Glasses - Shotokan Karate or Tai Chi?

Okay, so I'm starting Warwick next week, and really want to pick up a martial art. I'm most interested in Shotokan Karate, since it's 3 lessons a week, all in the evening, with no lecture clashes which is perfect. Also interested in Tai Chi, another club. But I wear glasses and can't see at all without them, very blurry. Just wondering which of these, if either, I can train whilst wearing my glasses, or will it simply be too physical? Thanks.

 

However, as someone with terrible eyesight who trained for 15+ years taking glasses on and off, continuous wear contact lenses will change your life.

 

I've thought about this, but then the terrible though of what if you get hit in the face potentially and your contact tore apart! Maybe that's just be being paranoid haha, I definitely will purchase contacts though, if it comes to it.

 

I'm lucky enough that my eyesight isn't too bad without wearing my glasses. I wear contacts if I know that I'll be doing something that will involve a lot of sparring or similar. But have done forms and pad work with glasses on no problems.

 

First of all, commiserations on being sent to Coventry. You must have done something truly awful in a past life.

Secondly, you'll be fine. How bad is your eyesight without glasses? Unless it's really really bad, you shouldn't need them.

 

Okay, that's reassuring

My eyes are pretty terrible so I'm not sure if that's an option, daily disposables.

LOOOOOL Brilliant Warwick campus is beautiful! I'll be damned if I ever step foot in Coventry My eyes are really bad, like, take off my glasses and cant read the computer unless my face is right next to it bad.

 

I started doing karate in glasses but it's not ideal. Even just doing basics and warm ups etc, your nose sweats and your glasses start to slide down your face. Mixed with sharp turns and fast movements and there's always a danger of them just flying off.

I've been wearing contact lenses to do karate for the last 10 years though, and found it to be a great solution. I've only once had to duck out of class to find a lense that had gone floating off and that was due to me rubbing my eye rather than anything strictly karate related.

The most comfortable thing I've found has been daily disposables.

 

Had my first Tai Chi lesson yesterday, it was fantastic, I'm learning Wu style from guy whose teacher was http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bruce_Frantzis he says he was a pretty lethal fighter back in his day, and learned from the best in China, what do you guys think? I learnt the first half of some form for my first lesson, and relaxing the body etc. can't wait for the next lesson My teacher (Joe) is really awesome too.

Might pick up Karate also, if I can wear my glasses and do the kumite stuff, we'll see

 

While Bruce is less than popular with some no one who trained with him doubted his ability to bring it.He has good stuff-whether that means where you're learning is going to develop real martial skills will depend on what your instructor learned and his personal predilections.

 

Just out of interest, do you know what Bruce Frantzis's lineage is in the Wu style? I had a look at him doing the short form on his website, and it looks nothing like I've seen before. I had a little poke around, but I couldn't find any clue. (I'm not questioning whether he is authentic or not, I'm just genuinely curious.)

 

As a dude that can't see 6 inches in front of his face, you would be surprised just how much you can pick up on actually, even in striking arts (I practice Karate and - more recently - kickboxing).

@ OP - you should be fine with either art. The main skill you will need to develop is to learn to distinguish colours and blurry movement. Once you get reasonable at that, you'd be surprised just how much you can figure out.

Occasionally though you might need to chat to the instructor before/after class to query specific points mind.

 

As a martial artist who's as blind as a bat, I've never had a problem. For a typical class of kata and technique drills, glasses should be fine for sparring or free grappling I would definitely recommend contacts. I've never had any problems with them during a match; I think glasses are more likely to give you trouble if you're sparring than contacts would.

 

Bruce's teacher,Liu, was a student of Wu,C-c.

Doesn't look like a radically different variant to me,tho' Bruce makes his kua work very visible.Foot replacement is the most obvious thing I see,which may simply be an older method that's not done so much these days.BUT,If you saw him or someone who knows how really do it,not for a demo vid--I can't even describe it,the joint work is..... different looking.Very.

I don't know if Liu submitted to the demand for standardization from Wu's daughter and Ma.Many didn't and I wouldn't be surprised if Liu didn't.

 

I find it strange just how much difference has crept into the way people do a form within such a relatively short time. If Bruce Frantzis is two 'generatuions' removed from WCC, then it's fascinating to see just how different his form is from WCC's! (I'm not saying it's 'bad', just that it's outwardly very different.) Not just the way that he executes each 'move', but the actual moves themselves. I didn't watch the whole clip, but almost from the very start I didn't recognise his form at all.

I wonder if he changed the form himself, or if his teacher did?