I really since forever and always wanted to do some sort of martial. I think I might actually have a little bit of money for this now and need some guidance.
I'm not terribly interested in holds or grabs or throws. I want to be able to (after much guidance) be able to practice on my own, because I'm seeking more the inward strengthening that these disciplines can offer. I'm willing to put about an hour a day forward to get better. I really hope to enter into something that takes meditations or the ideas of the internal sharpening as a main component.
Here's the bit of a kicker though. I'm a musician and while these two things obviously don't go well together, I think with a smart teacher and smart practice no injury has to happen. I don't really want to compete with others , or just at a light contact level. I can't have bad things happen to my wrists : ( . I dont mind if it's armed or unarmed art.
Being a teacher myself, I'm a bit skeptical on group lesson things, but I understand this is different from music. How do most sort of group lessons work, is it better to seek out a 1 on 1 teacher?
any suggestions into what I should look into would be great. I'm in Ottawa, Canada if anyone knows anybody.
Can you explain why you want to pick up a martial art? Self-defense? Fitness? Just for the hell of it?
Capoeira and Parkour aren't exactly considered martial arts. Capoeira kind of is, but many people also do it just as a dance, and Parkour is really just running around in cool ways, but they're both contact free (at least from other people).
If you pick up Karate, there are plenty of aspects of it that don't involve sparring. Hehe, stay away from Muay Thai.
And group lessons are pretty standard for martial arts, I think. If you are really into the self-defense aspect of martial arts, look into Krav Maga (Israeli Commando Defense System Thingy).
No grabs holds or throws rules out judo and jui jitsu for sure. If you're looking for something practical that will get you into shape in addition to "mental discipline" I would try muay Thai, or something like karate or tae kwon do. Pretty much all martial arts run risk of injury but it should be minimal with proper instruction, conditioning, technique, and strength. And take group lessons or a university class.
taekwondo is a good one for getting into good shape and low risk of injury. i would say taekwondo is probably your best bet if you don't want any wrist injuries, seeing as tkd is about 80% legs/feet and only 20% arms/hands. i did it for about 7 years so i feel like i am somewhat knowledgeable about it. feel free to ask me more questions specifically regarding tkd if you're interested.
On August 03 2010 13:33 decafchicken wrote: No grabs holds or throws rules out judo and jui jitsu for sure. If you're looking for something practical that will get you into shape in addition to "mental discipline" I would try muay Thai, or something like karate or tae kwon do. Pretty much all martial arts run risk of injury but it should be minimal with proper instruction, conditioning, technique, and strength. And take group lessons or a university class.
I personally find judo very fun though :p
I would worry about something like muay thai, personally. I don't know much about this in detail, but I found when I tried boxing at my university club my hands would hurt. Oddly, they would hurt more while hitting with gloves on than with just wraps, so I would worry perhaps about something like arthritis cropping up in the future (a problem for musicians). There was actually a Sherdog article recently which claimed that the design of the boxing glove is not optimal for hand health.
I know that don't know much about boxing (or muay thai), and I don't know if there are alternate explanations for my pain, or how well founded the Sherdog article was (I will try to find it in a minute), but I think it is worth research on the part of the OP.
I also do Judo and like it quite a lot. (Although my fingers also hurt from so much gripping : / )
I would imagine that something like fencing or kendo would maximize the possibilities for competition while minimizing possibilities for injury (you are allowed to strike the gloves in kendo, so OP should obviously check that this doesn't frequently result in injury before sparring!). Good luck finding something you enjoy!
lol, musicians don't have to be scared of hurting their bodies. i'm a musician as well, and i'm not afraid to get in the thick of things, although i'm pretty gung ho i guess. if you want to teach yourself something, go krav maga. it teaches you how to react to real life situations, requires little flexibility, and is bad ass cause it originates in Israel and has no honour system (the balls are game). it's intense shit. lots of videos on it if you do a bit of searching.
On August 03 2010 13:33 decafchicken wrote: No grabs holds or throws rules out judo and jui jitsu for sure. If you're looking for something practical that will get you into shape in addition to "mental discipline" I would try muay Thai, or something like karate or tae kwon do. Pretty much all martial arts run risk of injury but it should be minimal with proper instruction, conditioning, technique, and strength. And take group lessons or a university class.
I personally find judo very fun though :p
I'm a little biased here but I agree. Judo is sort of a low contact "gentle" sport anyway. It's really fun. At my dojo we play basketball judo. It's pretty much like basketbal, except you don't bounce the ball, the ball is actually a tiny squishy ball the size of your hand and to get it out your opponent's hand you do judo/wrestling (Or whatever it takes). So it's pretty damn cool. Everyone's flipping everybody else, or rastlin' on the ground, or triple teaming the ladies.
