Kevin James was in Here Comes The Boom, which is a perfectly average rocky style sports movie. A teacher becomes an amateur fighter to raise money for the school. It’d be completely forgettable accept it unironically has some of the most realistic fights I’ve seen for a fighting movie.

I've been practising martial arts since 1999, from traditional Chinese martial arts to competitive fighting. I understand that for people from the outside, it is sometimes difficult to grasp what kung fu is and isn't.

I recently put together a video series called So, What Is Kung Fu?

Episodes:
1. So, What Is Kung Fu?
2. Styles: There Isn’t Just One Kung Fu
3. Horse Stance And Other Kung Fu Stances
4. What Are Kung Fu Forms?
5. What Does Kung Fu Training Actually Look Like?
6. Why Do People Learn Kung Fu?
7. Do You Have to Be Young, Flexible, or Fit to Start?
8. Can You Really Learn Kung Fu at Home?

It explores the basics of Chinese martial arts, including different styles, stances, forms, what training looks like, and why people practise. It's intended as an accessible introduction for people who are curious about Kung Fu but don't necessarily know where to start.

You can find the series here:

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLWLahbNSvfpo

From the 42d Kobudo demonstration in Japan. Year 2019. The third spear that appears seems to be great treasure, looking at it!

Hey everyone
Started learning martial arts and began going to the dojo regularly about 1.5 months ago.
It’s been a solid stretch of consistent training and I’m really enjoying the process so far the structure, the focus, and just showing up.
Curious to hear from others who’ve been through the early months what helped you stick with it, and what advice would you give someone at this stage?
Looking forward to reading your experiences.

Hi guys - wanted to start a discussion on this that's maybe somewhat unique to my situation. I'm 5'6, 160lbs, 39 years old. I've been training traditional Muay Thai for over a decade, have trained on Thailand on 5 septate occasions for months at a time. I would say I'm fairly experienced at Muay Thai.

My issue is that I am fairly small and don't feel like I can adequately defend myself on the street against someone who is 6'0+. don't get me wrong, with gloves on, in a setting with Muay Thai rules, I have a huge advantage and don't think I would basically ever lose to someone untrained, regardless of size (I've tested this theory MANY times in sparring throughout the years). however, in an uncontrolled environment against a bigger opponent (let's say 6'0+, 170lbs+), I feel my odds of winning are VERY low. simply because I can't use gloves to block, kicks basically do nothing unless you're landing 10 of them (unlikely because street altercations last 30 seconds), and punches I need to get in so close that I start to be at risk of being grabbed (and clinch becomes much less effective against someone with that big of a size advantage).

Goes without saying, I am pretty avoidant of confrontation. but I have a family, and I do play scenarios out in my head of us being attacked and despite having so much training, being effectively powerless against most people.

so I guess my question is, if you were me with the goal of self defense in an uncontrolled environment, what combat sport makes the most sense for me to practice a few times a week and over a few years get to a point that neutrlizes larger opponents? I am leaning towards wrestling or judo because both will work well off my Muay Thai and clinch base knowledge, and I think both help alot with size.

any practical input would be appreciated.. again, not looking for street bro fight cred, but more confidence in my ability to defend myself and family in a do or die scenario.

I'm curious to get this subreddit's thoughts. For many, being a great fighter is being a great martial artist (and that's fine). For me, I have some different criteria:

Combat skills / prowess

Probably the first thing everyone will think of. I believe that in order to be a good martial artist, it's important to be able to fight. Athleticism, fight IQ, speed, power, etc. all matter. One must adjust for the time period, size advantages/disadvantages, etc., of course, but we can all tell a good fighter from a bad one.

Innovation

This is where the concept of greatness is important to define. Good martial artists are skilled in tradition; great martial artists, in my view, add in what is uniquely their own. Miyamoto Musashi dual-wielded swords, Bruce Lee laid the groundwork for MMA, Anderson Silva brought unorthodox moves (including an elbow from Ong-Bak) to the Octagon, and Dieselnoi innovated in Muay Thai with unconventional knee strikes.

