Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Ask HN: What martial arts do you practice? What do you recommend?

news.ycombinator.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

51–60 of 122 posts

Re: Ask HN: What martial arts do you practice? What do you recommend?

#51

Post by coryl »

aeontech wrote: post #46
coryl wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Muay thai - not much technique or sensitivity involved." What. Have you ever been thai clinched? Have you ever had your kick blocked, shin on shin?

Yup. That hurts like hell. I try to catch the kick with my calf and turn it away, but it's difficult. Timing and distance is everything. I probably spoke rashly though, I don't really know enough about it to make generalizations like that. I take it back.

It's all good, muay thai respect has been restored :)

It's easy to forget what real muay thai is, because of the mindless training we condition our bodies to. Hitting the pads or hitting the bag is not fighting. Coach always use to say, "be conscious of your body at all times. pretend your pad holder is your opponent. otherwise, you're just masturbating...hitting something to make slapping sounds to feel good about yourself."

training != sparring != fighting

Re: Ask HN: What martial arts do you practice? What do you recommend?

#52

Post by nchlswu »

thomaspaine wrote: post #23
terryjsmith wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Have you tried other martial arts like karate or taekwondo? How does it compare? I recently moved to Toronto and have yet to find a great (ie. non belt promotion based) school downtown. I've found a number of potential BJJ schools though and have been curious.

I did taekwondo when I was little and I know some people who still do it. All martial arts are technical once you get into them, but grappling is different from striking in that what you do with your body is very similar to following a decision tree. Eventually these decisions get internalized into your muscle memory, but there's still a high degree of "if he does A, I'll do B, which will leave me open to C and D, wh…

I think you provided a great breakdown of grappling - the decision tree analogy was great.

I think the opportunity to practice something with the analytical element discussed here is great. Really, all martial arts are highly analytical, but different martial arts afford different opportunities to use these skills. I think all martial arts (or martial art sports) involving competition have similar levels of analysis, but lots of martial arts instructors require you to reach some sort of physical foundation before teaching you any true technical aspects. So, as said, it all depends on what you want.

Re: Ask HN: What martial arts do you practice? What do you recommend?

#53

Post by waru »

I have tried Judo, Aikido, Kendo, and Muay Thai, and done Karate and Tae Kwon Do extensively.

Personally, I'm doing it for the physical training and the sense of accomplishment more than practical fighting abilities, since I don't plan on getting into a street brawl.

Aikido didn't really feel like exercise to me (I barely broke a sweat in training), but it's a lot more focused on energy and focus, which is also cool. Judo is great if you are short and stout, but I'm too tall and skinny. Muay Thai was a little too harsh and physical.

For me, Tae Kwon Do and Karate combine strength/stamina/flexibility training with the calm, focused side of things that I also like about martial arts. Tae Kwon Do focuses almost only on kicks, while Karate includes both kicks and punches. I have really stiff legs, so Tae Kwon Do actually turned out to be great training.

The beginning can be the hardest part to get through if you start in really poor condition, so my advice is don't give up! You will get stronger and surprise yourself if you stick with it.

Overall, learning to have control over your body and move swiftly, powerfully, and efficiently is a great feeling. Martial arts groups also tend to be open, supportive, and a great source of stress relief, in my experience. Good luck!

Re: Ask HN: What martial arts do you practice? What do you recommend?

#56

Post by sberder »

presidentender wrote: post #43

Practicality is important to me, and difficult to judge without some experience. Properly practiced Jujitsu, Sambo and Krav Maga are practical. There are useful lessons in Muay Thai and hard American kickboxing. Judo is acceptable, particularly if you are not possessed of great strength. Wing Chun's pitch sounds reasonable, but I cannot speak to its efficacy. Avoid most schools of Karate (Kenpo especially), Capoeira,…

Why would you provide such a definitive advice on the arts to avoid?! I can't even believe this answer was upvoted. I'm not a big fan of Kenpo Karate myself or of capoeira-under-the spotlight but I wouldn't say to avoid them, there is interesting learnings in any martial arts. You don't even know what this guy is exactly looking for and you make a selection of very MMA oriented arts.

