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Moonduck · 12-07-2003, 10:08 PM

There are forms that teach both sword and staff, but they are ancilliary to the central teachings of the form. I know of a few Aikido and Aikijutsu schools that teach some katana and bo work, as well as a number of Chinese Gung Fu systems that teach sundry sword forms and staff training. Depends on what you are looking for.

As to style, you have to answer that question.

A) What schools do you have access to in your area? (If you can't regularly attend, it's not really worthwhile)

B) How good are those schools (better to take an art you're not really spun up about at a very good school, than to take a cool art taught by someone unqualified to teach it).

C) What is your body type? (You've said 5'10" and 155lbs, so I doubt that a grappling style would be a great choice unless you're very aggressive) Body type is important when deciding on style as some styles support certain body types better than others. TKD, for instance, tends to work well for tall, thin, fast types as it is a long-range kicking type of style. Western boxing works well for stocky individuals as they generate better short stroke power (yes, there are plenty of long-armed boxers out there, and they can be good, but the style works well for stocky blocks like Tyson).

D) Soft or Hard? In other words, strikes and hard blocks, or sweeps, parries, and throws? It's an overgenaralization, but most arts can be categorized as either soft (using the attacker's movement, momentum, and weight to do the damage via sweeps and throws, and also generally working incapacitating holds - Aikido), or hard (techniques emphasize speed and power, and use impact to do damage - Karate)

E) Physical ability - if you are clumsy and slow, don't try and become a grandmaster of the chain-whip. Yes, it is good to challenge yourself, but you must also be realistic. If you are, like me, stocky and don't jump well, arts that teach a lot of (*cough*stupid*cough*) flying and jumping kicks would be a bad choice.

I'm a fairly burly guy. When I was taking MA, I was 5'11" and about 265lbs, nostly muscle. I enjoyed Kenpo as it was aggressive (in keeping with my personality) and emphasized short-range combat with a lot of hand-work (I have a boxing background, so hand-work is good by me), and did fairly well at Kali-Silat (Filipino stick/knife-fighting style that was really a bit too fast for me, but the aggressive footwork and attitude fit me to a tee. I really shined once I hit Sombo (Russian martial art). The grappling and Thai-style kick-boxing for stand-up work was right down my alley. I cannot imagine a style better suited to me - hard, strength and mass friendly, VERY aggressive, and works well in a broad range of situations. The Jeet Kune Do training that happened while most of this was going on helped to bring it together, and I heartily suggest it if you can find it.

The bottom line is to go and visit whatever dojos, dojangs, kwoons, studios, and what-have-you in your area. Try to find one that teaches something that you're interested in and has an environment that you feel comfortable in. Then check around and see what people say about 'em.

12-07-2003, 10:08 PM	#4 (permalink)
Moonduck Junkie Location: SE USA	There are forms that teach both sword and staff, but they are ancilliary to the central teachings of the form. I know of a few Aikido and Aikijutsu schools that teach some katana and bo work, as well as a number of Chinese Gung Fu systems that teach sundry sword forms and staff training. Depends on what you are looking for. As to style, you have to answer that question. A) What schools do you have access to in your area? (If you can't regularly attend, it's not really worthwhile) B) How good are those schools (better to take an art you're not really spun up about at a very good school, than to take a cool art taught by someone unqualified to teach it). C) What is your body type? (You've said 5'10" and 155lbs, so I doubt that a grappling style would be a great choice unless you're very aggressive) Body type is important when deciding on style as some styles support certain body types better than others. TKD, for instance, tends to work well for tall, thin, fast types as it is a long-range kicking type of style. Western boxing works well for stocky individuals as they generate better short stroke power (yes, there are plenty of long-armed boxers out there, and they can be good, but the style works well for stocky blocks like Tyson). D) Soft or Hard? In other words, strikes and hard blocks, or sweeps, parries, and throws? It's an overgenaralization, but most arts can be categorized as either soft (using the attacker's movement, momentum, and weight to do the damage via sweeps and throws, and also generally working incapacitating holds - Aikido), or hard (techniques emphasize speed and power, and use impact to do damage - Karate) E) Physical ability - if you are clumsy and slow, don't try and become a grandmaster of the chain-whip. Yes, it is good to challenge yourself, but you must also be realistic. If you are, like me, stocky and don't jump well, arts that teach a lot of (coughstupidcough) flying and jumping kicks would be a bad choice. I'm a fairly burly guy. When I was taking MA, I was 5'11" and about 265lbs, nostly muscle. I enjoyed Kenpo as it was aggressive (in keeping with my personality) and emphasized short-range combat with a lot of hand-work (I have a boxing background, so hand-work is good by me), and did fairly well at Kali-Silat (Filipino stick/knife-fighting style that was really a bit too fast for me, but the aggressive footwork and attitude fit me to a tee. I really shined once I hit Sombo (Russian martial art). The grappling and Thai-style kick-boxing for stand-up work was right down my alley. I cannot imagine a style better suited to me - hard, strength and mass friendly, VERY aggressive, and works well in a broad range of situations. The Jeet Kune Do training that happened while most of this was going on helped to bring it together, and I heartily suggest it if you can find it. The bottom line is to go and visit whatever dojos, dojangs, kwoons, studios, and what-have-you in your area. Try to find one that teaches something that you're interested in and has an environment that you feel comfortable in. Then check around and see what people say about 'em.