BIG CHOICE Help

Posted by: Anonymous

BIG CHOICE Help - 12/05/04 06:30 PM

ok guys im really REALLY into martial arts, and once i finish high school (LONG time from now) i was wanting VERY much to go to china and enrole at a shaolin kung fu school, because there are plenty of good ones and the history fascinates me, so enrol for 3 years then come back and go to colledge, or (this is the choice my mom wants ;( ) for me to go straight to colledge, and not waste any time doing "useless things" that "have no point in your carrear etc..."Sp i would very much enjoy hearing your thoughts on this thx guys.
Posted by: Christiancadet

Re: BIG CHOICE Help - 12/05/04 06:42 PM

Go to college.
Posted by: Anonymous

Re: BIG CHOICE Help - 12/05/04 08:26 PM

I agree go to college

scott
Posted by: Anonymous

Re: BIG CHOICE Help - 12/05/04 10:05 PM

Definitely, go to college.

While in college, train with a martial arts group that's either off or on campus, depending on your college. During the summer, go to China for Shaolin if you want. But just so you know, the MA schools in China are very traditional and very hard. If you like it, try to go every summer. And after you graduate college, make ur decision whether u want to go there and learn and get a job in China.

If you don't go to college, there's no way you can get a paying job that would pay for your living expenses and tuition in China. Can't have your parents paying everything, can u? Hope this helps! Good luck in college and future MA endeavors!
Posted by: Anonymous

Re: BIG CHOICE Help - 12/05/04 10:51 PM

You're not necessarily going to get a better martial arts education in China. The Shaolin temple, as it existed during imperial China, no longer exists now. What's there now is essentially a PRC government sponsored tourist locale. Most of what's taught in the area is modern Wushu rather than the traditional Shaolin material. Any traditional ( as in non-Wushu ) material you do learn will probably be from the Jing Wu Men basic forms or from the basic Hong Quan syllabus. A number of styles have in fact gone extinct in China, and are taught only in Hong Kong, Taiwan, or the USA/Canada. Basically, what's at Shaolin now is impressive, but it's not what it's made out to be.
Posted by: Anonymous

Re: BIG CHOICE Help - 12/05/04 11:04 PM

I wanted to be the best martial artist in the world when I was your age and had extreme ideas that were detrimental to a realistic career.

I'd recommend going to college and enrolling in a martial arts school nearby. Most colleges have a Karate club or something similar so you could take it for free. That way you could train in martial arts and not piss off your parents.

I am getting to go to Japan soon thanks to the Navy so I'll damn sure try to train there.
Posted by: Anonymous

Re: BIG CHOICE Help - 12/06/04 05:16 AM

http://www.shaolins.com/ tell me wut u think about this place.
Posted by: JohnL

Re: BIG CHOICE Help - 12/06/04 08:48 AM

Enjoy school, go to college.

JohnL
Posted by: Anonymous

Re: BIG CHOICE Help - 12/06/04 09:29 AM

I'm sorry to tell you, but Mom's right on this one. I got some of my best training when I went to VA Tech. As for reason's in training at temple, let me ask you this question. Are you a Buddhist or want to become one? You can learn good Kung Fu without accepting this faith, but cannot be Shaolin Monk without being of this faith. If you want the faith with the arts there are Shaolin type monastaries and schools in the US--most notably one located in Manhattan name Shaolin USA. There is another live in school in Florida. I understand and share you love for the Martial Arts but remember you have a life to live. You are young and idealistic (nothing bad about that) but sometimes it clouds your judgement. Take it from an old guy who's made his share of mistakes. Also consider career fields where your training could be used such as Homeland Security, lawenforcement/corrections, military, or personal protection. Mom may not approve of some but at 18 you do become your own person. Just remember you have to live with the choices you make and they do affect the ones you love.
Posted by: Anonymous

Re: BIG CHOICE Help - 12/06/04 10:30 AM

tkdrosenthal,
Here is a link that might help you and your folks out.
http://ejmas.com/jalt/jaltart_svinth_1102.html

(Summary from the site)

Depending on your goals, a college education can go hand in hand with martial arts training. Choosing an accredited institution may be necessary if you want others to accept your education credentials with little or no hesitation, but unaccredited institutions should not be dismissed out-of-hand.

