humble monk

There is precious little in life that you learn by doing twice. If you got a job at McDonalds, you'd be given more than two days of training. Odds are pretty good you couldn't ride a bike on your second try. Give it time. Sometimes in the arts, things click for you when you aren't looking for it.

Thank you. I personally hate when new guys preface a statement with "Well, in my last school, we were taught...". If your last school had all the answers, why are you here?

I agree with doing as many trial lessons as possible. Other things to watch for:

1. Contracts- if you have a quality school, I don't see a need to lock you into it for a year.

2. NASCAR Gis- I also fail to see the need for stars, patches, stripes, silkscreening, and thunderbolts. Any of these by themselves is fine, but I've seen them all on one gi. A good McDojo indicator.

3. Badmouthing the competition- No need for this, a customer has free will, but I've seen it alot.

Now that you mention it, I've heard of lama styles and internal arts from there, but have never seen one anywhere, which is kind of odd.

I agree. I have seen forms that genuinely moved me, and since you will only see it one time performed in that way, it is a fleeting experience. Seen again, it will never be exactly the same.

Beyond that, MA is self expression at a high level. Nothing stops you from creating your own art tomorrow, and declaring it a legitimate style.

I would tend to agree, however easier said than done.

I heard somewhere that Evan Tanner, former UFC champ got his Jiu Jitsu from videos.

Good call, forgot that one.

I'm a big guy with short legs, and alot of core and upper body strength. I would have probably been an excellent wrestler or judo guy.

But I loved kicking. The concept of a kicking art fascinated me, so I went Korean. I had to work twice as hard to develop flexibility, I had to master timing to make up for my lack of speed, and after all that, I could hang with the tall, lanky guys who just looked to be built to kick.

So my question is, would the greater wisdom have been to go with an art better suited to my physique, and therefore perhaps been a greater artist in that style, or to go against nature, and strive to function in an art where every technique was stacked against my build? Your thoughts?

I tested for black by myself, a 3 hour affair. No breaks, except to adjust my uniform. Then 2 weeks to see if I passed. Good times.

To me, tournaments serve only to expose you to other schools and styles. I've made alot of friends at tourneys, and I've gotten robbed many times. I no longer attend, as my age bracket is thinner than the rest, and the last one I fought in combined upper, lower belts and mens/ womens. I was paired against a yellow belt while I was testing for black in a month, and my next would have been a woman who was very uncomfortable with the idea. I bowed out and was done at that point.

I agree the politics are visible nowhere moreso than tournaments.

And then there are the auto-knives. A weapon still banned in most of the U.S., due in most part to juvenile delinquent movies of the 50's. The vast majority of which are poor third choices for self defense, unless you buy the $300 tactical models.

I have a firearms license, and can carry concealed pretty much anywhere with no problem, but would do time in my state with a switchblade. Traditional MA weapons I'm still not clear on, regular knives are at the discretion of the cop that stops me, but an expandable baton is okay.

I can purchase blackjacks, saps, and brass knuckle paperweights at any flea market, but get caught carrying these things and you're done.

I think the laws are made to be confusing, though for what purpose, I'm not quite sure.

Hit or miss for me. Some of their stuff was worth more than I paid, and some was junk. All around okay if you're on a limited budget.

Cynthia Rothrock, purely for her MA talents, of course. I am, after all, a humble monk.

So why has this never caught on in movies? I can only think of one TKD movie, and Steven Seagal was in that. I'll give half -points to the Billy Jack movies, those were Hapkido. If we throw in Chuck Norris, that still doesn't come close to the Kung Fu movies, which were largely responsible for the popularity of the arts today.

In my first form, I count six low blocks. If those are really hammerfists to the groin, then mine is a cruel, cruel art.

I have a new respect for the old "baby steps" forms now.

It is the way of the humble monk.

Good point. Have any other arts actually made a concerted effort to spread outside their country? I hadn't thought of it that way.

Thanks Bushido Man!

Watch an MMA event and listen to crowd reaction to a solid cross that connects . Then listen to the reaction to a head kick that almost connects.

Practical or not, the kick is just more fun to watch.

If a deep stance is the standard for the rest of the students, it may raise questions among them if he is not corrected.

Regardless of the belt I hold in another school, in yours I am a beginner in the ways of how you interpret the art.

I had a TKD background, had to quit, and started TSD years later. I didn't point my previous training out to the new instructor, because I didn't want to come off as "I know it all already."

So we start the warm up, and it's reverse punch time. I take my horse stance, he raises an eyebrow, so I know he recognizes that I've done this before. I start my punch from the hip, and he looks as though I just ate his children. His style starts the punch from chest level. Deprogramming from a similar style proved more difficult than starting completely ignorant of the style.

I'd say have a solid foundation in one style, then take something completely different.

A quick review of the phone book in my area reveals that the predominant styles school-wise in my area are Korean. I've traveled a bit, and see the odd Kung Fu school, but can find at least two dojangs in any city in the U.S.

What strikes me as odd is the sheer number of Kung Fu movies as opposed to the rare one or two Korean arts movies. Even Japanese art movies outnumber Korean movies in a big way.

So my question is how did Korean arts gain the popularity they have with no media support? I appreciate your thoughts.

So we agree pretty much that it is possible to do. So the question then becomes "What could we do with such an expert?" Could they perhaps serve practicing artists in a consultant capacity? If I had an upcoming tournament, and knew I would be facing a Muay Thai guy and a Burmese Bando guy, but knew nothing of those arts, could my expert tell me what to watch for? An interesting concept.

Tallgeese, explain the construction of the sword to me. What I saw was rattan, but mounted to a basket-hilt. How is this done, and are there any other requirements for the weapon to be allowed in sparring?

Thank you. Thank you very much!