Any Martial Arts Enthusiasts Here?

[Golgo_13]

Two great books I have read about martial artists who have lived in Japan to study are:

"Moving Zen" by C.W. Nicol, a Brit who went to Japan in the 1960s to study Karate. Very poignantly written (I'll post some excerpts from it in my next post.) Far as I know he still lives there and writes novels. I once had the pleasure of modeling for the cover of his novel "Harpoon."

"Persimmon Wind" by Dave Lowry, a Kendoka who studied in Japan in the '70s. A great followup to the book that described his introduction to Kendo in St. Louis , Mo. -- "Autumn Lightening" .

As for myself, I am adept in Aikido and in Yi Chuan, a Chinese art (see http://www.still-as-a-mountain.info/lin_main.htm )

[Taro Toporific]

.."Moving Zen" by C.W. Nicol, a Brit who went to Japan in the 1960s to study Karate.)

Read about the ongoing eco greenie-wienie soap-opera of C.W. Nicol's life, on some Thursdays in the Japan Times, "OLD NICS NOTEBOOK".

THEN Zen


NOW"self-confessed glutton"

[kami gaijin]

I took a lot of martial arts as a child (my favorit was ninjitsu because it suited my non-confrontational personnality ), but I kinda just slacked off over the years. Now I'm a grand master in the "Dunken Fist" style, and that's about it.

[Steve Bildermann]

"Dunken Fist" style

Dunken fist?? - Ahh - now there's a style we all can get behind.



Or possibly...

Aye I'm Dunken Fist, Scottish master of mayhem

[Golgo_13]

Here are some excerpts from "Moving Zen":


I decided to accept Donn [Drager]'s offer, and took a room in his house, sharing the facilities, responsibilities and rent. I moved my kit bag up from the Kodokan the next day.

Now, this was more as I had imagined living in Japan would be. I had the biggest room. It had no less than ten tatami mats, and three sides of the room were windows, glass on the outside, and then a few inches of space, and then screens of wood and paper. I bought a low Japanese table, a Japanese mattress and quilts. I even bought a tanzen and a silk sash to tie it with. Now, in the evenings, I could retreated into the austere but airy beauty of my room, sip the roasted tea that I came to love, read a book, write a letter, think a thought. The hill was quiet, and the narrow lane that led up past the house was too narrow for any but the crazy kamikaze taxi drivers to drive fast on. The city whispered. It did not roar as it had in the Kodokan. In walking from the station I passed little carp ponds where Japanese men and boys went to pay their money, hire a bamboo rod, line, hook and bait, and then sit elbow to elbow and catch carp and goldfish to take home in plastic bags of water. I passed a few small bars, two coffee shops, a cake shop, greengrocer, fishmonger and butcher. The shop people began to recognize me and to call out the greetings of the day, and as I walked from the station I began to feel, if not at home, then at least in place.

-----------------------------------

My own background was not pro-Japanese. My deep adolescent interest in things Japanese horrified my family. The British too are an island people, often closed in their thoughts, and they had been soundly and well beaten by the Japanese. Britain, in my youth, still resounded with tales of tortured prisoners, beheadings, jungle railways. Donn showed me a different side of the coin. He had fought in the Pacific war, seen friends die beside him on the beaches of Iwo Jima, faced and killed Japanese under circumstances of hate, and yet here was a man who loved and respected the Japanese, who understood that gentleness was the way of the warrior. Bigotry is left to those people on the fringe.

---------------------------------

To be narrow in thought about different arts and different styles was only to foster a weakness. Nakayama sensei, our chief instructor, was certainly not narrow. He had studied many arts, and he had studied in China. Once I asked him if he thought Karate was the best of the unarmed fighting arts. He answered that he thought it was. In that case, I countered, what about Tai Chi Chuan? Nakayama sensei laughed, and with a smile he said, "For human beings, Karate is the best way. But there are some men who are super human, and perhaps a few of the Tai Chi sensei are just that.

--------------------------------

Life as a young husband in a Japanese family was a many-faceted jewel. It was as if Japan teased, and then praised me, and thereby, through her mysteries, set deep roots into my heart.

At first neighbors and others persisted in using my wife's Japanese family name, her maiden name, and would never call her "Nicol," which was her married name. I felt anger and annoyance and imagined all sorts of insults in this, but than that faded into a kind of pride when they started to call me, the foreign husband, by Sonako's Japanese name. Why? Perhaps I had fitted into the order of things. Certainly I was greeted like any other man around the village, and when community groups went out with shovels and rakes to fix the road, I was called on to do my bit. I felt at home, but home was all new and exciting as well as being old and comfortable.

