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alnilam posted:My main motivation is actual self defense I love good Aikido, but it’s really only good for self defense if your opponent has literally no idea what they’re doing or is very drunk. Basically if they grab your wrist or swing wildly you’d be good. This is simply my opinion others will disagree.
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Dec 1, 2023 01:31
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Don't overlook muay thai either. You can train it without getting punched, it's surprisingly good for self-defense applications if you learn grappling basics to go with it, and your attributes (long w/ good cardio) are a good fit. Basically out of judo/bjj/muay thai and even standard boxing, the best bet is the one of those where you enjoy the classes and the gym environment the most. 80% of the "what's better" among those is about enjoying going to the classes and learning stuff. Oh and Sambo is less common but if there happens to be Sambo near you it's also very good. Likewise wrestling, but idk how many chill wrestling schools for grown ups there are.
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Dec 1, 2023 01:35
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Thirteen Orphans posted:I love good Aikido, but it’s really only good for self defense if your opponent has literally no idea what they’re doing or is very drunk. Basically if they grab your wrist or swing wildly you’d be good. This is simply my opinion others will disagree. Nah I won't disagree with that. As I roll it around in my head I'm starting to maybe think that might be one of the better ways to look at it.
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Dec 1, 2023 01:36
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Martial arts without full resistance sparring don't help with self defense. If you don't want to strike do BJJ/judo/sambo/wrestling.
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Dec 1, 2023 01:39
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I think a strike heavy sport would help both with mental readiness for seeing punches come your way and with evasive movement. Just from a enjoyment of training standpoint, your partner can get more from you avoiding being punched vs you keeping your distance in a grappling sport. Imo it’s a more natural part of the game to slip some strikes and disengage in a striking ruleset, vs deciding to aggressively avoid tieing up or getting neutral grips. Of course, you would still have to specifically be choosing to exercise that escape mode during sparring to perfect it. Thinking about the failing deescalation scenario, you might be anywhere from elbow range to arm’s length. Up to you whether the response you’re looking to build, after recognizing a punch or headbutt or shove coming, is to not get caught at all or to preemptively grab them before they get going on attacking you.
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Dec 1, 2023 01:59
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kimbo305 posted:I think a strike heavy sport would help both with mental readiness for seeing punches come your way and with evasive movement. Just from a enjoyment of training standpoint, your partner can get more from you avoiding being punched vs you keeping your distance in a grappling sport. Imo it’s a more natural part of the game to slip some strikes and disengage in a striking ruleset, vs deciding to aggressively avoid tieing up or getting neutral grips. I can definitely appreciate this reasoning... but I also predict that I will not enjoy anything punchy, and it seems better to me to find one I will enjoy and stick with that will maybe also be useful in the incredibly unlikely event that I ever need it irl. But i will think on it. Thanks for the recommendations all!
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Dec 1, 2023 21:48
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Imo try out a few gyms with different martial arts and see what you enjoy (and which place you vibe with). MMA gyms usually have both grappling and striking and sometimes combo classes.
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Dec 1, 2023 22:03
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Yeah what everyone else said, the main thing here is how you like the vibes of the particular gym itself, one year of fairly consistent training at any of the good "combat sports" is going to help tremendously with your confidence regarding low level physical violence. Find a place that's near you, that you can afford, that allows a free trial, and where you like the teacher and the students.
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Dec 3, 2023 16:42
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Just to expand a bit on my own point and not to try to convince op more - The reason I like to recommend Muay Thai or boxing for self defense is not as much for throwing strikes, as it is for defensive footwork and hand positioning. Also, some of my training partners and I did the simulated knife fight with a marker thing because a few of them are doing community outreach work which can involve confused and violent and scared people, and they wanted to do some rounds so they'd have an idea of how best to handle the situation. By an extremely wide margin the best techniques for surviving against a knife were inside wrist control and frames to pivot out if cornered at close range, and teeping when there was enough space for it to make room to run. Most of the other things we practice as grapplers or fighters ended with a marker in the trap/neck/kidney. Many of the successful rounds still resulted in cuts. Really, the round was decided entirely on whether I could get into range with the knife hand loose. The drill - I was the attacker - very strongly convinced me that a confident and drilled teep is a top tier self defense technique in the way it lets someone keep range and create an opportunity to exit the fight. A good jab is almost as useful in the same way. It was so disproportionately useful that I feel compelled to mention it whenever self defense comes up. Of course this depends on what flavor of self defense were talking, but it will apply to most kinds of self defense that include physical engagement.
