# COMPETITIVE BODYBUILDING - POWERLIFTING - ATHLETICS & SPORTS > BOXING / FIGHTING / WRESTLING >  Considering Martial Arts

## LawMan018

I've tried my hand at numerous martial arts over the years. As a young kid I took Karate. Later on Tang Soo Do & Tai Chi Chu'an. And most recently four years ago BJJ and Boxing & Kickboxing (Last two aren't really Martial Arts, just some more stuff). I never trained in them for too long. BJJ was my longest and that was about a year.
Recently I discovered a Martial Arts training place about 45 minutes away from where I'm currently stationed. They're offering two classes that have peaked my interest. Wing Chun, and Jeet Kune Do.
I've been interested in those two styles for quite some time, but have never been near a place that taught them that would be feasible to attend on a regular basis. I've always been a fan of Bruce Lee, and I know he branched off from Wing Chun (along with Boxing & Fencing) to create his own style which is of course, Jeet Kune Do.
Now finally for my question, lol. Do any members here have any experience doing these Martial Arts? I would like something practical, that I could "no shit" use if I was under attack. If you do please share with me your experiences with either and if you would recommend them. Thank you.

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## terraj

imo- most Kung Fu is not practical, some of the Southern Styles which have strong stances which allow some powerful techniques are good if you get a couple of years behind you. But in a couple years of training in boxing/kick boxing most people could really handle one or two attackers quiet easily.

^^ Only my thoughts based on my life, *don't* want any pissing match about styles.

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## LawMan018

> imo- most Kung Fu is not practical, some of the Southern Styles which have strong stances which allow some powerful techniques are good if you get a couple of years behind you. But in a couple years of training in boxing/kick boxing most people could really handle one or two attackers quiet easily.
> 
> ^^ Only my thoughts based on my life, *don't* want any pissing match about styles.


I somewhat agree, however, with the Jeet Kune Do for example... It's supposed to be a, "style without style". It basically takes the best and most useful techniques from several different discipline, and incorporates them into one. So in essence it could be considered the start of MMA. That is what really got me interested. I'm not looking for any fancy cool looking stances that wouldn't do crap for me in a real life situation.

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## terraj

Really I don't know much about Jeet Kune Do.....

But I do know that you learn a lot more about yourself and fighting when you are getting hit in the face. But in saying that, I think it would make a good secondary art.

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## zimmy

if you have already done a year of bjj and have a small idea of ground protection...and you are only looking for real world applications...I'd say boxing definately. Boxing's only drawback is not knowing sh*t when you end up on the floor (which most fights do)....so if you a small idea of bjj...then yah it's good.

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## LawMan018

> if you have already done a year of bjj and have a small idea of ground protection...and you are only looking for real world applications...I'd say boxing definately. Boxing's only drawback is not knowing sh*t when you end up on the floor (which most fights do)....so if you a small idea of bjj...then yah it's good.


I do... I mean, obviously I'm no expert and it's been awhile but I know the basics.

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## mmakid

Listen every traditional martial art is garbage that is simply not effective ( proven in many early UFC's ) If your going to train in anything train MMA, find a good school with good instructors and one that has a lot of fighters currently fighting. If mma is not your thing learn BJJ, its slower paced and more technical.

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## JDub1980

LawMan , I would say do what your interested in , you will be more likely to be committed in something that has sparked your own interest for years rather than what some stranger tells you.. It is only practical if you master it ... Do you think Bruce Lee couldn't defend himself in a street conflict ? It sounds like you are not trying to fight/compete and you want to take up a martial arts and learn a little self defense. I say do it man only because of your high interest. 

I did Muay Thai for many years , boxed for 5 and some BJJ over the last 3 years.. I like striking so I prefer MT .. this has always helped me in bouncing jobs when ever I was engaged.

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## Hunter

> Listen every traditional martial art is garbage that is simply not effective ( proven in many early UFC's ) If your going to train in anything train MMA, find a good school with good instructors and one that has a lot of fighters currently fighting. If mma is not your thing learn BJJ, its slower paced and more technical.


I dont trust many school that offer mma classes. Your far better off going to school that offers bjj, muay thai, etc independent of each other. I mean how many schools are opened up by shitheads who had a couple of fights at very amatuer shows who offer mma classes? a lot.

It takes years in most cases to become good at bjj, wrestling or any other art. Much less trying to combine them in one class.

