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Hard vs Soft Martial Arts

JoeyDonuts said:
I've heard the same thing about Wii Bowling.
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Exactly. I used to teach tai chi (with full contact) and the overall group I belonged to was full of people who taught tai chi "for health". As an aside I used to joke that you could tell the ones who weren't into "health" as we didn't smoke - the "health" tai chi teachers did. Anyway they were always pushing various studies showing the health benefits of "tai chi" but it was like the chiropractors - quoting studies that show that manipulating sore bits helped but nothing that showed that anything distinctly chiro was involved. So yes, standing up doing gentle movements helps older people maintain their balance better than sitting down, who knew?
Most "tai chi" you would be better off going for a stroll around the park.
 
TubbaBlubba said:
Hrm. Are most boxing clubs fine with just sparring? I'd rather not end up with a concussion.
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You shouldn't get a concussion if you've got well-fitted headgear. The worst that'll happen is your head bounces around a bit.

If you're sparring with guys it's a bit more likely, but you should be fine; guys tend to pull their punches when sparring with females.
 
Wudang said:
Exactly. I used to teach tai chi (with full contact) and the overall group I belonged to was full of people who taught tai chi "for health". As an aside I used to joke that you could tell the ones who weren't into "health" as we didn't smoke - the "health" tai chi teachers did. Anyway they were always pushing various studies showing the health benefits of "tai chi" but it was like the chiropractors - quoting studies that show that manipulating sore bits helped but nothing that showed that anything distinctly chiro was involved. So yes, standing up doing gentle movements helps older people maintain their balance better than sitting down, who knew?
Most "tai chi" you would be better off going for a stroll around the park.
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As someone who's spent way too much time arguing with Chinese Martial Arts practitioners I'd just like to thank you for being grounded in reality.
 
Phrost said:
If you do try to find a Tai Chi Chuan place, make sure you look for one that spars full contact, perhaps even sends people fight in local MMA events or grappling tournaments.

Because there's a lot of garbage Tai Chi out there that's little more than standing yoga for hippies and senior citizens.
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Same advice for aikido. As someone who has studied good aikido for 15+ years, I'll be the first to tell you that there is a LOT of really crappy aikido out there (as I said, the criticisms leveled here are deserved in most cases). Choose your dojo wisely - of course, that's good advice no matter what specific style you decide to practice.
 
Wudang said:
Broken noses tend to help that.
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Yup, this is one reason why I like to emphasize atemi-waza (punching & kicking) so much in my aikido training. Nothing pisses me off more when people I train with "attack" in a fluffy, useless manner - kicking them in the stomach (or balls) when they dance up to you usually gives them the proper motivation to get more serious about the training. This is the prevailing attitude among the black belts in my dojo, and it makes me happy.

Atemi-waza is also really useful for showing the gaps in your technique. I recall last week I was doing a technique not quite right (my body positioning was off), so my sensei punched me in the stomach which dropped me to the mat. Next time, I got it right and threw him across the mat - good motivation :)
 
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Phrost said:
You shouldn't get a concussion if you've got well-fitted headgear. The worst that'll happen is your head bounces around a bit.

If you're sparring with guys it's a bit more likely, but you should be fine; guys tend to pull their punches when sparring with females.
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Oh god, I hope this is sarcasm...
 
Holy crap, is that not a ponytail in the avatar? With the angle of the picture and all, I figured it was just long hair... instead it's just a dark splotch in the background.

Sorry dude.
 
A lot of things are liabilities in fights, like keeping things in your pockets and using jeans.
 
Not if you wear Chuck Norris jeans.

chuck-norris-action-jeans-1.jpg
 
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