Martial Arts From Home

[Orgasmic19]

Martial Arts?

 

I am curious how many of you guys incorporate your martial arts training with your spiritual training?

 

And, how many of you train at home without a established school?

 

I used to do Tae Kwon Do in the past, but suffered a back injury some time ago. I have been debating on returning to Tae Kwon Do or not. My plan is to train myself from my own home as a self teacher and student.

 

Fortunately I can't afford to go to a established training facility or school at this time, but want to practice again.

[Vajra Fist]

I found that some martial arts can be learned from home while others are impossible. I taught myself karate over a year or two, constantly stopping mid-kata to examine my stance, weighting etc. When I went to a school to train the teacher said he thought I had a dan rank. Sadly many Japanese schools won't recognise home study and still require you to take the standard belt path with minimum requirements on class attendance.

 

Other martial arts are next to impossible and it's easy to injure yourself with incorrect form, bagua for instance.

[Nungali]

Martial Arts?

 

I am curious how many of you guys incorporate your martial arts training with your spiritual training?

 

 

My 'spiritual training ' has been mostly within hermetics and associated systems and the incorporation of it with martial arts has been mostly on an elemental level. 

 

Then there is the 'spiritual side'  of martial arts themselves  which should be incorporated anyway.  I never got that from things like  karate ( I consider it a degenerate form anyway )  but it is certainly within art of Japanese sword.   Earlier,  being interested in Thelema, I noticed in heir teachings ' The work of the  wand and the sword, these he shall learn and teach '  ( magical weapons of invocation and evocation ) but I was also doing aikido then and using sword staff and dagger , so it seemed to fit. After a while I realised the 'magical elemental' and martial weapons correlated. 

 

Then I branched out into more weaponry via kobudo.  Magically there are weapons relating to all the elements, planets and signs  ( sword is actually Mars ) .

 

With aikido , it has its own inbuilt , Japanese post-war, 'peace / non-conflictual spirituality ' . But it has an older more traditional, very rad spirituality behind it , VERY hard to track down ... but it can be, to an extent .  

 

 

And, how many of you train at home without a established school?

 

I used to do a fair bit of home training, get the guys around for a session.  Not that many people seem that interested anymore, or too busy. We dont really have an established school, the instructor teaches in a hall one night a week and we train in a park on Saturday mornings.

 

Ummm ... this might sound strange, but I do a lot of imaginative training - which I guess counts as 'training at home' .  It took me a while to figure out what was going on.  Often I take the class , and lead in in things the instructor doesnt seem to know, or get.  I come up with things, moves , applications, etc. that they seem flummoxed about. The instructor used to accuse me of 'training and learning somewhere else .Fairly recently I got a bit frustrated with them and and said , "  WEll, it just makes  common sense, haven't you worked that out ."

 

"How?"

 

" Dont you go through the moves and patterns and applications in your head with an imaginary partner and look at all the possibilities, gaps mistakes and improvements " "

 

and they all be like ... standing around looking at me        .....   "You  what ?   You fight people in your head ?". 

 

"Ummmmm ... yeah ... not always in my head, some time when I am in bed before I go to sleep I do it in the middle of the room ."

 

" While you are in bed ? "

 

" Yeah . "

 

   

 

.....     I  just assumed  other people did that. 

 

Then I  ;  " Well, no wonder you guys have trouble learning stuff, if you only doing it twice a week ! " 

 

 

I used to do Tae Kwon Do in the past, but suffered a back injury some time ago. I have been debating on returning to Tae Kwon Do or not. My plan is to train myself from my own home as a self teacher and student.

 

Oooo ... I am sitting propped up in bed with  sore and weak back ( collapsing lumbar verts and a caved in SI joint ) , but last Saturday, I just forced it and was good for 2 days.   I have had to give up grappling and rolling, so no Aikido. Also I had a hip replacement last october. Still tender !  So I cant really do that stuff. Weaponry  and some empty hand is okay, if I dont go too rad .... I am more of a coach now.  Twice, things got a bit hectic, tangeled up with a student, I had to either collide with them or fall on them, so I took a roll (on the hip ) instead.  Everyone was     .... I rolled up to feet and I was     ... but then   " Yeah ... I think I'm okay ....  yeah,  thats okay . "  BUt I not gonna make a habit of it .

 

Fortunately I can't afford to go to a established training facility or school at this time, but want to practice again.

 

That sucks , I have never charged anyone .... which is why  (some people think ) I am a good teacher - I got no agenda, no tricks, no need to keep financially afloat with it, no need to hold things back or dish them out in packages that need paying for.

