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CA10826 Posts
On August 03 2010 13:55 ella_guru wrote:Show nested quote +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.
it really depends on the place you go to. there are different groups within taekwondo that all have slightly different philosophies, but i'm not very knowledgeable about those so i couldn't tell you which ones. i know mine did have us do some meditation but i don't know how common that is. mental strength is going to be there regardless of whatever dojang you decide to attend. beware of the pay-for-promotion places though. tkd has become very commercial within the last 10 years or so. if you see intermediate/advanced students (blue, brown, red, black belts) and their technique looks like crap, DO NOT GO THERE.
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On August 03 2010 14:22 ella_guru wrote:Show nested quote +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. Thanks for the alternative solution though
yeah, if you really need long nails then thats probably not gonna work. The hands toughen up after 1-2 weeks and then its not a problem, plus tough hands are good for guitar too. Long nails are no good though.
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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 agree with this, though in my personal taste, TKD is pretty useless. Been practicing on and off for four years. Only way to stop a guy about to bring a sword down on you? High block..
Other then that, I would go Kickboxing as it is also great cardio as well.
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Wushu,
or anything chinese (even something like Tai chi), but it really depends on who you will be training with. 90% of things suggested have very little to do with meditation/mental strength.
Karate-do is very good, different schools too. Strong focus on spiritual aspect. Taekwondo is fun but it is definitely special and stands aside.
You should be looking for either japanese or chinese arts because this is something that fits your requirements.
Suggestions like "krav maga" are just comical, if I wanted to get into something like this I'd get into with sambo and judo (which it's based off anyways), it has very little of what the OP is looking for. Something pops up on youtube and next thing you know it's the deadliest martial art hahaha.
I've done muay thai for a few years, it's more about hard work and practice, you will definitely get hurt in process and you won't be able to do it on your own without a punching bag. If you can find a traditional school they might teach you how to prepare yourself for the fight and meditate but it is very unlikely outside of Thailand.
Wushu seems like the best idea for you, ella_guru!
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If you don't want to use your legs much and don't want to do grabs/holds, then it seems like regular boxing would be the best for you.
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Not sure of the details and how much contact is involved but for an armed martial art you could try the Filipino Eskrima.
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A lot of martial arts places (here in Toronto anyway) allow like initial free lessons so that you can drop in and check out the place, the instructors and the style of martial arts they teach.
I say, you should take advantage of those free lessons and just go and see first hand what you're getting yourself into.
As informative TL.net members are, nothing beats just going and seeing the real thing.
If the place around you doesn't allow a free lessons or two; tell them they need to update their business skills lol because literally all Toronto places that teach MMA or martial arts try to pull you in with a couple of free classes.
I myself have done Karate (Kyokushin style) and Tae Kwon Do. But that was back when I was like 14-17.
These days I like to play music or dance. (By the way, martial arts training totally helps with dance lessons, no lies.)
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check out the series "Human Weapon" gives you an idea of what martial arts around the world has to offer
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From your description, I second the suggestion of tai chi. A good (or even halfway decent!) teacher will be able to impart the martial aspect as well.
Unlike muay thai or wing chun, it will take ages for you to use it effectively. However, if you are worried about injuries and physical contact, I suppose you are in no hurry to use this in a fight.
I studied Yang style for three years and if you would like to know more, PM me and I can talk to you about the basics.
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What the hell? You want a martial art that isn't about throws or locks, yet also has no or light contact? Would be the principal goal of engagement? To blink at them? It seems like your goal is more to find a center then a martial art // self defense knowledge. It is not necessary to learn one to achieve what you are looking for. Yoga, etc will help you.
Sorry for being a little harsh, but there will need to be some physical effort put into learning a martial art. However, I would steer you towards some of the chinese TMA's. Tai Chi Chaun or Wing Chun in particular.
They do sparring, but it is not necessary, they do have forms that can be done solo. However WC does also have drills that may require a partner, as well as solo drills that can be done using a dummy.
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Ahh this is great I'm learning a lot here with lots of kindness. I'm checking out the tae kwon do place and wushu place here this week, looks like whatever I choose is going to be loads of fun.
