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Mumsnet Martial Artists

112 replies

RubberDuck · 22/07/2010 15:24

The runners have their thread, thought it would be nice to have a thread for the Mumsnet MAers - surely I'm not the only one?

As an intro - my martial art of choice is a blend of Wing Chun and have been practising it for just over a year now. Would love to have the space (and the money) for a wooden training dummy, but looks like I'll have to hold fire for now.

There seems to be a shortage of message boards for women in martial arts - would be interested in sharing experiences (and injuries, heh) with others out there.

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Original poster
RubberDuck · 23/07/2010 14:27

Don't worry BeenBeta - what you'll tend to find is that said woman gets fed up of being treated too gently, gives you a clout, and then you start fightin' back properly

(Actually, I've never had a problem that way around - I've had lads not realise their own strength and gone overboard, and a couple of younger girls who are all a bit 'oh NO I'm so sorry did that hurt?' when you barely felt them.)

Training partners are all about a balance of trust and a good Sensei/Sifu will look out for that and also partner appropriately. If you hold back too much, then you won't be doing your partner any favours as they'll get a false sense of confidence. If you go overboard, then your partner will get injured/lose confidence/not come back. You'll find your balance soon enough.

What I've generally appreciated from the higher ranks is them to go softly softly until I've got the technique down, then upped the force - that's really helpful. The day I got out of a wrist lock from a bodybuilder (who warned me he was going to go all out and would have to get out fast not to get hurt) was AWESOME.

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gomummy · 23/07/2010 14:26

Shodan - for "aggressive" sparring? Were they expecting you to give your opponent a hug? Seriously, I also initially became interested as an extension of some self-defence training I was doing; it would not make much sense to me to have no contact. But I suppose there are folks who are into it for other reasons...

Those of you considering starting as an adult, definitely go for it. I do know people who've started karate, judo, and ju jitsu as adults and loved it (prepare to be sore for a while at first!); it's a fun thing to start with your son or daughter too.

BeenBeta · 23/07/2010 14:16

Thanks all for the Judo encouragement.

I am fairly fit and not overweight so I should be OK on that score. Just a bit worried I would always be partnered with much more experienced bigger men.

Would feel odd fighting a woman. Not bothered about being thrown by a woman but would I suspect feel I had to hold back a bit in case I hurt her.

I know, I know.....

Original poster
RubberDuck · 23/07/2010 13:48

And while I'm linking to stuff can I link to my hero Donnie Yen? Ip Man fight with Northerner

Okay, it's a cinematically controlled fight, but it's quite a good demo of the minimalist movements in Wing Chun. Everything is about shortest distance, minimum effort, maximum power.

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Original poster
RubberDuck · 23/07/2010 13:43

Fight Quest ep on Savate looks bloody awesome.

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Original poster
RubberDuck · 23/07/2010 13:42

Oooo can you not do Savate, Vive? That's supposed to be a great french martial art. It was designed around restrictive spaces (for sailors incidentally) - has a lot of balance and street fighting so an excellent self-defence art: Savate (although it is similar to kickboxing style and can be known as French Kickboxing too).

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ragged · 23/07/2010 13:41

Judo & BeenBeta -- I hope you decide to train in Judo as an adult. I know several men locally who have started Judo as adults and gotten on well. If you are somewhere densely populated (big city) I suspect you'll find enough adult competitors to train with; you can always partner up with teenage girls for training.

DC Judo club has a lot of girls but no adult women instructors or helpers; it would be great if they did have such a role model. Irony is that we have living locally a previous national and international Judo champion, but she turns her nose up at DC club as not challenging enough for her (argh).

ViveLaFrak · 23/07/2010 13:34

I did judo and tae-jitsu but since moving to France my options are kick-boxing, kick-boxing or....kick-boxing. Anyone do kick-boxing and want to fill me in?!

Original poster
RubberDuck · 23/07/2010 13:19

Hmm, not sure how to explain it without going into too much identifying detail.

I have been having issues with an aspect in class that I'm finding hard. I had a private lesson today and brought up (in conversation) the issue, which I had previously thought was a physical training one. Sifu actually identified it wasn't what I thought it was, and it was actually related to a whole load of other life crap going on (that I hadn't told him about, but he inferred anyway) that was causing me to have a mental block.

A lot about confidence, but also dealing with conflict, finding balance and focusing more on my strengths rather than always running down my weaknesses. Does that make sense?

It's just surprised me how much I'm learning that actually isn't anything to do with fighting/defense. I guess that's why it's called an art .

Why Wing Chun? Well I didn't want to travel too far and my local community centre had a choice of karate, kick boxing or Wing Chun. Our local karate school was very much geared around children (and frankly, I was looking for an adult space away from my OWN children at the time - didn't want to be around anyone else's ) and I have a lousy sense of balance so kick boxing didn't look like it was going to be made for me!!

So, Wing Chun by default, almost. But that said, I think it's a good match for me. It's very aggressive, very close range, but it's based on body structure and minimal effort for maximum power - ideal for women really. The legend goes that it was actually invented by a woman (although it seems to have dubious historical basis). I also love the art aspects - the forms don't look much at all - not designed to be pretty, just very functional.

The other art I'd really like to try at some point is Krav Maga - because that really does look quite brutal/facing your fears head on sort of mentality which terrifies me but is also rather intriguing as a result.

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Shodan · 23/07/2010 12:40

How d'you mean, exactly, RubberDuck?

I mean, karate has given me much more confidence, not just in that I feel more able to defend myself physically, should I need to, but also in other life situations.
Is that the sort of thing?

How did you hear about/get into Wing Chun, by the way? Sounds interesting.

Original poster
RubberDuck · 23/07/2010 12:23

Do you ever find that learning something in training often isn't about the actual techniques or moves but learning about yourself and dealing with other aspects of your life as well?

