What do you train

[Maddie]

I thought it would be fun/interesting to see if anyone wanted to share what they train in?

 

I do mindfulness, mantra, (Buddhist) Pilates, yoga, and Brazilian Jujutsu.

 

I used to do Karate but  there's only so much time in the day.

 

 

Edited November 30, 2023 by Maddie

[Sanity Check]

I'm training in case a zombie apocalypse goes down.

 

Recreational digging with a pickaxe and shovel. Digging invasive trees out of the ground to reduce the degree to which my local area is an ecological disaster in the making.

 

Consuming a type of tropical fruit that is not unlike a form of steroids. It has a protein that is easier for the body to digest and absorb in contrast to traditional forms of protein like wheat.

 

Training the energy meridians to make chicken salad out of chicken !@#%.

 

They said "seasons greetings" but in my mind all I heard was "seasons beatings". 

 

Positive and encouraging beatings full of love but beatings none the less.

 

edit 

 

More serious note I train kickboxing, yoga and all of the standard stereotypical things people are probably tired of hearing about by now. Of course.

Edited November 30, 2023 by Sanity Check

[Maddie]

16 minutes ago, Sanity Check said:

More serious note I train kickboxing, yoga and all of the standard stereotypical things people are probably tired of hearing about by now. Of course.

 

But I want to know what stereotypical things you do lol. 

[Nungali]

What type of karate did you do ?

 

I used to do it and finally dropped out after I squeezed it dry of any gold I could find, and unfortunately, after over 50 years study of it ( and I mean study, not just practice )  when I realized how mush BS was involved in it .

 

I have done that with a few types of MAs now I got /my own thing ' happening .

 

Except now I am old  ..... urghhh .   And lately this damn annoying 'pulled tendon' thingo, for weeks ... every morning , from my sacrum, behind my glute and down my leg ... but it isnt sciatica  ???  Damn annoying and painful .

 

So yesterday I had a young lad, in hismid 20s here, he is a wild card, street kid  , I have known him since he was a toddler ... we get on okay . he wanted some work, okay. But we decided martial arts was more fun. he point blank refused to do anything except 'realistic' and wanted to go free form .  I surprised myself .... the old fellah still got it !   Only at one stage I felt bad , during some ground scuffle I had to immediately tap out, wow did that strain my back !  But once I got up I as okay and continued .

 

But later that night ... OOooooo why did I do that; legs hips everything .... oh my dear !

 

Then I wake up this morning ..... pain gone , no pulled tendon,   glute not in spasm ... Yahoo ! 

[EFreethought]

On 11/30/2023 at 10:25 AM, Maddie said:

I thought it would be fun/interesting to see if anyone wanted to share what they train in?

 

I do mindfulness, mantra, (Buddhist) Pilates, yoga, and Brazilian Jujutsu.

 

I used to do Karate but  there's only so much time in the day.

 

 

 

I used to do TKD, and yoga. I have meditated on and off for years. Now I am doing a style of qigong called Golden Shield, and also looking into some breathwork.

 

[Maddie]

52 minutes ago, EFreethought said:

 

I used to do TKD, and yoga. I have meditated on and off for years. Now I am doing a style of qigong called Golden Shield, and also looking into some breathwork.

 

 

What is golden shield? I've never heard of that. Thanks for sharing!

[EFreethought]

3 minutes ago, Maddie said:

 

What is golden shield? I've never heard of that. Thanks for sharing!

 

It is a rare style. There are a few threads about it on this site:

I was having trouble focusing on my breath without controlling it, and I realized: then I should just control it. I looked for some local qigong/pranayama groups, and this was the only one in Austin. I thought Austin would have a lot of this sort of thing, but it does not.

 

It really does not do too much with breathing. It is closer to an iron shirt/iron fist style. You start out hitting yourself in the general abdomen area with a fist, then a wood block, then a brick, then other people hit you. Then you do the same thing for other parts of your body (legs, arms, the whole torso, head). There are the five physical levels, then beyond that there are meditations.

 

The instructor who brought it from China is here in Austin, so there are a few instructors here. I went to one, saw a guy hitting himself with a wood block, thanked the instructor for his time, and did not think I would come back.

 

Then I saw the above thread, and one of the posts tells people to keep an open mind (although a few posts discourage it). Then I found a video where another local instructor (whom I am still with) gave a demo and a lecture. At one point, he said something like: "I know this stuff works, but honestly I cannot explain why." I liked that honestly. I think a LOT of people into qigong/yoga/etc get intro trouble when they explain why this stuff works. Maybe there are spirits, chi, gods, etc, but until you experience it, it sounds like bunk.

 

So I went to his class, and he explained it a bit more. I liked the fact that there was a progression. I have been to a few groups where I felt like I was stuck in place for years. Plus I wanted to make a change in my life, and I realized one way to do that was to do something I had said "No" to.

