What's your style? (Which martial arts do you study?)

[Chinatown Kid]

Damn.... im 30, and thought that I was one of the older members on this board! But either you guys have been training since you could walk, or your older than me:)

Yeah I'm 35 and will turn 36 at the end of July but I still feel like I'm 25! I've been studying TKD seriously for about 6 years.

[Chinatown Kid]

Well unfortunately there is A LOT more bad Jeet Kune Do out there than good Jeet Kune Do.

Most people think they are learning the art but are learning a mish-mash of other arts cobbled together which is then as labelled Jeet Kune Do.

That's a shame, is there any kind of qualifications or authentic certificate a person can check to know their true credintials?

[shukocarl]

Ermm, hate to tell you this but I just had my 50th birthday!

I'm a 5th Dan in Shukokai Karate and also train in Kindai Kempo (a form of Kickboxing ). I started at age 16 in White Cloud Kung fu/Tai Chi and have also dabbled in Shotokan, Judo, Uechi Ryu, Jkd/Kali and Jiu Jitsu over the yrs. The firt art I trained in was Boxing when I was 13...

Have now been training in Original JKD for about 15 months now and dropped the Kindai Kempo.

Shukocarl

[fabhui]

That's a shame, is there any kind of qualifications or authentic certificate a person can check to know their true credintials?

Unfortunately no. This is one area that the Nucleus were originally looking in to and I believe it is currently on the Foundation's agenda so as to stop people being misled by bogus instructors.

[Chinatown Kid]

I see, thanks for the info fabhui. I wish the JKD foundation good luck in finding a way to stop these phoney instructors.

[CrazyFrog]

It's good to see so many people actually doing these arts!

I took hapkido for about 1/2 year and I was on my high school wrestling team. Now, I'm in the country and I could probably start watching some wildlife; old school animal styles like the Lazy Bear and Pissed Off Rattler if you had to go off what's here already. I used to surf- does that count?

[Chinatown Kid]

Well I don't know if you can consider surfing a martial art but it's definately a skill.

[dragonherb]

I used to train Ninjutsu and I loved it but the fantastic teacher moved to another town and was replaced by a lazy hangover-guy and the dojo went downhill from there and died about a year afterwards.

[whitelotus]

I study 7 Star Praying Mantis out here in Toronto for the last 7 yrs, also Tai Chi, previous I studied, Chinese Kempo, and Kickboxing.

[WhiteTiger1]

I'm 45

in May I'll be 46

Studied Judo and Taekwondo since a kid.

Last 6 or 7 yrs been learning Meditation and Tai Chi, good art for us older guys...

[TibetanWhiteCrane]

FOLLOW UP QUESTION:

How many of you, have had to use your skills in a streetfight? And did you use it defensively or offensively, or both?

[Endsang]

Never, thankfully.

[Chinatown Kid]

Thankfully never in real life either but I have fought in several fullcontact TKD tournaments. I broke a guy's nose with a round kick in one match and felt very guilty afterwords. Also got into a brawl with 2 guys who tried to jump me before I ever learned TKD and was beating them both up with my fists till one pulled a knife out. Ashamed to say when I seen the knife I ran because I knew even if I got the knife away from the guy I would probably have got cut or stabbed bad. They teach you in the martial arts that if a confrontation is avoidable then by all means avoid it, and that's what I try to do now. Only and idiot goes looking for a fight.

[The Dragon]

I agree. Since I've become what I call more aware of my body control, avoiding confrontation is seemingly easier because of the confidence I've gained in overall awareness. It's kind of like a person who swears alot. Sometimes it's because they don't have the vocabulary to prperly express themselves. It's far more convienient and lazy to say !@#$!!!...

[TibetanWhiteCrane]

Blah Blah Blah... I wanna hear some bloody tales from the street! Just kidding guys:)

I hate violence, but I have a tendency towards it, and a short temper. So through martial arts, I had to learn to turn that negative energy, into positive. Learn patience, self discipline and extend my rather short fuse, as to not blow up at every Tom, Dick and moron who got in my face.

And your'e right dragon, with the skills, comes self awareness, and confidence, that allows you to take the high road. or walk away from a fight, without feeling like a total puss!

I have used it though. But only on a few occasions, and only as a last resort.

[Endsang]

I agree. Since I've become what I call more aware of my body control, avoiding confrontation is seemingly easier because of the confidence I've gained in overall awareness. It's kind of like a person who swears alot. Sometimes it's because they don't have the vocabulary to prperly express themselves. It's far more convienient and lazy to say !@#$!!!...

I probably swear uneccesarily much. Guess I can accept it as a compensation for not fighting or smoking.

Seriously though, as bad as fighting is, it often comes with worse consequences as well. It's so much better to just lay off. Don't get me wrong, one shouldn't have take all kinds of sh*t, but it can be handled with more dignity than bashing people's face in. Either way, fighting drunk or over petty indifferences should just be avoided if you can. I love martial arts, but violence sickens me.

[kngfu71]

Instructor in Fukien Tiger Crane and Ving Tsun. Unfortunatly, practising neither at the moment. So I guess they don't mean much.

[fabhui]

FOLLOW UP QUESTION:

How many of you, have had to use your skills in a streetfight? And did you use it defensively or offensively, or both?

