Dear HNers,<p>I fairly recently started kendō and I find it helps with building character (especially regarding dealing with pressure in my case). I'm curious about what aspects of which martial arts that others have found particularly beneficial to life as a programmer/software developer.
I study Krav Maga. I prefer a practical self defense oriented approach. It is the system developed by and taught to the Israeli military. Moves are generally very simple (important so you can be effective without years of training). The problem with pretty much all other martial arts everyone is mentioning is that they have morphed to work ideally in a competitive environment. Sure, knowing just about any martial art will give you a huge advantage against someone who isn't skilled but there are alot of things people just don't train for with BJJ, Tae Kwon Do, etc.<p>For example, one of the first things we learned is defending yourself from various holds and chokes. The first move, after securing your throat or loosening their grip is generally to hit them in the balls. This is one example of something most martial arts won't teach you because that's generally "against the rules", however, in a self defense scenario, there are no rules (there are however laws that you may break so keep that in mind).<p>You really want to avoid going to the ground if at all possible. It just makes you more vulnerable if anyone else decides to jump in and you never know what you're rolling around on. Besides, what are you going to do, put someone in a submission until help arrives? A really effective way to break a hold is to grab their pinky and twist it in a direction it doesn't want to go. If they don't let go just move on to new fingers. Also, feel free to bite them. Hard. You can also pull hair, gouge eyes, fishhook, etc. It's great to know how to defend yourself on the ground, but you want to be on the ground as little as possible as it can be a dangerous place because your opponent is probably not playing under the same rules you are.<p>If you want more of a philosophy then it's probably not right for you. This is pretty much just about winning fights when it matters the most.
Depends on what kind of programmer you are. If you do a lot of concurrent programming in C++ then chainsaw fencing should be right for you. An advanced Lisp programmer can practice blasting opponents with pure Chi energy.
I wouldn't have made it through grad school without Shotokan Karate (<a href="http://www.ska.org/" rel="nofollow">http://www.ska.org/</a>). It helps that they're non-profit, so you know you're learning and not just paying for belts. Plus, they have very intense "Special trainings" around the country at different points in the year. They're a great organization.<p>While it's easy for some to dismiss "mystical" aspects, look at the real world applications. If you suffer from "pressure" that could be a moderate form of anxiety. A great combat to the parasympathetic response? Breathing.<p>Watch what happens when you get punched in the gut. Your immediate, initially uncontrollable desire is to blindly fight like hell or turn and run. Keeping a calm head takes practice to overcome the rush of hormones. Breathing slows the heart and tempers the response. It's the same reason elite athletes, especially runners, know the power of proper breathing.<p>I tend to think many mystical aspects had some physiological root that then got adulterated over time. Breathing as the route to relaxation is first on my list.
I prefer training for martial arts over martial arts themselves.<p>I do dands (Hindu pushups) and bethaks (Hindu squats) almost every day.<p>Want to build character? Do 500 bethaks. Your quads will be screaming, begging you to stop at 200, 300, even 400. But you keep going. Because you know that as soon as you stop, you gave up too easily. But once you finish, you can do anything. Eerily similar to starting a software business.
I would say Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. You can make good progress very quickly, it's a lot of fun, can be very demanding physically (but doesn't always have to) and is called "chess on the mat" which should appeal to a programmer's analytical minds.
Plus, there's a ton of BJJ ressources on the net and the community is very active.
I think Aikido is a very good option, not only to programmers, but to all the people. It's a martial art which is meant to preserve the integrity of both players. Both mental and body health are the main concerns of this martial art.
Wing Chun. Shortest attacks from point A to point B. Get the issue over with fast. No fancy kicks or meta moves. You train in what you wear everyday. It also has an amazing history. Unlike Karate which has hard movements, like most forms of Gung Fu, it all revolves around flowing, snapping and potential energy.<p>Beautiful, but pragmatic.
I used to do kendo and loved it. I tried taking a kung fu course for a phys. ed. requirement at college and hated it.<p>Martial arts are not some magical thing you do; this isn't anime, people. They're just highly refined methods of bringing the hurt to someone.<p>Kendo was very good exercise; the time we did 1,200 suburi for the new year (100 per month) was quite the workout. I regret dropping it due to schedule problems. However much I enjoyed it, though, I don't really think it conferred any special advantages to me as an engineer compared to any other form of exercise.