 

So far it is going well. I have done belly, legs, and now I am on torso.

 

There is a site here: https://www.goldenshieldqigong.info/

 

 

 

[Maddie]

4 hours ago, EFreethought said:

 

It is a rare style. There are a few threads about it on this site:

I was having trouble focusing on my breath without controlling it, and I realized: then I should just control it. I looked for some local qigong/pranayama groups, and this was the only one in Austin. I thought Austin would have a lot of this sort of thing, but it does not.

 

It really does not do too much with breathing. It is closer to an iron shirt/iron fist style. You start out hitting yourself in the general abdomen area with a fist, then a wood block, then a brick, then other people hit you. Then you do the same thing for other parts of your body (legs, arms, the whole torso, head). There are the five physical levels, then beyond that there are meditations.

 

The instructor who brought it from China is here in Austin, so there are a few instructors here. I went to one, saw a guy hitting himself with a wood block, thanked the instructor for his time, and did not think I would come back.

 

Then I saw the above thread, and one of the posts tells people to keep an open mind (although a few posts discourage it). Then I found a video where another local instructor (whom I am still with) gave a demo and a lecture. At one point, he said something like: "I know this stuff works, but honestly I cannot explain why." I liked that honestly. I think a LOT of people into qigong/yoga/etc get intro trouble when they explain why this stuff works. Maybe there are spirits, chi, gods, etc, but until you experience it, it sounds like bunk.

 

So I went to his class, and he explained it a bit more. I liked the fact that there was a progression. I have been to a few groups where I felt like I was stuck in place for years. Plus I wanted to make a change in my life, and I realized one way to do that was to do something I had said "No" to.

 

So far it is going well. I have done belly, legs, and now I am on torso.

 

There is a site here: https://www.goldenshieldqigong.info/

 

 

 

 

Oh nice, Texas lol

[Chang dao ling]

I do Rama mantra ( Hindu mantra)while focusing on between eye brows. So i practice mantra meditation 

[Maddie]

8 hours ago, Chang dao ling said:

I do Rama mantra ( Hindu mantra)while focusing on between eye brows. So i practice mantra meditation 

 

Manta is one of my main practices as well :-) 

[senseless virtue]

8 minutes ago, Maddie said:

Manta is one of my main practices

 

 

Mantas are beautiful creatures and diving in the sea is a great hobby for sure. You take photos or just go on to admire them?

[Maddie]

3 minutes ago, senseless virtue said:

 

 

Mantas are beautiful creatures and diving in the sea is a great hobby for sure. You take photos or just go on to admire them?

 

Words are hard :-(

[Nungali]

Oooo   OOOOOH!    Mantas ! 

 

There is meditation , training, 'practices'  and  ....... those 'special experiences'    ;

 

I dove with them off the Western  Australia coast .  Four in a row flew in , coming from the distance in the very clear blue water, above the flat sandy bottom . They peeled off , swooped, tumbled , acrobated , once came right beside me ,  I was kicking frantically ( with fins )  in a sorta 'backstroke'   - back towards the bottom , facing up underwater , so I could look back as I tried to paddle away  ( maritime law says you have keep a certain distance . But it was gaining on me , so what could I do? )  . Passed alongside closely and we looked into each others eye .  Wow ! 

 

I went with a pro undersea  photographer so got some fantastic pics.  Afterwards the boat crew and photographer said it was one of the best sightings in years ;   the clarity of the water ,  seeing four at once , the observed 'formation' behaviour  and displayed most of the 'tricks' they are know for .     Lucky me    

 

( I think I posted the pics on a thread around DBs somewhere . )

[Trunk]

Sifu Matsuo mentioned "meditation, mantra, mandala" as a triplet.

... sort of a fundamental internal arts m&m's.

 

[Maddie]

5 hours ago, Trunk said:

Sifu Matsuo mentioned "meditation, mantra, mandala" as a triplet.

... sort of a fundamental internal arts m&m's.

 

 

That's interesting. I've not really done much with mandalas. I'm not really sure what to do with them, but this post really resonated with me! 

 

[Mig]

On 11/30/2023 at 8:25 AM, Maddie said:

I do mindfulness, mantra, (Buddhist) Pilates, yoga, and Brazilian Jujutsu.

 

Just curious, is there a big difference between Brazilian and Japanese JJ?

 

 

 

 

 

[Maddie]

Japanese jiu jitsu was created by the samurai to be functional on the battlefield. Specifically a battlefield where everyone is wearing armor which is why there's not really a whole lot of strikes.

 

Brazilian jiu-jitsu is a derivative of that focused more on grappling and primarily a sport.

