Anyone else actively training Martial Arts with hopes of 'going pro' ?

[Asakawa]

Hi!

Just wondering if there is anyone else out there, like me who is trans, actively training martial arts with hopes of 'going pro' at some point? What I meant by that is taking martial arts and participating in tournament style competition in whatever Martial Art sport it is that you are doing? For me I would love to do some Taekwondo Style or Karate Style Tournaments, but one of my instructors says that I would be wasting my time and that I should do 'MMA', but I have no ground techniques to survive a take down or ground encounter, so I think he is a little nuts. I think I would prefer to do point style sparring over full contact knock out because I really derive no joy from beating people senseless! That and other things have made me want to shift toward BJJ and have been looking into doing the transition to that. I've practiced Muay Thai for about 3 years, and Taekwondo for about 2 or 3 years or so. Recently I took up Capoeira and Shotokan Karate. I also have done Aikido for about 2 and a half years, Aikikai Ueshiba style, and recently made a move to Shodokan Aikido, Tomiki Kenji style, mainly because I found it to be really interesting since they offer tournament style competitions. I've also dabbed and dwelled in a whole spectrum of martial arts, but I see no point in mentioning them .

Anyone else out there doing the same?  Any BJJ black belts out there? I would love to learn 10th Planet BJJ!

I hope I placed this at the right spot.

[Harley Quinn]

I don't have any aspirations of Pro. I took Aikido and Brazilian Jujitsu in college. It was a lot of fun, but competition is brutal.

[MollyPants]

I practice Kuk Sool Won but I have no plans on going pro. I like how it helps me keep my body toned and fit and healthy

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[SonadoraXVX]

Hello,
Cool, keep us posted, never know, you may turn out to be another Fallon Fox. I plan on taking GJJ(Gracie Jiu Jitsu), just the blue belt.

Keep us posted, Fallon Fox did it, go pro.

[Gertrude]

Took aikido for a year years ago. I love it, but it really should be paired with something more pragmatic like Krav Maga or boxing. Boxing has the benefit of learning to take a hit or more. A lot of martial arts types don't do well in the square circle because of that. BFT used to work for me, which really is by any means necessary. I think traditional wrestling would be a good skill. Look up gene LeBell.


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[Asakawa]

Hi all,

Thanks for all the replies! Nice to see 1 other person who is also training in martial arts currently . Does not make me feel so alone. I'm wondering if there are any others out there? I did know Fallon Fox and it was nice to see someone out there trying her best. The only thing is that in my case I don't have plans for SRS, so if I were to do anything it would have to be in the male division (I'd Guess?). Gertrude you mentioned BFT, what is BFT? Wrestling is great in MMA, but i'm already taking so many martial arts that it would just not be possible to do BJJ and Wrestling. I think BJJ would provide a bigger benefit, maybe, specially if you can get really good at it. What I noticed is that wrestlers in the UFC seem to take position and beat their opponents down to win, while BJJ players aim for a submission most of the time. I'd prefer the latter  just because I'm not fond of beating people down which means I should probably start investing a lot of time into BJJ. I actually did not realize this until I started to spar in my striking based martial arts. Point based competition is definitely doable, but KO based competition I just would not do very good at I feel.

Sona It is nice to see someone else that is going into BJJ! Keep us posted too! I'd love to know how it works out for you.

I've never herd of Kuk Sool Won before, but I have herd of Tang Soo Do. I did spar someoen who knew Tang Soo Do a few times and he had really nice kicks . Does Kuk Sool Won also utilize a lot of kicking?

[jfong]

I also do martial arts called wing chun, but my intention was just for self defense if and when I need it. I have no intention of going into tournament nor competition, something that doesn't  require a lot of brute strength since I know my strength will decrease with HRT. I transitioned while learning the art, my sifu (sensei/master whatever you call them) is very accepting.

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[SonadoraXVX]

I most certainly will. For the GJJ, which I think its a little bit different than BJJ, its that per GJJ, by the time you get your blue belt(online by video submission to the Gracie Academy), you should be able to do street self defense, which is my ultimate goal. My standup is really a potpourri, some USMC based combatives and, and at the very least for ground fighting, just 5 basic moves. GJJ lets no one beyond blue belt get their belt online, just too labor intensive. I may end up going to the Gracie Academy, since I have no one to spar with(its only 10 miles from my home).
Also  techniques for long hair since I do have long hair, which my best military buddy jokes too me, is my downfall and strength(does not know I'm on hrt), for those people with long hair, we need defense against long hair grabs/manipulations out in the real world.

I respect the octagon/ring/competition, in sparring, since I feel its at least from 50% to 65% reality based, the 65% slanting towards MMA/Vale Tudo(with the exception of going for the eyes, throat, groin, shins or biting, not to mention opportunistic weapons found on the street/environment/carried).

[Asakawa]

My intention for learning martial arts was and still is for self defense. The reason I actually started martial arts in the first place was because a roommate under drug influence almost triggered a fight and I was going to get drawn into it. I knew at the time that it would not have gone well for me at all. About an hour afterwards I felt that I needed to know some sort of self defense to protect myself and others hopefully others. This was around 4 years into HRT and my Testosterone was between 5 and 10 ng/dl. Prior to that I was never physically active and had never done sports other than P.E. class at school which I was not good at. Interestingly I grew to like martial arts a lot which is why I guess I am doing so many now.

