# Martial Arts



## Catching Fire (Apr 23, 2009)

I was just wondering if anyone else here did martial arts. And how if it has helped you with SA. I started Judo this summer and it has helped alot. I see myself better able to meet challenges and accept failure. I feel calmer and more confident too. It gives me something to do and look foward to as well.


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## TorLin (Nov 14, 2006)

i do matrial arts.


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## UKPhobe (Oct 22, 2008)

One of my all time favourite subjects. 

It can definitely help with confidence and assertiveness issues, particularly if part of your SA fears are down to fears of being judged or ridiculed. Whether it helps SA in general probably depends on the person and the club you train at, any social contact is going to be good for you. 

Personally I’d recommend anything that gives you good, hard training since you'll get more benefit from it.


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## Catching Fire (Apr 23, 2009)

UKPhobe said:


> One of my all time favourite subjects.
> 
> It can definitely help with confidence and assertiveness issues, particularly if part of your SA fears are down to fears of being judged or ridiculed. Whether it helps SA in general probably depends on the person and the club you train at, any social contact is going to be good for you.
> 
> Personally I'd recommend anything that gives you good, hard training since you'll get more benefit from it.


I defiently agree about the good hard training. I was at a not so good Tae Kwon Do school for a long time where alot of people were out of shape and everything was very lax. It did nothing for me. It really makes a difference.


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## Brightpaperwarewolf (Oct 16, 2008)

I take Goju Ryu. I enjoy it as a form of art and form of destruction.

I definitely recommend it because for the right reasons, it's a great form of exercise and outlet for aggression but I also warn of a dark path because of recent events in my life. It involved leaving my anger unchecked and using violence on people and part of it stemmed from the power martial arts gives you. Don't use it for the wrong reasons or they'll be severe consequences you'll learn the hard way. I know there are some of you that are frustrated with the world and you think the solution is to kick someones *** to show them your form of justice. That's what I thought and I acted upon it. For the past several months, I subconsciously believed in using physical force to combat passive aggression of other people was right if you have a grievance. Usually most people won't act out upon it and keep these thoughts in mind, but when you actually develop the power, it's a dangerous power to have unchecked. As I learned the hard way, the implications can be great and outright destructive to others and yourself.


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## pokeherpro (Jun 17, 2009)

I shouldn't admit it but I'm secretly a ninja.

But seriously, Georges St. Pierre is my idol. I want to learn MMA so I can feel self-confident.


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## mm222 (Aug 17, 2009)

What is great for the Temple (Body), is also great for the Spirit.

:idea
It calms the mind. It enhances focus. It begins to help develop a sense that you can handle a sticky situation with confidence and resolve, something everyone with Soc. Anx. can benefit from.

Plus you get to kick some ***! (at least know that you can, is just as fine).


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## ShawnnyK (Aug 18, 2009)

Theirs a Great Gym, Camp that Trains professional MMA ( Mixed Martial Arts) about a mile from me, I seriously Am getting an itch to go, I'm seriously nervous about meeting some of the guys there though, I'm sure they could beat me down in about two seconds... But I know if I can get through the door, get a tour, and start, 2 months down the road I'd be so darn proud of my self..... errr, one of these days....


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## Catching Fire (Apr 23, 2009)

ShawnnyK said:


> Theirs a Great Gym, Camp that Trains professional MMA ( Mixed Martial Arts) about a mile from me, I seriously Am getting an itch to go, I'm seriously nervous about meeting some of the guys there though, I'm sure they could beat me down in about two seconds... But I know if I can get through the door, get a tour, and start, 2 months down the road I'd be so darn proud of my self..... errr, one of these days....


I say you should go for it. I was also intimidatd about meeting the people at my judo place but they are really nice people. It always seems that fighters are pretty calm respectful people too. They would probably love to have you too.


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## seanybhoy (Mar 2, 2008)

It's helped a lil with my SA, more than anything it's jst been a hobby n a good way to pass time n meet peeps with the same interest as myself.

I do jujitsu mondays n fridays n we do our Kickboxing n take downs on wednesdays so yeah fills a lotta boring weeknights i guess, ugh i'd prolly be lost without it lol.


