Martial arts

I got some Bruce Lee movies.

 

Back when this ole house of mine wasn't yet creakin' and crackin' in places, and performing all katas, pinan, and advances in one non-stop succession after another didn't raise my heartbeat more than 15 from its resting beat, I used to teach Okinawa Shorin-ryu with some Kodokan Judo thrown in.

Ahhh, to be young again !

 

My gym has a cardio TaeKwanDo class. Fun stuff!!

 

John V thats not a proper martial art I reckon if I was being set upon in the street, you'd have a hard time defending yourself by dancing ...hehe

I used to do boxing...not sure if thats really considered a martial art...but from what Im told its one of the hardest fighting sports to do.

 

I am a Systema enthusiast. Its a combat art developed originally by the Cossacks and perfected by the Soviet and Russian Spetsnaz (their special forces). It was not well known at all in the west until very recently. There is a great set of articles recently on the art at this website:
http://www.meibukanmagazine.org/mm/DaviWB/Pagina7.html

Scroll down toward the bottom and click on the September (No 3) issue cover on the right.

I started in karate for a while but quit that when I discovered systema. It looks rather brutal from that article but I have found it a lot easier on this old body (mid-40's) than karate was.

I think boxing is a martial art - I used to do a little boxing myself.

So, what sparked the interest in other's arts? With me, I think it was my longtime love of military history and specifically counter-insurgency warfare that first got me interested. My second goal was to find something that would give me a means to stay healthy and have fun at the same time. I'm not really that interested in self-defense though that's a nice side-effect.

A few more sites you might find interesting regarding this art:
http://www.russiancombatacademy.com/
http://www.russianmartialart.com/
http://russianmartialart.org/
http://www.geocities.com/presuppositionalist/systemaindex.html

I have not heard of the association you mentioned - I've heard of some similar ones. One I follow a wee bit is the INCMA. If you go to that last link above and check it's links page, you'll find links for a couple such organizations.

 

Did everybody abandon this thread .

I wondered what motivations led others to get involved in martial arts... mine was my interest in military history and staying in shape...what was yours?

 

I simply decided one day that I wanted to get fit so I began to do Tae-bo, which is Kick Boxing merged into an exersize programe. It was invented by Billy Blanks who was for 11 years the world Karate Champion. Billy Blanks is a Born Again Christian and God is doing some amazing things with his life.

 

My wife and one of her friends do Tae-Bo...and karate. Its a great exercise regimen but I think its at the far reach of the definition of what might be considered a martial art . I'm not belittling it in any way though - I think it can be an incredibly challenging workout and great aerobics. I could see myself doing that where I don't think I could do the usual aerobics. I like having a goal in mind to give me incentive to be in shape - a goal more than just for the sake of getting in shape itself. I like physical competition between two more than between teams. Team sports are OK but to me they're not my favorite. Sparring in the ring is the epitomy, in my mind, of one-on-one competition and studying MA gets me in shape for the ring...there is my motivation to exercise beyond just getting into shape. Perhaps getting into shape *should* be goal enough for me...well, all of us have things that *should* be in our lives but sometimes you have to settle for whatever motivation you can to do the right thing.

 

Are any of you guys that are into martial arts familiar with Billy Blanks?

 

My wife has some of Billy's videos but that's all I know about him - and what you posted here. I knew he was well-known in karate circles too. But that's the extent of my knowledge about him I think. I don't typically follow tournament MA much though.

 

That's what I used to think, until the instructor whooped my hiney.

 

I useta box, if that counts. And I wuz somewhat successful, with a record of 37-6 with 31 KOs, never being KO'd myself.(Although I SHOULDA taken a dive a few times!)