Art

John G asked:


I am really interested in Bagua, but there aren’t any teacher where I live. I want a martial art that can let me hold my own in fights, but that’s not the primary reason for learning it. I want something more to come out of it, if you understand that. I like Bagua because of it’s evasive manuevers, and the ability to dodge attacks. I’m open to any suggestions. Oh by the way, I’m 13 years old and about 5′0. Thank you guys.

LOGAN

Phil Burney asked:


Many people are planning to start learning about martial arts nowadays but may not have taken into account the fact that they will need martial arts equipment to be able to practice this hobby or occupation. Here are some tips on how to get the best martial arts equipment you need:

1.Try to figure out which martial arts equipment you want to become proficient in. The uniforms in martial arts differ in design, color and use so you have to be specific about which uniform you wish to use. This also applies to your martial arts equipment since the martial arts equipment for one martial art may be unique to that martial art.

2.Find out what protective gear you need to be able to spar and train in your preferred martial arts. Protective gear as martial arts equipment is very important because the last thing you want is to get injured in a sparring session. Protective gear as martial arts equipment can be categorized either as head gear (like face masks and helmets), gear to protect your torso (like chest shields), gear to protect your groin (which is more for men than women, and may consist of a crotch guard or sports cup to shield your privates from being punched or kicked), shin guards to keep the shin area of your legs from being injured when you block a flying kick with your legs (since getting hit on the shin tends to be rather painful since there isn’t much flesh and muscle to shield your shin bone), feet gear (such as kicking boots, designed to keep your opponent from being critically injured if you should hit them with your legs or feet), and hand gear (such as punching mitts, used also to shield your opponent from the full force of your punches.) You need to invest in quality martial arts equipment as protective gear so you get the best protection possible.

3.You can also invest in practice martial arts equipment. This means getting punching bags (like those used in boxing), and martial arts dummies (which attempt to give you an idea of how to punch and kick a real human being.) Your punching bag can consist of either the teardrop bag or the bigger boxing-type punching bag. Martial arts dummies are basically like punching bags except they may be a bit bigger and shaped like human bodies. Though these martial arts equipment are no replacement for sparring and training with real-live opponents (because these practice equipment cannot dodge your blows or retaliate), they are very important to have around so you can get the feel for the sport.

4.There will be sports that require you to become proficient in certain martial arts weapons (which are also martial arts equipment.) However, you should always be careful when trying out such weapons in the first few sessions because you might hurt someone badly (such as yourself) if you don’t know what you are doing. If you are at the stage when martial arts equipment like weapons are necessary, then always pay attention to your instructor and learn how to master the weapons first. Often, such weapons were designed to maim your opponent and maybe even kill him so caution is always necessary in training with weapons.

Martial arts equipment were designed to work a certain way. Many martial arts equipment have a long history that can help you study how your preferred martial arts evolved. Study carefully how martial arts equipment are meant to be used and they can really help you become a better martial artist afterwards.



JERALD

Whambo asked:


I’m curious because Samurai are traditionally depicted wearing very cumbersome body armor which would rule out fast martial arts like karate. I assume that they must have been taught kendo, but what about a hand-to-hand martial art?

ANDRE

Roman asked:


I want to learn a martial art for self defense and to improve my health, though there seems to be so many different styles that I don’t know where to start. Also, I live in Salt Lake City, Utah, so if anyone can recommend a training facility it would be much appreciated.

GREG

GuinessDraught asked:


What martial art should I take to learn how to use a katana and other Japanese swords? I was thinking Kendo but I know that other martial arts teach it too like Aikido and Ninjutsu. Thanks.

ANDREW

martial arts london ON asked:


 

The Benefits of Tai Chi and Internal Martial Arts for Self-defense: Part 1 of 2

Internal Martial arts such as Tai Chi, or Ba Gua can be extremely effective for self defense if trained correctly. There are a few strategic principles in Chinese internal Martial Arts that can provide a tactical advantage in melee combat. I will outline them in the following sections: Body Alignment and Changing, Friction and Sensitivity, Timing, Initiative (these last two I will explain in part two of this article). You will notice there is no magic to any of this – it is all science. For more information on tai chi, self-defence and kung fu please visit Martial Arts London Ontario (MALO).