Growing up we watched tons of martial art related shows because they "looked cool", but while my brothers took some courses I never did (I was teaching myself BASIC). Being older and seeing life a bit differently I see martial arts differently as well. I stumbled across a new show where I was surprised to see childhood action-hero Steven Seagal as a real sheriff. It's a good example to me of the real, rather than tv side, of martial arts, and I'd probably study Aikido if I got into something. Check this out: <a href="http://www.aetv.com/steven-seagal-lawman/video/?bcpid=46881070001&bclid=36527476001&bctid=62686404001" rel="nofollow">http://www.aetv.com/steven-seagal-lawman/video/?bcpid=468810...</a>
Though not entirely an answer to the question: I've never found any aspect of my martial art of choice (jiu-jitsu) particularly beneficial to my life as a software developer. At most, I think practicing sports helps to keep a healthy body as the counterpart to a healthy mind. In general, I think there are principles of martial arts that can serve as adequate analogies to principles in software engineering (know your tools, be aware of your enemies, use the path of the least resistance, practice makes perfect, it pays to broaden your skills, ...) but knowledge and understanding of those principles is not bound to actually practicing them.
I can only speak for the Chinese Martial Art I have trained and been exposed to - Wing Chun and Choy Li Futt. It is now a way of life for me. Primarily, I am a Wing Chun practitioner.<p>If you are using the Agile methodology, Wing Chun would be good. It emphasizes
1) adapting to change - This is especially true in the second form "Chum Kil" which transition from one position to another
2) least wastage - punch is a straight line to the target
3) cooperation to achieve a single target - a punch in Wing Chun is the utilization of the powers of your leg, hips, torso, shoulder, elbow transferred to the fist
4) getting immediate feedback - the chi sao (sticking hands) exercise trains you to be sensitive and look for places to enter
5) respect of difference of opinions - a tan sao can be used as to defend or attack depending on the person<p>If your SDLC is a waterfall method, try Choy Li Futt. Things I learned from this are
1) Commitment to a set of combination early - I have combos in Choy Li Futt which I carry through all the way, regardless of what the opponent does. The decision of what to do is made after assessing the situation (aka requirements gathering) and before the first strike<p>2) Using a different approach to a problem - My favorite strikes from this style is the spinning elbow and using the forearm as a striking weapon<p>The primary difference to me is that Choy Li Futt is a brute force solution to a problem and Wing Chun depends more on an algorithm to resolve the problem<p>Good luck!
I think any martial arts taken seriously is good for you. You realize that mastery comes w/ only years of practice and don't develop that short sightedness of thinking you will hit a homerun on your first time (competing). My martial arts training has tempered my own patience. If I get impatient as to why I am not getting something already, I go back to what I tell my own students: If you haven't done it a 1000 times yet, it's ok that it's not great yet, don't be frustrated. Practice practice practice.
I went back to classic karate after a really long brake, Okinawan Goju-Ryu Karate, and it is really making a big difference to my life. Goju-Ryu is quite physical in the training, which means that most training passes give you a really good workout.<p>There are a number of things which I find particularly beneficial to my work (I am not programmer as such, but a founder of an internet services startup), some fairly obvious:<p>- It is great to be forced to use another part of the brain regularly, my body may be tired but my head is less tired after each training pass, it is like an energy injection<p>- I am physically much fitter now, 15 months after I started, this may be obvious, but it makes a big difference to how much work I can do and how well I feel<p>- my wife tells me I don't stall or give up so easily anymore when I have more work to do, particularly stuff at home<p>- I am forced to leave work on training days (I work from home) and not stay and, ineffectively, trying to get more done. I feel like I am more effective, despite the hours that go to training and commuting back and forth to the dojo<p>- I have no back problems or issues with circulation in my legs anymore, I tend to spend a lot of time sitting working, this is great<p>My club and the particular style I practise doesn't put much emphasis on competition (it is actually discouraged) which means that there is a really helpful, non-macho, atmosphere at the dojo. Everybody is very helpful and the training really becomes about self improvement rather than trying to be better than the others. It helps that we have some really excellent trainers as well. The head of the club is well respected internationally for his work. <a href="http://www.iogkf.se/" rel="nofollow">http://www.iogkf.se/</a>
I really like this thread for its information content about different styles. I have a few general comments:<p>- The school/teacher is much more important than the style. Make sure you find a teacher than is not profit oriented or arrogant. Signs of a bad teacher: has his face on the wall, has his name on the school, won't talk to you when you visit, tolerates bad attitude amongst his students.<p>- Martial-arts is essentially applied classical mechanics. Leverage, angle, distance, bone structure, hip turning... make sure people explain this to you instead of talking about tigers, praying mantii or age old traditions.<p>- practice horse stance on your own: it's the shit !
