Ableton Forum

the spirograph crew wrote:Looking to start training in some sort of martial arts soon, haven't done any fitness for time, thinking of mixed martial arts if i can find a place in south manchester.

although not big on violence i do enjoy a bit of UFC those guys are sick!! im such a hypocrite

The violence thing was what kept me away for along time. I could not get around the fact that the point for a lot of MA is to learn how to beat up another human being. As a kid I got into a few fights at school, but as an adult I have never needed to protect or defend myself. I learnt the art of avoidance. Now though, I am processing it like any other contact sport. The environment in this particular club is very respectful, even if we learnt last night how to split the skin when punching If you can find the 'right' style of MA that keeps you fit and trim yet intellectually engaged then you should find it very enjoyable. A bit tough on the ego though, snotty little 13yr olds with a higher belt bossing you around

Boxing seems to be the cheapest at least in the us. I can go to a trainer who started two champs and countless contenders and work out everyday for 30-40 dollars a month. Im sure there isnt a lot of talented trainers doing the kind of community enrichment that 4th st boxing in st pete does but Ive checked other gyms and they are more expensive but not anywhere near the other marital arts schools Ive checked out. Come to think of it, there is a former student of ceaser grace in clearwater who was 80 bucks a month. Seems tampa area is really lucky for martial arts.

The problem with boxing is that if you do a lot of it and get on the ring, it's the brain damage that comes with it. One of my cousin stopped after 4 year for that. He saw one of his friend starting to lose it a bit.

Has for what somebody said about MMA, it's true in a way. Theses places form you to be a really tough fighter but in the case of BJJ, it can be very passive has most of it is made to push your opponent into submittion (submitting?). Unless all you wanna do is break people's bones, I don't anything wrong with BJJ. It's a very effective martial art.

mazmith wrote:hey maja, is it tai chi chuan your taking? or another style? i went to world tai chi day in central park a few years back and got to do some "push hands" with some world champions. needless to say, in seconds they could be spinning me like pizza dough. for the most part, they just showed me what i was doing right/wrong with a lil bit of scrapping me. the experience was one i will always remember. i also found a weed plant growing in the middle of the park, about half a foot. lmao. i would love to get back into tai chi chuan, but $$$$$$. i can still practice at the house, it's just nice to get those automatic corrections to stance and technique.

I do Tai Chi chuan chen-style competition which is closer to kung fu, the moves are with stronger attacks but i also do yang-style and if you learn the application to each movement they are just mean! I think in every bigger city you can find a class by some "old" chinese master if you look careful enough. I don't pay a lot for my classes but I live in Holland... no idea how it is in New York...
There is endless material on Youtube but you might know that...

I practiced Shotokan Karate, for a while, haven't kept up with it since I still battle smoking cigs.
What's weird is there isn't a day that goes by that I don't think about it, every once in a while I'll perform a kata, plan on going back, or maybe Kung Fu.( Shotokan was so horribly brutal, and even though my Sensei is beyond reproach as an instructor and human being, he made no qualms about what it is all about, all external.)
That and blocking would leave my forearms numb for days which isn't good being a guitar player,already have carpal tunnel.
Perhaps Kung Fu, IDK.

Regarding the violence:

When it comes to combative sports, I kinda feel like it depends on how you look at it. To most people who don't actually understand striking and grappling sports it can look violent. But really, especially with MMA, it's a very technical and precise chess match (this analogy gets used to death because it's true) that requires strategy and culminates several skill sets and athleticism. Yes, it can be extremely brutal. But I do not look at it as being violent.

When two well-trained, skilled, and prepared athletes agree to a set of rules for engagement in a controlled setting with officials and medical staff on hand for the sole purpose of safety, and where each athlete as well as their corner men and trainers have the ability to stop the competition at any moment; it is a competitive sport possibly in its purest form.

In fact the majority of serious and chronic injuries do not occur in competition but more frequently occur during training.

Its so funny how some people will watch a fight and think it just looks like two dinosaurs clobbering and slamming each other. But they'll never actually understand how much precision, technique, focus, and skill it takes to pull off even what some of the amateur MMA athletes can do. Its like someone being able to juggle, unicycle, and recite Shakespeare all at the same time. Boxing alone takes incredible coordination, Muay Thai by itself takes incredible technique, jiu jitsu is a freakin' chess match with your body, wrestling has some of the best athletes in the world with the least recognition (unfortunately).

If boxing is the sweet science then MMA is like ivy league nuclear physics, history, and math all rolled into one.

If anything I think most Martial Arts help prevent violence, because its a good way to unleash some steam in a controlled and safe environment. Also it can be a very humbling experience for a tough guy meat head to get tapped out by someone half his size.

There's tons of gyms and schools and most will cater to people of different skill sets and needs. Some people wanna go a little rough and compete, and some people are weekend warriors who just want a fun and engaging way to keep in shape and develop a new hobby.

And of coure there's always a risk of injury, but the fact is that there's a risk for injury in any sport or exercise routine. Running on concrete is horrible for your joints.

The thing that I think is so amazing about martial arts as an exercise regimen is that it engages your mind alot more than just going to the gym and running on the treadmill or lifting weights. When you're sparring, hitting the pads, or drilling you really have to focus and develop your reaction time and coordination. Especially in free sparring you also have to develop your brain to think instinctually and improvise.

