Exercise!

[Shell]

Most people have been told or read that exercise is a great relaxation technique.  It releases endorphins, allowing you to feel happier and less stressed.  LOL  I know there are times when I exercise and I'm thinking, "Relax?  What were they thinking!"  However, at the end I find myself satisfied and on such a great high.

There was a time when my husband had spent all day with his hobbies and I was inside with my toddler son.  I love spending time with my son, but by the evening and after all day taking care of him, I became very stressed and exhausted.  I was so filled with pressure that I barked at my husband to take care of our son and I left my house.  I drove to a track I regularly use and ran about two miles.  What a stress reliever!!  By the time I got home, I was calm and collected.  I apologized for my outburst and was able to put my feet up and smile.

How often do you exercise?  What do you think about its effect on stress?

[corwin137]

Am an avid um... "martial artist", for lack of a more appropriate term.  We train 3-5 days a week, at least two hours at a clip.  Won't bore anyone with the details unless one is interested, but will say it's active, and uncooperative

[Shell]

Sounds like crazy workout business!  LOL  You know, I am a fan of Muay Thai.  I think it is so beautiful.
 
I've got a few coworkers in the martial arts or other form of ... fighting, lol. One does lots of slugfest stuff and the other is taking a class in something that starts with T.  It's not taikwondo.  Something else.
 
Anyway, that type of exercise is so intense!!  I'm too uncoordinated to try any of it.

[SWM]

i am not prone to stress so i never find exercise useful in that sense. i probably get most stress thinking about having to exercise. i am not as fit as i would like to be, i play an hour of five a side football [soccer] once a week and i have started going to yoga on a saturday if i am not working.
 
i used to do muay thai when i was a teenager, that was very energetic and i think that my level of fitness now would be much worse if i had not trained so hard back then. i have also done a lot of other styles of martial arts over the years, and i love tai chi. i still use some of the forms now although i have not been to a class for a couple of years.
 

Am an avid um... "martial artist", for lack of a more appropriate term.  We train 3-5 days a week, at least two hours at a clip.  Won't bore anyone with the details unless one is interested, but will say it's active, and uncooperative.

i am intrigued by this statement.  described yourself as a "martial artist" only for lack o f a better term. and to say it is active and UNCOOPERATIVE. this is an interesting description.
 
i wonder if it the participents that are uncooperative, or the style.  Ok, come on, put me out of my misery.
 
 

[corwin137]

... edited for brevity...
 
i am intrigued by this statement.  described yourself as a "martial artist" only for lack o f a better term. and to say it is active and UNCOOPERATIVE. this is an interesting description.
 
i wonder if it the participents that are uncooperative, or the style.  Ok, come on, put me out of my misery.
 
 

Always put "martial artist" in quotes because there's lots of discussion about what exactly that is, the ideas it invokes.  Even "self defense" is oft frowned upon in some of the circles I train, because they don't like the idea of being on the defense, and prefer the term "self-preservation".

The idea of non-cooperation is hugely important.  For safety, people should train with some level of cooperation (for instance, only using 90% of one's speed and 90% of one's power, or better yet, "progressive resistance").  Even contests (already a questionable term) like Vale Tudo (which means "no rules") and the UFC have rules, but give the impression they do not.  This is relevant 'cuz rules=cooperation.

Making matters worse, most "styles" teach techniques, which by definition, require a lot of cooperation to "get".  That'd be fine, if they also pressure-tested the material, which most don't.  If they do, they don't train with/without tools (weapons), multiple opponents, unpredictable environs and etc.

Most types of assaults, criminal, domestic, other "disputes", are extremely chaotic.  Currently, the best example of people training for such are here:

http://www.dogbrothersvideo.com/promo01.wmv

The people I train with, all train essentially the same "style" as the guys above.  Most of us don't fight at The Gathering (where the link takes you), but we do spar uncooperatively, with and without tools, in the same manner.  Just a bit more padding (thicker gloves, more serious head protection).  We do train against multiple opponents, unequal initiative (where one starts in a non-dominant position, or by surprise attack), unequal armament (against multiple "opponents", they have a tool and you don't), and uncooperative environs (obstacles, minimal/no exits and such).

"Opponent" is a word I also put in quotes, mostly for philosophical reasons.  Certainly won't bore you with those, even after an already retina-burning, yawn inducing post.