<a href="http://images.google.ca/images?q=horse+stance" rel="nofollow">http://images.google.ca/images?q=horse+stance</a><p>- I highly recommend wing chun kung fu. You learn a few basic moves and then you can combine them like lego pieces. Check out these doods controlling the space in front of them in a RELAXED manner: <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OFuqC6CTKV8" rel="nofollow">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OFuqC6CTKV8</a>
Karate(shotokan) made me more disciplined and taught me to endure pain. That comes in handy in dealing with a dumb boss, a nagging client, or any of the overall suck-y conditions we work with everyday.<p>Also, sparring amazingly taught me to control my thoughts to achieve a certain goal. So it helps when chasing bugs to clear your mind and organize your thoughts.<p>Sadly, i don't practice anymore.
Have a look at Wing Chun Kung Fu. Amazingly complicated and deep. Every move is defence and attack at the same time using minimum energy, quite relevant nowadays.
I think any martial art is beneficial as the very nature forces you to stop thinking about programming. I've personally chosen Muay Thai as it puts special emphasis on physical conditioning, and I tend to work best not stressing (or thinking about) how I'm going to get my day's exercise.
i have no idea how martial arts would help my programming other than some kind of meditation-centric art (shaolin?). i do arnis/eskrima, which are philipino martial arts. the hand to hand is similar to muay thai but a little more focus on defense like locks. the stick fighting is neat because your reflexes improve and you learn how to move (good for sparring). i imagine most weapons classes would be good to sharpen your hand-eye coordination.
Just like it's important to learn multiple languages to be a well-rounded programmer, you should train in multiple styles of martial arts to become a well-rounded fighter.<p>I recommend kickboxing for learning fundamentals of open-hand stand up fighting, Sambo or BJJ for ground fighting, and Filipino martial arts (Kali/Arnis/Eskrima) for weapons and to tie it all together. Wing Chun fits in nicely as well, and JKD is worth your time too.<p>I echo the sentiments of the people who say it's less about the style than the teacher. A good teacher will expose you to outside concepts. A good teacher will teach you to be practical and not flashy. I strongly recommend you focus on practicality. Always ask yourself, "how will this actually help me if I have to defend myself?" I've seen practitioners of certain styles get completely taken down because they were not taught to be practical - nothing to do with the style per se, but they didn't have good teachers. In particular, I recall a Tae Kwan Do fighter try to use spinning kicks while sparring. As soon as he started to turn his back, his opponent simply stepped forward and kicked him in the balls from behind.<p>Value practicality over all else.
Doesn't really matter. Pick a few that interest you and try them out for a month. Try at least two different schools for each style. Saying Tien Shan Pai sucks and Liu He Ba Fa rocks, makes no sense. It's just whatever works for you. I know a guy that was absolutely in love with Hsing Yi Quan, had studied it for 20 years. I found it intolerably boring. Tang Lang on the other hand was a blast.<p>A lot of it depends on the vibe of the school as well. That's why I say try a couple.<p>If you want to ground and pound, and that's what gets you off, try a bit of some grappling styles. BJJ is ok, but depending on where you live there's probably some modern style schools you can give a go at also (usually some combo of Muay Thai and some kind of grappling).<p>If you want to enjoy something with a long history, and steep yourself in the culture, try some kind of Kung Fu style. I find Chinese styles exercise different parts of the brain I don't use as much for engineering and actually can be very relaxing. Most of it is highly impractical in a modern setting, but it's like studying painting or calligraphy or some such.<p>If you want to be tightly disciplined, Japanese styles, with their strict emphasis on form, ceremony and procedure can be highly enjoyable. I liked my brief study of Shotokan for just that reason, it allowed me to turn off the self-discipline for a bit and let something else take charge.<p>If you want something you can maybe take to high levels of sport and competition, Tae Kwon Do is probably the place to go. There are a bajillion TKD places around, so choose wisely. Lots of them will be belt-mills selling personal fitness more than the Olympic sport. Try to find a school with lots of Korean students.<p>But there are others, off the beaten path you can try and have fun with too like Escrima or Capoeira.
