Ive been looking lately at what I want to do training wise. For years as a teen I was in the bujinkan before the club shut down, then I tried my hand at a few things via seminars when I was in a transport hub town for uni before settling into a goju ryu karate club that also did knockdown rules and trained judo on the side. The pandemic kinda screwed the ability to train and since then I had to focus on work. I actually turned to online training and I intend to keep that going in styles I don’t have easy access to locally, such as the 123 de campo university for escrima and I’m open to learning other styles like taekyun from home as supplementary to doing in person training. That last bit, the in person stuff, is where I want to ask you guys for some advice.
I left the karate school after realizing I was the only adult there who stuck with the school, there’s a few teens and a lot of kids even in the mixed age and adult classes. The remaining adults are into the ‘meridians’ for takedowns, the main instructor has felt less involved in classes and delegating to senior students and others he has hired who I just do not gel with and lost my enjoyment for training. I’ve elected to look for something else to do.
Generally, I kinda past long forms, kata etc. I want to get into stuff that’s going be working simple, straightforward movements in a live setting, easing back in.
I’ve got a few options, and I want your thoughts.
Judo: I got to third kyu but havent trained since we went into lockdown here in the UK, would be interested in getting back on the mat and continuing up to 1st kyu and going from there. I’m not overly concerned with competition and don’t even know how I’d feel doing so with my transition, even though I’m on low dose estrogen, I don’t know how i feel about competing with men or women, not that I ever enjoyed that aspect to begin with. What’s good is that my instructor has a greco-roman background, and has opened what he is calling ‘freestyle judo’ classes once a week. These are no gi and incorporate more of his wrestling into the system. These classes would be monday and tuesday at 7pm
Muay Thai - At the gym I work at, we have numerous fighters, and one of them I’m friendly with invited me along to the muay thai club to check it out. It’s on twice a week when I can make it regularly, one sparring, one padwork and technical class. I think this would compliment Judo and be a rounded style of striking. I think I may have to adapt my footwork a bit from the knockdown karate because I got used to just tanking shots and head punches weren’t common place. These classes would be wednesday 7pm for the technical, and I could stay for sparring when I’ve built up and can do the follow on class at 8pm-9pm
This brings me to my next option.
Boxing - Another PT i’m friendly with has an amateur boxing background, and while I’d lose out on knees, elbows and kicks, I think I could a lot out of boxing for my hands. I’ve done knockdown and some k-1 rules kickboxing before but I don’t have the head movement of boxing because I’ve never really had it in my training and I feel I’m seriously lacking in that regard. I think learning that and how to work with boxers could be vital for me now, as I’m no longer the 5’10, 100kg powerlifter tank who could take shots from smaller people and just bully them with my mass.
I’d have to choose between boxing and muay thai, and I’m leaning towards the latter so I don’t lose out on kicks.
Thoughts?
