New And eager to learn

[DraKeN]

Hello I'm a High school student and through out my life I have always wanted to learn martial arts and I live in California Los Angeles my parents hardly ever had the chance to take me to a martial arts programs because they had to work but now since I'm old enough I can take a bus go me =)! but anways I'm not sure what kind of martial arts styles there is but I'm kinda aim toward ninjitsu or kung fu or possibly Hapkido any suggestions of any types of MA i should takes and plz explain the styles of them

Thanks

[grubbogoppoly]

Hey. .I would suggest hwarangdo. Since you are in los angeles you would be able to train under the grandmaster. It would be a great experience. Go to hwarangdo.com and it will give you a much better description than I could give. Plus there are some great clips for you to check out as well(If you check out the 7th dan testing clip, that would be someone you would be learning from in Los angeles). I suggest you go check the dojang out.

[Szczepankiewicz]

If I were you I'd track Sweep Em down and train with him.

[DraKeN]

the nearest one by me is at pico from los angeles ( near the staples center ) is he there? , and I preety much liked what they teach it's the kinda school I've been looking for thanks for bringing it to my attention!, but i have one question out of curiosity they also talk about Tang Soo Do is Hwarangdo and Tang Soo Do like related some how? but anyways thanks I appreciate it

[RobertG]

The Hwarangdo place is actually on Pico and Sawtelle. The only advantage to training there is the proximity of a number of great sushi and noodle places and cute Asian babes.

I don't want to dis on Hwarangdo, but, ummm, you're in L.A., a world center for martial arts. You've got Inosanto down by LAX. Enough said.

Oh wait, lets see, you've got Carlson, Rickson, Royce, AND Rorion Gracie in L.A.

But wait, you've got 5 or 6 Machado's down there as well.

If you want Kali, besides Inosanto, you've got the Dog Brothers.

You've probably got plenty of top notch Muay Thai guys there. Professional boxers. I think Salem is still in L.A. so you could get great Savate instruction. So all I'm saying is that when you've got the best in the world there you ought to do yourself a favor and check them out.

I'll leave you with this thought: when was the last time you saw a Hwarangdo or Tang So Do guy whoop ass on anyone in a professional fight? Besides, you tell guys at high school you're training with Rickson or something and you've got immediate street cred. You're going to get ragged on for training in some martial art that everyone is going to mispronounce.

[lssanjose]

Los Angeles to me is a Mecca of martial arts , particularly JKD if you look in the right places, and don't forget drew pruhs in chinatown, I think you got erik paulson??? but yeah tons.. hey nice quip on the asian babes.. i'll have to check it out one of these days when i head up to LA to chill with some old buds and hopefully go to school there if i get accepted to the university up there (pomona)

[DraKeN]

so your saying Hwarangdo is no good?

[lssanjose]

well we're just saying that hwarang do 's rep especially in US is questionable to a good degree.. there are some alternatives to consider.. that's all .. but hey whatever floats your boat.. .I would like to know really what your goals are? What do you hope to do as a result of studying martial art? or what do you want out of it? I'm asking because some schools offer different things for people than others.

[grubbogoppoly]

TANG SOO DO is in no relation (well it is in relation, but it is not hwa rang do)to hwa rang do. TAE soo do however is. The reason they have tae soo do is for people who have never taken any form of martial arts previously. Hwa rang do contains a huge volume of techniques and info that you have to know. In addition it is a incredibly physically taxing style, so a lot of people weren't progressing in hwa rang do if they went straight into it without previous experience. THis is the reason they made tae soo do, it builds the base for hwa rang do.
However, by all means check out other schools. Choosing a martial art/fighting style is a very personal thing. It is not about what I or any of these other guys say. Do what you think will work for you. But from the styles that you named and your apparent interest in the art, I think hwa rang do would be more suited to your preferences. But again. Don't listen to me. Go check out the schools and instructors and find what is best for you. For me I liked hwa rang do because it was a more complete art. There is all fighting aspects, internal aspects and even healing aspects. Personally I don't like jiu jitsu on its own because if you are talking about a street fight. The last thing you want is to be on the ground. That being said, hwa rang do contains many of the same techniques that jiu jitsu contains. I believe jeet kune do would be very beneficial as well if you are looking for street effectiveness as well. So, basically find an instructor who you like in a art that you like. (personality, skill and teaching style when looking at an instructor)
The World Headquarters for hwa rang do adress is here:
8200 Firestone Boulevard
Downey, CA. 90241
Phone: (562) 861-0111
FAX: (562) 861-3762

Again. .TANG SOO DO IS NOT HWA RANG DO!! Tae soo do is the "undergraduate program" for hwa rang do.