 

Its the tradition also I am involved with (although instructor keeps trying to make a 'school' for some reason ) .   'Teacher' - the head guy, never had a school or charged ( but you would have to work ) , no sign, no Dojo, used to roll his slacks up and shirt off  and train like that or in a white singlet and slacks. Only time I saw him in a gi was in a group or official. yet 'Heads of  Schools' would come from  various countries to seek him out and train with him.  He had (he died about  10 years ago  )  a very interesting bonafide and original family tradition  -  

 

  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nishihira_Kosei 

 

Good Luck   !   

[Michael Sternbach]

When I started training martial arts at age 13, my teacher was an older boy from the neighbourhood who had been doing Kyokushin Karate for awhile and was ready to pass on to me what he knew so far. Since our sessions included short periods of sitting in seiza, I was additionally introduced to meditation. I was fascinated by the connection of physical training with something spiritual.

 

In between our weekly sessions, I was training on my own and found that I enjoyed it greatly. After about half a year, I enrolled in a local dojo which was teaching Shotokan. At the time, I thought of that style as being a more 'authentic' form of Karate. It wasn't too difficult for me to adjust to the technical differences, and my prior training definitely had a head start at the school.

 

In the following years, I continued supplementing my "official" training with self-conducted sessions in my own little dojo at home. Occasionally, friends with a martial arts background would come by, and we would share and train together whatever we had found and thought of as useful. In particular, I developed an interest in American Kenpo, despite there not being any schools in my entire country. So I practiced the style as best as possible, based on the few books available to me at the time.

 

Later, I picked up Aikido - originally thinking of it more as a supplement to my continuing training in Karate, however, it gradually became my main focus, especially during my time in Japan. I found its emphasis on ki and other spiritual aspects very captivating. Again, I complemented my studies in various schools (both in Japan and Switzerland) with home training, including ukemi (falling) as well as throws and arm locks. But I rarely had a partner available at the time, and practicing grappling techniques in the air is trickier than doing punches and kicks.

 

Around the year 2000, I experienced a series of illuminations and spiritual insights, some of which had to do with the martial arts. I subsequently extended my knowledge of the topic by reading numerous books and watching so many videos. I decided to develop a new expression of the martial arts, but mostly using Kenpo as a framework, which I once again started studying in private.

 

Some five years ago, in order to extend my understanding of martial ki/chi, I started practicing Taji, using a series of extremely detailed instructional videos by Erle and Eli Montaigue as my guide. I am currently working on Yang Lu-chan's Long Form of 108 movements. I am advancing slowly to make sure that I get all the rather intricate movements right. And I see no need to go anywhere fast.

 

About a year ago on another forum, I made the aquaintance of an advanced kenpoist. As I'm not sure if he would like to be publicly known at the current stage, I will simply call him by his first name, Mike. In his youth, he had been studying Kenpo from its founder Ed Parker, and later with some of his seniors. Mike observed that there were subtle but significant differences between what the late Ed Parker was demonstrating and what is being officially taught in so many schools. So he started reverse engineering Parker's techniques with the help of some friends.

 

Soon, Mike and I were regularly talking with each other via Skype. As Mike's conclusions much overlapped with my own thoughts and observations, I advised Mike to look into the internal arts in order to further his understanding of what the Grandmaster was doing (but didn't talk about). That referential framework, which my home cross training had enabled me to provide, proved helpful.

 

I believe that home training is particularly viable in a time when so much information is easily available thanks to modern technology. Some teachers and organizations even offer home study courses on DVDs and will check on your progress if you share videos of yourself performing. They may actually recognize mistakes faster than a teacher tending 30 students in a big school.

 

A drawback however may be that you have no training partners available at home. Unless you find yourself some, of course.

Edited May 18, 2017 by Michael Sternbach

[Gerard]

Hello friend,

 

You need to do an Internal Martial Art to unblock your body so you can reach the Mind. Spiitual cultivation in our modern world without working the Body is a path to failure.

 

List of Internal Martial Arts:

 

Chinese

Non-Chinese: Silat, Stav

 

You need to find a good teacher, which can be a daunting task.

 

Good luck.

Edited March 16, 2017 by Gerard

[Mig]

Why spiritual cultivation is necessary? Back in the days practicing martial arts were for body guards or hitmen n even the arts were not appreciated by the society. Self learning can be misleading and can even hurt yourself so it's better to learn from a book, video n most important from a experienced practitioner. Solo training for fighting is useless. Need to have a sparring partner.

