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DirtMcGirk

<b>WAY</b> Dumber than N8 (to the power of ten alm
Feb 21, 2008
6,379
1
Oz
Beyond bikes and being bikesexuals, do any of you do Jujitsu or Kendo?

I am starting to realize through the work I am doing that I am a naturally aggressive guy who enjoys fighting. I need to find something to concentrate that into, to keep me disciplined and on track.

Lately I have been looking hard at both of these. I like the practical application of Jujitsu, good for out and about in the world. However, I like the spiritual/concentration side of Kendo.

Any words of advice?
 

strangeland2

Monkey
Jul 11, 2007
305
0
masshole
I dont fight and go out of my way to keep myself out of situations that might get me into those situations. However I love martial arts of any kind and wish I wasnt a lazy sack and could keep with it.

If its for the sole purpose of fighting why not find a mixed martial arts gym?

I went with a Chinese kung fu back in high school. I was only in it to learn the forms. It had some awesome forms so that ended up being a good choice. I didnt stick with it very long though (enlisted and went to boot camp.) I tried getting back into after I got out of the military but didnt like the teaching style of the newer instructor so I stopped going again.

So after all that non sense I can get to my only advice which really wont help any. Try both places (or as many places that offer what you re looking for) and just go with which ever style that has people you get along with. If you can already fight learning a martial art will only put a few more tricks up your sleeve. If you cant fight it doesnt really matter what you learn you re still going to get beat. Its a huge commitment so ya might as well make sure you re surrounded by people you ll be able to tolerate.
 

Kanye West

220# bag of hacktastic
Aug 31, 2006
3,740
470
Aw crap, now you're planning to ninja your way through Afghanistan??

Muy Thai and Krav Maga are more worth a look in my opinion. Not necessarily for the spiritual now-I-think-I'm-cooler-by-meditating crap, but for sheer effectiveness.
 

jimmydean

The Official Meat of Ridemonkey
Sep 10, 2001
40,938
13,133
Portland, OR


I used to train Filipino martial arts, mostly stick and knife (some call Kali, some call it Escrima) with Al Dacascos when he had a studio in Beaverton. But ever since he was honored as one of the top martial artists of the 20th century, he got too cocky to have a little studio.

I still practice from time to time, but I haven't had a lesson in years.
 

Quo Fan

don't make me kick your ass
At the lower ranks, most martial arts are the same, or very similar. It is when you get to the higher ranks, mostly above black belt, that they tend to separate.

Basically, you get out what you put into it. If you want to just beat people, then most schools don't want you there, because you will end up hurting other students, and that isn't good for business.

I'm not well versed in jujitsu, but I do know that it is a very good workout, and very tiring.

If you are truly interested, investigate different schools in your area. Talk with the students, not just the instructors. The instructors will give you "the party line", but the students will "tell it like it is". See how many beginning students are in class, how many intermediate, how many advanced, how many black belts. If the school is rank heavy, that should be a clue as to how the instructor teaches.

Enough of my babble.
 

Kanye West

220# bag of hacktastic
Aug 31, 2006
3,740
470
Find a class with no ranks at all. No funny colors or belts. Just a t-shirt and shorts and a mat.

One of the best schools I ever trained at was like this. The best one was from an instructor who had only two belts - white and black. And you never knew when you were getting near your black belt.
 

DirtyMike

Turbo Fluffer
Aug 8, 2005
14,437
1,017
My own world inside my head
Beyond bikes and being bikesexuals, do any of you do Jujitsu or Kendo?

I am starting to realize through the work I am doing that I am a naturally aggressive guy who enjoys fighting. I need to find something to concentrate that into, to keep me disciplined and on track.

Lately I have been looking hard at both of these. I like the practical application of Jujitsu, good for out and about in the world. However, I like the spiritual/concentration side of Kendo.

Any words of advice?


Any martial art categorie you look into wont want you there if you enjoy fighting. Learning any style is about control, and balance. The ability to defend yourself is a side effect. I did Mixed for a long time when I was younger, belive it or not, thats how I came to control my temper. I had a hard time getting a studio to take me as a student because of my temper, but My parents and I found a place that really pushed me to control my actions, control my emotions, and focus mental and physcial strengths together. Helped me to be able to think clearly in situations alot of people would just panic, helped me to stay out of fights, and of coarse, it helped tobuild my confidence as a person in general.