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## ShawnnyK (Aug 18, 2009)

I think the exercise alone would help, I've been so inactive for so long and have somewhat turned into a home body lately... I'm a heavy smoker too, only being 25 It's not going to be easy, but from what I heard too, alot of the fighters are really nice people and I would love to learn some Muay Thai... I just to take out stress on a bag.. hah


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## UKPhobe (Oct 22, 2008)

Catching Fire said:


> I defiently agree about the good hard training. I was at a not so good Tae Kwon Do school for a long time where alot of people were out of shape and everything was very lax. It did nothing for me. It really makes a difference.


That's the good thing about Judo. Although it's not as tough as some arts/clubs it still requires a lot of hard work (particularly if you're an adult) and it does have a form of full contact. TKD on the other hand depends very much on the club itself.


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## UKPhobe (Oct 22, 2008)

seanybhoy said:


> I do jujitsu mondays n fridays n we do our Kickboxing n take downs on wednesdays so yeah fills a lotta boring weeknights i guess, ugh i'd prolly be lost without it lol.


You don't do takedowns with the Ju Jitsu? Is it BJJ?


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## jim_morrison (Aug 17, 2008)

I'm looking to start a martial art, seems like great way to keep fit, meet new people and gain confidence. I think that i would like to try tae kwon do or brazilian jujitsu, anybody here have expereince in either one?


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## Catching Fire (Apr 23, 2009)

jim_morrison said:


> I'm looking to start a martial art, seems like great way to keep fit, meet new people and gain confidence. I think that i would like to try tae kwon do or brazilian jujitsu, anybody here have expereince in either one?


I did Tae Kwon Do and do Judo now which is the art from which bjj orginated from. I would probably go with bjj because the quality of Tae Kwon Do schools isn't always great while bjj is pretty consistent.


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## seanybhoy (Mar 2, 2008)

UKPhobe said:


> You don't do takedowns with the Ju Jitsu? Is it BJJ?


Ya we do takedowns at jujitsu chief , nah it aint BJJ it's just authentic jujitsu we stay on our feet when we can but we also put an awful lotta emphasis on our shoots/takedowns n groundwork , ground n pound , passing guard n submissions.

Wednesdays are just really a light hearted training session for us since we get to use our police head quarters, so we just have a good laugh n a good old scrap i guess lol whilst putting our emphasis mainly on our striking n takedowns.


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## UKPhobe (Oct 22, 2008)

jim_morrison said:


> I'm looking to start a martial art, seems like great way to keep fit, meet new people and gain confidence. I think that i would like to try tae kwon do or brazilian jujitsu, anybody here have expereince in either one?


I've not donw them myself but i can pretty much tell you anything you want to know.



Catching Fire said:


> I did Tae Kwon Do and do Judo now which is the art from which bjj orginated from.


What he says although Judo is predominantly takedowns and BJJ and predominantly ground work. Odd concidering.



seanybhoy said:


> Ya we do takedowns at jujitsu chief , nah it aint BJJ it's just authentic jujitsu we stay on our feet when we can but we also put an awful lotta emphasis on our shoots/takedowns n groundwork , ground n pound , passing guard n submissions.
> 
> Wednesdays are just really a light hearted training session for us since we get to use our police head quarters, so we just have a good laugh n a good old scrap i guess lol whilst putting our emphasis mainly on our striking n takedowns.


Oh i see, excellent.


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## jim_morrison (Aug 17, 2008)

UKPhobe said:


> I've not donw them myself but i can pretty much tell you anything you want to know.


Sure go ahead, i'd particularly like to know about BJJ.


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## UKPhobe (Oct 22, 2008)

jim_morrison said:


> Sure go ahead, i'd particularly like to know about BJJ.


Is there anything you'd specific you'd like to know?

It was developed by the Gracie brothers on the streets of Brazil. It originated from Judo and it focuses mostly on ground work and submission with very few take downs (hence why it's popular with MMA enthusiasts). It's considered an excellent MMA art and became propular as a result of Royce Gracie's UFC win against Ken Shammrock.