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Dec 3, 2023 17:24
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CommonShore posted:Just to expand a bit on my own point and not to try to convince op more - Yeah, training regimes without the possibility of head strikes are simply a different thing altogether, psychologically. Footwork is a simple concept but hard won when someone can punch you at will.
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Dec 3, 2023 17:49
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When I started in February I didn't think I'd do more than just accomplish a 'physical activity quota' but I somehow earned the Rookie of the Year award from my Wing Chun school. 
Morter fucked around with this message at 04:55 on Dec 10, 2023 |
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Dec 10, 2023 04:51
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Morter posted:When I started in February I didn't think I'd do more than just accomplish a 'physical activity quota' but I somehow earned the Rookie of the Year award from my Wing Chun school. Awesome work!
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Dec 10, 2023 11:54
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My shoulder has been getting progressively worse the last few months from some unknown injury. After having trouble sleeping for a couple of weeks, I finally went to the docs the early diagnosis is a couple of torn ligaments, which honestly is probably the *worst* case scenario here. Right now I'm not supposed to go to class, or, you know, lift poo poo or like "reach my arm" or anything. I've got an ortho consult on Tuesday so I guess that's gonna dictate the next year or so of my BJJ which is really annoying since I literally just bought a new gi and missed a Demian Maia seminar at our school last night.
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Dec 10, 2023 18:02
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Ugh. That sucks man.  Do the treatment and physio you're supposed to and you be back at the mat faster than otherwise. Do not rush anything, ligaments are slow. Morter posted:When I started in February I didn't think I'd do more than just accomplish a 'physical activity quota' but I somehow earned the Rookie of the Year award from my Wing Chun school.
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Dec 11, 2023 01:08
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I've been doing a lot of suburi, solo practice swings, lately, and noticing a lot of improvement from them. But somewhere around rep 90 of today's set, I started to wonder: is there an equivalent in the empty-hand striking and grappling arts?
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Dec 14, 2023 00:56
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Dunno about grappling, but empty handed is mostly just that. Ever watch a karate/TKD class?
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Dec 14, 2023 01:41
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I guess for some reason I assumed you'd usually use a padded target like in boxing. Not really compatible with a soft-contact sparring mode, though!
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Dec 14, 2023 01:54
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Picture watching a guy whose neck is twice as wide as his head doing this at full speed for 5 minutes straight on the mat https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=5GGIGf758t4 And then picture trying to be proud of your workout after that.
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Dec 14, 2023 04:24
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kimbo305 posted:Picture watching a guy whose neck is twice as wide as his head doing this at full speed for 5 minutes straight on the mat This reminds me a lot of some weapon kata. Nihon Kendo Kata 7, of course, and some koryu kata I've only seen a few times. None look like something I'd be happy to practice repetitively though. We definitely give up practical application when we make a purely standup art, but I think my knees are going to appreciate it over the long run.
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Dec 14, 2023 04:35
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Ohtori Akio posted:I guess for some reason I assumed you'd usually use a padded target like in boxing. Not really compatible with a soft-contact sparring mode, though! But going bare with no gear helps to develop control. Gear seems to give some of the less experienced a feeling of invincibility or an excuse to be sloppy. That said, a full power kick or punch into even gloved hands is going to unpleasant, so you need to do pads for that kind of thing.
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Dec 16, 2023 21:41
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Shoulder update: Saw an ortho who figures it's either a torn rotator cuff or a torn labrum with the labrum being the better case scenario. Get a referral to get an MRI, go to get that done today, and, *after* my "insurance" they tried to bill me $1200. Said no thanks. RIP my BJJ hobby.