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The war. It was a subject that figured in many conversations. My father and my uncles had fought in it. Sonako's father had died of starvation in Russian hands, and her uncles had spent their lives and left their bones in jungles here and there in the Pacific and Asia. On both sides of nations ostensibly at peace, wartime propaganda still persisted, tainting opinions and obscuring truth. How often had I read or heard of how cruel and savage the Japanese were, and indeed, only recently I had been reading a book called The Knights of Bushido, very popular and in paperback form, written by Lord Russell of Liverpool, describing and decrying the Japanese atrocities--to quote--"lest we should forget."

And of course, as many Britisher or American, or even Australian will sanctimoniously tell you, our side never did anything like that . . . .

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"One of us comes here [to the American bomber plane crash site] everyday, usually Grandmother. [The crew] all died in the explosion, and our house and that house over there were damaged by the blast. We found them"--he made a face--"and we made their grave there." He shrugged his shoulders and added, almost apologetically, "It was the best we could do." I looked around at this simple little garden, sitting now on land which was immensely valuable to the land hungry speculators of greater Tokyo. I nodded, and mumbled thanks, for I did not know what to say.

"What does the character on the stone mean?" I asked my wife.

"Peace," she answered. "They did not know the names of the Americans who died. You know, they did this before the war had finished; the Americans were still our enemies then."

[Nikorasu]

I practiced Aikido for four years, had to quit though couse I had no time for it in the end, I still do some sword katas at home but that's about it...

[Big Booger]

I mastered the fine art of toliet squatting. I am hitting a near 90 degree angle on the squat.. black belt style.

[FeLingHi]

TKD

Hapkido

and Jiu-Jitsu. Although you FG's will be sad to hear it was more the brazilian style than the true japanese form.

We called out special style of BJJ, "Jipdo"

[masaka___]

and Jiu-Jitsu. Although you FG's will be sad to hear it was more the brazilian style than the true japanese form.

We called out special style of BJJ, "Jipdo"

BJJ is gaining popularity in Japan from what I understand. Coming from a freestyle wrestling background, BJJ is amazing to me. Submissions added a whole new aspect to grappling that just blew me away. It's definitely worth looking into.

Links:
http://bjj.org/
http://news.adcombat.com/
http://www.purebred.co.jp/

[kamome]

For those who have experience with Aikido, would you recommend it to a martial arts newbie like myself? Where in Tokyo can you find a good Aikido school?

[Steve Bildermann]

For those who have experience with Aikido, would you recommend it to a martial arts newbie like myself? Where in Tokyo can you find a good Aikido school?

There are many fine Aikido Dojos in Tokyo.

Some adhere closely to the original style of Morihei Ueshiba (1883-1969) others have developed their own way of doing things.

Styles of Aikido

Good Aikido Resource Site

First thing is to ask 'What do you want to learn martial arts for?

[kamome]

For those who have experience with Aikido, would you recommend it to a martial arts newbie like myself? Where in Tokyo can you find a good Aikido school?

There are many fine Aikido Dojos in Tokyo.

Some adhere closely to the original style of Morihei Ueshiba (1883-1969) others have developed their own way of doing things.

Styles of Aikido

Good Aikido Resource Site

First thing is to ask 'What do you want to learn martial arts for?

I would be doing it for general physical fitness and a confidence boost. Not because I am interested in fighting.

[Steve Bildermann]

I would be doing it for general physical fitness and a confidence boost. Not because I am interested in fighting.

Judo might be a better bet. Plenty of dojos. Just about every shiyakusho has a sports centre with a Judo mat. Cheap (300 yen per month for five evenings a week practice) Lots of good teachers. Classes at all levels. Much more robust for physical fitness (builds a tough physique) Very practical - Once got thrown off a horse and nearly broke my back but judo Ukemi (breakfall) saved me. Most Japanese guys relate to a big gaijin doing Judo (very macho) rather than something more esoteric like Aikido.

Kodokan Judo

[kamome]

Steve B: Great info, as always!

I should have added that while I don't like the idea of fighting, I do want to be able to kick ass in self-defense. I thought Aikido is a good art to learn in that regard because it's supposed to turn an opponent's energy back on the opponent.

I'm sure Judo also provides good self-defense skills, though. It's just that I would rather not have to grapple with an opponent if I don't have to. Feel free to tell me I'm being naive, though.

[Molokidan]

Has anyone tried kendo? That's always been one form of martial arts that's really stuck out to me.

