Thread: Different Martial Arts

Even after decades of training I still like to see other martial arts & their characteristics.
Tell me something peculiar or unusual about your martial art.
Here's some oddities with mine


1. I do a style of Ju Jutsu where our curriculum only has a 5 minute lesson on blocks using Jo ( short staff) which are then discarded in the 6th minute for deflections & the beginning of other skills .


2. We also train against mob attacks, which was easier when we had the numbers in the school. I don't think a lot of styles train against multiple attackers. Does yours ?


3. Sho Dan gradings have always been 24 hours, dawn till dawn.

4. We don't really train in techniques or Kata. We teach principles & practice drills based on them. Neither 2 nor 200 attacks are the same so we try to teach students to act on the fly rather than have a predermined routine. Yes it is harder & slower to learn this way but we find results are exponential months or years down the line.


I think this could become an interesting discussion & welcome the views of master & student alike.

I'm only a master of getting into trouble.
I started judo late in life at age 19 years,,,I went to a few martial arts dojo to look at different styles & decided on judo, because I had a wrestling background, I thought I would have a little advantage,, I shortly learned that wrestling does not improve your judo, but judo does seem to help out wrestlers in their wrestling competitions. Joined a judo club in the Marines,,,,,competed,,, lost more matches than I won. Joined the police & a judo club in South Florida,,, competed until 1997,,, got beat so bad that my fellow competitors suggested it was time to retire from competitions & teach. I taught children judo to age 18,, then taught self defense classes to police officers in South Florida for a couple of years. Tasers became the flavor of the month & self defense classes were canceled by the city,,, everyone was given a Taser if they completed the 1 day in-service class.

1. Judo is taught to children at around 6 years old. We are an Olympic sport. We win a match by either a pin of 25 seconds, by throwing an opponent onto his back, by arm locks or by choking him. Judo strikes were removed many years ago. We have a few katas, but are only requirements for Dan (black belt) testing. No weapons training.

2. Our students cannot choke until age 13 years & cannot armbar until 17 years. Chokes have been taught & used in judo for over 100 years with no reported fatalities.

3. By the time a student has reached the kyu rank of 1st degree brown, he has all the knowledge need for the rank of 1st degree black belt; only the test is required in front of an examiner.
Sadly, not all teachers stick to the guidelines in regard to promotions.

4. We do not train against multiple attackers.

Judo is the poor man's martial art. Rarly does an individual over the age of 18 start judo & continue it for years. We cultivate our players from the early childhood years.

Our founder Jigoro Kano was a jujitsu master before he invented judo.

Judo can be boring to watch especially at the higher levels, for someone not involved in the sport. many see just pulling & tugging. Most all of our champions fight themselves out before age 30.

We are a big family,,,,at age 48 , I had dinner after competitions with other players who used to kick my butt at age 19.

Sadly, I'm not involved anymore, handed my credentials back 2 years ago. Other things now consume my time.

Am into Kimchee,can be some dangerous stuff

Originally Posted by Hirlau

Our founder Jigoro Kano was a jujitsu master before he invented judo.

Thanx John. That was interesting especially the restrictions on chokes & arm bars.
Our ju jutsu also contains a judo curiculum up to ni dan.

The greatest oddity is that there are other JuJitsu styles then Gracie BJJ I really hate having to explain that every time I say the word.

I also have to explain the difference between Kempo and Karate and that no really Tae Kwon Do is not Karate or Kempo even though it often says that on the signs...

We actually have 3 separate and distinct belt levels for each person

The normal Kyu and Dan levels as expected
The we separate teaching status Sempai, Sensei, Renshi, Shihan, Hanshi, are all separate and distinction from Dan levels basically somebody realized way back when that just because you could be really good at doing does not always mean you are really good at teaching
You have to attain certain Dan levels to hold a teaching rank but they are not given together, they have separate requirements..
We also have a separate ranking level for weapons training, and we do not require it, all weapons are optional.

I think Kempo / Kenpo are the only styles that actually practice "Speed Striking" not positive, but as some say "Kempo = Percussion Class using people as Drums

I was very surprised with just how much crossover there was between Kempo and JuJitsu many of the Locks, Holds, Take Downs, and Pressure point usage is very similar..

Hi Guys,

Oz envited me in to the coversation so here goes:

Ages 8 - 11 Shotokan = Traditiona style with roots in Japan
Ages 11 - 18 Shukokai - Closest style I could find in Australia
Ages 18 - 21 Kempo
Dark ages from 21 - 35 (we don't speak about them)

Ages 35 - present Kyokushin

Kyokushin is full contact and suites my real world applications in a controlled environment mentality.

It is still a traditional Japanese art, however is fairly new with Mas Oyama (our founder) passing away during my lifetime.

I instruct the junior belts and schools up to 18 YO and due to the break in training have managed to claw my way back up to first que.

Unfortunately due to recent injuries (40 holds painful surprises) I have not been able to train since November last year but am scratching the walls to get back into it.

We also do Kobudo every second Sunday which involves the Bo, Han Bo, Ekku, Sai, Arnis and short blade work.

I think that the most important part of any martial art is to find a Dojo with experience and a good atmosphere. My Shihan invites other people from other styles to instruct on "weekend" courses which is nice because we are not isolated to one style or thought. It is also a great way to raise funds for the club rather than selling chocolate.