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Dec 22, 2023 23:36
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EdsTeioh posted:Shoulder update: Saw an ortho who figures it's either a torn rotator cuff or a torn labrum with the labrum being the better case scenario. Get a referral to get an MRI, go to get that done today, and, *after* my "insurance" they tried to bill me $1200. Said no thanks. RIP my BJJ hobby. Healthcare is a Hellscape. I’m so sorry, this is an awful situation to be in.
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Dec 22, 2023 23:53
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Thirteen Orphans posted:Healthcare is a Hellscape. I’m so sorry, this is an awful situation to be in. Yeah, really is. Sad part is that we used to have really good insurance and I once got an MRI after I had a stinger and walked out with an $80 total bill for that AND the ER visit. I recently got denied coverage for anesthesia for a major wisdom tooth removal due to it "not being necessary" and theoretically sticking me with close to $3k for drugs. At some point we got bought out by a big Canadian tech firm so of course they don't give a gently caress about the health plans for people in the US. At those prices though, it's probably cheaper for me to fly to Toronto, poop on my CEOs desk, get the MRI AND whatever surgery I need and I'd probably still have money to grab poutine and a Molson with Slidebite.
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Dec 23, 2023 00:15
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That sucks. What’s your plan if it gets worse? 
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Dec 23, 2023 04:47
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OxyContin addiction I guess or else the other American healthcare system: ruinous debt.
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Dec 23, 2023 07:53
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Ugh that sucks man. Sorry to hear that. We have private MRI clinics here as an option (faster than the single payer gvt plan) and I can get a total head to toe MRI with contrast and a dvd of images for $1200  moose dollary-doos.I hope you heal soon enough to man. That bites. We're closed at the club until Jan 8th now, and I'm going to be so loving fat due to the amount of baking we have from friends and family (and students). I can already tell the first few classes back in January are going to be roooough.
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Dec 25, 2023 00:27
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Weirdly, the gym is open every day except Christmas. I certainly canceled my classes on the 27th, but I can’t imagine the revenue is there to be worth it.
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Dec 25, 2023 00:37
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Our gym doesn't close. There's open rolls today, xmas day, and boxing day. Regular classes the rest of the week (though probably with irregular lessons) and then another open roll on the 1st. The mats will be busy too. I think there's enough people that need either exercise or to get away from their families. I've been going lightly for weeks trying to heal up. I think I'll be back to training and teaching on the 28th.
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Dec 25, 2023 01:52
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What bothers me more is that the gym hasn’t talked about any promotions for the new year. We did start up a deal with ClassPass, but I think that’s peaked and added a few people at best. We need more heads to make the numbers work out, I think.
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Dec 25, 2023 04:41
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This might not count but is there any decent online tutorial that will teach someone the basic movements of Tai Chi to a reasonable skill level? It's something I've wanted to do for a long while but I don't want to risk covid any time soon. But I also know that without an instructor there to point out flaws it'll be very easy to learn wrong and mess things up long term.
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Dec 25, 2023 17:44
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Merry Christmas, all you martial artist freaks! If we remained open it would be super small classes. I'd personally still be game to train, but since we have such a short bench of instructors at the main school we just decided to close it up for the 2 weeks and give all instructors/assistants an opportunity to decompress. Our satellite schools are in other facilities (public school, church rec room) so we're at the mercy of their availability, but to be fair we'd probably close anyhow. I'll probably just work on some personal stuff like patterns/forms at home as time allows and start figuring out what I want to do for break strikes on my heavy bag for my upcoming 2nd Dan test in June. Count Roland posted:Our gym doesn't close. There's open rolls today, xmas day, and boxing day. Regular classes the rest of the week (though probably with irregular lessons) and then another open roll on the 1st. e: OscarDiggs posted:This might not count but is there any decent online tutorial that will teach someone the basic movements of Tai Chi to a reasonable skill level? Bolded is absolutely a major risk. I know nothing about tai-chi so no real advice, but I'd probably spend some time looking at videos if that's your jam.... but assuming you're going to go to a class eventually, you might just want to spend some time researching good schools in your area and wait until an in class setting IMHO. slidebite fucked around with this message at 17:57 on Dec 25, 2023 |
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Dec 25, 2023 17:46
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OscarDiggs posted:This might not count but is there any decent online tutorial that will teach someone the basic movements of Tai Chi to a reasonable skill level? What are your goals/conceptions in terms of what’s right and what’s wrong? In general, for Yang style, you want to have very smooth movements that can be performed arbitrarily slowly. In almost all postures, you want your spine upright. Yang 24 is a simplified set that’s easier to memorize, though maybe leaves off some of the most aesthetic moves or transitions.
