ive been really thinking.. and got myself asking, is it hard to do 2 types of arts at once? like lets say I'm doing Jiu Jitsu and Karate.. would in time after you not necessarily master 1 art but rank pretty high, and do another after art, would you forget some of the blocks, kicks, stances and all after you start doing another completely different art?
I think it's fine as long as the arts "fill in the blanks" in the other art rather than contradict each other. For example, I had a go at Wing Chun a couple of weeks ago and found it very difficult as some of the instructions were contrary to what I do in karate. On the other hand, training something like Jiu jutsu with karate would be fine, as the instructions from one wouldn't contradict the instructions from the other.
I think it would be ok once you were quite accomplished in your original art, cause i think it would be alot to take in at once if you were learning them both from scratch at the same time
Define: "quite accomplished" What grade? 1st dan? 2nd dan? 3rd dan? Or higher/lower? It is generally better not to train in 2 similar styles, e.g karate & kung fu, whereas it is ok to train in a fighting style as well as a grappling style as you benefit from both arts.
Hi All, I have experience of training in multiple arts and I think that the only problems arise if you are training in two close but different styles - Say Shotokan Karate (A) and Shotokan Karate (B) where 'A' and 'B' are different associations or different schools with different focus. If you are training in say Shotokan and Wing Chun it should be simple to keep the different ideas and body mechanics apart. Many years ago in the Karate style that I still train in there were three instructors who all taught different versions of the same kata - you had to try and remember which instructor did it which way AGHHHHHHHHHH - Eventually the chief instructor standardised the form - WHAT A RELIEF!!!! All the best. Robert.
I don't think that there's a problem with studying multiple styles - in fact I do it myself (Bujinkan plus Kyudo). However a word of caution, pick arts which aren't going to create unwanted confusion or cross-contamination. Try and pick arts that will complement each other (note that's "complement" not "supplement").
I agree training two different styels can be gard if they are similar. Also i think for people who are new to Martial Arts, think you should concentrate on one, build up a core then move on to cross training. When i started i concentrated on Shotokan Karate, once i had achived 2nd kyu, i decided to start looking at other arts, started jeet kune do. since then i have been cross training in a number of arts. Tom
I think that having a good year of solid instruction in one art first is not a bad idea if you're new to MA. That way you can teach your body to move first, and then once you're used to moving it around, you can assimilate other techniques/arts faster. For example, when I started longsword, it was very alien to me, and it took a bit of work to get the basic mechanics down to say the least. After about a year (maybe a little less) I took up rapier, which often uses much different movement (linear rather than stepping off-line as you strike, etc). However, I found that once I had a decent base in rapier, it helped my longsword quite a bit, and vice-versa, since the principles of armed combat remain the same. My thrusts with longsword became very quick and accurate after a year of rapier, let me tell you! And the naked agression of German longsword helped me be more assertive in rapier sparring. So my advice is to pick one for a year (ish), and then add a second, since training in one will speed up your second art's learning curve. Best regards, -Mark
