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What martial arts have you practiced in the past o are practicing now? And what belt or level did you reach?

I've studied Wing Chun (no, seriously, its called Wing Chun) and Escrima, which is stick fighting, some judo and karate. I have also had training in several other weapons forms (nunchaku, sais, katana, bo staff and long pole) both as an aside to Wing Chun (I know, I just keep saying, it huh?) and on their own.

I mainly took the escrima because one of the instructors and a friend of mine who is a student are both hot HOT HOT!

I started out in WTF TaeKwonDo. I did that for about three years before I had to move, and I was a high blue. Once I moved I joined an Okinawan Kempo club, where I stayed about five years (I still kept up with my TaeKwonDo during that time). Unfortunately, I had to move again for grad school (I had just acquired my brown belt).

But ultimately, its not about the style or the belt that you have; its really about the personal gain that you go through and the dedication to the art that matters in my opinion.

Krav Maga-Level 3
Ninjitsu-Belt was pretty dirty
Capoeria-No rank system used
Arnis-beginner levels
Some tai chi and wu shu

Boxing and ground fighting.

weapons: Sai, bullwhip, katana, shuriken, bo, knife and stick fighting.

Really want to get back into Krav Maga in the spring.

i've just done Karate. Got to blue belt before i quit. but hey i was beating black belts so i don't care. I want to take up jujitsu, but don't have the time

oh and have a Jo and know how to use it a little bit.

I practiced Shotokan Karate to First Kyu, then tested for my black-belt with a shoulder injury and failed, but got a one-month re-exam. Then I went off to college and I had no time to continue, so never got the black-belt

Two years ago I practiced Hung-Ga Kung Fu which is the Chinese predecessor to Shotokan (which is Okinawan), but only for a few months as the instructors were poor teachers (but great at the art itself).

In January I start Qi-Gong and Tai Chi as part of the curriculum of the Traditional Chinese Medicine program I've enrolled in. I'll be practicing those for four years minimum as a mandatory part of the course-work.

I kickboxed only for a semester at college before I had to go overseas and look forward to getting back in to it again.

I used to do a bit of Wing Chun (a martial art originally created by Bruce Lee) but i stopped that after awhile thinking it was too rigid. Then i moved onto capoeira which was good fun but i didn't pursue it because it was a school sport thing and i didn't have the time to go into it outside of school.
Now i want to pick up capoeira again and chen style tai chi.

Rocco...you did Arnis? I studied some Arnis with the Escrima.

And you have a bullwhip? Thats hot...you're like Lara Croft but with a penis (and really hot tattoos...and more muscle...uhh, ok, maybe you're not like Lara Croft at all..)

HTF Tae Kwon Do- assistant instructor, 2nd degree black belt, I still practice frequently.

Also studied hapkido, eskrima (still practice), bo staff, grappling, kickboxing, and pressure point tactics.

the schools I was at didn't just focus on the physical, they also taught history and spirituality behind the arts. I sometimes practice just to re-center and meditate.

Aikido here, just got my brown belt. I studied Tang Soo Do a million years ago, and Hung Gar kung fu.

SKA - Shotokan Karate

Tai Chi Chuan

I used to do Tae Kwon Do in college.

Kyokushin Karate - 1st deg. black belt
Judo when I was a kid, but never got good at it

I have been training in Kendo for years but since I moved to this town I haven't found a descent place to train.

Well, maybe next city.

Tommy... I'd prefer to be the male Elektra LOL

Does Croft us a whip??? I've only ever seen, and enjoyed, the movies.

Yoshokai Aikido, purple belt

Kenpo style kickboxing, no belt system

Well, I started Kickboxing at a local gym and stuck with it for 3 years but never was ranked in a system. Im currently an orange belt in American Karate. I havent really practiced any other forms of fighting. I did receive a few lessons through a boxing gym from someone who taught "street fighting." It was a pretty interesting area of fighting. But thats about it. And I did some gymnastics on and off through school and that definitely helped with flexibilty and hand eye coordination when fighting/sparring.