I'm also a brown belt in Karate and I can tell you that if I had not taken any judo classes I certainly would've gotten my ass kicked by the average guy. If you want to learn something practical/self-defense oriented, whatever you choose make sure it involves full resistance "alive training". Because even krav maga that lacks "alive training" is just karate, with fancier Kata.
But one more sport I'd recommend besides Muay Thai (Which a good friend of mine does, but she does bag work only and no sparring) is boxing. It actually is a pretty engaging and strategic MA if you learn it the proper way. And it's something you can definitely hone in by yourself. After some coaching you can just hang a bag/slip bag from your ceiling and work on different drills/combinations/footwork or whatever. Granted, if you're looking to actually apply this stuff then nothing beats technical sparring, but if you do it properly like how it's laid out in this book or by your coaches then that's the closest way to do it by yourself. Lastly, there's definitely something therapeutic about murdering a heavy bag after a stressful day.
From what you're saying it sounds like you'd be most interested in some kind of Tai Chi. It focuses almost entirely on inner strength. Aikido also has a fair amount of inner focus, but there can be a lot of joint locks and throws.
Things I would recommend against (because of your preferences, not because they're bad) are: Jiujitsu (focuses on grappling) Kendo (lots of getting hit on the wrist with sticks) Tae Kwon Do (lots of sparring, can be competitive)
There are also tons of others you can look into. I don't know much about these, but you can read up on them and see if they interest you. Wushu (if you see Chinese martial arts performers, they're probably doing Wushu) Shotokan Karate (lots of hard power)
One on one lessons can be good, but they can also be more expensive. If you do end up doing a group class, and you really want personal guidance, just ask the instructor after class. Most would be happy to work with you.
Another thing to consider is cost doesn't equal quality. The most important way to see if a class is for you is to visit and observe. If you like what you see, try it out. If not, don't be afraid to walk away. Good luck with your training.
On August 03 2010 13:50 eLiE wrote: lol, musicians don't have to be scared of hurting their bodies. i'm a musician as well, and i'm not afraid to get in the thick of things, although i'm pretty gung ho i guess. if you want to teach yourself something, go krav maga. it teaches you how to react to real life situations, requires little flexibility, and is bad ass cause it originates in Israel and has no honour system (the balls are game). it's intense shit. lots of videos on it if you do a bit of searching.
Like, musician is my occupation. It's how I live and if I cant do it, I die, or work retail. It's a skill I train for about 5 hours a day when im in my prime and I wouldn't want to fuck up my wrist for the rest of my life when I don't need to. Cautious yes.
On August 03 2010 13:39 LosingID8 wrote: taekwondo is a good one for getting into good shape and low risk of injury. i would say taekwondo is probably your best bet if you don't want any wrist injuries, seeing as tkd is about 80% legs/feet and only 20% arms/hands. i did it for about 7 years so i feel like i am somewhat knowledgeable about it. feel free to ask me more questions specifically regarding tkd if you're interested.
I've always thought it would be fun to use the legs a lot. This seems like something that fits a lot with what I'm looking to get out of it.
I'm sure it varies gym to gym, but is the internal and mental a common part of this. I really want improved focus and calmness to be a component of this, which while surely is a part of all the fighting styles, I can't imagine it is a huge part of something like Krav Manga.
now i'm curious, what do you play/do for a living?
EDIT: and it almost sounds like you want to do yoga. mental and physical calm without bodily harm. i tried the p90x one this weekend and it was the hardest thing i ever did. i was sweating buckets 15 minutes in. it was pretty cool. the guy kept saying storm behind the calm. that'd be a good thing to look at if you want body / mental discipline, as well as martial arts. i'd also recommend TKD then. nothing like being able to kick someone in the face.
On August 03 2010 13:58 eLiE wrote: now i'm curious, what do you play/do for a living?
Play gigs in restaurants and weddings, festivals of varying sizes (corn stock this month.... oh canada, and in october in the back up band for a national spoken word festival) and teach privately. What I practice is primarily classical as it hones the technique and musical instincts and jazz . Basically, pure prostitution on an aural level.
On August 03 2010 13:55 ramen- wrote: From what you're saying it sounds like you'd be most interested in some kind of Tai Chi.
That might be the answer, at first I thought I might like something with some more direct physical component, but this certainly wont hurt to look into. Thank you.
Just to suggest something different... look up Wing Chun and see if you like that. I see you're looking into martial arts and fighting aspects as well as the focus and 'inner strength' stuff.
Oh, and since you say you wanna practice on your own after a while; after you get good, you get to practice on a wooden dummy, so you don't need a practice partner.
On August 03 2010 13:50 eLiE wrote: lol, musicians don't have to be scared of hurting their bodies. i'm a musician as well, and i'm not afraid to get in the thick of things, although i'm pretty gung ho i guess. if you want to teach yourself something, go krav maga. it teaches you how to react to real life situations, requires little flexibility, and is bad ass cause it originates in Israel and has no honour system (the balls are game). it's intense shit. lots of videos on it if you do a bit of searching.