To make the most of your program, you must take charge of your learning and your program. Whether you choose an accredited or unaccredited institution, choosing the right classes and instructors will greatly enhance your learning experience. To accomplish this, it is recommended that you sit down with a faculty advisor and design your own curriculum, as in this way, pen and sword can be in accord.

oldman
Posted by: Anonymous

Re: BIG CHOICE Help - 12/06/04 11:12 AM

The curriculum is real enough. It's all old school non-Wushu as far as I can tell. But the amount of material being taught is iffy. They're going to teach you something like 30 forms in the first year, how much time does that leave for basics, forms analysis, and fighting theory? If you just want to know a lot of Chinese martial arts forms, you can buy a stack of VCDs for a lot less money. There are also a number of ex-Shaolin monks who have set up schools in the US, and I think one in Europe. If you want to learn to be an effective fighter, you're really better off staying in the western world as Chinese martial arts have mostly been left out of the loop in terms of the recent evolution of combat. Another point. You're going to be learning Shaolin representative form versions of entire systems, such as Baji, Pigua, and Seven Star Mantis ( which has 30+ forms in its curriculum ). You're essentially getting travel-sized sampler pack tastings of a number of very different styles, with very different fighting theories. How are you going to reconcile them and incorporate them into your own fighting theory?

I'm not going to tell you to go to college instead. Everyone needs to make their own way in life. But make choices after analyzing what you really want from your martial arts study. Being totally obsessed with martial arts and wanting to "be the best" isn't a good enough answer.

[This message has been edited by KylejustKyle (edited 12-06-2004).]
Posted by: Anonymous

Re: BIG CHOICE Help - 12/06/04 06:57 PM

i want to learn shaolin kung-fu in a very serios way, and weapons, because my taekwondo school has no time for weapons (hardly any) even in black belt classes, so i have to use these stupid videos, ....but wut it be also ok if i go there for 3 years then maybe become an acupunctureist? do they make any $$$?
Posted by: Anonymous

Re: BIG CHOICE Help - 12/06/04 08:52 PM

haha, u might traumatize your patients. Hehe, just kidding. Well, like Kyle said, you will be making your own decisions. If you think this is what you want to do, then keep this dream stacked somewhere. This way, you will be always looking for opportunities. When it's time to make the decision for real, you can see if you still want to do it. You may be surprised, one or two years can make the difference.
Posted by: Anonymous

Re: BIG CHOICE Help - 12/06/04 09:16 PM

keep posting with your thoughts guys..thankx
Posted by: Anonymous

Re: BIG CHOICE Help - 12/07/04 05:18 AM

As far as I know, acupuncturists generally don't make enough money to do just that full time. They usually supplement with eastern medicine practice or instruction in martial arts or yoga.

I'm still trying to figure out what you want out of your martial arts study, and how this fits into that. It seems to me like what you really want is to be part of what you perceive to be a great and somewhat mystical tradition that most westerners don't have access to. Am I getting close?
Posted by: Anonymous

Re: BIG CHOICE Help - 12/07/04 05:21 AM

something like that i would presume, but i just want to learn wide variety and maybe have my carrear related to M.A., maybe acupucuturist, maybe protection...hopefully actor.
Posted by: Anonymous

Re: BIG CHOICE Help - 12/07/04 08:19 AM

aha!
You see? You actually have a wide variety of interests, not strictly go somewhere and learn one art for the rest of your life. I would suggest to widen your choices and look at every possibility before you settle on the ONE. Good Luck!
Posted by: Anonymous

Re: BIG CHOICE Help - 12/07/04 10:47 AM

I may sound like a small child (I am the opposite) but i say go to the martial arts temple in china.