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## J-Crane

some people here are giving some real bad advise fist what are you wanting to train for the ring? street? fun? ive trained in kung fu mouy thi savot american kick boxing jj judo ninjitsu its more important to find the right trainer and a little history about martial art jj judo and karate all come from kung fu the first emperor of japan was a general from china who lost a battle and was suppose to kill him self but ran you can learn all those in kung fu but can you take all the info in at one time? most cant because kata means hidden form theres also another draw back most dont teach the forms being worked from all sides the person your fighting isnt always going to be were the next move takes you so youll need to do it yourself also there more to jeet kune do he trained more martial arts then i have and remember train for what you want there are no referees or rounds or rules on the street there are a lot of rules in boxing and mma but if you let the person training know what your training for they may be able to accommodate you i cheated with my kung fu with other martial arts something about breaking it down will help you learn what the katas moves are for and make it more usable and its easier for the brain to absorb and last but not least no matter what you martial art you train in train like your going to use it with this mind set any martial art is usable for kicking ass

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## terraj

> some people here are giving some real bad advise fist what are you wanting to train for the ring? street? fun? ive trained in kung fu mouy thi savot american kick boxing jj judo ninjitsu its more important to find the right trainer and a little history about martial art jj judo and karate all come from kung fu the first emperor of japan was a general from china who lost a battle and was suppose to kill him self but ran you can learn all those in kung fu but can you take all the info in at one time? most cant because kata means hidden form theres also another draw back most dont teach the forms being worked from all sides the person your fighting isnt always going to be were the next move takes you so youll need to do it yourself also there more to jeet kune do he trained more martial arts then i have and remember train for what you want there are no referees or rounds or rules on the street there are a lot of rules in boxing and mma but if you let the person training know what your training for they may be able to accommodate you i cheated with my kung fu with other martial arts something about breaking it down will help you learn what the katas moves are for and make it more usable and its easier for the brain to absorb and last but not least no matter what you martial art you train in train like your going to use it with this mind set any martial art is usable for kicking ass



How about training in punctuation ?

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## J-Crane

why those were invented by if i remember right queen Victoria maybe it was one of England other queens who had dyslexia and got tired of people making fun of her so she changed the language i see no reason in be dyslexic she also switched some of the letters around & she thought the punctuations were pretty train in some history! since you had nothing of value to add to this post

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## terraj

I could not even read your post Bro...really.

I guess English is not your native language, I'm sorry to be a prick.

Take a look at the below linked book-

http://www.dummies.com/how-to/conten...at-sheet0.html

See, I had something useful to add :Smilie:

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## shortybrolick

For the ring I would say Wing Chun has some pretty effective parrys and blocks that can be incorporated into your standup. In the street, some of the main strikes [finger jab or "bil gee"] is to the throat and eyes which could be brutal. Also good trapping and disarmment movements. *I* think Wing Chun in addition to boxing is a real effective standup.
Starting off your going to do a whole lot of repetitive movements over and over called forms. like katas in Karate.. To be honest its real boring learning those. I would say if you could do alot of sparring rather than working on forms all day that would be your best bet. Depending on who your learning from you may also learn weapons. Usually will start off with the broad sword [mainly a slashing weapon], those broadsword techniques could transfer over to when using a blunt type weapon[baton,night stick etc.......

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## J-Crane

> I could not even read your post Bro...really.
> 
> I guess English is not your native language, I'm sorry to be a prick.
> 
> Take a look at the below linked book-
> 
> http://www.dummies.com/how-to/conten...at-sheet0.html
> 
> See, I had something useful to add


English is my native language but most type speak England English i speak and type southern English original English has no punctuations its the way i learned from my grandparents when my grandparents were in school there were no punctuations in the English language there's a lot of word and contractions still used here in the south that most who speak English don't use like youll o = you'll = you will or even yall = ya'll = you all. look it up on the internet but it doesn't matter what we think as long as the op got what he needs!
shorty hit the nail on the head you got to spar spar spar but should always wear safety gear you don't want to get in a street fight with a ringing head from a sparing session i have been there done that it sucks
terraj if your from northern part of the USA youll=you'll= you will get a big laugh at this http://www.originalsforyou.com/hillbilly.html here is another http://littlerock.about.com/cs/south...southslang.htm lol

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## mackdiesel

For anyone considering any kind of fighting art for real world self-defense, you should definitely visit this site: www.nononsenseselfdefense.com

It does not advocate any particular style over another (although there's plenty of info on all of them), but rather addresses and analyzes in great detail all the physical, mental, and legal implications of self defense in the real world. Highly recommended.

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## yannick35

People will flame me for this but after seaching a lot, i decided to go back to tae kwon do, i am a red belt, but out of action for more then 15 years, i found a school near my house (thumbs up to you for traveling 45 minutes) the school is at 10 minutes from my house, i met the teacher he is awsome, there is a lot of respect in the dojo, they got grappling a bit and boxing to so, tae kwon do style is WTF so no forms. As many people know tae kwon do is the least effective art for defense, but you know what, at 38 i decided to go ahead and have fun.

