#kihon ko mi ni forever yo

[sonosvegliato]

what’s ur favorite martial art & also what would you recommend for beginners

Saying mma is my favorite is probably such a cop out...I was introduced to jiujitsu first and liked that the best for a while because I knew more of what I was doing...but before my dojo closed I liked stand-up style stuff more. Judo was fun because!! cool flip!! but karate ended up being my ultimate favorite because there is absolutely no way you can BS it and once you learn the Thing, you really learn the Thing. If I'm standing on moving transportation, I still fall into kiba-dachi (horse rising stance) so I don't get knocked over, lol.

I'm no expert in martial arts and once my dojo closed, I did sort of fight-club style stuff in school where I'd see someone hitting the bag in the gym or doing judo and just sort of. Crash in. See what was up. Don't, like, just flat-out ask to fight somebody, but if you see people in the park or gym doing something that seems interesting, you can always ask what it is (however if you see a barefoot guy with stringy hair in the park and he asks you if you want to see the weapons in his car...no. Just. Not worth it, no). Bjj (Brazilian jiujitsu) has been more accessible to beginners in my own personal experience. There are moves you learn, but in the end if you're fast/big/strong/or wily enough, you can roll or wrestle or strong-arm your way through a spar without actually knowing a gazillion moves. But Bjj is not what I would recommend to someone who does NOT like close contact. There are times where the face and foot meets some pretty unfortunate parts. You get over the awkwardness eventually, but it can take a really long time to get cool with it--and that goes for both, whether you've got the parts down there or up there.

If someone was looking to start for self-defense/just good to know reasons, I haven't done krav maga, but it's been developed precisely for get-in-get-out scenarios. I only did judo for a short time, and voluntarily getting thrown over someone's shoulder to smack your whole rag doll body to the mats is not for the faint of heart, but you do learn how to fall and people don't generally go WWE on you unless they are inexperienced and think they gotta, or you went WWE on them first. Knowing a few throws in general is nice just to have in your back pocket. Street fight or bar fight, you not only will be the coolest person in the room, but you give yourself the upperhand to either a. run (personal recommendation) or b. if the situation is a must, beat the stuffing out of somebody.

So in the end...it depends on what a beginners gonna be comfortable with and what they want out of it. I got lucky and joined a dojo that was more "traditional" (everyone starts kneeling facing the shrine, the moves are in (honestly, butchered) Japanese, we could (though I can not personally verify, there are books) trace our lineage back to Japan, moves are equally spiritual and physical, etc. etc.) and it felt more mature and art-oriented. Some places can feel a little (or a lot) kitschy though, so if someone was thinking about starting classes, I'd do research and try to get a feel of what kind of dojos/gyms are out there. If the instructor wants you to call them Grand Master Dragon, I'd squint, because if they are properly certified, they'll be called sensei (teacher)/senpai (senior)/shihan (teacher of teachers)...if the martial art you're looking at DOESN'T come from Japan, it'll be different, but. Still. My former dojo was a leaky garage behind a sketchy Burger King and I never once called anyone grand master dragon hoo-ha-ha-ha. Also if someone tells you that you can be a black belt in like THREE years, that's sketch, bruh. It took me two years to memorize beginner's kata and perform it somewhat decently. Will it take everyone two years? Absolutely not; I didn't want to compete, I didn't immediately fall in love with karate, I had to do some off-and-on shenanigans. But if Grand Master Hoo-Ha-Ha tells you you can be Grand Champion Hoo-Ha-Ha in three years when people have literally DEDICATED THEIR ENTIRE LIVES TO DEVELOPING OR FURTHERING THEIR EQUALLY SPIRITUAL AND PHYSICAL ART, be sus, you know?

I'm biased towards Japanese martial arts, but there are tons of styles from around the world and developed throughout history, and if anyone even has a passing interest, no matter what age or background, I say go for it. It's cool, it's useful, it's mental and physical exercise, and I've never met someone who knows capoeira but MAN DO I WANT TO.

Thank you for instigating my TED Talk. Disclaimer, I am again, not an expert, and to be honest, not that highly belted (I'm not sure my belt is even still "good" now that my dojo is closed and I haven't trained in so long). But there are things I know now that I didn't know the first time someone punched me in the face, so that's got to count for something. If there's anything you learn from martial arts, it's that you can learn from anybody, even if they're doing it wrong.

Thank you for asking me something I absolutely have no strong opinions on, enjoy! 💪

[sonosvegliato]

your action scenes & how you write bodily movement flows so smoothly it feels like im watching an actual match. do you study bjj videos to write them or is it just your personal experience with the sport that makes it look so natural? i love the little snippets you post btw i keep saying “he’s being a wad” out loud and giggling

Both! I admit it's been a while (haaaaa 2020, when my dojo closed) since I did structured martial arts and not just spontaneous fight clubs, so I have supplemented a lot of movements by studying bjj videos. But videos can't recreate the absolute shock of being punched in the face :) Chipped front tooth club represent.

I'm glad the body movements read well! I was concerned they'd turn into info dumps; thank you for soothing this fear!

As for "he's being a wad", I'm glad I'm not laughing by myself.