acrobatic martial arts (xma) lessons??

Question

Hey guys,
I'm currently taking tae-kwon-do lessons, and ill be getting my black belt shortly
and once thats done, I was hoping to extend my boundaries and take some xma (xtreme martial arts) lessons, or just some acrobatic martial arts lessons in general
you know, learn the front flip, back flip, misty flip, 360, barrel roll, butter fly twist, etc etc etc the whole shebang

the problem is i live in League City, a small city really close to Houston TX
and i have no idea where to start or what to look for
I've searched online, but no luck
any suggestions on where i should start looking for classes??

Answer 1

Since you're nearing black belt status in your discipline of choice, you surely understand that what you seek serves no real martial application. Another answerer was a little more blunt than I would have been in saying so, but I will use the cliche' "Flash is Trash". This is with regard to martial application, but will surely win big points in forms demonstrations. There is absolutely nothing wrong with this if this is your goal.

Beyond that, I agree with some others as well. Look into gymnastics, wushu, and even Capoeria. You will likely be able to accomplish what you seek simply by combining your already acquired skills with some gymnastics.

Good luck in your training.

Answer 2

capoeira beyond a shadow of a doubt. Capoeira is a game of martial art using many elements of dance and acrobatics. In just a few months you learn to do various cartwheels and handstands. Further on down the road you even get into any kind of flip you can imagine. Front, back side ways, screw,... you learn to use and bend your body in ways you believe to be impossible at first. Some people wonder what the use of this kind of stuff is within martial art but training this stuff seriously works the muscles. Which can only benefit your skill speed and strength

Answer 3

Why not take a class in tumbling first. They will teach you some of these things as well as develop your balance, strength, and understanding. Some martial arts schools have demo teams or students that compete in open kata and open weapons divisions on the NASKA and NBL national circuits. Check out those schools first and see where those students get their training. Many come from a gymnastics or tumbling background or have a gymnastics or tumbling coach that they also get lessons from. Some schools at the same time take an approach that I have taken since 1993. That is that the muscles, athleticism, balance, and coordination that those things take are also great for enhancing ones martial arts skills. We occasionally work on some in the regular class to break the boredom of training and at the same time push students to a higher level and I have a special class twice a week just for this sort of training. None of it is required for testing or promotions and it makes for a better student but it also takes time and practice to develop those kind of things as well as an understanding of them.

Answer 4

If you want to pursue this dream you may need to move elsewhere. A good place to start is free running or Parkour.The following link has some how to's and some resources that may be of help http://www.urbanfreeflow.com/fundamentals/fundamentals.htm and possibly gymnastics. It sounds like you have the martial arts part taken care of already. You can also research Tony Jaa and Jackie Chan. And get an idea of the path taken by these two. It seems the Orient might be a good place to look into.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HpQvQ0Gvq4U

Answer 5

How about starting with Houston's yellow pages under martial arts or gymnastics? How far are you willing to travel and how often for these classes?
I applaud you wanting to extend your MA knowledge. How about trying something totally different from TKD but would be useful such as ju-jitsu or judo?

Answer 6

If you can’t find an XMA program in your area (usually found in TKD schools) I would suggest looking into the Shaolin school in the greater Houston area or joining the Capoeira group there both can complement your taining.

Answer 7

If your really into acrobatic stuff but still wanna have that kool martial art flavor to it i highly recommend you to talk Wushu kung fu, it looks very pretty! haha

Answer 8

take some gymnastics classes they do flips etc there

Answer 9

Xma? Are you serious.......? That should be a good way to impress your opponent before he kills you.