@ News , what do you mean by Tae Kwon Do is special and stands aside?
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To be honest...there really is no point in learning any combat martial art without doing some type of sparring from time to time. Hitting a bag and pontificating the higher points of your art is fun and great exercise, but it's meaningless without practical application.
If all you're worried about is injuring your wrists, then just wear wraps. As long as you wrap your wrists properly, there isn't any way you'll hurt your wrists, especially if it's just some light sparring.
I couldn't imagine learning a combat art without sparring but to each his own. Maybe something like tai chi is good if you want "spiritual strength." I've never really delved much into that kind of stuff. Hell, maybe you can also try something like kendo.
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On August 04 2010 03:32 lvatural wrote:
To be honest...there really is no point in learning any combat martial art without doing some type of sparring from time to time. Hitting a bag and pontificating the higher points of your art is fun and great exercise, but it's meaningless without practical application.
If all you're worried about is injuring your wrists, then just wear wraps. As long as you wrap your wrists properly, there isn't any way you'll hurt your wrists, especially if it's just some light sparring.
I couldn't imagine learning a combat art without sparring but to each his own. Maybe something like tai chi is good if you want "spiritual strength." I've never really delved much into that kind of stuff. Hell, maybe you can also try something like kendo.
The wrist wraps are good help? I don't want to avoid it completely, but want to minimize my chances of something really bad happening. but my focus isn't to win competitions or what have you.
Right now it looks like Tae Kwon Do or Wing Chun , or Wushu would be the most enjoyable that seem to (depending) have a root in the spirit (the latter, at least). There are gyms for each of these all within about 30 minute bus ride, so I will be checking them out this week.
Any suggestions as to what to look for in a teacher? I'm sure I'll instinctually know if he/she is someone that will fit well with me, but there are some things a beginner just can't know to look out for
Here are some of the places
http://www.ottawakungfucentre.com/index.php
http://www.taelee.ca/
I only hope there web design skills are not reflective of their martials arts >_< haha
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As a TKD instructor I agree that in terms of self-defense it's not the best selection (especially if thats primarily what you're looking for).
But by what you're saying, it's not. You're just looking for something that can keep you in shape, easy going-ish but still fun and focuses on 'inner spirit'.
While Taekwondo does put some emphasis on this, it will totally depend on the instructor/master/dojang. As well as the division/type of TKD. WTF (World Taekwondo Federation, lol) versus ITF (International Taekwondo Federation). Each have similar forms/principals but in terms of sparring and belts/testing they're different. Sparring is not mandatory (at my studio it isn't) but it can get awfully competitive depending on where you go. WTF TKD is the Olympic version, so a lot of studios may focus more strongly on sparring than others. Or offer it as a separate program.
POINT IS: Based on what you've posted, your TKD program choice sounds excellent (I've heard of Grandmaster Lee, he's a good guy). From just the site it's obvious that there is a strong focus on the more internal aspects of the martial art. Definitely go for a 'TRY ME' program and make it clear up-front what you're really hoping to get out of it.
also: If you go with TKD you can send videos and I'll critique you :p
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I'm still tipping you to go for WingChun 
I took TaeKwonDo for about 5 years, and it doesn't really teach you much about inner/spiritual strength, calmness, discipline, etc. Although I'm sure it depends on the teacher. We go to the lesson, stretch for like 30 minutes, do a couple warmup patterns of punches/kicks, practice patterns, then spar (the only fun part lol). Repeat. I definitely got a good workout everytime, and it was fun to spar (though I wish we didn't have to use such bigass gloves/footpadthings), but.... that doesn't seem like what you're looking for.
Do still go and check out what the place is like where you are though. Maybe you'll have a teacher who focuses more on the stuff you're looking for. I doubt it though. Pretty much all TaeKwonDo places teaches you: stretching, patterns, and scoring points when you land a kick on someone.
For the teacher, see if he or she actually loves teaching and improving the students. See if he focuses on details as well as the overall picture. Like if someone is throwing a straight punch, the teacher should not just watch them do it while counting; he should make sure everything is correct - stance, feet/leg position, posture, shoulder/arm/wrist, how you power your punch, etc. That stuff is important.
