Its come a few times lately on the boards, the experience different gamers have in the martial arts, boxing, etc.
As a martial artist and gamer I was curious as to what the other martial artist gamers out there studied and how long they've been at it?
For myself I started with Shotokan, but moves, jobs, and life got in the way. In total I got about 3 solid years of training I really enjoyed it but fell away when my instructor got involved with other sports and stopped teaching.
I tried a few other schools Kempo, Aikido, Taekwondo, but never really got a got fit with the school, enjoyed soeme of the training but never really found a martial arts home.
I lived in Detroit for a year and studied Wing Chun Do for about a year - I really liked that. It was really different, practical, clean, but then I had to move for work.
Landed in NJ and discovered the Hawthorne Institute of Martial Arts. The school, the instructor, the students, the attitude, the workout, were all amazing. I studied there for about seven years, going from white to black, to instructor.
The system was basically taekwondo, with some self defense techniques from hum do, and aikido, some workshop type traiing on boxing techniques, grappling, as well as some pain compliance work.
I think D&D is part of the reason I got into the martial arts in the first place, but along with gaming it has been one of my biggest sources for discovering new friends.
I hope there are others out there with similar experiences.
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I started the study of Kendo from an actual Japanese master at around 9 or 10(his grandson was my best friend)and have been practiciing ever since,sadly my master passed away some years ago.
other than that I've dabbled in savat, jujitsu, kung-fu, greco-roman style wrestling, and judo.
role playing and martial arts kind of developed hand in hand for me so I don't think either realy influenced the other but MA definately bleeds into any game I run, and I'm generally a very hands-on kind of character when I play...
game on, most honorables
I study Western Martial Arts, specifically Italian rapier systems, Fabris and diGrassi in particular. I also have some wrestling in my background. I'm looking at getting into German longsword very soon as well.
I studied taekwondo for a few years as a child and dabbled in shotokan karate and archery in college. These days I'm far more into weightlifting and body composition stuff, as I really no longer feel any desire to hurt people. (Plus, real fighting frequently involves a lot of pounding on one's face and/or brain, and I like both of mine just as they are, thank you very much.) That's not to say, however, that I don't still enjoy working the heavy bag, sparring MMA-style, and hitting my roommates with padded sticks - that's just good fun.
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Studied Tang Soo Do for 3 years, we had alot of Akido and Judo workshops, got a black belt. A car accident damaged both knees so I dropped out for a year or so. When I went back to M.A., I went for a change and took Tae Kwon Do, school was light on Black Belts so they accelerated my training and I earned a black belt after 1 year. Knees were bothering me when I was trying to hit the higher kicks and more powerful kicks, so I moved on to Wing Chun hoping that the more circular motions would alleviate some pain, while further strengthening my knees. Learned alot of melee weapon skill (chinese broadsword, staff, sai, tonfa, nunchucks, manriki-gusari, my favorite was the various polearms). 2 years later I moved on to boxing and after 6-7 months went to kickboxing (as much as the knees hurt I had some killer quick legs) at the same school. About 2 yrs after starting the boxing, I needed both knees operated on (one was a PCL replacement). Haven't trained since and its been about 8 years (with an additional surgery). I miss training badly, but I don't think the knees will stand up to a regular hard training regimen. So I practice my own combo style in my basement or backyard every so often just to make sure that, if needed, my foot will still hit someone's face, or I can slap on an arm bar to disable an attacker. I would love to find a fencing facilty of some sort in my area, but realistically I just don't have the time for another commitment like that.
FH
Good Day Good Souls:
I have studied the martial arts since I was about 8 years old...Slightly giving away my age here..when my uncle brought back some friends from the far east. I have continued my Hand to Hand Combat training for about 30 years. I started with Chin-Na ad from there my travels with the martial arts have included Hwarang Do, Shaolin Kenpo, Eagle Claw, Korean Sword Forms, Taijutsu (Ninpo) and now I am currently a student of Ki Aikido. I have to say that for the number of game writers who have studied the martial arts I find the hand to hand combat options and or flexability in game systems to be woefully lacking...But hey that's why I usually develop rules for various art forms :)
I study Western Martial Arts, specifically Italian rapier systems, Fabris and diGrassi in particular. I also have some wrestling in my background. I'm looking at getting into German longsword very soon as well.
Thats cool, I took fencing lessons (foil) for about 18 months when I first moved to the NY area - I liked it (though it tweaked my back a little (all the lunging with one side of the body I think) but where do you find Rapier trainging and German longsword? I think it would be great to study but was unaware that their was actual training available.
I studied kung fu for three years in high school and more recently earned my decided first degree black belt in tae kwon do.
