martial_artists: Questions

sins_of_pride (

sins_of_pride) wrote in

martial_artists,
@ 2008-03-10 20:53:00

Current location:	Bowling Green State University
Current mood:	awake
Current music:	Journey - Seperate Ways

Questions
Hello All,

I'm asking about any work out routines you have used to get 'back on the horse'. Since I've come to college a couple months ago I've gained some weight and feel like I've lost my way. Over the summer, I studied books and worked out regularly, but since I've started college I've been a bit overwhelmed. I guess the problem for me lies in the fact I get so frustrated with starting slow. I was at a good place over the summer, then fall and winter hit me like a ton of bricks and I've gone down a couple steps in my fitness and up a few holes in my belt.

Also, does anyone know any good tutorials for weapons training? I know that I can read all the books on martial arts and philosophy I want and it still doesn't replace a teacher, but like in my prior posts, a mentor is simply something I cannot find.

Everywhere around me is essentially elitist ...MMA essentially the 'DESTROY THEM NO MATTER WHAT!!!!!' kind of fightclub training(which always lacks discipline, integrity, honor, and all the philosophy I love to think about). I know of atleast two places I have not checked out yet but I know for a fact they have nothing to do with weapons. When I younger I ate up books on katanas and used bokken and so forth,but now I'm interested in something even more difficult to find training in. Namely any kind of pole arm.

I also noticed a lot of jabbing techniques apply to the fantasy battle group Dagorhir. So I figured learning about real spears or glaives could imbue me with knowledge for using replicas.

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	xiaophoenixgrl 2008-03-11 01:29 am UTC (link)
	The biggest one I would think of, in terms of a more traditional MA, would be naginata. Either old koryu Tendo-Ryu Naginatajutsu (which is pretty hard to find) or atarashi naginata (which is still hard to find, but lesser so by a degree). This is the website of the United States Naginata Federation: http://www.naginata.org/usnf/dojos.html (Reply to this)(Thread)

	sins_of_pride 2008-03-11 02:54 am UTC (link)
	Thank you, I'll be sure to take a look at this site. (Reply to this)(Parent)

mandalwarrior
2008-03-11 01:54 am UTC (link)

Not all MMA schools are about beat the crap out of your opponent until they stop struggling. The reality of a fight is simply that mentality, so most MMA schools adopt a similar mentality to get you in that headspace should you ever encounter that situation. My particular school - which is actually just a small, local school nowhere near you (I'm in Staten Island, the forgotten borough of NYC,) but our training from day one was - in addition to the beat the snot out of the other guy - one of respect and courtesy. We had a formal start and end of class, neat and orderly rows, with strict guidelines on how we were to respond to instructors. Having come from a traditional martial arts background, this strict adherence to the respect of one's superiors was very appealing to me, and one of the reasons I made the switch.

If you're looking for something useful that can be applied in (nearly) any situation, MMA is your closest bet to a truly perfectly well-rounded (not perfect in any other way but well rounded) martial art. But you definitely need to check out many locations until you find what you seek.

As far as a workout routine to get you back in to shape, I find that doing whatever punching and kicking drills you know in rapid sets of ten, followed by a minute of crunches, a minute of reverse-crunches/leg-lifts, and a minute of push ups will be sufficient to get your body weight/muscle tone back to a place where you're at least comfortable doing a real workout again. If you really want to work the abs, add a minute of side crunches - per side - between the crunches and reverse-crunches. That should only take about ten minutes a day, and you'll probably see results within a month. Plus, it's ust a good way to stay sharp.

For weapons, I've never had any real solid weapons training myself, but I've always had a thing for Kendo. The japanese mentality really speaks to me, and the respect and discipline required to learn the sword is something I wish I could find a bit closer to me than Manhattan.

Osu, and good luck, my friend.

(Reply to this)(Thread)

sins_of_pride
2008-03-11 02:52 am UTC (link)

Please understand, I'm not hating on all MMA groups. The ones around here however are strictly similar to gatherings of fight clubs than to foster respect. I've been to them before and it's always the same in this area and the ones I haven't visited I've heard about. Most people around here don't do it out of pride, or honing themselves, they do it to beat the hell out of someone else.

Thanks for the pointers on getting back into shape however. Can I ask how to do a reverse crunches however?

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mandalwarrior
2008-03-11 06:39 am UTC (link)

Surely. It's a leg lift, really. For how to do that, well the technique is simple. You lay down flat, legs extended out as if you were standing. You then raise your legs - knees straight, but not locked - so that they are 90 degrees vertical. From there, you lower your legs to about two inches from the floor, but do NOT touch the floor. To make this exercise easier, you can have your hands under your butt. To make it harder, you can actually put your hands above you so that your arms are 90 degrees, and as you lift your legs, also do a crunch and try to touch your toes. This is known as a V, and is a different exercise, but just as good - if not better. The middle ground is to simply lay your hands next to you without using them to support your back or make life painful in the morning after doing V's.

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	I have nothing pertinent to add, but... fan_of_happosai 2008-03-11 12:31 pm UTC (link)
	>"similar to gatherings of fight clubs" Weren't you taught that the first rule of fight club is to not talk about fight club? For SHAME! (Reply to this)(Parent)

criticalhit
2008-03-11 02:33 am UTC (link)

If you can't find a mentor, it'd be cool to at least join a class with regular meetings that will force you to go in public and train diligently. I know a lot of frustrations come from not being able to practice on your own, but finding a class, even one outside your style, might help you return to martial arts.