I think that you should do the same, if Wing Chun, and Jeet Kune Do are your interest then what is stopping you from taking the class and have a blast doing it.

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## yannick35

Traditional arts will work on someone who is cough by suprise, or someone who does not know how to fight, of couse it cannot compare to MMA training, which is a complete form of training.

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## Necrosaro

^ Been in Tae Kwon Do for the last 20 years

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## yannick35

> ^ Been in Tae Kwon Do for the last 20 years


Not wanting to hijack the tread, i did TKD for 7 years got up to my red belt and black is next. Can't wait to see the mix of TKD with boxing. Guess it will make TDK more effective.

Still i am sticking to my point about doing something you like, after all we don't have to fight for our lives everyday and if i where to defend myself i surely would not use any TKD, karate or else.

20 years practicing an art is amazing, how is TKD with age? harder, i am 38 now.

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## Necrosaro

I am 26 right now with a 3rd Dan black belt and I feel if you have a good intructor then he will gear the workout towards your body and as you improve or get more effiecient at it; it can change to better suit you. Everyone is different but I am sure after a few classes an intructor can get a good hold on what you can and cannot do. I am glad I have taken TKD just for the fact that it has made me such a good striker.

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## groundfighter1

Like they said, it's what you want to get out of it!.... and results will be different from person to person based on time, physical ability, dedication, and instructor. I can't speak for that school or for who's teaching it or even if you'll like it...you'll have to try it and find out. I ALWAYS SUGGEST going to a few classes just to watch... if they don't allow that, you don't want to train there anyway.
As for styles: Jeet Kune Do... I've trained it in the past under a VERY good instructor...it was an awesome style... and it's completely street fight/self defense oriented... as for the Wing Chun...it's more of what i call or consider "a traditional art" but might be a nice compliment of the Jeet Kune Do
...and no offense on this...if you want to get good at any martial or combat art... you need to train it for a few years consistently

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## karate-bjj

> I never trained in them for too long. BJJ was my longest and that was about a year.


if you don't train for more than a year you never learn anything... if that's how you want to train save your money and learn youtube tricks....

to become adequate at one type of martial arts you need at least 4-5 years of training, to become good at least 10 years. 

one year doesn't even cover the basics.

there is a good reason for the different colored belts in martial arts.. if you do not have the black belt then you are not good at that martial art... and it takes at least 5 years to get the black belt unless you are some sort of a prodigy....

if I sound like a prick it's not intentional... I have a black belt in karate and have my own karate club, I am training BJJ and MMA now, I'd trained Muay Thai and KickBox for about 20 years before I started karate and I do not consider myself very good... even though I won the nationals in kumite in 2009....

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## abner

Martial art has a great importance in my life , i like martial art by my soul and very fond of art competition held at any level. Martial art is not common play as i think due to its unbelievable functions.
Provo personal trainer

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## terraj

> if you don't train for more than a year you never learn anything... if that's how you want to train save your money and learn youtube tricks....
> 
> to become adequate at one type of martial arts you need at least 4-5 years of training, to become good at least 10 years. 
> 
> one year doesn't even cover the basics.
> 
> there is a good reason for the different colored belts in martial arts.. if you do not have the black belt then you are not good at that martial art... and it takes at least 5 years to get the black belt unless you are some sort of a prodigy....
> 
> if I sound like a prick it's not intentional... I have a black belt in karate and have my own karate club, I am training BJJ and MMA now, I'd trained Muay Thai and KickBox for about 20 years before I started karate and I do not consider myself very good... even though* I won the nationals in kumite in 2009*....



In Iceland right....

I have seen and trained with guys that train every day in Japan from beginers and become very good within a year, seen them fighting in the full contact worlds within 3 years.....

Belts mean nothing, it's all about who with and where you train. 


But then again....I noticed you claim to be an expert on another thread, I'm no expert.....

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## cro

what kumite ? were? just curious . not doubting you i know there are alot of talented people out here.


> In Iceland right....
> 
> I have seen and trained with guys that train every day in Japan from beginers and become very good within a year, seen them fighting in the full contact worlds within 3 years.....
> 
> Belts mean nothing, it's all about who with and where you train. 
> 
> 
> But then again....I noticed you claim to be an expert on another thread, I'm no expert.....

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## terraj

Hey Cro, Kyokushin Karate, Honbu Dojo, TOKYO

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## cro

man i always wanted to make it to one of those when i was in tokyo/ mt fuji.. hope things are going well over there terraj;;;


> Hey Cro, Kyokushin Karate, Honbu Dojo, TOKYO

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## nevergiveup

> Hey Cro, Kyokushin Karate, Honbu Dojo, TOKYO


Any Uechi Ryu dojo's there? I have been taking it for two years now, I like the body conditioning with this style.

