Martial arts

[Cain]

I'm thinking about starting up some form of martial arts next year.

Can anybody offer suggestions or recommendations as to what's good, bad or ugly?

It's not a self defence thing, I just think that it would be cool to be able to do something like that.

[Sam Crooks]

don't know what's good bad or ugly, but some have their own websites if you want to investigate. If you go to http://www.st-andrews.ac.uk/students/au ... CLUBS.html then navigate to aikido, judo karate etc

[mossop]

Hi Cain,
I go to Judo, and it's a really good club. I'm not sure what the other martial arts clubs are like, but we're really sociable and Judo is quite a gentle martial art, (apparently Judo means "the gentle way") unless you're really serious and enter all the competitions and stuff!
Hope that helps!

[hr]Mossop - http://www.fortunecity.com/lavender/tom ... ddlers.htm

[gingerbeer]

Aikido let you play with weaponry!

But it can also be quite gentle because you aren't supposed to use strength and it's non-competitive and after a while you can learn to like being thrown at the ground. It's a really sociable club too. If you're interested, most of the sports clubs have taster sessions in freshers week and it's probably best to go to a few and see what they're like.

[hr]It was so much easier to blame it on Them. It was bleakly depressing to think that They were Us. If it was Them, then nothing was anyone's fault. If it was us, what did that make Me? After all, I'm one of Us. I must be. I've certainly never thought of myself as one of Them. No one ever thinks of themselves as one of Them. We're always one of Us. It's Them that do the bad things.
-Terry Pratchett

[C]

Hi Cain,

I do Karate and have been for the last 10 years. When I started in the club in St. A last year, I didn't know what to expect, but the great thing about it, is that every one is willing to give you a chance ie-if you don't know what to do, you can ask without looking stupid.I would say, DEFINATELY go next year cos it is a pretty damn cool thing to say you can do. If you have the discipline then you can work your way through the grading belts quickly.
Did this help you in anyway?

C xx

[harmless loony]

Hey!

I was considering starting up martial arts as well (Both my bros who are years younger then me are black belts so I need to find ways to compete with them!!) Seriously tho, how much does it cost to get into it (gradings, belts, lessons)??

Are there beginner classes or is everyone lumped together? (And am I in serious danger of looking like a fool - 5ft 2inch female not havin a clue what to do, surrounded by much larger and scary looking people, who know exactly what to do?)

I meant to start it up last year but wasn't sure what to go for. What is the difference between Karate and Judo? And is there the option to do jujitsu?

Sorry loads of questions here and I'm also well aware that my post is not very coherent, but I'm sure someone somewhere understands me!!

cheers!

[Cain]

[s]gingerbeer wrote on 23:53, 18th Jul 2003:
Aikido let you play with weaponry!


indeed. the dream is to not bother with the learning, but to just kick ass with weapons. (somebody's been watching too many movies. but still.)

i might give it a go, along with the judo (though my brother said "some sweaty fat man will keep on sitting on you and you'll quit after a fortnight. or at least, that's what happened to me.")

harmless loony - i have a mate who is 5'1 and did judo for a bit. she threw a big six foot+ guy over her shoulder no problem. then it was time to change partners. seriously, if we do end up going to any tasters then i'll tag up with you. don't worry

all of these offers have been helpful, and above all else, very nice to hear from you. thanks people! happy asskicking to one and all.

[harmless loony]

harmless loony - i have a mate who is 5'1 and did judo for a bit. she threw a big six foot+ guy over her shoulder no problem. then it was time to change partners. seriously, if we do end up going to any tasters then i'll tag up with you. don't worry

I'll hold you to that!! Just don't throw me about too much!! I quite fancy doing some ju jitsu - u wana go to the taster? And you also have to celidh with me as we didn't get to at the castle!!! Fancy joining forces to watch footy in the union too??

[C]

hey looney,
what are you talking about "the taster"?
By the way, I used to go to a karate club in SELondon where I was the only girl out of 30 6" men. I survived. In fact, I kicked a lot of black-belted butt.
The one in St. A is a lot tamer but still good.

[C.]

Hey namesake... 30 6" men? I guess you get to know your training partners quicker down south ;P

[harmless loony]

By the taster I mean - the first session we go to will be a taster of what is to come. If the first session goes well then I will quite obviosuly want to come again!! (To be fair even if it goes abdly I'll still go again cos I'm determined to get into the whole martial arts thing properly!!)

Thanks for the words of confidence - i may be small but I do have a big mouth so anyone who hurts me - will suffer!! hehehe

I was startin to do martial arts at home a few years ago but then I became very ill and had to stop all sport - so I'm keen to get into it all again!

[mossop]

[s]harmless loony wrote on 15:42, 1st Sep 2003:
Hey!

Are there beginner classes or is everyone lumped together?

Kind of both, which sounds daft! At Judo, the beginners and non beginners split up for the first part of the session and then join together later.

What is the difference between Karate and Judo? And is there the option to do jujitsu?

Karate is punches and kicks and Judo's a bit less agressive and is all about throwing and balance.

Hope that helps!

[hr]
Mmmm Beer, the cause of and solution to all of life's problems....

