How old are you?

[Bambi]

And wow, you still remembered. You still doing yours, the fusion style? (Full disclosure, your style's not as easy to pin down, so I had to look up some old stuff... so, I'm staying vague as not to f it up. )

Haha, all good man. No is the short answer. "I have broken "JIE", but cannot get rid of tune nor fist".

I stopped training when I started university, I wanted to try out more of a normal life (I was training pretty much all day 6 days a week) and I wasn't satisfied with the amount of time spent dedicated to weaponry and other fanciful stuff that I had zero interest in.

In the years that followed I very briefly tried kyokushin karate (which I loved and would recommend to anyone looking to take up a relatively traditional but effective martial art) but couldn't make the classes due to my work schedule.

Since the birth of my son I've had a couple of years to really reflect on what I want to train at this point in my life and I've decided on Brazilian jiu-jitsu. It's a style I find very appealing, I can see myself still training hard with it years from now (not something I felt with kyokushin) and there's a really great school near me. I'm a complete newbie, I get murdered in every class.

As a Shenmue fan I also have this crazy romantic notion of passing some of it onto my son but I'm aware that's it's incredibly unrealistic, frankly I'd be happy if I could get him to eat some fucking vegetables.

As someone in their early 20s you guys are scaring me with your talk of twinges

It shouldn't, at your age I would honestly recommend going out and doing the stuff that will leave you with these injuries, the experiences good and bad far outweigh the negatives.

"I just don't want to die without a few scars, I say. It's nothing anymore to have a beautiful stock body. You see those cars that are completely stock cherry, right out of a dealer's showroom in 1955, I always think, what a waste."
- Chuck Palahniuk, Fight Club

"whah babe shouldn't have done that squat you did fine two weeks ago"

But that was almost exactly how I blew one of my knees out.

 

[BayStone]

Haha, all good man. No is the short answer. "I have broken "JIE", but cannot get rid of tune nor fist".

I stopped training when I started university, I wanted to try out more of a normal life (I was training pretty much all day 6 days a week) and I wasn't satisfied with the amount of time spent dedicated to weaponry and other fanciful stuff that I had zero interest in.

In the years that followed I very briefly tried kyokushin karate (which I loved and would recommend to anyone looking to take up a relatively traditional but effective martial art) but couldn't make the classes due to my work schedule.

Since the birth of my son I've had a couple of years to really reflect on what I want to train at this point in my life and I've decided on Brazilian jiu-jitsu. It's a style I find very appealing, I can see myself still training hard with it years from now (not something I felt with kyokushin) and there's a really great school near me. I'm a complete newbie, I get murdered in every class.

Right, I can understand that. That's a lot of training and yeah, the whole flowery business can wear a little thin after a while. It's tricky business. But, now of course with BJJ, you're right on track again. And congratulations for your son, however late this may be.

I somehow managed to keep "the candle burning" somehow, but it hasn't been easy. A large chunk of the later years, I guess a decade now, more or less, has been trying to find the what the next level could, should and must be.

As a Shenmue fan I also have this crazy romantic notion of passing some of it onto my son but I'm aware that's it's incredibly unrealistic, frankly I'd be happy if I could get him to eat some fucking vegetables.

Still one of the best scenes in Shenmue for me. I remember watching that scene and thinking I would've eaten those carrots, which in most cases has not been known to happen. At least, "not like this." That scene is probably the one that made me think, this is some game this.

 

[Araviel]

But that was almost exactly how I blew one of my knees out.

Poor form ? J/k! I learned the hard way not to do dead lifts and squats on the same day once the weight starts getting high... Poor knee. Poor back!

Been thinking of starting either krav maga or climbing, looks like fun. Don't have time for both. Recommandations?

 

[Deta]

Been thinking of starting either krav maga or climbing, looks like fun. Don't have time for both. Recommandations?

What are you looking from Krav Maga? If you want to learn how to fight, then leave it. But If you want to learn new and more efficient ways to defend yourself on top of your already learned skills, then its a great system. The reason why I recommend people to leave it if you dont have any experience in contact combats or MA's is sadly because Krav Maga is very watered down in the West. There is lots of nonsense which will give you a false sense of security if you have no experience beforehand.

 

[Bambi]

And congratulations for your son, however late this may be.

Thank you.

Poor form ? J/k!

That's exactly what it was though. I have pretty good form with lifts, I was never too proud to ask people to check my form for me and was always open to any criticism they had but all it took was a momentary lapse in concentration whilst I was locking out a deadlift, the worst of it was about a second before the knee went I thought "something's not right" then *pop*.