[Steve Bildermann]

[GomiGirl]

As someone who does a little bit of Karate, what I gain most out of it is the personal disciplin and the connection between your mind and limbs. ie your mind in control over your movements... perserverence and technique.. mind and spirit.. osu..

Judo is always a good place to start with any sort of martial arts. The contact part of training is only a very small part.

[kamome]

Speaking of boxing, has anyone done any Muay Thai (Thai boxing)? I sat front row at one of the boxing stadiums in Bangkok. Wow, those guys are killers. There is a Muay Thai gym in Azabu Juban. I checked it out once and was surprised at the intensity of the training. There were women in there as well, and they were kicking ass equally with the men.

[cstaylor]

what I gain most out of it is the personal disciplin and the connection between your mind and limbs. ie your mind in control over your movements... perserverence and technique.. mind and spirit.. osu..

"It's just me and my 7 iron, 400 yards of grass, surrounded by trees, leading me to the green." Some people find their focus in martial arts, some of us in golf. I prefer golf.

[Steve Bildermann]

Speaking of boxing, has anyone done any Muay Thai (Thai boxing)?

Ahhh Muay Thai...

As done in Thailand (and nowhere else) MT is generally accepted as one of the most violent combat sports (notice I said sports) around.

Like Sumo it can't be exported, it's culturally tied to Thailand. Anywhere else and under any other name (kick boxing, K1 etc) is a watered down shadow of the 'real' stuff. I've seen so-called 'hard men' get stomach turning sick just watching those kids slam their shins and elbows into each other. It's pretty fucking amazing that only 10 or 12 get killed each year. It was even worse back in the 70' before the Govt outlawed some of the more wilder moves.

As a sport to watch it's heady stuff but it's not something you could take out into the street with you. Sport means rules and with that comes the inevitable 'foul' or illegal move.

Work out long enough in any fighting sport and you will become conditioned not to break the rules. Which is all well and good most of the time but there may come a time when you find yourself trying to play by the rules when the other guy just wants to put you away. You might think you'd be OK but honestly you can never be sure. I always wanted to be sure! In fact double sure.

When I was doing my eastern traveling thing I wrote some articles for Black Belt under various pseudonyms. One of them has become somewhat of a 'must read' for all aspiring fighters. It's called 'Another Bad night in Bangkok. If you can find it, it's a interesting look at MT fighters versus Chinese boxers.

[Caustic Saint]

Here's a copy of Steve's article he mentioned - clicky.

[kamome]

A very interesting read! Steve, if Muay Thai is a superior fighting style, why go with something like Judo, karate, or kung fu? Is it because MT is not accessible to non-Thais? I heard that Thai masters refuse to teach everything to foreigners.

[Steve Bildermann]

if Muay Thai is a superior fighting style, why go with something like Judo, karate, or kung fu?

Well there are quite a number of reasons but the most significant is that MT is a sport (like sumo) intended for one 'skilled man' to compete against another 'skilled' man. It didn't grow out of any fighting necessity.

This means many techniques will have little relevance or effectiveness when applied to actual 'fighting' I.E. guarding your groin against kicks is not something MT fighters need to do.

On the other hand Karate/Judo and boxing are systems intended for one 'skilled' man to defeat one 'unskilled' aggressor. That we now have sporting competitions in them does not take anything away from the fact they are based in real life reactions to situations of dire need.

This point is often overlooked by most people who think that being good at sport karate or sport kung fu is the badge of being a real 'ultimate fighting badass'

Not true, as many hospital ER records will show

[maraboutslim]

Kamome, you may like the "ki" branch of Aikido started by Tohei Koichi. Tohei-sensei was top instructor at the original Aikido dojo until the death of Ueshiba-sensei, the founder of Aikido. Tohei left at that time due to issues with Ueshiba's son. He founded Ki No Kenkyu Kai and Shin Shin Toitsu Aikido. This style has two elements, Aikido and ki exercises. The ki classes feature meditation type breathing exercises, teach you "kiatsu" massage (similar to shiatsu), and so on. The aikido classes are where you learn the Aikido waza.

I did both while living in Japan and it had a positive influence on many aspects of my life. All that unification of mind and body comes in quite handy.

Here are the english pages of my former sensei's dojo (Ohara sensei even speaks some English if you need it):

http://www.seishinkan.org/ki-aikido-e.htm
http://www.seishinkan.org/info-e.htm

And the home page of the Ki no Kenkyukai association in Japan
http://www.ki-society.or.jp/english/index.html

-Slim

[kamome]

That's good information. I'll look into it at some point (I'm still in the contemplation stage for all of this). Regardless, anyone who is reading FG will benefit from this discussion.