Just come back from a session which felt more like intense counselling than training. I've come out with some techniques, yes, but also dealt with quite a big chunk of life shit at the same time which makes the techniques feel almost incidental. Odd, but very cool and timely.

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Shodan · 23/07/2010 08:21

I don't know anyone that's started judo specifically, BeenBeta, though quite a few men about your age have started karate.

Can you talk to any of your son's instructors? They might be able to give you some pointers.

Don't feel nervous though. It's been my experience that martial arts folk are extremely welcoming and friendly, no matter what your age/experience.

Original poster
RubberDuck · 23/07/2010 08:20

Yes - totally cannot see the point in what effectively is 'sport' martial art. Learning to just score points in a tournament is training muscle memory for less effective techniques (after all, most of the really effective ones are banned for use in a competition).

BeenBeta: not just a Karate conversation - I do Wing Chun I have never done Judo, but I say go for it. Go for a taster session or two - there'll be other beginners too, so don't worry about that. Re: weight size, my attitude is that if you get attacked on the street then it's not going to be by someone in the same weight class. A good club will make you train with a wide variety of partners whatever your size and ability.

I'm 36 and started Wing Chun last year. Most people in that class are younger and fitter than me. You just learn to get on with it and not compare your progress to anyone else's, tbh.

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BeenBeta · 22/07/2010 23:37

Sorry to break into the karate discussion but hope you all won't mind a question.

Does anyone know about starting Judo as an adult? I got roped into running a website for DSs Judo club and now the DSs aked me to go to fitness training with them and start learning Judo.

I am sort of interested from a fitness, strength and mobility point of view as I find gyms a bit boring. Just that I feel nervous because I am 47 and might struggle to find partners of my weight size and lack of experience.

Shodan · 22/07/2010 23:24

That's a good point, actually. While our sensei is excellent, he is also 6' 2" and doesn't really comprehend the perspective of a smaller (or weaker) person. But he is a friend, too, so doesn't take it amiss if I pipe up and say 'yes, but, that's going to work if you're 5'2" and seven stone, for instance'. Then he comes up with a work-around or an alternative technique.

gomummy- I hadn't heard of no-contact karate either, before I started. Seems an odd concept to me, tbh. But there are many clubs out there who claim to offer this. In fact, even within my own club, some regions focus more on perfect technique and demand minimal contact. In Fact (ahem) I once got 1000 press-ups for an entire grading class due to my (and a fellow region student) 'aggressive' sparring. (The guy I was sparring is also a friend and was trying to take me down. I refused to go down and there was a bit of unseemly grappling )

But self defence, primarily, was what I wanted to do karate for, originally. Not stylised karate suitable for tournaments or display.

gomummy · 22/07/2010 19:24

Exactly Rubberduck. My female sensei is v. small and wickedly fast with excellent technique. The male one (former body builder) is very strong and solid, uses his power to his advantage and can certainly take a hit but as I got a bit more advanced I definitely found her approach more helpful for me to learn from.

Original poster
RubberDuck · 22/07/2010 18:03

Yeah. My Sifu is absolutely awesome, but I think I would benefit from a more experienced female perspective - clearly a small woman is not going to fight in the same way as a muscly solid man and we have to compensate for that with speed/better footwork and avoidance/better technique and tactics.

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gomummy · 22/07/2010 17:59

Yes Rubberduck, I misssed it horribly - had planned to try to train (minus sparring of course) through pregnancy but ended up in bed/in and out of hospital for entire pregnancy.

My senseis are/were a married couple, both 4th dan, and it really helps to have a female, I find. Once I got past about green or blue, I felt that for some reason I seemed to "get" her teaching style better than his, not sure why. Earlier on I had not noticed much difference.

Have never heard of no-contact karate before? I really enjoy the sparring, but do bruise easily leading to some hilarious conversations!

Original poster
RubberDuck · 22/07/2010 16:57

IAGTBF: Oooo hadn't heard of Kuk Sool before - googled, looks interesting.

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Butterbur · 22/07/2010 16:53

Some classes we have a male instructor, some a female. I don't think they offer private tuition.

They do try and partner women together for work on eg throws where you have to get in close and personal, but sometimes this isn't possible, and we all just have to lump it.

Shodan · 22/07/2010 16:48

Rubberduck- I do a combination of shotokan and goju. It's good to have the contrast.

Re: uniforms and protection. If you're sparring on a regular basis (and therefore being punched/kicked on a regular basis) you don't want to have repeated bruising on your body. The idea is that training builds up your muscle memory, much like driving, and therefore will be able to respond appropiately in any situation. Uniforms, in our club as in any others, are part of the etiquette/discipline code.

Our senseis don't on the whole, offer individual tuition. One did, and it was rather frowned upon, though I'm not sure why. The male instructors outnumber the female, but not by much- there are a great many women in our club, also children.

Anyway. Am also training tonight so must start the dinner!

ItsAllGoingToBeFine · 22/07/2010 16:45

I used to do Kuk Sool and am itching to get back to it - will need to wait until DD is a bit bigger though

mammya · 22/07/2010 16:27

Thanks Shodan, that's useful to know! We do contact sparring which can be tough. Being hit in the chest is not fun at all

Anyway got to go get ready for my training

Catch you later!

Original poster
RubberDuck · 22/07/2010 16:27

Interesting thought - with those of you with a decent proportion of the women in your club - is your teacher male or female? And if male do they offer private classes for female students?

Our Sifu does - but I get the impression from one of my fellow students that he's quite rare to do this as she's been refused private training in a few places.

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dawntigga · 22/07/2010 16:18

Ju Jitsu

ReallyShouldGoBackNowTheCubIsOlderTigga