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blackmantis
04-20-2004, 10:33 AM
Hello,

I am a 16 year old martial artist who has done Northern Praying Mantis for some time. I am interested in studying internal martial arts, but i do not know which style would suite me best.

I am good a kicks,
I am fairly good at seizing,
I have quite good stance,

I am not good at conditioning
and I do not have amazing breaking power

Which art would suit me?

S

doug maverick
04-20-2004, 11:30 AM
since your sixteen i would think tai chi would be to slow(well chen tyle is pretty fun) and ba gua too advanced(although you could start there) xing yi is ideal, although you have to sit in the santi for hours on end, and doiung repeated movements for months(or years in my case) it's the best intro to the internals you can find

norther practitioner
04-20-2004, 04:34 PM
What do you have available?

Midnight
04-20-2004, 08:26 PM
Well for the most part, internal martial arts aren't overly 'kick based'. And the majority of the kicking involved for internal arts dont really bring your foot up past waist level too much.

So if by "good at kicking" you refer to high kicks, jump kicks or roundhousing, then you'll either wanna search for an external martial art, or change your pace/fighting style.


Seizing on the other hand opens up alot of options for you in the internal arts. Seizing is a very key factor for the internal arts. In which case I'd recommend Chin Na. There are MANY others out there Jiu jitsu and judo are big ones too, however I personally train with Chin Na, so I'm more at liberty to recommend it.

goldendragon
04-30-2004, 12:47 PM
Midnight is right, you will not see much for high kichs in the internal arts. This however, is not a bad thing. When you kich high you open yourself up in multiple places no matter how good you are. This is why baguazhang, taiji, and xing yi do not have high kicks. kicking high in a fight is just not too smart.

I started out in Shaolin Praying mantis then started Yin style bagua. I soon after quit mantis all together. I don't however agree with Maverick on the fact that bagua may be too advanced for you. My style of bagua is prity straight forword in it's training. for more info on Yin Style Baguazhang go to www.traditionalstudies.org this is a really good site that gives everything you really need to know about YSB.

I feel that bagua or xing yi would both be good for you and like Maverick said taiji is going to be too slow for you I think if you started with mantis.:D

QuaiJohnCain
04-30-2004, 01:32 PM
This is why baguazhang, taiji, and xing yi do not have high kicks.
Yes, they do.

I feel that bagua or xing yi would both be good for you and like Maverick said taiji is going to be too slow for you I think if you started with mantis.:D [/B]
Why do so many glean over the merits of going slow? Better root, better balance, trains fine motor skill that can easily translate into speed (the result is increased accuracy).

No matter what style you train, you need to do the forms, slow, medium and fast.

goldendragon
05-01-2004, 10:37 AM
so I take it you do bagua, xing yi, and taiji?
No, my friend I know Yin style bagua doesn't have any high kichs and Yang style taiji eather from what I've seen, because I do yin style and my master said we don't kick above the waist and since he is the linage holder for yin style I think he knows better that you. and I have seen my friends form who does yang style taiji and he doesn't even have kicks employed he just lifts his leg to note that a kick could be used in that movement. Maybe it is that he has not learned this yet or that he is working on so other aspest I'm not sure.

"Yes they do."

Sorry you are wrong in that not all of them do. Some of the styles (if you do taiji you know more about that than I) might use them a bit but they don't rely on them the way nothern shaolin styles do.

Yin style bagua does not ever kick above the waist. Nor have I ever seen anyone do high kicks in any Forms of taiji, or xing yi.


I have limmited knowlage of taiji just what my friend shows me. But you do move mainly slow for the first few years of studie. So if you have A.D.D. like most young people these days you would realize that it's madening to move so slow. In Yin stlye bagua we move fast and smooth, or normal(speed) and use power. when you learn the form you do it a little slower to make sure youve got it. we don't continue this more than it takes to learn the moves unlike taiji that does this forever(you still see taiji masters doing slow movements, do you not?) Oh, and I wasn't "glean" over the slowness of it at all I was just relating to him that after training in a style that moves fast it's strange and anoying to move slow. I tryed taiji for a half hour once and just got all jumpy I like the idea of moving slow in training to making you move faster in combat but in training it's truly madening.

QuaiJohnCain
05-01-2004, 11:19 AM
Originally posted by goldendragon
so I take it you do bagua, xing yi, and taiji?
No, my friend I know Yin style bagua doesn't have any high kichs and Yang style taiji eather from what I've seen, because I do yin style and my master said we don't kick above the waist and since he is the linage holder for yin style I think he knows better that you.

and I have seen my friends form who does yang style taiji and he doesn't even have kicks employed he just lifts his leg to note that a kick could be used in that movement. Maybe it is that he has not learned this yet or that he is working on so other aspest I'm not sure.