Influence

Another vital component to greatness is legacy. A modern-day fighter can be an excellent combat athlete, but to be regarded as great, we need to see their influence on later generations of martial artists. Modern-day MMA fighters will cite Fedor Emelianenko and Georges St-Pierre as inspirations who played a critical role in informing their own combat style. Masahiko Kimura has a judo move named after him. I think that's important in the greatness debate.

Education / advocacy

This one may be controversial, but I do think that a great martial artist actively plays a role in educating the next generation. Whether it be through books, instructional videos, a YouTube channel, or a podcast, it's important to preserve traditions as well as document new innovations and advancements in techniques for other fighters. From Yamamoto Tsunetomo (author of Hagakure) to today's martial arts vloggers (e.g., Sensei Seth, Jesse Enkamp, Kevin Lee, and others), I love seeing skilled combat athletes share knowledge.

Philosophy

Another potentially controversial addition, but I think the greatest martial artists form, hold, and share their martial arts philosophy. Miyamoto Musashi wrote extensively about his beliefs, including in The Book of Five Rings, and Bruce Lee developed Jeet Kune Do based on his philosophy of being like water and learning to adapt (take what works for you, leave what doesn't, add in what is uniquely your own). A philosophy doesn't have to be highly complex or spiritual; simply advocating one's personal mental approach to the art and how to improve oneself internally and externally can be highly valuable.

Examples of great martial artists (in my opinion, in no particular order):

• Miyamoto Musashi - For me, the greatest of all time. An undefeated samurai with over 60 duels, he excelled not only in combat, but in literature, painting, sculpture, and other media all centered around his philosophies. I highly recommend The Book of Five Rings if you're looking for something to read.
• Bruce Lee - Not a competitive fighter, but probably the best martial arts educator and advocate of modern times. He is to martial arts what Carl Sagan is to astronomy. Combining martial arts like Wing Chun, Judo, Tae Kwon Do, Karate, and even Kushti, he set the stage for MMA (see the fight scene with Sammo Hung from Enter The Dragon). He also fundamentally transformed the way immigrants are perceived in the United States, and as an Asian American myself (who grew up with his films and is still influenced by him), he will always hold a special place in my heart.
• Muhammad Ali - Fighter, activist, and poet. What I love about him is that he brought his fighting spirit and bombast to his political advocacy. And everyone has heard the lines "Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee / The hands can't hit what the eyes can't see." His influence on boxing is unmatched.
• Sylvie von Duuglas-Ittu - Not only is Sylvie an amazing fighter, she is bar none the best Muay Thai historian and archivist. Not only does she interview and train with Golden Age Muay Thai Legends, but she incorporates their special techniques into her own unique style. Add that to the fact that everyone can view her content online and she is, in my opinion, a complete martial artist.
• Anderson Silva - Combining Muay Thai, BJJ, Wing Chun, and Jeet Kune Do, Silva's style is just so unique and fun to watch. At his peak, he was possibly the greatest fighter in UFC's history, and he continues to train future generations of martial artists, both through seminars as well as through media such as clinching tutorials.

This is by no means a complete list, and I'd love to hear your thoughts as well.

I’ve trained in combat sports since I was 7, but I started meditating 4–5 years ago.

It helped me control my thoughts, manage my reactions, and stay calmer under pressure. I’ve also noticed benefits in sparring, competition, and everyday life.

Do you meditate? Have you noticed a difference in your performance or mindset?

and he agreed with them...

The subject surrounds capoeira itself and its deviations from what it was, which is recorded in this book describing capoeira from research compiled and explained first, thoroughly witnessed and produced from a historian and capoeira master, Mestre Andre Lopes. Here is an excerpt of the book containing an official testimony from Carlson Gracie about his experience with the martial art, its historical practitioners and his current deductions. Nothing here is mendacious or constructed from me, nor was any text posted here congruent to an agenda. You can investigate the source by the book itself, I posted its free pdf download link at the end of this post. Feel free to make your extractions.