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## nevergiveup

> Listen every traditional martial art is garbage that is simply not effective ( proven in many early UFC's ) If your going to train in anything train MMA, find a good school with good instructors and one that has a lot of fighters currently fighting. If mma is not your thing learn BJJ, its slower paced and more technical.



MMA,

Hey being that I would consider you a martial artist, you have to at least aknowledge that the people in the ring claiming to be master were not top of the crop "master" in their respected arts. Traditional martial arts arent like what they used to be, lets look at a kung fu practitioner, in the old days people used martial arts to defend life and death situations and in order to teach their reps were based on the fights they won. 

There was wresliting type martial arts then also that was cross trained by certain master i.e. Shuai jiao (Chinese wrestling and joint locks) on top of their main style of combative art. I have trained in real schools with real lineage and they still don't teach the old ways of fighting and training. I think they have their value but I do think that if someone wants to learn how to fight they should train in MMA from a reputable school with a good lineage of teachers. The MMA school I train at now separates the two styles (striking) and (Gracie BJJ) so you can become more proficient in both and then at some point you spar with both styles available. I think this is the best way also because you start with basics (which are the bedrock) in both diciplines.

What I like about the stiking is they are a misture of techniques that work from various styles and then tested in the ring, and they are ever evolving.

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## yannick35

MMMM after my recent prolotherapy treatments going very well i might get into Muay Thai very soon, i already have a very strong stand up base from past boxing, kyokushin, shotokan, tae kwon do back round. Muay thai is so much better for cardio and endurance. Also mix with some MMA class that cover everything from wrestling, to BJJ to stand up.

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## yannick35

> if you don't train for more than a year you never learn anything... if that's how you want to train save your money and learn youtube tricks....
> 
> to become adequate at one type of martial arts you need at least 4-5 years of training, to become good at least 10 years. 
> 
> one year doesn't even cover the basics.
> 
> there is a good reason for the different colored belts in martial arts.. if you do not have the black belt then you are not good at that martial art... and it takes at least 5 years to get the black belt unless you are some sort of a prodigy....
> 
> if I sound like a prick it's not intentional... I have a black belt in karate and have my own karate club, I am training BJJ and MMA now, I'd trained Muay Thai and KickBox for about 20 years before I started karate and I do not consider myself very good... even though I won the nationals in kumite in 2009....


If you won a kumite and if it was kyokushin you got some serious skills, i have trained in kyokushin in the past and its very brutal, ok you are not allowed to punch to the face, but with all the training and conditioning you do its just amazing how hard your body becomes. After a year and a half of kyokushin at 5 feet 9 inches and 142 pounds i manage to lose weight imagine, but i got to kick some bully A$$ and got back at guys that where a lot bigger then me, after competing a few times i also learned humiliation ( i got KO a few times no shame saying it), and i got even stronger after ward adding weight lifting to my training. I quite Kyokushin because the school moved and it was way to far from my house i was 17 years old then and had to take like 3 buses to get there. I got into TKD (yeah i know big mistake) but it was the only martial art available close to home at that time. Coming out of kyokushin everything was way to easy in TKD, but i quickly lost everything since i switch from a 4 kyokushin class per week to a 2 tkd class per week where we did 20 push ups some sit up and lots of stretching compared to the infamous bodyweight squatting of kyokushin where you could do close to 200 if not more, push ups where up to 100 with all variations, sit ups where insane, and sparring with conditioning. The only thing i did not like about kyokushin was the forms and is the reason why i am going to try muay thai. Belts mean nothing some of my old fellow TKD are 6 degree black belts in TKD they are fat, out of shape slobs that think they can still kick A$$ today. TKD is just flashy kicks, last time i sparred with them in 2006 i used boxing got close to them avoided the counter back kick and won the fight. TKD evolution = zero.

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## AbusedYam

Need a good base of atleast one of the three, stand up, wrestling or BJJ

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## ibanezbeavers

i believe that wrestling is the best base to work off of.once you have good grappling skills you are golden. then, striking and submissions will all come naturally.

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## xavierlafleur

I've been training all my life and I have trained in China and Thailand. When it came time for me to hire a trainer for my children I hired a Boxing trainer. Modified Boxing is the best Martial Art I've come across.

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## bubsy

Try urban Krav maga its fun and easy, nice to know how to defend yourself from a knife, gun and hand combat situation!

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## paleocaveman

Don't waste your time or money. Wing Chun and Jeet Kune Do are not practical. Stick with something tried and true.

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