How does where you LIVE influence how you TRAIN?

As you can see from my profile, I live in Schenectady NY - a hard formerly industrial town, formerly home of General Electric.

A lot of people think I'm crazy for living and working in Schenectady, but I love it here. The gray hardscrabble lifestyle does wonders for my training - and that of my violin students (no kung fu students yet since I'm in the process of getting a school together).

I live about 3 hours driving from my sifu, and I regularly make the trek to see him. He's been over here too, and he enjoys the tough but honest folks that live here.

Definitely my training has taken on more of a harder edge than when I was living up in Albany NY (state capital, not particularly economically great either). Here in Schenectady, there's little to do but train. Yet the historic aspect of the old buildings and the arts tradition (super-strong arts scene here) really inspires me to achieve higher quality.

Soon, I'll start a school here. Rent is cheap, and there seems to be quite a bit of interest in kung fu around these parts. I'm also getting interest from a lot of parents who want something productive and AFFORDABLE for their kids. Schenectady is a bit rough, and these parents are hoping that I'll provide some hard-nosed discipline and activity for their kids.

George Burns once said of Schenectady "If you can make it here, you can make it anywhere". Yet no matter where I go, I'll carry the relentless existence of my days here in my heart.


How does where you live influence how you train?

I live in Hell's Kitchen, near Times Square in Manhattan on the west side of the island.

The work ethic in Manhattan is extremely demanding. Most jobs require a 9-10 hour work day, which is why I have chosen administrative work. You can almost always leave after 8 hours.
However, the demands of surviving in such an expensive place require flexibility..this is refelected in many schools loose policies on arriving late to class.

There are more than 90 schools the last time I did some investigating. They cater to every mindset or interest...we've got real traditional karate, wing chun, mantis, tai chi, aikido, muay thai, hsing-i, bagua, boxing, tae kwon do, Tiger Schulmann's (who has one of the most beautiful dojos I've ever seen..and giant windows so everyone knows), brazilian jiu-jitsu, iaido, kendo, judo, kali, hybrid styles like vee arnis jutsu, JKD, hapikido, kyudo, eagle claw, kickboxing, hung gar, wushu...and many other obscure or popular styles.

This makes it hard to choose. There's a lot of crap out there to dig through, then there are some excellent intermediate schools, and a few more advanced. They range from straight combat to zen cults.

So, Manhattan gives you so much choice that you can get lost.

Living here means I train late, have to work especially hard to make the monthly tuition payments ($130/month), and I have one of the best gauges of my training on the planet...life in Manhattan.

It affects it because there are NO kung fu schools in my area, not even bad ones:(

This is interesting.

I live in very much the suburbs, family oriented places. All the schools around are geared toward family and "value" that is monitary value--I guess attempting to equate that with martial art value. Folks don't realize that sometimes you actually get what you pay for.

Robin

I hear that with the Manhatan schools. I live in Long Beach, I get out of class by 10:30 or 11:00 p.m., grab the 11:50 back to Long Island, shower and get to bed at 1:30. Wednesday mornings are tough, I'm sore as hell right now but it feels good.

As for the actual training, I always take it serious. I was born in Newark, a pretty touch city, but I think it was the way my Cuban father raised me (I was actually thinking about this last night). Not very PC, but if I got into it at the playground and got my nose all bloody, he wouldn't have me coming home like a punk. The phrase, "I'll give you something to cry about" was not uncommon. Today, it would be considered cruel, but looking back I'm kind of thankful. That's why we have mothers, to clean us up. Father's are there to make sure we don't get so dirty next time.

At 27, mother has been dead for almost 9 years now, but what she (kindness) and my father (toughness) taught me I carry with me to this day. My training is just as extention of that I guess.

I had never really considered the socio-economic side of training, although I do sometimes worry about the expense. Your question lead me to think about the climatic effects.

I like to train outside when I can and usually for me the biggest problem is heat and dehydration. Even now the temperature is cool in Phoenix but it is so dry that you still need to drink alot of water to stay hydrated.

And in the summer time you have to be very cognicent of overheating even when in an air conditioned space, it feels like your core temperature is a little higher when you've been in and out of 114F all day.

I have been fortunate to find a school that I like, there may be better, but I'm sure that there are worse. Finding a place where you feel comfortable and feel like you are making progress is important to your development as a Martial Artist.

I live in a small, pleasant, city/town which has two schools.
One is a kung fu/kickboxing (?) school, Lau Gar style, and when I asked about the kickboxing bit they said "well, they're basically the same at the lower levels anyway, so when you've done a couple of grades you can choose which one you'd like to do."