Originally Posted by gssixgun

The greatest oddity is that there are other JuJitsu styles then Gracie BJJ I really hate having to explain that every time I say the word.
LOL...I bought some nice 2" mats off a BJJ guy & he was quite surprised to meet someone who does Japanese ju jutsu.



We actually have 3 separate and distinct belt levels for each person

The normal Kyu and Dan levels as expected
The we separate teaching status Sempai, Sensei, Renshi, Shihan, Hanshi, are all separate and distinction from Dan levels basically somebody realized way back when that just because you could be really good at doing does not always mean you are really good at teaching
You have to attain certain Dan levels to hold a teaching rank but they are not given together, they have separate requirements..
We also have a separate ranking level for weapons training, and we do not require it, all weapons are optional.
So true this. I remember dreading certain sensei whilst preferring others as a junior student.


I think Kempo / Kenpo are the only styles that actually practice "Speed Striking" not positive, but as some say "Kempo = Percussion Class using people as Drums

Interesting. I think with older age timing might be the closest thing I can do to simulate speed .

I was very surprised with just how much crossover there was between Kempo and JuJitsu many of the Locks, Holds, Take Downs, and Pressure point usage is very similar..
Bingo ! I think at early stages all martial arts look the same thru not knowing better, mid stages we think ours is so uniquely different & with some mastery we see the threads or principles that bind all arts. Maybe it's the basic battle strategy or tactics that hold similarity also ?

Originally Posted by Crackers

Hi Guys,

Oz envited me in to the coversation so here goes:

Ages 8 - 11 Shotokan = Traditiona style with roots in Japan
Ages 11 - 18 Shukokai - Closest style I could find in Australia
Ages 18 - 21 Kempo
Dark ages from 21 - 35 (we don't speak about them)

Ages 35 - present Kyokushin

Kyokushin is full contact and suites my real world applications in a controlled environment mentality.

It is still a traditional Japanese art, however is fairly new with Mas Oyama (our founder) passing away during my lifetime.

I instruct the junior belts and schools up to 18 YO and due to the break in training have managed to claw my way back up to first que.

Unfortunately due to recent injuries (40 holds painful surprises) I have not been able to train since November last year but am scratching the walls to get back into it.
Sorry to hear mate. I was off 3 months with a back injury. Very frustrating.

We also do Kobudo every second Sunday which involves the Bo, Han Bo, Ekku, Sai, Arnis and short blade work.
Ekku ? That's the boat oar you showed me isn't it ?
I think that the most important part of any martial art is to find a Dojo with experience and a good atmosphere. My Shihan invites other people from other styles to instruct on "weekend" courses which is nice because we are not isolated to one style or thought. It is also a great way to raise funds for the club rather than selling chocolate.
Mate I can just imagine you pounding on my door with a boart oar asking if I wanna buy chocolate.. I'll take a kilo thanx.

Appreciate the input gents.

Ok, going to the way back machine here:

6th grade about 6 months of Pai Lum Kung Fu

10-12th grade Chang Hon (military) Tae Kwon Do - I left having only attained the rank of brown belt w/ black stripe. I had a bit of a falling out with the instructor before I could get my black belt. (Something about his no dating other students rule, what can I say? I was a teenager.)

2009 - current, starting shortly before and then following a rather nasty car/bicycle accident Cheng Man Ching / Zheng Manquing style Tai Chi Chuan / Taijiquan. Yes, taiji has martial application. No, it does not look like it has martial application watching the form.

A couple of months back a friend of mine and I started a HEMA (Historical European Martial Arts) club. We are covering German Long Sword, Military Saber, Rapier/Small Sword, and Sword & Buckler.

Now as for oddities even the Tai Chi and HEMA styles I study are military in nature except for the Sw&B and Kung Fu early on. What interets me is these distilled, condensed, systems that were designed to take an untrained person to a reasonable level of competence quickly even if the quest for mastery can take the rest of my life.

I spent about 2 1/2 years studying Tae Kwon Do with the Oriental Martial Arts College (Oriental Martial Arts College Columbus Ohio Headquarters | www.omacworld.com) under Grand Master Joon Pyo Choi back in the middle 1970's. I was about 1-2 weeks from going for my brown belt when I fell at work and destroyed my back. Beside teaching how to defend yourself, meditation was strongly emphasized in the interest of making you a better person instead of a making you a bad ass like some of the schools in the area.

What was unique about this system was you studied under one of Master Choi's instructors but when it came time for promotion you went before Master Choi himself for testing to see if you got your next belt, which was a bit intimidating. My instructor took me to one of Master Choi's classes and while doing a series of kicks and punches (form) my belt came untied. That had never happened before or after, my belt never came untied during class except then. Now, don't you know he saw it, was looking right at me to see what I would do, that was very strange.

The black belt test was very extreme from what my instructor told me because he had to go through it himself. Besides showing your forms, techniques, etc. you had to fast for 3 days, meditate for 12 hours and fight the master. I asked my instructor "What's it like fighting Master Choi"? He said "You can't touch him. He knows what you are going to do before you do. He'll let you make your move, he counters and nails you, it's really frustrating".