What is the most important aspect of YOUR martial art?

Question

For those people who have trained in a martial art for a long period, what is it about that martial art that you love? What makes it different to other arts?

Answer 1

the thing i like most about the martial arts is the vast variety of people with,talent,character,determination,love of life,skill,ability to share there art/skill and selves without reservation in a most generous fashion.i am very privileged to be a fellow martial artist.

Answer 2

Most important: discipline.

What I love: the power of the techniques.

What makes it different: the same thing that makes the others different from it.. "differences".

That question is impossible to answer comprehensively.

Answer 3

i love taekwondo because it's fast paced and you have to be light on your feet. Other arts u may be very stationary and be in one place with your feet while moving simply ur hands. I have a but of a mixed form though it's muay thai taekwondo

Answer 4

I like the fact you can get true wisdom from it, wisdom being the progressive awareness of ones own ignorance.

I train in Kenpo and I love the practical application. It works and with the life I had in LA it saved my life more than once. It's not a narrow art Like Brazilian Jiu Jitsu or Tae Kwon Do, it was the original Hybrid American art.

It has provided me to the ability to feel confident in any surrounding or group.

I love that it provided me to work with kids with ADD and other more severe problems and actually help get them through and past them. Most got off Meds all together.

Most important is the respect and family feeling that is unique in our art. Mr. Parker was not OK with the term Master. He said, we are not dogs, we don't need masters. He wanted to be called the Old Man, like the old man of the ship. I trained with Frank Trejo for years and he prefers Frank at the level of 10th Degree.

Answer 5

It is hard to separate out the one most important aspect.Let me try by saying these are the most important to me in no particular order..

I learned what indomitable spirit means.

I understand now what it means that we are more than the sum of our parts.

We need each other to sharpen ourselves against one another like the knife needs the stone.

I could go on on important aspects but these are at this moment my top three.

Answer 6

Many arts prior to the grappling explosion of 1993 were pretty much specialized in some way like for example Tae Kwon Do is about 80% kicks and various forms of Karate used a good balance of hand strikes and kicks Etc etc. I did Karate for about 5 yrs from 1990 to 1995. We never did any grappling what so ever. I Wrestled in high school so that was the extent of my grappling experience at the time. When I became a cop I found out quickly while in police academy that the karate I learned was not enough because it was only limited to strikes and kicks. I then met a Hapkido master who was a former police officer who introduced me to the art. The first thing I realized was how well rounded the art he taught was. It coverd all the kicks and strikes but also has throws, joint locks, chokes, ground fighting and submissions to name a few. When I asked him what his specialty was his responce was simple. " My specialty is, I don't specialize" which was the way he was taught since the 1960's. So to me that made complete sense since I deal with the uncertain on a daily basis. To be ready to go from standing to ground and all the things in between is a true reality which I've faced in dozens of life threatening situations. Now just about every art traditional or not, has added grappling or ground fighting in some form to their curriculum to keep up with the possiblity of being taken to the ground. So the most important aspect for me when I started in Hapkido was the fact it did not specialize. That was then. Now I see that this art it is a life long study that challenges me find the next step and the next and back again. So as a student I am always learning and changing. And after 10 yrs of hard study the art is still new to me.

Answer 7

I was fascinated with the martial arts as young as 5 years old. Did not get to start training until I was 13. At first the idea of being able to defend myself was a big draw. Also I found that it seemed to be made for me. By that I mean that I was simply not interested in the sports and other activities available.  As my training progressed, I realized that I was respected as having really great kata, and fighting abilities.  I realized that I had something that many others wish they had.  I began teaching in 1973 and have never stopped. In my 40's I was told that I had Attention Deficit, Hyperactivity Disorder  ADHD . A doctor told me that I was lucky that many ADHD adults have had a history of trouble with the law and many have or are in prison. He went on to say that my martial arts training may be why I never got into trouble. Having the skill to defend myself has made me feel important to myself, my family, and others. I am willing to protect them if necessary.  with that goes a sense of responsibility, not only to myself, but to the community. I realize that I must never abuse others with my skills.

Another thing that I've gotten from the martial arts is this. Many times I could not afford to pay for my training. Several of my instructors allowed me to continue to train anyway. I am grateful to my instructors for what they have given me. I feel a responsibility to them to continue to train and improve. Not only that, I feel a responsibility to pass on that knowledge to others.  After I'm gone, I hope to be remembered as someone that was always willing to share my knowledge with others.

Edit: for those that want to know I have studied several styles of: Kempo, karate, jujitsu, kobudo, Iaido,...

Answer 8

The Bubishi has a poem that consists of 8 verses that are important in the study of classical Okinawan arts.

Although many associate this poem - the Poem of the Eight Fists, as it is commonly known, to Goju Ryu - it applies to all the Okinawan arts...

even though the Bubishi itself, is of Chinese origin and very old, the poem applies to the Hakka / Fukien arts. This is why they also apply to the Okinawan arts.