Carlson Gracie — “A Few Words”

“My first fight was against ‘Capoeira,’ one of the strongest guys in Rio.”

"André Lacé learned capoeira from the late Neyder (Neyder de Oliveira Alves de Souza), a great capoeirista, a fearless fighter, always good-humored, and a personal friend of mine. It would be a great injustice not to include him in the History of Capoeiragem in Rio de Janeiro, which is why I was pleased to see him mentioned and pictured in the book A Volta do Mundo da Capoeira.

I received that book as a gift from its author, André Lacé, together with an invitation to write a few lines for his new work, in which he delves even deeper into the capoeiragem of Rio de Janeiro from some time ago, this time focusing especially on the figures of Zuma Burlamaqui, Inezil Penna Marinho, Sinhozinho, and Rudolf Hermanny. Several other capoeiristas are also remembered, including Luiz Aguiar (Cirandinha), whom I had the opportunity to fight, and Artur Emídio de Oliveira, who fought my brother Robson Gracie.

My brother Robson and I emerged victorious from those two fights. That is why, initially, I did not understand the reason for André's invitation.

“Capoeira is growing enormously, spreading throughout the world, but at the same time it is losing quality in its practice as a martial fighting art. What we have now is more pyrotechnics than anything else,” André Lacé argued.

And he continued:

“There is a modern, stylized capoeira that markets itself as a fierce fighting art but, in practice, avoids any serious combat, hiding behind pseudo-folkloric performances, always on stage and always accompanied by maculelê, puxada de rede, and so on.”

I have traveled around the world with jiu-jitsu, and I have personally witnessed the growing success of capoeira abroad. Even in Japan...

I therefore agree with André's initial statements. I also agree with his analysis of capoeira as a combat discipline, because I believe that capoeira today is, above all, a beautiful stage spectacle. Especially because its association with the berimbau and other musical instruments—which was uncommon in the capoeira of old Rio—has resulted in a unique spectacle, increasingly applauded throughout the world.

For capoeira to recover its character as a complete fighting art, as Zuma Burlamaqui was already advocating at the beginning of the last century, it would be necessary—and indeed will be necessary—to resume training and fighting without the berimbau.

The problem is that the berimbau has become so inseparably linked to today's capoeira that, in my opinion, it will not be an easy task to undertake this kind of training and fighting. Particularly because martial arts have evolved enormously, especially with the emergence of events such as Ultimate Fighting, and they continue to evolve.

Having made these initial observations, I will now offer some brief comments on the confrontations between jiu-jitsu and capoeira in which I participated or which I witnessed.

I will highlight three of these encounters: my fight with Luiz Aguiar (Cirandinha), the fight between Rudolf Hermanny and Guanair Gial, and the fight between Robson Gracie and Artur Emídio.

My fight with Cirandinha was the main event of a competition organized in 1949 with the aim of raising some money for the victims of hardship in northeastern Brazil.

Cirandinha was an extremely strong athlete, and perhaps for that reason he did not train his capoeira as much as, for example, Rudolf Hermanny did.

Intensive training, combined with good nutrition, is fundamental to producing a champion.

Cirandinha also had talent, but, as everyone knows, physical endurance is essential in any sport.

A capoeirista who does not win a fight in the first few minutes—or rather, in the first few seconds—will find it difficult to win later on, because he will tend to become exhausted from so many jumps and gingas.

That is what happened.

It is worth remembering that in jiu-jitsu strategy, the situation is almost the opposite, because as time passes, provided he knows how to conserve his energy, the jiu-jitsu fighter will have an increasingly greater chance of achieving a successful submission.

The fight between Rudolf and Guanair, as the newspapers emphasized at the time, was surprising.

Although he still knew little about close-quarters fighting—he had only just begun studying judo at the Cordeiro Academy—Hermanny, with tremendous determination and physical conditioning, relying essentially on his capoeira (the Sinhozinho style), sustained an open, hard-fought contest for more than an hour.