PS: As to you who say hwa rang dos rep is not that good. Well what do you really even know about the art. Have you even known anyone personally who has taken it? I really am just curious.

[lssanjose]

I apologize for the quick assumption....mainly because TKD gets a bad rap along with hapkido.. i'll check out hwarang do some time.. I suppose. at least on boards I've been to TKD /HKD get a bad rap ..thats' all no pun intended ..

[grubbogoppoly]

As to robert. .
"I'll leave you with this thought: when was the last time you saw a Hwarangdo or Tang So Do guy whoop ass on anyone in a professional fight? Besides, you tell guys at high school you're training with Rickson or something and you've got immediate street cred. You're going to get ragged on for training in some martial art that everyone is going to mispronounce."

Think about it. If he can't pronounce the name of the art I study then how can he know if it is effective? They were the original Sulsa (equivalent to the samurai-actually taught the samurai some of there skills.) Like I said before also, TANG SOO DO IS NOT HWA RANG DO.

By the way people will rag on you if you BRAG about training in any martial art. If you just say you study a certain style most people will just think of it as something you do. They won't take it as you saying you could kick their ass. Those are the idiots that get ragged on. The ones who think they are bad asses because they train in one form of martial arts.

Simply study what you want and if other people quote rag on you. Who cares. Ignore it and move on. If you take bjj then I could make fun of you for only being able to fight on the ground. I won't but someone could. Someone could "rag" on you no matter what you do.

[grubbogoppoly]

Issan. .No prob. .Just wanted to clarify. You at least did it in a somewhat civilized manner. That other guy, wasn't that nice though.
You show character by admitting that you don't really know the subject, though, and I respect that.

[lssanjose]

hey no problem.. glad to get that cleared up .. I'm still waiting on the guy's answer though :/

[RobertG]

Originally posted by grubbogoppoly
As to robert. .
"I'll leave you with this thought: when was the last time you saw a Hwarangdo or Tang So Do guy whoop ass on anyone in a professional fight? Besides, you tell guys at high school you're training with Rickson or something and you've got immediate street cred. You're going to get ragged on for training in some martial art that everyone is going to mispronounce."

Think about it. If he can't pronounce the name of the art I study then how can he know if it is effective? They were the original Sulsa (equivalent to the samurai-actually taught the samurai some of there skills.) Like I said before also, TANG SOO DO IS NOT HWA RANG DO.

By the way people will rag on you if you BRAG about training in any martial art. If you just say you study a certain style most people will just think of it as something you do. They won't take it as you saying you could kick their ass. Those are the idiots that get ragged on. The ones who think they are bad asses because they train in one form of martial arts.

Simply study what you want and if other people quote rag on you. Who cares. Ignore it and move on. If you take bjj then I could make fun of you for only being able to fight on the ground. I won't but someone could. Someone could "rag" on you no matter what you do.

I really hate to break it to you, but Hwarang Do is a total fabrication. All you have to do is look at the "official" story and its so full of holes it isn't even funny. No, the Sulsa did not teach the Samurai anything. What are you smoking? The Japanese are so damn xenophobic that hardly even the Chinese had minimal influence on Japanese culture (relative to the rest of the Asian continent). The Japanese did not train with the Koreans--they wanted to kill them (along with anyone else who wasn't Japanese). But back to Hwarang Do....ummm, yeah, these guys lived in the monastery until they were in their mid-20's, during which time they mastered the entire art of Hwarang Do. Then, even though it had been highly secretive and not taught to anyone outside of the monastery, the temple elders let these guys go to the US to teach the Americans. Riiiiiight. Nevermind that all Hwarang techniques are clearly derivative from other arts and do not show an art that had developed in isolation for 1,000 years in a monastery. Not to mention, of course, that any art that has evolved in isolation from combat for hundreds of years isn't worth a damn. Period. Oh, and BJJ guys only fight on the ground? Ummm, ok. It might be because they take it to the ground, but most BJJ guys do cross-train, so they have some stand up skills.

[grubbogoppoly]

It is quite obvious that this art is derived from many other art? What? Obvious ?? because we contain ALL types of martial skills as opposed to the specialized skills of most other arts? So you are saying that hwa rang do was derived from other arts? Such as what?