If you're not concerned with practicality at all, Capoiera is worth a look. It's a much slower martial art (especially Angola), and tends to focus more on prediction and setting the other player up. How movements flow into each other is a significant consideration as well. I wouldn't ever use it in a fight. But it's more approachable as a casual interest.
I studied karate for years. I would recommend finding something with a strong heritage to traditional martial arts - this is more important than style, you should be able to trace the lineage of your teachers back to someone notable. <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Moving-Zen-Journey-Bushido-Warrior/dp/4770027559/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1267389123&sr=8-1" rel="nofollow">http://www.amazon.com/Moving-Zen-Journey-Bushido-Warrior/dp/...</a> this is a nice book regarding this topic. I personally would recommend tai chi or karate over kendo. imho, kendo is not exactly practical these days, it tends to be a bit stuffy for me and in most karate schools you will get weapons training after you advance far enough.
I'd recommend Eskrima/Kali (Philipino martial arts) if you can find a teacher near you. Eskrima builds strong and flexible wrists in a way that most other arts don't.<p><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rckWVZl_GsA" rel="nofollow">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rckWVZl_GsA</a><p>Another reason I prefer Philipino martial arts to Japanese arts is that the latter tends to be rigid and emphasize gatekeeping. When I studied Kendo, the attitude was "level up before we let you spar". In contrast, I got my ass whooped one month into Eskrima. (Obviously this is also highly dependent on the teacher.)
My vote is for Brazilian Jiu Jitsu (Gi or No Gi), Boxing, or Kickboxing (Muay thai).<p>I think BJJ will especially appeal to the nerd in you, I'm not sure why, but it does. The awesome thing about BJJ is you don't need to be very athletic to be good. Its also a very practical art and you'll get to spar everyday. In terms of self development, BJJ will crush your soul and teach you what your ego is all about. The BJJ journey is just a rewarding and frustrating as the startup journey, and you'll never stop learning new techniques and things about yourself. Good luck
All of you Kung Fu people should come and join <a href="http://kungfupeople.com" rel="nofollow">http://kungfupeople.com</a>
Built (Django, Python) by a programmer and a technical project manager.
As others have mentioned BJJ because...
1. A weaker opponent can take down a much stronger/bigger one using leverage and his mind
2. It's comparable to chess or a mental sport<p>For a striking example of #1 see this video where Royce Gracie (6'1" 180 lbs) defeats Legendary Sumo Grand Champion Akebono (6'8" 486 lbs) using BJJ. I can't imagine that being possible with any other style of martial arts.<p><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=POJ2T023M4I" rel="nofollow">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=POJ2T023M4I</a>
I've studied a couple martial arts in various amounts: Judo, Kendo, Tae Kwon Do, and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. All are interesting in their own ways, but I recommend Judo and BJJ... or Kendo if you need to vent by beating people with sticks :)<p>In fact, I would say to try Judo and see what you like about it. If you like the throwing, then stick with Judo. If you like the grappling (which unfortunately, sport Judo mostly lacks these days...) then switch to BJJ.
For me personally martial arts helps to build a character which in turn may help you grow as a programmer, but that's an effect of growing as a person. I practice sanda which is similar to muai thai but there are many other arts which focus more on the inner side, and you can gain a lot of concentration and peace by practicing them, which in turns could help you as a programmer when you have to deal with difficult tasks.
I've started with searching for a martial art fitting for me 2,5 years ago. I hadn't been training for a quite some time and I really needed to do something about it. I had practiced Judo during my child and early teen years and practiced Tae Kwon Do during college.<p>I quit both because, in my personal opinion they are too focused on doing one thing fairly well while more or less ignoring other aspects of fighting. For example: I found it very annoying that Judo did not allow any punches or kicks. While Tae Kwon Do didn't allow throws or ground fighting.