In response to the question, the most important aspect of my art(s) is how the Poem is totally in sync with the Naha Te based kata.

1st precept - The reference to unifying the mind with heaven and earth coincides with the practice of Sanchin.

2nd - The circulatory rhythm of the body being similar to the orbit of the earths moon and the sun references kyushojutsu and how the meridians are stronger or vulnerable according to the time of day.

3rd - the way we breath in Sanchin creates a body that is the perfect balance of hardness and softness - as many know that Miyagi named his teaching according to this precept.

4th - Goju Ryu kata teaches you how to adopt to the opponents timing and changes in power or strategy.

5th - Repetition of the kata make the movements instinctive. You will not have to think about what you are going to do.

6th - The footwork of the kata instill speed and precision in movement and evasion, and teaches leg trapping and most importantly, Tenshin - body change.

7th - Kata in general teaches you how to use your vision to cover your ground but eventually teaches you how to see without having to look.

8th - Kata also teaches you how to discern when being attacked, by the sounds you hear in your training.

When I discovered the Poem, my karate changed and enhanced my ability to protect my life.

The fact that it is an internal art is a plus in that it develops tremendous power.

The stances develop strong rooting.

One practitioner I know who studied bone setting in japan with his Sensei occasionally gave spinal adjustments during seminars and meetings.

The first time he adjusted me, as he did, he said "ah! a Goju Ryu practitioner".

I asked him how he knew and he said that Sanchin develops the back muscles in such a way that they spread over all the back more than usual.

He said he found this to be true in all Goju Ryu Practitioners he has ever worked on.

These are the things I find unique and important about my art.

Excellent question.

Aside from Goju Ryu, I studied Sun Lu Tang style Hsing I and also Yiquan. I am incorporating Shorin Ryu kata as I learn them from various lineages. I am currently learning Yong Chun White Crane fist and also studying Ngo Cho Kun - 5 Ancestor Fist - both Chinese Arts related to Classical Okinawan Bujutsu.

Answer 9

The fact that it is totally practical in one on one situations! I know how to put someone down on the ground and put a lock on them before they have had the chance to take that second swing. (and have!)

BJJ and Muay Thai.

Answer 10

I too love Kenpo. It's a true Hybrid. It gives you a vast vocabulary of motion lacking in most other arts. I have done Brazilian JiuJitsu, and Tae Kwon Do and they greatly bored me due to the narrow focus and they don't transition well from the different phases of fighting. I have tried other arts here and there, but they all seem to be on a much more primitive level. Real kenpo evolves and you will always have more to learn. Unlike so many other arts, in America anyway, it's not just a glorified cardio program, it's a real combat art.

Answer 11

Traditional Jujitsu is a old art, with a LOT of moves.  I love it because it is like building materials, taken straight from the source.  It is malleable and changeable.  Because there are so many moves, there is much to learn, and hardly enough time to master it all.  I studied it for about 5 years, before my instructor passed away, and have been teaching it, informally, to a few students on a volunteer basis, for 6 years now.  It is not commercialized and I studied it with no more than 4 students at a time.  But in the end, it was the instructor that made it different and preferable to the other arts.  The right instructor is harder to find than the right art.  Find the right instructor, and the right art will follow.

Here is a quote on the the kind of instructor you want to follow:

"He who knows not and knows not that he knows not is a fool...shun him.

    "He who knows not and knows that he knows not is willing...teach him.

    "He who knows and knows not that he knows is asleep...awaken him.

    "He who knows and knows that he knows is wise...follow him."

Answer 12

Respect, loyalty, discipline

Answer 13

What I love about my base and main martial art ( Jiu-jitsu )

Is its variety of techniques, as it covers most scenarios and eventualities more than the other arts I've studied officially which isn't much as I only studied officially, Shukokai, Shotokan karate ,Lau gar Kung fu and Boxing.

Also I'm a firm believer in practical street self defence and sadly the time people tend to need it most is in old age as attacks are rife these days due to lack of respect for older people and cowards singling them out as easy targets and that's another reason I favour jiu-jitsu as there are many techniques that can be applied without being super fit, it's no good being 25yrs old and performing spectacular spinning kicks and brick/board breaking etc, as some styles emphasise and reaching 60yrs+ and then you cant use it, no disrespect to these styles but a martial art style should be able to serve and help you all your life and especially in old age when you are most vulnerable.

And to anyone who thinks I'm hinting that jiu-jitsu is best I'm not as there is no best style only one that you personally can adapt to and feel comfortable using I'm only stressing that its best for myself.

Best wishes :)***

Answer 14

The things I love most about all martial arts is the fact it always presents a challenge, and challenges help us grow. What makes my martial arts school different than most, we get to learn alot of different styles of kung fu, so I feel honored to learn a variety of kung fu styles and become a unique fighter and martial artist.