:confused:

The other school is pretty good, Shaolin 5 Animals / Wing Chun. Although they're not much on the basics and there's not much sparring, they are well into the proper execution of technique, applications, forms etc.

Unless you really go looking for it, not much need to test your skills.

Maybe this affects my training, although I try to train as hard as I can. I only moved from my old school last September, so I still train like they do.

Huang, I have left a message for you on the pictures of Wushu Chik thread. It would be nice if you responded. I'm not getting aggressive or funny, btw, I'm just curious.

Well I live in So Cal and I agree that location totally affects how I train and where I train. I like to think of it as pretty positive. If I didn't live here I doubt I would be training in BJJ at all and may still be doing Muay Thai or JKD.-ED

"Unless you really go looking for it, not much need to test your skills. "

Unfortunately, sometimes, trouble finds us. Could be someone had a bad day, feels insecure, whatever, but for some reason they will decide to pump up their ego on us. Maybe scream and hell. Maybe, when we suggest that they "take it easy" or "calm down" they will decide to physically make us see their way.

At these times, it good to feel secure in the techniques you HAVE TESTED, time and time again under duress. I have seen schools where students stand in line "doing techniques." Doing techniques with a cooperative partner is very different then pulling off a technique against someone attacking you. Keep this in mind when you train. I think it is the most fundamental principle martial artists should adhere to in their training: keep it real.:)

Word Evolution couldn't agree more.....
I live in Denver, it is usually pretty nice out here (well except now, it is still snowing). We usually only get about 60" a season down here, but this changes the whole training schedule at my school plus we don't get to do our park trips. Training here has it's definite advantages, being a mile high (or going up to the mountains and training at 9100') is great for your cardio (which I desperately need to improve). It is also nice to be able to ride my mountain bike to the top of one of the foothills and train there during the spring and summer. There are so many parks here it is hard to say that there is nowhere to train.

I grew up in a large city in the Southern USA and lived in a very violent area so my training at the time was more geared towards immediate survival. Also, when I moved north I had to become accustomed to fighting in a heavy coat as well as learn how to force myself to stay relaxed in the cold.

Having grown up in Chicago, which is a town with a strong work ethic, I learned how to apply myself and stick to my task, which is indespensable in kung fu. Also, I learned that, if the snow is thick enough, and the ground not at all rocky, its time to do some throws. Also, get used to onlookers if you're practicing outside, because sometimes, in a densely populated area, privacy is not an option.

Since moving to Kansas City, the concept of community is very strong, as it is not to the level of urbanization of chicage/ny/la, where one gets so tired of being surrounded by people that privacy takes precedent over community. Here, the kung fu community is pretty tight, even to the point of being tight with the other arts(capiera, tkd, etc). The feeling of comeraderie is strong at all the schools I've been to out here, and you practice with people with a wide range of martial experiences, so you get more accustomed to their tactics and techniques.

Hi.

I am lucky.

While my Apartment is in a busy heaivly build-up area of Tokoy,

I got a big nice Park about 8 min. walk, and there we got a big Pond, Tenniis courts, running track and a Pool.

Most of the MA Guys train in a quiet corner under the Trees, so there are always a few fellow practicioners around.

Weather in Summer can be murder with temps around 35+ C & a Humidity of 90+,
Winder on the other hand rarely go below 0 C and we hardly get any snow. So T-Shirt and Trainer alone are fine.
The Kwoon is situated inside a Zen Buddhist Temple, which makes for a quiet relaxing atmosphere, but I prefer the Park.

Weekdays I work too much to do serious training(Work ay last often 10~14 hrs), but am at it nearly the whole weekend.

effects it evry much so, not many arts to be practiced here, and i love in the capitol, it would be horrible if i lived anywhere else, we have 3 TKD schools 3 Karate, 2 Judo and one Hybrid school. Then there are schools that come and go in stuff like Aikido and other arts.

SoCal is my promised land ;) lots of schools and hot climate.

qeySuS,
Hahaha...soon my friend summer is almost here:D -ED

Yah i hope so GinSue but it all depends on my ability to raise enough money and so far i havent gotten any word from that job :/ Maybe i'll get enough money and take a loan for the rest.

I live in ATL- my part of town is failry quiet but the kids around here are crazy so I train like crazy b/c I have kids try to punch me for no good reason.....has paid off too.

I gain weight in the winter cause my workout options are limited cause of the horrible weather in Illinois(I am not to far from chicago which is well known for crappy winters). So I usually have to play catch up in the spring.