Has anybody seen that show on The History Channel, I think, called The Human Weapon? It's an interesting survey of all kinds of different martial arts, from Okinawan Karate, to French Savate, Indonesian Silat, and even U.S. and Isreali military fighting systems.
I highly recommend to anyone interested in martial arts. (The 'challenge' set up for the show is kinda cheesy, but still...)

Wing Chun and Silat looked especially cool, imho. ;)

I did Judo and Brazilian Jujitsu (which is a little different from the Japanese style) for two years. My instructor had an Incredibly difficult testing process that had normal minimum training time of 1 year per belt level. I was an orange belt when my instructor got divorced and moved to California. Other than that, I've dabbled in Kashima Shin-ryu and Karate, but had to stop when I moved for college. Haven't found a good school that I like yet. :/

Yeah , i like Human Weapon. the history and cultures and of course the efficacy that go with the various fighting techniques is so fascinating . i now have to figure which of the many offereed in sofl which to study. I'd lke to have he confidence that comes with knowing you can protect yourself and he knowledge of body point weaknesses.
what kind of God would make men's bodies so less perfect than a host of other creatures is a very good question chr. Hitchens asks n one of his boks which i better not name in this forum hehe ! made me have real respect for these

I use to take some taek kwon do class but I dont really enjoy it. It to much step to learn and remember. Latter I take some Thai Kick Boxing class but now I dont live in the city anymore I just train by myself at home. I hope probably one day to take some introductory classes in Bangkok Thailand, just so I know the proper step.

By the way, why is everybody saying Tai Chi is a matial art. As far as I know it just a movement to build your internal power and strengthening your chi. You certainly dont go fighting or defending yourself from anyone.

tai chi is a martial art. contemporary tai chi is primarily used to help cultivate internal energy, and to promote health and longevity, but traditional tai chi is full of martial applications. the concept behind tai chi is responding to an outside force by manipulating it. i'm sure you can google a bunch on tai chi as a martial art.

i practice kung fu, wushu, sanshou, qin na (joint locks), and a little bit of tai chi. my weapons are broadsword, straightsword, chainwhip, and i do a little bit of staff and spear.

WOW! Didnt really know that there were THIS many guys interested/ experienced in the martial arts! AWESOME!

Me: 21 years practice. 7 years Kobayashi Shorin ryu/ Matayoshi Kobudo under Hanshi Tadashi Yamashita. Kyokushinkai Karate. Kodokai Aikido only a few months practice though. 6 years Wushu/ San da with master MA Jin Long, san diego.

I LOVE IT ALL! Hit me up guys. Id love to talk to ya and share ideas!

Hey I know Tae bo! Not really, but this thread really makes me want to take something up. Does anybody have any recommendations on a good one to start. I'm not wanting to join the UFC or anything. I've found my evil glare and a blindingly swift kick in the nuts as a back up plan have protected me most of my life. I'm more looking for something to increase my hand-eye coordination and have some cardiovascular benefit to it. Any ideas?

Let's see, started with Tae Kwon Do in LB, CA in the 70's then switched to this little known school called the Philipino Kali/ Chinese Kickboxing Academy in Harbor City, CA. I had fallen under the able teachings of Danny Inosanto and Richard Bustillo.

Studied Kali, Eschrima/Arnis, JKD, Wing Chun and kickboxing. Did that thru the mid-80's then kinda stopped hitting the studio. Life and work caught up. A couple years ago started up again here in WA with a student of my Guro's student. I have been doing Kali, Arnis, Silat and a touch of JKD still. Don't bang anymore but I've got 3 good minutes to finish you then I run. lol

Richard will be coming up here to do a seminar for us in August. If any of you are interested, hit me up.

....Oh, belts. Humm. Hours matter, belts may not. Knowing is not enough, you have to do.

