Here on MAP we have people from just about very martial art one could name. Unfortunately, sometimes that leads to competition both overt, and subtle. I think it may be time to focus more on the positives of this hobby we all love! I'll start, although I've dabbled in Muay Thai, kajukenbo, jujitsu and mma I'm still primarily a karateka so that's what I'll write about. -karate is generally friendly, there's a tremendous air of respect in a good dojo and it's rare to find people who just want to take your head off. -although I may not have been made into an in the ring killer by my karate training, I've gathered a wide variety of skills from long range striking, short range striking, clinch range, takedowns, to joint locks and pressure points that could all be very useful if I ever have to defend myself. -karate gave me the motivation and the means to lose 35 pounds and almost cure my asthma through exercise. -karate gave me confidence in a time of my life that I needed it most. I have little doubt that I'd still be closeted and meek without the knowledge that there is in fact something that I'm good at, and that people have valued enough to pay me to teach it to their children. -I can be fairly sure when I train in a dojo that I won't leave with a concussion, or some other form of serious injury. Compared to many arts karate is very safe.
I do Judo, Ju Jitsu and Karate. I think the thing I like the best is being able to throw the teachers around!! (not that it happens much!) nb, I said teachers because I'm not sure of the plural of sensei.
Karate / Wado Ryu I like our spars. It's like playing tag in a 3m by 3m box. I get satisfaction out of dodging and parrying most of my opponents attacks and then giving them love-taps in return. And because I don't get hammered in the face when I screw around, I have the freedom to try new and different things.
I started with Shukokai Karate, then on to Freestyle Karate, Taekwondo, Kick Boxing, JuJitsu, Muay Thai, Catch Wrestling, and Boxing. All in varying degrees in pretty much that order. The speed and timing from karate and Taekwondo go together seamlessly with kick boxing and Muay Thai. In many my Thai Boxing matches I've had a lot of success by "kickboxing", moving like a points fighter, scoring then planting and trading at my benefit. Whereas in Kick Boxing and Karate it can be beneficial to walk them down like a Thai boxer, aggressively take their points attacks and force hard counters. Good boxing skills go well with everything. I'm not nearly as skillful with my JuJitsu and Wrestling, but they have similar complementary principles. I love that training has given me confidence, earlier in life to stop bullying, and as I got older the confidence to easily make friends, the self belief to seize opportunities.
I've basically gone Karate, Aikido, Karate & Aikido, kickboxing. Dabbled in a few other bits but nothing of any significance. Just commenting on the kickboxing though: With my current training regimen, there's the fact I've gained nearly 20lbs in weight since I started kickboxing but lost about 5 inches round the centre :whistle: #obviouslynobraggingthere There's the social outlet. My kickboxing is one of the few outlets I currently have at this time due to lack of transport & family circumstances. I enjoy the fact it slightly terrifies me actually. Probably sounds weird, but I'm short sighted like you wouldn't believe and rather self conscious. Having people attack me and willing to punch me in the face and kick me forces me to work that much harder (I can be lazy if I'm not careful) and gives me a bit of a fear/excitement thrill as well. The atmosphere. There's the occasional douchebro that likes to take the mickey out of the others, but 99% of the time people are very supportive and accommodating if you show you're willing to try. Cardio demands. The after-pump with the chemical high you get from hard training as well as the knowledge you're slowly getting fitter and healthier is always good. I've also noticed the harder the training routine I go through, the less likely I am to get hit by a cold that wipes me out too. :dunno: Then there's the humility factor. No matter how fast or strong I become, no matter how good my technique is, there's always a few people who can still beat me hands down. Often they're the tiny guys who have stupidly fast hands. It's certainly helped my confidence develop to the point I don't walk like a victim any more and can almost hold a conversation with people too. *insert dramatic music, rolling green British country side, strike heroic pose while holding a cup of tea and a randomly patriotic bulldog*
What do I like about Muay Thai? The traditional Thai style of training. The atmosphere of a fight. The history of the art. The traditions of the sport. The, (mostly) non political, good attitude of the community. The many fighters and instructors I have had the pleasure of meeting during my journey to become a Nak Muay. That I am pushed to my absolute limit and then some. When I first started training in Full Contact Kickboxing two years ago I felt it was an art that suited me. I loved the thrill of getting in the ring, the adrenaline that coursed through me as I traded blows. To me everything I had done before just didn't compare to Full Contact Kickboxing. Moving on into Muay Thai was a step up from that feeling. I honestly do not feel I could train in any other art after training in Muay Thai. I don't feel like I would gain the same level of satisfaction that training and competing in Muay Thai offers. I love Muay Thai.
