For those who studied multiple arts

[tshadowchaser]

When you changed from your first style to the 2nd one what was the hardest part of the transition?

What was the easiest?

[arnisador]

Going from Karate to Arnis--the biggest one was moving instead of holding a stance.

Easiest? When we did work on stances, I was ahead of the game!

[tradrockrat]

Well, I don't feel that I "changed" so much as added to. I never stopped training and learning Bando until 5 years ago, but when I recieved my first level blackbelt in 1993, I was encouraged by my teacher to seek out other systems to augment my learning and to see how other styles worked. Sort of "expand my horizons" time. I started training in Jiu Jitsu. The biggest adjustment I had to make was a mental one. Jiu Jitsu requires a different attitude about mobility and comfort zones as far as combat is concerned. Bando was all about initial avoidance followed by a nonstop attack until the opponent no longer has the ability to move. Jui Jitsu gets right in there, tears the guy a new one, and tosses the opponent out of his circle or takes him to the ground - right up close and personal (this was NOT BJJ - it was a traditional school of Japanese Jiu Jitsu).

When I began studying Kenpo, I actually could not make the adjustment - the philosophy was too far emoved from what I had already learned and assimilated about combat for me to learn effectively. With much regret, I stopped after two months. I know Kenpo is a great system, but it doesn't work for me.

After that I went back to Bando, but began studying both Cobra and Python systems at the same time. Total opposites of the spectrum! The Python is an almost totally ground based fighting with combat decided by chokes and locks, while the Cobra is all speed and accuracy applied to vital targets such as throat, eyes, and groin. Total schizo, but I loved everyminute of it. The hard part here was that Python is all about sparing and fighting, and the Cobra is primarily form based (hard to spar when the techniques involve blinding and tearing of throats)

[karatekid1975]

When I went from Tang Soo Do to Taekwondo, the hardest for me was the sparring rules. I went from point sparring where hand contact to the head is allowed to full contact non-stop sparring where no hand contact was allowed to the head. Very weird. In TSD, we also applied Thai boxing into the mix of the way we sparred (in class), and take-downs were allowed. In TKD, no take-downs, and no check kicks, or shin blocks are allowed. But I still do shin blocks, and I got used to not using my hands (we do that stuff in self defense training, though).

The easiest was the techniques and forms. I have always picked up stuff quickly in TSD, so it just continued in TKD. I already knew how to kick, punch, stance work, ect. The forms were a bit easier than TSD, but I found ways to improve them. The blocks were executed a bit different, but it didn't take me long to adjust.

But I still do TSD techniques within my forms and I never lost my "TSD side kick or TSD round house" as my boyfriend says hehehehe. I don't do the "the quick 45 degree roundhouse" except in sparring. I still turn my hip all the way over, and I kick with the ball of my foot. I kick with my heal with side kicks (in our school they teach side kicks with the blade of the foot). But I was never corrected on it, so I keep doing it.

As far as Jujitsu goes, I did a bit of that in TSD also. Plus I dabbled in Judo (I love throws hehehehe), so I adjusted pretty quickly. I love the "down and dirty" self defense within Jujistu. It is also improving my self defense techniques in TKD, so both styles "mesh" well.

[CrankyDragon]

Shotokan Karate -> Nihon Goshin Aikido

To move in circular movments, to not block strikes, to step into an aggresor rather than stand still or back up, blending with the energy, avoid contact of strikes, controlling an aggressor after you took them down rather than keep hitting/kicking, using Ki... really using Ki, really using your aggresor's energy to your advantage, not going to a horse riding stance or other Karate stance (Doah!), this stuff takes a lot more patience!!

Theres a few more, but thats the top of the list...

Andrew

[Shaolinwind]

When you changed from your first style to the 2nd one what was the hardest part of the transition?

What was the easiest?
I changed from Tang Soo Do after 6 months to Northern Kung Fu. The hardest part of the transition was the breathing, in TSD they taught us in thru the nose and out through the mouth, while in KF they teach us to breathe exclusively through the nose.. The next hardest thing was not letting out a good kiup with every strike.

The easiest part was going from a standard Do-bok to baggy pants and a t-shirt.. That's just wonderful.

[MJS]

Hardest part of the transition: Going from Kenpo to BJJ. I had never done any sort of grappling prior, so it took a bit to get used to moving on the ground, having to deal with an opp. while holding you down, etc.

Easiest: Going from Kenpo to Arnis.