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Dec 25, 2023 18:51
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slidebite posted:
No not at all. The open mats last an hour or two. For this sort of thing it ends up being what the coaches communally decide. Maybe one coach unlocks and another locks up a bit later.
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Dec 25, 2023 19:16
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kimbo305 posted:What are your goals/conceptions in terms of what’s right and what’s wrong? In general, for Yang style, you want to have very smooth movements that can be performed arbitrarily slowly. In almost all postures, you want your spine upright. Yang 24 is a simplified set that’s easier to memorize, though maybe leaves off some of the most aesthetic moves or transitions. I don't really have a goal in mind per se. My worry is more, I don't want to have to spend a lot of time unlearning bad habits. And bad habits are more likely to form when I'm doing it through self study without an instructor that can spot problems before they develop. Aesthetics aren't really a concern though so something simplified that I can learn the basics from would be very helpful.
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Dec 25, 2023 19:39
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Without any martial application, and if you’re not doing push hands, then you can’t really go that wrong with just trying to copy what you see online. You can get limited by the camera angle, if you don’t get to see postures from above, behind, etc. But nothing that would prevent you from progressing from 0. If I were talking to some rando at a party, I wouldn’t think they were any more skilled or correct if they were training only the forms from some famous instructor vs you just copying what you see in videos.
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Dec 25, 2023 20:00
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OscarDiggs posted:This might not count but is there any decent online tutorial that will teach someone the basic movements of Tai Chi to a reasonable skill level? I am a DVD warrior because I love to learn about other styles and schools. If you’re willing to pay some cash, I’ve got some recommendations for training aids that are good and thorough. Wu Style Taijiquan is a very interesting set because of its distinctive lean. If you’ve done other martial arts it may seem straight up wrong but once you get the angles right I promise it will make sense. Also the frame of the form is higher up and closer together so it’s easier on the knees. I haven’t tried this teacher’s online platform, when I was introduced to him he was selling DVDs, but his videos are still the same. Master Yang Jwing-Ming’s Yang Style Taijiquan is a little controversial. Some folks consider his teachings a little vanilla. However, his technique is, imo, solid and he really is teaching to a complete beginner. The other advantage of this presentation is that Dr. Yang also has resources on push hands and martial art applications. If you have a buddy or two you could make a club and practice together and get some skills. The Sun Style Taijiquan by Tim Cartmell in four volumes is expensive. However, this is the best presentation I’ve seen teaching a Taiji form from a DVD/tape. Mr. Cartmell teaches with an emphasis on proper body mechanics and teaches ways to make sure you’re getting it right. The Sun style also has the smallest and highest frame, so it’s suitable for almost everyone. There are applications, but the presentation is primarily for health. Thirteen Orphans fucked around with this message at 21:51 on Dec 25, 2023 |
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Dec 25, 2023 21:43
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Trained tonight for the first time since Dec 22 and.... hurt myself during warm ups. Doing some sprints, slipped on the floor when turning around and somehow did something to what feels super high up under my rear end cheek right where hamstring connects. The ironic part, I was running the warm ups and told all the students "Take it easy with the sprints!"   My RMT who trains with me says to look for bruising tomorrow. If I see any, I'm probably hosed for weeks. So hoping not. Oh well, new adult member today so it was a lot of very basic 1:1 intro things, so as good of day as any for an injury.