ITF Taekwon-do

Green belt

Love it.


Mike

All in the past: taekwondo (1 year), hapkido (1 year), aikido (4 years), arnis (goofing off), jiujitsu (1 year).

Would really like to begin training in krav maga soon but am working on healing up some sports injuries first!

Cool to see so many guys on here into martial arts and training.

used to do kung fu like 9 years ago and thinking about practising it again soon.

MMA, submission grappling and some kickboxing

Iwama Aikido - 2nd kyu (roughly equivalent to brown belt)

Its been a while, though... about 12 years, I think, since I actually went to a dojo. I just recently found a dojo here and I'm thinking about starting up again, maybe in the spring.

wushu. my forms include long fist, straight sword, spear, mantis, and taiji.

I've studied Aikido, Muay Thai, and Tai Chi. I want to learn Krav Maga and Iaido.

Tang So Do under Chuck Norris for many years.

hey i have spent the last 5 years in okinawa lerning
goju-ryu karate do and i teach at the y um i also do mui-thy and ju jit tsu i love martial arts

Wow, Arter:

That's HARD CORE!! What was it like in Okinawa?

My parents put in Tae Kwon Do
for 3 years. I was such a chubby
awkward kid in middle school.
I remeber this one instructor
would come in to teach our "self defence"
portion of the class. Man he would use
me as an example and slap the shit out of me.
I stoped when I got to green belt. I miss it
a lot! (not the slapping around though :-P)

tommysguns2000 saidI've studied Wing Chun

w00t Wing Chun! I've been training in Wing Chun for a little over a year and I'm loving it!

I looked at a lot of other styles, but they didn't seem to fit me. Most have a big emphasis on body strength (not a forté of mine);) I considered Wushu Kung Fu, but the schools in my area were handled like military school. Form a line, drill, drill, drill, drill. Then "Try and keep up with a form, see ya next class!"

I also considered Tai Chi, but I didn't want to wait until I was 50 before I started to understand the martial aspects of it....

CharlieT saidI used to do a bit of Wing Chun (a martial art originally created by Bruce Lee) but i stopped that after awhile thinking it was too rigid.

Actually, Charlie, Jeet Kun Do was started by Bruce Lee but based on Wing Chun principles. Bruce Lee did start practicing Wing Chun, under the tutelage of Yip Man, the man who brought Wing Chun to the masses.

As for it being too rigid, yes it is in the beginning. But it's a bit of a paradox... The rigidity allows free flow in a fight. heh, Where do you think Bruce Lee got the idea of "Be like water"?

Tae Kwon Do for five years, made it too black belt but stopped before undergrad. Picked up fencing for the next four years but haven't found a new place to do it since. Looking to either pick up wing chun or krav maga while I"m in israel

tang soo doo

I've just started Brazilian Jujitsu and I've only done it for a month now but I have done tons of sports from hockey, to football, gymnastics, track and field, and roller hockey and this is the most fun

Krav Maga...

Brazilian Jiu JItsu for about 5 years; blue belt; competed at NAGA, Grapplers Quest and Casa Grossa tournaments. Train at a local fight gym 3 - 4 days a week; Train gi 90% of the time; occassionally train no-gi to work my takedowns.

BJJ is the ultimate martial art / grappling system.

TKD as a kid, and most recently Muay Thai. However, I haven't found a school that even remotely compares to Thai tradition. Supposedly westerners cant handle it. In any case, Muay Thai sometimes gets a bad rep because of the MMA schools that don't accurately teach it. That being said there are also a few great MMA schools that do it justice when then they teach it. Don't get me wrong I am not down on MMA, I love it. I am just saying some MMA schools have watered it down beyond recognition. Within a few years I plan to spend some significant time in Thailand on a humanitarian project, hopefully I can find time to find a traditional teacher.

It's incredibly awesome to see so many guys into the martial arts here, most of the guys where I live would be to scared of breaking a nail.

