Selecting and Studying Martial Arts,Self-Defense

Over the years I have met, trained and learned from many great martial artists. Each time I trained I took a moment to ask them what makes their martial arts unique as well as whom their teachers were. I was not simply creating a shopping list of techniques. My martial arts friends have shared some of the deeper points of their systems with me, but it took time for me to understand the points and it made me have a deeper appreciation of the varying styles of the world. The martial arts of the world are as diverse as it people. Each martial arts system has it method and use. There are some systems that are small pieces of other systems, or hybrid systems, and others that are totally unique and rare. (On a personal note I like systems that are effective, unique, and rare. But that’s just me). In the future I would like to have some of my friends discuss martial arts systems in our upcoming online newsletter and DVD series. When you are trying to find a martial art to study it is very important to know what you want out of your training and since there are many styles of martial arts you have to do your homework carefully. I have yet to run into a martial art system that has it all. For example for years I looked for an older system the Koryu (old school) meaning there were many generations of experience passed on to the students. It had to teach self-protection, self-defense, and help you understand how to adjust the martial arts method based on cause as well as find a deeper meaning to life. I was not satisfied with systems which simply taught kicks, punches and grabs because I was looking for a martial art that I could train with over my entire lifetime. Over the years the meaning of the martial arts has revealed itself as I gained more experience with it. This experience has also me helped me grow as a person.