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Jan 9, 2024 07:09
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Just played several rounds of The Thrill of the Fight boxing game on Quest VR. Initial thoughts: - the position sensing for the two controllers is very accurate. More than enough for this kind of sim game - the game requires a 6'x6' square for moving around. While that gives you some space to slip and pivot, it's nowhere like the working space of even a small ring. If you need space to work, this game will feel suffocating - when a punch lands, the glove in the game stays at the contacted surface, while of course irl it travels through with no effort. You get a small haptic buzz and thud sound when the strike lands. - the in-game heavy bag has readouts of the game's estimate for your punching power. Very short travel arm punches register just under 1000 damage in the game scale, while my fastest, most technical straight punches were about 2500. I got a freak 3500 once, but could not reproduce - i've only boxed 3 opponents, and these of course were the worst tactically by design. Their punch speed was mediocre though their reaction time was decent - it was easy to land a light 3 punch combo to the head after they tried some offense. Just arm punching and looking to score, not being technical. These were artificially easier than throwing the same kind of punches irl, because 1) i'm not wearing 16oz gloves and 2) I'm arm punching way more than I would dare to in an actual sparring / competition context with real head contact on the line - when I was throwing as hard as I could, it was a little more unsatisfying. 1) you have to intentionally recover a punch that would normally stop on their guard or body, which is noticeably more tiring 2) you don't get any measure of how hard you land. There's the same small buzz no matter how hard you land - when I was slipping and weaving really hard, the headset had enough intertia to shift my view temporarily. The FOV is narrow enough where I can lose sight of the opponent and their punches. I'm sure this varies with how much you clamp down and the headset's particular fit to your head. - in general, seeing the opponent's punches was where depth perception broke down the most. If they land on your face or just over your head, the arm just doesn't have the obvious physical presence it does in real life. No jolting contact on your head or glove, no scraping sound on your headgear, no rattle in your teeth - when you get hit hard in the game, your vision washes out white. That's good enough, I guess. Obviously no way to simulate how your brain feels when rocked. - conversely, I wish I could tell how much punches or combos hurt my opponent. Their face does bruise and get beat up if you land enough punches, but their body language and breathing patterns remain the same no matter how close they are to a knockdown - there's no biometrics other than your height. No arm length, no weight - I'm pretty sure you can block with your gloves, but there's not much feedback that I could tell between a punch landing on your glove vs landing on your body. - I couldn't tell if the game simulated at least solid forearms. That is, whether that part of your guard works for defense. I played the whole time thinking they would and couldn't say for sure - I don't think the headset has enough self-vision to be able to infer the position/tilt of your torso. Obviously a huge issue in boxing for whether you think you're in a safe position or not - you can use a normal 3d rendered environment or, much preferable to me, the actual world as captured by the Quest cameras. I find how well the opponent is rendered and matches the FOV/perspective helps with my distance perception, even though it's already more than adequate with pure VR. Little sample from Reddit: https://packaged-media.redd.it/jl8l...af7516aafe0#t=0 - overall, this is by far the most real feeling martial arts sim game I've ever played. Hands down. - It's far from ideal, but it's easily a much more compelling for me, a combat sports enthusiast, than any other VR exercise app I could think of. That said, I'm not sure how good of a workout it would be if you didn't know how to punch, or if you were content to "cheat" with the light punches that would still score well in their damage model some notes on realism / being in the moment: - early on, I did think to kick to the body a few times. That's just how much I default to thinking in punches and kicks, and how I really need to think to go punches only. - at the end of fights, I found myself instinctively putting my glove out to my opponent. Like the feel and routine from sparring was carried over enough that my body went through the motions - after one round where I was dead in the arms (game defaults to 2min rounds, and man, I haven't sparred regularly since 2018), I turned around to my corner and noticed there was a stool there. Turned back to my opponent and found myself sitting down. Caught myself after I had squatted through where the stool would be and before I sat on my rear end. I've never competed in boxing, but in the moment, that stool, as a solution to my needing to relax and get my breathing down, was as real as any fight I've had. - when I won the fights, I would raise my hand as the decision was announced. I would describe the sitting on the stool, the trying to fist bump my opponent, raising my hand -- these all have a shade of self-hypnosis, like I know that's what goes on in amateur boxing, and it's nice to be able to go through those rituals in a boxing game.
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Jan 15, 2024 10:19
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Well that's pretty awesome. I played a poo poo ton of fight night and dreamed of a full VR experience.
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Jan 18, 2024 16:32
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Does anybody have a recommendation for a supplier of jo staffs/staves of various lengths? I am looking for some that will take some hits from occasional paired contact practice.
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Jan 24, 2024 04:02
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