It looks like I am the only one doing more than a single martial art? I hope more people that do martial arts drop in and say hello. I was hoping to find a transgender martial art circle to feel more at home. It is nice to practice with people, but I have not found any other transgender friend in person, other than 1 FTM through a kendo forum many years ago (and now the girls here), since I started to take martial arts. That or maybe they were full stealth! I think I have moved around martial art circles enough to at least see a wide variety of people. It is a little bit of a bummer .

Thanks everyone for writing. My mom loves wing chun. She doesn't practice any martial arts, but loves the flow and movements in Wing Chun. I would love to practice it, but I am already so stuffed with other arts that it just wouldn't work out.

Sona is the gracie academy expensive?

[SonadoraXVX]

Its about $160.00 a month in Torrance, not including $200 for their white gi(I already got my own plain white judo gi), 12 month contract(from what I was told by a 3rd party/auto deduct), $200 early penalty contract break. It takes about 12 months to get your blue belt in GJJ. I really want to do it, but I got a chronic skin cancer, which I have to wait for it to clear up. I know a potpourri of martial arts/combatives, but I don't really like the ritualized martial arts(even though my best friend says every self defense curriculum is ritualized to a degree, I get it). I like the realistic applicable types, like GJJ and Muay Thai, but do know Paul Vunak's RAT. My best friend(military buddy), does Danzan Ryu Jujitsu(DZR) in Honolulu, Hi, been doing it for the past 3 years, already has his yellow/orange belt?

I also got into it because of  bully neighbors, got into combatives and a more inclusive global self-defense philosophy, involving military and police science, within the past 10 years, right before hrt in 2010, when I first bought my house in South L.A. Note: I also have a background in police/military science(USMC MP), so...

Just to keep the thread going...its good to know self defense/martial arts, to since we can be a target as tg's.

[Gertrude]

BFT is blunt force trauma.


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[GwenFTW]

I run a martial arts club.  It's a HEMA club or historical European martial arts.

[Asakawa]

I run a martial arts club.  It's a HEMA club or historical European martial arts.

Oh nice! I used to train German Longsword with Shay Roberts at the Academy of Arms at Burbank CA.  I trained with them for about 2 years and a half or so. It was really fun and the school was pretty organized with a full curriculum that resets every number of months in the year. I shifted my focus a little bit later from that into Fencing at College unfortunately that did not get anywhere and I trained at college for like 6 semesters of something. The class only being held on fall and Spring. Fencing was pretty fun like German Longsword, but more competitions. I also visited Kron around the same time I was looking into HEMA, but at the time The academy of arms was more organized, so I stayed with them. Great to see someone else doing weapons martial arts .

http://www.academyofarms.com/

[V M]

I got picked on alot in school so my stepfather began teaching me the Taekwondo and Jujitsu he'd learned in the army

I then started delving into other forms like Shotokan Karate etc. and went through some intensive training for urban combat and so forth 

Never considered participating in competitions but some of my friends did, some have even landed parts in a few films and/or trained various actors for films - I thought that was pretty cool and kinda wish I'd gotten into that end of it

I still go through some of my exercises but that's pretty much all it is for me anymore... Exersise

I wish you all the best in your endeavors 

[Asakawa]

I got picked on alot in school so my stepfather began teaching me the Taekwondo and Jujitsu he'd learned in the army

I then started delving into other forms like Shotokan Karate etc. and went through some intensive training for urban combat and so forth 

Never considered participating in competitions but some of my friends did, some have even landed parts in a few films and/or trained various actors for films - I thought that was pretty cool and kinda wish I'd gotten into that end of it

I still go through some of my exercises but that's pretty much all it is for me anymore... Exersise

I wish you all the best in your endeavors

That is great! With all of your extensive martial arts training you could do good! Right now Yoel Romero is 40 and he is going to fight the current middle weight champion for the belt. So up to that age should still be a good time. Normally is you have a ground game and striking then you are a good candidate

[Cassi]

[GwenFTW]

Oh nice! I used to train German Longsword with Shay Roberts at the Academy of Arms at Burbank CA.  I trained with them for about 2 years and a half or so. It was really fun and the school was pretty organized with a full curriculum that resets every number of months in the year. I shifted my focus a little bit later from that into Fencing at College unfortunately that did not get anywhere and I trained at college for like 6 semesters of something. The class only being held on fall and Spring. Fencing was pretty fun like German Longsword, but more competitions. I also visited Kron around the same time I was looking into HEMA, but at the time The academy of arms was more organized, so I stayed with them. Great to see someone else doing weapons martial arts .

http://www.academyofarms.com/

I started in 2007.  So, I'm in a bit deep.  Lol

Yeah, I know a lot of guys in Kron (LA, Fullerton, and South Coast).  Kron is way more connected to the larger HEMA scene worldwide, and they do more competitive stuff.  You should check out SoCal Swordfight.  Shay is a bit over zealous when it comes to safety for my preferences, but everyone likes different things.  Is he still using the huge bobblehead mask covers?

Its awesome to find HEMA people in un expected places.

[Asakawa]

Cassi it was only a matter of time before someone posted that song

Yes, last I recall they were still using the large head mask covers. That or you could also opt for a real tuna can helmet . I think everyone preferred the metal option, but it was pretty steep in price so not many had it. There was a bit of a debate back on who could participate in dueling, so that was around the time when I stepped away for a while. I focused on Fencing and also did Kendo and Naginata, so that kept me pretty occupied for a while. I tried Iaido for about a year and a half, but it was really ritualized and could only take so much of that. Right now I just poke people in Shodokan Aikido and their tanto. I don't have enough time during the day to be able to do weapons martial arts and also the striking based martial arts that I am doing. Probably because just about all classes seem to have classes at the same time of the day on the same days.