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Ask HN: A martial art for a programmer

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Re: Ask HN: A martial art for a programmer

#111

Post by philwelch »

Zak wrote: post #110
philwelch wrote: post #100

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I get that it's comedy. Actually, if you've got a gun you want to stay about 20 feet away from your assailant. They've done tests on reaction time, and someone inside of 20 feet can easily close and attack with a knife by the time you draw your gun. Conversely, if you have balls of steel and want to defend yourself against an armed assailant, start within 20 feet and have a knife. Corollary: be capable of hitting a t…

I went through law enforcement training (though never ended up working in law enforcement) in Florida a few years ago. One of the firearms drills was to draw and fire two shots from the hip while blocking with the weak hand at 9 feet in 2 seconds. It was intended to simulate exactly that sort of scenario. The outcome of a gun/knife confrontation at short range is not at all certain. Most wounds from a knife or handgu…

Yeah, you definitely want the gun. But "the outcome is not at all certain" is another way of saying "you're not safe at that range, not even with a gun".

Re: Ask HN: A martial art for a programmer

#112

Post by Zak »

philwelch wrote: post #111
Zak wrote: post #110

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I went through law enforcement training (though never ended up working in law enforcement) in Florida a few years ago. One of the firearms drills was to draw and fire two shots from the hip while blocking with the weak hand at 9 feet in 2 seconds. It was intended to simulate exactly that sort of scenario. The outcome of a gun/knife confrontation at short range is not at all certain. Most wounds from a knife or handgu…

Yeah, you definitely want the gun. But "the outcome is not at all certain" is another way of saying "you're not safe at that range, not even with a gun".

Absolutely. If someone 20 feet away really wants to injure you with a knife, it's probably going to happen.

Re: Ask HN: A martial art for a programmer

#113

Post by [deleted] »

ryanelkins wrote: post #47

I study Krav Maga. I prefer a practical self defense oriented approach. It is the system developed by and taught to the Israeli military. Moves are generally very simple (important so you can be effective without years of training). The problem with pretty much all other martial arts everyone is mentioning is that they have morphed to work ideally in a competitive environment. Sure, knowing just about any martial art…

[deleted]

Re: Ask HN: A martial art for a programmer

#114

Post by [deleted] »

joe_the_user wrote: post #85
ryanelkins wrote: post #47

I study Krav Maga. I prefer a practical self defense oriented approach. It is the system developed by and taught to the Israeli military. Moves are generally very simple (important so you can be effective without years of training). The problem with pretty much all other martial arts everyone is mentioning is that they have morphed to work ideally in a competitive environment. Sure, knowing just about any martial art…

I've studied a couple martial arts and had brief introductions to a number of others (Systema and Qi Dao are the two I've done for a while). Every art I've seen teaches getting out of holds first because it is something a novice can do pretty easily with some understanding of technique. I've also been hit in the balls during sparing matches a number of times. It's not the decisive hit many imagine. In fact, a strong…

[deleted]

Re: Ask HN: A martial art for a programmer

#115

Post by ryanelkins »

zitterbewegung wrote: post #97
ryanelkins wrote: post #47

I study Krav Maga. I prefer a practical self defense oriented approach. It is the system developed by and taught to the Israeli military. Moves are generally very simple (important so you can be effective without years of training). The problem with pretty much all other martial arts everyone is mentioning is that they have morphed to work ideally in a competitive environment. Sure, knowing just about any martial art…

I was taught in hapkido to hit the person in the balls. We weren't allowed to do it in class obviously but we were told that was a valid technique.

We practice by hitting high up on the inner thigh. I recommend (and do) wear a cup.

Re: Ask HN: A martial art for a programmer

#116

Post by tworats »

Definitely Brazilian Jiu Jitsu (BJJ). It's a very effective martial art, and its technical nature makes it a very good fit for an analytical mind. I've only been at it for a few months but so far I love it.

I haven't tried Judo, but I expect that'd be similarly interesting.

Re: Ask HN: A martial art for a programmer

#117

Post by BjornW »

I've started with searching for a martial art fitting for me 2,5 years ago. I hadn't been training for a quite some time and I really needed to do something about it. I had practiced Judo during my child and early teen years and practiced Tae Kwon Do during college.

I quit both because, in my personal opinion they are too focused on doing one thing fairly well while more or less ignoring other aspects of fighting. For example: I found it very annoying that Judo did not allow any punches or kicks. While Tae Kwon Do didn't allow throws or ground fighting. Basically I was looking for a different look at fighting, be it kicking, punching, locks, throws or fighting with weapons. In my view everything should be possible depending on the context. At that time I found two possible matches (in my neighborhood) for what I was looking for in a martial art: Takeda Ryu and Krav Maga. After having followed three lessons of Takeda Ryu I didn't bother of looking at Krav Maga anymore since Takeda Ryu and the people training at the dojo matched what I was looking for.

So now I have been training Takeda Ryu Kobilza Ha for 2,5 years. I'm still just a beginner and need to learn a lot, but I enjoy training very much and that's what I consider to be the most important. Whatever martial art you like to start make sure you enjoy it and feel safe in the dojo.

