LG John

As some of you may recall I used to take part in Kuk Sool Won - a traditional Korean Martial Art. I really enjoyed Kuk Sool and took part in it for 2 years learning quite a lot in that time. However, I always had a problem with how much there was to learn! Kuk Sool has a massive syllubus with kicking, punching, defence, grappling, locks, pressure point manipulation, strikes, traditional forms, acrobatics, falling techniques, fitness, knowledge, forms of meditation and much more. In short I felt that as I moved to intermediate level and started out on the black belt trail it was becoming too demanding. To do it well I was going to have to start training more than 2 hours three times a week.

In the end I started to feel like one of those guys that just 'turn up'. You know the sort....office, home, tea, class, home, tv. Next night the same but the gym in place of class. They go more than anything for the workout and to get out of the house. Kuk sa nim (the master) did not hang by a tree for 8 hours under the instruction of his grandfather for me to just turn up! I decided because I couldn't commit to it more I'd not insult the tradition and honour and stopped going.

Now, however, I find myself very unfit, unflexible and probably very unable to defend myself if such a situation arose. I am therefore interested in getting into what I would regard as another fighting sport but one with much less to learn and more of a focus on actual fighting or sparring. Boxing would be an obvious choice - I would imagine at such a class you are learning to box, punch, move or get fit. Every class is going to be physical and every class you improve your ability. Kuk Sool was not like that: sometimes you'd be jumping about like a mad man getting a work out and then the next night you'd not break sweat learning pressure points or joint locks. On account of this we had very little time to spar which is why I suspect for all my knowledge if put in an actual fighting situation I'd get utterly wasted.

Boxing is not 100% what I'm after so I'm looking for suggestions. So far I find myself attracted to Muay Thai as it involves kicking, punching but is 'boxing' based so is physical and should get me fit and able to defend myself. Basically I'm looking for something were most classes will involve getting very sweaty or actually sparing with someone. I'd also like something that is a little less demanding than a full on martial art. Something where I don't have to spend several hours a day doing forms or running through the names of 40 pressure points in english and korean.

Info on Muay Thai or other suggestions appreciated

I reserve the right to ignore all suggests and remain a fat pizza eating f*ck

mad555

iTrader: (1)

Kickboxing or Mauy Thai with a good instructors what you need,i have returned to the sport after a two year break and am really enjoying it again.

The best instructor in the UK is found here www.prokick.com

Fuzz

Why not just stay out of trouble

I couldn't fight my way out of a paper bag but I'm still here.


Andy

Bubba po

They do Ecky Thump oop north. Minimal training and all the beer and black pudding you can get down you.

AudiLover

Yeah muay thai sounds like the best thing to go for if you want to learn a art that will actually work in a street fight unlike most MA's. Kickboxing and boxing would be a second choice.

Or just join a gym and get big with just 3, 45 mins sessions a week.

Bubba po

It'll w**k brilliantly right up to the point that someone ***** you from behind or pulls a gun and retires you with extreme prejudice.

Like someone said earlier. Stay out of trouble.

pauly

iTrader: (1)

muay thai is the 1 to do, definately.
get to learn some real dirty stuff that comes in very useful

very rough on the shins and ankles though.
i've had to pack up now because my ankles couldn't handle it anymore (old football injuries) but did it for years.
training can be a bit boring after a while (there is only so much hopping up and down you can do) but sparring is the $hit
get along to a local class and watch, or take ya gear and jump in...

ewanrw

Alright bud !?

My pal takes part in a Mixed Martial Arts class on a thursday night in Edinburgh. could send you the details if you like.

ewan

LG John

That has served me well for 27 years and I have no doubt it'll continue to do so. I never learned kuk sool to be 'tough' and similarly that is not my goal here. My primary goal is fitness and body condtioning but secondary to that I'd like to learn practical fighting skill. I suppose the reason for that is that in kuk sool its probably what we worked on least. As I said we did little sparring in our school. At competition we'd usually wipe the floor with other schools at technique and form demonstration but we (and particularly I) did p*sh at sparring.

As the luck of the draw went i got a bi to the 2nd round. My opponent beat the cr@p out of me and he wasn't particularly skilled. In one move he smacked me clean on the nose and I could feel the blood pouring! I had to sniff it up really hard and swallow it or else he'd have been disqualified for drawing blood and he was clearly the better fighter so it didn't seem fair to progress like that. He won on points and I dissapeared to bleed in private

LG John

I'm encouraged by the amount of people that agree with my suggestion of Muay Thai - there seems to be a class close to me so I'll go check it out

Ewan, feel free to send me details

TopBanana

I would have thought a grappling discipline like jiu jitsu would be much more effective on the street.

LG John

http://video.google.com/videoplay?do...83&q=Muay+Thai

Quite impressed by that - The kicking techniques seem so simple but are very effective. With no punches to the face that bout was very much about effective kicks and Taekwondo is heavily kick based.

warrenm2

That video is classic - it demonstrates the problems with high kicks, namely someone grabs your leg and sweeps the other, he did it 3 times in a row near the end.