Well first off I'll say that if you can do anything to avoid fighting then you must do it. Whether that be talking your way out of it, posturing and psyching out an aggressor, running away or whatever.

I worked as a Bouncer for several years and unforunately had numerous streetfights because every alternative I tried to stop the fight from happening failed.

Different situations required different responses and reactions and others required me to initiate due to distance etc, because if you have an attacker at a distance where he can touch you with his hand and you are waiting for him to make the first move so you can defend it then you are living in a dream world, it's not going to happen.

If you want your art to work for you when it kicks off for real then your training needs to be reality based, if it isn't then you will be struggling. I've seen many experienced martial artists get battered in the street because their training isn't realistic. How you train is how you fight!

Again I just want to say if you can avoid fighting then you must. Fights cause people to get hurt, end up in hospital, go to jail, families can be broken and torn apart and lives can easily be lost.

[Chinatown Kid]

So true fabhui, and block heads that go looking for trouble or a fight are usually the ones that get their arse handed to them.

[Sifu]

So true fabhui, and block heads that go looking for trouble or a fight are usually the ones that get their arse handed to them.

“Showing off is the fool’s idea of glory.” - Bruce Lee

[will91XingYu]

At the moment i'm training in the tiger and crane styles of kung fu and have been for like 2 years. Also did a bit of karate, also learning sanda and bits of northern shaolin!

[Endsang]

FOLLOW UP QUESTION:

How many of you, have had to use your skills in a streetfight? And did you use it defensively or offensively, or both?

Actually had a little incident yesterday when I was out drinking with my friends.

I sat down with some girls a couple of years younger than me, who seemed very keen, but already had some boys sitting around them.

This one guy kept interfering with my conversations, but I paid no attention to him, in a friendly manner.

As he was about to leave, he told me that if I ever needed help in a fight, I should call him.

This made me laugh and roll my eyes slightly as it is probably the stupidest thing I hear people saying.

So the guy gets insulted, and starts asking me if I thought I could take him on etc. In other words just being a complete dick.

Again I just ignored him, but suddenly he headbutts me in the nose, and keeps dissing me. Trying to look cool I guess.

Some girl was trying to take him with her to dance, so I advised him to go with her.

Then he headbutts me again harder, and this time I start laughing at him, just for being possibly the stupidest guy I have ever met.

Finally he punches me in the mouth, and that's when I was starting to get a bit fed up with his crap.

I rose to my feet, so did his 3-4 friends as something was about to go down.

That's when my buddy comes and pushes the guy away until the bouncers take us all out for interrogation.

Naturally the witnesses were on my side, and I was advised to press charges on the guy. However, I wanted to talk with him first.

So I pull the guy to the side and just asks him what the hell is problem is. I can't believe it as he is STILL acting hard-ass.

Told me that if I pressed charges, he would do the same because he knew one of the bouncers who would back him etc etc.

I had to keep my friend from trying to kill the guy, as I was trying to keep it civil, and lecture him a bit about moral and principles.

But he was just a lost cause. He even said he had trained kickboxing, so it was NATURAL for him to react the way he did when I "disrespected him".

This really infuriated me, and it took some dicipline to just leave him there.

Anyway, he was a weakling, and I only got a small cut on my nose and lip. I'm positive that I could have dropped him with one punch, but I just took it.

Like I mentioned earlier, I hate violence, and I won't fight unless I feel a serious threat towards my health or against others who can't defend themselves.

What the hell is wrong with people? I just don't get it how some people can pull stuff like that when you're just out having fun on a saturday night.

I probably won't press charges.. it's all a big hassle I don't have time for now, and done is done.

Don't get me wrong though, I'm not scared of anyone. I just want to drop it and never see this punk again.

The pride hurts though, and it really bothers me that he will get the feeling he won this, although he is the world's biggest loser.

Sucks too when he's just a brat 3-4 years younger and thinks he can get away with stuff like that because he "knows people".

In the end I'm glad I handled it the way I did instead of losing my temper, but like I said.. still feels like a defeat.

If the bouncers had not come, I probably would have taken him down, so I'm glad they did.

What do you think? What would you have done?

[Chinatown Kid]

I have to commend you on your self control as that had to really take alot of self restraint. I will usually do anything to avoid a fight, especially verbal taunts and the like. But when someone does something to me physically I feel I have not only the right but also the obligation to defend myself and strike back. I do wish I had your degree of self control though as thats something to be proud of.

[TibetanWhiteCrane]

I don't start shit, but I WILL finish it! If some jerk off, is head butting me! I will take him down, in the least violent manner i can. But if he keeps coming at me, he is giving me no choice...! I admire your self restraint. I wouldn't press charges, a huge hassle, as you say.

And I feel your frustration... the city I live in, is one of the most violent cities in Denmark. It is almost impossible to go clubbing or just out for a drink in the weekend, without being confronted with violence. I also live just a stones throw away from the worst ghetto in the country. Mostly arabs. And they act like wild animals, and have been terrorizing the inner city for decades. I grew up in that ghetto, and being a skinny white kid in a school that was 80% foreigners, was not always fun. But you probably have similar problems in Norway. You just can't escape the violence.

[HAZ]

Tai Chi for about 6 months.