I'm a competitive tabletennis player, and I've taken lessons from 2 coaches before. My main coach, a Korean guy who used to play for the S Korean cadet national team, was an excellent teacher. He taught you the stuff you needed to know, focusing on footwork, form, and technique during the early stages. As I progressed, he added more stuff, like how I impacted the ball, where my power came from, ball placement. From a beginner to an advanced player, a good coach will ALWAYS find something for you to practice and work on, making sure you focus on what is appropriate for your level.
The other coach is a pretty good American player (for US standards, rated 2150), and I can tell he is not as passionate about teaching as the Korean guy. I personally think he's giving lessons to make money and become more influential in the club. He doesn't give private lessons (much better for the student), and in the group lessons he gives, he just sends off the students into pairs and has them do drills. I mean, they can do that without having to pay the coach. He doesn't analyze the student so that he understands what they need to be learning. He was teaching the whole group how to do hook shots (sidespin loopdrive) when the skill level of the group ranged from beginner to intermediate. Hell, these students don't even have the basic footwork and forehand/backhand strokes down.
I'm sure you can tell if a teacher is a good fit for you.
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On August 04 2010 00:22 ella_guru wrote:
Ahh this is great I'm learning a lot here with lots of kindness. I'm checking out the tae kwon do place and wushu place here this week, looks like whatever I choose is going to be loads of fun.
@ News , what do you mean by Tae Kwon Do is special and stands aside?
It's special in the regard that it is different from every other martial art, it concentrates almost strictly on kicks and it is neither very practical nor spiritual. You are taught to score points, it looks really fun but most of the flying kicks are only meant to touch that scoring spot on the body. Like the guy above said - it gets competitive and that's the main concept of it. I can imagine they have very good schools in Korea where they teach you everything, from it's philosophy to meditation. Everywhere else though - probably not, you are mostly looking to be exercising and trying to increase your flexibility and speed, not much thinking behind that. It is a cool sport though, always fun to watch TKD highlights.
Okay ieatkids5 just made a great post about TKD, good insight.
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Ella, if you're worried about your wrists, stop playing BW. No carpal tunnel that way. :D
On a serious note - I did a form of Akido (shodokan) for years when I was younger. Most of it is conditioning, reflexes, balance, self-defense, and discipline. However, it still holds competitions on a regular basis (I qualified for a tournament where I would have had to travel to India to compete, with most of the expenses actually paid..... I should have went.....).
I also took side-classes for weapons training. From the bo to the katana. Both how to use and how to defend against. Some pretty cool stuff.
I can't remember, in any of the years I did this, that anybody got injured. And in those competitions, you can hit your opponent pretty hard (some types actually encourage grabs and throws, which is where wrist injuries would actually happen). I've had far worse injuries just walking around in my back yard..... No joke.....
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On August 04 2010 04:43 ella_guru wrote:
The wrist wraps are good help? I don't want to avoid it completely, but want to minimize my chances of something really bad happening. but my focus isn't to win competitions or what have you.
When you're practicing an art that focuses on striking, wraps pretty much ensure protection for your wrists. Always used 'em in boxing and continue to do so in Muay Thai.
The only problem is that you seem to be heading towards the TKD, karate, wing chun area where no one really uses precautions like wraps because it really isn't necessary (thin target pads instead of heavy bag, a greater emphasis on kicks and fancy handwork, etc...). So if you really want to protect your wrists you can wear 'em, but you'll probably stand out since you'll be the only one using 'em.
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I don't agree that learning a martial art is meaningless without sparring/self defence. Different people get different things out of activities at different levels. While sparring will take your wushu/tai chi etc. to another level, there are plenty of people who do it for health and for fun. Just like there are people who get their kicks from playing money maps in bw.
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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 agree with this. Been doing TKD since I was a been a little kid. Most of it is just kicking targets. If your instructor is good, then everything should be very safe. Sparring is pretty safe too, seeing as you wear a lot of padding.
If you're into just working out, I'd say cardio kick boxing or something along those lines.
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EPT