Body Alignment / Posture and Body Changing

The first thing about internal chinese martial arts like Tai Chi and Ba Gua is that they are based off of the chinese system of medicine. This system has been well aware of things that chiropractors and sports physiotherapists are just starting to learn about the human nervous system and spinal cord, meditative benefits, and muscle/tendon functional excellence. Like gymnasts and dancers, internal arts practitioners do difficult and challenging exercises, drills, and forms in order to literally change their body’s metabolism, balance, structure, tendon strength, speed and flexibility. The more serious one is with their body changing training, the more results they will see. Doing Tai Chi once per week without the requisite secrets is not good enough. At first this training is extremely difficult, just as jogging is extremely difficult for the beginner. But after years of practice, the internal martial artist’s body starts to change, and they start to see the health and martial benefits as they begin to move as a functional unit and cease using “awkward force”. They also get damaged less often in hard martial arts sparring. This body changing also includes tendon conditioning, thus making an internal artist “seem” stronger as they move as a more functional unit. Tendons are as strong as steel. If you can learn to use them, and to strengthen them, then you will move as a more functional and solid (yet fluid) unit.

Friction and Sensitivity

Another key aspect in internal arts like Tai Chi, or Ba Gua (Cheng Sher and Magui), is friction, or what is sometimes called sticky hands. With this body changing, and two person “push”, “search”, or “sticky” hands practice, practitioners become more sensitive to the movements of others, and by using this sensitivity, internal martial artists can use a foe’s force against them by placing them off balance. And by using friction, the practitioner can deliver more kinetic energy per second than a straight punch. All boxers know that more friction means more damage, so too does this apply to throws and arm drags. The more friction when throwing an opponent, the more kinetic energy you deliver into them, the faster they hit the ground. Also, using friction properly



SCOTTIE

Jason asked:


Hi. I’m going to start training in the Martial Art of bujinkan next month. I have some questions:

1) I have no previous Martial Art Experiance. Will I be okay in Bujinkan and quickly catch up? Is there a beginner class, or is everyone on the same level?

2) Are there alot of painful moments in bujinkan? I see some pics with arms and legs twisting in painful positions.

3) Are the instructers pretty nice, or do they yell in face alot with insults like boot camp or something?

Can anyone offer any tips or advice? I’m a little nervous because I haven’t done anything like this before.
Also, where can I buy a bujinkan uniform. If I recall correctly, it’s called a “do-gi” or “gi”. Where do I buy one? Or can I just wear anything?

BOB

Phil Burney asked:


The term “Martial Arts Supplies” encompasses a host of things that a martial artist may need to become a full-fledged martial artist. It may mean uniforms for the various martial arts that exist, sparring and training gear, weapons, and exercise equipment, among others. So long as it is used so you become more proficient at martial arts, that thing qualifies to be part of the Martial Arts Supplies category.

But how do you look for a reliable Martial Arts Supplies retailer? One way is to simply encode the search phrase “Martial Arts Supplies” into your search box and wait for names of ecommerce sites to crop up. You can also get your Martial Arts Supplies from your martial arts school, which may either have a contractor who provides such Martial Arts Supplies that their students need, or which may sell the Martial Arts Supplies as part of their martial arts business.

A third way to secure the right type of Martial Arts Supplies is to contact martial arts federations and ask them where they get their Martial Arts Supplies.

When you are getting Martial Arts Supplies like uniforms, you first have to specify what martial arts you are pursuing to the supplier. You also have to indicate at what stage in the martial arts field you are already in. This means that uniforms are generally classified as Student Uniforms, Lightweight Uniforms, Middleweight, and Heavyweight Uniforms (though some uniforms under a certain martial arts may subdivide their uniforms further into other sub-categories.)

Intimate Martial Arts Supplies like mouth/teeth protectors, and helmets, should never be shared among friends for hygienic reasons. It is okay for you to share your uniform with others provided it is washed before being returned to you. Another reason you should never share with others is that you might never get back your expensive Martial Arts Supplies anymore and have to scrounge around for enough cash to buy more of the same supplies afterwards.