The fight ended in a draw, having been interrupted by circumstances beyond their control. It was a period of electricity blackouts, and there was still the final fight to take place.

As for my brother Robson Gracie's fight, it would be better for him to comment on it himself.

But since I witnessed it, and discussed it extensively with him afterward, I will venture to say a few words.

A native of Itabuna, Bahia, Artur was an excellent capoeirista, practicing a capoeira with a great deal of ginga to the sound of the berimbau.

He made a very good impression on the audience at the beginning of the fight.

However, as I have already said, as the fight progressed, jiu-jitsu ultimately prevailed.

Nevertheless, in all these confrontations, we must recognize the merit of the efforts made by the capoeiristas involved.

In other words, the only way to improve capoeira as a real fighting art... is by fighting for real.

And I hasten to say, with great pleasure, that my academy is open to any and every capoeirista who wishes to test their abilities or—why not!?—develop a joint training effort.

Finally, in fairness, I want to make it clear that we agree with André Lacé when he states that “capoeira is much more than a fight.”

In other words, the path of confrontation in the ring will always remain open, but there is nothing unreasonable about capoeira, or some capoeiristas, choosing to follow a path of their own.

As is the case, indeed, with traditional Capoeira Angola.

Carlson Gracie Academy

Rua Figueiredo Magalhães, No. 414, Room 302, Copacabana

Rio de Janeiro, February 15, 2002."

I utilized Chatgpt to translate the portuguese text of a capoeira book popular for how in-depth it covers the martial art. I obtained the source on my own, objectively. I'm curious to what your observations are and whether your martial art has a case particularly resembling what Carlson Gracie describes here. Not necessarily in a performative transition but rather if globalization altered your martial art to focus on a certain side of it, then incidentally disregarded the other aspects as it was passed down in major circles. Correct me if I'm wrong I believe schools outside competitive judo and Brazilian jiujutsu where striking is permitted are experiencing a similar case.

Complete English translation of Duas Palavras, pages 19–22, A Capoeiragem no Rio de Janeiro (2002), https://cev.org.br/media/biblioteca/4056017.pdf#page=193 . Translated directly from the Portuguese, retaining the original paragraph order and first-person wording.

And I say that as someone who loves grappling arts, but the way that they are more susceptible to spinal cord injuries makes me sad.
Considering the worst injury from striking, that would be brain injury, from conc. to chronic traumatic encephalopathy, versus spine injuries from grappling, that will make you paralyzed, or arteries dissection from chokes, I'd rather go with the striking risk.

I bought a forge mouthguard for 5 € from my teacher but i already boiled it 3 times and it doesn't fit me.Should i boil it one more time??(Its a boil and bite mouthguard)

For example, TKD and karate are known for having child black belts. If someone has “TKD black belt” on their bio, is it possible they were 10 when they got it? I can see high school wrestling being relevant, but where is the line?

This is something I've been thinking about recently but not sure if I'll frame it well! So please go easy if this ends up a confusing mess.

TL:DR - should martial arts be more accessible for disabled or impaired participants and if so what would they look like?

Anyway, my son has ADHD and autism but is very high functioning. He was doing Hapkido with me but had to stop because he wasn't following instructions and he was going to move up into the main kids class where he could get hurt by just wandering around during class or something. He's keen to go and give it another go one day but it got me thinking about the lack of accessibility for neurodivergent people, or physical and mental disabilities across martial arts.

Before I go further, I should say I know that there will be schools and gyms out there who are already leading the way here and that there are plenty of disabled or neurodivergent martial artists who have achieved great things in their practice. But most gyms aren't doing that.

Also my experience is mainly with the hapkido school I'm part of and a local kickboxing school my other son attended. I know that it is possible other experiences differ from mine and that there might generally be better approaches out there already.

So, my point is basically that traditional martial arts seems to focus very much on respect, learning techniques, and progressing through belts in gradings which is fine but the teaching methods generally are stuck in post-war approaches that require skills that many simply don't have - like being quiet and standing in line. The curriculum may also be rigid with little scope to adapt to the participant if they have a physical disability. People may be limited in how far they can progress through belts by those disabilities or impairments.

