Martial arts

[Creeping Death]

So does anyone here practice maritial arts? I'm into most things in that criteria, but mainly Jiujitsu and Judo. Doing it makes you feel very relaxed and content mentally, on top of that it's great sport. And i dont mean kicking somebodys ass. Maritial arts the gentle and thought through way.

If you're interested in drugs for the sake of spirituality, maritial arts might be something you'll think is fun.

[Hyperreal]

I do ninjutsu (budo taijutsu style) and kung fu (wuziquan and wuqiquan styles) and in the past I've done a lot of judo and kempo karate and a smattering of vale tudo, Brazilian jiu jitsu andaikido.


One of the great values of martial arts for me is that they constitute a holistic systeme fortifiant for the body, which other sports do not. Playing football will make you fit and develop certain physical skills, but it can't teach you fully how to use your body. Weightlifting can build up every group of muscles in your body, but doesn't teach you how to use your muscles to the greatest effect. Good martial arts, on the other hand, will develop strength, flexibility, physical focus (i.e. using muscles together in a precise way), mental focus, fitness and general health. Perhaps the only other system that comes close would be something like yoga or Pilates, which I don't know enough about to comment further.


I've heard pacifist objections to studying martial arts, but I feel these ignore reality. Martial arts will make you a stronger person and a better fighter -and I mean this in every sense, not just the physical. You need to be strong and need to be a fighter in this world, because there are things out there that need to be fought. A fighter isn't just someone who beats people up, in fact I would say being a fighter is almost entirely a question of soul(for me the model of a great fighter is McMurphy from One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest). But the better you're able to fight physically, the less fear you'll have of dangerous situations and the more readily you'll do what needs to be done.


I've only ever been interested in unarmed martial arts. I suppose this is because I'm intomartial arts because of how they perfect the human person as a weapon and a tool, and using external tools just doesn't sit well with my view ofmartial arts.I studied the grappling styles like Brazilian jiu jitsu and judo, but the problem I hadwas that a martial art that leaves out striking is incomplete and of limitedfunctionality. While such styles are excellent in one-on-one (as amply proven by Ultimate Fighting Championships), they amount to nothing the second you're in a situation 'on the street' where you're faced with more than one attacker. What's your take on this, Creeping Death?


I'm very pleased with the arts I'm studying now and I'll keep them up at least for a few years. Both the kung fu and the ninjutsu are complete fighting systems. Ninjutsu is excellent training for striking, throwing, grappling, floorwork and other miscellaneous crazy skills like stealth and infiltration, which are fun; kung fu is a compliment to this and a development, in particular, of the striking. Moreover, kung fu provides me with further and more refined physical development.Wuqiquan and wuziquan are'internal' styles, meaning the emphasis is moved away from muscularpower towards such things as qi and balance. There are a lot of qigong breathing exercizes and things like that, and the art is very aware of balance and flows of force. I'm not a mystic and I don't put much stock in non-physical powers, but qigong has a lot to do with mechanics: the way forces flow, pushing off the ground for power, action-reaction etc. I really want to go to a class on a smallish dose of LSD, to see is that helps my understanding of such forces.


I know ninjutsu has a nasty reputation, but it's really only as nasty as you want it to be. I figure it can't hurt to know how to rip someone's throat out, as long as you know why and when to rip someone's throat out. And if you don't, then you shouldn't be studyingmartial artsin the first place. (EDIT: Another advantage is the reaction you get chatting up some girl when you tell her you're a ninja )


OH man! I just got a phonecall out of the blue while I was typing that and now I'm off to do ketamine for the first time! Woo! Edited by: Hyperreal

Reputation Comments on this post:

nice commentary

[Creeping Death]

Thats the thing about the arts when it comes to using it in a realistic scenario. To be safe, you need to study various different maritial arts. A real fight is very dynamic, and one technique only amounts to a certain height. However i still see the grappling fighting as more efficient in a street scenario than for example kickboxing. Because you learn to block punches and kicks and use them against your opponent (especially in Judo and Jiujitsu).