Martial Arts Supplies like weapons are another type of personal stuff that you should never share with others – but this time, for reasons of safety. Since Martial Arts Supplies like a pair of nunchucks, or samurai swords, were made to be as real as possible, sharing them out is really a bad idea. You never know what kind of trouble other people might get into using your weapons. Treat such Martial Arts Supplies as dangerous weapons and keep them in safe secure storage. It is especially important to keep your weapons out of reach of children and teenagers.

Martial Arts Supplies like books and instructional CD-ROMs are another story though – these are the types of Martial Arts Supplies that you ought to share out with others, especially those from the same martial arts club that you belong to. It is always fun and instructional to share opinions and tips with your co-martial artists. In fact, that is part of the pleasure you will get from the field of martial arts actually. So whether you pursue martial arts purely as a weekend warrior, or with the intent of becoming an instructor yourself someday, sharing your knowledge about martial arts and Martial Arts Supplies will always benefit you too in the final analysis.



STEPHEN

allenm23 asked:


Looking into getting into martial arts, but not really sure which one would be best suited for me. I am 5′4″ and I weigh 160 lbs, so I have a short and stocky build. Which martial art would be best for my build? Any honest opinion would be greatly appreciated.

GIL

Phil Burney asked:


The first and last thing you need to remember about martial arts is that it is a field of discipline that is supposed to prepare you for combat. It is not simply a set of movements that look great to spectators. Every movement, every breath done by the martial artist is meant to accomplish something during a combat encounter. If you are ready for the idea of using your martial arts skills for combat situations, then you are ready to train and progress in martial arts.

Inasmuch as the term “Martial Arts” literally means “the art of Mars” (Mars being the god of war in Roman mythology), you should be prepared to invest in martial arts equipment to train for highly combative situations. Though some cultures frown upon women taking part in martial arts, there are other cultures that expect women to learn martial arts too – like in ancient Japan, wives of samurai warriors were expected to defend the home if attacked in the absence of their husbands.

Martial arts can be subdivided as to what skills they seem to prioritize – this will tell you what types of martial arts equipment you need to use. For striking, you may need the “wooden dummy” that is used as Chinese martial arts equipment – this type of Chinese martial arts equipment tries to train your mind to anticipate where angles of attack would come from. For kicking sports like Taekwondo, the necessary martial arts equipment to use would be a mouth-guard and a head-guard (for both male and female jins or fighters.) Male jins need other martial arts equipment like a crotch guard or sport cup so that their groin is not exposed to injury. Chest protectors are standard martial arts equipment for amateur matches and Olympic-level matches. However, in real life you should expect such protective martial arts equipment to be absent so some sparring matches involve absence of any protective gear, so you get used to being in real-life combat situations.

Uniforms are standard martial arts equipment for nearly all martial arts nowadays. Often, you can distinguish what type of martial arts is being done based on what the fighters are wearing. But uniforms are not just pleasant to look at – since they are made of thick material, they are pretty durable so that they can withstand constant strikes and friction during combat situations. Uniforms nowadays are also made of breathable material like thick cotton so that fighters don’t overheat or feel too uncomfortable in the heat of a match.

Since martial arts were developed for combat, often fighters or martial artists might be members of the military. In the Western context then, it may be necessary to have access to important martial arts equipment such as strength training equipment. Though in the past, the weight of your opponent may have been enough to workout with, nowadays many martial arts recognize that strength training is quite important too. So if you can find a way to buy your own gym equipment (as your investment into necessary martial arts equipment) or at least rent them by the hour, that would help you develop strength and power for your matches.

In many Chinese martial arts, there are other forms of martial arts equipment that Western martial arts do not require. Some Chinese disciplines will require you to break wooden blocks or planks with your fist. This simple yet staple among Chinese martial arts equipment tests your power, focus, and ability to marshal your chi (energy) into your fist where it meets the wood. Another type of necessary martial arts equipment for the Chinese martial arts would be concrete blocks. Some instructors may ask you to break these concrete blocks with your fist, feet, or even your head.

As you can see, the Chinese martial arts require a different set of martial arts equipment compared to the Western type of martial arts. Do invest in the type of martial arts equipment appropriate for your discipline. Martial arts equipment will help you be a stronger, better and more confident fighter in the end.



MANUEL