Where should I go?..So many options!

[DLWoodie]

Hi,

I have a request for general information; let me start with a bit of background info….

I live in the UK, I started studying Contact Karate when I was 5 and became a Black Belt. When I left for college there were no ECKA clubs near the college so I attended the campus Karate club, but was not impressed by the class and gave it up after a few sessions, working on bodybuilding instead. After college I stopped training all together.

I am now 27 and have recently been through a messy break-up with my Ex and have been left broke, single and very unfit. Not to anyone’s surprise I feel terrible and need to get back into martial arts to claim back the energy and clarity of Mind, Body and Sole.

I have decided that I have some catching up to do and now fully intend to travel to Asia and study martial arts intensively. I have started doing research into the options available and have been tempted to study Wushu in china (Despite my inner child screaming to go to a Ninja camp), and have looked at options of studying with ShaoLin Monks, or studying at a dedicated academy, like the Academy of Wushu ( http://www.wushuacademy.com/ ). These are obviously not plans as yet so I am totally open to ideas or suggestions about any possible course of action; I would be interested to hear about any experiences or thoughts good and bad.

Thanks.

 

[Drac]

Many of us have been where you are now..This is an EXCELENT time to get into MA training..Focus that anger and hurt into something constructive and not resort to the self destructive behavior MANY of us went through, myself included..As for suggestions on what or where only YOU can be the judge.. Visit a couple of schools and listen for the "little voice" that tells you that THIS is the place to be...

 

[tshadowchaser]

Drac said it nicely.
You should try to find schools in you area and check them out first. maybe on or 2 will look good and you can start in one of them to s how it feels to you. Also remember not all instructors are the same and what happens in one school may not be what happens in another of the same style.
If you are out of shape, I'd suggest you start exercising, push ups, sit ups, stretching, etc.

 

[HKphooey]

Could not have said it better than above.

And welcome to MT!

 

[Jade Tigress]

What they said. and Welcome to Martial Talk.

 

[Brian R. VanCise]

Many of us have been where you are now..This is an EXCELENT time to get into MA training..Focus that anger and hurt into something constructive and not resort to the self destructive behavior MANY of us went through, myself included..As for suggestions on what or where only YOU can be the judge.. Visit a couple of schools and listen for the "little voice" that tells you that THIS is the place to be...

Drac's advice above is very good. Visit multiple schools and see if one of them is for you.

Brian R. VanCise
www.instinctiveresponsetraining.com

 

[Shaolinwind]

Hi,

I have a request for general information; let me start with a bit of background info….

I live in the UK, I started studying Contact Karate when I was 5 and became a Black Belt. When I left for college there were no ECKA clubs near the college so I attended the campus Karate club, but was not impressed by the class and gave it up after a few sessions, working on bodybuilding instead. After college I stopped training all together.

I am now 27 and have recently been through a messy break-up with my Ex and have been left broke, single and very unfit. Not to anyone’s surprise I feel terrible and need to get back into martial arts to claim back the energy and clarity of Mind, Body and Sole.

I have decided that I have some catching up to do and now fully intend to travel to Asia and study martial arts intensively. I have started doing research into the options available and have been tempted to study Wushu in china (Despite my inner child screaming to go to a Ninja camp), and have looked at options of studying with ShaoLin Monks, or studying at a dedicated academy, like the Academy of Wushu ( http://www.wushuacademy.com/ ). These are obviously not plans as yet so I am totally open to ideas or suggestions about any possible course of action; I would be interested to hear about any experiences or thoughts good and bad.

Thanks.

First off don't forget, if you are anything like me the whole messy break up thing probably has you a bit emotionally twisted. Don't do anything rash like running off and joining some Shaolin monks just yet. Heck, I was ready to sign up for the Marines in the hopes of going overseas except I was just a tad too old.

I think not only do you need some good MA, you need to find a school with friendly people. If you are broke... Don't run off to Asia just yet. Find a great Kung Fu school, and absorb yourself into work and studies.

Oh, and welcome to MT!

 

[matt.m]

Nothing rash about the Marines, you have to be a little twisted to join to begin with. I did 5 years.

Seriously though, all the above information is sound. Look at many other schools. Don't just choose Japanese, Chinese, Korean etc. If you are at a period of discovery then do just that.....Discover. There is a lot out there, don't sell yourself short.