I learned the hard way not to do dead lifts and squats on the same day once the weight starts getting high... Poor knee. Poor back!

Haha, there's nothing fundamentally wrong with doing both on the same workout though, I believe many strength coaches and programs (starting strength/stronglifts) will advocate squatting at the start of every workout until you stall on other lifts. I had to cut back on the squats though as my quads were disproportionately big, years of holding those deep karate stances left me build like a t-rex. I'm not going for all out aesthetics but finding a pair of non-dad jeans was becoming an issue.

Been thinking of starting either krav maga or climbing, looks like fun. Don't have time for both. Recommandations?

In terms of krav maga until the post above, I had never seen anyone doubt its efficacy as a striking discipline but I haven't had any exposure to it personally so I'd be speaking out of turn to recommend it or not.

My only reservation about it personally is that I'm maybe not suited to striking, I love learning the techniques and all that entails but I don't like hitting people. The last time I was in a proper fight I wrestled the guy to the ground and even as he was punching me (which was very annoying obviously) I still didn't hit him back. I can't put my finger on it exactly but there's just so much that could go wrong in a split second when you hit someone, it seems so permanent somehow. That in part formed my own decision to look at something like jiu-jitsu instead, I figured if my natural preference if to grapple with people I should probably learn how to do it properly.

If you want to learn how to fight, then leave it. But If you want to learn new and more efficient ways to defend yourself on top of your already learned skills, then its a great system. The reason why I recommend people to leave it if you dont have any experience in contact combats or MA's is sadly because Krav Maga is very watered down in the West. There is lots of nonsense which will give you a false sense of security if you have no experience beforehand.

I came across this video when I was looking into different styles and the guy covers some of what you're saying about krav maga being good to augment existing skills etc. You'll have to take it with a pinch of salt as it's obviously coming from the point of view of someone who is a strong advocate of BJJ.

 

[Deta]

In terms of krav maga until the post above, I had never seen anyone doubt its efficacy as a striking discipline but I haven't had any exposure to it personally so I'd be speaking out of turn to recommend it or not.

My only reservation about it personally is that I'm maybe not suited to striking, I love learning the techniques and all that entails but I don't like hitting people. The last time I was in a proper fight I wrestled the guy to the ground and even as he was punching me (which was very annoying obviously) I still didn't hit him back. I can't put my finger on it exactly but there's just so much that could go wrong in a split second when you hit someone, it seems so permanent somehow. That in part formed my own decision to look at something like jiu-jitsu instead, I figured if my natural preference if to grapple with people I should probably learn how to do it properly.


I came across this video when I was looking into different styles and the guy covers some of what you're saying about krav maga being good to augment existing skills etc. You'll have to take it with a pinch of salt as it's obviously coming from the point of view of someone who is a strong advocate of BJJ.

If you want to learn how to strike I would recommend anyone out there to learn those skills from the bests.
Those are boxing and muay thai.

When it comes to fighting in a streets, there is two kinds of people. Those who keep their temper and try to de-escalate the conflict even if it means to get punched. And then there are people who go totally berserk. They cant control themselves. They are angry and dont care what happens in that situation. It seems that you are the first one. And thats a great thing.

Wrestling is great, any style where you can control your opponent by taking him or her down. But the thing is that fighting in a street is totally different environment compared to gym or dojo. Sure for one on one dance competition its great. It works. But if you find yourself in a street after bars closing hours, fighting. Most of the time its not you versus him. Its you versus him and whoever wants to join in. If you take the guy down and dont be aware of your surroundings, you might end up having very bad time. In these situations self defense systems like Krav Maga comes handy. When you know how to land a punch, protect yourself and you have a guts to take few hits while doing so, it gives you an opportunity to end the fight fast. Krav Maga is dirty just like every self defense system. Its dirty because you need to end the situation as fast as possible for your own safety.
But like the guy said in a video, you need to learn how to walk before you can run.

 

[JohnBlack]

24, gonna turn 25 in a couple of days

 

[Araviel]

@Deta thanks! Not really looking to learn to fight, I don't fight. I don't like it and as I 5"2 female I don't seek it out either. I want to do something new and fun, something in a group, something to get some adrenaline going ... did Kyokoshinkai Karate a decade ago and enjoyed that though got a bit bored with the katas.

@Bambi mhm, usually do full body, 5 x 5, including squats and deadlifts. Love love love deadlifts! It's just a fun excercise that makes you feel like a superhero and that you can add on weights to fast. As opposed to bench pressing ? Everyone fears that popping sensation. It sucks! It only takes a second of thinking about something else or being that one bit too tired.

