Karate

[DamianUK]

Indeed as my mate (who is a semi pro cage fighter) likes to shout to embarress me in packed bars..... HULK SMASH!

People look at himt hen me then i go red hhahhah

I am in a privaliged position in that im young, fit, massive, have almost 2 decades of martial arts (including in my opinion the more important combatives/ RSBD/ MMA - to a degree) under my belt, have worked the doors for years which helps with "target hardening" and also am self aware... which means i don't drink in hell holes or hang around city centers after closing time etc.

I really do pity the person who thinks it would be a good idea to mug/ attack me.
last guy who started i ended up buyin g a pint while i listened to his story about his gf leaving him... i thin he just wanted a fight to get the agression out and didn't care if he took a beating... i just coundn't bring myself to hit him.

I bet most fights are in that vein.. people had a bad day and make a silly decision (you just never know who you are starting on).

Damian

[Domenic]

Hey Just thought I'd add to this discussion. What are the general thoughts on Thai Boxing as a system of defence and attack.

Ive been training Thai for almost well over 4 years now, I belive it to be one of the thoughest martial arts out there, both fitness and conditioning along with technique are main areas of focus. As oppsosed to brute force and power.

Anyone else he dabbled in Thai Boxing, aka Mauy Thai.

Here is my clubs website, just for the heck of it

www.stokethaiboxing.co.uk

Kind Regards

Dom

[haran49]

I haven't dabbled in Muay Thai, but I have watched Ong Bak - Amazing Film

[DamianUK]

I think boxing is a god base but fundamentaly limited, i used to do kick boxing (Wu Tang) and won a couple of novice nationals. I would say that you need to be able to move and learn to defend punches which boxing is good for but it has a lot of limitations and dosn't really cover street situations which is i assume what you mean by defence.

[Leo2004]

Any ideas on a good martial art to take up at university?

I am looking to improve fitness, flexibility, push my limits
and gat further self-development as well as have fun...

A friend of mine has recommended taekwondo which i know
offers a 'path' and has made him very fit and flexible
and ive been looking at the practical nature of
jitsu which looks inviting but doesnt offer a developmental path...

Not sure about any of the plethora of other disciplines tho...

Anyone know what kind of arts are taught at SMAC (sgul's martial arts club)?

Any info would be appreciated...

[MedisMark?]

Hi. The Univ of London Union runs a Kung Fu school http://ulukungfu.co.uk/ which looks like it might be worth a go. I did Kung Fu last year and will be trying to sqeeze it into my timetable. It'll do all the things you are looking for, and if you're really lucky you'll get to kick me in the face and treat me in class the next day.

[kofi]

anyone done carrot soup?

[Lyns]

i did karate when i was younger and did it for about 5 years reaching green belt level and gave up due to school work etc.

now i wish i had carried on as it improved my self confidence and kept me fit! might get back into it if i can find a good dojo!

i think you can take up a martial art and reach a good level for self defense - although to reach a level such as black belt requires quite a few years of your time - in my dojo you couldn't do black belt until 2 years after you gained your brown belt!

i did martial arts for fun - it was brilliant and i would definitely recommend it.

i, however, would not use my skills to fight someone, as i am only 5ft and a woman which wouldn't help me very much! plus the one thing i got drummed into my head was martial arts are for defense.

by all means if you can defend yourself against an attack, do, but i would definitely run or possibly scream my head off - lol!

[Dr Noodle]

I did wado ryu karate for years, fecked my knee up

Only thing I learned from it defence wise was knee to the crotch. My fists are too small for the other stuff.

If I did get attacked it would be biting (used to do that when grappling, very effective, and hair pulling sometimes) (did aikiwa jitsu for a while) and screaming very loud and of course a lot of cursing And joint locks if possible but I'm not too good at those when under pressure. Though apparently I drove away a fairly big fella away from the class cos I hurt him too much when doing those hee hee.

Oh and elbow to the throat as my housemate (who does MMA) keeps trying to drill into me.

[Hughman]

As martial arts are meant for self-defense, I think Aikido would be good to learn - it's purely about dodging, parrying, grappling and throws.
I might take up an 'art when I get to uni, always wanted to do it and I need to get fitter and it would be nice to know how not to get beaten/knifed by an angry mugger or, unfortunately today, an angry/pissed patient.