In drilling, hitting pads, and shadowboxing The movements become ingrained in muscle memory, which is a funny term because really you're developing the connections between neurons and synapses in your brain. So it's more than just working out your body you're also working out your mind.

Regarding combative aspects of Tai Chi:

Yeah, that kinda stuff I always found pretty interesting and hardcore about traditional Chinese Martial Arts. It's unfortunate that most people get the false impression that Kung Fu involves flowery and graceful dance routines when in reality the true combative applications are actually pretty brutal and alot of traditional kung fu isn't all that acrobatic and graceful, it's almost like the art of fighting dirty. The only problem is that its really difficult to train those kinds of techniques in a live manner... for obvious reasons (it's kinda mean to poke your training partner's eyes or kick people in the nuts).

That's among the reasons I got turned on to combat sports like Muay Thai and grappling. Alot of the techniques, especially in grappling, you can train pretty close to combat speed in a live improvised format (similar to how you might go at it in a self-defense situation or a fight) without risking serious injury.

bodhi71 wrote:I practiced Shotokan Karate, for a while, haven't kept up with it since I still battle smoking cigs.
What's weird is there isn't a day that goes by that I don't think about it, every once in a while I'll perform a kata, plan on going back, or maybe Kung Fu.( Shotokan was so horribly brutal, and even though my Sensei is beyond reproach as an instructor and human being, he made no qualms about what it is all about, all external.)
That and blocking would leave my forearms numb for days which isn't good being a guitar player,already have carpal tunnel.
Perhaps Kung Fu, IDK.

Yeah, that's that martial arts bug. Like I said, it's kinda funny and amazing how it trains your mind as well as your body.

If bruised and numb limbs isn't your thing, then I would stay away from Hung Gar and Wing-Chun if you plan on looking into Kung Fu. Actually most traditional southern styles of Kung Fu will probably utilize some kind of external conditioning methods (although this is kind of an over-generalization).

If you wear head gear and use training gloves the dangers of brain damage are next to nil in boxing.

What's kinda funny thinking about it, is 3 of the 4 people that are in my band have taken Shotokan from this school, one being a 3rd degree blackbelt instructor.

I like the southern chinese martial arts. Lots of hand work, lower kicks and strong foundation. Northern styles are more spectacular to look with flying kicks like in changquan. You have to be in really good shape to do that stuff.

Tohtruck wrote:

bodhi71 wrote:I practiced Shotokan Karate, for a while, haven't kept up with it since I still battle smoking cigs.
What's weird is there isn't a day that goes by that I don't think about it, every once in a while I'll perform a kata, plan on going back, or maybe Kung Fu.( Shotokan was so horribly brutal, and even though my Sensei is beyond reproach as an instructor and human being, he made no qualms about what it is all about, all external.)
That and blocking would leave my forearms numb for days which isn't good being a guitar player,already have carpal tunnel.
Perhaps Kung Fu, IDK.

Yeah, that's that martial arts bug. Like I said, it's kinda funny and amazing how it trains your mind as well as your body.

If bruised and numb limbs isn't your thing, then I would stay away from Hung Gar and Wing-Chun if you plan on looking into Kung Fu. Actually most traditional southern styles of Kung Fu will probably utilize some kind of external conditioning methods (although this is kind of an over-generalization).

For all the Karate fans Lyoto "the dragon" Machida is fighting this weekend.

http://www.mmatko.com/hq-lyoto-machida- ... eo-badboy/

You teach me muay thai?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-yPfukurJdw

Some brutal Muay Thai there.
Would not fancy a double elbow to the head.

You've got to be in good shape for Southern Chinese Martial Arts too. All the dynamic tension and low stance footwork is great conditioning for muscle fatigue and anaerobic capacity. It's pretty painful stuff.

the spirograph crew wrote:For all the Karate fans Lyoto "the dragon" Machida is fighting this weekend.

http://www.mmatko.com/hq-lyoto-machida- ... eo-badboy/

Yeah, he comes from a Shotokan and Sumo base cross trained with Judo, wrestling, BJJ, and Muay Thai.

He's gonna take the title from Evans. I've never seen anyone who can fight like Machida. It's so cool that he utilizes the true art of self-defense in the way he fights. He always waits for his opponent to attack first and then counters outta no where. I've heard he's also statistically taken the least amount of damage out of all fighters in UFC history.

Tohtruck wrote:You've got to be in good shape for Southern Chinese Martial Arts too. All the dynamic tension and low stance footwork is great conditioning for muscle fatigue and anaerobic capacity. It's pretty painful stuff.

the spirograph crew wrote:For all the Karate fans Lyoto "the dragon" Machida is fighting this weekend.

http://www.mmatko.com/hq-lyoto-machida- ... eo-badboy/

Yeah, he comes from a Shotokan and Sumo base cross trained with Judo, wrestling, BJJ, and Muay Thai.

He's gonna take the title from Evans. I've never seen anyone who can fight like Machida. It's so cool that he utilizes the true art of self-defense in the way he fights. He always waits for his opponent to attack first and then counters outta no where. I've heard he's also statistically taken the least amount of damage out of all fighters in UFC history.

Yeah hes never lost a round! looking forward to it, hope he can do it, Evans is explosive and strong though.

heres a unrelated submission i saw the other day, insane

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bpr9lPqcMDM