Jakeyboy on 11/1/2007 at 18:25

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I'm really into Aikido...been going for a year but I got thoroughly bitten from the start and I train 3 times a week at the moment.

Never thought much of Karate (looking from the outside). Partly because I can't see the point of learning to fight with offensive moves without the intention of starting a fight, apart from a pre-emptive strike. Partly because my Shihan had a Karate black belt hassle him for a fight for months and months (leaving his slippers pointing in to challenge the sensei to a duel, baiting him etc) and eventually sat everyone down and said "ok, we're going to have a demonstration" before bouncing this guy around for 20 minutes.

Para?noid on 11/1/2007 at 19:43

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Unless he's looking for really effective self defense that shit looks boring as fuck

Personally I'd choose some kind of of Chinese shit because it looks cool as fuck

Toad style is immensely strong
And can be used against any weapon
When it's properly used
It's almost invincible

doo
dah

raw i'll give to ya with no trivia

Ultraviolet on 11/1/2007 at 22:00

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omg ur rite i saw it on teevee, and you can't possibly learn anything useful from Karate ever because only liek Stephen Segal or something uses that

Yeah, fun story. You must be aware that, just as your style has differing degrees of black belt, so does Karate. Shihan, if you want to go by systematic ranks rather than "the upper ranks started calling him Shihan and it stuck," is what, a 7th degree? You only said this other guy was a "black belt." And yeah, sometimes people get rank they don't really deserve anyway. It'll happen. It's a reflection on that individual, not on the style. Mastery can be hard to gauge. Dedication and progress can be rewarded, but progress is infinitely possible, and since you don't have infinite ranks, it's murky.

Shit, why do we have this thread at least once a year?

liquidfear on 11/1/2007 at 22:54

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Not always a bad thing, there's often good advice to be had. I had one and it ended up really good.

Shug on 12/1/2007 at 01:07

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It's fairly important to realize that a fight between two very high level martial artists is not totally a discipline vs discipline battle - individual strength, speed, ability to read opponents, experience and so forth all come into play.

As for the whole "BUGGER X, DO THIS INSTEAD" - it obviously depends on what you're keen for. Aikido is all about self-defense, so if that's what you're after go for it. Muay thai is the most aggressive martial art you can learn, but that's not to say you'll roll over the top of someone doing wing chun kung fu, tae kwon do, or so forth strictly based on your school of fighting. Many of the more successful mixed martial arts (Pride UFC etc) have elements of Brazilian jiu-jitsu because it's very effective being able to take your opponent to the ground and control them. Obviously if you're facing more than one person at a time, this isn't such a great idea.

Almost anything would be useful to learn to a degree, basically. Having a hard chin is a handy add-on