I don't understand how you got upvoted on this one.

Re: Ask HN: What martial arts do you practice? What do you recommend?

#57

Post by waterside81 »

Systema - the martial art practiced by the Russian Elite Force (Spetsnaz) and since taught to many military special forces. It combines breathing techniques and relaxation techniques with the ability to disarm and kill an individual. I cannot say enough good words about how Systema has helped me become a better athlete and person.

http://www.russianmartialart.com/

Re: Ask HN: What martial arts do you practice? What do you recommend?

#58

Post by LiveTheDream »

sberder wrote: post #56
presidentender wrote: post #43

Practicality is important to me, and difficult to judge without some experience. Properly practiced Jujitsu, Sambo and Krav Maga are practical. There are useful lessons in Muay Thai and hard American kickboxing. Judo is acceptable, particularly if you are not possessed of great strength. Wing Chun's pitch sounds reasonable, but I cannot speak to its efficacy. Avoid most schools of Karate (Kenpo especially), Capoeira,…

Why would you provide such a definitive advice on the arts to avoid?! I can't even believe this answer was upvoted. I'm not a big fan of Kenpo Karate myself or of capoeira-under-the spotlight but I wouldn't say to avoid them, there is interesting learnings in any martial arts. You don't even know what this guy is exactly looking for and you make a selection of very MMA oriented arts. I don't understand how you got up…

He stated arts to avoid based on his personal preference of the martial art being practical, which I take to mean as being practical for self-defense. Modern karate-like martial arts tend to optimize for point-fighting, which won't do you much good in a physical self-defense scenario. OP implied he wanted to train for fitness with no comment on self-defense, so the practical nature doesn't apply, but regardless, the parent comment is valid.

Re: Ask HN: What martial arts do you practice? What do you recommend?

#59

Post by christonog »

coryl wrote: post #51
aeontech wrote: post #46

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yup. That hurts like hell. I try to catch the kick with my calf and turn it away, but it's difficult. Timing and distance is everything. I probably spoke rashly though, I don't really know enough about it to make generalizations like that. I take it back.

It's all good, muay thai respect has been restored :) It's easy to forget what real muay thai is, because of the mindless training we condition our bodies to. Hitting the pads or hitting the bag is not fighting. Coach always use to say, "be conscious of your body at all times. pretend your pad holder is your opponent. otherwise, you're just masturbating...hitting something to make slapping sounds to feel good about y…

Yes. You can look really good on pads, but when it's time to get in the ring, your technique and endurance goes to shit.

Re: Ask HN: What martial arts do you practice? What do you recommend?

#60

Post by bdickason »

huherto wrote: post #16
thomaspaine wrote: post #3

I've been doing brazilian jiu-jitsu for about 5 years, and would highly recommend it to anyone. I know a wide range of people who practice it, from professional fighters to little kids to a guy in his 60s. I think it fits especially well for the HN crowd, because there's generally very little mystical bs that goes on, and although this analogy gets abused, it's basically human chess. There's a very analytical approac…

I started practicing BJJ a few months back. I loved it. It is like chess, but physical. Unfortunately, I was in the receiving end of a neck crank. I was injured (cervical hernia). So if you practice BJJ make sure that you are always safe and don`t hesitate to tap.

That's really horrible :( It sucks to train with someone who is also a beginner as chances for getting hurt are much higher! I was rolling with a guy who was also new (and twice my size) who loved to lean on me when in my guard. We weren't going that hard but I started to notice a pain in my side and assumed it was a cramp. Turned out to be a fractured rib :(

To answer the OP's question, I take a mixed martial arts class that combines muay thai/kickboxing with bjj and has a cardio class as well. It's very well rounded, and our instructors compete in some of the smaller MMA leagues like Bellator.

Overall, it's a great experience and amazing workout when you combine kickboxing and mid to high level bjj. Just note that early BJJ (your first 6 months or so) will not work you too hard until you can start to free grapple.

Post reply on HN