[ap Oweyn]

Like arnisador, I went from karate (taekwondo technically) to arnis. The hardest parts were, as he said, the emphasis on dynamic footwork rather than stancework and the idea of flow. My taekwondo training (and I'm not saying this is true of everyone's) was very segmented. Distinct movements rather than flow from one thing to the next. Arnis was very much about continuous movement. Took a while to get used to.

The easiest? Hmm... The empty hand I guess. In my experience, FMA empty hand tends to be informed by whatever that teacher had done previously. So some people's "mano mano" or "pangamot" is more influenced by karate, judo, and aikido and others' might be more influenced by boxing and muay thai. I tend to think of mano mano as an overlay you put over an existing framework. A set of considerations partly based on FMA's assumption that there will be a knife involved, for example.

It's not always a formalized system, but I was able to draw on my taekwondo experience and say "what changes would I make to the way I fight now IF I knew that the other person was able to tackle me or might be carrying a knife in his other hand?" From there I was able to say "keep your kicks low and move away from that back hand using your footwork because there might be a blade in it."

So taking what I already knew and filtering it through the additional considerations presented by arnis was the "easiest" part.


Stuart

[searcher]

The hardest part was leaving behind my classmates and the style that I had invested so much time in.

The easiest was the basics, they were all very closely related.

[theletch1]

Learning to flow through an opponents energy instead of crashing against it. Second toughest was learning to feel my opponents energy and adapt my technique to it instead of deciding on a technique and going through the motions by rote.

Easiest was the warm up. The aikido warm up is no where near what the physical side of kenpo was. Falls and rolls were easier for me than for someone who'd never studied before as well since I'd already been exposed to them.

[karatekid1975]

[QUOTE=searcher]The hardest part was leaving behind my classmates and the style that I had invested so much time in. [QUOTE]

Here here. I totally agree. I didn't want to leave my TSD dojang :(

[The Boar Man]

Going from a American TKD/karate background to filipino martial arts based systems JKDC kali to Presas Arnis (Kombatan and Modern Arnis blend) the hardest transition was the free flowing movement and form.

Being brought up in the do as the instructor does enviroment in TKD/karate (trying to have perfect form and such) and then to go to the keep flowing no matter if you make a mistake or not was hard at first. I use to want to stop in a drill and start over if I made a mistake instead of correcting the mistake and staying in the drill.

For me the easiest was the foot work, especially moving in and out since I hard spent a lot of time doing that in TKD.

Mark

[jfarnsworth]

The hardest for me was transitioning footwork, stances, and the variations in blocking.

The easiest part was because I already had the basics but I just needed to polish them up.

[evenflow1121]

Going from TKD to Kenpo I'd have to say movement. Continuity of motion for example. At first it was hard for me to grasp that concept.

[MA-Caver]

When you changed from your first style to the 2nd one what was the hardest part of the transition?

What was the easiest?
In my travels I studied a wide variety of arts utilizing a Wing Chun base. From there I've had exposure/training from Kenpo to TKD (more recently a lot of exposure to Kenpo { :wink1: to Ceicei}to a bit of this and a bit of that and a long period of good ole' American Street fighting, with that one being the longest period of training...though it's not really a Martial Art. The time period of learning/training for all the other (real) MA's ranged from a few weeks to a six or eight month stretch. I've never held a belt in any art what-so-ever. Does that make me less of a "martial artist?"
Transitions from one art to another weren't that difficult as I've found that I happen to have the ability to rapidly adapt to whatever situations, cirumstances, teachings I find myself in at the time.
I've made friends with dozens of people who have studied a particular style/art of MA and their rankings have rarely been below brown belt levels in their respective art. The experiences have broaden my perspective quite a bit. Thus like Bruce Lee I can't say this style is better than that one because they all have their plusses and minuses. I've learned to appreciate his point of view that the style that suits me best is the one that I've learned how to incorporate all that I've learned (physically and mentally from each) to a "style" that suits me... or simply put "My Style". I still love his "...art of fighting without fighting..." best however. :D
I do want to get (back) into a formal school and re-learn or unlearn all that I've learned and go from there. A fresh start you might say.

