Does anyone else here do Judo?

No, but I was in Tae Kwon Do a long time ago. I made it up to green vest/belt and then we had to move. I bet I'd be at least a black belt 3rd dan right now if I still lived in Buffalo.....oh well.

Use to do alot of kickboxing.

I used to study Tae Kwon Do, then Sho Rin Ryu. I haven't practiced martial arts in about 4-5 years, though.

I'm a big fan of boxing these days. I wish I had gotten into boxing, aside from the negative effects to ones speech and motor skills (see: Evander Holyfield).

I used to study Tae Kwon Do, then Sho Rin Ryu.



For anyone who's done Tae Kwon Do, what is it exactly? Also, what's Sho Rin Ryu? I don't think I've ever heard of that before.

Tae Kwon Do is a form of martial arts that uses alot of kicks. I'm sure there are better definitions but thats basically what it is.

I took it for a short time before I landed on the outside of my foot and it rolled tearing some muscle and other ankle components.

If anyone is considering it be sure to check to make sure your school is good, I got in one that wasn't and was stuck in a long contract. Also don't sign any long term contracts that you can get stuck in.

Tae Kwon Do or Taekwondo, Korean martial art, known for its dramatic flying and spinning kicks. The name comes from the Korean words tae (foot, or kick), kwon (fist, or punch), and do (art, or way of life) and literally means “the art of hand and foot fighting.”

Students learn the fundamentals of tae kwon do through choreographed sequences of combative moves, the breaking of boards or other materials, and two-person controlled sparring. They also receive instruction in principles such as courtesy, integrity, perseverance, and self-control. Practitioners wear a white, loose-fitting uniform known as a dobok, tied at the waist with a colored belt that indicates rank. The ranking system is divided into ten kup (pupil) levels and nine dan (black belt, or expert) levels. At competitions, participants are judged by how well they perform the choreographed sequences, by their accuracy in breaking boards, and by their skill in sparring contests.

The roots of tae kwon do go back thousands of years. In 1955 a number of similar schools of martial arts were merged, and the resulting style was named tae kwon do. An important figure in this effort was Choi Hong Hi, a Korean general who worked to combine a traditional Korean foot-fighting technique called tae kyon with Japanese karate. General Choi established the International Taekwon-Do Federation (ITF) in 1966.

Since Jonesy covered Tae Kwon Do, I'll just divulge a bit about Sho Rin Ryu.

Sho Rin Ryu, a martial art system developed on the island of Okinawa, Japan, is a lot less of a "sport" than is Tae Kwon Do. There's not really any focus on high kicking and more "flashy manuevers" (for lack of a better term). Sho Rin Ryu deals a lot with simple and incredibly effective manuevers with a strong focus on getting the maximum power out of ever punch or kick as well as a strong focus on counters and blocking. There's a certain element of Judo (joint pressure manipulation, etc.) in Sho Rin Ryu and the way it is worked into the katas are really something. Speaking of which, kata in Sho Rin Ryu is of the utmost importance; everything you do while preforming a kata must be precise from how far apart your feet are in a stance, how powerful your punches and kicks are, how intense you are, where you're looking at all times...while this all is important in Tae Kwon Do, there was far more importance placed on this in Sho Rin Ryu. Above all, Sho Rin Ryu has a dedicated study of the history of the art; this is as important as the study of the art itself. It is a martial art that is taken with all seriousness; you don't practice Sho Rin Ryu simply for exercise (whereas many people practice Tae Kwon Do precisely for that reason).

My apologies for a somewhat nondescript explanation. Like I said, it's been a while since I've trained in Sho Rin Ryu and when I did train it was not as structured as I mentioned (my godfather was/is a sensei, so I attended classes when I visited him, which was not particularly often).

I practice Aikido. Our dojo website is at:

http://www.phatdawg.net/~AikiHous/

Small bit of intro information:

On the surface, it appears to be an art involving pins and throws that were evolved from jiu-jitsu as well as kenjutsu, jojutsu and other arts. Aikido does not focus on blocking, punching and kicking. Instead, the emphasis is on uniting your efforts with the attacker to control the situation. It is not a static art but places a great deal of emphasis on the dynamics of movement. Upon deeper examination, you may find self-defense, peace of mind, physical fitness or greater teachings.

-CP

Wow, thanks everyone for your explanations. They were really helpful. One last question (until I think of another, that is). How long does it take to progress in any given martial art? It seems like to start as an adult in Judo, it takes 4-5 years to earn the first black belt rank, Shodan. I was just wondering if the time period is different in any other martial art.

Thanks again!

Gohan

I went to an Israeli Hand to Hand course once...crazy stuff!
Kudos to those who stick with their art!
Shows dedication!
J

I studied Choy Li Fut Kung Fu for about a few months before I moved to Atlanta from San Diego 2 years ago. Since then I haven't found a school that suits my needs, timewise, in this area (I work at night and would need to be able to train/take classes during the day). The school I attended in San Diego, White Dragon, was part of a large group of schools that had classes all day every day. Whichever school you happened to be close to you, if you were a member of the group you were allowed to drop in and attend classes. This was great since I worked near one school and lived near another. It was like being a member of a gym dedicated to kung fu, with multiple locations. I haven't found anything like that in ATL yet and I miss it terribly.

For the short time that I was actually doing kung fu, I experienced more "training pain" than I've ever gotten from any aerobic workout, weight training session, or time at the gym. And more satisfaction too. To be learning a very cool skill while getting in shape can't be beat. It really doesn't matter what martial art you choose- as long as you give it your all when you train and make the effort to really learn the art, you will gain immeasurably from it.

And how long it takes to progress depends on how often your classes are, how much time you spend practicing, and how your school structures its testing. It's primarily up to you.