As A Matter Of Interest...........

weemate

I hear a lot of guys on the board getting all excited when the piss poor TMA/MMA thread is started.I just read one there and I personally believe that the idea has been done to death from every angle humanly possible.So as a matter of interest,and not for arguments sake.What is everyones background in martial arts?
I had a discussion with some of my guys on this matter recently my point being that a lot of the guys doing mma now have a limited if any base with regard to a martial art.I know that John has a bit of karate in his past,I personally have judo and trad jiu jitsu in mine before I started to cross train.
Im not really interested in how good you where or what titles you have won in the past,just what is your base?

Roper

I boxed as a kid, did some kratty, then about 8 years of Taekwondo before BJJ.

I genuinely believe that, for the most part, its all the same, just with different emphasis or methods.

kenpo_dave

I first started in Judo as a kid. That didnt last for long though. My interest in Martial Arts properly began at 16 when I took up Kenpo. I did a bit of Shaolin Kung Fu, and I still practice parts of it, though Ive adapted them to my Kenpo. And for the past year Ive been training in MMA (Kyokushin and Judo). Id like to train in FMA eventually too.

The Bored One

Started off doing Wado-Ryu Karate, was doing that for about a year when I took up Genbukan Ninpo along side it. About another year later started doing Aikido along with it, so for a good while was training in all three at the same time. That was fun.
Wado instructor moved to America though, and Aikido closed down, and I went to college, so bye bye to all three.
For a while just because it was there and fun I was doing a Korean a style called Wan Hwa Do for about a year. Also tried out their sword style Haidong Gumdo. Was doing both purely for fun.
A little while later, a modified style of aikido called Aiki-wa Jitsu started up near me, so I joined up with, been there a bit over a year. I like it alot, its more realistic and actually works on developing a delivery system rather than a bunch of isolated techniques.
Then a few months ago I joined up with an MMA club up here in Dublin, and promptly realised two things
1. I sucked
2. MMA was probably the best training I'd evr seen.

I also do alot of SD/RBSD research myself, reading up on different articles on situational awareness and behavioural psychology etc.
Im a bit of a fan of Darren Laur's work, and plan on heading to Canada to train in his self--defence courses.

weemate

thanks guys.what Im seeing is that you have a striking art as your base and you have added grappling to it?
would it be fair to say then that when competing [ if you do in fact compete ]in mma that you will always rely on your ' base' system?as it is your stronger method?As in being a striker you would prefer to keep the fight standing.
My reason is because some of the guys that are new to the sport of mma will not have that background,they cannot then call on the 'safety' of a base system when needed.As in they may well be proficient in all aspects but not really an expert in any.If you follow me!!!!!

scuttery1

kenpo_dave wrote:

Id like to train in FMA eventually too.

Give in to the darkness Dave, come to us!!!!:D
Moi, I started this giddy whirlwind of excitment fado fado (1983) with wing chun for a year then TKD for a lorra lorra years then bummed around a bit doing kenpo / wing tsun/silat but finally settled with eskrima 1n 1998 and am now a full on timber swinger.

weemate

I have to say I wouldnt mind having a go at that silat stuff myself.Just for just.I will have to arrange it with Jason next time he's over.
Sorry for getting sidetracked!

I've done judo for 5 years and BJJ for 3. Do some boxing and mma, but not very often. Did 6-7 months of TKD a long while ago.

scuttery1

weemate wrote:

As in they may well be proficient in all aspects but not really an expert in any.If you follow me!!!!!

There is also an argument for being "a specialist in generalising"*. Develop (God forgive for using this word) game in each facet of you're sport / art etc. This will give a person a functioning arsenal/repertoire that they can then refine and develop and explore the interrelationships between the different “games”. Then they can develop their own base system depending on what works for them.

* = quote from Guro Marc Denny of the Dog Brothers

weemate

scuttery1 wrote:

There is also an argument for being "a specialist in generalising"*. Develop (God forgive for using this word) game in each facet of you're sport / art etc. This will give a person a functioning arsenal/repertoire that they can then refine and develop and explore the interrelationships between the different “games”. Then they can develop their own base system depending on what works for them.

* = quote from Guro Marc Denny of the Dog Brothers

but surely that is developing a 'style' within a base art?like the guy who works body shots in boxing until he can hit them from all angles but still his base is boxing,or the guy who develops a killer side mount in bjj so that he can work from that position but still his base is bjj?