What was easiest? None of them, and all of them. The variety has taught me to appreciate the value that each art has in the realm of actual combative situations.
The art that I really would like to start studying (formally) is Aikido but since there is a lack of real schools in my immediate area ... I'll have to go back to either Wing Chun or take up Kenpo and go from there. There is an Aikido school near where I live but it also advertises that they teach JJ, and a couple of others. While it may (or may NOT) be a McDojo, I'd prefer to be in a school where they teach ONE art and not several. This way, I feel, I will get instruction from exactly the art that I'm paying for. I plan to check it out either way just to talk to the instructor or head of the school in question and make my decison there.
Personal finances have improved to where this is now possible. Before my finacial situation was the greatest barrier to my attending a school on a regular basis. In other words, sometimes it just sucked to be me. :D

:asian:

[CrankyDragon]

Easiest was the warm up. The aikido warm up is no where near what the physical side of kenpo was.Dang Jeff... That was our secret! Now everyone is either gonna wanna do Aikido or call us soft! HAHAH!

Andrew

[theletch1]

Dang Jeff... That was our secret! Now everyone is either gonna wanna do Aikido or call us soft! HAHAH!

Andrew
The most important part of our warm-up is the stretching. The cardio is simply not an absolute must for our training beyond just getting our muscles loose enough not to snap during a throw or lock. Most of the other folks on this site are familiar enough with aikido training to know that a couple hours of joint locks, throws and falls is anything but soft. I wouldn't want everyone to do aikido. To those to whom the art is suited, welcome. If the art doesn't fit your personality or needs then it's time to move on. That's the underlying current to this thread...folks who've moved on and (hopefully) found a home.

[Jonathan Randall]

When you changed from your first style to the 2nd one what was the hardest part of the transition?

What was the easiest?From Judo to TKD and Karate, no problem. From Karate and TKD to Tai Chi, BIG PROBLEM. I had to learn how to relax better and the stances were different enough to cause interference (differing habits) problems. I also had difficulty, at first, learning boxing jabs because they are SO different from the traditional lunge and reverse punches of karate and tkd. My experience is that the closer the arts, the bigger the initial problems; meaning that from karate to grappling, no interference, from boxing to karate, interference problems. However, ultimately, if you don't dilute your efforts too much, crosstraining is a great way to expand your horizons after gaining a SOLID BASE in your first art.

[Grenadier]

Several transitions, since I had been living like a gypsy for the last decade and a half before finally settling down...

There were a few difficult transitions when going from Shotokan to Tae Kwon Do. For some reason, this particular TKD school didn't like the way I would advance / retreat in semicircles, where the foot that's moving advances or retreats in an arc. Instead, they would tell me that it was wasted motion, and that I should be going straight forward and backward.

We were taught the jumping kicks, the spinning kicks, and yes, the jumping and spinning kicks. This was stuff that wasn't really covered at the old Shotokan dojo (although we did have some spinning kicks, such as back, hook, side, and crescent, and a couple of jumping kicks).

My teacher was more of a practical fellow, though. While he would teach us the high kicks, the spinning kicks, etc., he always made it clear that such things weren't for real life confrontations.

Going from Tae Kwon Do back to Shotokan later on, wasn't a problem, since it was like using an old baseball glove.

Going from Shotokan to an Okinawan style presented a very good challenge. There was a significantly greater content of circular motions involved in this style, and practicing the bunkai with the kata at the lower ranks took some getting used to, along with the greater incorporation of throws and grappling. Such material wasn't covered in either of the Shotokan dojos that I was at until someone reached 3rd kyu brown belt.

Going from the Okinawan style to my current style (Wado) wasn't too difficult, since my current school was quite similar to the Shotokan schools, and that the jiu-jitsu moves incorporated into the Wado system were already familiar, thanks to my former teachers in the Okinawan style. I do miss the circular movements, though...

[shesulsa]

Looks like I accidentally posted my response to this thread in Sheldon's other one about the hardest thing to start with.

I started with Kenpo first then moved to Korean martial arts, so all the fancy kicking was a challenge (still is) as was standing punching, i.e. not reverse punches. Moving with the right leg and punching with the right arm was a difficult thing for me to feel comfortable in.

And then - the language! Korean! Oy! :)

[Sapper6]

for me it was stance transitions. becoming more fluid, rounding off corners, etc.

[beauty_in_the_sai]

4 and a half years into my taekwondo instruction, I tried JKD. Why? Because I idolize Bruce Lee. I found, though I love the founder, I didn't care for his style too much. I liked the footwork of JKD and the philosophy of having no art behind it, but the rest of it was just too against natural movement for me to enjoy. The way it was taught made it seem like a style, whether Bruce wanted it to be or not, so now I just follow the philosophy behind it, rather than the style. I intergrated the JKD footwork into my style and it works well.