I did kajukepbo on and off for a long time till I was about 17 or 18. Got all the way up to purple belt. I was really good at it. Loved to spare and do turnaments. I was also a terror in the class and got in trouble a few times. I was kicked out of the class for mouthing off. Looking back on it I really wish I would have kept my mouth shut. It was a night class and since I work nights now so if I want to continue I need to find a different class. I think I want to get into kick boxing. I had more fun fighting then learning the forms and stuff.
I practiced Judo from 7 to 11 (by the wish from my mother) and again from 14 to 17 ended with the blue belt.
14 years later I started again but this time with Jujitsu (from which Judo is a part)for ten years now, still brown belt, I haven't the time and the real motivation to work for the black belt.
I started at about eight years of age, with a small "All-American Karate" school, taught by a kickboxing coach. Although the discipline was somewhat removed from any "true" Okinawan/Japanese roots, the school was one of the best I've seen, as the instructor was both extremely good at what he did and extremely humble about it. He worked with kids very well. I was there for nearly four years before my family moved, and I started taking TaeKwonDo. I took TKD from one of the large national franchise schools...I was there about five years, worked as a junior instructor for a little while, but ultimately hated the school because the focus was too much on self esteem and not enough on self defence or self-discipline(sad truth was, technique and self-discipline weren't necessary, so long as you or your parents kept the money coming in). When a second-degree joined the school who was younger than I had been when I started martial arts, I left.
Since then, I've been much happier. I found a new school and D&D at about the same time; this new school taught Karate and TKD, as well as Aikido, KungFu and Brazilian JiuJutsu and I took to the Aikido and BJJ like a fish to water. My girlfriend and I also practice Japanese sewordsmanship when we aren't cooking up new campaigns, and we are both theatrical fight choreographers and stunt people. So there's a lot of fighting in my life, which is grand, really.
It's also why, in D&D, I chafe at the combat dichotomy...you can have it real, or you can have it streamlined, but you can't have both. As a martial artist, I want both. But none of my players want to spar to resolve an ambush. ;)
When I was young (10) I took some kind of Karate for a year or so.
In college I studied Kung Fu with the Chinese Shaolin Center in Atlanta at the Georgia Tech Campus. It was technically a "club" and very affordable. I studied for 4 years, getting great excercise and basic martial understanding. After college, I couldn't really afford the time or cost to continue studying, so I only made to 3rd Brown (lowest of Brown belt). If I were to return, I'd be about 6-8 months from being able to test to Black Belt. I learned some great fun stuff after the basics, like weapons (sai, bo staff, chinese straight sword, short stick, kwando) and some cool forms (mantis, bird and some more basic tiger and crane stuff).
My best friend, whom I game with weekly, is still in school (for his Doctorate in AeroSpace Engineering) and he made it to black belt. I even had one of our Sifu's join our gaming group for a half a year or so (he jumped right into running Exalted, talk about great combat descriptions!) Two of our other Sifu's have played with us on occasion, but just for a one shot at a time.
Oddly enough, it is always the non-martially trained portion of the group that plays monks in D&D.
I miss my training, but have set up my basement with plenty of room to train, now I just need to kick my butt so I'll start working out again. Stupid manual labor jobs make you tired all the time.
Happy gaming all!
-c
Interesting thread Kyr...nice to know there's a sizeable body of martial artists within the gaming community.
I studied at a self defense school in Montreal called Senshido (literally translated from Japanese it means way of the thousand masters). Its not really a Martial Art per say...since we had no belts, katas, tournament techniques or anything...it was purely a self defense school geared towards survival in a violent confrontation. It borrowed elements from almost anything out there (hence the name), and its founder has studied like 20 years and has god only knows how many black belts.
We covered the psychology of a violent confrontation as well as the different ranges of combat (kicking, boxing, close quarter combat, and grappling), with an empahisis on street survival (ie environmental factors, multiple attackers, conceiled or improvised weaponry etc..). I studied for 5 years, and at the end was assisting in some teaching. As well as being owned and run by a great guy (Richard Dimitri), it surprisingly attracted a great core of students and certified instructors who checked their attitudes at the door (I was so surprised to find such a "hard" contact shcool not drowning in testosterone)...but surprisingly almost a third of our students were female as well as a sizeable amount of special needs students (childern, elderly, disabled, etc..).
I'm not sure if i qualify as a pure martial artist or not (THAT has been a subject of debate for almost a decade in the Montreal Martial Arts community when it comes to Senshido lol), but I did get into it way after gaming (I had been roleplaying for almost a decade before I joined senshido), but found it fun, challenging, a great workout, a great way to make lots of lifelong friends, and very rewarding...so in that regard (except the physically challenging part) its in many regards like gaiming!
