Martial Arts Blog
Here we aim to bring you martial arts news and articles from around the web, especially the more whacky and weird aspects. We will also post blogs here from the Bear Martial Arts team, and also from you guys.
If you fancy writing a blog or posting an article, please email team@bearmartialarts.com your article and we will publish it on our site. You'll get full credit for your article, and we will even promote your own website / blog if you have one :)
Please note that any articles which are offensive, or are deemed inappropriate, will not be approved for publication.
Think You Should Be In The Movies? Then Apply!
Intense Productions Ltd have contacted us here at Bear Martial Arts, asking us to forward on their news that they are looking for people with martial arts training to appear in a new British film.....
The film we are producing is a unique fusion of Action, Horror, Martial Arts and Zombies from Writer and Director Chee Keong Cheung and Actor, Producer and Martial Artist, Mark Strange.
Chee directed the independent action/ tournament film '12' (aka 'Underground') which starred Mark Strange and the action/ thriller 'Bodyguard: A New Beginning' starring Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa ('Mortal Kombat') with members of the Jackie Chan stunt team handling the fight sequences. Mark has previously collaborated with Jackie Chan and Donnie Yen in Hong Kong and has also appeared in Christopher Nolan's 'Batman Begins'.We are contacting you in search of people to be in our next film who hav martial arts training to appear as Zombies or as Civilians in various scenes throughout. We are looking for over 600 people with some form of martial arts training and at least 100 people who have expert abilities to be at the forefront of the scenes.We will also be looking for talent with tricking ability although this is not a necessity.We will be filming throughout the UK in various locations such as city streets, bridges, warehouses and a quarry.We are due to hold castings next month and would love to really find the next big thing in the Martial Arts world.Please note, these roles are expenses only but will be a great experience for your members to showcase their talents on screen and to a worldwide audience.If you are interested in being part of this film and receiving further details - please initially email Phillip at Intense Productions Ltd an online show reel of your fighting abilities and a head shot. (No previous acting or screen fighting experience is required).Good luck!Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Are Back!
Released on May 16th 2014 (in the USA, dates will vary around the world), a brand new instalment of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is going to hit the big screen.
Directed by Jonathan Liebesman, produced by Michael Bay and staring Megan Fox (as April O'Neil), this latest instalment, many years after the last film (1991), it's sure to be making a big attempt at becoming a summer blockbuster.
The official trailer can be found on YouTube here.
The film looks set to divide opinion, especially amongst the original fan base, as Bay / Liebesman have changed a great deal from the original books and older films. But whatever the changes, it looks like it'll be an action packed martial arts blockbuster.
For those of you who were maybe too young to have seen the original films or read the books when the franchise first became popular, here is a brief bio of the 4 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles:
Leonardo
Mask Colour: Blue
Weapon of Choice: Ninjakens
Notes: Leader of the group, oldest of the group, master tactician, and most devoted of the 4 to the martial arts.
Raphael
Mask Colour: Red
Weapon of Choice: Sai
Notes: The group's "bad boy", Raphael is physically strong, has an aggressive nature, and seldom hesitates to throw the first punch.
Donatello
Mask Colour: Purple
Weapon of Choice: Bo Staff
Notes: The most intelligent of the group, known for his inventions and technological prowess. The least violent of the 4, he's the most likely to try and resolve conflict without aggression, but will still defend his brothers when needed.
Michelangelo
Mask Colour: Orange
Weapon of Choice: Nunchakus
Notes: The most comical of the group, and depicted in the books and early films as being obsessed with pizza. He's the youngest and most relaxed of the 4, and in the older films was given a "surfer dude" image. From the new trailer it appears that Michelangelo will again provide the comic relief in the new film.
The Perfect Martial Arts Combo
It's quite normal these days for people to train in more than one style of martial arts. Some people like to train in many similar styles (learning more than one Kung Fu animal style for example) and some people like total diversity (one from China, one from Japan, one from Korea etc).
Depending on how much time you have, you might train in 2 or 3 styles (or maybe even more if you are really keen / mad), so we thought that this morning we would look at what the best combinations would be, to make you the most complete martial artist possible.
Two Martial Arts
If you have time for 2 martial arts then it's important to get 2 arts that complement each other enough to be effective, but are different enough that they give you a bit of everything.
A good starting place is to have 1 martial art that is a physical, fighting martial art that concentrates on throwing, locking and ground work. There are many of these, namely:
- Japanese Ju Jitsu
- Brazilian Jiu Jitsu
- Judo
- Aikido
- Krav Maga
- Hapkido
Once you have a ground fighting martial art, the best way to compliment it is with a mainly striking martial art. Again, there are many to choose from, the main ones being:
- Karate
- Taekwondo
- Muay Thai
- Capoeira
- Kung Fu
We reckon that if you chose one from each list, and trained in both regularly, you would be a formidable martial artist in no time at all.
Three Martial Arts
If you have a bit more time on your hands, or if martial arts really is your thing, then you might want to train in 3 different martial arts all at once.
One split which people like to do is to choose 3 martial arts from 3 different parts of the world. Some of the best combos for this are as follows:
- Japanese Ju Jitsu / Kung Fu / Taekwondo
- Brazilian Jiu Jitsu / Karate / Capoeira
- Aikdio / Muay Thai / Krav Maga
As I'm sure you can work out the list of possible combinations is long, and getting the right mix could really turn you into a great martial artist.
Another approach is to try and find 3 martial arts that give you an overall skill set that covers everything.
The classic ground fighting martial arts are a good place to start. The ground fighting martial arts also throw-in throws and locks for good measure.
- Brazilian Jiu Jitsu
- Japanese Jiu Jitsu
- Aikido
- Judo
- Hapkido
The next block from which one should be picked is the martial arts that concentrate on striking:
- Karate
- Taekwondo
- Muay Thai
Finally, there are "the rest". Lots of martial arts have a mixture of grappling-style and striking-style techniques, and picking one of them to give you a bit more of each area wouldn't be a bad way to complete your set of 3:
- Kung Fu (any animal style)
- Krav Maga
- Capoeira
Training in any combination of martial arts, using our tips above or not (for example training in Judo, Japanese Ju Jitsu and Aikido would go completely against the above) is going to make you a better martial artist. The additional training, and the different perspectives of each art and their instructors will only add to your perspective and skill set.
And besides, how can you tell anyone that your martial art is the best without trying them all first?
