Post by kensei on Mar 20, 2014 12:06:27 GMT
This is not going to be "how to physically defend others" kind of thread. No this is going to be a DONT PUT DOWN OTHER ARTS kind of thread. Now, I like making fun and I have a great sense of humor (note: not really) about my style of Karate and I dont harbour any silly misconceptions about life in general....but I Really dont like when others make fun of things to be harsh. I have done Shotokan Karate since I was about six, so doing the math...thats a depressingly long time....my beautiful hair is all gone, my facial hair has more white than black and I know much better now than to assume things and paint everyone with the same paint brush!
I grew up in martial arts when their was the "Verbal cold war" going on. No longer were Dojo storms going on, we had grown out of sending a pack of morons...er fighters from one club to another to challenge the clubs best to see who was better, I dont actually know of this happening in North America but it had in Japan. We were now into bashing other styles verbally (by we I mean my seniors) and I grew up listening to others say "TKD is crap and they cant fight" or "Judo is no good on the streets" or "Aikido is all fake" and it did influence me. I even got to hear "Goju guys sound like they are going to crap themselves when doing Kata" and "How is Sanchin going to help you fight" kind of things, All clubs were equal bashers too. They bashed us, we bashed them.
I remember going to school (real school, not the Dojo school...well Dojo is real to but you know what I mean) and running into a Chito Ryu guy and he said "oh, you do Shotokan, yah my instructor says thats for girls and little kids" the irony...we were little kids! The school yard fight that happened after that proved we were not little girls...we both kicked each other in soft spots that proved that!
Years later I started training on the side with a group of guys in my school, four of us, who all came from different styles. I was shotokan, we had a Goju guy, a chito kid (yes, strangely the same kid whom I had kicked in the yam sack...and who had tried to smash me in the bannana hamock) and a Isshin ryu kid. We sparred alot and we also learned each others Kata....although I have to admit the only ones I remember are the Goju Katas....and even those I could not perform today, but recognize.
I learned a lot from them and even teh TKD guy that joined us at the end had some interesting ideas to share. The point is that once you open your eyes to different styles you can learn from them. If you constantly bash people you wont learn at all even if they are giving you something important to learn.
Because of this I trained in Aikido, Judo (even got my shodan), Kung fu (several styles), Sambo (Family taught) and as many other styles as I could. I read Bruce Lee like he was the bible and I tried to pick up as much as I could, and I never left my home club!
Recently in post on another forum some Yahoo was talking about transfering ranks from one style to anther and after about a week of watching posts go up to help this clown he comes back with "Went to the local Shotokan club (He was Wado I think to start) and its a McDojo, all Karate is McDojos...Im going to Muay thai to learn real self defense...Im out". The point is that he probably will get in great shape with Muay thai but its not any better at learning self defense than Karate is.
You need to remember the ups and downs of each style and adjust accordingly. Karate is good for getting you in shape, Muay thai is probably great for that. Karate is good for learning self defense if you have a great instructor, Muay Thai not so much...its a sport that teaches you to block by covering up...not smart in a street fight. Karate is an art form, Muay thai is a sport. Karate you can do for life, Muay thai...you can do till your body gives out and is to beat up...so about four or five years.
My point is that this Yahoo blasted Karate on the way out the door and was very short sited and it got me to thinking about how I have acted and my seniors have acted in the past. we need to get past blasting others and start looking for the good things to train in other systems and bring back to our clubs. Karate and shotokan specifically is not the "Best" its "A style" and has its strong poitns and its weaker points. I love Shotokan and even if I was not JKA I would still train, hell I would train alone if I had to...but Im not so ignorant and stupid to say that all other styles are worse than the one I do.
Rant over...I shall place my soap box firmly under my desk again to be used at a later date...thank you for reading.
I grew up in martial arts when their was the "Verbal cold war" going on. No longer were Dojo storms going on, we had grown out of sending a pack of morons...er fighters from one club to another to challenge the clubs best to see who was better, I dont actually know of this happening in North America but it had in Japan. We were now into bashing other styles verbally (by we I mean my seniors) and I grew up listening to others say "TKD is crap and they cant fight" or "Judo is no good on the streets" or "Aikido is all fake" and it did influence me. I even got to hear "Goju guys sound like they are going to crap themselves when doing Kata" and "How is Sanchin going to help you fight" kind of things, All clubs were equal bashers too. They bashed us, we bashed them.
I remember going to school (real school, not the Dojo school...well Dojo is real to but you know what I mean) and running into a Chito Ryu guy and he said "oh, you do Shotokan, yah my instructor says thats for girls and little kids" the irony...we were little kids! The school yard fight that happened after that proved we were not little girls...we both kicked each other in soft spots that proved that!
Years later I started training on the side with a group of guys in my school, four of us, who all came from different styles. I was shotokan, we had a Goju guy, a chito kid (yes, strangely the same kid whom I had kicked in the yam sack...and who had tried to smash me in the bannana hamock) and a Isshin ryu kid. We sparred alot and we also learned each others Kata....although I have to admit the only ones I remember are the Goju Katas....and even those I could not perform today, but recognize.
I learned a lot from them and even teh TKD guy that joined us at the end had some interesting ideas to share. The point is that once you open your eyes to different styles you can learn from them. If you constantly bash people you wont learn at all even if they are giving you something important to learn.
Because of this I trained in Aikido, Judo (even got my shodan), Kung fu (several styles), Sambo (Family taught) and as many other styles as I could. I read Bruce Lee like he was the bible and I tried to pick up as much as I could, and I never left my home club!
Recently in post on another forum some Yahoo was talking about transfering ranks from one style to anther and after about a week of watching posts go up to help this clown he comes back with "Went to the local Shotokan club (He was Wado I think to start) and its a McDojo, all Karate is McDojos...Im going to Muay thai to learn real self defense...Im out". The point is that he probably will get in great shape with Muay thai but its not any better at learning self defense than Karate is.
You need to remember the ups and downs of each style and adjust accordingly. Karate is good for getting you in shape, Muay thai is probably great for that. Karate is good for learning self defense if you have a great instructor, Muay Thai not so much...its a sport that teaches you to block by covering up...not smart in a street fight. Karate is an art form, Muay thai is a sport. Karate you can do for life, Muay thai...you can do till your body gives out and is to beat up...so about four or five years.
My point is that this Yahoo blasted Karate on the way out the door and was very short sited and it got me to thinking about how I have acted and my seniors have acted in the past. we need to get past blasting others and start looking for the good things to train in other systems and bring back to our clubs. Karate and shotokan specifically is not the "Best" its "A style" and has its strong poitns and its weaker points. I love Shotokan and even if I was not JKA I would still train, hell I would train alone if I had to...but Im not so ignorant and stupid to say that all other styles are worse than the one I do.
Rant over...I shall place my soap box firmly under my desk again to be used at a later date...thank you for reading.