[Krystal]

Well basically, I assumed that since this is an anime forum,a lot of you take martial arts, too! That wasn't being sterotypical, it's just that since fighting is in so much anime, it's natural to assume that it's crossed most of our minds...

Anyway, what kind are you in, and how long have you been taking it?


Also, my blackbelt test is in a month. For anyone who is REALLY good at Sais, do you have any ideas for ways to basically "show off"? I have to make a form with them, and really, the only flair I know of is spinning really fast. Since I do that in the form, I want to find some new flair for my break-in/out.

[Noshi]

Congratulations on reaching black belt level!

I am a red-black belt in Taekwondo, that's one level below deputy-black. I know a decent amout of TKD but I don't know about Sais, what does it focus on? TKD is all about kicking techniques, with relatively few arm/hand techniques. We study basic techniques, forms, sparring, and breaking.

As for flair/showing off, some things that always work are high kicks, jumps, reverse/spinning kicks, double/triple kicks, and generally making every movement strong and emphatic.

[Krystal]

Sais isn't a martial arts, it's a weapon. I guess they're a bit unpopular. They look like forks. They're what Electra uses in Daredevil.

[YokaiShinigami]

*sighs* well I have to say that I don't possess a belt above yellow (which I possess about 5 off) It was basically me trying to find a style I liked... but when I found it (TKD) the dojo sucked....

so I've basically self trained... and my fighting style varies.... my punches are more like those from boxing, while my kicks are more similar to TKD, I mostly rely on kicks, which usually ends up being a roundhouse, or a turning back kick... sometimes a tornado (I can only do this one with my right leg) imperfect but still damaging.

I plan to take up TKD again, as soon as I head to college in a few days.

This post has been edited by YokaiShinigami : 12 August 2009 - 09:54 AM

[YokaiShinigami]

Krystal, on Aug 12 2009, 10:45 AM, said:

Sais isn't a martial arts, it's a weapon. I guess they're a bit unpopular. They look like forks. They're what Electra uses in Daredevil.

unpopular? really? it was actually one of the first ones I knew of... along with the nun-chuck and the katana.... (the only "weapon" I have wielded is a shinai)
Raphael uses them too...

shoot, accidental double post....

This post has been edited by YokaiShinigami : 12 August 2009 - 09:58 AM

[Krystal]

Oh! Well I'm glad people know of it. Whenever I tell someone I do the Sai, they get all "huh?" and I have to draw a picture with my fingers and explain that one of the ninja turtles does it.

[Ein]

Hmm Ive taken my share of mixed training. Karate, Boxing, and jujitsu.

The best advise i could give you is use what you learned and put you into it. Because I have no formal training in sai's or weapons training in general i don't want to give misleading information to your test, and each dojo or training center is different which usually reflects your style in the way you were taught.

Self reflection of your discipline will shine clearly. (hope that makes sense)

and don't kid yourself Sai's are actually quite popular next to the bo staff and nunchucks.

This post has been edited by Ein: 12 August 2009 - 10:06 AM

[Relik]

Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, and other things etc. etc.

[Krystal]

I'm so happy that Sais are poular then! And yeah, since we don't have many sai instructors, lessons are pretty sparse. I've mostly had to learn myself. I think I'll try to flip them and use the other side as a bludgeon for a hammerfist...I looked it up.

[grandmaster-L]

uhh....let's see...I has a red belt in TKD(close to 5 years). A brown belt in Karate(around 6 years). I've been trained in how to use a Katana pretty well. Also, I just started Judo lessons a year ago....my body is kinda tired.

Oooh is there anyone here who can use a Bo Staff? I've never been good at that. T_T

[Krystal]

Oh, I dominate at a bo staff. *_* It's a requirement for our red belt...




EDIT: Sorry for sounding like a jerk...I just practice it alot...

This post has been edited by Krystal: 12 August 2009 - 10:49 AM

[grandmaster-L]

Krystal, on Aug 12 2009, 11:48 AM, said:

Oh, I dominate at a bo staff. *_* It's a requirement for our red belt...




EDIT: Sorry for sounding like a jerk...I just practice it alot...

No it's okay. It was also a requirement for my Karate, and I barely passed

[Krystal]

Okey dokes...I just felt bad using the word "dominate"...but I do like it a lot.

[grandmaster-L]

Krystal, on Aug 12 2009, 12:02 PM, said:

Okey dokes...I just felt bad using the word "dominate"...but I do like it a lot.

hey, skillz that killz are skillz that do in fact killz. There's no way around it. If you feel that you have the skillz to dominate at something then dominate!

[Foolish Humon]

I would really like to learn Muy Thai.

[Prayer Police]

Yeah, sais were so cool ever since Raphael brought them into the mainstream.
You can eat pizzas with them.

Ya guys want to form an anime fight club?
We brutally fight eachother in cosplay.
Oh yeah, I'm not suppose to talk about it.

[Coyote]

I do kuh-rayzee!


Seriously, I've taken TKD, Jiu-Jitsu, and more recently Wing chun. It's been a bit of everything, but sadly I wasn't able to keep up payin' for classes.

[LADY SAKURA]

the only thing i ever learned was a drop kick T_T mom and grandma wouldn't let me take lessons i thought of joinin up these days im a hell of alot heavier so it would be a challenge thats for sure. Krystal you have to get some videos of you in action and Good luck next month

[YokaiShinigami]

SakuraGaijin, on Aug 13 2009, 01:26 AM, said:

the only thing i ever learned was a drop kick T_T mom and grandma wouldn't let me take lessons i thought of joinin up these days im a hell of alot heavier so it would be a challenge thats for sure. Krystal you have to get some videos of you in action and Good luck next month

It is never too late to start training in the art of combat... use everything to your advantage... for me it would be my migraines, a seeming disadvantage... (I am able to to self induce them, after lots of practice... which while insanely painful, also kicks up my awareness. and I hold back a lot less... )

also being ono the heavier side isn't bad... you get a more momentum for the same amount of energy = more pain.... (which is why I now wear ankle wieghts... plus it's a bit of a surprise when a kick hits harder than expected...)

anyway... if you get the chance to take martial arts, I would highly reccomend it...

