Calling on the Masters of Martial Arts!

Over the past six Month or so I've been reading a lot about "different styles".
Can anyone out there give me a bit of advise as to what would be suitable to mix with GKR?? Or if it is advisable to do it only from a certain level on. I know there is a lot to learn for me still and my performance is jojoing, in my own opinion, from week to week.
Should I just stick with what I know or would it benefit me to tackle another style?
PS: I am past the age to be able to perform spinning kicks

Cheers

CC

As a rule of thumb it is generally suggested that if you feel the urge to crosstrain you do so in a complementary art and not a contradictory one. So if you train in what is primarily a striking art there may be benefits to training in a primarily grappling art, and vice versa.

So as a counterpoint to GKR you might try jujutsu, aikido or judo, although jujutsu does also encompass a significant amount of striking depending on the school. BJJ might be an option but IMO (which I freely admit I do not know much about BJJ) you would learn more from one of the aforementioned styles which I do know encompass things like timing, distance, throws, restraints, escapes and standing techniques as well as ground work. On the other hand if rolling around on the ground with sweaty guys appeals to you....


Mick

I'd say pretty much what Mick said - a grappling art won't confuse your training, whereas another striking art (especially another style of karate) will confuse the hell out of you!


You could of course look around for a class with predominanty female students. If you do find one, please pm me the address and timetable.

I picked TKD coz the missus wanted to do it, and we wanted to progress through a style together (she didnt like karate, or maybe it was her instructor ). I found it did complement karate by focusing on leg work to GKRs upper body. We also do a bit of BJJ which as the guys said complements nicely.

However there are some similarities with slight differences that would be hell confusing if you say started both styles at the same time.

Even if you were e.g. a BB in GKR and started with another karate club, to train in both it could easily lead to frustration with one or both.

For example, the posts I made about kiba dachi and zenkutsu dachi - done one way in GKR and the other way in many clubs. Methods of moving, stepping can vary. And other things. This can lead to being corrected by the instructor of one club because you're seen to be doing it differently, even if it feels more natural/better to you to do it the other way. That sort of thing...


Mick

Like your shoto experience!
I agree...doing a bit of training with Mick then back to class did get me pretty befuddled.

Well, thanks for all the advise. I am tempted but when I read that guys like you, with lots more experience and higher grade get confused......... , I think I stick with what I know . Perhaps I invest the extra time It would take for the class in the style I know and add another GKR class.
I'll keep watching this space and perhaps one day............ I'll take that step though time is running away from me fast and before I know it I can only kick knee high and my shiko dachi will be half the width it should with my knobbly knees shaking .
Struth, I better get on with it cos it's not that far from the truth .

Sumo. I wanna do Sumo! I`ve got the build for it!

Oh... BALDERDASH!

(<-- this one is you!)

If one of those dudes fell backwards on you, we wouldn't see you for months!

I agree with doing a different art rather than style ie grappling. When i became a brown belt we started doing a lot of ground work in goju. I was not the best at this to say the least, so off i went to judo. If you look around you can find some judo schools with slightly more tradition and they tend to use more locks etc that sport throws. Either way i didnt have problems with different stances etc as it was completely different. Some of the other students did BJJ and had a great time.

If you do Goju and GKR and Shoto for example you are just learning to do the same thing 3 different ways. Look for the gaps in your style or where you lag behind your fellow students and pursue that area.

Cheers
Freek

*gigglesnort* boy did I read that wrong the first time through..

Rancer!!!!

Hi Folks, My Karate friend wants to try another style - she feels she`s left it too long getting back into it after a recent illness.

She wants to try JuJitsu, but I`m understandably worried about this.

I reckon probably Aikido or one of the "harder" forms of Tai-Chi would be worth a go.

I`m going to be joining her in this - and keeping up with the GKR, so I`m not after another "striking" style.

Any advice?

I personally want to go with Tai Chi.

Help me to relax and focus, and hopefully breathe better.

Jujutsu is fun Personally I wasn't fussed about Aikido but that's just me. Have a look around, most clubs are open to people checking things out before they join and if they're not, weeellll there's always other good clubs who won't mind.

Tai Chi also would be good. Just be prepared for the jokes by the ignorant and unwashed about it only being any good if you're attacked in slow motion.


Mick

Thanks for the info so far folks.
I`ve found a Tai Chi class that is at the same community centre where my tuesday class is, It`s on a wednesday - which is pretty much ideal for me..........
And I`ve got the National Judo Centre at Wolverhampton Campus twenty minutes walk away.
And my neighbour studied Aikido a couple of years back .........

Time to start turning up and asking questions then!

On the same lines, one of my mates wants me to attend a Wing Chung class with him. I'm not too sure if this will clash or compliment my GKR. (I've been training just on 3 years 2nd Kyu).

Anybody have any idea how these two styles will work together?

Hmmm...... Susan studies in Kung-Fu and GKR, She`s offline at present, but I`m sure this`ll be of interest to her. I`ll let her know.

