NorioDS
Just out of interest, what martial arts do you do? A lot of guitarists are computer geeks as well and I was wondering what other commonalities there might be. I mean, if you're awesome enough to play the guitar, surely you're also awesome by being into your martial arts, right? ?
I did karate as a kid (primary school, for just over year, got to orange belt or second orange, don't recall)
Then I did tai chi as a young adult, for just over a year. Was awesome and I intend on going back.
And now we (wifey and me) are doing Capoeira. It's by far my favourite physical thing I've ever done. Much more demanding than karate (or maybe it feels more demanding coz I'm less fit now than I was when I did karate) but also a lot more fun. I'm enjoying the natural movements as opposed to the structure in karate.
I intend on doing JKD along with my Capoeira, but struggling to find a teacher in PTA/Centurion.
And... importantly... am I worried about damaging my hands and not being able to play guitar? Not with Capoeira but with JKD (or Wing Chun), yes. So I guess I'll just have to be super careful.
Over to you ?
Warren
Karate was my main sport as a youngster, got my provincial colours for it a couple of times and missed the national team by a hair or so on two occasions.
Dabbled in other martial arts over the years, including JKD and Capoeira which I really enjoyed (but couldn't find a teacher outside of the Bedfordview area and eventually just didn't have time).
On your hands: as long as you aren't doing silly things like breaking boards/bricks or thousands of push-ups on your fists on a concrete surface, your risk of injury should be pretty slim.
I'm not aware of any local JKD instructors that emphasise full contact either, so again your risk of injury should be minimal.
You're actually at greater risk of stuff like sprains or ligament damage from all the leaping around than damage to your hands in particular.
NorioDS
Warren, these days there's Capoeira classes everywhere: www.capoeirasa.co.za. There's also www.terranossa.co.za but their site is down so maybe try their facebook page. Just in case you wanna get back into it ?
Do you know any Pretoria JKD instructors?
Nikot33n
I did Tenshinkan Karate when I was in high school and got 1st Dan, which I want to start doing again. When I went to study at Stellenbosch I started Kendo and also got 1st Dan.
dee
I did JKA Karate when I was way younger, up until purple belt. I kinda wish I continued with it though. There are times that I really want to go back and do it again.
[deleted]
I guess I'm a geek. I did Tai Chi for two years and Kung Fu for one, with a bit of Wing Chun as well. There is always a risk of damaging your hands in martial arts so I do salsa dancing now. Much less risk and similar concepts actually(broadly speaking) and it's less competitive.
Tonedef
I know code-fu.
singemonkey
I did Muay-Thai for a good while. Wasn't competitive (the fight I had right at the end of it, the guy - introduced as, "The Killer," got into the ring, hung out there for 3 minutes, and then ducked straight out again ? ), but got pretty good at it and was fit as f&^%. Before that I'd done Fencing since school, dropped it, took it up again in post-grad, and then discovered Muay-Thai. It really blew my mind how much more seriously people took Muay-Thai. The attitude with fencing seemed to be, well South Africa's not very good at it, so there's no real reason to train very hard. Seriously. They did no fitness at all. No footwork. It was laughable in retrospect.
Muay-Thai is so different. Anybody from anywhere in the world can become a professional fighter, so almost everyone takes it really seriously whether they intend to or not. The level of fitness and repetitive training was so far beyond fencing, which became a joke by comparison. But my coach was a jerk, and I topped out in that gym (doing a week's training in Thailand made me realise how I'd only scratched the surface - in Thailand they make the level of training South Africans do look like a joke. They train 3 hours, twice a day, six days a week and the fighters fight every two weeks or so).
I went to check out another school. Head of that gym was also crazy (I was starting to sense a pattern). So I've been casting around, unable to find any place to do it. Now it seems one of the kids I used to teach basics to is a full time fighter in Hong Kong. He's trained some of his buddies that I remember and they have their own school. At least I know they're not psychos so I might go back again this year. Now the guy that used to impress them will be an old, slow dude that they've long since overtaken ?
