Not that what I want to personally practice needs any defending, but what is all this stuff about judo, aikido, etc. doing on the blog anyway?
I’m just following my path. I’m doing my thing. If that’s different from other people, then that’s okay. Different strokes and all that.
In learning taijiquan, bagauzhang, xingyiquan, etc. I’ve noticed certain things in those arts that were not as well developed as in judo and aikido (and vice versa). All arts have their strengths and weaknesses. It just stands to reason that some arts will have figured out some things better than others. Why not look around at what they are doing?
I’ll never forgive myself for giving up judo when I did. If only I had kept it up, just think where I would be today. Kick, kick, kick.
Spreading the net wider also gives me more people to play with. I REALLY enjoy that. Learn some judo and aikido and then you can play with those guys. Exposure to different ideas shows a healthy mind IMO and I’m having a blast seeing how different people train and fight. It’s making me more well-rounded for sure.
So why wait any longer? I figure just do it. If it turns out badly then I’ll just drop it. No big deal.
Let me tell you guys something: if you want to do something then just go for it. Don’t let anyone else’s ideas stop you. Life is short. REALLY short. If doing some aikido or yoga or even dancing sounds like a great idea to you, then just go do it. Sure, you’ll run into many people that won’t understand why you’re doing that. But who cares?
And this idea that you’re taking other stuff because you “just don’t get it” regarding your first art is also something that you can just ignore. These are just the one-up-manship games we play with each other. Think of crabs in a barrel. One tries to crawl out so the others pull him back down. Don’t let any fear of what others might say prevent you from something you might enjoy.
See, I let notions of purity and loyalty cloud my mind in the past and now I regret it. I now realize that your world won’t come to an end because you like doing different things. Be yourself and enjoy it!
12 responses so far ↓
1 Hermann // Jul 7, 2008 at 4:33 pm
Yes, Dave, do your thing. Nobody could stop you, anyway.
But Judo, Aikido and Yoga?
Having seen the first 2 on so-called high level for weeks from mornings to evenings as an interpreter and done Yoga in Trivandrum/India with Aurobindo for many months, I have left those long ago behind. When I compare Taiji Daoyin to Yoga, there`s no way, I ever would go back to that. Even Raja Yoga is nothing for me anymore.
If I miss something, it`s the ground game, so what I would consider would be BJJ, if I were 20 years younger. As it is, I think and try lots of stuff to avoid the takedown and the ground game. My only chance!
So, Formosa Neijia will change to Formosa MMA? Only joking!
All the best in the ji, and stay healthy!
2 YMAA.com // Jul 7, 2008 at 8:48 pm
Also: one practice will “inform” the other. For instance, you may for some reason reach a higher level of body awareness during your Bikram yoga practice that will translate to higher sensitivity in your Taiji.
And when you trace back the roots of the arts you’re interested in, you might find that they share a common history and that one leads to another, so it is only logical to delve into each for a broad spectrum of experience - ie. pranayama, yoga and Buddhist meditation > qigong and Internal Arts > aikido and judo…
PranJiBuKido!
3 neijia // Jul 7, 2008 at 10:12 pm
Yeah man, do your thing. “Life is a banquet and some poor suckers are starving to death.” There is reality, the “roots of combat”, whatever, and there are the lenses we use to view it or the boxes we draw to break things down and manage learning. Cross training seems to best keep the helpful aspects from turning into unhelpful tunnel vision, weird subculture assumptions (like unrealistic striking attacks or pulling guard instead of learning takedowns) and an inability to “think outside the box”.
Dancing: my wife dragged me to this dance class disguised as aerobics. The instructor told me to do more independent arm movement, lol. Trying to understand rhythm expressed through coordinated simultaneous control of different movements seemed like a great thing nevertheless.
4 Roger // Jul 8, 2008 at 2:36 am
Earlier in my studies in the 80’s, I didn’t really want to check out other stuff and was really convinced that Guang Ping Tai Chi was the real deal. But after playing with other people realized I didn’t have a clue about how to do anything other than the set. Seduced by the magical idea of Tai Chi, I was.
I broke down and studied with a Wing Chun teacher for a few years before he converted to Chen Tai Chi. Boy, I enjoyed the simplicity of the method and it really made me appreciate the efficiency of using the forearm and elbow. What turned me off was a demo my teacher gave of 7 progressive strikes to the neck, ribs, eyes, nose and tailbone. I just wasn’t that gritty. Still it made me conscious of the capability of people skilled in the mechanics of raining down destruction.
5 Chris | Martial Development // Jul 8, 2008 at 3:48 am
Even better than imagining that others want to pull us down, is to acknowledge that we really do not get it, and that in the grand scheme of things, it doesn’t matter anyway.
6 Tabby Cat // Jul 8, 2008 at 4:06 am
>If I miss something, it`s the ground game,
> so what I would consider would be BJJ,
> if I were 20 years younger.
If you’re looking for a ground practice that’s non-sportive, non-competitive, survival oriented you might check out Vasiliev/Ryabko Systema. Training up to half time or more on the mat (or more commonly, hard floor) in various configurations.
All ages play that (often all at the same time - group ground work, haha)
7 Dan Paden // Jul 8, 2008 at 6:29 am
My instructor told met that his teacher told him once that ultimately, there is only one martial art anyway.
8 wayne hansen // Jul 8, 2008 at 6:39 am
dan
you are right ,but make sure that wasting time by following the wrong path does not stop you from finding the one.
9 Jay Gischer // Jul 8, 2008 at 7:50 am
I agree with YMAA. I started jujitsu to learn more about the tai chi I was studying. It worked. Now that I have a black belt in jujitsu, I’m applying tai chi principles to it, and the jujitsu seems to only get better.
Of course, my ryu and community has a history of absorbing things from the outside. The techniques on the lists are explained to advanced players as merely labels on file drawers. And the taichi I’ve had was “for health”, so no real conflict there.
10 DavidK // Jul 8, 2008 at 9:59 am
Yes!
I wrote a blog post this morning saying basically the same thing. What/who is stopping you from doing anything?
Maybe the slight dip in humidity has given us some clarity.
11 Dave Chesser // Jul 8, 2008 at 12:54 pm
David,
What is your blog?
12 Tommy // Jul 15, 2008 at 4:44 am
Once I conquer procrastination, next the world is mine!
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