I had an easier time with ninjutsu. I'm now pretty good at stealth and getting better at throwing ninja stars. :ninja:

[Flying Crane]

I didn't switch from one art to the other to replace the previous, but rather to add to my experience. Every art has a different approach, and movement can be very different. That can make things difficult, but I just keep my arts separate when I am training them. If I need to use them, I can mix up whatever, but in training, kenpo is kenpo, capoeira is capoeira, crane is crane, wing chun is wing chun, etc.

[Laborn]

Well i first studied karate, then taekwondo, and their practically opposite, so karate teaches oh lets say 80 percent punches, tkd teaches 80 percent kicks, so i was use to punching, hardest part for me was sparring, i kept wanting to back fist or continuely throw blows with my fists, after a few months i finally got it down patt to kick not punch hehe.

easiest was forms, they were simular, so i kicked butt at forms haha.

[Pacificshore]

Well transitioning from my former Kenpo style to my most current Kempo style, I'd have to say the most difficult would be the forms. In my former system, we used many of the Okinawan katas and to aid with fluidity, we also had animal katas.

My current Kempo system utilizes plenty of low stances in their katas than what I am normally used to, and at my age....that can sometimes be a difficult thing, especially during the cold months :rolleyes:

Perhaps another thing of difficulty in my current studies is the use of other weapons beside the bo. For example, I've had exposures to the Sai, Tonfa, better exposure to the Nunchuks, and finally for now the Balisong. Manipulation of the weapons can be a challenge at times, and I should know, I've hit myself many a times with the nunchuks ;)

[kempoguy71]

The hardest transition for me was going from external styles (Kempo, Karate, Boxing) to training in internal styles (Xing Yi, Ba Gua and Tai Ji) as the operating systems are vastly different (sectional power vs. whole-body power generation).

[Navarre]

My experience is that the closer the arts, the bigger the initial problems.
I agree with this. After 10 years in Okinawan karate I started studying jujitsu. The incorporation was fairly smooth. Most of it was very new to me. Although our style flowed in its own right, the level of fluidity was much greater in jujitsu. Our Okinawan throws and locks were rudimentary compared to jujitsu and I'd never done a fingerlock in my life.

My previous experience helped me close the gap on opponents and gave me the basics to add in jujitsu. I found it all came together nicely.

Last year I took a few classes in Tang Su Do. I enjoyed it but struggled a lot more. After 20 years in karate I was hearing, "Sure you can punch; but not like that!" and "Okay, well here's how our kick is done."

They weren't mean or assertive about it. In fact they were as open-minded toward variety as I am. My point is that it was much harder to readjust something I'd spent two decades fine-tuning than it was to pick up a completely different skill set.

Still, I'm really glad I have integrated karate and jujitsu. As Jonathan said, "if you don't dilute your efforts too much, crosstraining is a great way to expand your horizons after gaining a SOLID BASE in your first art."

[mantis]

When you changed from your first style to the 2nd one what was the hardest part of the transition?

What was the easiest? from TKD to 7*Mantis!
hardest.. staying in low stances
easiest? i'd say no more high kicks (which is sad as well)
the major difference is school-related not style-related.. i came from a school where they work you out until you throw up, and you get beaten by a tree trunk to a school where you do not do any significant ab's and you barely stretch!

[tshadowchaser]

a school where they work you out until you throw up, and you get beaten by a tree trunk
Think I have seen a couple schools like that in the past

Strange but I sometimes miss the intensity of those training periods

[Navarre]

Strange but I sometimes miss the intensity of those training periods
I miss it all the time. Those classes were worse than basic training but I loved them. Nowadays ppl won't work out unless they have nice carpet or tile and lots of air conditioning. It's a weaker lot overall.

[karatekid1975]

After my lesson in Jujitsu this past friday, I learned that Jujitsu does have weapons, but we learned to use "anything" as a weapon. It was a cool class. But I did learn that all the stuff (self defense stuff) I learn now as an advanced student in TKD, is white belt stuff in Jujitsu. In TKD they hold off on the "brutal" self defense stuff till you get to my rank. But in jujitsu, they teach you right away. I'm a white belt in Jujitsu, but I learned a lot more self defense stuff than I have so far in TKD. That took getting used to, for me anyways. And there's hardly any kicks (in jujitsu). I have to get used to not kicking so much.

[Navarre]

Because our jujitsu system used anything that worked, I was still able to use my kicks. The main difference is that I used to kick and punch the entire time. Now my kicks are used to allow me to move in for a lock or throw.

But you're right. I had earned my 2nd degree black belt in karate and still hadn't learned as many locks and throws as I did in the first 3 months of my jujitsu training. That's why I love having the two systems together.