[Cain]

[s]harmless loony wrote on 21:38, 2nd Sep 2003:
[i]harmless loony - i have a mate who is 5'1 and did judo for a bit. she threw a big six foot+ guy over her shoulder no problem. then it was time to change partners. seriously, if we do end up going to any tasters then i'll tag up with you. don't worry

I'll hold you to that!! Just don't throw me about too much!! I quite fancy doing some ju jitsu - u wana go to the taster? And you also have to celidh with me as we didn't get to at the castle!!! Fancy joining forces to watch footy in the union too??
[/i]

sounds like a plan. i'll check the schedule when it comes out, but judo and ju-jitsu (Did i say ju-jitsu? i meant aikido) are somewhere on my list.

i agree on the 2nd point too - we are overdue a dance. i'll be kilted up for the ceilidh on the 2nd sunday. see you there?

hate to be boring and agree with everything, but, football, union, etc. just don't expect me to cheer for the reds.

[Aer]

i wanted to do some martial art stuff before i started freshers. i ended up waving foils and sabres around.

Fencing

[hr]Always remember, no matter how drunk you are, that tomorrow you will be sober. and probably will have one biiiig hangover.

[dave]

Try taekwondo, its far superior too karate, karate is mostly out of date now and taekwondo has taken over it. I know as i have done both arts and also competed in multi disipline tournaments and taekwondo always comes up trumps!

[Cain]

i did some aikido last night. it was good fun. being paired up with the big, tattoed, goateed skinhead who didn't want to throw me in case he hurt me (i made him throw me. it hurt me) wasn't as bad as you might think.

since its the first thing that i've done i can't really compare it to anything else, but i might go for something more athletic or... maybe different. we'll see.

although i don't mind being thrown about (i quite enjoyed it) if it leaves me with a bad back in the morning (as it did this morning) then i would see myself not continuing for too much longer.

thanks to everybody who has posted on this. look forward to throwing you about next term.

[Aureliano]

[s]Aer wrote on 19:32, 8th Sep 2003:
i wanted to do some martial art stuff before i started freshers. i ended up waving foils and sabres around.


Just in case anyone wants to try out something slightly different...

I've been practicing European historical fencing, unfortunately on-and-off, for just under 2 years. It's essentially the study of armed (and unarmed) combat, using weapons and techniques ranging from even mediaeval times up to the late 1900s, from a strong martial arts perspective.

Back in Finland I've studied under a fantastic group called SESH.
http://www.swordschool.com

It's run by a chap called Guy Windsor, who studied at Edinburgh Uni a while back. A lot of his old mates are still around, including the Dawn Duellists Society and Paul MacDonald who runs his own swordsmanship school.
http://www.historicalfencing.org/Macdonaldacademy/

Last year (my 1st in StA) I was supposed to get involved in the local groups and schools, but was a lazy arse. This upcoming year, however, I will bring along my longsword and endeavour to train in Edinburgh as much as possible. Yes, partially this advertisment is for purely selfish reasons (would be great to find a travel companion/someone with a car/someone to train with in StA), but I also whole-heartedly recommend this fun hobby.

Back in Finland we've also supplemented our main sword training with things such as internal training (breathing exercises, meditation) and various massage courses. I also have video clips of our summer demonstrations, if anyone wants to glance at them.

The websites above have great FAQs that you should browse through. I won't bore you with anymore details, but do e-mail me (lsv) if you're interested.

[Aer]

sounds.... intrigueing

[hr]Always remember, no matter how drunk you are, that tomorrow you will be sober. and probably will have one biiiig hangover.

[Cain]

I went to the Judo session on Tuesday. It was great fun, though i think that it would be something that i would only do occasionally.

cheers to everybody who posted and suggested groups to join.

Sorry if i didn't get to meet you/kick your ass, but there's the whole year still to come.


[hr]
I hold an element of surprise

[Sharpez]

hmmmmmmm, there is a lot of self publicity and nonsense on this board, i hope i can give a reasonable summary of the different martial arts.

western arts -

boxing - excellent for fitness+ body sculpting, dont spar if you dont want to, excellent for speed

fencing - speed and skill, good for stamina, neednt be very strong or bulky.

re-enactment - well the shire of caer caledon society seems to focus on medieval food, not fighting, so the facilities are not great.

eastern arts -

there are two main schools available at st. andrews - striking arts, and throwing arts.

as someone above said karate is more aggressive than judo - NONSENSE. the trick is to remember that all martial arts ARE equal BUT different.

ok -

karate - all about linear strikes with limbs.
fitness - good, combat effectiveness/ self-defence - moderate
also, places importance on 'resepct' and can be a bit 'stuffy' for some.

tae kwon do -

foreign kickboxing, with 90% kicks, 10% punches. good uses pads, good for flexibility and speed.

now onto the non-striking arts -

ju-jitsu - hmmm, this is a contraversial one - it claims to be the ancient samurai arts, but to be honest, no-one can prove it really. it uses both throws, and stikes, and is possibly the most 'rounded' therefore of the martial arts, but lacks training against opponents who are fully resisting.

judo - this is the 'no nonsense' martial art - totally devoid of spiritualism, and uses not only throws, but trips, limb-locks, chokes and grapples. is effectively japanese wrestling. is not 'easy' as many think the translation 'the eay way' means, what it actually means is minimum effort, maximum results.
good for fitness, and self-defence (80% of real fights end in grappling) also - you will be fighting on day one practically.

aikido - probably the most spiritual of the martial arts - it is really good, but dont be fooled into believing it is a form of self defence - it is the LEAST useful in this respect - it is fun, and has the highest no. of female members .

socially, all the clubs are reasonably good, and inter club relations have improved over the last few years too.

so, for those wanting to be good at fighting, a mix of a western form, and one of each of the two types of eastern forms is best, but most will not have time for that, i suppose.

well, enough of my ramblings!