FiannaGym.com

Just to shut anyone up who thinks I dont have a back ground in TMA....:)

7 years Kenpo (actually started with JK as my coach, he was then the youngest ever kenpo black belt) Did some Judo and TJJ in France.

4 Years Choy Lay Fut, when Sam Li was actually kickin ass I left just before it became a total McDojo (in my opinion).
In that time I fought in the Birtish Open Full Contact and won, I also won the Forms category, the following year I fought in China and "won" the Jing-Wu (of Fist of Fury/Fist of Legend/Fearless fame) World Cup.

After that I started MMA, havent look back since, except to say two things.
1. Man I wish I had been doing thai, boxing, or wrestling.
2. I'm glad that the training I did (especially with Aidan Burke in Kenpo) gave me the strenght of charachter to be able to drop what I've learned, know when to let go and have the strenght to move on. Lots of TMAers never get this (not supprisingly because what they learn is BS and why would that give them confidence?) and cling on helplessly in the face of evidence.

Peace

Nothingcompares

I took a "self-defense" class with a guy from martialarts.inc and found it boring and pointless in my school. So I decided I'd transfer to Judo (it was a transistion year, co curricular activity thing). Did judo on and off for about 2/3 years before I came to college. Did a bit more while in college and then started training in it on a regular basis about 3 years ago. Due to boards.ie I trained a few times with some MMA/BJJ people and immediately enjoyed it. Then realised one of the guys in the judo club was training in BJJ with John Kavanagh so started training no-gi grappling (for about a year). This time last yaer I started training in the basics of amateur boxing in a university club and have taken a couple of classes in Muay Thai/Thai Boxing. in August of this year I started training in a MMA club www.mmaireland.com, which takes it's fundamental from Kyokushin Karate (Kyokushin Budokwai).

Summary

Judo - BJJ - MMA - Thai - Amateur Boxing - Karate .

Just to clarify, I haven't stopped training in any of the above systems/arts/styles. Just being doing them together, frequency varies.

Morse

Without going into an indept history of my time in MA.

Started kickboxing as an adult and was competing around 90-95kgs. The older I got, and the more I became interested in weight training the harder I found it to make my fighting weight. I climbed over 100kgs and was finding it alittle uncomfortable fighting at that weight.

Then a friend suggested I go along to Judo, I declined for along time but eventually relented and went along. I literally stepped inside the club hall, seen the action and knew it was for me!. I haven't looked back since.

I tried MMA, and I honestly didn't like it that much. I've huge respect for the guys doing it, and maybe had I found it earlier I'd have taken to it like a fish to water, but I'm 40 now and decided "hey, one style is enough for now". I'm not dismissing MMA for a second, infact whenever I'm asked about Martial Arts in my area one of the first clubs I send someone to is Andy Ryan's SBGn.

I still do abit of kickboxing, just to keep my hand in. But I wouldn't compete anymore, not at 117kgs

Clive

Started in Taekwondo, then moved onto kung fu and kickboxing, did a bit of t'ai chi, then started BJJ, then dabbled in MT, then onto MMA.

dlofnep

3 years TKD when I was a kid.. BJJ on and off for about the last 2 years and recently a bit of judo

Tim_Murphy

2 years WTF TKD, about 8 years ITF TKD, along with some light contact Kickboxing. Starting adding some ground to my training, starting dropping some of the poorer stuff found in TKD. Eventually just switched to MMA completely. It´s not really about then = TMA, now = MMA, its more just me improving on the training methods I use in some regards. Some of the stuff I used to do was good, some not so good. And of course dropping stuff that didn´t really have anything to do with it training anyway (bowing etc)

Clive

So we can conclude that here are three main strands of "MMA people" - TKD MMA, kenpo MMA and judo MMA, all living in harmony.

Musashi

I started with Shotokan Karate, then Tae Kwon Do,Western Boxing, now I visit and learn?

I've had seminars in Core Combatives, Kase Aherashi, Sayoc Kali, Hapkido, BJJ (with Kav!), TKD, Boxing hoping to start Judo at some point.

I may be mma rather than MMA? I still enjoy it though, and pick up bits and pieces all over, Happy Days!

pma-ire

I started TKD at the age of 12 and have been at it (with a few years out here and there) since.

