finding your own and what works for you

[bodhitree]

I feel recently I've been realizing who I am as a martial artist, and who I am not.

Don't get me wrong I want to learn the mechanics of everything and think that knowledge is valuable, but for me personally there are certain things that just don't work for me. For example I do not shoot. Shooting is incredibly effective but I'm not good at it, and I don't think I ever will be no matter how much I drill it. I do feel I'm good at leg trips like ouchi and kouchi gari.

With standup I keep my guard high and don't use nearly as much head movement as some people. I also prefer minimal movement. Does that mean that it is this way for everyone? Certainly not!

In BJJ I'd rather get the sweep and attack from top than attack from guard. I'm just better there, and I think I'm better from half guard than full guard for sweeping.


Different things work for different people. I think I am starting to realize where I am good, and where I am not. I plan to continue to drill everything in class when a teacher has us do something, but realistically some things will never be me (certainly shooting!)

Have any of you had similar feelings? Please share.

Is this jkd?

[AmanuJRY]

I share similar feelings about the shoot, but I'm one that likes to work on my weaker aspects, obviously in a fight or comp. I would exploit my stronger ones.

Sometimes, after training difficult techniques and struggling with them for a while, you have an epiphany and you realize the timing, or set-up, or 'trick' to performing it.

Then there's realizing which opponents you can or can't use it on.

[SevenStar]

that is part of our growth as martial artists. Over time, you find what works for you and you use those things over others. I have a short torso and long limbs. consequently, I like to sweep. I like jabs and lead leg kicks. But, I am a pretty big guy, so I like power strikes as well, and positions where I can use my weight and strength to dominate someone, like the clinch.

I am not a shooter either.

[Royal Dragon]

I tend to like to gain a strategic position in standup where it is hard for my opponent to strike me back. I like to enter hitting and then go for large joint locks, like elbows and shoulder stuff, or right into throws or various other take downs.

I would like to build my skills with small joint locks, but my bread an butter will allways be the above.

Once my opponent is down, I favor one knee drops to softer torso areas, like the bottom of ribs or solar plexus, even the neck if I can (Whatever is easier at the moment) and or controlls with tangling an arm combined with raining down strikes.

I am really bad with submission ground, and I need quite a bit of work in that area.

I am also really bad with pure stand up striking and would get killed in an arena where I could not take down or throw, such as Midwest Kick boxing rules. I am really bad at exchanging strikes, and it feels like I am very vulnerable in situations where I am "Chasing hands".

When I was younger, before I messed up my back, I was a really good kicker, and I would head hunt with inside crescents, and hook kicks form just outside thier boxer's guard. I was very good at this and most of my strategy was geared towards setting those two kicks up;. I used round kicks, and Side kicks too. Of the two I never really inflicted much damage on an opponent with a round kick, but allways had great blast back power with the side kick.

I would often side kick to get them unbalanced or moving back, and quickly try and position myself for a hook kick or inside crescent to finish before they recovered. Then I closed the gap with hand strikes as a follow though and secondary onslaught. Locks and throws were barely a consideration back then, and if used at all it was mostly low sweeps followed by kicking down from a standing position after they fell.

Sadly, I just don't have the kicking skills to fight that way anymore....

My fight game had to change drastically after my injury as I just no longer had the body to pull off the maneuvers I did in my youth.

[yenhoi]

Testing things constantly to find out whats yours and whats not is jkd.

A lot of guys dont shoot. I usually only shoot if Im already in the clinch (or otherwise very close) to get a leg hold.

[sanjuro_ronin]

I like to shoot, usually from about 800 meters out

MA is an evolving process, or at least should be.
As we age, we change, not only physically but mentally and our MA change accordingly.
Sometimes an outside stimuli changes our MA, like when BJJ hit the mainstream, other times we may take up something because we like it and find it changing our martial tendencies, such a think happened to me years ago when I took up Kendo and then kenjutsu, it effected my stand up for the better.

As we grow in the MA we begin to focus (sometime re-focus) our priorities, as we continue to expose ourselves to the "salad bar" that is the MA we naturally add and remove things from our training, we begin to truly understand "quality over quantity", we begin to truly understand that the Ma will indeed, always be there for us and that it truly is a lifetime pursuit.

[AmanuJRY]

I think MA is a game of opportunity. The ability to recognize that opportunity and the skills to take advantage of and even create said opportunities is what it's all about. The more tools in your toolbox, the more awareness, the better attributes....you win.

[AmanuJRY]

In MMA class (tues. are kickboxing), I was sparring with a guy and was able to figure out the timing of a tackle while ducking some punches....felt real good.

Of course I outweigh the guy by 30-40 lbs. and have a quite a bit more experience than him, it's one of my weaker aspects and it felt good to make some ground with it. (no pun intended)