Taekwon-do.. .complimentary disciplines...

[Ultraviolet]

Hi

I've been doing TKD for some years now, mainly for fitness- no intention / desire to become a would-be warrior / amateur streetfigher... I really like the discipline and the classes and will continue for as long as I can...

However, any thoughts on another art that might be complimentary? I've discounted "similar" punch-and-kick disciplines such as Karate, Kung-Fu etc. as these would almost certainly confuse my small brain and end up with the TKD becoming muddled up with another discipline.

I'm also not so keen on the floor work - being a middle-aged type, spending my evenings in close proximity to other middle-aged men's sweaty bits doesn't really appeal... so I've discounted BJJ, Judo, Grabbling etc. (don't worry, I appreciate ground work is essential "in the real world").

Boxing is an option, but am slightly wary of injury - something lower impact would be preferable.

So I'm down to Aikido as something which is: different enough to now be confusing; complimentary; lower impact (in theory).

Any thoughts? Just to repeat - the main thing is fitness and variety, whilst building up a rounder knowledge of MA techniques.

Any thoughts on Aikido? Any better options? And for you who practice multiple martial arts, how did you come across these as a good combination?

thanks,
UV

[blueg33]

I quite like gluttony, on the premise that TKD burns the calories

In reality, I would do something very different that requires hand eye coordination, balance etc. I am crap at TKD (see above), my sone is a 2nd Dan BB and he swears by free climbing as the complimentary sport/skill

[Europa1]

I'm sure you will look great in the specialist clothing of whichever sport you choose, and you will be very good at it. Complimentary enough?

[Ayahuasca]

I started Hapkido about 12 months ago. Actually the Combat Hapkido variant.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Combat_Hapkido

It is Korean so a lot in common with your discipline, but it also includes elements of Aikkido and other MAs.

The kicks and punches will be the same as yours, plus we do a lot of small joint manipulation, pressure points, how to get out of various holds, how to break someone's limbs, gauging, throat punching, etc. A lot of judo-style throws too, some that end up with the thrown person's arm broken for extra points. Also knife and gun disarming techniques. It is not really a sport but more of a self defence technique akin to Krav Maga.

Big focus on conditioning too - in last night's class we did over 200 pushups, lots of handstands, pull ups, etc, etc.

[Sensei Rob]

Ultraviolet said:

Hi

I've been doing TKD for some years now, mainly for fitness- no intention / desire to become a would-be warrior / amateur streetfigher... I really like the discipline and the classes and will continue for as long as I can...

However, any thoughts on another art that might be complimentary? I've discounted "similar" punch-and-kick disciplines such as Karate, Kung-Fu etc. as these would almost certainly confuse my small brain and end up with the TKD becoming muddled up with another discipline.

I'm also not so keen on the floor work - being a middle-aged type, spending my evenings in close proximity to other middle-aged men's sweaty bits doesn't really appeal... so I've discounted BJJ, Judo, Grabbling etc. (don't worry, I appreciate ground work is essential "in the real world").

Boxing is an option, but am slightly wary of injury - something lower impact would be preferable.

So I'm down to Aikido as something which is: different enough to now be confusing; complimentary; lower impact (in theory).

Any thoughts? Just to repeat - the main thing is fitness and variety, whilst building up a rounder knowledge of MA techniques.

Any thoughts on Aikido? Any better options? And for you who practice multiple martial arts, how did you come across these as a good combination?

thanks,
UV

Hi, logically, boxing is the one that fits the bill the most, since TKD is kicking based and boxing is punch based. They're very very different, though in terms of stance, movement and training. It's not something that's easily picked up in middle age and a lot of the time, you'll go to the gym and do your own thing - very different to tkd where you practice techniques as a group. It can be frustrating, though, as it can get incredibly boring doing bag work, pads, skipping, shadow boxing ad nauseum. You only get to spar when you've been in the gym a while and you'll take a beating once in a while.

Really, boxing is a young man's game.

The thing is you've eliminated all others pretty much. I'd urge you to reconsider judo. Ground work, is only part of it and it is deliciously technical. It's fun as you can spar going all out without much risk of getting seriously hurt.

Consider Wing chun as well.

Personally, I'd avoid aikido. It's tricky to learn and not very effective against experienced opponents. I'm not saying it won't work, but to master those techniques takes a lot of practice and dedication, something most people won't be able to put in.

I'd recommend watching the fight science, master wong and aikidoflow youtube channels to get a bit of the flavour of wing chun and aikido.

[ofcorsa]

What about fencing?

[blueg33]

ofcorsa said:

What about fencing?

That's an idea, I need someone to do 30 metres of 1.8 closeboard for me..............