am interested in the standing side of BJJ maybe a little more than some BJJ people (although most high level Brazilians have judo black belts too). Found the Chinese grappling arts through books and YouTube - Tim Cartmell is someone I'd like to meet and train with as he had high level Chinese martial art skills before even taking up BJJ.
Good to have you onboard - Having a similar lineage of on again, off again training (which also included ITF Taekwon-Do and Lau Gar Kung-Fu) I too took a couple of decades out (after discovering Beer and Women - Though not necessarily in that order) before getting back into training, specifically Goju Ryu Karate, just before I turned 35. I myself never really had an interest in any of the grappling arts when I was younger (I even used to ignorantly say that Judo was only good for learning to throw a bag of potatoes into the back of a van) but now find that it is something that is A) Severely lacking from my training, and B) Something that has now, at 41, very much piqued my interest. Travess
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=de3HLG681bk Tims featured in an episode of " rolled up" on youtube if youve not already seen it!
That original Okinawan karate (including Goju) had a whole lot of grappling in it but it's hidden in the katas and I don't know if much of it made it into the later Japanese styles. Sporting competition probably meant it got de-emphasised to the point of being almost forgotten. Check out Ian Abernethy on YouTube - he has a whole lot of interesting stuff about karate grappling. https://iainabernethy.co.uk/article/karate-grappling-did-it-really-exist There's a fair amount of joint locking and throwing in many traditional Chinese styles too but it's not often taught as a separate specific art. (Almost none have any ground fighting, though, and in my view it is naive to assume that if you're a good striker you won't end up being knocked down at some point). Judo as originally taught still had strikes in the katas but as judo got sportified it kind of lost that self defence aspect. However, the UFC, for all its faults, has shown that judo definitely has a place among the kicks and punches and can be devastating. I've never met a great martial arts person who hadn't at least done a small amount of cross training and who wan't open to the idea of ideas from anywhere. If it works, it works!
