MattofSilat
Orange Belt
Hey there everybody, my name's Matt (Hence, MattofSilat) and I hope to get well into martial arts. Although I do not currently do martial arts, although I'm buzzing for my first Jujutsu class on Sunday, I definitely would say that I'm passionate about them. I have roamed many forums and researched a lot, and I really would say that I'm passionate. I live in Guernsey, Channel Islands. It's an island, and there are very few martial arts places. I can think of three "pure sport" ones: Karate, Judo & Boxing, a non-sport karate club, a BJJ + MMA Club and Japanese Jujutsu club (I'm not saying those three arts are pure sport, I'm saying that they're made to be pure sport). Since I come from a relitively isolated area, it made me passionate about Martial Arts which I cannot learn/are very foreign. The main two are Hapkido and, as you may have already guessed, Silat. A big reason I'm starting martial arts is because I'm so freaking pissed at people patronising me. I'm not tall, nor strong (But I'm working on that), and I'm the butt of everyone's joke. I wouldn't say that I'm disliked by many people (And I'd try not to fight to resolve those that I am disliked by), but I'm always that guy that gets the piss taken out of in everything I do. I KNOW that if I proved my worth, I might gain just a shred of respect. I also want something that I'm good at, because I have never won any physical activity against other physically-able people (I'm definitely not unfit, slow or ridiculously weak, but there's always people better).
Here's all the questions I want to ask. I will probably post them separately if some are left unanswered, but I guess this is a better place than any to start. After all, after lurking for 2 days as my account awaited activation, this forum seems to be the most knowledgeable yet!
1) This is my first question. Although I have not yet started Jujutsu, I know that this 'branch' of arts tends to specialise in takedowns upon those who initiate the attack. My friend (Although he's a bit of an *** sometimes), who I will call J, is a rugby player. He plays for the island team (Best players in the Island), so he's pretty good. I figure that if I could take him down in a non-agressive manor, I would finally show that I'm not a goddamn pushover. So, what sort of technique would you use against somebody that runs at you in a rugby tackle, head-on? You don't have to explain it, give me a name and I'll do the research myself.
2) How do people study arts without a real spiritual/ethical mentality? I'm mainly talking about Jeet Kun Do. The only philosphy appears to be to become the most effective combatant, which is fine if your training for self defense. I am talking about training it for life, as a true student. This spiritual/ethical mentality to many arts is what makes me so interested.
3) This is about stretches. What type of stretches do you find especially effective at becoming more flexible. I understand that it doesn't happen quickly, and I'm not saying that, I just want to know stretches that work. I was doing one the other day where I leant on the two back legs of my chair, the back against the wall, put one leg resting and pulled the other up at the calf and hamstring towards my body until I "felt the burn". It felt quite warm afterwards, as well as quite 'tingly'. Would you say it is effective? Or is any stretch where you feel the burn as good as any other? Is it "the longer the better" in terms of flexibility time per day, or is there a certain time I should aim for before it starts doing harm?
4) How would one prepare for Hapkido and/or Silat without any technique training at all? Would it be OK to begin to learn very basic techniques, or would that cause only bad habits if I'm without true instruction? I know that Hapkido uses joint locks and throws, but not really in the same style as Judo, so I thought Jujutsu would be a good idea. What other skills do you need? My reaction time, and especially balance and hand-eye coordination are poor. I know I HAVE to improve them, but how? Is going to the gym 3 times a week (I'm just starting) and going for 3 runs a week ( The Couch-to-5K ® Running Plan | C25K Mobile App ) good enough? I also, as you can tell by the previous question, do streches to get more flexible, which I know is important. Would it be a good idea to get 5 wooden posts, stab them deep into the ground, then practice kicking and punching which standing on them? I saw this on a video and it looked very effective with balance and coordination.
5) Is there a spiritual side to Silat, specifically Pencak Silat? I know that some study the Black Magic stuff, which I may come to believe in as I study, but are there any clear cut spiritual beliefs into Silat itself, although I know the Indonesian community is predominately Muslim, I'm talking about the art.
6) What about the sports version of Silat and Hapkido? Silat especially looks very fun to do in the sport version, (1 Point for a punch, 2 for a kick, 3 for a takedown/throw). I think I will really enjoy sparring,so what do you think of this sport version. I would learn true silat too, but it looks too much fun to pass up.
7) This is one of my main questions. I was introduced to Silat, and I learnt most of what I know about Hapkido, from a series known as "Fight Quest". It follows two martial artists travelling around the world to try out different martial arts. Do the videos give a true example of what Hapkido & Silat training is like?
