Hadoken.

What's a matter, guys?

Deed yew meese me? :)

Tell me about your experiences with martial arts.

Personally, Marshall and I are good friends. We play cards Tuesdays.

Shoryuken. ;)

Welcome back, man.

I took taekwondo was I was a kid. I mainly got into it because a slightly older cousin than me was a black belt, and I wanted to be cool like him. I didn't really make it that far not for a lack of skill, but time and interest. However, I recall my time there as fun. I actually passed the place real quick a couple of days ago. Although I only got a quick glance from my car, I couldn't believe how small that studio was. I remember it seeming huge when I was a kid--especially when I was tested.

Hm. Martial arts.

I did collegiate wrestling in high school.
Then I learned a bit of the Marine Corps Martial Arts Program, henceforth known as mcmap.
Took Brazilian Ju-jitsu for a couple years, along with Muay Thai and Jeet Kun Do classes mixed in there.
Became an instructor of mcmap.

I'm a bad bitch.

My sport of choice was Shotokan, which is a style of karate. I like the katas but didn't like to spar, which defeated the purpose of learning it I think. Reached a green belt at 13 or 14 but then stopped. Went back in high school/early college years but just couldn't get interested enough.

I've been studying traditional Shao-lin Kung Fu for over a year now. One of my good friends kept nagging for me to get into it for over a year, and I eventually caved and tried it out.
I love it so much, and it really helped me as a person. I'm also a big weapons nut so Kung Fu is perfect for me.
examples of some weapons
Nunchaku (obviously)
Cane
Staff
Short-stick
Broadsword
Straightsword
9-ring broadsword
Tai Chi dao
Double Butterfly swords
Double broadsword
Double nunchaku
Twin Sai
Spear (so many different forms and families for spear)
Iron Fan
Yin/Yang Daggers
Tonfa/Tuifa
The list goes on... for such a long time
It's so insanely vast I don't think I'll need to learn another martial art, though I do want to study other ones later on down the line.

I also took Judo as a kid, but I found my hotwheels far more enjoyable so I didnt stick with it.

But nowadays? Kung Fu was probably the best thing for me as a person, and I have it to thank for making me who I am today.
The community, the challenge, the atmosphere in our school, everything was just so good for me as a teen struggling with high-functioning autism. Martial Arts is a huge part of my life now, and I intend to keep it that way until I die.

Everything I learned was basic in nature, but I've visualized quite a bit over the years...you guys sound like you had real training.

But I think the most important lesson I learned was from Mr. Miyagi:

"In Okinawa, 'belt' means "you don't need a rope to hold up your pants."

Good to be back. -_-

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Spooniest

Everything I learned was basic in nature, but I've visualized quite a bit over the years...you guys sound like you had real training.

But I think the most important lesson I learned was from Mr. Miyagi:

"In Okinawa, 'belt' means "you don't need a rope to hold up your pants."

Good to be back. -_-

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Thats a fantastic quote really. A belt is little more than a benchmark to show where you currently are in training at your school. It is not a marker of skill and should not be regarded as such. Even our schools grandmaster (we have many schools across the world, so not my instructor) laughs at the idea that we have a proper way of tying our belts as he sees them as little more than well... something to keep your pants from falling down.