Hey NSMB Martial Artists

What martial arts do you do? Why did you pick that one?
Can anyone recommend a teacher/school in East Van?

I practised Kyokushin Karate for about 14 years. I started in the East Kootenays with one of the two brothers who brought the style to Canada in the 70s.

I really enjoyed it for the full contact, knock down sparring when I was younger, but came to appreciate the kata, tameshiwari, and self defence aspects of the form as I got older.

There's only one guy, Tats Nakamura, that's teaching in the East Van area, Killarney. Unfortunately, his classes heavily focus on fighting and tournaments and aren't everyone's cup of tea.

I've unfortunately fallen off in my training, but I'd really like to pick it up again.

KELLY,S is another decent gym for martial arts training i trained at their old gym on Hastings back in the day they taught Muay Thai and Jujitsu .

Used to practice Shito-Ryu Seikokai karate before post secondary picked up. I practiced at one of the affiliate dojos of the man who brought the style to Canada (Vancouver) in the 70s. They have multiple affiliate dojos mostly centered around the Lower Mainland and the Island, but they do have clubs around the world.

(Long paragraph about the structure of the classes ahead)

At the dojo where I practiced, they didn't care if you were doing karate recreationally or competitively. There were 3 classes per week, Mondays were when the head instructor would teach, and it would be mostly the basics, kata, basic kumite, self-defence (street style), traditional stuff. Thursdays would be a little more on the competitive side, though you had a choice. The instructor (my father, actually. He also coaches the BC Team) would start off the same way as Mondays, basics, kata, but then would usually split the group into free-sparring, advanced kata (for the more experienced) and basic kata (the less experienced). Saturdays were a joint kids/adult class and mostly filled with kids so it was more of the basic stuff. For people that were competitive, there would be extra classes during the kids session on Mondays.

I used to be very competitive but because of school I've mostly fallen off the radar. I liked this club because it had a mix of competitive and recreational, and no one forced people to be competitive. We had to know how to free-sparr, but it wasn't as if they didn't let you move up the ranks if you weren't a medalist. What was also cool about this club was that they had a lot of affiliate clubs that practiced the same style, so for example if I went to Courteney for whatever reason I could pop by and practice at that club as long there was advanced notice. Sometimes I'd head up to Pemberton for whatever reason and practice there.

(Back to your question)

It really depends what you want to do, do you want to do it recreationally or competitively? There are clubs that are totally recreational, clubs that are recreational but encourage you to compete a little, just for fun, clubs that are a good mix of both and clubs that are just competitive (There's a club in Burnaby notorious for just practicing competitive karate, only free-sparring and nothing else). If you want to do karate I recommend a club that is sanctioned by Karate BC because of the insurance etc, or Kyokushin Karate if you like full-contact. In Karate BC tournaments there are more rules about where you can hit etc as opposed to Kyokushin

KELLY,S is another decent gym for martial arts training i trained at their old gym on Hastings back in the day they taught Muay Thai and Jujitsu .

Is this place still around?

What do you guys think about more self-defensey arts like Hapkido, Systema and Krav Maga versus more traditional styles?

I took a style of karate for a few years in university. I never really understood the point of kata. Maybe I just needed to go deeper?

I practice aikido in North Vancouver.

I picked it for a few reasons - fees are reasonable, it's close to home and work, there are no limits to the number of classes I can attend. But mostly because it is a traditional Japanese art, which is something I was looking for out of interest's sake, and because the instructor reinforces the tradition. It's also non-competitive, which I like, and it is a complete opposite to the strength training I do (do not require muscle strength, only good technique).

One thing that I do want to get out of whatever I pick is a realistic ability to handle confrontation. The karate I studied (as I studied it in that particular place) didn't deliver this in any way. And I'm not really sure jiu jitsu will either (though I'm sure grappling is an important skill to have).

It seems like Aikido and Hapkido have a lot in common.

I did Shorinji Kempo for a few years. Teaches you both striking and Aikido throws/locks. SK is closely connected to the honbu in Japan, so I like that it is true to its principles and practices ("traditional" in a way).

