starla Posted April 6, 2004 Share Posted April 6, 2004 i have a 5yr old son who has loads of energy so i want to get him into some sort of activites,i thought of something like football or some kind of karate? any suggestions would be welcomed. and if any one knows of any good clubs could you please leave details of them. thanx xx Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GazB Posted April 6, 2004 Share Posted April 6, 2004 For martial arts see This thread. Getting him involved in swimming, football, cricket etc would be good at his age. Swimming can be done at any of the sports centres, the other stuff can be done at any clubs local to where you live. Gaz Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Redrooster Posted April 16, 2004 Share Posted April 16, 2004 Farad Ali freestyle kick boxing. I know he used to run a good kids class. He's contactable via Sheffield Hallam Uni, Collegiate Cresent site. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stickman Posted April 27, 2004 Share Posted April 27, 2004 hi there everyone, I just moved to sheffield and I've been wanting to start martial arts for SOME time now! It was great to find this forum, very helpful indeed (i hope! :-) ) Now, you may have noticed my name is "stickman" - well, that's quite literal :-) I'm about 6' 1 and I weight just about 10 stone! :-) So I am hoping to put on some weight and build some strength too, of course :-) I am after a REALISTIC method of self defence. My aim here is not sport or having fun (although I DEFINATELY do intend to have fun too :-) ), but to be able to defend myself properly should I need to. I was thinking about BJJ because there is the royce gracie institute here, right? Now I know how great BJJ is and how everyone seems to recommend it, but I was thinking - in real life, you dont have a soft mat to go to the ground on - you have a rock hard concrete floor! right? So I was wondering if it is really applicable in real life or if it is just for the UFC or NHB style contests? Either way I appreciate that ground fighting and grappling ARE neccesities which one cannot do without. But at the same time, one needs a striking/standing art too, I think. And so I thought about JKD or wing chun. But the JKD place run by someone called, I think mark(?) is all the way over in Meadhowhall and I'm at the far end of Ecclesall road! :-) so its quite a way to travel. that's a REAL shame because i would have LOVED to do JKD under a GOOD and COMPETANT instructor, and I have read good things about Mark. But there is the wing chun run at the chinese community centre here though, and that's quite close to me. What do you think about wing chun? The only thing is that the Sifu who teaches there seems to be quite "traditional" - that is, he studied under a grand master in HK I think and now he teaches in that classical manner of being very slow, and a bit at a time. He says on his site something like he only teaches simple forms or stances for the first 6 months! He also said that many of his students have left because they werent prepared to go at the slow pace he teaches at. Also, he said it will take about 4 years or so to complete his course.Well, I'd sort of like to be a reasonably improved fighter by then (6 months). Plus, that's a lot of cash over 6 months to not really know much, but nevertheless, I may go tomorrow to check it out, as it's only around the corner. I have a friend in Birmingham Uni who has been doing wing chun for about 18months now and he's amazing!(although he does have a better physique than me) So I would like to be pretty good by then too. So, basically, what I'm asking for is what kind of MA combination should I take? (striking/grappling) and where or who do you guys suggest? I read a few posts here mentioning someone called "graham abdullah"? What does he teach? Is he here in Sheffield? is he any good? Of course the most important things are the QUALITY and KNOWLEDGE of the instructor, and the REALISTIC application of the art. I would really love to be fast, flexible and strong. So, when you guys advise me, please bear in mind that I'm really skinney and not so strong! (yet :-) ) but I hope to work on that though. So I was thinking maybe BJJ is for shorter/meatier guys rather than lanky sticks like me! :-), is that so? Anyway, this was a long post! congratiulations for getting this far into it! I hope your still awake! Thanks for your help in advance, Stickman! :-D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
evildrneil Posted April 27, 2004 Share Posted April 27, 2004 Hmmmm my best suggestion would be to take a couple of months or so to build up some weight an muscle (best approach seems to be 2-3 brief intense full body routines per week with plenty of food and sleep - you will gain some fat as well as muscle on this sort of routine but I'm guessing this wont worry you too much!) In these couple of months take a look round and see whats available - for punching and kicking may I suggest Thai Boxing, boxing, JKD (also includes some grappling), kick boxing and kali. For grappling how about judo, BJJ, wrestling and/or shootfighting. This should give you both some bulk (which an MA alone is unlikely to give you!) and a good overview of what is available and what appeals to you Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stickman Posted April 27, 2004 Share Posted April 27, 2004 thanks for that :-) But can you recommend any places and give me numbers/addresses? I want to get recommendations of good places, if anyone has them...? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cyclone Posted April 27, 2004 Share Posted April 27, 2004 The JKD sounds ideal for striking, western boxing is something you might consider. Often not considered to be a martial art, but it will teach you movement, speed and power. Combine that with a more realist self-defence and you've got the whole package. Groundwork, ie BJJ and Shootfighters is something that would prove very useful in self-defence. A lot of fights seem to end up on the ground, so you either need to be able to avoid being taken down, or be able to carry on fighting when it does go to ground. Not having mats will just mean that you have lots of grazes afterwards. To bridge the ground and the striking/blocking art have you considered something involving locks and throws? Maybe judo (although it is a sport) or maybe jiu jitsu. Haha - which brings me to my plug, you are welcome to come and take a look at the university jiu jitsu club, non-students are welcome (i am one). We train tonight, 8 - 10 at the goodwin sports centre, near the hallamshire childrens hospital. Next Tuesday is a 'bring a bigger' session, so we expect to have lots of inexperienced people coming along for a look-see to check the club out. We also train Sat 10 - 1 at the same dojo. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaBouncer Posted April 27, 2004 Share Posted April 27, 2004 Alright there stick! I can thoroughly recommend Capoeira for someone of your build and weight. It will develop your upper body strength no end and it's fun and extremely effective, not to mention self confidence giving. You may also want to combine it with a totally different style, like Thai Boxing Perhaps. HTH DB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stickman Posted April 27, 2004 Share Posted April 27, 2004 hi there, thanks for that advice. Can someone please give me some names or numbers or addresses or websites? Where do you guys go for BJJ or JKD or wing chun? thanks Stick! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cyclone Posted April 28, 2004 Share Posted April 28, 2004 well, you didn't ask for it, but in case you want to take a peek http://www.sheffield.ac.uk/~jiujitsu Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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