I mean when it comes down to it does money make you happy? some may say yes, but the truth is no. You can still go to school afterwards. and you cant tell me that training discipline with shaoilin monks for three years would not look spectacular on your resume.

also if you get along great with the people at the shaolin temple you could use them as a refrence.

But as for me, well i would have rather moved to japan than going to coledge...
Posted by: Anonymous

Re: BIG CHOICE Help - 12/07/04 11:19 AM

Training Shaolin in China isn't the optimal way to get at the careers you want. For acupuncture, you're better off staying in the west and finding an accredited acupuncture school. For protection service, you're still better off staying in the west and crosstraining. Crosstraining's where it's at right now for complete combative martial artists, and if you want to be effective at protection you want to be complete. There's much more to protection services than just unarmed combat though, there are specialized schools that teach such skills. You could start off by joining the armed forces. With acting, it's more about your screen charm and acting abilites than your martial arts abilities. Martial arts movies seem to be well on the way out too, or at least well on the way to the bottom rack in direct to video. Regardless, modern Wushu might be more benificial than Shaolin in this case because Wushu would teach you to do more difficult and more visually impressive acrobatic techniques.

There is one profession you did not mention which would make more sense. Martial arts instructor, specifically of the Shaolin styles. But then we get to why you want to teach Shaolin and not any other styles, and why not learn from the monks already in the west.

If you want to learn a wide variety, stay in the west. There are more opportunities for exposure to different styles, and there's more interaction between different stylists ( like here ). Going to Asia is for people who want to specialize.
Posted by: Anonymous

Re: BIG CHOICE Help - 12/07/04 11:35 AM

tkdrosenthal, you say you have a long time to finish school ... wait till you finish to make that decision. Maybe you will change your mind by then or maybe it will be more re-enforced.

My parents wanted me to go to university when I finished school to get a good education to get a good job. I opted to work a couple of years that now are a life time. At 36 I look back and wonder if I made the right choices but then I look at many of my friends that went to university/college/trade schools and many of them are making less then I am and like their jobs less. Who made the right choice?

If you were a top athlete with the opportunity to make millions, would your parents still make you go to school first? That opportunity may not be there later.

When you are done school you will have matured with a lot more maturing to do along the way (never ending). YOU will have to make the right choices for yourself because only you can live your life. If you make wrong choices then you learn from these, which help develop you as a person.

Not to disrespect your parents or any others for that matter as I am one myself, but how can they determine what is useless? I know they are looking out for your best interest, and as an adult we want our children to do better then ourselves ... BUT we all have to travel our own path. If you choose your own path this might benefit you greater then going to school right a way. It may give you focus and ambition, not to mention self fulfillment.

School will always be there ... I myself went back in my late 20's to take Marketing to better myself. I wasn't ready to make this type of commitment when I finished school ... just like I wasn't ready to join a martial art until I did in 2002. There is a time and place for everything.
Posted by: Anonymous

Re: BIG CHOICE Help - 12/07/04 12:50 PM

you have heard our points of view, now lets hear yours
Posted by: Anonymous

Re: BIG CHOICE Help - 12/07/04 05:13 PM

Im 28 and sort of messed up my life, BUT, in a way I havent. Ok, so not everyones life is straight forward, but Ive been to college and university and all that jazz. I would suggest going to college purely cos its only 2 years of your life. After that do what you feel cos you will have a good basis to do what you need to do in life.

The only problem you will have is experience and qualifications. Thats it! Some jobs require experience, others require fancy pants qualifications to get into high paid jobs, but once you have been to college it should give you the avenues that allow you to continue on at a later date.

Never close doors before yourself, always get to the stage where you can come back.

