Music and Martial Arts

[Gar23]

I just graduated with a four year degree in music and I've been doing kyokushin for since I was a kid, though due to family problems I was unable to continue training every couple years. I strongly feel that doing music alongside martial arts has helped me in each of these two arts. However I know that there is a limit that you can do one before you get too injured to do the other, or too afraid of injury.

Are there any other Musician Martial Artists here that have had both of these arts work for them?

-Gar

[powerof0ne]

I wish I could say I was a musician! My father has been playing the harmonica for over 30 years and is in a classic rock/blues cover band that performs a few local gigs a month(he's a hs/tech. school instructor for a living), but I never could never stick to an instrument long enough to consider myself a musician! I know the lead singer of Tool is a purple or a brown belt in Brazilian jiu jitsu under Royce Gracie.
However, I do believe that music helps, especially if you use it to develop your own rhythm when you fight. Learn to change your rhythm though because a smart fighter will learn it and adapt to it. I've fought people that were more athletic, faster, and hit harder then me, by all means should have been able to beat me but couldn't because they were too predictable and had no rhythm.
Sounds like you enjoy martial arts and definitely enjoy music. I guess that's what it comes down to, right? Doing what you enjoy.

[Bloke]

Seienchin needs to weigh in here.

[seienchin]

Why - thankyou for the kind invitation Bloke...I shall.

Osu Gar 23 ...Welcome to K4L... you might find this thread interesting!

http://www.kyokushin4life.com/forums...tial-arts.html

I cannot claim to have your degree of musical education or ability, but for me it has been a continuum of one to other and back again.

I play classical guitar now, and yes, I am much more protective of my hands. I noodled around a lot as a kid, earned a bit of money busking and gigging R&B as a uni student, and then didn't play much when I was going thru kyu grades, except to take my instrument along to social gatherings.

As I have gotten older, and a few injuries have caught up with me, I have found that really geting stuck into a difficult classical instrument has been a great outlet for that part of me that has been trained by Kyokushin to be constantly striving to improve. And I drive my music teacher to despair as I repeatedly try to explain why Classical Guitar is just like karate.

Like you, I find the concepts are complementary...I use rubato, accelerando, rall. and even the odd fermata in my kata (Oooh - that rhymes...fermata in kata).....and I have no doubt that my kata training has equipped me well for endless repetitions of difficult sections.

The biggest tension for me is nail length! I need my nails for playing, and I am supposed to cut them off for training....AAARGH. Lucky, I am a black-belt, and I can get away with keeping them on one hand and using an enclosed glove when I work with a partner.

If I was a professional musician, I would be much more concerned about injuries affecting the mobilty of my hands.

What do you play? Do you want this to be your profession? I think you can make it work, but you will need to just adapt some things. For example, if I had a professional muso in my dojo, I would have no objection to them wearing reasonably solid gloves in kumite, even in gradings. There are some things not worth risking. But being physically fit is important for all musicians, no matter the instrument, Sosai himself was of the opinion that Martial Artists should play an instrument. So don't let anyone tell you that you cannot do both.
osu - and welcome again!!!

[kyokugirl]

osu! although im not a professional musician i play the piano and the cello as a hobby alongside karate and i think it has helped with kata a lot! it has helped to get the different rhythms and not just make them robotic- i suppose its the same for fighting as well. our karate club does taiko drumming as well so im like yay music and karate! its been great! be careful of your fingers though especially with knuckle press ups. what do you play?
osu!

[Gar23]

I'm a double and electric bassist myself so i'm up to my neck in rhythm all the time. In fact, during class time I think some of the students who have a lesser sense of rhythm are always grating against my rhythm which makes doing 100 punch counts very irritating. Thankfully my instructor has a great sense of rhythm. I've been thinking of bringing my metronome for any classes where i assist in teaching, just to bring a new approach to training.

What I think has helped the most has been taking my musician training to kata. Whereas many students just go through motions, I try to keep every technique of a kata just as important as any other. I mean, when playing music you don't butcher the exposition and development just to say "Oh boy! Here comes the k theme!!" and that be it you know? Which i feel many people blow through kata just to get to the set of techiques they like. Yet,at the same time, Visualizing your where your techniques are aimed at during a kata has helped me get my audience into my head during every music practice session.

I'm one year out of college and so far i've had numerous hand injuries. None requiring any operations yet thankfully. I know some people who have plates in their hands from punching cinder. Guess i'll be fine as long as i stay away from that.

-Gar