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## Catching Fire (Apr 23, 2009)

UKPhobe said:


> Is there anything you'd specific you'd like to know?
> 
> It was developed by the Gracie brothers on the streets of Brazil. It originated from Judo and it focuses mostly on ground work and submission with very few take downs (hence why it's popular with MMA enthusiasts). It's considered an excellent MMA art and became propular as a result of Royce Gracie's UFC win against Ken Shammrock.


Yep that's pretty much it. Bjj is basically Judo with all the emphasis on ground work instead of throws like in Judo. Although both arts basically have the same set of techniques just a different emphasis and rule set. So you'll spend most of your time learning how to work postition, pins, chokes, armbars, and other submissions.


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## jim_morrison (Aug 17, 2008)

UKPhobe said:


> Is there anything you'd specific you'd like to know?
> 
> It was developed by the Gracie brothers on the streets of Brazil. It originated from Judo and it focuses mostly on ground work and submission with very few take downs (hence why it's popular with MMA enthusiasts). It's considered an excellent MMA art and became propular as a result of Royce Gracie's UFC win against Ken Shammrock.


Thanks, I've had a look at martial art clubs in my area and basically the good clubs seem to be the ones for taekwondo, hapkido and brazilian jujitsu.

Basically just looking for something to keep me really fit aerobically, not trying to be a great street fighter or anything like that, but if there was one art in particular that could really protect you in the event where you were attacked on the street or something thatd be good I guess.

Also I heard in BJJ you can get pretty bad cauliflower ears is that true?


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## ShawnnyK (Aug 18, 2009)

jim_morrison said:


> Also I heard in BJJ you can get pretty bad cauliflower ears is that true?


That's why I want to stay away from bjj... I don't know how true that is though.. I know guys who are in MMA consider it a trophy... No thanks :roll


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## Catching Fire (Apr 23, 2009)

jim_morrison said:


> Thanks, I've had a look at martial art clubs in my area and basically the good clubs seem to be the ones for taekwondo, hapkido and brazilian jujitsu.
> 
> Basically just looking for something to keep me really fit aerobically, not trying to be a great street fighter or anything like that, but if there was one art in particular that could really protect you in the event where you were attacked on the street or something thatd be good I guess.
> 
> Also I heard in BJJ you can get pretty bad cauliflower ears is that true?


You can avoid getting them and i wouldn't worry about it too much. You can take procautions against it like wearing ear guards. I would also ask your instructor and people at your club how to avoid it because even though some people think they're badass most don't want them. I would defeintly go with bjj out of those three options as that is the one that most likely get you in shape. Because the quality of tae kwon do and hapkido clubs can sometimes be questionable. I also did Tae Kwon Do for almost four years and was in terrible shape because thats how lax the instruction and workouts were. Im not down on either art just be warned that not all clubs are good.


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## jim_morrison (Aug 17, 2008)

Catching Fire said:


> You can avoid getting them and i wouldn't worry about it too much. You can take procautions against it like wearing ear guards. I would also ask your instructor and people at your club how to avoid it because even though some people think they're badass most don't want them. I would defeintly go with bjj out of those three options as that is the one that most likely get you in shape. Because the quality of tae kwon do and hapkido clubs can sometimes be questionable. I also did Tae Kwon Do for almost four years and was in terrible shape because thats how lax the instruction and workouts were. Im not down on either art just be warned that not all clubs are good.


Oh ok, hmm I can't understand why pure BJJ (not including MMA incorperated BJJ) would give you cauliflower ears, since theres no strikes, and no takedowns, is it from all the preasure on your head when your opponents ontop of you?

BTW, wow I can't beleive doing TKD for 4 years straight didnt keep you in shape, what country was this in? maybe the differs based on your countrys TKD federations rules and standards *shrugs*


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## rdrr (Dec 31, 2008)

I'm starting to train BJJ. If I get them i'll post pics, lol. you can get it drained; it's not so bad. I got it in HS from wrestling. not a big deal.