Some very good people involved in the Vancouver SK dojos.

Edited to add: Go observe a few classes. I personally think they teach a lot of useful stuff, especially locks/pins.

Hapkido, aikido, Japanese ju jutsu, krav maga, and to a lesser extent judo all share a pretty similar 'ancestor' art, so there will be similarities in techniques. They have all added various things, and removed others to become distinct, but you can definitely see common themes when watching videos.

I would say that aikido is not a good martial art to start with to learn how to fight. The techniques take a lot of practice to get proficient at. However, it does teach you valuable skills on a much more basic level that would help anyone in a confrontation - timing, reading intent from body language, how to keep space between you and the attacker (and the importance of the correct spacing).

Outside that, it's a good bit of fun. You always practice with a partner, and can practice with several different people throughout the class. This means you get thrown as much as you throw others (or apply joint locks, or whatever). You learn to fall safely, which can be helpful outside the dojo as well. It's non-confrontational/non-competitive, so a strong comradery forms and everyone tries to help each other.

I personally think that Brazilian jiu-jitsu is one of the best martial arts anyone can learn for self defence. Most fights in the real world end up on the ground. I've seen girls finish off dudes that are twice their size because of learning bjj. It's also a lot of fun and great exercise. There is east van bjj. I used to train with the coach there , he is a great guy.

All the martial arts mentioned here are good. I would recommend trying a few different ones and visiting a few different academy's to see if it's what u want to do and to see if u like the instructor. A lot of academy's have a first class free thing.

More as back ground and not much help in the East Vancouver location or school picks, i can share some info.

I have trained and competed in wrestling, boxing, kickboxing/Muay Thai, judo, BJJ gi/no gi, and MMA.
Now having disclosed that, it has been a long time since i have been involved with any of them (2006) until very recently. Injuries, age,motivation and time have kept me away.
I am planning on returning to bjj and have it narrowed down to a few schools:
http://www.temartialarts.com/
http://infighting.ca/

If you are married to the east van local and BJJ is your pick i could also recommend: http://gbvancouver.com/
They all have true lineage in BJJ and first level instructors and hi level students to learn from. They have competitive level athletes but stress curriculum from kids/beginners to pro's. They also all have diversified programs that offer some sort of "striking" art if you wanted to dabble in either or both. They are premium clubs and i would not consider them affordable unless you consider the quality of the instructors and facilities. They are not cheap….

The only real traditional Japanese of those was Judo. Only other traditional martial are was Chinese Gung Fu. I enjoyed both.

Having trained and competed with athletes from Kyokushin Karate i could attest that they are the closest to full contact kick boxing or Muay Thay, and noted above a very hard style. KO's and leg kicks. It is not for the faint of heart. The combat is very realistic for a traditional martial art. I think GSP has a back ground in this?

I cant speak of any others mentioned above. Time and health permitting i was always open to learning and training with any one to get a flavor for the arts.

On a security contract work perspective i did take some Krav Maga seminars in Edmonton. I think this is another very realistic version of real world self defense. Weapons disarming, grappling and fight to live mentality are also some of the components. I cant help you on where to train KravMaga in Van.

Not every school stressed competition but some focus on it. This can change the scope of the people you train with as well as the school. I also think that with out some sparring or randori there is a gap between theory and real world practice and situations. You will have to try a few as mentioned above to see what really appeals to you and justifies the $$$.
Enjoy which ever you end up picking. Be warned; if the bug bites you hard it may start to cut in to your riding time. :)

Is this place still around?

not sure Simon Posner was the owner and head Sensai when i trained there

not sure Simon Posner was the owner and head Sensai when i trained there

I think here?
http://www.kelleesama.com/
I never made the association until you mentioned Simon.

Also a good choice. There was an association with Gibson at one time? I think they have gone different directions now.
I did a small stint there back when i first moved back to the LM. At the time it was too long to travel for me, so i bailed after a few weeks. I ended up at Revolution for a short time after that. Not sure if they are still around? I waited for Kultar Gill to open his school closer to me but went under the knife for knee issues before i got the chance.