You can do any of the martial arts and also get some good meditation in to help focus your mind. Mixing meditation with Martial arts training is great way to learn control, calmness, and discipline
 

Nick

My name is Nick
Sep 21, 2001
23,927
14,438
where the trails are
I've found that there is nothing better for being overly aggressive then getting your ass kicked a dozen or so times.

[size=-2]sorry, I have nothing constructive to add to your thread. well, nothing else.[/size]
 

DirtMcGirk

<b>WAY</b> Dumber than N8 (to the power of ten alm
Feb 21, 2008
6,379
1
Oz
There is an appeal to getting my ass kicked. I need that right now. Gotta get all the way to the floor boards before I can get to rebuilding.

I also need to learn the control aspect. I can hurt people like the best of them, and its something I am not very proud of. I need to find a way to fence that back in.
 

jimmydean

The Official Meat of Ridemonkey
Sep 10, 2001
40,938
13,133
Portland, OR
Find a class with no ranks at all. No funny colors or belts. Just a t-shirt and shorts and a mat.
:stupid:

For stick class, it was shorts and t-shirt. We often had our shoes on, too. But I would stay for Muay Thai after since it didn't cost extra and was an awesome cardio push.

Al would bring in "home movies" of fights, holy crap it was brutal.
 

FlyinPolack

Monkey
Jul 16, 2007
371
0
Find a class with no ranks at all. No funny colors or belts. Just a t-shirt and shorts and a mat.

One of the best schools I ever trained at was like this. The best one was from an instructor who had only two belts - white and black. And you never knew when you were getting near your black belt.
A friend of mine just started at a place like that. He loves that approach too.
 

Kevin

Turbo Monkey
Ive done Brazillian Jiu Jitsu and Kickboxing.
Jiu Jitsu is probably not for you.
Kickboxing is a very good way to lose some healthy agression. Not because youre kicking people, but because its so hard physically. A good hour of kickbox training will wear you down for 2 days...

Try it.
 

Crashby

Monkey
Jan 26, 2003
947
1
Rochester, NY
Make sure you focus on what you are trying to achieve here.. most martial arts teach you NOT to fight, and rarely have 'fighting sessions' (just gentle sparring). If you really feel that battling it out with someone (full headgear, pads, etc.) is what will help you here (I would disagree with this approach), then find a gym that will cater to that - Kick-boxing, Moi Thai, etc. I would focus more on the technique, discipline, of martial arts..
 

llkoolkeg

Ranger LL
Sep 5, 2001
4,329
5
in da shed, mon, in da shed
My advice is to do some serious soul-searching and homework first. If you're not willing to stick with it and devote yourself to the art for a few years, don't bother. Most martial arts schools pay the bills with 1-6 month chumps so that they can continue training their legitimate students. At my tae-kwon-do dojo(the one I attended, not owned), you could tell within two weeks who had the fortitude to see it through and who was just there for the free uniform and bumper sticker. As both arts you mentioned are Japanese in origin, I would advise learning the basics of Japan's history, culture, social protocol(etiquette) and language before even stepping foot in a dojo. If you ARE serious about martial discipleship, such things will serve you much more in the long run than attempting to impress the sensei on your first day with your karate-kid punches and kicks. Additionally, for practical self-defense purposes, jujutsu is the more useful art. Kendo is very good for developing your focus, strategic readiness and mental strength but is most useful after you already have a solid foundation in unarmed combat skills.

And just because I couldn't help but to share some of my prized Japanese weapons, here is a sampling-
 

MikeD

Leader and Demogogue of the Ridemonkey Satinists
Oct 26, 2001
11,669
1,713
chez moi
Kendo's a sport derived from fighting, not really a fighting art. It is derived from techniques used against people wearing armor (hence the scoring system and extremely limited target areas), so even if you were going to try to learn swordfighting for real with live blades, Kendo's techniques will limit you. And really, swordfighting's not of any good use...might as well learn stick fighting if there's a prac-ap foreseen anywhere.

That said, it can be good fun. Mostly, though, you'll find the community to be nerds whacking each other with sticks and paying homage to an overweight comic book guy who claims super skills. If you find a good dojo and enjoy the tradition aspect of it, it's as much cultural as physical. It's also decent exercise and develops great mindset and reflexes. If you don't find western fencing appealing, you won't find kendo appealing, either.