 

[OldFarT]

Turning 39 next month.

 

[Deta]

@Deta thanks! Not really looking to learn to fight, I don't fight. I don't like it and as I 5"2 female I don't seek it out either. I want to do something new and fun, something in a group, something to get some adrenaline going ... did Kyokoshinkai Karate a decade ago and enjoyed that though got a bit bored with the katas.

Oh, in that case I wouldnt recommend krav maga. You obviously sound wise enough to stay away from stupid fights, so why even bother learning something you wont ever need? Climbing on the other hand sounds awesome!

 

[thefavoriteplay]

I'm currently 33 turning 34 in September. Shenmue was one of the main reasons I wanted the Dreamcast. I tried to read everything I could about the game and find more and more screenshots in different magazine articles. I was able to get the Dreamcast on launch and enjoyed the system and I was really excited when I bought the first Shenmue and I wasn't let down. I loved the game.

 

[Jeff]

I'm 34, 35 in a couple of months. 15 years ago there was a member here called Silas I think. I remember he was like 40 at the time and we all thought 'wow, he's the old guy', and we would joke about how he's considerably older than the rest of us. Now it's nothing to me lol. I'm aging pretty well as you can see from my profile pic. The only difference from me 10 years ago here is wisdom, mellowed out. 10 years ago 'I want to visit Japan!' Now I'm like 'eh, not really, I don't like to eat fish'. I guess it's just a changing of attitudes towards things. I remember being involved with forum feuds and taking sides. Now I have no appetite for that at all.

That being said, this November is Ryo Hazuki's 50th birthday!

 

[7Heavens]

I'm going to be 32 in September. I was too poor to have a dreamcast when it came out. Heard about shenmue just before it's release on a tv show called thumb bandits that used to air on channel 4 (I think 9pm).

The game was shown on another tv show called cybernet that used to air on ITV during the silly hours of the morning (something like 3.30am). Anyone from the UK remember these tv shows?

Must have been about 13 when I heard of shenmue. I remember taping the TV shows on VCR cassettes and watching them again and again.

My Mind was blown by the graphics, the world and everything that was possible in that game at that time period (there was nothing that came close).

I would often watch my friend play it at his house. It reminded me of classic kung fu movies (before that time I'd never seen a game be so cinematic). I eventually borrowed his dreamcast and 'clocked' (i.e. finished) both games in about a week. Couldn't believe what I had experienced (disc 4 guilin was surreal, it's really difficult to put into words the feelings that I felt when I got to guilin. The shift in the games tone really affects you).

A few years ago, I went on a trip to China and Hong kong. Really wanted to visit guilin, but ended up going to zhangjiajie (a place of breathtaking beauty). Was reminded of shenmue a lot throughout the journey especially when using the elevators/lifts in Hong Kong (not all lifts go to every floor). Hong kong is a vertical city.

Only officially registered at the dojo after the announcement of shenmue 3, but would visit the site since the early 2000's to read up on news etc.

I never lost hope in a shenmue 3 becoming a reality.

Anyhow, the game and the way it's story is told has a magic which really captivates you. All the people on this forum are a proof of that.

 

[Bambi]

I'm going to be 32 in September. I was too poor to have a dreamcast when it came out. Heard about shenmue just before it's release on a tv show called thumb bandits that used to air on channel 4 (I think 9pm).

The game was shown on another tv show called cybernet that used to air on ITV during the silly hours of the morning (something like 3.30am). Anyone from the UK remember these tv shows?

I remember them! I loved that era of late night Channel 4 programming.

@Peter and myself were especially enamored with Aleks Krotoski who was one of hosts of both Bits and Thumb Bandits. I've taken a lot of shit over this one over the years from my mates because she's not conventionally beautiful but there's definitely something about her.

 

[Sir Ryo]

27

 

[chaikilla]

25!

 

[Cyberman]

37. I will be 38 in a couple months.

 

[Kyo_JP]

34 and leap day born

 

[Kiba]

33.

mellowed out.

Bull. You're worse than ever, thank God.

That being said, this November is Ryo Hazuki's 50th birthday!

Hadn't thought of that. Very interesting fact. Hope the series does a time jump to finish the story.

34
Single
No kids
Shenmue... Addiction?


I really need to sort my life out.

Please don't. We love you the way you are.

 

[Kodama]

Almost 33. I'm more than twice as old as I was when I started waiting for Shenmue 3...