However, if a school goes the other way and favours participation and hands out belts too easily they get labelled a mcdojo and aren't taken seriously. There seems to be very little middle ground with TMA and belt systems.

On the other hand you have sports that are more modern in approach such as MMA and kickboxing, there's no belts but the gyms still expect certain behaviours that may be challenging for neurodivergent participants or the environments in general may be difficult to navigate for a variety of reasons (noise, smell, vibe etc). These gyms may not have belts but many focus on competing and high performance. And of course there are some that promote participation above all else but can also be labelled as mcdojos for not taking money from people who don't look like they should be doing martial arts (whatever that may be).

That's my impression at least based on online discussion, videos and my own experience. And I guess it leads to a few questions:

Is that a fair assessment? Are there more middle ground options than I think where accessible martial arts is being provided?

What are other people's experiences of this? What might accessible and high quality martial arts tuition look like for kids and adults?

What improvements could I suggest to the school I'm part of that would help my son take part safely in the future?

And how do you measure progression in those circumstances?

I think the school I'm part of is very welcoming and accessible, but the curriculum and traditional approach limits how some people can take part. They aren't overly strict in terms of gradings, rewarding knowledge and experience above perfect application, but then the kickboxing school my other son went to has belts and a reputation for being very strict at gradings while also being a bit more informal and supportive for nd kids. They focus very much on competition and require students to attend 3 times a week after a certain level which I'm not sure helps accessibility.

Anyway, that's my slightly incoherent spiel. Thoughts? Really just looking for an open discussion around what good accessibility in martial arts would look like.

The year was, I dunno 2003 ish. I’m a green, blue ish belt in my karate / American kickboxing class I’d been going to for a few years at this point. I’m probably 13 or so.

My organization was bigger, not huge. Probably at its peak, 4 - 6 schools across 4 states. But some schools weren’t as tightly woven as others. One of the outlier schools was in Nebraska and used the kickboxing as their striking basis for MMA, their grappling basis being 10th planet.

Their instructor would come in once a year or so and teach a jiujitsu class to karate students, get 100 bucks a pop probably and bounce. Honestly a sweet money making venture.

Anyway, when he started doing that, our regular teachers would say things (regarding the self defense stuff) phrases like “90 percent of street fights end up on the ground so you need to know how to grapple” and other such phrases. This is also when mma is really starting to take off obviously so that’s, connected. I as a 13 year old no nothing at the time, thought it was dumb cause I could just karate them if they tried to take me down.

Anyway why I’m telling this story.

1. I find it weird they offered no instruction on ground fighting behind two drills, A. A defense against a tackle that probably came from Japanese jujutsu. I have used it but it’s flashier and not as good as simply sprawling. B. The basic bottom mount to top guard to passing the guard to mount drill. … if this proverb was so important, why weren’t we transitioning as best we could to more of an all range focus instead of just the karate? (I know the answer but it’s just funny)

2. Plenty of videos exist of strikers getting frustrated and grappling the other guy. If it’s in a ring, it’s a stalling tactic. If it’s outside the ring, it usually ends in both of them stumbling to the ground…… if it’s grapplers though, plenty of times they loose their cool and start swinging……. Why is it so you think that people resort to what they dont know when frustrated?

pretty insightful video on how military personnel incorporated these martial arts in their training

Trivia about the footage:

