Hello everyone

[Sircnay]

Hey there everyone.

Name's Christopher. I'm 19 and I've been doing martial arts since I was 11. Thus far my core art has been Tae Kwon Do. Throughout the past 8 years I've dabbled in various unremembered years of Muay Thai, Shaolin Tiger fist and Tai Chi. Most just to supplement myself in the things that I lack.

I have a few titles of my own. My greatest achievement was taking 2nd in the state of California in the US Open and the Junior Olympics twice in a row in my class.

I'm a 5'9", 140lbs tiny asian male. I've got a frame that looks breakable but I use my lithe size to it's advantage: that being just faster than the average person.

I stopped taking classes about a year ago when my Sabumnim was taking money from me (I was one of the head instructors) and I started beating him in matches.

I come here in hopes of learning new things and maybe give my naive and young perspective of things. My personal belief is that people should take a fighting style that would suit to their bodies. Such as I don't think I would do well in a grappling art because I am much more potent on my feet moving and striking.

Anyhoo... hello everyone, I hope I learn much from the lot of you.

[BadgerFu57]

[QUOTE=Sircnay]
I come here in hopes of learning new things and maybe give my naive and young perspective of things. My personal belief is that people should take a fighting style that would suit to their bodies. Such as I don't think I would do well in a grappling art because I am much more potent on my feet moving and striking.
[QUOTE]

Well, because striking is your base art.... you might consider taking grappling. Reason? So that you can prevent being taken down and if you are taken down, can get back to your feet. Now don't tell me, "my footwork will prevent takedowns." I am sorry, it won't. Maybe against a 3rd grader, but not an ex-high school wrestler.

This isn't to say your striking it useless. I just mean to say, that if you learn some grappling, it will make your striking that much more effective.

To see my case in point see..... Bas Rutten or Duane Ludwig fight. They are MMA fighters with backgrounds in striking. Mirko Cro Cop is another excellent example. They are excellent strikers, but they have to know enough wrestling to keep the fight on the feet or get off the ground if they are taken there.

Also, Chuck Liddell and Don "the Dragon" Wilson were wrestlers before they were kickboxers.

Another side note.... size matters in grappling just like anything else, but just because you are small doesn't mean grappling is out. Technique can overcome strength on the ground just as it can on the feet. You just have to use your strengths, such as quickness and flexibility over strength and size.

I think Brazilian Jiu-jitsu, Sambo, or Judo would be a good new challenge for you. Also the skills you learn will complement your TKD not contradict it. You won't be learning to punch or kick differently, rather you will be learning a whole new world. However keep in mind that the way you would use grappling in a street fight would be different from the way you would use it in a sport grappling match. In a sport match you would use submissions and pins to win the fight, but in the street you would want to be able to defend yourself while on the ground and safely get back to your feet. But you must learn the principles of ground-fighting through the sport before you can effectively apply them in self-defense. You wouldn't kick a knee or groin in a TKD sport match, but by doing sport matches, your kicks gain the speed and power necessary to make your kicks to the knee and groin much more devastating. Does that make sense?

This might sound biased but BJJ as it's more suited protecting yourself on the ground. Judo and Sambo works more on throwing the opponent on the ground and pinning him from there. The takedowns in Judo are based upon the gi and are less likely to be used by an untrained person on the street. BJJ however uses more wrestling style takedowns which do not require extensive training or the gi. This means they are a lot closer to what an untrainted person would use to take you down. Encountering those kinds of takedowns often will increase your ability and confidence in being able to defend takedowns.

Anyway, let me know what you think of that.

[Sircnay]

I come here in hopes of learning new things and maybe give my naive and young perspective of things. My personal belief is that people should take a fighting style that would suit to their bodies. Such as I don't think I would do well in a grappling art because I am much more potent on my feet moving and striking.

Well, because striking is your base art.... you might consider taking grappling. Reason? So that you can prevent being taken down and if you are taken down, can get back to your feet. Now don't tell me, "my footwork will prevent takedowns." I am sorry, it won't. Maybe against a 3rd grader, but not an ex-high school wrestler.

This isn't to say your striking it useless. I just mean to say, that if you learn some grappling, it will make your striking that much more effective.

To see my case in point see..... Bas Rutten or Duane Ludwig fight. They are MMA fighters with backgrounds in striking. Mirko Cro Cop is another excellent example. They are excellent strikers, but they have to know enough wrestling to keep the fight on the feet or get off the ground if they are taken there.

Also, Chuck Liddell and Don "the Dragon" Wilson were wrestlers before they were kickboxers.

Another side note.... size matters in grappling just like anything else, but just because you are small doesn't mean grappling is out. Technique can overcome strength on the ground just as it can on the feet. You just have to use your strengths, such as quickness and flexibility over strength and size.

I think Brazilian Jiu-jitsu, Sambo, or Judo would be a good new challenge for you. Also the skills you learn will complement your TKD not contradict it. You won't be learning to punch or kick differently, rather you will be learning a whole new world. However keep in mind that the way you would use grappling in a street fight would be different from the way you would use it in a sport grappling match. In a sport match you would use submissions and pins to win the fight, but in the street you would want to be able to defend yourself while on the ground and safely get back to your feet. But you must learn the principles of ground-fighting through the sport before you can effectively apply them in self-defense. You wouldn't kick a knee or groin in a TKD sport match, but by doing sport matches, your kicks gain the speed and power necessary to make your kicks to the knee and groin much more devastating. Does that make sense?

This might sound biased but BJJ as it's more suited protecting yourself on the ground. Judo and Sambo works more on throwing the opponent on the ground and pinning him from there. The takedowns in Judo are based upon the gi and are less likely to be used by an untrained person on the street. BJJ however uses more wrestling style takedowns which do not require extensive training or the gi. This means they are a lot closer to what an untrainted person would use to take you down. Encountering those kinds of takedowns often will increase your ability and confidence in being able to defend takedowns.

Anyway, let me know what you think of that.

I completely agree. This summer I will be attempting a cage fight MMA style around town. Starting this saturday I will be starting my share in the ground game. I dabbled in some wrestling and stuff but nothing too serious. This should be interesting...

[BadgerFu57]

Good luck, let me know how it goes.

[Sircnay]

I had my first taste of jujitsu tonight and I'm a lot better at grappling tha I thought. huh... who woulda thunk it?

[BadgerFu57]

You know, it's customary to go easy on newbies. Ask the senior guys to go as hard as they can on you and then see how good you are at grappling, lol. Just kidding, glad you enjoyed it.

[Ryo]

Hello, and welcome to the forums.