Keep the posts coming and be safe all.
Thats cool, I took fencing lessons (foil) for about 18 months when I first moved to the NY area - I liked it (though it tweaked my back a little (all the lunging with one side of the body I think) but where do you find Rapier trainging and German longsword? I think it would be great to study but was unaware that their was actual training available.
The most likely place if you're interested in just learning the system would be ARMA. They have a fairly extensive website.
I get recertified in PPCT (Pressure Point Control Techniques) once a year. We strike people in the major muscle groups with expandable batons--primary target areas are the nerve clusters in the extremeties that are likely to cause stunning, thus causing the offender to stop resisting. Secondary target areas are the joints and strikes to the head and throat are only allowed if deadly force is justified.
It also involves open hand strikes to nerve clusters in the brachial area, knee strikes into the major leg muscle nerve clusters and arm-bar take downs that all work much better on the mat than in reality. In reality, most opponents are drunk, drugged, crazed or just have a DR10/--
I guess it's not really a martial art--just a technique compilation, I suppose. I had to box in the police academy and I hated it...it was tiring and it hurt...a lot! Cliff Magic Thomas used to come to the Academy to kick every recruits ass personally, but he skipped my class, thankfully.
The goal, always is to take people into custody with the least amount of injury...unfortunately in real life, it rarely works out that way. My favorite technique--the choke hold, was forbidden in policy in the 90's when it turned out to be kinda deadly to some people-but good God it worked like a charm. I don't care how tough you are, you have to breathe! It caused so much less injury to both when they just slumped to the floor unconscious. I'd put the cuffs on and then revive them with a knuckle chest rub. I guess it's good that it's not allowed any more....I wish the media would quit giving Tasers such a hard time because they are still so much safer than what used to be done. Everyone blames the easy target--the cops and the taser when someone dies, when in reality the fact that they just did PCP might have had a "wee" bit to do with it.
I've had to fight a couple of martial arts trained people in my time. One on one, they would have owned me nine times over. Luckily, I have a radio and several dozen associates with violent tendencies, sleep deprivation and a sugar rush from donuts...(it's not a stereotype, on graveyard shift when nothing other than Dunkin' Donuts is open)
The truely devoted martial artists we never had to worry about, because they were usually too disciplined and peaceful to be a threat to public safety.
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Don't belittle the Pressure Point Training, a huge amount of martial arts is the manipulation of your foe through pressure points. If anything I would say that the proper use of pressure points, combined with a cool head, can be a potent combo even against the best trained MA. BTW thanks for all you do to help protect the people how need it. F2K, you are the man!
Thanks
FH
F2K, you are the man!
FH
I appreciate it, but it's not like I have a choice when it's expected as part of your job. I admire those who go to the gym or dojo daily or several times weekly and subject themselves willingly to pain and physical exertion just to improve their mind and body.
I like chin na myself - I've never formally trained in the martial arts, though, but I have a great deal of respect for those who dedicate themselves to it.
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I appreciate it, but it's not like I have a choice when it's expected as part of your job. I admire those who go to the gym or dojo daily or several times weekly and subject themselves willingly to pain and physical exertion just to improve their mind and body.F2K, you are the man!
FH
Everyday you show up for your job. Yes the people on this thread may go to the gym or dojo several times a week, but it is a "safe area". You risk it all every day, as part of your job, so again I say thank you. I like the modesty though, its a refreshing trait to see in someone nowadays.
FH
I've always been interested martial arts, but really only got into sword. I did karate for a year when I was 8. I started studying kendo and iaido when I was 12, learnt for 6 years and then taught for 2, picking up the odd karate and muay thai class along the way. I now practice sword alone mainly as a meditation and for fitness.
One of my gaming buddies has convinced me to start aikido with him next week, I'm a bit rusty but I'm looking forward to it!
Contributor
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I also study western martial arts.
Currently I teach a rapier program, but I have done a lot of training with a variety of weapons including axe, spear, a variety of sword styles etc. I am also trained to fight with shields in conjunction with other weapons.
I'm currently developing a longsword course (based on I33 for those who have heard of it) for kids (my five-year old daughter wants to learn, and all my friends want their daughters in it to).
My true love with regards to weapons training is battle-field training. There is a massive difference between a one-on one combat and a group battle. Ironically, I describe my current club as a 'duelling club.'
If I were to modify the D&D rules to more accurately reflect my perceptions of battlefield combat... the game would totally bog down. But that said, one of the first things I would do is make any attack provoke attacks of opportunity.