[Krystal]

There IS a video of me bow staffing somewhere...

[Akanikoto]

I have a blue belt in kenpo karate, but I haven't taken lessons since eighth grade. The dojo just wasn't the same after Sir retired. I want to start taking capoeira lessons, too, once I get some money. ^-^

[Krystal]

I'm doing capoeira after I get my black belt.

[sentinel28a]

Krystal, on Aug 13 2009, 05:22 PM, said:

I'm doing capoeira after I get my black belt.

Capoeira is tough, but it's brutal in a fight from what I've seen. I dabble in martial arts and I've been meaning to actually start taking classes, but I don't have the self-discipline. I'd probably end up like Ed Grouperman from the Boot to the Head skit.

On the sais, as I recall, the Okinawans developed the sai as a way to block and then disarm samurai or ronin carrying katanas. (I might be wrong on that, but I'm fairly certain they started out as farm implements, like nunchaku.) If you could get someone to spar with you, or if you could simulate that somehow, it might be an idea.

Ben Da Mad Irishman
"Hi-keeba!"

[Noshi]

Krystal, on Aug 12 2009, 09:45 AM, said:

Sais isn't a martial arts, it's a weapon. I guess they're a bit unpopular. They look like forks. They're what Electra uses in Daredevil.

Oh, of course, sais! I just had a brain fart. Sais are an iconic weapon but you don't hear the word or see it spelled out every day.

If you are looking to add flair to a sai routine, I still think kicking could add some flavor. It seems to me that sais would require mostly upper body movement and strength, so throwing in a quick kick or even jump could be nice.

Another possibility could be elbow strikes. A good elbow strike is very powerful, and I think you could do them even while holding small weapons like sais. It could be an outward thrust (like to break a nose) or a downward one (like to bonk someone on the head after they're down).

[YokaiShinigami]

sentinel28a, on Aug 13 2009, 11:35 AM, said:

Capoeira is tough, but it's brutal in a fight from what I've seen. I dabble in martial arts and I've been meaning to actually start taking classes, but I don't have the self-discipline. I'd probably end up like Ed Grouperman from the Boot to the Head skit.

On the sais, as I recall, the Okinawans developed the sai as a way to block and then disarm samurai or ronin carrying katanas. (I might be wrong on that, but I'm fairly certain they started out as farm implements, like nunchaku.) If you could get someone to spar with you, or if you could simulate that somehow, it might be an idea.

Ben Da Mad Irishman
"Hi-keeba!"

It's kind of strange how so many weapons have paralels with gardening tools... since there is this annoying crab apple tree in my backyard... the previous owners had left some kind of a fruit picker/ branch trimmer... It was basically like a naginata with a serated blade....

by the way, does anyone know of any stealth based martial arts that have teaching facilities in/ near the chigagoland area...

[sentinel28a]

YokaiShinigami, on Aug 13 2009, 07:24 PM, said:

It's kind of strange how so many weapons have paralels with gardening tools... since there is this annoying crab apple tree in my backyard... the previous owners had left some kind of a fruit picker/ branch trimmer... It was basically like a naginata with a serated blade....

by the way, does anyone know of any stealth based martial arts that have teaching facilities in/ near the chigagoland area...

I know of a ninja academy in the area, but if I tell you, I'd have to kill you.

Just kidding. I don't live anywhere near Chicago, but if by "stealth-based" you mean ninjutsu or something along those lines, you're likely out of luck. Any place that advertises teaching ninjutsu are almost certainly liars trying to cash in on the ninja chic. There was a place where I live that claimed to teach Mad Ninja Skillz, and what they taught was basic TKD. The "ninja" label was there to lure people in. You'd learn more about ninjas watching bad Sho Kosugi movies than what a "school" like that would teach you. It's also worth remembering that ninjas were assassins, so the police would be very interested in a school that taught silent killing. About the only place you can legally get away with learning that is US Army Ranger School and associated Special Forces schools--which of course you have to join the military to get to, then pass a very difficult screening process.

(Incindentally, if you have an instructor that claims to be a "former Green Beret," take it with a big grain of salt. Green Berets almost never refer to themselves as that--they call themselves Special Forces or SF. I mention this because I once ran into a guy who passed himself as a hot-stuff "former Green Beret" who knew all these ways of killing you. I found out later the dude had never even been in the military. He did know martial arts, but no more than anyone who studies on this board.)

As far as learning stealth, you'd probably be money ahead hanging out with hunters, especially bowhunters, if they have that sort of thing in Illinois. Montana is naturally a hunters' mecca, and I've learned plenty about camouflage and stealth just listening to those guys (and girls).

Ben Da Mad Irishman
"I am not a ninja of the night"

[YokaiShinigami]

So, basically experiance in hunting (or simply stalking prey animals without actually killing them) and what not, and maybe paintball (?) might help?

[Prayer Police]

who wants to fight for fun?

[Relik]

sentinel28a, on Aug 13 2009, 05:35 PM, said:

Capoeira is tough, but it's brutal in a fight from what I've seen.

Elaborate?

[Ein]

Prayer Police, on Aug 13 2009, 05:42 PM, said:

who wants to fight for fun?

I play a mean game of rock,paper, scissors. ;]