I want to learn Martial Arts myself. I actually did shotokan karate until I was 12 then left at brown 3. But, I feel the need to start it again. However, I want something that fits my style. Do you have any ideas that can help assess what your style is?
[QUOTE=bodhisatva;31747]I want to learn Martial Arts myself. I actually did shotokan karate until I was 12 then left at brown 3. But, I feel the need to start it again. However, I want something that fits my style. Do you have any ideas that can help assess what your style is?[/QUOTE]
ABSOLUTELY!
I’ve done martial arts for a long time, studied several styles and am familiar with a lot of them.
you can PM me or E-mail me and I’ll do my best to help you weigh your options and maybe set some goals. Something that would help me is knowing what your reasons for doing martial arts are. Some goals are cohesive (self discipline, exercise, self defense) and some are not ( self-defense & Sport ). Also it would help to know what arts / systems / schools are available in your area…so where do you live? What city? I can help you search and give lots of advice.
Your Brother
John
[QUOTE=Pesilat-Yogi;31756]ABSOLUTELY!
I’ve done martial arts for a long time, studied several styles and am familiar with a lot of them.
you can PM me or E-mail me and I’ll do my best to help you weigh your options and maybe set some goals. Something that would help me is knowing what your reasons for doing martial arts are. Some goals are cohesive (self discipline, exercise, self defense) and some are not ( self-defense & Sport ). Also it would help to know what arts / systems / schools are available in your area…so where do you live? What city? I can help you search and give lots of advice.
Your Brother
John[/QUOTE]
I want to learn Martial Arts in order to discipline myself and have a strong will. My roots are in oriental culture, and living in the west is making me a little wary of my identity. I have no problem with the west, just that I am most comfortable in being original if you will. I also want to learn it increase flexibility and strength and confidence. I play soccer already so I am not worried about being in shape, I just want to expand on my skill with martial arts. People often comment on me being quick in everything I do, so I guess thats one of my styles.
I hope you can suggest some styles to me so I can research them more.
Thanks
[QUOTE=Pesilat-Yogi;31725] How or in what way does yoga create imbalances? I’ve experienced the opposite.
[/QUOTE]
I’ve experienced the opposite:D
[QUOTE=bodhisatva;31766]I want to learn Martial Arts in order to discipline myself and have a strong will. My roots are in oriental culture, and living in the west is making me a little wary of my identity. I have no problem with the west, just that I am most comfortable in being original if you will. I also want to learn it increase flexibility and strength and confidence. I play soccer already so I am not worried about being in shape, I just want to expand on my skill with martial arts. People often comment on me being quick in everything I do, so I guess thats one of my styles.
I hope you can suggest some styles to me so I can research them more.
Thanks[/QUOTE]
Bodhisatva - the next, most important question is, [U][B]Where do you live?[/B][/U] You might find this or that martial art VERY interesting and fitting for what you want to do, but if the closest instructor is 800 miles away…it’s a moot point.
IF you tell me where you live, I can actually, actively help you research SPECIFIC instructors and help you make contact with them. I can research lineage and help verify their claims to rank and other honors.
another thing to consider: IF connecting with your Asian roots is what’s important too you then:
[B][U]A:[/U][/B] you’d probably find it most interesting to delve into a system that comes from the same place your family came from. SO… are your ancestors Japanese, Chinese, Korean, Okinawan, Taiwanese, Filipino, Indian, Indonesian…??? OR does this matter to you??
[B][U]B:[/U][/B] You’ll want to seek out more “[U]Traditional[/U]” systems. There’s a TON of martial art systems out there, some are very old and steeped in oriental tradition!!! Very interesting stuff, if that’s what you like. Then there are others that still have some oriental trappings but have adapted more or ‘changed with the times’ more… still good stuff to learn, but if culture is your main thrust…might not fit the bill for you. Then there are other systems that have divorced themselves from the oriental roots all together. MOST of these aren’t worth their salt. Some are just places to do your violence.
[B]bodhisatva[/B]
…please contact me with that information and I’d LOVE to assist you in getting into your own martial path…
namaste…
People always equate martial Arts with violence. The problem is that most of them have never really decided for themselves what they really mean by the term “violence.”
To me, violence is anything that goes against “The Way Things Should Be.” Now, I know that is extremely vague. All i can say to that is the higher one’s consciousness, the clearer their view of this will become.
So for example, we call a Cat 5 hurricane a violent storm because it is destructive. But, i do not believe it is violent as in consciously doing harm. It is actually just following its nature and the principles of heat convection, the earth’s rotation, etc.
True Martial Arts is truly about learning to control one’s Internal Energy, one’s emotions and power of discernment. Put that way, it kind of sounds just like Yoga.
Of course, the fact that the greatest Treatise on Yoga, given by the Mahayogin himself, was given on a battlefield; and actually was meant to convince someone to kill his relatives, teachers and friends may have something to do with this.
I know I have pared the description of the Bhagavad Gita to its bare bones. But, that is the physical action it recommended. Now, when you add in the concept of Dharma for the individual, the army, the country and the world, performing these actions were actually less violent than not performing them.
Martial Arts are truly nothing more than a disciple or method of, or toll for performing one’s Dharma in the face of adversity.
Ahimsa is just not non-harming. It is thinking, speaking and acting in a way which produces the least harm to the most of creation. Anything less than this will result in a greater harm to more.