Jujutsu can mean so many things. Traditional, brazilian, whatever. If you want to learn practical fighting, maybe find, as someone else suggested, a "modern combatatives" or "mixed martial arts" class, or a Krava Maga school.

They tend to be well-rounded, but you should also be careful in choosing whether you're looking at a mixed-martial-arts competition focus (one opponent, controlled environment) or a practical focus (anything goes.) At first, you won't notice too much of a difference, but at a higher level, it's probably going to be big.

If you're looking for a more alternative mindset, maybe look at aikido...? Not practical fighting techniques (at first, anyhow...and even then, sometimes debatable) but great for stretching, relaxation, awareness and thinking about things in a different way. (In some of the more traditional schools, anyhow...there are of course more Americanized and aggressive dojos out there...) I took aikido along with iaido (moving meditative sword forms done with a training blade or live blade) and really dug it for a while.
 

jimmydean

The Official Meat of Ridemonkey
Sep 10, 2001
40,938
13,133
Portland, OR
...might as well learn stick fighting if there's a prac-ap foreseen anywhere.
One of the many things I loved about stick and knife is it translates to sword and is equally useful as open hand. Stick and open hand, stick and knife, double stick, knife and open hand, sword and shield, pool cue and broken bottle, all good.
 

MikeD

Leader and Demogogue of the Ridemonkey Satinists
Oct 26, 2001
11,669
1,713
chez moi
One of the many things I loved about stick and knife is it translates to sword and is equally useful as open hand. Stick and open hand, stick and knife, double stick, knife and open hand, sword and shield, pool cue and broken bottle, all good.
Yeah, I wanted to try escrima because the commonality of movement seems like a very practically-based way to structure things...but alas, the only teacher I could find was like, "Oh, you're here? Cool. It costs $75 a month. Here's a stick. Do this with it."

There was no discussion or practice of the overall scheme of things or establishment of basics like stance, balance, whatever. Just "spin the stick around like this...then this..." Too bad--I'd like to see how a good school does it.

The more I think about what Dirt wants to do, the more I think he should go and take some Krav Maga with a place that trains hard contact. It'll get that aggression out and teach some potentially useful stuff, and it's designed to teach a number of practical techniques in a limited time. It's based on military basic training, not any higher philosophical notions; you don't really miss out on the point if you don't spend years pursuing it.

f he's still looking for something else after a few months of that, he should try a traditional Japanese art/sport. Kendo, aikido, iaido, whatever, from a school that does it the right way. Or he should just go to a Rinzai zen dojo and sit with them for a while. They're just two approaches to the same mindset.
 

LeRoy

Monkey
Apr 11, 2002
375
0
Wellington - NZ
A big bag of enthusiasm tempered with a **** pile of humility is the way to enter a new gym. If fighting is what you want, go to a Muay Thai gym where you can at very least take it out on some pads and the heavy bags. If there are other beginners in the class, you can spar with someone your level and undoubtedly the master will dance with you for a few rounds and poke you in the face/turn your quads purple with leg kicks at will.

Unlike everyone else who has tried to steer you away from JiuJitsu, I think it might be something you'd like. You will learn something new EVERY single session and there is no better thing to make you remember your mistakes than have to tap.
 

DirtMcGirk

<b>WAY</b> Dumber than N8 (to the power of ten alm
Feb 21, 2008
6,379
1
Oz

become the teapot
This is genius.
He was a genius.
I think I am going to apply this to a lot of my life.

Went to a jujitsu class tonight, it was a blast.
Going to hit the mui thai class on Saturday night. I hear its a slam a minute.

Pain is good, lets me know I am alive still.
 

LeRoy

Monkey
Apr 11, 2002
375
0
Wellington - NZ
Pain is good, lets me know I am alive still.
That is a conclusion I came to while lying in a hospital bed after a motorcycle accident. I started to visualize my life's worth as summation of the times where it deviates from the "treading water" state that most folks exist in.
 

DirtMcGirk

<b>WAY</b> Dumber than N8 (to the power of ten alm
Feb 21, 2008
6,379
1
Oz
The times I have been worst hurt, in the most pain, both physically and emotionally, are the moments I can pinpoint my biggest lessons and breakthroughs in life.

They are the moments that define me.