In that time I also trained in Kung Fu for 4 years and Hapkido for one. With HKD, I mainly cross-trained with senior guys getting to the good stuff and hard sparring. Most of them being TKD based folk with some working as Garda, prison officers and mental health nurses (who seemd to have the worse tales of abuse!!).

I have also doen a few sessions with Judo lads and had one BJJ class with LiamB. But I could'int get back to it and just don't have the time to put into training outside the club I run!!

From training with open minded people I accept every MA as being vaild for someone at some time, and all can be adapted to suit!!

Millionaire

I started in 1984 when 12, in Mu Gen Do Kickboxing, which had loads of hard sparring. it sort of had eveloved from wado karate mixed with boxing, and then became full contact kickboxing. Got black belt at 15.

Kickboxing club closed down, so spent a year or so doing Pai Lum Kung Fu, in Fire Dragon in late 80s.

89 moved to Canada, and did WTF TKD for a few year, did some boxing, but even better, got a few MA lads together, and we used to rent a squash court, train together and beat the crap out of each other for a year or so. wild sparring back then. Also spent a year in Ottawa in Jean Yves Theriaults kickboxing gym...(he was famous back like Bill Superfoot Wallace days) in Professional Karate Assoc, which was pro kickboxing on TV much like UFC is now.

Came back to Ireland in 94, and back to Mu Gen Do, did time with Joe Canning, Fusco, and back to George Canning where I stayed with for years until recent....again all Full Contact Kickboxing.

Then did 3 years in the RBSD sector and Krav Maga, and got instructors cert in Krav Maga after intensive full time month training in Israel.

Started Muay Thai back in early 2005 under Paddy, and moved to Thailand in December, and right now I train thai hard as i can daily, currently in Sityodong camp in Pattaya.

Am 34 now, and have been asked to fight, so I am going to commit to 3 months hard training, running and conditioning, and if all is coming together, i will do a few fights over here! also going to be sparring partner for a boxer preparing for a fight soon, which will be fun.

I wish I found thai years ago too, I am also very interested in RBSD as in Geoff Thompson and Lee Morrisson, and i would like to learn a little bit of ground work/judo/bjj.....just to have. Though I much prefer striking systems.

Jimkel

I started Kenpo when I was 6, didnt last long a few month., but I returned when I was 10 and lasted at least a year and a half as far as I can remember.

when I was 14 I took up wing tsun for about 14 months, had a bit of an obsession with Bruce Lee back then, tought If I bought some Jeet Kune Do books and took up Wing tsun I could learn Jeet Kune Do! well I was wrong but I learned a lot.

After that I did Judo for a year as part of P.E in secondry school, one hour a week, remember very little of it(maybe because I was in school my attitude was wrong)

Iv'e been doing Shotokan for about 3 years now and am considering taking up Jujitsu to develop some grappling skills which, to be honest I suck at.

Unpossible

I started when I was 17 (7 years ago), I joined a Krav Maga/kickboxing club and really enjoyed it. A shoulder injury (from my compeditive swimming days) meant I had to take a break, when I wanted to rejoin the club had shut down, so I did about 9 months (training 2-3 times a week).
I joined my friends new karate club but it colapsed after a month or two. Then at 20 I joined my college's TKD club, after 3 months the teacher quit and the judo people were training in the same hall so I thought why-not?. Initally Judo didnt appeal to me at all, but the teacher is a great character and made it fun, plus we spent 1/2 of every class grappling on the ground and I found I really enjoyed it. I stayed with the college team for a year and a half (training once a week), I never bothered grading (big mistake as finns will now insist I join beginner groups). I then left for finland.
In Kuopio I tried joining the judo club but it was hell, the teacher didnt believe I had done any judo before, he wouldnt speak english to me (except if I made mistakes) and my fellow students never helped explain exercises, at one point when I was the only person in the class who was able to do a leg sweep properly the teacher was shocked that I knew how to do it. I lasted 3 weeks, I never got to throw or grapple anyone, just falling techniques and once they showed us one pinning technique. I might rejoin in the future if the teacher is no longer with them.
I also joined HanMooDo, I loved it and have stuck with it for over 2 years (even got the gf to join), the club is going through a bad patch but I'll stick it out. I am thinking of joining a JuJitsu club ( who train in the same hall as us and who train with us some times), or some kind of grappling group, or Kendo.
Finally while in china I studied Tai Chi for two months (one on one with a master who lived in my area), I plan to just keep doing the form I know and hope to keep in contact with a local tai chi group.