Martial Arts

[RenegadeMax]

Sorry if there was allready a thread about this; I'm too lazy to go through 14 pages...

 

So who here is a martial artist?

 

I've been training in Shao-Lin Kung Fu for about 4 years now...it's my other big passion in life (besides my wife and Star Wars...guess which came first, though?)

 

I got my 2nd degree black belt in May. I spend as much time these days on Kung Fu as I spend on Star Wars, which is saying something. (Wife is ALWAYS first in THAT category, but I wouldn't trade it).

 

Anyways, as we're mostly geeks (in a good way!) in Shao-Lin, I was curious as to who else here is into fighting arts and what they train in?

 

Thanks, everybody!

[Darth_Rob]

From 8-12th grade I trained in Tae Kwon Do, where I achieved the rank of a 1st Dan (Degree) Black Belt. After high school I had to stop, since college and work proved to be more time consuming, as well as seeing friends and such. But I had a good run.

 

I can throw shurikens and I also trained with a bo staff (my weapon on choice...damn Donatello from TMNT had an influence on me oh so many years later).

[RenegadeMax]

Cool, Darth Rob,

 

I have a couple of forms (kata) with the staff (in Chinese we call it a pang (sounds kinda like bong...))

 

Haven't *officially* learned any thrown weapons like shuriken yet - looking forward to that - but I have seen chain whip, which is sort of like a rope dart...it's like a shuriken that comes back to you! (sort of...)

 

Anyway, congrats on the 1st Dan and I hope you get a chance to get back to it sometime! (We all know how Life gets busy verrry quickly...)

[Mitth_raw_nuruodo]

I do a little foil fencing when I'm at school, but that's not exactly a martial art.

[Krytos]

It's been a long time now since I've practised any martial arts. I did karate for a while, at a rather bad dojo. I lost interest in it, from memory because it was mainly playing games - and was an all ages dojo. Never got past white belt due to a lack of interest.

 

These days, I'd enjoy the free time to be able to learn a martial art. Karate again, or perhaps Jujitsu.

[Lord_La_forge]

Sorry if there was allready a thread about this; I'm too lazy to go through 14 pages...

 

So who here is a martial artist?

 

I've been training in Shao-Lin Kung Fu for about 4 years now...it's my other big passion in life (besides my wife and Star Wars...guess which came first, though?)

 

I got my 2nd degree black belt in May. I spend as much time these days on Kung Fu as I spend on Star Wars, which is saying something. (Wife is ALWAYS first in THAT category, but I wouldn't trade it).

 

Anyways, as we're mostly geeks (in a good way!) in Shao-Lin, I was curious as to who else here is into fighting arts and what they train in?

 

Thanks, everybody!

 

I do shaolin for 8 years now. Where do you train? Back belt? We don't really have any belts here (Chan Wu Federation)

[Jahled]

I last trained in Steel Wire Mantis Kung Fu six or seven years ago, but stopped attending because I was a courier doing about fifty hours a week on a bike here in London at the time, so didn't really have enough energy to spend two nights a week of training after work.

 

Judo as a kid, Aikido yonks ago, kickboxing very briefly.

[Darth_Rob]

My older cousin used to take Akido back in the day. However, I was smart never to instigate him, since his close-combat training surpassed mine by far.

[RenegadeMax]

[quote="Lord_La_forge

I do shaolin for 8 years now. Where do you train? Back belt? We don't really have any belts here (Chan Wu Federation)

 

Yah, we have a belt system. It actually does have a history in China, but most kung fu schools now have either sashes or no formal rank system, I think. Our belts may work a little differently than some other systems. I think we actually advance more quickly earlier on, but we have SO much new material all the time that at 2nd Black I feel like I'm just really starting to get kinda good at this.

 

I train at the Chinese Shao-Lin Center in Colorado Springs, CO. Our school is part of one branch (the other is Shaolin-Do) of schools under Grandmaster Sin Kwang The. We don't specialize in a particular style like Tiger or White Crane, we do it all.

