The Martial Arts and Philosophy

[nasty]

Whats an interesting, good or informative book to read about bjj and muay thai?

 

[feelosofer]

"Sometimes when following the technique exactly, you feel that your body is not coordinated, your abdomen does not feel good, the postures are bad, and you are not happy. Do not worry! You have gained something and are at a point where you can solve problems. Do not despair! Instead, ask guidance of your teacher.You then comprehend, everything will crystallize in your mind,
and out of great confusion will come bliss, certainty, and progress."- Li Kui Yuan

I agree. When i get frustrated with something. I'll just go back to the basics of the basics. The nice thing about xingyi is that if you feel fukked up, you can go back to san ti stance holding or footwork drills and itll iron your body and mind out so to speak.

One thing ive come to believe is that power, victory and strength are really really overrated. Everyone wants to feel like they can hit harder and be stronger and have so and so body fat etc. They feel like objective markers of improvement. But I've come to feel that they are not as important as coordination, mentality, controlling your opponent's space. Things like timing, hitting power, and fighting skill emerge more naturally and comfortably as you focus on practice over results.

I dont know if that makes any sense.

That make a lot of sense, I feel like internal strength is a key proponent of many kung fu styles. I feel this way studying Wu Style Tai Chi. It's like I need to throw out or think differently than I do when I practice Judo.

 

[Zapp Brannigan]

Since we have a few Martial Artists on this board who seem to be lifers, what do your systems espouse? or have you done any readings from other discliplines that you enjoy (Sun Tzu, Hagakure, Book of Five Rings, Boxiana)?

Any and all perspectives/ideas are welcome.

Or rather, what is YOUR personal martial philosophy/code? How does it apply to how you live your life, practice your arts, and the choice to use them?

I have read The Book of Five Rings and The Art of War. I prefer the martial arts philosophies because they apply really well to the idea of success as a man in the modern world, encourage adaptation, encourage efficient and reasonable use of your mind, yet still encourage that one finds balance one's ventures and one's personal life.

One line from The Book of Five Rings that really resounded with me regarding how someone is to wield his weapon: Generally, I dislike fixedness in both long swords and hands. Fixedness means a dead hand. Pliability is a living hand. You must bear this in mind.

One of the themes from the Art of War I liked was how much it encouraged one to know his enemy. I really hope that I can apply that as much as possible in my career. It reminded me of something I read over in the Locker Room board where someone said his dad once told him, "The less people know about you, the less you have to worry about.

 

[Julius Skrrvin]

There is. You can just roll on the floor by yourself. You can do drills for particular moves like triangles, arm bars. The muscle memory actually goes a long way. Its expensive but you can also buy one of these

which is probably the best idea.

I got some new respect for BJJ last night. We were doing wrestling and I was dominating senior students (I have some wrestling experience from high school) and so I drilled with my teacher. I got cheeky and shot a single leg on him. We ended up fighting on the ground for position. I saw that weakness my ground game. I can pin someone just fine but i dont know how to submit or make them lock. He snaked out on me and got me in a leg lock old b*stard.

And thats how i found out he had 3 years of private BJJ instruction

That make a lot of sense, I feel like internal strength is a key proponent of many kung fu styles. I feel this way studying Wu Style Tai Chi. It's like I need to throw out or think differently than I do when I practice Judo.

I've found out in my personal research that taiji is like 80 percent wrestling in application. I find that so weird, because the styles if taught right has a lot of fajin training. doesnt seem like a lot of punching though, more like elbow strikes, and body strikes with the hip, shoulder, etc. Internal strength is something of a nebulous concept. People think it has to do with Qi, it does but that is not the focus of it. It's about using your mind to guide your natural strength, relaxed. It's just the practice of fully utilizing your Li (physical strength. Thats why so many IMA talk about "returning to birth", thats the state you want to be in. Natural, smooth, connected strength without unnecessary exertion.

 

[Juno]

Anyone ever experienced / practiced Aikido? It has a rich philosophy to it but I've always been a little skeptical of its practicality

...yet i remain intrigued by it.

 

[Brown_Pride]

I believe a man should be like a ninja in his personal life. I break my code on the internet but in real life i would never let anyone know how dangerous i am physically. I prefer to be unseeming because in doing so i automatically lower the guard of the individual im facing. I keep my face bright and unsuspecting because obviously if a demon is going to test me, i want him to feel like it is going to be a cakewalk. This will cause issues with obtaining the heart necessary to win when i turn up the volume and show him that he chose the wrong opponent. Back in the old days of ninja, your maker could come in the form of a lolely maid, an insignifican joker or a mentally inadept bloke. This is my way of deaing with aggressors.

agreed...
the only problem i used to have with this as a youngster was that i used to play a lot of ball at parks and well let's be honest a 5 foot 9 Hispanic kid taking you to school (particularly if you were black) was a hard pill to swallow so fools used to try to rise up.

There were times i wished I was 6 2, 220 cause I would have avoided a lot of shyt.

Ultimately though, given what is, the element of concealed strength NEVER worked against me and was always a boon.

on a day to day basis it really doesn't govern my life though tbh. I prefer to live and base my life on scripture not self defense.