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## Catching Fire (Apr 23, 2009)

jim_morrison said:


> Oh ok, hmm I can't understand why pure BJJ (not including MMA incorperated BJJ) would give you cauliflower ears, since theres no strikes, and no takedowns, is it from all the preasure on your head when your opponents ontop of you?
> 
> BTW, wow I can't beleive doing TKD for 4 years straight didnt keep you in shape, what country was this in? maybe the differs based on your countrys TKD federations rules and standards *shrugs*


This was in the U.S. some of the clubs can be real bad. They would just kind of let everyone slide buy and take your money. I couldn't go all that much which probably had something to do with it. But there were black belts and other high ranking students who could barely do a few pushups. Alot of people there were just in aweful shape.


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## UKPhobe (Oct 22, 2008)

jim_morrison said:


> Thanks, I've had a look at martial art clubs in my area and basically the good clubs seem to be the ones for taekwondo, hapkido and brazilian jujitsu.
> 
> Basically just looking for something to keep me really fit aerobically, not trying to be a great street fighter or anything like that, but if there was one art in particular that could really protect you in the event where you were attacked on the street or something thatd be good I guess.
> 
> Also I heard in BJJ you can get pretty bad cauliflower ears is that true?


Fitness wise I'd probably pick the BJJ since the Hapkido and TKD will depend on the club. Self Defence wise none of them are ideal, if these are the only options again I'd have to say BJJ.

Did you include Boxing in your search? That would be a far better option for fitness and SD.

Cauliflower ear is common in Wrestling and Boxing but perfectly treatable and preventable. It's not a big deal.



Catching Fire said:


> You can avoid getting them and i wouldn't worry about it too much. You can take procautions against it like wearing ear guards. I would also ask your instructor and people at your club how to avoid it because even though some people think they're badass most don't want them. I would defeintly go with bjj out of those three options as that is the one that most likely get you in shape. Because the quality of tae kwon do and hapkido clubs can sometimes be questionable. I also did Tae Kwon Do for almost four years and was in terrible shape because thats how lax the instruction and workouts were. Im not down on either art just be warned that not all clubs are good.


What he says!



jim_morrison said:


> Oh ok, hmm I can't understand why pure BJJ (not including MMA incorperated BJJ) would give you cauliflower ears, since theres no strikes, and no takedowns, is it from all the preasure on your head when your opponents ontop of you?
> 
> BTW, wow I can't beleive doing TKD for 4 years straight didnt keep you in shape, what country was this in? maybe the differs based on your countrys TKD federations rules and standards *shrugs*


It can depend on organisation, club or instructor. Some organisations are a lot stricter.


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## jim_morrison (Aug 17, 2008)

Catching Fire said:


> This was in the U.S. some of the clubs can be real bad. They would just kind of let everyone slide buy and take your money. I couldn't go all that much which probably had something to do with it. But there were black belts and other high ranking students who could barely do a few pushups. Alot of people there were just in aweful shape.


Really? wow, I did a TKD class trial awhile ago, and even us white belts where expected to do 15 push ups. The class didnt really wear me out aeorobically though, but it did flare up an old foot injury I had, so I had to stop at the time.


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## jim_morrison (Aug 17, 2008)

UKPhobe said:


> Did you include Boxing in your search? That would be a far better option for fitness and SD.


Boxing would be fun, but I figured that doing a full contact sport for the sake of fitness would be a bit over the top, maybe if you wanted to be an amateur fighter though I guess.
Boxers seems to be in great shape.


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## UKPhobe (Oct 22, 2008)

jim_morrison said:


> Boxing would be fun, but I figured that doing a full contact sport for the sake of fitness would be a bit over the top, maybe if you wanted to be an amateur fighter though I guess.
> Boxers seems to be in great shape.


Well you'll get the best of both worlds. Excellent fitness and a top self defence method!!


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## jim_morrison (Aug 17, 2008)

UKPhobe said:


> Well you'll get the best of both worlds. Excellent fitness and a top self defence method!!


Good news, I found out that the MA centre that runs the BJJ classes near me also does boxing/kickboxing classes.


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## Catching Fire (Apr 23, 2009)

jim_morrison said:


> Good news, I found out that the MA centre that runs the BJJ classes near me also does boxing/kickboxing classes.


That's awesome i wish i had a place like that around me. I guess try both and see which one you like more. Or if you can handle it/afford it do both.


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