Welcome to MT.

 

[Kacey]

First - welcome to MT!

Second - I agree with previous posters; make sure you are choosing an art that suits you, rather than going to a location and taking what's available (sounds like you have that pretty well covered as it is).

Third - congrats on not taking the easy way out, also known as "Well, I'll get back into my MA as soon as I get back into shape!"

 

[Xue Sheng]

The above advice is very good.

I've been though it too, it is not fun, but it is also not a time to run off to East Asia either. Give yourself at least a year after everything is finalized and then think about it. In the mean time focus on martial arts locally to see what you like.

 

[DLWoodie]

Wow, that is an impressive response, thank you all!

Firstly let me apologise, in hindsight my first post was misleading, although it makes perfect sense to me, so sit back and let me fill in the gaps.

I probably shouldn’t have used the term “recently”, we split last fall. The break up temporarily lifted the depression I had been suffering, thanks to the adrenaline type response of having to find a new house, and sorting massive debts. Thanks to this effect I had moved, removed all debt, and passed some high level qualifications that I had been putting off, all by Christmas. After the pressure was lifted I settled back into old bad habits, full of good intentions no actions and miserable. I was annoyed by this so turned my attention to trying to understand why I can be so externally strong, clever etc, but self destructive, it is ridiculous. I have since learned lots from various schools of thought including NLP, Psychology, Philosophy and Zen among others. I now realise the answer is simple, I never did what was right by me, I was looking at the bigger picture trying to make some impression based on societies view of success. ( Shaolinwind – As you can see I was messed up. Dude, if you are as mean as your picture looks, it was the Marines loss.) (Drac – I keep a punch bag for that purpose.)

I now faced a choice, the previous so called “sensible plan”, to work my nuts of for a while saving to emigrate so to fully exploit my new qualifications, or change course and start to consider my happiness first, I can not be happy until I am truly happy with myself, starting with fitness gained from training something I love. Consider also that courtesy of exchange rates and comparable cost of living, it requires less time spent in current job I don’t really like. There is no contest, I have to do the Zen thing. (tshadowchaser – either way I will have time to lessen the impact, have been working up the training for a week or so already.)

I have a fair amount of knowledge into Martial Arts, having trained to competition level in a hard style so I understand the physical demands and developed a love of the subject. Over the years I have had lots of contact with varying styles so am aware of the key differences and principles. My philosophy on Martial Arts is very open; You have to look at as much as possible from as many schools as possible to develop the best from them all.

My only requirements of the journey at this stage are to get fit, expand my knowledge, and to continue to build on my traits that I like while removing others. Wushu seems to be the obvious answer it builds neatly onto my current style, studying martial arts full time can’t fail to get me fit, and as I currently understand it, China is one of the better places for convenience of visa, cost and potential to make money. Not to mention my sudden interest in developing internal health though Qi Gong and Tai Chi.

My question really was about how to best facilitate it I prefer the style options available from the academy, but am tempted to challenge myself to one of the harder ShaoLin options, maybe find enlightenment. I am trying to decide if I take a shorter stay at the temple then go on to teach English while studying Kung Fu in my spare time, and if that would pay enough to save enough attend the academy later. Would it detract from my training? The reason I left the first post so open was to see what ideas other people have, there must loads of stuff I haven’t considered maybe a whole other martial art, in a different country, that better fit the criteria for less money. (N.B. I will satisfy my inner child one day.) (Matt M – You are absolutely right, but who is to say I can’t discover them from their source) (Kacey – Lets hope I don’t need dynamite.)

Well done if you read this far.

 

[Xue Sheng]

Shaolin has a program where you can stay for 6 months or more and they teach you Mandarin

Chen Family (Tai Chi) has a program where you can stay for 6 months or more and they teach you Mandarin

You can also go to a Chinese Wushu academy as well and they teach you Mandarin

Or you could pick a major city to work in and find a Sifu. However Speaking Chinese is pretty much required here.

Beijing for example has a good Yiquan school that takes foreigners for a couple of weeks to a year or more.

Visa, not as easy as you think, but not impossible.

Living in China, it depends on where you live, I HIGHLY suggest you live in a city, unless of course you are staying at one of the martial arts places like Shaolin.
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