If you are gifted in MA then your parents would see it and you would prolly be a 2nd degree in something and cool at trickz and all that stuff. IF you are at that level then I can see the attraction of studying MA at a MA academy full time. However, from what I can work out, you are only about 14 or 15 so be a kid and enjoy yourself. You have no idea the pain in the ass it is to be a grown up pal. I never did at your age, but I have loans, bills, cars, girls, friends, friends kids and all that to cater for now out of my budget. Do your MA, be a kid and smile and shut up! Know your place!! hehe

Dont cut your nose off to spite your face (a proper british saying)

Regards

Scott
Posted by: Anonymous

Re: BIG CHOICE Help - 12/07/04 05:26 PM

OK so youre 12, its 12:20am and i got work wiv 1600 of you kids tomorrow. Please dont yell at me!

Most boys your age at my school are either into girls (snogging and dating and talking dirty), looking for rude pics on google, farting uncontrollably, talking about football (soccer) or into cartoons and collecting them silly yu-gi-oh cards or whateva they are.

What the hell r u stressing about. Gees man, if you were at my school I would sit u in my office and chill u out man. Ur in the states, not darn Malaysia. Go watch an episode of spongejob nopants and be a kid!

Scott
Posted by: Anonymous

Re: BIG CHOICE Help - 12/07/04 09:34 PM

umm ok guys let me tell you this..im 12, but as you can see most of u thought im like 15 or somewhere around that. Well im not into "farting and looking at google, and talking dirty to girls" (well maybe a little [IMG]http://www.fightingarts.com/forums/ubb/smile.gif[/IMG] ) I am soon going to get my 2nd degree that i did earn and not given to despite my age, so dont start commenting about how young he is and how stupid he is, and he shouldnt deserve that cuz i hear it everywhere. well, im not sure, i think i want to go, but its so darn hard to decide, crap, keep posting guys!.
Posted by: Anonymous

Re: BIG CHOICE Help - 12/07/04 09:47 PM

I read the website you gave me and it looked so good i am considering going! in my view...
In the end all we are left with is our experiences and memories. Shatered dreams or not, when it comes down to it money does not decide your success. so what, you get rich. that last 1 life time, but i have heard that knowledge and wisdom carrie on. can you take money to the afterlife or next life? (whichever you belive) no, no you cant, but whaen it comes down to it which is more important? money or experience?
Posted by: Anonymous

Re: BIG CHOICE Help - 12/08/04 03:01 PM

tkdrosenthal, hugs, at no stage would I ever call you stupid ok. I work with kids ur age every day, and ok some do some silly things but on the whole you are 12 and thats ur job.

As for asking what we think, well, Im 28 so with regards to what I want to do, Im free pal, Im not 12 and have the advantage of banks chucking me money left right and center.

As for what I want to get out of TKD, well, I left 2 years ago cos of my job. I got a job in a scool some 20 miles away from my house so I jacked in TKD (stupidly) and became very depressed from withdrawal symptoms. I went to my academys show the other week and seen the guy I trained with. We were both the same belt, graded on the same day etc... and in the show he got his 2nd degree. How gutted am I now? Very and totally cheesed off but hey, I wake up every day wanting to goto work cos I work wiv kids and every day is different. He doesnt and he could have a pants job.

You are going to get some VERY different opinions on here. You are going to get the "live for the moment" people who say "go to China and do your thing" and then you are going to get ppl who say "goto college and get a proper education". I say goto college and give yourself options. 2 years of your life pal, just 2 years and you will have options that could give you what you want. Im not gonna bust ur balls over this cos i dont wanna get on ur tits but I wanted to be a car designer when i was your age cos i was good at drawing and designing. Im now teaching kids from 11 to 19 ICT. Things change in a few years pal.

Oh..and one more thing...dont burn yourself out mentally and physically. Burnout is the single worst thing I suffer from. Dont stress over things and dont try so hard that you make TKD boring.

hugs pal, hope I havent said anything too bad, but one thing you will always need in life is money and its nice to have options open to earn it. The best thing you can have in life is an open mind and choices.