Hapkido -
Silat - Fight Quest S01E06 Pencak Silat - YouTube
Please skip to the start of the videos, don't really know what happened there.
8) Is the sort of mountain training seen in the above possible to do for somebody like me? AKA, who doesn't have a TV crew with them. When I travel to study these arts, I want to go the full mile. Cost isn't really relevant to me, I will find it from somewhere, as at the moment, this is something I REALLY want to do.
9) What do you think of the Bassan and Juru of Silat? I for one really like those fluid movements. Are the Bassan unique to Sports Silat, or are they in all Silat.
Thank you for answering any of these questions. I am only 15 by the way, so I hope that I still have a long time to get to learning these arts.
Here's all the questions I want to ask. I will probably post them separately if some are left unanswered, but I guess this is a better place than any to start. After all, after lurking for 2 days as my account awaited activation, this forum seems to be the most knowledgeable yet!
1) This is my first question. Although I have not yet started Jujutsu, I know that this 'branch' of arts tends to specialise in takedowns upon those who initiate the attack. My friend (Although he's a bit of an *** sometimes), who I will call J, is a rugby player. He plays for the island team (Best players in the Island), so he's pretty good. I figure that if I could take him down in a non-agressive manor, I would finally show that I'm not a goddamn pushover. So, what sort of technique would you use against somebody that runs at you in a rugby tackle, head-on? You don't have to explain it, give me a name and I'll do the research myself.
2) How do people study arts without a real spiritual/ethical mentality? I'm mainly talking about Jeet Kun Do. The only philosphy appears to be to become the most effective combatant, which is fine if your training for self defense. I am talking about training it for life, as a true student. This spiritual/ethical mentality to many arts is what makes me so interested.
3) This is about stretches. What type of stretches do you find especially effective at becoming more flexible. I understand that it doesn't happen quickly, and I'm not saying that, I just want to know stretches that work. I was doing one the other day where I leant on the two back legs of my chair, the back against the wall, put one leg resting and pulled the other up at the calf and hamstring towards my body until I "felt the burn". It felt quite warm afterwards, as well as quite 'tingly'. Would you say it is effective? Or is any stretch where you feel the burn as good as any other? Is it "the longer the better" in terms of flexibility time per day, or is there a certain time I should aim for before it starts doing harm?
4) How would one prepare for Hapkido and/or Silat without any technique training at all? Would it be OK to begin to learn very basic techniques, or would that cause only bad habits if I'm without true instruction? I know that Hapkido uses joint locks and throws, but not really in the same style as Judo, so I thought Jujutsu would be a good idea. What other skills do you need? My reaction time, and especially balance and hand-eye coordination are poor. I know I HAVE to improve them, but how? Is going to the gym 3 times a week (I'm just starting) and going for 3 runs a week ( The Couch-to-5K ® Running Plan | C25K Mobile App ) good enough? I also, as you can tell by the previous question, do streches to get more flexible, which I know is important. Would it be a good idea to get 5 wooden posts, stab them deep into the ground, then practice kicking and punching which standing on them? I saw this on a video and it looked very effective with balance and coordination.
5) Is there a spiritual side to Silat, specifically Pencak Silat? I know that some study the Black Magic stuff, which I may come to believe in as I study, but are there any clear cut spiritual beliefs into Silat itself, although I know the Indonesian community is predominately Muslim, I'm talking about the art.
6) What about the sports version of Silat and Hapkido? Silat especially looks very fun to do in the sport version, (1 Point for a punch, 2 for a kick, 3 for a takedown/throw). I think I will really enjoy sparring,so what do you think of this sport version. I would learn true silat too, but it looks too much fun to pass up.
7) This is one of my main questions. I was introduced to Silat, and I learnt most of what I know about Hapkido, from a series known as "Fight Quest". It follows two martial artists travelling around the world to try out different martial arts. Do the videos give a true example of what Hapkido & Silat training is like?
Hapkido -
Silat - Fight Quest S01E06 Pencak Silat - YouTube
Please skip to the start of the videos, don't really know what happened there.
8) Is the sort of mountain training seen in the above possible to do for somebody like me? AKA, who doesn't have a TV crew with them. When I travel to study these arts, I want to go the full mile. Cost isn't really relevant to me, I will find it from somewhere, as at the moment, this is something I REALLY want to do.
9) What do you think of the Bassan and Juru of Silat? I for one really like those fluid movements. Are the Bassan unique to Sports Silat, or are they in all Silat.
Thank you for answering any of these questions. I am only 15 by the way, so I hope that I still have a long time to get to learning these arts.
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