Taekwondo What I love – The genuine feeling of camaraderie. The explosiveness of our movements, how every kick has the potential to end a conflict not to mention how beautiful our kicks look. Taekwondo truly does put the “art” in Martial Art. In my dojang the sparring is hard and I have landed in hospital on more than one occasion but I genuinely believe in no pain no gain and it is in instilled in me now as a result of my instructors. Things I have noticed in my nine months – I am two stone lighter, my cardio has improved (it had to), I have given up smoking (I owe this to TKD). I am more disciplined in my everyday life. The feeling of satisfaction when I accurately hit a pad at head height doing a 360 turning kick is one of pride that is difficult to replicate on a personal level. Even better when I land it in sparring (only against my level opponent). Very proud TKD Baza
Nice thread! I did taekwondo from 1988 until about 3 or 4 years ago, when I abandoned it for reasons of politics and took up full-contact karate. The style I do is customisable to the strengths and preferences of the individual, so it's still very similar to TKD (with a sprinkling of American kickboxing). The things I love about it: Aesthetics. High kicks are just beautiful, man. I can appreciate the value in Muay Thai kicks but the technical ability of taekwondo-in and karate-ka is second to none. The whole reason I wanted to do martial arts was because I wanted to do kicks, which was inspired by seeing a picture of Bill Wallace kicking on a magazine cover when I was 2 or 3. Fun. There is nothing sweeter than the "slap" that comes with connecting your foot to your opponent's head. This might sound silly, but it's genuinely addictive. I feel good being able to stick my leg right up there because I know how much hard work it takes to do it. Great crowd pleaser, too. Fitness. I get to stay healthy doing what I love! Achievement. I'm competitive so it was natural I would do styles with a heavy sporting focus. I have been lucky to enjoy high-level success in taekwondo and karate. It's a great conversation piece when talking careers with new people I meet (though I probably gush about martial arts a little too much!), which leads on to the next bit. Career. I am blessed to make a living out of martial arts. I have been a professional club instructor, full-time athlete (kinda still am), and now full-time coach and sports therapist. I don't make a fortune but I am comfortable enough not to have to do a "normal" job (not that there is anything wrong with that). But the perks are great, free supplements and gym membership, and plenty of travel. Although, going back to the previous point, conversations with non-martial artists tend to go stale very quickly! Friendship. My best friends are all my team-mates. There is a cameraderie that exists which I only ever found in the army. I love that when we hang out, we share a wicked sense of humour that non-martial artists won't understand. Which reminds me, we need to come up with a derogatory name for non-MAists. Love. I discovered my wife through taekwondo, albeit I introduced myself by roundhouse kicking her in the face. And I still love her today, even though she got corrupted by the dark side (BJJ).
I'm beginning to think that watching pron at a young age may have mad more of an effect than you realise. Only joking.
Well I'm bored so I'll give a serious answer. BJJ: I still find the technical sides of bjj (leverage, control etc) far more interesting than striking. While I now have a better appreciation for the amount of technique and science behind good strikers, the way bjj works appeals to my personality more. I think there is also some kind of power trip behind my preference for submissions. Hitting someone hard and knocking them out is cool and all, but making someone actually quit is more impressive to me. MMA: Its awesome? I think its one of martial arts' biggest tests and I like that, while you need to be good at everything, there's still an interesting dynamic with specialists in difference areas coming together to fight. Its a relatively loose ruleset where the only real test is whether what you do works or not. There's no hiding bad fighters and bad coaches in the grand scheme of things. That's actually something I could add to BJJ too. I like that the focus on competition keeps both of those styles honest. While there is still a lot of internal beefs you don't get anywhere near as much of the internal fracturing and infighting that I see in some other arts because at the end of the day you have to put your money where your mouth is. It also manages to build a certain level of respect. I can understand why people don't like Eddie Bravo's BJJ system or Greg Jackson's coaching in mma, but unless you're an idiot most people will still level a degree of earned respect at both of those. Its much harder to out and out crush people and bad mouth them when there's a level of proof people can adhere to.
Southy, I know many BJJers dislike Bravo but was surprised to hear the same about Jackson. Any idea why?
You've never heard mma fans complain about Jackson? He's meant to be single handedly killing the sport by making game plans.
Oh, I follow MMA. I can answer this. Jackson is accused of making it's fighters play safe- point fighting and not going for finishes when they can. People accuse Jackson's coaching of taking exciting fighters and making them boring. If you are big enough and successful enough, people will find a way to dislike you. I have heard it said, you aren't truly big until you have some detractors.
Trained in other MAs earlier in life, I now practise Karate. What I like about it is the flexibility: one can go KK-hard or Tai-Chi-soft ("soft" doesn't necessarily translate as "weak", so I am not dumping on Tai-Chi). As I get older, I can move from one level of intensity to another without stopping my Karate practise (I do not claim Karate is the only MA where this can occur). One can find schools that emphasize different ranges and aspects (yes, there are even some where crosstrained Sensei include such things as nagewaza). My current teacher--like me--trained in grappling for years before adding Karate to his training. Since I do a fair bit of wilderness hiking and other forms of travel, I can practise Karate solo until I arrive someplace where there are people with whom to spar. So basically--in addition to what other Karateka have written--I'd add this flexibility as one of the better features of Karate as a martial art.