Scott
Posted by: Anonymous

Re: BIG CHOICE Help - 12/08/04 03:11 PM

Oh yea, the reason I do TKD is (cos I sort of went off on a tangent and missed the point) cos of flexibility, endurance and ultimately I want to do tricks and stuff. TKD in itself is good, very good, but tricks and stuff look cool. I did the same on my mountain bike. I spent months and months (and I mean hours and hours a day, not 6 or 7 hours, Im talking best part of 10 to 16 hours) learning to do tricks and stunts on my bike. It took a while but I got there and I felt so good when I could do stuff. I want to do the same with TKD. I went back a month ago cos I want to take it to another level. When Ive chucked all the kids out of Computer Club I go down to the school gym and do stuff cos its free and I have all the stuff down there, trampoline, mats, ropes, you name it. The only thing that could stop me is injuries, but they never stopped me on my mountain bike, and believe me they hurt on that. Falling off a wall on a mountain bike hurts!!

Soz, but after reading what I put I realised I missed the point.

Scott
Posted by: Anonymous

Re: BIG CHOICE Help - 12/08/04 07:54 PM

ummm what is with you guys and saying that colledge is only 2 years? im talking about majoring in something, but what could take me 2 years?
Posted by: Anonymous

Re: BIG CHOICE Help - 12/08/04 08:11 PM

I'm not sure what you can accomplish in 2 years but I had a friend who finished Florida State with BS in business management in 3 years, finished a MBA at VA Tech in 1 year, and a JD (law) degree in 2 years at George Mason. All that in 6 years. HIs wife got here BS in 3 yrs, MS in 1.5 years, and PhD in 2 years. I know some who take 6 years just to complete what they should in 4. Now this is talking about traditional colleges. There are accelerated programs and more on-line/off-campus options to students today. Like your martial arts training, you will have to find your own way and I wish you well. Even if college is 5 or 6 years off for you it's going to get here before you know it and the sooner you know what you are going to do, the better off you'll be.
Posted by: Anonymous

Re: BIG CHOICE Help - 12/10/04 06:35 PM

you're twelve, man. Listen to your mother. I'm a lot older than you and I still listen to my mother. Mothers are always right.

Besides, by the time you finish high school, you ought to have some idea what your going to do for a living, you're probably going to have a girlfriend... your mind will have matured far beyond where it is now (I know you don't believe that because your a kid, but trust me ok?)

at the very least, wait it out until senior year. by that point you'll know, and either way, no one can stop you.

and why is this in the Tae Kwon Do section and not "Martial Arts"?

[This message has been edited by Drew the Pirate (edited 12-10-2004).]
Posted by: Anonymous

Re: BIG CHOICE Help - 12/11/04 02:09 PM

cos hes 12 and lives for Tae. You wait till his hormones start raging, and my god, the attitude (woteva). A 2nd dan with attitude, thats like a gunman on E's.

I just hope he dont get a nasty injury cos its gonna put him out for a long time and he will need counselling for the withdrawal symptoms.

I dont think you should go. Kids should grow up as kids else they are gonna miss out on the most fun and important part of their life. Believe me, once you get to about 18 you are gonna WISH that you had more fun when you were a kid. Enjoy your allowance and playing out wiv your mates / GF.

As for the 2 years in college, im from UK and here we have school, college and university. I think you are on about university which is a BIG thing, expensive, but fun cos you are legal to do just about anything. Its the only time in your life when you can get pissed before a boring lecture and fall asleep in seminars.

Peace and Respect

Scott
Posted by: Anonymous

Re: BIG CHOICE Help - 12/12/04 02:39 PM

Chill.

You've got 5 years to think about this. FIVE YEARS!!! (Or at least 4.) Keep your options open - that doesn't have to interfere with goals.

If you're into learning a new style why not start now? It might be worth it before you make this decision to go off to China - it is possible, you know, that you'll hate it.

Settle down and live your life now. This issue will truly work itself out when it's time to really think about it.