I want to learn so many other martial art forms as well, I am just waiting until I've relocated so I can have more access to some of those styles. It's coming before the year is out.

I have studied Tai Chi for nearly ten years and have also taught it recreationally. It's a martial art and anyone can practice. I advise everyone to start young. You can get into push hands and then it starts getting to be fun.

I've practiced judo since I was 8, currently 3. Dan. I'm a stick-to-one-thing kinda guy so I don't do other styles. also studied for one year in japan training at International Budo University, which has a pretty good judo club. now in Denmark coaching the U-17 national team.

have you ever seen a gay guy beating up a straight guy?and how did it end?

hellooo

I started Krav Maga in the spring - I love it. We've also got fight classes as well. I'm level 1 in Krav (lol, lowest level but whatever, gotta start somewhere) and now I'm level one in the fight classes as well (there was a 10 week intro to fight class that you have to do before level one).

Krav is definitely a workout though, and a lot of fun too

I've been studying Kung Fu for about 8 months now. First my Shi-fu didn't want to do color belt levels, but then he changed his mind. Just to keep track on people's experience. I'm an orange belt and started my first weapons training, the bo staff. My school teaches Tan Tui Tang Lang ( Praying Mantis ) and Choy Lay Fut. The first 2 levels we are required to learn both styles and once in the orange belt level we choose which path to take. I'm choosing praying mantis style. I've also been studying Tai Chi under my Shi-fu. Every since I've join the school I've loved every minute of my training.

If anyone has any tips on increasing flexibility, please I'm all ears. Also if anyone has some great workouts to share, I'd love to hear 'em and exchange workouts.

I did N. Shaolin mantis kung fu for a little while, and have some experience with Aikido as well. I really have been trying to find a nice place to study some more, but am going to wait until I move cities for residency.

I took about 6 months of Kung Fu. I would love to get back into it again. I'd also like to learn some grappling type of arts. But......

TaeKwonDo

I work with bullwhips, snakewhips, and stockwhips. Recently I had some informal training with the same fellow who trained Harrison Ford on whips for the new Indiana Jones film, and my bullwhips are made by the same guy who supplied them for the film. I've been using whips at a serious level since 1981.

I also think Krav Maga is a really cool art.

This is me appearing as Indiana Jones at Legoland last March

I started training in Wu Shu (south fist & long fist) with friends in college. I never attended an academy but i compete with high-colored belts.

I used to love the acrobatics and trikz when i was younger. Now, it takes more effort to get off the ground (lol).

I am a sankyu (brown belt) in kenpo karate, I have been studying for three years

more cat pictures

I just bought a book on Drunken Kung Fu, though I'd prefer a good class and instructor.

Well....I started out just regular street fight as a kid then i got introduced to togakure ninjutsu (wakarimaska?)got yondan then got into judo when UFC just came out back in 91' under Blaine Rhinehart.
Have since trained a bit of tang soo do,american karate,also got my faixa azul in BJJ ( eau falo um poco de portuguese..vce?).
Although i profoundly respect all traditional and MMA
i do still believe that if u train under Masaaki Hatsumi Sensei u will have a understanding what a true martial artist is.

I practice Choi Kwang Do. I've been doing this for just over a year. I'm at the orange belt level now.

Kev

Tae Kwon Do - Chun Do Kwon as a youngster for about 4 years, 2nd degree brown (one more brown left before black). Then I turned 16 and became a stupid teenager. lol.
Really, I went into dance from that, jazz,tap. 4 years of Tae Kwon Do and several years of dance , all of which were on concrete floors I think help cause my feet to hurt so much now. But I loved it.

There was this one time when I attended a few classes of Aikido. The instructor I know is cute. forgot his name. Anyway, I might take it up in the future.

First Degree in TKD

brazilian jiu-jitsu. train at Knuckle Up Fitness, Atlanta, Ga.