[Vajra Fist]

.

Edited March 17, 2017 by Vajra Fist

[thelerner]

There are things that teach aspects of the martial arts.  Like mountain climbing teaches strength, technique and bravery.  Course can't do that at home.  I've found some of the longer breath holding techniques are a link between physical and spiritual. 

 

For example Wim Hof breathing which includes long holds after you exhale.  You come up against your will.  Your ability to control and calm your body in an extreme situation.  Yogic breathing patterns, where you get into longer holds like 10in 40hold 20exhale- repeat, where you struggle a bit against yourself, remaining calm and mentally poised as you stay in rhythm, fighting your own mind and limits at times. 

 

 

Closer to the OP's point is learning some weapons katas can be great 'at home' solo practices.  Learning the moves, there inner meanings.  Great for mind and body.  I guess all katas are good, but weapons particularly sharpen the focus and tend to build a bit more muscle.  Particularly bokken (sword) and staff.

 

Just doing 1,000 sword cuts properly each day is a workout and meditation all by itself.  Often the question is, in the eyes of someone experienced, can we do even one.

[Nungali]

...

 

Closer to the OP's point is learning some weapons katas can be great 'at home' solo practices.  Learning the moves, there inner meanings.  ...

 

I am not sure what you mean by  that , if you mean    'their inner meaning'  as in applications, how does one learn that doing solo practice ? 

[thelerner]

I am not sure what you mean by  that , if you mean    'their inner meaning'  as in applications, how does one learn that doing solo practice ? 

You've got a good point.  I was thinking once learned, they're good to do at home.  Most katas has subtleties that take an experienced teacher, weeks and months to bring out.  Then they're good to do at home solo.  Or you can have a friend with experience show you the ropes, not as good, but better then nothing.   

 

For example what looks like a simple staff thrust is really starting out aimed at a (imaginary) swordmans hands then ends at there throat level.  Or what looks like a sword striking left then right, has a the sword touching and curving around (the imaginary) opponents sword, and if that connection breaks or is weak, then you get killed.  Little things that aren't apparent seeing it or in simple explanations. 

[Nungali]

You've got a good point.  I was thinking once learned, they're good to do at home

 

Yes, once you know what they are. After a while, I feel  other possibilities and applications can be developed when practicing alone, when one 'gets into the swing' of it ...... then again this seems beyond some people , even with experience..  Actually,  I was thinking of a combination attack  friday night ... then realised  an obscure set of 4 moves from Niharchin Shodan would counter it ..... Ooooo gonna try that out at training tomorrow.

 

But then it pissed down raining and I got flooded in, so no training with others. I won;t know if it really works until I play with it with someone else.

. 

 

 

Most katas has subtleties that take an experienced teacher, weeks and months to bring out.  Then they're good to do at home solo. 

 

Agreed . Remember when you were younger,  trying to work out a kata from those old books with a 'step-by-step' photo ?        Urk ! 

 

 

 

Or you can have a friend with experience show you the ropes, not as good, but better then nothing.   

 

For example what looks like a simple staff thrust is really starting out aimed at a (imaginary) swordmans hands then ends at there throat level.

 

Thats the first move of our first kata with bo.

 

 

  Or what looks like a sword striking left then right, has a the sword touching and curving around (the imaginary) opponents sword, and if that connection breaks or is weak, then you get killed.

 

People die in your class !       

 

 Thats a tough school !   

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  Little things that aren't apparent seeing it or in simple explanations. 

 

Thats why I like 'workshops' where one can focus in on specific things for a while.       

[Brian]

There are things that teach aspects of the martial arts. Like mountain climbing teaches strength, technique and bravery. Course can't do that at home. I've found some of the longer breath holding techniques are a link between physical and spiritual.

 

For example Wim Hof breathing which includes long holds after you exhale. You come against your will. Your ability to control and calm your body in an extreme situation. Yogic breathing patterns, where you get into longer holds like 10in 40hold 20exhale- repeat, where you struggle a bit against yourself, remaining calm and mentally poised as you stay in rhythm, fighting your own mind and limits at times.

 

 

Closer to the OP's point is learning some weapons katas can be great 'at home' solo practices. Learning the moves, there inner meanings. Great for mind and body. I guess all katas are good, but weapons particularly sharpen the focus and tend to build a bit more muscle. Particularly bokken (sword) and staff.

 

Just doing 1,000 sword cuts properly each day is a workout and meditation all by itself. Often the question is, in the eyes of someone experienced, can we do even one.

^^^ Depends on where you live...

