Martial Arts Essay -- Asian Fighting Essays

soldierlike humanities I am a hawkish artist. When I first started, I might have said I wage karate. Here in America, both of those statements are technically true. We tend to generalize all martial arts as karate. In reality, only some of what we see is actually karate. The word karate is Japanese, as is the style, and it means the way of the empty hand. It was created in the fifteenth century by Okinawan peasants who were not allowed to have weapons by royal decree. thence they developed ways of protecting themselves without the use of weapons, or by utilise regular objects such as sticks (Hassell 14). Today there are some, many another(prenominal) styles of this art. There are many other styles, such as tae kwon do, kung fu, capoeira, and many more. They offer be very interesting, and are beneficial to participate in for many reasons. However, it is not for everyone. I hope to offer some instruction on how these arts work, and why joining is a go od thing, provided only after some thought. As I said before, I am a martial artist. I do not take karate, or tae kwon do, or kung fu. I study a style that is lock up in its infancy. My instructor is a bit of a maverick, and has created this style himself. It changes often and is not set stone. It is called Te Da Kuen Do, meaning free flowing fist way. It is a combination of several martial arts. My instructor, Sijo Mike Giles, is a sixth full point black belt in tae kwon do, a advised instructor of Lee Jun Fan Gung Fu (Bruce Lees style), and has lesser degree belts in a number of other styles. Sijo is Japanese for founder, as he is the founder of his style. Instructors are called sensei which means teacher. Sijo has a great deal of martial arts in his head, a... ... the teacher knows what he or she is doing. Try to catch all of the information up front, especially costs, and requirements such as tournaments. Be very sure of what you want. I f you dont want forms, then I suggest you try something else, or a martial art with no forms. If you just want self defense, try to find a platform for just that. If you want a martial art, you have to be volition to do all of the components. In the end, only you can decide whats best for you. Some of what Ive talked about can sound awkward and not fun. I tend to think of it as college, you dont always enjoy it, but the end result is worth it. The benefits truly outweigh the price. As long as you are willing to try, you can attain that black belt. You gain confidence and feel truly safe. Martial arts is a wonderful, terrible, incredible thing. I highly recommend it.