I'd tell you to pick up a different art and become Steven Seagal and/or learn how to shoot a gun.

 

And a black belt is just a piece of color cloth that holds your uniform together.

 

I stopped Karate at Brown belt, I was 17, and moved to Muay Thai. I took the beneficial techniques in Karate in Muay Thai competition. It's sorta like a Tao of Jeet Kune Do thing "take the good and be away with the useless."

 

You nailed my current attitude to a "T". I'm definitely making the best of what I have right now; I'm just wondering if the alternative is better or if I should just keep on doing what I'm doing (because it won't get much better, at least for now, considering what options I currently have).

It's easy to say that when you already have one. Me getting a black belt is less about bragging rights; it's more about cutting out extraneous rank bull**** and being able to gain the opportunity to train and be trained as a competent grappler with a strong foundation -- not a n00b, but definitely not a "master". I'm a true believer in the shodan as a "first step"; if I were *****ing about getting a godan, then you could call me out on it as egotism.

Also, I'm half-decent with handguns and rifles, and I have no interest in any sort of Aikido other than Yoshinkan and Shodokan, neither of which are readily available nearby.

 

I went the other way: I started in Muay Thai and eventually found myself in full contact knockdown karate. I found that the striking and clinching foundation that Muay Thai gave me really benefited from the aspects of karate that people often consider superfluous: namely kihon, idogeiko, and even a certain degree of kata. It served well to really help me fine tune all my movements and improve my body mechanics in all aspects, as well as to improve my conditioning. I think people who have no striking background who start off in karate are going to overwhelmed by all the body mechanics that they have to worry about; those who have a good foundation can only benefit from the fine-tuning.

Full disclosure: I'm a white belt in my karate school, but I don't care at all because I'm treated as a peer by my training partners, and my instructor teaches me based on my skill set, not the color of my belt. That's why I'm happy and have no qualms about my karate dojo. My instructor's instructor though (i.e. the branch chief), he has something against me, but luckily I never deal with him (it's why I haven't gone for any promotion in over a year), but I couldn't care less the dojo I train with takes into account my skill set instead of the color of cotton around my waist. I would love it if I could find a judo school like this nearby (the branch chief notwithstanding haha!)...

 

You shouldn't discount other "so-called" styles of Aikido. Yes... some styles are typically associated as more fruity or more harsh, but those characteristics that typically describe the styles are becoming less and less true.

And seriously... it's just a piece of colored cloth. If you want to be considered a competent grappler... you can do so by being a competent grappler. Sounds to me that you being a brown belt and not being taken seriously is due to some stupid political bull**** about how your old school or style isn't legit enough for your current school/style/organization.

 

BY FAR THE BEST Martial Art Ikebana

/thread.

 

OSU!!!!

 

I believe in live, non-compliant sparring as the root of martial ability. Some of the those "no-touch air throw channel your energy" aikido schools just kill me LOL.

And what you say about belts, that's in an ideal world. And none of us live in an ideal world. For me, the situation is less about my old school versus my new school, it's more about my new school trying to wrangle people to go out and compete under their banner in order to be "living ads" for them, methinks. It almost feels like they're withholding promotion and insulting me/my rank to try to goad me into going out and competing for them, which is something I can't do right now given my current life circumstances. I told them that even when I first joined, but they just don't seem to want to get it.

 

I would suggest trying something new. Eddie Bravo's 10th Planet Jiu Jitsu is completely different than the orthodox Judo/BJJ schools that you've been attending. I started from a traditional Gracie BJJ school and saw right away that they definitely want their students to complete in tournaments. If you don't complete, then you don't advance in rank. The instructors could really give a **** about you and your training if you're not into the tournament thing.

10th Planet is a completely different atmosphere. If anything I'd say Eddie Bravo and his school are polar opposites of the traditional mindset of the Gracie schools.

No belts/No Gi is the way to go.

 

Yes. Those no-touch Aikido people do exist.

 

I've had some people suggest going this route, but maybe it's just been me, but all the guys I know that train with 10th Planet (present company excluded, of course) are kinda arseholes. You think that a mellow operation like that would produce mellow students, but damn, there are some passive aggressive mother****ers that I know from 10th Planet LOL.

But anyway, I do hear what you're saying. Maybe it's time to pay Erik Paulson a visit haha.

 

Haha yeah. Well there's always a couple of "those guys" in any gym with the "COME AT ME BRO!" inferiority complex. They're usually the guys that have only been training for like 6 months and think they can submit anyone.

 

chiming in late on this one...

just curious to know where you landed?

 

I listened to sigma pi and switched to ikebana!

.....


Naaaaaah!!!!

Actually, a bit of a twist ending: I went back to full-time Muay Thai training!
I fortuitously made it out to Thailand last April and it reignited the passion I had for Muay Thai after visiting a few famous gyms, meeting with an old trainer whom I hadn't seen for years, and making it to Lumpinee Stadium!

With all the bull**** rules changes and egos floating around the judo world, I decided to give it a rest for a bit. As for BJJ, the guy I was training with got his blackbelt recently and decided to take it as a chance to go on a hiatus to concentrate on his career.

So, long story short, I went back to my original passion, Muay Thai (and all grappling outside of clinch work is currently on hold)!