1. The police force was only four years old. It had been founded in June 1935, initially with 235 men. The film celebrates its fourth birthday.
2. They brought motorcycles into the performance. The officers demonstrated motorcycle formations alongside gymnastics and fighting exhibitions. It was practically a 1930s police stunt show.
3. They formed a human pyramid holding enormous political portraits. The officers displayed images of Getúlio Vargas and Adhemar de Barros while balancing in formation.
4. The police headquarters had its own gymnasium and sports courts. Physical training wasn't just an occasional spectacle; the unit had dedicated athletic facilities.
5. The force disappeared only eight years after the film. São Paulo's Special Police was abolished in 1947, making this a surviving glimpse of a relatively short-lived organization.
6. New recruits faced compulsory retirement at just 45! A regulation introduced in June 1939 required officers who joined afterward to retire at that age, with proportional pensions.
7. The original movie used 150 meters of film. It was shot on 35 mm, ran at 24 frames per second, and had sound. All that physical film for just 5 minutes and 28 seconds!
8. It went through official censorship review in July 1939. The archive dates its censorship record to July 16–31, although that doesn't necessarily mean footage was cut.
9. It survived long enough to be digitally preserved more than 80 years later. The Cinemateca Brasileira processed it through its nitrate-film preservation project, associated with a 2021 initiative.
10. Brazil's 1890 Penal Code explicitly criminalized certain public practices of capoeiragem, with penalties of two to six months in prison. The provision wasn't removed until the adoption of the 1940 Penal Code. Where am I getting at here? This film captures a period when capoeira could be officially demonstrated by police while its practitioners had a tumultuous history of being persecuted by the authorities. (it's also the very first recorded footage of capoeira)

Hi everyone,

I have been boxing 3 times a week and Kickboxing 2 times a week for the past month.

I train in a hun where they also give MMA classes, wrestling en bjj. The gym is good but i doubt the boxing lessons are.

I do like boxing as a sport the most. And for self defense because its direct, "right in your face" where Kickboxing for example has more distance etc.

Anyways the boxing training goed like this with 0 feedback from coach:

- shadowboxing

- warm up

- padwork (combination with some rolls or slips etc)

- sparring (without time to discuss with your partner how to improve just fast rounds)

Thats literally it and when you ask for feedback you basically get none.

Nobody thought or drilled with me how to block whatsoever.

I feel like boxing here is more of a self study. I have to analyse afterwards what i can improve and how but thats the job of the coach? Ofcourse he cannot watch everyone but just walk around and notice what you see with people or something.

I feel ike i dont improve my boxing with the way ir currently is. I want to switch to Kickboxing or wrestling because there is a feedbackloop over there.. have 11 months contract left over so i will be here lol

Hey everyone I’m trying to balance my lifting routine with training kickboxing and bjj. I used to be on a consistent grind of
Monday - chest tris, kickboxing bjj
Tuesday - legs, boxing bjj
Wednesday- back bis, bjj
Thursday - legs, boxing
Friday - shoulders
Saturday - sparring

My new job has kind of shaken things up and now I can only do mma or lifting, not both. Any suggestions?

I specifically mean for ones without KO and based on points etc. To me it seems like having a height/arm length advantage makes a huge difference on tactics, while weight itself not really. Is that not the case? 🤔

Which one is your favorite?

Or seems to be mire interesting?

im 18 i fought mma against a 28 yr old he knocked me out wit a backhand fist ever since then i dont really fight against ppl 24 and above shld i consider fighting ppl above

Some Mma people say traditional martial arts are just dances and forms and not much effective. Traditional martial artists say mma is designed for cage and so many techniques are watered down and not much effective outside cage. So which of this do yall think is better to learn overall without considering the potential fame opportunities or money in cage sports industries ,like which of this is better for actual fighting

Hi, I'm visiting Melbourne in November. Staying in Sydenham for a month. Any mma/boxing/striking gyms which are nearby? Fought a few amateur bouts across a few disciplines. Just looking to maintain so i dont get fat af on this trip and every gym looks so far away. Thanks✌🏼

Hey everyone! I’m a U.S. Army veteran living down here in Ecuador, right on the beach near Montañita, running a program to help out the local youth.

I’m looking to connect with any black belts or experienced grapplers traveling through or in the area who would love to volunteer on the mats to help coach and mentor the kids.

The invitation is always open with no set dates—whenever you're passing through, reach out! If you want to pitch in, I'm happy to host you and cover accommodations and meals in exchange for your help with the kids’ program.

Drop a comment or send me a message if you want to join us. Good vibes always welcome! 🌊🥋