Anyone here study martial arts? I've been studying Budo Taijutsu for 11 years and hold a 4th degree Black Belt in it. I think this is the best thing I've ever done, and it probably saved me from a life of self pity and regret.

Anyone else have similar stories?

No but if you pull that Kung Fu $#iT on me I'll pull out my gun and blow your head off!

LOL:-) Sorry, I couldn't resist.

Nope, not me but I do want to get my kids into some sort of martial arts training.

LOL RDC

Hey, we train with traditional and modern weapons, so if I’m close enough I’ll give you a run for your money. I could use a new gun in my collection J

My teacher believes in a balanced warrior, so outside the martial art he also teaches firearm courses (he’s a federal firearms instructor.) I have a concealed weapons permit and carry most of the time. I’ve been to numerous courses and have qualified with the pistol and rifle.

In response to your kids training, I firmly believe it's vital for kids, but especially boys. Boys are naturally aggressive, so instead of repressing that emotion, channel it into something. Martial arts builds a solid foundation of growth so that whatever life throws at them sits on that solid foundation.

Don’t worry so much about what martial art you chose, find the best teacher you can. Sit down and talk with him/her. Get to know the teacher and make sure you get that “good feeling” from them. A great teacher will help you in your job of turning your children into adults.

I studied Kenpo off and on for a couple of years back when I was in my early 20's. I still mix some of it in with my workouts. Lifting and riding would get to be pretty boring otherwise!

These days I think it's even more important for girls to learn how to defend themselves.

I have a neighbor that reccomended a combinaiton of Thai Boxing and Brazillian Jujitsu.

I have heard Krav Mega is really good as well.

Too many choices I guess.

Jiujutsu is great if you want to defend against one opponent. But, if it’s for your kids, it all depends on the teacher. The questions you should ask yourself is:

1. Do you want you kids to be able to defend themselves, and eventually those around them?

2. Do you want them to learn manners and self-discipline?

3. Do you want them to compete in tournaments?

In my experience, tournament fighting is counter-productive to real self-defense. You’ll get some ability to defend yourself, but a true warrior martial art will not focus on tournaments.

I lean toward #1

If they want to compete that is their decision later on in life. If push comes to shove, I want them to be able to shove back hard.

I think kids have it tougher these days. When I grew up knives never left the kitchen. These days they are brought onto campus. Add to that kids gang up a lot more than before and will not stop until whomever is dead or near dead.

At what age would you suggest getting them involved? My oldest just turned 4. It may seem young, but I have seen young kids on the news who are in some sort of martial arts.

I actually teach the kids class in our dojo (school.) We generally start around 6 or 7 years old, but it really depends on the attention span. I’ve worked with kids, who were 5 years old, and they were a joy to be with, but I’ve also worked with 10 year olds who couldn’t pay attention for more than 2 minutes.

Lance

What about Grappling? Too many choices I guess

What hemisphere are you in?

Thanks,

Rich

The choices can be overwhelming... I understand. I live in Tucson Arizona. If you tell me where you're at, I might be able to recommend something.

Plano Texas, just north of Dallas

Cigarick:

You're right, self defense for women is so important. I also teach a female self defense course, and I've experienced some difficulties in getting women to them. It's my opinion that most of them are afraid to go, because they have to believe that bad things can happen to them. When they do go, it's such a beautiful sight to see them empowered, and walking away with thier head held high... a smile on thier face.

Funny, I was just in Plano Texas a couple of months ago. I work for Intuit and was doing some training there. Very nice town. I'll check into it to see if I know anyone there.

Sylance,

I have to disagree with you. I studied Jujitsu(not Brazilian) for 11 years and found it to be an excellent street fighting art. We often consentrated our classes on defending against multiple opponents. I do agree that self defense/street fighting and tornament fighting are two very different worlds.

Just wish I could find some place around here to train. My Sensei passed away five years ago and his dojo closed.

HarleyDave,

Glad you posted. I have to admit that my experience with Jujitsu is limited, but from what I seen it involved taking the guy to the ground and subduing them there. To me, that’s not the best place to be when dealing with multiple attackers.

However, that being said I haven’t seen much of it, just basing that statement on what (little) I know. All martial arts will get you there; some just get you there faster than others. I apologize if I didn’t give the correct credit to the style you study.

No apology needed. The version of Jujitsu I studied is a combination of Judo, Karate, Aikido, Savate and weapons training.

I agree that when taught by a good, patient teacher, all martial arts can be very effective and great for builing your body, mind and self esteem.

My kung foo is stronger than yours!

Jiu jitsu and thai kickboxing sounds like a great combination to me. Very strong, practical kicking techniques along with Western style boxing, plus good, solid grappling and ground techniques.

Most street fights are not boxing matches. They might start out that way, but they usually they turn into wrestling matches pretty quickly. I don't like anyone close enough to me to grab me, but if they do, grappling is the way to go.

Anybody remember when the UFC first started? Royce Gracie was a little guy compared to most of the hulks he was fighting, but he kicked all their asses until they got smart and started learning jiu jitsu, too.