Also, I know a simple way to get your fitness back and do weapons is to try and find weighted bokkens where you can swing around and get some exercise at the same time. Definitely not for technique but just getting yourself back on track.

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	sins_of_pride 2008-03-11 02:53 am UTC (link)
	Thanks. (Reply to this)(Parent)

fallenstillborn
2008-03-11 03:05 am UTC (link)

is it mma as a style that you believe to be harboring this kill em all at all costs attitude or is it just these particular clubs in your local area guilty of this martial arts atrocity ?

just seeking clarification cause if your local schools are giving mma clubs such a terrible name it would really be shamefull for them

i almost feel sorry for them if thats there attitude then there missing out on quite a lot of freindship and comraderie that can come from respectfull mma training

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	sins_of_pride 2008-03-11 03:18 am UTC (link)
	Yes, it's the local attitudes. I know a lot of great things can come from MMA, but things around here are just sad and usually aren't even official. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

fallenstillborn
2008-03-12 09:26 am UTC (link)

ewww thats not cool you wanna give all that shit a wide berth locally based fight clubs started by yahoos with violence fetishs are defintly best avoided ... i know them well all to well ... they can be really good when getting ready for a fight cause you know full well all those guys are gonna try and kill you worse then your opponent so dont get me wrong they have there place ... its just well away from me and anyone else with sense

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	silentpheonix 2008-03-11 04:30 am UTC (link)
	I second the suggestion of kendo. I don't know where you are but check to see if your school has a kendo club. It's a fantastic workout. A bamboo stick doesn't seem like it'd be that hard to swing around for two hours but after the first fifty swings, that thing starts to feel like it's made out of lead. And then you add on the armor... (Reply to this)(Thread)

	sins_of_pride 2008-03-11 04:48 am UTC (link)
	I think it would be fun and I'm going to look into it, I'm fairly active in Dagorhir, which uses somewhat hefty foam weapons, shields and leather/steel armor to go at other people. So it would also help me with my strikes. Thanks for the comment. (Reply to this)(Parent)

	smjayman 2008-03-11 02:19 pm UTC (link)
	If you're looking for a weapons based style, you could also study Escrima/Kali. :) (Reply to this)

	beknar 2008-03-16 01:59 am UTC (link)
	sorry to hear about your experiences with clubs in your area, man. I walked into Dean Lister's school near my house, and they were very respectful and disciplined. As for getting back into things, I think getting into a school that's maybe not your style for a very short time will help you get back into it. Good luck and train hard! (Reply to this)

jungsun86
2008-03-19 04:58 pm UTC (link)

If you're looking to get back into shape, it is actually easiest if you have a partner or a group of people to train with. It gives you all incentive to workout. An even better way would be to join a school. It sounds like you are looking for a traditional school, but one that specifically focuses on weapon work. Honestly, you will most likely not find that in your location. I went to your blog, and you say you're attending Bowling Green. You may however, be able to find a traditional school that has weapons in its curriculum. Many Okinawan Karate schools have the staff, but you have to train diligently for a few years before you get to use one. It is important to have a strong foundation in a martial art before starting weapon training. A weapon is an extension of the body, so the better you know your own body, the better you will be with a weapon.

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lordreiko
2008-03-25 08:24 pm UTC (link)

I can totally relate to the fitness issue; when I first moved to Wisconsin 2 years ago, I weighed around 200 lbs at 5'9" (yeah, let's just say that wasn't muscle ;). My best friend was also kind of heavy. However, she decided to do something about it, and I went along for the ride. I'm not sure where you are physically, but I know that nothing good ever comes from rushing conditioning. It's good to push yourself, but you also have to keep your limitations in mind..last thing you want is to get injured and put yourself even farther behind where you want to be.

Like some of the others have mentioned, having some sort of support structure (a class, a training partner, etc) makes a big difference in keeping with any fitness program. Also having some sort of goal helps. For example, our first goal was to complete a 5K race (don't ask me why we decided on running. I HATED running. But now I love it, and get antsy when I can't do it). Most martial artists will tell you that cardiovascular fitness is one of the most important factors in successful martial arts training. Bruce Lee was a big proponent on fitness in general, but also on running specifically because of it's cardiovascular benefits. If you're interested in the running angle, there are lots of couch-to-5k plans on the web (I personally like coolrunning.com). Other than that, I'd say find something you're interested in and use that as a goal for training.

As for weapons practice; our soke has dozens of dvds/video cd-roms available on his website that are available to the public to get people started in almost all aspects of our art, including weapons (I know that bikenjutsu (sword techniques)and bojutsu (staff techniques) are definitely available). As Jungsun86 mentioned, body movement (body arts, taijutsu) are very important in weapons training, and you will need to learn it at some point depending on how far you want to go. I have a friend that trains in our dojo and only takes weapons classes though, and he's doing great; it depends largely on your own willingness to learn and to put forth the effort, understanding that it might be more difficult if you're not learning unarmed arts at the same time. Kendo is another option, as others have mentioned, and becoming much more widespread these days; I have no personal experience with it, but I know of many who enjoy it.

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