"Yes they do."

Sorry you are wrong in that not all of them do. Some of the styles (if you do taiji you know more about that than I) might use them a bit but they don't rely on them the way nothern shaolin styles do.

Yin style bagua does not ever kick above the waist. Nor have I ever seen anyone do high kicks in any Forms of taiji, or xing yi.


I have limmited knowlage of taiji just what my friend shows me. But you do move mainly slow for the first few years of studie. So if you have A.D.D. like most young people these days you would realize that it's madening to move so slow. In Yin stlye bagua we move fast and smooth, or normal(speed) and use power. when you learn the form you do it a little slower to make sure youve got it. we don't continue this more than it takes to learn the moves unlike taiji that does this forever(you still see taiji masters doing slow movements, do you not?) Oh, and I wasn't "glean" over the slowness of it at all I was just relating to him that after training in a style that moves fast it's strange and anoying to move slow. I tryed taiji for a half hour once and just got all jumpy I like the idea of moving slow in training to making you move faster in combat but in training it's truly madening. [/B][/QUOTE]

QuaiJohnCain
05-01-2004, 12:12 PM
Originally posted by goldendragon
so I take it you do bagua, xing yi, and taiji?
No, my friend I know Yin style bagua .....and since he is the linage holder for yin style I think he knows better that you.
Lighten up. Brags are boring.

and I have seen my friends form who does yang style taiji and he doesn't even have kicks employed he just lifts his leg to note that a kick could be used in that movement. Maybe it is that he has not learned this yet or that he is working on so other aspest I'm not sure.
Yang style ain't the only Taiji, guy. In fact, it was derived from Chen Family Taiji which *does* have high kicks. Jumping and spinning kicks too.

"Yes they do."
Sorry you are wrong in that not all of them do.
I didn't say ALL of them did, now did I?

Some of the styles (if you do taiji you know more about that than I) might use them a bit but they don't rely on them the way nothern shaolin styles do.
Northern Shaolin styles are derived from the older Crane systems that were specifically developed to handle fighting people mounted on horses, hence the long sweeping movements and long range kicks. Taiji is for fighting toe to toe.

Yin style bagua does not ever kick above the waist. Nor have I ever seen anyone do high kicks in any Forms of taiji, or xing yi.
Check out Chen Style Taiji, they're there. With Xingyi, it depends on the lineage. They're in my school, and people there USE them all of the time.


I have limmited knowlage of taiji just what my friend shows me. But you do move mainly slow for the first few years of studie.
First year or so if you're training like you should be. Then you do it slow, medium and fast- every day.

So if you have A.D.D. like most young people these days you would realize that it's madening to move so slow.
Gawsh- how'd they handle Zhuang Zhang?

-snip-
You might like Chen Taiji. It goes fast, slow, in between, that is it's nature. It's not a one-speed stream like Yang style.

goldendragon
05-01-2004, 02:01 PM
there is really no point to quoting my entire post everyone read it right before they read yours:eek: , and I'm not bragging you fool. I'm telling you that you are incorrect to say that yes bagua, taiji, and xingyi have kicks. that is what you said since you quoted my saying that they don't have hight kicks than said "yes they do."
Now if you ment some of them do you should have said it people cant read your mind you know, not over 100's of miles anyway.;) if your not talking about all the systems I mentioned that’s not an effective quote. your response should have been something to the extent of 'well some of the systems do have high kicks'. Do you know why the newer systems of taiji took the kicks out? well then I rest my case. and go ahead and get your last word in. I'm not reading or replying to this topic any more.

oh, and I believe someone had a sig saying 'arguing over the internet is like entering the special olympics and not being retarded' or something to that extent. well it applys here.

I'm thinking what would be best for a 16 year old that has past expirence in exturnal MAs, and your thinking how can I sell Taiji.

QuaiJohnCain
05-01-2004, 04:09 PM
That's fine so all I'll add is........

Do you know why the newer systems of taiji took the kicks out?
Yes. It's not a matter of effectiveness. I don't know why people think that the "no kicking above the waist" thing was only recently discovered. High kicks have been removed by stylists catering to those who either physically can't do them, or too lazy to try. They are an indispensible piece of training, as a good percentage of stand-up type matches across the board are ended with a swift kick to the head. Not to mention the numerous physical benefits that practicing high kicks can provide.


I'm not reading or replying to this topic any more.
Sure. You're gonna stick you head in the sand because someone got vague?