Martial Arts Essay -- Asian Fighting Essays

Martial Arts I am a martial artist. When I first started, I might have said I take karate. Here in America, both of those statements are technically true. We tend to generalize all martial arts as â€Å"karate.† In reality, only some of what we see is actually karate. The word karate is Japanese, as is the style, and it means â€Å"the way of the empty hand.† It was created in the 15th century by Okinawan peasants who were not allowed to have weapons by royal decree. Thus they developed ways of protecting themselves without the use of weapons, or by using regular objects such as sticks (Hassell 14). Today there are many, many styles of this art. There are many other styles, such as tae kwon do, kung fu, capoeira, and many more. They can be very interesting, and are beneficial to participate in for many reasons. However, it is not for everyone. I hope to offer some information on how these arts work, and why joining is a good thing, but only after some thought . As I said before, I am a martial artist. I do not take karate, or tae kwon do, or kung fu. I study a style that is still in its infancy. My instructor is a bit of a maverick, and has created this style himself. It changes often and is not set stone. It is called Te Da Kuen Do, meaning â€Å"free flowing fist way.† It is a combination of several martial arts. My instructor, Sijo Mike Giles, is a sixth degree black belt in tae kwon do, a certified instructor of Lee Jun Fan Gung Fu (Bruce Lee’s style), and has lesser degree belts in a number of other styles. Sijo is Japanese for â€Å"founder,† as he is the founder of his style. Instructors are called â€Å"sensei† which means teacher. Sijo has a great deal of martial arts in his head, a... ... the teacher knows what he or she is doing. Try to get all of the information up front, especially costs, and requirements such as tournaments. Be very sure of what you want. If you don’t want forms, then I suggest you try something else, or a martial art with no forms. If you just want self defense, try to find a program for just that. If you want a martial art, you have to be willing to do all of the components. In the end, only you can decide what’s best for you. Some of what I’ve talked about can sound rough and not fun. I tend to think of it as college, you don’t always enjoy it, but the end result is worth it. The benefits really outweigh the price. As long as you are willing to try, you can attain that black belt. You gain confidence and feel truly safe. Martial arts is a wonderful, terrible, incredible thing. I highly recommend it.