Martial Arts Instructors

[Cyclone]

I wasn't dissing judo. They are very good at what they do.

You don't see any pure judo players in the UFC though and I think that's because judo is just a subset of a minimum rules fight.

[ShotoKarate]

Hi John

I do apologise for the omissions. Interesting! I would very much like to meet these guys (Adam and Kev). Adam has signed my guestbook and he posts on here doesnt it?

One of my students teaches D&T at All Saints School.

 

Both good blokes .....

 

Yeh .... I know of your student at All Saints ..... Paul has told me about him....

[n_tomo]

I've heard a few people say that tai chi is a great practical martial art given time to master it (using terms such as ultimate, as you do yourself) - just wondered what it is about it that's good - would you say someone studying this for 20 years would be better than someone training thai boxing for 20 years?

 

Is it no use before you've been studying it for that long? I'd quite like to try it, it looks very interesting but I have to admit it strikes me as more of an art form than a practical fighting system? (Not that I'd be averse to studying it for this reason, I just wondered where the claims of practical fighting use came from) And have you studied any more reality/competition-geared systems to compare it to?

 

Cheers,

 

Chris

 

Hi Crayfish i have studied other systems i now study tai chi only (listed teacher on http://www.taichichuan.co.uk).

 

I think in a fight with san shou rules a tai chi FIGHTER repeat FIGHTER would win against a thai boxer. In a fight with thai boxing rules the thai boxer would win.

 

It doesn't have to take 20 years it can take someone 6 months(very hard graft) to get up to speed to use it for basic self defence. (I mean not pretty but it works kind of stuff)

 

Mastering it takes very much longer. I'm still a long way off.

 

Neil Tomlinson

[stussonicos]

Chef

 

Thanks for taking time to expand your first post.

I agree, and think most would, that MMA has certainly grown in popularity over the last 5 years and I think it would be foolish to totally dismiss the benefits of 'cross training' as you put it, especially for people with a general interest in all Martial Arts or someone wanting to incorporate lots of different styles/techiniques to achieve their goals in fitness or fighting skills.

For these types of individulas there really is no better way to train, being able to dip into differing disciplins to pick out aspects they like or need.

 

Although I think there may be another view point of individuals, the pureists lets say (and yes I guess for the most part I am one of them), that would like to see their Martial Art/Gym/Fighters/Students stay traditional, pure or free from influence of other forms.

I can see why so many people like to train in several styles, although wonder where someone who onlys trains in the one art and is un-willing to participate in others (and by this I do not mean bad mouth, make comparisons between arts or be-little styles), or even a gym that doesn't encourage it's students to train else where would fit into this 'circle of knowledge sharing'.

 

Again please don't take this as me going against the grain, I'm certanly not trying to do that at all, I guess it just sometimes seems that the purist gyms (and again not just thinking of Wicker) do get a little over looked and perhaps thought of as not contributing to the over all quality of Martial Arts in their area.

 

Going back to your suggestion of a Sheffield Amateur Kick Boxing circuit, not sure I can say much about this, obviously I don't think anything like that can be a bad thing for your sport. I think what would be good would be a Martial Arts Awareness type event, maybe lottery or council funded (ha ha ha) showcasing styles and arts available in Sheffield, allowing some it's practioners to hold displays, promote their clubs, raise awareness of their clubs achievements and maybe, just maybe have some inter club/style sparring??

 

Going off at a slight tangent here for a minute, as an individual, would you rather (not directed personally at you Farhad, but anyone reading in general, but you included) you had a basic understanding in several Martial Arts/styles or were overly competent in one and were working towards 'mastering' your chosen style?

 

West

[Cyclone]

It depends on what you want to achieve really.

A mastery of one style is going to make you a less effective fighter than being a 2/3rds master in several.

It's a case of diminishing returns I think. Spending 10 hrs training something you're already good at, will add less to your overall game than spending 10 hrs training in an area you know yourself to be deficient in.

[chefkicker]

Hi Westley

Yes I want a good amateur kickboxing circuit to flourish in sheffield. If you like I can invite you to the first show to have a look and maybe do some judging or something?

The purist gyms dont have to share in the circles of knowledge etc, just that we should be part of an unofficial "guild" if you like so we all recommend and endorse each other as it were. That way there harbours no bitterness between instructors.

For example: I would be happy to send someone who has small kids who want to do kickboxing towards Marsdens in Hillsborough and for people who want to train at Malin Bridge I would recommend Paul Powers . Or even recommend people to go to say, Terry Johnsons Woodhouse based Karate Dojo for example

That make sense so far?

 

Crayfish ,

Hmm yeah it is possible that "cad" could be you You train BJJ something like 3 times a week (dont you?) and turn up to AFK whenever we want to go to that Kurdish place. Then again it could be any of the other 3/4 guys who are from BJJ couldnt it? That would be telling

Im actually starting to like BJJ to be honest.

AFK went through an era when a lot of Taekwondo stylists (mainly TAGB) would train with us on the side and would fight for both clubs in both disciplines and an era before that when this Kung Fu club would visit us on Friday night for a good old fashioned "fight club".

[ANVIL]

It depends on what you want to achieve really.

A mastery of one style is going to make you a less effective fighter than being a 2/3rds master in several.

It's a case of diminishing returns I think. Spending 10 hrs training something you're already good at, will add less to your overall game than spending 10 hrs training in an area you know yourself to be deficient in.

 

i'd pretty much agree with that, especially the first line. mastering one style may provide sufficient return if competing in that style, and it should also teach a lot of the necessary physical skills required for self-defence, but it will leave most likely leave you deficient in some areas, and will most likely be inadequate if you were to enter a MMA contest.

[ANVIL]

I wasn't dissing judo. They are very good at what they do.

You don't see any pure judo players in the UFC though and I think that's because judo is just a subset of a minimum rules fight.

 

it didn't come across like anyone was dissing judo, and unless you're really top notch it might not be anyone's first choice if you could do only one style for self-defence or mma, but its stand-up grappling is comparable with the better stand-up grappling styles and it requires a great deal of fitness and physical toughness, so it could be a valuable (if not necessary) component of a self-defence/mma program.

[Crayfish]

Hi Westley

Crayfish ,

Hmm yeah it is possible that "cad" could be you You train BJJ something like 3 times a week (dont you?) and turn up to AFK whenever we want to go to that Kurdish place. Then again it could be any of the other 3/4 guys who are from BJJ couldnt it? That would be telling

Im actually starting to like BJJ to be honest.

 

Mm, Kurdish

 

Nah, actually. Wish I had time, only making it once / not at all at the moment. In good times I make it that much though.

 

Going to get fat over these exams with no training, I may actually be a blimp when you see me next

[Adam S]

I'm not quite sure where this thread is going, but I thought I'd throw in my bit just to muddy the waters further.

 

I've always taken the "purist" view on my training, and limited my training solely to Shotokan. There's obviously limitations to the system and I'd love to dabble in a few different styles - for fun and interest's sake, if nothing else.

 

I totally support the idea of fostering closer working links between the different martial arts clubs in Sheffield - I'm sure we all have ideas to share and we'd all benefit from "cross-pollination".

 

The main problem, as Cyclone says, is finding time for it all.

 

I know there was a post a few months ago regarding a mixed martial art seminar. Did anything come of this idea?