I love that Muay Thai has very little that's directly esoteric or "spiritual". It's basically to train you how to beat 12 kind of crap out of someone for money. It's martial art in the way that Queensbury rules boxing is a martial art. But nonetheless, most of the coaches are nuts. It's really hard to just do it for fitness or sport. They're all little gurus who want you to embrace some kind of lifestyle - despite their clearly chaotic lives.
[/rant]
[deleted]
It's really hard to just do it for fitness or sport. They're all little gurus who want you to embrace some kind of lifestyle - despite their clearly chaotic lives.
Sad but true.
Muay-Thai is just crazy. They're like elastic bands, and when there's a knock out, you know that guy must have REALLY been hit hard, coz they're just ridiculously strong.
prince
I did Budokan style of karate while I was at school, got to brown belt. As a "ballie" there are two things I wished I had of done as a kid, one was learn to play a guitar and the other was get my black belt. At Christmas I decided to do one of them and chose the guitar option, not easy when you approaching "pensionable age". Sometimes I think karate would be easier ?
Renesongs
I did Karate for 3 years 2006 - 2009 I had to give it up because I was getting too many hand injuries ☹
bENDER
Not strictly martial arts...but a cool combination of many + very practical & useful....MMA!
I only did for about a year and then moved to DBN, but I think I have to start again.
Enjoyed it very much because it is more "street" orientated.
singemonkey
bENDER wrote
Not strictly martial arts...but a cool combination of many + very practical & useful....MMA!
I only did for about a year and then moved to DBN, but I think I have to start again.
Enjoyed it very much because it is more "street" orientated.
Apart from the fact that I'm suspicious of the term MMA (you could teach any combination under that title so how does a person know that they're getting good training?), this is by far the most effective form of martial art you can do. So wouldn't hesitate to call it a martial art.
I'd say the perfect combo would be Muay Thai, Western Boxing (Traditional Muay Thai fighters aren't nearly as good with their fists), Brazilian Jujitsu, and Greco-Roman Wrestling.
Tonedef
Krav-maga. That shit is seriously hardcore, they teach it in the Israeli mil.
MikeM
Tonedef wrote
Krav-maga. That shit is seriously hardcore, they teach it in the Israeli mil.
I'd still love to learn that.. Back when I was in my teens (So long ago ?) I used to be pretty up there with TKD. Last year I started boxing, but with the whole buggered arm thing I'll never be able to safetly punch with my right again so that's it for boxing..
Sean
MikeM wrote
Tonedef wrote
Krav-maga. That shit is seriously hardcore, they teach it in the Israeli mil.
,,, but with the whole buggered arm thing I'll never be able to safetly punch with my right again so that's it for boxing..
Your dreams must be shattered... you coulda been a contender ?
arjunmenon
Sean wrote
Your dreams must be shattered... you coulda been a contender ?
insteada bein a bum?
MikeM
Sean wroteYour dreams must be shattered... you coulda been a contender ?
Reference to TV show? Actually I am really sad about it and was pretty dam good.
singemonkey
MikeM wrote
Sean wroteYour dreams must be shattered... you coulda been a contender ?
Reference to TV show? Actually I am really sad about it and was pretty dam good.
Brando's famous speech from "On The Waterfront" lamenting the failure of his boxing career.
It must suck man. Boxing is an awesome sport, especially for fitness. One of the few sports in which the amateurs get 85% as fit as the pros.
Sean
MikeM wrote
Sean wroteYour dreams must be shattered... you coulda been a contender ?
Reference to TV show? Actually I am really sad about it and was pretty dam good.
Sorry Mike, did not mean to make light of it :-[ I've never seen you box, but I've seen you play, and seriously, what would you rather lose, the option to box or play guitar? I think it's a no brainer hey ?