[SWM]

okay, that is absolutely mad! i have to say there is a better term than "martial art" for what those guys are doing in that video. its called "fighting" or "beating the shit out of each other with sticks".

"Opponent" is a word I also put in quotes, mostly for philosophical reasons

i find it hard to believe you can be philosophical about anything they are doing.

[corwin137]

Yeah, at first blush it doesn't appear very learned.  Like I noted in my post though, that is much closer to what an actual assault, domestic or criminal, tends to look like.  If you watch those guys though, there's attention to timing/distance, tactics, understanding of what (and what not) to do with the presence or absence of tools, understanding of different "ranges" (free movement, clinch, ground) with and without tools and etc.

It's tough to wrap one's head around, because there's no referee, and most importantly, no agreements between the two "combatants".  As such, what you see in the vid is true resistance, which most other styles don't pressure-test.  In boxing, there's no attention to kicks, knees, etc.  In kickboxing/MT, there's no attention to tools, grappling.  In MMA there's no tools, no foul tactics... where I'm going with this is that these omissions make what people would otherwise see as "martial arts" look much, much different than the current view.

Oversimplified: people tend to see combative arts as magical.  Aikido or judo guys tossing people with the flick of a wrist.  People don't attack others in the way you see, so people don't respond the way you see some of these folk responding.  Compare that to the bar brawl (or footy match! ha ha...) or somesuch- these look much different than the "sport" based ideas above.

[SWM]

well rather you than me. if ever i am attacked, i am fully prepared to run like hell and scream like a stuck pig.

currently i am nursing a back injury from playing football and my girlfriend has a knee injury from running.

exercise is not always so healthy.

[Shell]

Corwin, oh my goodness!  That is insane!  I bet you get a crazy high once you're all worn out!  All that adrenaline! Whew. 

[corwin137]

well rather you than me. if ever i am attacked, i am fully prepared to run like hell and scream like a stuck pig.

See, we like answers like that.  No kidding.  In terms of teaching, we always talk about this sort of stuff first: situational awareness, avoiding task focus, prevention, contact management, avoiding the "three stupids" (stupid people doing stupid things in stupid places...), escape... stuff like that.  Not very "sexy" when it comes to martial arts, certainly not like people are used to watching, but surely more useful.

[corwin137]

Corwin, oh my goodness!  That is insane!  I bet you get a crazy high once you're all worn out!  All that adrenaline! Whew. 

Mostly?  Really?  I just wanna take a nap.  We're exhausted after.

[SWM]

See, we like answers like that.  No kidding.  In terms of teaching, we always talk about this sort of stuff first: situational awareness, avoiding task focus, prevention, contact management, avoiding the "three stupids" (stupid people doing stupid things in stupid places...), escape... stuff like that.  Not very "sexy" when it comes to martial arts, certainly not like people are used to watching, but surely more useful.

i like the three stupids, i will remeber that.

do you go somewhere to train? it seems like you have a quite a bit of theory and philosophy to what you do.

but the dog brothers look like they are just scrapping in someones back garden.

[corwin137]

i like the three stupids, i will remeber that.

do you go somewhere to train? it seems like you have a quite a bit of theory and philosophy to what you do.

but the dog brothers look like they are just scrapping in someones back garden.

Scrapping in someone's garden... that's funny.

I have a "primary trainer", but have trained with all kinds of folk.  Have been given the blessing to teach if I wanted to, but only for fun/free.  No intention of starting a school.  Essentially, am willing to teach in exchange for a training partner.  All of my crew have trained with a bunch of different people.  The sense of "philosophy" is part my personality, part simply that we're mostly "JKD" guys- Bruce Lee's "style", which is actually mostly a concept as opposed to an organized set of tools.

[teeshaa]

If you are asking for gym kind of exercise than I am not doing those things now because I have discover more interesting than that. This is Yoga in the early morning and surrounded with greenery. This one can make any ones day and give you energy for the rest of the day.

Just try Yoga for one month and you will feel the difference your self.

[sheron00]

Yeah Yoga is great if you know how to do it and if you get the required environment as well. Yoga will be good for your health and for your soul as well. You just need how to do it.

[Butterflyspirit08]

Wii Fit and Wii (has a lot of different activities), walking, during inclement weather the treadmill. I love being outdoors, walking and playing with my dogs.