Like, musician is my occupation. It's how I live and if I cant do it, I die, or work retail. It's a skill I train for about 5 hours a day in general and I wouldn't want to fuck up my wrist for the rest of my life when I don't need to. Cautious yes.
On August 03 2010 13:39 LosingID8 wrote: taekwondo is a good one for getting into good shape and low risk of injury. i would say taekwondo is probably your best bet if you don't want any wrist injuries, seeing as tkd is about 80% legs/feet and only 20% arms/hands. i did it for about 7 years so i feel like i am somewhat knowledgeable about it. feel free to ask me more questions specifically regarding tkd if you're interested.
I've always thought it would be fun to use the legs a lot. This seems like something that fits a lot with what I'm looking to get out of it.
I'm sure it varies gym to gym, but is the internal and mental a common part of this. I really want improved focus and calmness to be a component of this, which while surely is a part of all the fighting styles, I can't imagine it is a huge part of something like Krav Manga.
Krav Maga is more about making self-defense your natural response, or making your natural-response a good self-defense. If someone's trying to choke you with their two hands, for example, most people would immediately reach to the two hands that are grabbing their neck. Krav Maga's defense against this choke starts with the same action that people naturally do anyway. It's focused more on being instinctual, not necessarily calm or focused.
EDIT: It might not be what you're looking for, BUT IT'S SO COOL!!!! O_O
On August 03 2010 13:50 eLiE wrote: lol, musicians don't have to be scared of hurting their bodies. i'm a musician as well, and i'm not afraid to get in the thick of things, although i'm pretty gung ho i guess. if you want to teach yourself something, go krav maga. it teaches you how to react to real life situations, requires little flexibility, and is bad ass cause it originates in Israel and has no honour system (the balls are game). it's intense shit. lots of videos on it if you do a bit of searching.
Like, musician is my occupation. It's how I live and if I cant do it, I die, or work retail. It's a skill I train for about 5 hours a day in general and I wouldn't want to fuck up my wrist for the rest of my life when I don't need to. Cautious yes.
On August 03 2010 13:39 LosingID8 wrote: taekwondo is a good one for getting into good shape and low risk of injury. i would say taekwondo is probably your best bet if you don't want any wrist injuries, seeing as tkd is about 80% legs/feet and only 20% arms/hands. i did it for about 7 years so i feel like i am somewhat knowledgeable about it. feel free to ask me more questions specifically regarding tkd if you're interested.
I've always thought it would be fun to use the legs a lot. This seems like something that fits a lot with what I'm looking to get out of it.
I'm sure it varies gym to gym, but is the internal and mental a common part of this. I really want improved focus and calmness to be a component of this, which while surely is a part of all the fighting styles, I can't imagine it is a huge part of something like Krav Manga.
Krav Maga is more about making self-defense your natural response, or making your natural-response a good self-defense. If someone's trying to choke you with their two hands, for example, most people would immediately reach to the two hands that are grabbing their neck. Krav Maga's defense against this choke starts with the same action that people naturally do anyway. It's focused more on being instinctual, not necessarily calm or focused.
Just one thing, Krav Maga teaches you to turn your neck in such a way to make a choke less lethal, and to retaliate by doing a throw, strikes to your opponent's weak spots, or gouging his eyes out.
On August 03 2010 14:08 Severedevil wrote: You can center yourself without an instructor.
Practice abdominal breathing. Stretch regularly. Correct your posture.
And spend time in your body. Focus on the fluidity of motion, and your sensory inputs. Quiet your thoughts/observations/judgments, and flow.
I appreciate this perspective but I'd like to approach from as many ways as possible, and understand it with the body as well as the spirit. I have a decent experience with the (sorry for lack of a better word) "passive" grounding of yourself to focus on the task at hand, but would like some more.
Tae Kwon do is looking pretty interesting to me. I looked up some of the top Wing Chun guys and can not believe the speed and relaxation.
I've been doing Muay Thai for about two and a half years and never had an injuries from it (aside from black eyes). I'd definitely recommend it as long as you can actually find a good instructor.
Most gyms that claim they teach MT just have you hit a bag for an hour
So calming and meditative, extremely safe and very injury free (unless you get really hardcore), great exercise. Don't injure those wrists...strengthen them!
On August 03 2010 14:19 sob3k wrote: Rock climbing!!!!!!
So calming and meditative, extremely safe and very injury free (unless you get really hardcore), great exercise. Don't injure those wrists...strengthen them!
Goodbye fingernails : ( . I did it a few times with gloves and it wasn't quite as bad but it was such a drain on hands I was a bit turned off.
EPT