But if youre going to kick somebodys ass, kickboxing, shootfighting, and muai thai are the best to build up your streinght and damage-technique.

Weapons in maritial arts are not for me either. Using the body is more fun than a weapon can ever be. I dont think that because i like the use the body and i feel that weapons "break the tradition", it's just more fun to use your own body to shift the weights and masses around.

Too bad that your teacher isn't sympathetic to your cause (LSD). He'll definately notice you being wierd, id tell him about it first if hes an understanding guy.

Dude, i wanted to train ninjutsu, but there are no clubs in Sweden (there's Ninpo, but not Ninjutsu). Can you tell me more about it? Like, how are the trainings done and such. How do you practice sneaking and what techniques are good?

[Hyperreal]

However i still see the grappling fighting as more efficient in a street scenario than for example kickboxing. Because you learn to block punches and kicks and use them against your opponent (especially in Judo and Jiujitsu).

You've got a point there. I've used judo to good effect when I've had to. In most street fights, if you can get the other guy on the ground and keep your own balance, the fight's as good as over.

Too bad that your teacher isn't sympathetic to your cause (LSD). He'll definately notice you being wierd, id tell him about it first if hes an understanding guy.

Yeah, you're probably right. But I'm talking really low doses, like 30mics. I suppose I could always practise forms and stuff by myself while tripping. I just came up with the idea of 'psychedelic martial arts' because I've found you can add the word 'psychedelic' in front of anything interesting and it makes it even better: psychedelic politics, psychedelic psychology, psychedelic linguistics

Dude, i wanted to train ninjutsu, but there are no clubs in Sweden (there's Ninpo, but not Ninjutsu). Can you tell me more about it? Like, how are the trainings done and such. How do you practice sneaking and what techniques are good?

I do one class a week, two hours long. We start off with stretches, warmup exercizes, practising breakfalls (they're identical to the breakfalls in judo), then some grappling for twenty minutes or so. Then the main part of the class involves the teacher demonstrating a technique, then we all practise it and repeat it until we've got it down. It's a small class, usually about ten students there, so there's a good informal rapport going.


As for what techniques are good, there's a lot of throws involving getting a wristlock and twisting someone to the ground by their wrist, or grabbing someone's muscles in, say, the thigh or shoulder, and bringing someone down that way. That's quite different from the throws in judo! Ninjutsu is also excellent for kicking.


I haven't got on to the sneaking yet; that's pretty advanced. Basically though, it consists of two parts: inpo - which covers hiding, escape, climbing, survival skills, first aid, acupressure etc.- and tompo - infiltration, stealth etc. Here is a guide to stealthy movement from a ninjutsu manual.


Here is my teacher's site. Edited by: Hyperreal

[Creeping Death]

Thanks dude. Psychadelic post

[mithras]

took some tae kwan do for a while but dropped because i am a pacifist. now i wish i'd stuck with it because now that i'm older i'm not so black and white in my views and i was in the best physical/mental shape of my life during that time. took taijiquan class at university for a while but dropped for extended crazy drinking advanced 401. should have stuck with the taiji...would have been much better off i think. oh by the way, i loved practacing taiji while frying.

[Creeping Death]

I've never been fried during a practice. Figured it'd be boring if i'm the only one who's fucked up, but i'll try it with a friend.

[Alicia]

Swia loves Kung fu variants (notably Mantis,Snake Fist) she also loves ninjutsu and tai chi yang. but finds often she often combines them and does not stick a set style. She loves the sense of peace and contentment she gets from it too along with some weapon disciplines.

Swia loves doing her kung fu sequences when she stoned (not flat out stoned) but enough to move fluidly still and small amounts of bzp when she does her Tai chi.

[darkglobe]

And there's also another Martial arts thread out there somewhere...