Hi Dan,
yes, thanks tom for putting it so bluntly....

yes, i train in both styles and have done for over two years now. i found at first due to my GKR back ground things in my kung fu class were easy to learn, i ofund i was testing and grading up, and learning things quickly, earning the praise of my instructors pretty quickly, BUT as i graded up to the higher grades in GKR as well as in kung fu i began to find it very difficult. not impossible but very difficult...

the whole concept of karate vs the concept of kung fu is very different. not only are the moves contradictory to each other but so are the philosophies behind the styles.

i fear im only rambling here, but i would suggest doing one or the other.
i have put myself into a position where im not ready to choose between one or the other. maybe due to my teaching position in gkr and being OH SO CLOSE!!!! to black belt level, and also due to the fact that i love my kung fu training so much as well...

kung fu is an awsome style to learn and the school i attend allows and teaches techniques suited to your body type and fighting style.

it is possible to train in both but it is not complimentary...

if you have any questions i'll be at senior training on wednesday night or at the grading breifly this sunday, i wont be online very often...

sorry for my ramblings...


and tom, we study small amounts of tai chi in our classes and as i am a black sash club member am allowed to train for free in the tai chi classes....

all i can say is "WOW"

if you have the chance, and you find yourself a good class, do it...

Kung Fu or Karate? There are many different styles of Kung Fu. Some will confuse you if learned side by side with Karate because the movements will be so similar, yet slightly different. But I don't think that you'd have that problem with Wing Chun. Its sufficiently different that it would simply be learning a new set of skills that don't intefere with the way you move in Karate. It will also give you a number of insights that you just won't get in GKR.


Mike

Thanks Guys,

Susan I'll try to catch you Sunday, failing that I will talk to you Wednesday night.

It will be interesting to see techniques that adapt to a fat old bloke with bad knees.

Danny

Hey Dan...
i hope i helped you some in our quick chat away from the other karate students and instructors.....

but as far as your knees go, if they hurt while doing something, say horse stance, adapt it to work for you so your knees dont hurt, a horse stance that looks good but is completely unusable for you due to injury is worthless...


Mike... just curious as to what kind of kung fu experience you have...

i dont know much about wing chun, but it is a little different to what i study...

I have found although there are many differences in the styles, my kung fu training has assisted in practical use and understanding of karate even though in some cases it confuses me...

holding back for non contact sparring with limits of 'legal' strikes is the hardest thing after studying for full contact with no limits...

studying both can be done if you can differentiate between the two styles and your brain and body know "that's not allowed here" for example...

so dan.....

i suspect you have tried out your first wing chun class.....

let us know how you went...

It was different. Class had no real structure, though I suspect that would be intructor driven rather then style. The instructor was quite insistant that Wing Chun was the only martial art that had no defensive holes to allow an attack, although the basic guard was very similiar to what I am used to.

We did stances and a basic punch technique. Big concentration on maintaining centre line of your body. This meant trying to keep my elbow in my body's centre line when punching. Not so easy! I found the fact that knees are suposed to drop in easy and it made the three stances we worked with quite comfy.

Quick intro to the first form and that was it.

I will give it a month or so and see how I find it.

Hi Folks, hopefully I'll get to the various classes next week- work permitting.

My karate partner is out for the count for a few weeks - having broken her toe, in an incident which, while not directly involving karate, was whollely to do with yours truly.
I have to say it. Many apologies L.

There is a Kung-Fu class literally in the next street - I have to get there one day. If only someone would tell my Boss I have a life outside of workl!

Been practicing Tai Chi for about 10 years on and off. Other than that just the occasional work out with people from Lau Gar and/or Wing Chun.

There are so many styles of Kung Fu. But you don't need to be an expert to see that they can be quite different from each other, particularly in terms of power generation. Take Lau Gar as an example, its very similar to the traditional/sport Karate type arts really, the methods of power generation are essentially the same. Wing Chun, on the other hand, you can immediately see is quite different. Power generation is dependent largely on the spasmodic action of the muscles utilising the Wing Chun stance, as opposed to the hip twist of Lau Gar and Karate.

That's why I thought that Wing Chun would be a good complement to Karate, the methodology is so different there shouldn't really be problems getting confused between the two.

DiverDan said:


Sounds a bit overly evangelical to me. That said, I think its fair to say that the focus on centreline, trapping and the two hands working together does reduce the number of 'defensive holes'.

Mike

As Mike says, the big difference in punching technique seemed to be, we would snap the punch out from the shoulder. This felt a little strange after years of being told not to punch from the shulder, but push through the hips. I don't imagine however that it will cause a lot of heart ache.

One of the things I will be working on, is the empasis on coming to your opponent from his blind or closed side. I think this, while quite simple, will be very effective in kumite. I hope to use it to good effect in next weeks tournament.

Thanks for you reply Mike...

Do you mind if i ask which style of Tai Chi you have been studying? as with kung fu there are a few different styles that are very different from one another...

With the Lau Gar style of kung fu... do you know if that has similar origins to the Jau Gar style??? The style i study has origins from jau gar and i was thinking maybe they would be similar.... from what you describe it sounds similar...

I used to do the Yang 24 step form, now I do Cheng-Man-Ching instead, when I get the time that is. I don't profess any particular expertise in either.



No idea I'm afraid, I haven't even heard of Jau Gar and I really know nothing of the history of Lau Gar. Given Lau Gar's use of high kicks and sporty long distance techniques though, I do suspect that - like Karate - it has been somewhat 'updated' during the 20th century. Of course, that is just my opinion, I wouldn't dream of stating it as 'fact'.

Mike