I have the impression that it does have an effect on me outside the dojo, although I find it hard to describe what the effect exactly is.

Currently I'm practicing five budo disciplines in Takeda Ryu Kobilza Ha:

- Aikido (throws, locks ) - Iaido (swiftly drawing the sword and cutting correctly) - Jodo (fighting with a stick) - Jukempo (kicking, punching combined with throws and locks) - Kendo (fighting with a drawn sword)

If you would like to know more about Takeda Ryu, have a look at http://istb.info/index.php/home.html or look at some footage of demonstrations: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=INx_CSA_I78 and our main event in Vienna Austria: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4sxtTNjKSsk&

ps: This is my own very personal and limited look at martial arts and I do not want to disrespect any Judo, Tae Kwon Do, Krav Maga or any other martial art practitioners.

Re: Ask HN: A martial art for a programmer

#118

Post by kschua »

I can only speak for the Chinese Martial Art I have trained and been exposed to - Wing Chun and Choy Li Futt. It is now a way of life for me. Primarily, I am a Wing Chun practitioner.

If you are using the Agile methodology, Wing Chun would be good. It emphasizes 1) adapting to change - This is especially true in the second form "Chum Kil" which transition from one position to another 2) least wastage - punch is a straight line to the target 3) cooperation to achieve a single target - a punch in Wing Chun is the utilization of the powers of your leg, hips, torso, shoulder, elbow transferred to the fist 4) getting immediate feedback - the chi sao (sticking hands) exercise trains you to be sensitive and look for places to enter 5) respect of difference of opinions - a tan sao can be used as to defend or attack depending on the person

If your SDLC is a waterfall method, try Choy Li Futt. Things I learned from this are 1) Commitment to a set of combination early - I have combos in Choy Li Futt which I carry through all the way, regardless of what the opponent does. The decision of what to do is made after assessing the situation (aka requirements gathering) and before the first strike

2) Using a different approach to a problem - My favorite strikes from this style is the spinning elbow and using the forearm as a striking weapon

The primary difference to me is that Choy Li Futt is a brute force solution to a problem and Wing Chun depends more on an algorithm to resolve the problem

Good luck!

Re: Ask HN: A martial art for a programmer

#119

Post by mping »

kingkongreveng_ wrote: post #84

No offense, but this is kind of a dumb question. A martial art is not much different from any other sport, programmer or not. Play tennis, box, what's the difference? My two cents on which martial art to pick is boxing or one of the kickboxing varieties. The "east asian" martial arts schools in your American strip mall practically never emphasize that fighting is 90% physical fitness and strength, and so I regard the…

No offense, but I think your opinion shows why most martial arts are in a state of disgrace right now. Martial arts are very different from one another.

True martial arts are supposed to give you three things: - Ability for self defense - Good health (not only physical health) - Some sense of inner peace, zen, or whatever you may want to call it.

One of the many problems of the current state of things is that most societies are culturally oriented to consume things, the more the better (no offense, but the Americans excel at this). So most people wouldn't want to learn a martial art and start very slowly, nor they would spend 6 months learning the basics. They think that the more you learn, the better.

In martial arts, you learn very little and practice alot. In the past, students would spend 6 months just doing simple movements, one of the reasons was that if you don't get the basics wrong you would not go far. I agree with you that today most people practice martial arts and don't have a clue of how to defend themselves, but in the past if a martial arts master would not know how to fight he would simply end up dead or severely hurt. Nowadays, people want to be able to fight after 2 classes and want to be black belts or masters after one or two years.

A good example of this kind if practice is Muay Thai fighers. They do not show that many techniques, yet they are devastating because they dedicate and practice alot. Another good example of fighting with strategy is BJJ. You see smaller guys with much less strength taking on bigger guys by employing smart strategy.

Either way, there's much more about martial arts than physical strength. My advice is that you first define your aims. What do you want? Be a good fighter? Be in a good shape? Dedicate some time, or just a few hours on the weekend?

Based on your objectives, you will be able to choose wisely.

Re: Ask HN: A martial art for a programmer

#120

Post by joe_the_user »

kingkongreveng_ wrote: post #109
joe_the_user wrote: post #85

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've studied a couple martial arts and had brief introductions to a number of others (Systema and Qi Dao are the two I've done for a while). Every art I've seen teaches getting out of holds first because it is something a novice can do pretty easily with some understanding of technique. I've also been hit in the balls during sparing matches a number of times. It's not the decisive hit many imagine. In fact, a strong…

> when assaulted, you are trying to do something "Everybody has a plan until they get punched in the face." --Mike Tyson

Actually, that's another problem with a lot of martial arts that teach particular actions for particular situations. One's ability to remember an complex technique or even a simple move in the middle of a conflict somewhat ... hampered.

Of course, any serious martial art is going to teach stance, balance, "flow", and state of mind as well as particular techniques. The applies to all the arts I've had minimal exposure to: BJJ, Muy Thai, Tai Chi, Aikido. I don't know if this applies to Krav Maga or not - I can only know what the KM people talk about. I'm skeptical of any "too deadly except for da streets" rhetoric from anyone.

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