Edited December 10, 2023 by Maddie

[Mig]

On 12/10/2023 at 5:26 AM, Maddie said:

Japanese jiu jitsu was created by the samurai to be functional on the battlefield. Specifically a battlefield where everyone is wearing armor which is why there's not really a whole lot of strikes.

 

Brazilian jiu-jitsu is a derivative of that focused more on grappling and primarily a sport.

I thought that judo was the evolution of Jiu-jitsu to become the national sport. I understand that In Judo, much of the emphasis is weighted on standing techniques versus ground techniques. On the other hand, Jiu Jitsu is heavily focused on ground techniques with some standing techniques in the form of self-defense. Is Brazilian much different? Or was it marketed differently and the timing was right in the 90's when full contact, kick boxing were fading away that became popular? Or is it another trendy thing that is so common in the US?

[Maddie]

Just now, Mig said:

I thought that judo was the evolution of Jiu-jitsu to become the national sport. I understand that In Judo, much of the emphasis is weighted on standing techniques versus ground techniques. On the other hand, Jiu Jitsu is heavily focused on ground techniques with some standing techniques in the form of self-defense. Is Brazilian much different? Or was it marketed differently and the timing was right in the 90's when full contact, kick boxing were fading away that became popular? Or is it another trendy thing that is so common in the US?

 

You are correct. Judo came out of Jujitsu. I believe back in the 1920's a Judo practitioner went to Brazil and began to teach. One of the students was the patriarch of the Gracie family Carlos Gracie. Back then Judo was still being called Jujitsu so when Carlos decided to make Jujitsu more functional (ie. throw out what was unnecessary and perfect further what did work) he named it Gracie Jujitsu. 

   Originally even early Judo had a lot of ground grappling but as the sport evolved it began to focus more on stand up throws and take downs and emphasize grappling less. On the other hand Gracie aka Brazilian Jujitsu emphasized ground grappling a lot. 

 

  It became popular in the states after UFC 1 when Royce Gracie won after beating every other opponent that he faced, which led to the modern phenomenon of MMA. 

[Mig]

5 minutes ago, Maddie said:

 

You are correct. Judo came out of Jujitsu. I believe back in the 1920's a Judo practitioner went to Brazil and began to teach. One of the students was the patriarch of the Gracie family Carlos Gracie. Back then Judo was still being called Jujitsu so when Carlos decided to make Jujitsu more functional (ie. throw out what was unnecessary and perfect further what did work) he named it Gracie Jujitsu. 

   Originally even early Judo had a lot of ground grappling but as the sport evolved it began to focus more on stand up throws and take downs and emphasize grappling less. On the other hand Gracie aka Brazilian Jujitsu emphasized ground grappling a lot. 

 

  It became popular in the states after UFC 1 when Royce Gracie won after beating every other opponent that he faced, which led to the modern phenomenon of MMA. 

Thank you for the clarification. I am sort of familiar of all those styles and if I remember correctly Judo became popular in the US after 45 and then Karate took over. What I find interesting is the way they market names and some become popular and some don't. Just like Pankration in the 70's that never took off or then after 90s sambo never became popular. Today, there is a controversy about how Royce fights were not equally fought or didn't have athletes prepared as what you have today.

[RobB]

Finding out that BJJ was forming in Brazil (1917-1925) at the same time as Karate was developing in Japan (1912-1926) blows people's minds! 

[Maddie]

2 minutes ago, Mig said:

Thank you for the clarification. I am sort of familiar of all those styles and if I remember correctly Judo became popular in the US after 45 and then Karate took over. What I find interesting is the way they market names and some become popular and some don't. Just like Pankration in the 70's that never took off or then after 90s sambo never became popular. Today, there is a controversy about how Royce fights were not equally fought or didn't have athletes prepared as what you have today.

 

I believe the controversy is that some feel that UFC 1 was "rigged" since Royce was not paired up against any wrestlers but only strikers. 

[Mig]

6 minutes ago, RobB said:

Finding out that BJJ was forming in Brazil (1917-1925) at the same time as Karate was developing in Japan (1912-1926) blows people's minds! 

How do you know that Karate developed during that time. I thought Karate was systematized in Okinawa in the 17th century ?? Just wondering

[Maddie]

3 minutes ago, Mig said:

How do you know that Karate developed during that time. I thought Karate was systematized in Okinawa in the 17th century ?? Just wondering

 

He is talking about modern sport Karate in Japan. 

[RobB]

17 minutes ago, Mig said:

How do you know that Karate developed during that time. I thought Karate was systematized in Okinawa in the 17th century ?? Just wondering

 

I am messing around a bit. Karate has deep roots in earlier arts but Karate as the West (mostly) understands it was formulated and codified in the early 20th century. The juxtaposition with  BJJ can be eye-opening for those who buy into the 'mysterious ancient art' thing.

 

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karate

Edited December 11, 2023 by RobB