Are you trained in the Martial Arts?

Radrook

Radrook

Senior Member
Location
USA
As a teen, I learned very basic boxing skills. Then at age 48, I trained in Pai Lum White Dragon Kung Fu under the guidance of Sifu Pai Pono Li. What martial art of any were you trained in? What physical and psychological benefits if any did you derive from it? What are some memorable expeiences you had during training?
 

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From time to time I have had access to gyms that had heavy bags and spent many hours violently hitting them. It helped build some survival muscles and muscle memory.
 

I did one year Ju Jitsu when I was 11 because it was being taught for free in my school..

However when my daughter was about the same age I sent her to Ju jitsu classes, then she wanted to go to BU Jitsu classes.. from there she learned Kick Boxing, and eventually became a Kick Boxing champion, and ultimately a kick boxing judge..

Her ex partner is /was an MMA fighter..
 
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Radrook said:
As a teen, I learned very basic boxing skills. Then at age 48, I trained in Pai Lum White Dragon Kung Fu under the guidance of Sifu Pai Pono Li. What martial art of any were you trained in? What physical and psychological benefits if any did you derive from it? What are some memorable expeiences you had during traing?
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I started off with full contact kickboxing -- no particular style. After several years, I got a bit bored with it so moved on to Wing Chun Kung Fu. Then several years after that, after becoming a bit irritated with one of the prima donna trainers there, I moved on to Lau Gar. The three used in combination can be quite interesting.

One of the things I remember from kickboxing training was standing with my back against a wall, heels touching the wall, while the partner I was paired with would gently raise one of my legs by holding my foot, pushing it slowly upwards as I maintained a straight leg until my foot was at head height. Holding my leg at various positions during the upward movement, so as not to stretch the muscles and tendons too quickly. It was a great exercise for improving flexibility & suppleness, but the hardest part was always the initial leg lift. You initially feel off-balance and want to fall forward.
 
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David777 said:
No, am a small peaceful person that avoids physical violence. Have never been trained in any fighting skills nor have interest to.
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My daughter is only 5'.2 ..and 112 pounds... she's very peace loving.. but as a female and especially a female without male siblings I felt she had to learn how to protect herself.. in the event, she protected me once when I was being attacked by an ex.. with one swift movement he was semi conscious on the floor. and yet she didn't break sweat... in fact she hardly made any movement to the naked eye..
 
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Yes, but l don't tell anyone because surprise is the most important move one learns in self-defense training. Pretend you're just hanging around and not noticing you just got dragged into the bushes and then A HA! You bring out that secret move. l hope l would still remember it. It's been many years,,,,,,,,,:cautious:
 
KSav said:
I myself have never had any martial arts training, but we sent all three of our kids to tae kwon do lessons for several years. I was impressed with the discipline, focus, and respect they learned even more than the physical skills.
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yes that's correct, my daughter even from being young has always insisted it's a defensive sport rather than an attacking sport..
 
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no, never any lessons but I did learn to protect myself, I was a tomboy and could fight. I was never afraid, boy or girl, I stepped up. Mind you I never started it but I finished it. I had quite the reputation and most would take the time to think about it. Mind you, most knew who I was do to a stepbrother who was violent, so it was a good reason to leave me alone. My nickname was little Maxpax. All it took was someone to that's Maxpax. Now I am old but I would still step up to a bully, they think they are tough but will back down when push comes to shove,

They think their victims will just do as they say, but if you push back they will move on to a more willing victim. I always carry protection in my purse and trunk of the car. I may be old but I am not a willing victim. If you just look in their eyes, their posture, you know if they have the courage to do wrong. If you mention their Mom or Grandma, how ashamed they would be, they move right along.

I have had this happen and the would be criminal realizes what they are doing. At the the worst time it was a girl while I was putting groceries in the trunk. I just pulled out the baseball bat, said okay, lets do it. She ran. Truth be told I would rather stand my ground than than lose my life to some little punk. At least I will go down fighting.
 
I took boxing lessons in my teens.

In my 50s I joined a Tai Chi group with 2 instructors and met with them for open-air sessions 2 or 3 times a week for several years. It helped me manage my pain and improve my posture and balance, but it got to a point when it started aggravating the pain pretty dearly, and I had to quit.

But another thing the Tai Chi exercises did was calm my aggression. Or maybe my defenses....yeah, I was always ready for a fight. Just say "Eff you" to me, and I was all about it. Just say it under your breath or with your eyes, and it was go time.

That was probably my boxing training and actual practice, but that pretty much stopped after the first year of doing Tai Chi. And one of my Tai Chi partners taught me a tea ritual "for a peaceful mind" that I still practice a couple-few times a day. Been doing that for about 2 decades now.
 
I've had some training in Judo, Wrestling, Boxing, and Brazilian Jiu jitsu, but nothing extensive. However, it was my Boxing lessons at Newman's gym in San Francisco (Long since closed) that came in the most handy in the street fights I was involved in. My finest hour was punching out two suits in front of the Buena Vista Cafe back in 1973. I was in great shape in those days and was even sparring with professional boxers on occasion while under the watchful eye of my trainer. My son is taking Brazilian Jiu jitsu and Boxing lessons here in Thailand, though I would also like to see him take some Muay Thai lessons as well.
 
Lawrence00 said:
From time to time I have had access to gyms that had heavy bags and spent many hours violently hitting them. It helped build some survival muscles and muscle memory.
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Yep! They can help us learn how to leverage our blows adding power. Also toughens the fists. Not that violence is always the solution. But if one needs to survive, as you say, then it might be helpful. .
 
