Changing from one martial art to another

[MrPoopy]

Anyone ever gotten used to one martial art and changed to another? Was it an easy change or a hard change? How useful was your previous art in your new art? Did you fit in well with your new art or school, or were you not able to make the change and take a break from martial arts for a while?

All comments appreciated.

[Kingston]

well, in my experience it has not been hard joining different martial arts places, so far the people i meet are relativly friendly, so in the respect its been good.

sometimes your "old" style can screw up your new style, but that all depends on the new martial art your taking. for the system i take, i would love to have had a little more advanced base of skills to call upon. (the drills are all spontaneous).

who says you have to give up your old MA?

i say youll be better off joining a new martial art with past experience then joing a new martial or with no previous experience.

things could be different depending what art you join, the people, the type of training.

iv been really lucky with the places iv joined, didn't have to look around to much and i found some very nice schools.

personaly i havn't switched martial arts, but i have been taking a few at a time, the hardest part is the time comitment.

i took iaido and kendo at the same time, most people said that they would screw with each other, and it did a little, but they also complimented each other in other aspects, for example i had good cuts, bad footwork (simplified)...all and all i think that having iaido as an extra influence helped my kendo.

the confidence from kendo allowed me, in my opinion, to more easily flow into the system of self defence im taking now.

no matter what, it cant be worse then the first club you ever joined (unless the club is worse ) all you have to do is join the place you think best fits your personality...

hope i was of some help, thanks.

[H@pkid0ist]

Just try and put what you have already learnt in the back of your mind to add to your knowledge. The only issues I ever had was if the ideologies were different. Then things can be a little akward for a short time, but if you dive into it, it will not ba an issue for to long. Good luck and have fun.

[magic]

I think the most important thing you can take from one MA to another is the skill of "learning" a MA!

I think it makes it much easier the second, third (or whatever) time around.

I first studied TKD for a year 20 years ago. I had a three year break before trying freestyle karate/kung fu for a year (I left when the instructor suddenly changed the school to a "ninja" school and insisted we train in hoods and tabi!). I then went back to TKD after a break of 12 years (although I did train infrequently at home). I found it very easy pick up because I had remembered how to learn, not necessarily the techniques themselves.

Focus on how you understand the process of learning a MA, and you find your progress much quicker the second and third time around.

[MrPoopy]

I left when the instructor suddenly changed the school to a "ninja" school and insisted we train in hoods and tabi!).

Are you serious?

[magic]

quote:
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I left when the instructor suddenly changed the school to a "ninja" school and insisted we train in hoods and tabi!).
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Are you serious?

Yes, I am serious!

One day he was teaching goju-based freestyle karate, the next he was a ninja! This was at the start of the big ninja craze (around 1985-86).

I could take the change from karate gi to kung fu pants, t-shirt and sash. But I drew the line at masks and split-toe boots, and classes where we spent most of the time hiding . . .

He must have been a brilliant martial artisit to learn ninjutsu over night like that!

And this guy was reasonably well-respected as one of the pioneers of martial arts in Western Australia (I had checked his background before starting out).

[MrPoopy]

That sounds almost unbelievable. I've ran across a couple weird guys in martial arts but that takes the cake.

[robertlee]

Change is not as hard if you have had prior training long enough to understand. Habits have to change a little. Alot of the stand up styles relate in movement. rank is what you give up from one stlye to another . But that means little compared to learning . open concepts may vary more and the transition may take a little more trying to change habits. Reason for change needs to be looked at to. What will this way offer that the way Im doing now does not?

[HuSanYan]

Ninjas eh???!

But I drew the line at masks and split-toe boots, and classes where we spent most of the time hiding . . .

hey magic,
holy christ above, hoods & hiding, oh dear, oh dear.

well I think that this takes the frig8ing biscuit, get the hell out of that McDojo, I guess you could practice the hiding bit in yer own closet at home, as you progress & are able to hide for many hours or even days you might want to take a diving oxygen tank in there with you.

best of luck with your training

[jonbid]

isn't it a case of the more knowlege the better?

[FeatheredSnake]

To borrow an illustration from Bruce Lee, a martial art is like a finger pointing toward the moon. Don't look at the finger or you miss the moon (the thing the finger exists to point you toward). If you have difficulty adapting from one martial art to another, maybe it is because you are too focused on the style (the finger) instead of the truth (moon) to which the style is designed to lead you to. Just a thought.......

[da_mill]

I think i read on senshido (don't quote me on that!)

that in self defense terms they recommended NOT doing any art for too long or you get too "into its ways", and by changing it keeps you "fresh" as it were, that way you dont fall into a habitual stance etc.

[MrPoopy]

I suppose I was more nervous than I should have been. I went to Judo class today and those guys are really nice people to work with.

When I first went to that judo club about 6 months ago (with one year of BJJ) I thought I knew more ground work than any of those guys and that was completely wrong. Everything I was taught today, throwing techniques and ground work, was completely new to me. The instructor has hit me with the same armbar from the north south position atleast a dozen times because I was not taught that move in BJJ. It almost seems like they can setup some armbars easier than BJJ guys with their pinning techniques.

Guess I was just too worried.

[Szczepankiewicz]

The things I loved about the BSU Judo Club is that they are nice and always helpful. I learned a ton from the senior student whom I kept cornering to work one on one with me. Always a good attitude and not much ego.

The sensei is great too. After we had a workout, the senior students would all go get Buffalo Wings and Beer!

I also liked the fact that I got to roll with ladies as well.


The bad things were that during ukemi I had brown belts insisting I do judo rolls and break falls instead of doing the ones I already know. BUT when in Judo do Judo....

Spanky

[jonbid]

i take it that judo is a grappling martial art... so would it be a good martial art to go with kickboxing?