Basically I was looking for a different look at fighting, be it kicking, punching, locks, throws or fighting with weapons. In my view everything should be possible depending on the context. At that time I found two possible matches (in my neighborhood) for what I was looking for in a martial art: Takeda Ryu and Krav Maga. After having followed three lessons of Takeda Ryu I didn't bother of looking at Krav Maga anymore since Takeda Ryu and the people training at the dojo matched what I was looking for.<p>So now I have been training Takeda Ryu Kobilza Ha for 2,5 years. I'm still just a beginner and need to learn a lot, but I enjoy training very much and that's what I consider to be the most important. Whatever martial art you like to start make sure you enjoy it and feel safe in the dojo.<p>I have the impression that it does have an effect on me outside the dojo, although I find it hard to describe what the effect exactly is.<p>Currently I'm practicing five budo disciplines in Takeda Ryu Kobilza Ha:<p>- Aikido (throws, locks )
- Iaido (swiftly drawing the sword and cutting correctly)
- Jodo (fighting with a stick)
- Jukempo (kicking, punching combined with throws and locks)
- Kendo (fighting with a drawn sword)<p>If you would like to know more about Takeda Ryu, have a look at <a href="http://istb.info/index.php/home.html" rel="nofollow">http://istb.info/index.php/home.html</a> or look at some footage of demonstrations: <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=INx_CSA_I78" rel="nofollow">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=INx_CSA_I78</a> and our main event in Vienna Austria: <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4sxtTNjKSsk&" rel="nofollow">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4sxtTNjKSsk&</a>;<p>ps: This is my own very personal and limited look at martial arts and I do not want to disrespect any Judo, Tae Kwon Do, Krav Maga or any other martial art practitioners.
Brazillian Jiu-Jitsu. Fighting is without strikes, instead you have holds, locks and chokes. You win by submitting your opponent, usually on the ground.<p>It's like chess, but with your body. Combat is very close, but still not aggressive. Many technical and tactical aspects.<p>Develops strength, endurance, balance, timing and a feeling for moving/rolling. Makes your body slick and flexible.<p>And it makes you enjoy a better in sex.. seriously ;-)
When I was in school I was lucky enough to find a place that offered a mix of wing chun, kali, muay thai, and moves from arts like silat. This was before the MMA/BJJ craze so there was not much "grappling" at the time. I could not find a similar school in the Bay Area so I went to Fairtex. I don't think it developed any skills directly related to programming, but it was a lot of fun.
Ignore everything, go with Brazilian Jiujitsu. Saying BJJ doesn´t work in real life is like saying Ruby doesn't scale.<p>If you want to become a killer machine, learn BJJ, box, wrestling and muay-thai and stop programming. If you want to get fit and exercise your mind and body, train BJJ.<p>There are plenty of gyms in the US with great black belts. Look for Alliance, Gracie Barra, Paragon, Brotherhood.
Definitely Brazilian Jiu Jitsu (BJJ). It's a very effective martial art, and its technical nature makes it a very good fit for an analytical mind. I've only been at it for a few months but so far I love it.<p>I haven't tried Judo, but I expect that'd be similarly interesting.
I do Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, some boxing and MMA. It's my main hobby and time sink after work. Our gym focuses a lot on conditioning and just good ol' grit. Being mentally broken from conditioning drills makes everything else not as bad.
I really like Modern Arnis (10yrs). Repeating patterns everywhere, and soo much variations. The drills have logic, and I assume that programmers can vary their movements much better, as programming values flexibility.
Jim Brown in "One Down, Two To Go" (1982):<p>"I may not know kung fu, but I'm an expert in gun fu."<p><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0086051/quotes" rel="nofollow">http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0086051/quotes</a>
No offense, but this is kind of a dumb question. A martial art is not much different from any other sport, programmer or not. Play tennis, box, what's the difference?<p>My two cents on which martial art to pick is boxing or one of the kickboxing varieties. The "east asian" martial arts schools in your American strip mall practically never emphasize that fighting is 90% physical fitness and strength, and so I regard them as a bit of a joke. Rare is the taekwondo student who'd last three rounds against a golden gloves guy.<p>I mean, you see fat people coming out of these karate classes. There's very rarely such a thing at a muay thai or boxing gym that actually fields fighters. When I was boxing it wasn't rare for guys to puke.<p>I suppose nerds want to think fighting is this cerebral thing where all these advanced skills with funny japanese names make the difference. Sorry, it's mostly being able to hit hard and keep doing it a lot for minutes.