[dwai]

Martial Arts?

 

I am curious how many of you guys incorporate your martial arts training with your spiritual training?

 

And, how many of you train at home without a established school?

 

I used to do Tae Kwon Do in the past, but suffered a back injury some time ago. I have been debating on returning to Tae Kwon Do or not. My plan is to train myself from my own home as a self teacher and student.

 

Fortunately I can't afford to go to a established training facility or school at this time, but want to practice again.

Start by standing for 5 minutes at a time and building up to 30 mins and progressively to longer than that.

 

I'd recommend supplementing with taijiquan which you can do as single form as well as the choreographed long forms.

 

Single form work involves standing by physically freezing postures as well as moving.

[Nungali]

 Like mountain climbing teaches strength, technique and bravery. Course can't do that at home.

 

 

 

^^^ Depends on where you live...

 

 

and if you lost keys to front door.

 

Edited March 19, 2017 by Nungali

[Fa Xin]

I train everywhere. By myself if my teachers not around. I go from training with teachers to expanding my own knowledge through books videos or daily life. My teachers encourage this. I'll never NOT train. It's my passion!

 

If you want to learn it you will no matter from a book, imagination or a teacher.

[Gerard]

Please read the PDF file I attached to the Official Bagua Thread (it's under the systems and teachers of section):

 

"Bagua, Life and the Mind."

 

It will teach you something valuable.

 

Good luck

[Stumpich]

Martial Arts?

 

I am curious how many of you guys incorporate your martial arts training with your spiritual training?

 

And, how many of you train at home without a established school?

 

I used to do Tae Kwon Do in the past, but suffered a back injury some time ago. I have been debating on returning to Tae Kwon Do or not. My plan is to train myself from my own home as a self teacher and student.

 

Fortunately I can't afford to go to a established training facility or school at this time, but want to practice again.

I prefer not to refer to my spiritual training as martial arts - as people always misinterpret the meaning & your intention 

 

I suppose a school would be different & good in some ways & inconvenient in others

 

I try not to overtrain anymore to the point of pissed off burn out but,

I do try to FORCE myself to preform mandatory daily minimums -- & I do mean minimums - as I have reached a new level of laziness - procrastination - blood sugar problems - Knee problems , etc.

the minimums don't seem to be too much & I think I am being fair & not so harsh on myself 

 

I doubt I could defend myself

& I could greatly benefit from training with a partner - But I don't have a partner & it's too much work to get to anyway  - I have a difficult enough time preforming mandatory minimums

 

 

but it is a religious practice ---- that's what it is to me & that's all it is ----

 

 

the word martial arts or self defense comes from the evil scum who attack you

 

I am a little old man & I am tired 

Edited April 9, 2017 by Stumpich

[Fa Xin]

Yeah martial arts for me is more a personal meditation and something of a ritual.

 

More than a sports or exercise thing.

[Maddie]

I was curious if from a spiritual perspective if anyone feels they've made progress with martial arts and if so how so?

[Earl Grey]

2 hours ago, dmattwads said:

I was curious if from a spiritual perspective if anyone feels they've made progress with martial arts and if so how so?

The other forum I write on basically is all this. 😂

[Maddie]

Just now, Earl Grey said:

The other forum I write on basically is all this. 😂

 

Oh? What's the other forum?

[Earl Grey]

31 minutes ago, dmattwads said:

 

Oh? What's the other forum?

The link is in my signature.

[Nungali]

7 hours ago, dmattwads said:

I was curious if from a spiritual perspective if anyone feels they've made progress with martial arts and if so how so?

 

Well, I dont beat the shit out of people any more     

 

 

Spoiler

too old now    

 

Edited October 6, 2021 by Nungali

[silent thunder]

18 hours ago, Nungali said:

 

Well, I dont beat the shit out of people any more     

 

 

  Reveal hidden contents

too old now    

 

And I'm back up to my fighting weight...

 

Spoiler

Too heavy to run away

 

[Earl Grey]

On a more serious note, in the beginning I would build more power than skill when training at home.

 

I get strong enough to overpower my teacher and big guys even if I don’t look big. Skill from push hands or forms like Yang 108 or Liuhebafa are hard to develop without constant tweaking until a certain point where you go from beginners to just past intermediate and into advanced.

 

Then last year, I learned a technique to do push hands training at home with a medicine ball and table, and to improve long martial forms with Yi Quan framework.

 

Aside from minor tweaks from my teacher, I basically can train enough to see my occasional training partners and still surprise them.

Edited October 7, 2021 by Earl Grey