Some Opinions/advice please all

Hi all,

As you can all see im a rank newbie here. Im not new to combat sports however. I boxed for a great portion of my life up to now (as you'll see in my Introduction thread ), however im now looking for a fresh direction and challenge. Not that i've grown to dislike Boxing at all, i still love the sport very much, however i dislike the evergrowing "business and showmanship" element to it, even if it is only there to put bums in seats.

I've recently been carrying out a lot of heavy research into several different Martial Arts and have successfully narrowed it down to a handful. I based my choices/research on a self study. Im a strong believe in doing what you believe will work for YOU as an individual. However i also know im new to Martial Arts (boxing exlcuded) so wanted to get some advice and opinions from you all. Thus far i've narrowed my choices down to three Arts/schools, Muay Thai Boxing, MMA, and a place running under the name of "Jason Boh School of Martial Arts (SMA). I've included some links below to give you an idea of the options im looking at:

http://www.portsmouththaiboxing.co.uk/ : Portsmouth Sitnarong camp, a Direct Affiliate of Master Skens Sitnarong camp in Stockport, Greater Manchester. Looks like a pretty solid place, i went along and sat in on a class and it looked and felt familiar territory for me with a nod towards the boxing element. It seemed pretty brutal, and also i pciked up on, as with boxing, that it conditions its practitioners to actually fight. I've always felt you get better at fighting by fighting, with a nod towards the clubs sparring and competing element. Really great bunch of guys and girls here and at the end the instructor and a handful of students spent half an hour or so talking enthusiastically about Muay Thai Boxing and indeed MMA and standard western Boxing. Cheeky as it is i even phoned the MasterSken academy in Stockport and recieved a very warm reccomendation for this place form them.

http://www.jasonboh.co.uk/index.html : Sat in on one of this guys classes. Seemed knowlegeable (based on my limited knowledge of MA's) and had a friendly team of instructors. My only issue was what appeared to be a lack of drills pad work/bag work/sparring etc. A LOT of slow motion or half speed demo's though. Plus im a little worried that trying to learn JKD principles flowing from Filipino Martial Arts (he uses a blend of Kali/Escrima/Arnis/Silat/Panantukan and Pekiti Tersia/doce pares), Jun Fan Kickboxing AND Grappling (from judo, BJJ and Empty hand phases of Kali) seems a bit much. I could just be having an overload here but that seems like a LOT to try and learn.

http://portsmouthmma.com/ : Havent had a chance to sit in on any of this places classes yet. My only concern with MMA is this, or so it appears, heavy involvement of ground work. Though i want to learn something new im also not going to lie and say i think i'd love groundwork. Im a self confessed lover of the stand up fight where possible. Plus i couldnt garner much about them from their website.

http://southcoastsubmissions.co.uk/ : Another MMA club. I must say i was quite impressed with the facilities. Great bunch of guys and girls there, really friendly, and im told the instructors here really are first rate.

So there you have it. Obviously im not asking for someone to "choose for me" im too headstrong for that, but would love to get some opinions. Maybe someone can read into my post more than i can myself and suggest which they think i'd be best served with. Dont follow my wifes thinking and say "your 29 nearly 30 arent you too old to start someting new" ..cheeky mare. I wont be buying any of the associated gloves, uniform, shorts, etc etc etc until i've got a month or so under my belt, im told at all these places just to use their kit for the first month or so. Reassuring.

Sorry for the long winded post all, just really really keen to get stuck in.

Any advice gratefully received.

Morti

 

Hi Morti,

It sounds like you've done most of the sensible things people here will usually advise first - checking what's available locally and going to see or try a class where possible. There are a couple of Portsmouth folk on here, so you may get direct recommendations. 'Southpaw' is one, so hopefully they'll stumble in constructively.

The only thing that stood out was how different you make the jasonboh place sound from the others. It could be an MMA place with weapons, but the way you describe it, you already seem to be ruling it out. I'm an FMA practitioner, and there are lots of 2 man drills to build up natural movements and responses in kali/eskrima, but at the end you will have something a bit different from the others which will be largely competition-focused.

As a boxer, you'll be well aware of your own attitude to competitions, so if you don't mind then keep it in, but if you really want to train for the ring/cage, then that on'e probably not going to float your boat.

As for groundwork, well I'm also a BJJer, and what sort of BJJer would I be if I didn't promote it?? No harm in trying the MMA. Plenty of people here will agree that boxing will stand you in good stead for Thai or MMA, or pretty much any realistic MA. I saw a thread or two not long ago in the Thai forum about boxers crossing over. Worth a look.

Otherwise, I don't think I can offer anything else useful - try asking something a lot more ill-informed next time.

MN

 

http://www.martialartsplanet.com/forums/showthread.php?t=100257

 

as for being too old to try something new (to Mortimer'swife)

I was 31 when I started MA for the very first time.

So there.

 

Still a young chicken! :love:

I returned after a nearly 22 year layoff at 42 and havent looked back OP.

 

:baby:

 

haha Brilliant. I like it.

Just goes to prove the sayings true, your never too old to start.

Cheers for the replies all, really informative stuff. Think im on the verge of a decision here. The Muay Thai has still very much got my attention. I'll take another look at MMA though.

MN: Brilliant reply thanks mate. definately wouldnt rule it out yet (the Jason Boh SMA), I think i was more overwhelmed by the sheer volume of different arts they are teaching to the individual. Im going back to take a look again though. I dont want to be too hasty

Cheers for the replies so far all.

