Martial Arts

[nomis]

Recently I've become quite interested in Martial Arts, particularly that of Tai Chi and Wing Chun. I have no idea where to start. Could someone please give me a helping hand?

[stormcrow]

Have you ever looked at European martial arts? 

[fliszt]

want to do martial arts to relax or to be able to defend yourself?? or just like to fight in the ring??

i teach ninjutsu, kyokushinkarate and mixed martial arts. so what do you want to know?

[pianistimo]

wing chun? what is that?

[prometheus]

One of the forms of kung fu.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wing_chun

[rimv2]

One of the forms of kung fu

No its not. It is a martial art style. Tae Guk Sam Jeong is a form.

[pianistimo]

oh, i see.  the fight witnessed by ng mui between a snake and a crane passed on to wing chun, who was going to be forced to marry a man she didn't love.  ok.  this is really romantic.  she learns what later is to be called wing chun, and marries the man of her dreams by whipping the guy who was going to force her to be his wife.  that's really interesting.

[prometheus]

Sorry for the misuse of jargon.

[pianistimo]

wing chun probably didn't even know herself.  she just put the style and form together by watching ng mui.  it must have been like fighting herself.  'i am now a snake.  i am now a crane.'  the poor guy was probably confused by her switching sides so much.

[Siberian Husky]

Kung Fu in the style of the Siberian Husky, or Golden Retriever


WAAHAATTAH!!!


HAA!!


CHOOO!!!

[pianistimo]

you can't wear a low cut blouse.  that's the real distraction they use in movies. 

[brokenagraffe]

i would recommend wing chun gung fu for anyone, for two reasons:

1) it's what Bruce Lee started off with

2) it's one of the most practical styles; minimum movement, no fancy hand motions, no flips, maximum efficient damage.

but then you could just learn aikido where you just trip everyone and laugh at them. 

[rabbidrabbit]

Mui thai! Anyone familiar with it (I'm not)?

[bassmanjoe]

most styles of martial arts are good if they are taught right, the problem is finding a school that isn't commercial and teaches ineffectively. ill give you some signs to look out for in a school... if they have any of these, you can suspect they're crap

1) You see kids <15 years old with black belts (VERY BIG NONO). however having different belt ranks for juniors is common (but never black!!)

2) You have to sign a contract and pay lots of money. Chances are, if you think its a lot of money per month, it is. ($100/month is reasonable depending on where you live)

3) The head instructer is a 'grandmaster' or some outrageous name like that. Also a dead give away is if they are a grandmaster in 5 different arts. Even more especially if they're like 30 years old . Sensei is really all there is needed, however ranks such as 'rokyudan' or 'yudansha' are legitimate being the level of dan advanced belt they are

4) They teach >5 martial arts in one school. Its likely they're using this as a gimmick to get people in, showing one technique from each of those styles, then taking your money. On the window you'll likely see "Learn: Wing Chun, Jiu Jitsu, Kung Fu, Karate, Tae Kwon Do, Muay Thai, Judo, Sambo, BJJ, Spinning tiger-hopping duck" etc etc...

5) Just as a cautionary, a lot of tae kwon do and karate schools are these commercial teach-nothing schools, which pop up like mcdonalds (mcdojo's ). however there are some legitimate schools of twd and karate out there, but its greatly reduced by the amount of frauds... just something to be aware of

6) If they have a program such as "get a black belt in 1 year!!" because you know that just ain't right

7) If they have any camoflage, usa stripped, polka dotted etc... belts or clothings (gi's), forget it. However, some people in bjj, and judo use blue gi's and in sambo some use red. black ones are pretty uncommon, but not necessarily a dead giveaway in some cases

well thats all i could think of for now as for the style, i myself do judo which is great since you learn to throw while remaining standing. plus you learn to yeild in the face of force, instead of brute strength vs. brute strength. plus you learn groundwork in judo, similarly to brazilian jiu jitsu (bjj) but to a lesser extent, the bjj guys live on the ground. you might want to complement this with a striking art, boxing is fine enough, basic and effective. muay thai is another very good art, however in most schools the training is very intense...
as for tai chi and wing chun, both very good arts, again if taught right. tai chi can greatly improve many areas of your health and fitness, as well as relieve stress. it also no impact which is good if you have back problems or something similar.

 hope i helped 

[prometheus]

Muah Tai is a great competitive kickboxing form with Tailand buddhist tradition. Not very elegant and probably also not very effective on the street It seems it is very sportsmanshiplike.

Bassmanjoe seems to give great advice. I would also make sure you aren't in a school with all kinds of lose cannons and people interested in street fights etc. The teachers should tell you never to fight on the street and the people should be interested in the health aspects,  sportsmanship aspects, traditional aspects and cultural aspects. But that is just my opinion.

[mound]

No its not. It is a martial art style. Tae Guk Sam Jeong is a form.

Ahh, a Taekwondo practitioner

I myself am a black belt in Taekwondo, almost 2nd dan.

I also study (more my focus now actually, but I still go to the taekwondo school 3 times a week) Liu Seung Royal Gung Fu - which in reality is a combination of Shaolin Chuan Fa, Indonesian Penjat Silat and Kuntao.  deadly and efficient, not acrobatic or wasteful.

Eventually once I've attained black sash in Gung Fu, I will likely move onward to Bagua or perhaps Tai Chi to start developing my internal martial arts.

I agree with bassmanjoe's assessment of qualities to look out for.


-Paul

[stormcrow]

Kali anyone?

[rimv2]

Kali anyone?

no

5) Just as a cautionary, a lot of tae kwon do and karate schools are these commercial teach-nothing schools, which pop up like mcdonalds (mcdojo's Grin). however there are some legitimate schools of twd and karate out there, but its greatly reduced by the amount of frauds... just something to be aware of

You sound like mah little bro

[timothy42b]

No its not. It is a martial art style. Tae Guk Sam Jeong is a form.

Quite right, very perceptive of you.  Did you happen to notice that none of the beginning forms contain kicks?  And they are in fact identical to forms that somehow coexist in Shotokan, from which Taekwondo was stolen?  <hee, hee> 

[rimv2]

Ah wouldn't exactly say stolen. More like on of the practioners separated on formed his own stuff.

[bernhard]

Kali anyone?

Yeah!

[mound]

Quite right, very perceptive of you.  Did you happen to notice that none of the beginning forms contain kicks?  And they are in fact identical to forms that somehow coexist in Shotokan, from which Taekwondo was stolen?  <hee, hee> 

All (most as I recall while typing) of the Taeguek forms contain kicks, even the very first one Taegeuk Il Jang. Which system are you referring to?

[timothy42b]

Ah wouldn't exactly say stolen. More like on of the practioners separated on formed his own stuff.

Sure, that makes sense, is probably what happened.  The only thing is that most people claim a several thousand year history for TKD, which is not supportable by the evidence.  Karate itself only dates to the 1950's, post WWII, and moved to Korea in the form of Shotokan, which then evolved into the more kick oriented Tae Kwon Do.  Depending on which variation of TKD you practice, you may find the beginning forms identical with those of Shotokan, one of the more traditional Japanese styles.  I don't remember form names any more, I started in Chungdokwan back in the 70's, and later probably moved to something like what, because the forms all changed.  (The kicks changed, too, sort of.   There's been a lot of evolution since then, judging by what I see on TV and in local classes, partly driven by protective gear which made the side kick less necessary, partly I think from borrowing what works from other styles.)