Wing Chun for me is the best, but its less physical so not really what your after

stevie_c

Got to agree with all the suggestions for Muay Thai, the training is great real world stuff, not too many technical moves to learn, I retired from fighting about 5-6 years ago.
You get great fitness improvements too, same as traditional boxing.
I found Kick Boxing too technical for my fighting style, I am more of a brawler than a technical fighter.
I tried shoot fighting as well but I feel uncomfortable rolling about on the ground trying to wrap my legs round someone I don't know!

Good luck with whatever you do.

mad555

iTrader: (1)

More effective than knees and elbows????

LG John

So what might a typical Muay Thai class consist of?

Alas

Don't give up on the idea of boxing too quickly. I did it for years at amateur level and still keep up sparring today for keeping fit. With boxing the physical training aspect is only restricted by your own wants.
Plus can be very unscientific but satisfying when you need to get your frustrations out

Bonehead

Sounds like Krav Maga might be what you're after.
Do a search on google for it.
I've been doing it for a while and I cant speak highly enough of it

AudiLover

Dont know about you but if I head up in a fight id rather smash their face in than give them a hug. You can throw a person around as much as u want but untill u really hurt him he will just keep coming back for more.

bob r

iTrader: (46)

you have obviously not watched events such as u.f.c. which is predominantly dominated by mixed martial artists. these guys are some of the hardest going and win fights mainly by submissions rather than strikes.
in theory kickboxing would be a great choice for alround fitness and using the discipline to be able to defend yourself but in reality i think ju jitsu would be a better choice if winning a street fight is concerned. from personal experience if a fight is not won in seconds by an unexpected punch, one or both or all go to the floor where a school boy scuffle ensues, this is where you and your ju jitsu will dominate unless the mindless stampers get involved then your f**ked. either way whatever you choose you will be one step ahead of most, and healthier

Ben v7

Most fights occur at close range - and even if they don't a good grapler will quickly jam the range. Throwing elbows and knees are effective - but a grapler will easily be able to prevent you from getting those off. Also many martial arts relie heavily on conditioning... easily lost once you stop training. Personally if you doing this for self-defence on the street forget kicking orientated martial arts in my opinion - just need to be able to block the one kick that will come your way before you jam the range and go to work.

Better to avoid fighting altogether though - how often do you see one on one's these days... and no matter how good you are you're unlikely to be able to stop 4 or 5 blokes from kicking the ****e out of you in a group.

Ben v7

Exactly.

AudiLover

I have watched UFC and im fully aware that most fights are wonf by submissions but most of the ex MA arts champs ie karate get their asses kicked ona regular basis and ina street fight you not gonna be using submissions unless you know its just gonna be you and him and no one else will become involved. At a night out however you will never be certain of that. You can be chocking someone and then his mate comes from behind and bottles you one. In a street fight you either try and defuse the confrontation or look for a quick knockout. The longer you are fighting the more likely you are to get seriously hurt.

As for men rolling about on the floor thats rubbish. How many club fight have u ever seen that happen. Usually one ends up on the floor and gets kicked in. Jui Jitsu is pretty much worthless in a street fight. And this is not just my opinion but what ive also learnt from MA and bodybuilding forums.

JamieMacdonald

Why don't you just get a rape alarm Saxo boy?

And then go on a diet to lose weight!

scoobie-shieldy

after partaking in shotokan and chonjinkai karate i needed something with a bit more "ooomph" not arty farty kata's and ****.,

so i do thai/kick boxing, it gives u everything, work out technique, and style with out the dancing crap.... u go in beat hell out of the guy for 2 mins (or he does u) and its alll good fun:P

my suggestion is this thai/kick-boxing m8, u wont regret it

lolz after typing this, i decided its time, i learnt my fav all round style jeet kun do, thats coz im a bruce lee fan freak (heheh named my own son Brandon-Lee 10 years ago:P

J4CKO

iTrader: (1)

Perhaps engaging an attacker in a discussion about the relative performance statistics of several different Japanese cars would be more effective, when they come round they wont know what has hit them.

LG John

Few attackers could hold a conversation that goes beyond, 'aye, ma mates got wan o' they turbo'd novas man! He skinned a 911 turbo down the high street the other night, proper smoked him in front of his wife.'

I can't converse at such a level. Hitting them is just easier

FASTER MIKE!!

well muay thai will keep you slim if you train regular, been doing it for about 8-9 years now and love it. its very aerobic, so you'll sweat your **** off. the gym i go to, classes start off with 5-10min of skipping followed by 5-10min of circuits press up and sit ups etc. then a little stretching and onto some pad work which is 4 3min rounds of different combinations. if theres time and anyone willing we'll do some sparing at the end and a little warm down.

and my favourite muay thai clip

mike

LG John

He's a bit hard

Sub97

PMSL