 

[Julius Skrrvin]

Anyone ever experienced / practiced Aikido? It has a rich philosophy to it but I've always been a little skeptical of its practicality

...yet i remain intrigued by it.

There is some, but its hard to find. I personally find Aikido to be mostly a LARP-fest. Lots of practiced and orchestrated tricks and applications, not a lot of full contact or spontaneous sparring, just a lot of bullshyt. In my honest opinion, i've seen more combat applicable Taiji/Tai Chi even than something like aikido.

Aikido is wing chun status to me as far as combat applicability. Plenty of MA have philosophies to them, but its your teacher that matters. If you want to spend a lot of money to dress up like a samurai just to learn how to fall well, thats on you.

Or maybe im just a dikk

 

[Julius Skrrvin]

agreed...
the only problem i used to have with this as a youngster was that i used to play a lot of ball at parks and well let's be honest a 5 foot 9 Hispanic kid taking you to school (particularly if you were black) was a hard pill to swallow so fools used to try to rise up.

i'm an indian dude, well spoken, polite. Do you have any idea how confused dudes in the hood are when I show up to my boxing gym to get some crosstraining?

Young black kids in doo rags:

Old boxing coach ass black dudes:

Old ass white dudes:

 

[Brown_Pride]

i'm an indian dude, well spoken, polite. Do you have any idea how confused dudes in the hood are when I show up to my boxing gym to get some crosstraining?

Young black kids in doo rags:

Old boxing coach ass black dudes:

Old ass white dudes:

I can only imagine. My favorite was when me and my boys would go play all the brothers would be like "look at these eses wanting to learn to play ball..." 20 minutes later and it's 14-3 and we're on game point dudes start getting pissy. Calling fouls trying to play all rough like it's wrestling.

 

[TheDarceKnight]

Whats an interesting, good or informative book to read about bjj and muay thai?

These are good for history of BJJ and the ideas behind training it. I don't think they're the best out there in terms of technique, and are a bit dated in that regard, but John Danaher wrote a lot of the Renzo book, which is a great read. The other book by Renzo and Royler is what got me into it.

[ame=http://www.amazon.com/Mastering-Jujitsu-Martial-Arts/dp/0736044043]Mastering Jujitsu (Mastering Martial Arts Series): Renzo Gracie, John Danaher, Jr. Carlos Gracie: 9780736044042: Amazon.com: Books[/ame]

[ame=http://www.amazon.com/Brazilian-Jiu-Jitsu-Theory-Technique/dp/1931229082]Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu: Theory and Technique (Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu series): Renzo Gracie, Royler Gracie, John Danaher, Kid Peligro, Ricardo Azoury: 9781931229081: Amazon.com: Books[/ame]

For stuff on techniques Victory Belt has a ton of good stuff. Marcelo Garcia has 2 books with them that are both great.

This one by Saulo and Xande Ribeiro are a must-have

[ame=http://www.amazon.com/Jiu-Jitsu-University-Saulo-Ribeiro/dp/0981504434]Amazon.com: Jiu-Jitsu University (9780981504438): Saulo Ribeiro, Kevin Howell: Books[/ame]

 

[TheDarceKnight]

Good reality show about Team Lloyd Irvin and their efforts to help produce the next American World Champ in BJJ

 

[Mr. Somebody]

Whats an interesting, good or informative book to read about bjj and muay thai?

My 3 favorite BJJ books.

 

[Mr. Somebody]

These are good for history of BJJ and the ideas behind training it. I don't think they're the best out there in terms of technique, and are a bit dated in that regard, but John Danaher wrote a lot of the Renzo book, which is a great read. The other book by Renzo and Royler is what got me into it.

Mastering Jujitsu (Mastering Martial Arts Series): Renzo Gracie, John Danaher, Jr. Carlos Gracie: 9780736044042: Amazon.com: Books

Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu: Theory and Technique (Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu series): Renzo Gracie, Royler Gracie, John Danaher, Kid Peligro, Ricardo Azoury: 9781931229081: Amazon.com: Books

For stuff on techniques Victory Belt has a ton of good stuff. Marcelo Garcia has 2 books with them that are both great.

This one by Saulo and Xande Ribeiro are a must-have

Amazon.com: Jiu-Jitsu University (9780981504438): Saulo Ribeiro, Kevin Howell: Books

Bjj university is a great book.

 

[Julius Skrrvin]

Passing the Guard was co-written by Tim Cartmell? He's one of my favorite Xingyiquan and Baguazhang practitioners. Love that guy. Might have to buy that.

 

[Mowgli]

agreed...
the only problem i used to have with this as a youngster was that i used to play a lot of ball at parks and well let's be honest a 5 foot 9 Hispanic kid taking you to school (particularly if you were black) was a hard pill to swallow so fools used to try to rise up.

There were times i wished I was 6 2, 220 cause I would have avoided a lot of shyt.

Ultimately though, given what is, the element of concealed strength NEVER worked against me and was always a boon.

on a day to day basis it really doesn't govern my life though tbh. I prefer to live and base my life on scripture not self defense.

...... I hope you're not saying thats what i do.