Morti

 

I know you mentioned you're a fan of the straight up fight but heres my thought... you already KNOW how to do that with all the time you spent boxing. Why not step out of the box (nno pun intended) and learn something that will round you out as both an athlete and a fighter?

I used to be a "karate" (used in the generic sense) guy through and through but I have to tell you I enjoy the ever-lovin HELL out of flippin folks over my back and hearing them splat on the mats, lol... I already know how to stand toe to toe and take one (or five) to this big ol square head of mine. I wanted something I didn't know.

Totally just a thought. Obviously you're going to do what most attracts you and you're limited to whats near you but I just wonder if you'd enjoy some of the flippy, throwy stuff as much as I do? Plus I get such joy out of employing a wrist lock and listening to the rapidity of the tapping from my partner, lol... I get giddy I tell ya

 

Bunch of kids posting here. I was 53 when I started BJJ and still going strong at 57.

OP, If you like stand up but would consider grappling think about Judo. In boxing you hit people with your fists, in Judo you hit them with a planet.

If your looking for contact and sparring your best bets are usually BJJ, Judo, Muay Thai and MMA.

Can't speak about the FMA and stick fighting. If they are associated with the dog brothers though they will have sparring with hard contact with the sticks.

 

Thirded.
There are various options available since you have a longstanding background in competitive striking. e.g. take up Thai Boxing and just merge your existing skills into a different art.
OR, you could take up something completely different (Judo/BJJ), and maybe just pay to once a week get to the boxing gym to tighten those skills up.

Heck, if you wanted, you could even take up one of the arts that supposedly takes years to get to grips with e.g. Aikido - like BigMikey says, it might be fun to learn something completely different, and who, just who, is going to tell the Aikidoka who boxed competitively for years that they don't know striking?

The last one might be pushing it too far, but I hope you get my point.

Final thought - I actually looked at the arts that you say Jason Boh teaches:

Well Kali, escrima and arnis are the same thing hence FMA - Filipino Martial Arts. Pekiti Tirsia and Doces Pares are both types of kali/escrima/arnis, panantukan is Filipino kickboxing and empty hand kali is just more kali. FMA is one of those all round arts where the initial focus is usually weapons work, and in some places some kickboxing. Jun Fan is Bruce Lee's kickboxing style, often seen in Jeet Kun Do practitioners (which often crosses over with Kali, because they have similar approaches and Dan Inosanto helped a lot). Quite a few FMA practitioners also study Silat due to a lot of crossover, so that shouldn't be offputting.

Essentially it looks like an FMA/JKD mix, with some extra grappling, so not an overwhelming blend. There are core principles in there and a lot of time will be probably be spent on drills for reactions.
The key difference is that it won't be sport-focused.

Having just followed your link I've seen that Jason Boh went to a Geoff Thompson seminar (good sign in self defence circles), and trained under Bob Breen - one of the best names in JKD. For that style of Martial Art it looks reputable. Your concern about padwork etc. is worth raising (recent thread in the JKD forum touched on too much thinking vs doing). Raise it with them. Mention your background and if they're straight with you they'll say if the class you watched was just a low sparring/pads class, or if that's their usual class type. Then think if you'd enjoy whichever answer they give. What you want from MA at this time is what should guide you.

 

Huh? I thought you said once you could only stand Shotokan for about five seconds? how does that make you 'used to be a karate man through and through

i'm a kid?

 

If you read it more carefully darling you'll see I said "in the generic sense" meaning punching, kicking, blocking in a formal traditional sense. Shotokan isnt the only form of Karate out there, B. I think the Okinawans and the Koreans might consider their arts Karate as well... jus sayin.

I said Karate so it wouldnt be confused with Judo, Jiu Jitsu, aikido or any of the non-punching, kicking, blocking type arts.

 

Oh well, I didnt know what generic sense meant. :shrugs*

 

Its ok, I still love you

 

:love:

loveys

 

Cracking info again all.

I took a punt tonight and went and gave Portsmouth Muay Thai a go. The head man said if i wanted i should pop in and have a go, free of charge. Did so...absolutely loved it.

That said im taking on board everything people have been saying about maybe dipping into some form of groundwork based art. To that end, im going to give South Coast Submissions a pop on one of their MMA/Grappling/,BJJ focussed training days. If i get on with it im thinking i'll include it into the Muay Thai classes. Might make me a bit more well rounded as it were. That will leave me doing 4 days Muay Thai, and one day MMA/BJJ.

As for the Muay Thai, i think im hooked. I already can see what years of boxings done to me with regards to kicking height haha. Im kicking about my own chest height. He just asked how high i could kick as it might be worth starting to stretch so that when i start picking up more of the kick technique i'll find the transition easier. Anyone know of any good tutorials for stretching the legs for this? Would i be ok using standard athletics leg stretching as we used to use those during warm ups for boxing and PT in the Army. Or do any of you know of a better method for stretching the legs over time.

Many thanks again all....really really excited about all this. Nice to be picking up something new.

(Also, who'd have though an elbow could be so damn lethal)

 

Excellent news.

Yep, hip problem limiting my kicking height was a big factor in taking the fun out of MT for me, but really glad you enjoyed it.

As for stretching, our resident guru is Van Zandt. Check out the flexbility forum (health and fitness). There are a few stickied threads there that he has started. The key is dynamic stretching (swinging your legs as opposed to holding a pose) and isometric (tensing muscles while holding a pose) in case you've not heard the terms, but there are literally days worth of reading in there, including pros and cons of mechanical assistance and all sorts. Get stuck in!!

(and don't worry, it may take a while, but eventually through a bit of groundwork we'll lure you into being 100 percent BJJ!)

 

Thats good....have fun