Blessed said:
no, never any lessons but I did learn to protect myself, I was a tomboy and could fight. I was never afraid, boy or girl, I stepped up. Mind you I never started it but I finished it. I had quite the reputation and most would take the time to think about it. Mind you, most knew who I was do to a stepbrother who was violent, so it was a good reason to leave me alone. My nickname was little Maxpax. All it took was someone to that's Maxpax. Now I am old but I would still step up to a bully, they think they are tough but will back down when push comes to shove,

They think their victims will just do as they say, but if you push back they will move on to a more willing victim. I always carry protection in my purse and trunk of the car. I may be old but I am not a willing victim. If you just look in their eyes, their posture, you know if they have the courage to do wrong. If you mention their Mom or Grandma, how ashamed they would be, they move right along.

I have had this happen and the would be criminal realizes what they are doing. At the the worst time it was a girl while I was putting groceries in the trunk. I just pulled out the baseball bat, said okay, lets do it. She ran. Truth be told I would rather stand my ground than than lose my life to some little punk. At least I will go down fighting.
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I agree! A person has the right to self defense. In fact, that's why I took up the martial arts, because of this younger and physically bigger bully neighbor who seemed hell-bent on fighting me. Wasn't so eager once he realized I had trained.

BTW I once read about this woman who was on her way to a meeting one late afternoon, and was suddenly intercepted on a deserted street by this dude. He casually conversed with her at first. But when she tried to continue on her way, he said. "You aren't going anywhere."

Well, she sent him to the ER with certain broken bones and a crushed testicle. You see, as delicate as she looked, she was a champion martial arts competitor referred to as the Baby Faced Killer in the martial arts magazine article. She had called the ERs in the city in order to track him down. That's how she found out where he had gone..
 
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Murrmurr said:
I took boxing lessons in my teens.

In my 50s I joined a Tai Chi group with 2 instructors and met with them for open-air sessions 2 or 3 times a week for several years. It helped me manage my pain and improve my posture and balance, but it got to a point when it started aggravating the pain pretty dearly, and I had to quit.

But another thing the Tai Chi exercises did was calm my aggression. Or maybe my defenses....yeah, I was always ready for a fight. Just say "Eff you" to me, and I was all about it. Just say it under your breath or with your eyes, and it was go time.

That was probably my boxing training and actual practice, but that pretty much stopped after the first year of doing Tai Chi. And one of my Tai Chi partners taught me a tea ritual "for a peaceful mind" that I still practice a couple-few times a day. Been doing that for about 2 decades now.
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Tai chi? Very interesting martial art! Very true! As strange as it may seem to some, there are indeed meditation aspects of the martial arts that can lead to a certain profound calmness. We always meditated both before and after each extremely physically intense practice session. Yes, it did eventually reduce the tendency towards physical aggression.
 
When I was 5 my father put me in martial arts as it was provided for free by the police dept. Back then, the police dept would train family members for free. It stuck with me. They were teaching their police members and families Aikido. Eventually finished my 1st degree Dan in Aikido at about 15/16 years old. Started to look into and train in Jeet Kun Do, as it became the craze then. I trained in that philosophy for a few years. I liked that way Bruce thought. Everything can be broken down and simplified.
Then of course the military many years later was trained in close quarters combat, and close protections training, then further on in spec ops trained in a more...I guess deadlier version of martial arts/self defense/offense.

Never in all my years have my wife or I ever had to use it for self defense in the civilian world. Lucky I guess. My wife and I still train twice a week at the gym to maintain as much as we can as we age gracefully!

On a side note-I find it funny that I will watch these new kids train on the various bags/equipment and wonder how they would ever do it in the real world if needed. They don't do anything before warming up for 15 minutes, don't hit anything without wraps, gloves, special shorts, shirts, shoes etc. My wife and I still hit the bags with bare unwrapped hands, kick barefoot or in our shoes, fight in different ways and do things they have never seen.
 
Murrmurr said:
That was probably my boxing training and actual practice, but that pretty much stopped after the first year of doing Tai Chi. And one of my Tai Chi partners taught me a tea ritual "for a peaceful mind" that I still practice a couple-few times a day. Been doing that for about 2 decades now.
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Could you please share that with us, Murrmurr, if you don't mind?
 
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When I was a Cadet, we had 2 weeks of self defense training, which hardly makes me a professional. I only used my training once during my career. I was in a few other fights, but they were of the street type fighting.
 
Tai Chi, Dayan QiGong and yoga. I needed to learn because my chiropractor wanted to put me on disability when I was 42. I started learning these skills and never went to a chiropractor or doctor for my pain again.
QiGong is what I do most often. It keeps me flexible and lowers stress. The slow and graceful moves help with strength and balance. It's also a form of moving meditation. It does all that and the form only takes 12 minutes.
 
I was lucky as in 3rd grade a local college wrestling coach started teaching us how to wrestle. (This is the style of wrestling that is used in America high schools and colleges.) I wrestled competitively through high school.

I am now in my 70's and have never found I needed anything else to defend myself. In my life I have had a few individuals pick fights with me wanting to box or just go after each other. In the few incidents that I did have to defend myself, I naturally went to my wrestling skills. I can get behind anyone and/or take them down with me on top of them with ease. Once on top I can control most anyone...except another wrestler or someone with a knife or gun!

One time a guy that started to fight with me with also went to 'wrestling' techniques right away. We had a quick, good match and ended up laughing and becoming friends...although the knees on our pants were ruined!
 

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