 

Our lineage goes back to before the last destruction of the temple in Fukien in the very early 1900s.

 

Most recently I've been learning some Hua mountain fist, 8 animal Pa Kua, and Hsing I (mind-form fist).

 

What styles do you train in, Lord La Forge?

[DarthTofu]

I studied under Bruce Lee, Jet Lee, Jackie Chan, and Indiana Jones to learn the ancient are of kickassery, wherein one learns to utilize such weapons as the foot for the "Praying Mantis Strikes the Family Jewels" technique, and the hand gun for the "Bullet Pierces the Heart and Kills the Fool Who Attacked Me" technique.

 

.... Yeeeeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaaaah. I never took any sort of martial arts training. I sort of got into fencing, but not really. I never even got good enough to attend a tournament, though I used some of those skills to knock my friends on the head with Kenn-do (sp?) sticks that we pretty much used self-taught styles with.

 

It's really kind of scary to know that most of the people here are probably profficient enough in martial arts to kick my @$$. Rob, in particular- I've seen pictures of him on the internet, and he just doesn't look like a blackbelt. Then again, I suppose that might be a good thing for you, so that they don't send the ninjas to kill you and all....

[Mitth_raw_nuruodo]

I studied under Bruce Lee, Jet Lee, Jackie Chan, and Indiana Jones to learn the ancient are of kickassery...

I couldn't resist. Tofu, did you perhaps mean to type art?

[Darth_Rob]

It's really kind of scary to know that most of the people here are probably profficient enough in martial arts to kick my @$$. Rob, in particular- I've seen pictures of him on the internet, and he just doesn't look like a blackbelt. Then again, I suppose that might be a good thing for you, so that they don't send the ninjas to kill you and all....

 

Yeah, I know. I gotta see if I can scrounge up some pics of me from back in the day wielding a staff or just kicking someones ass. The one pic I would love to find would be the day I got my black belt. My two instructors lifted me upside down by my legs. Its a funny pic, if I can find it.

[Mad78]

I do medieval fencing. I train mainly on a rapier but i also like to use my Viking sword. I also trained in the use of the Quarterstaff as well as in the use of the Cutlass combined with a Targe.

I am hoping that I will soon start to learn how to fight with a Rapier in one hand and a dagger in the other.

[Bruja]

i grew up in a family of 10 children; i can hold my own. i spent a lot of spare time in high school trying to knock guys off their feet. it's a good way to pass the time.

[Aenivae_Ikeda]

I've done a bit of individual studying into Aikido and practice fencing during the school year.

 

I also like to pad weapons with insulation foam and spar with them, so I usually practice with pikes, shield and flails, or just plain long-swords with those.

 

Although I'll admit that the difference between padded weapons and real ones is a fairly large gap.

[SOCL]

I was thinking of getting into Kendo since there's a place for it near my university. There's also a place for Tae Kwon Do.

[Darth_Rob]

Tae Kwon Do was interesting. However, the school I went to concentrated more on the moves and "forms" (or kata, as I think some arts call it) and working out. It did not have a heavy emphasis on sparring or self defense.

[RenegadeMax]

Yah, schools vary. A LOT. It is definitely worth the effort to shop around, ask to watch some classes, and ask lots of questions about pricing or contracts.

 

It all comes down to what you want to do with it. I love learning all the forms (kata), and fitness is definitely part of it. I also wanted to learn the practical application of all those cool moves. I'm not interested in competitions or trophies, but I do like to spar for practice. Luckily where I train is a perfect fit for all of that.

 

In the end, the chances are very slim that I'll ever have to use ANY of my training for actual self-defense, let alone the vast majority of the more exotic material (drunken boxing, animal styles). On the street, your basic groin kick, side-thrust to the knee, etc. is all you'd probably ever need. Still, it's nice to know that you're prepared!

 

In the meatime, I get to have fun with new material and play with (as my wife puts it) "spinning implements of death"!