lowereastside

David Nisan - Thank You - I have not been exactly right in quit a long time. . You and the other members have all given good viewpoints.

Here I go getting myself in trouble again LOL. IMHO one must look beyond the martial aspects and look at the social and political climate of China in the 1800's. How much did the Okinawan's get from the Chinese Kung Fu Masters? How much was changed by the Okinawan's? and so on......... 1st - back in the day even in China to learn Kung Fu was not an easy task. Kung Fu was very secretive - if you did not belong to the same clan or village - good luck trying to get in. If one was not Hakka - good luck in trying to learn Hakka Kung Fu. If one was not Cantonese - good luck in trying to learn Cantonese Kung Fu. and so on....... So how much chance did an outsider have in learning true Chinese Kung Fu? Or did they just get little tidbits to take back? How much was actually put in to the Bubishi and how much was actually decoded or not decoded? I'm Italian-American my Mom, and Dad were born in Italy. I speak read and write Italian. Let me give you an example - there is a saying in the village that my parents come from that when you go to google translate - translates " to the groom of Monday" . However what does it actually mean. On the surface one may say someone getting married on MONDAY - BUT THAT'S NOT IT. A few years ago I received a document from my Kung Fu Teacher written in Chinese. I gave that document to a close friend - a Kung Fu Sifu who was born in Hong Kong to translate it for me. after 5 minutes my friend informed me he could not translate to document it was all in riddles - codes etc etc. When I later got together with my Teacher and told him I could not get the document translated - he just smiled. Another lesson learned off the training floor. He then began to translate each character verbally one by one with the explanations. I hope I'm making some sort of sense out of this. Again my 3 cents.

LeighSimmsMA - informative article. IMHO Ippon Kumite should only be done at the beginners level to intermediate level. Then you got to let it go or one will get stuck reacting a certain way. When I learned Karate we did Ippon Kumite and sparred - and the sparring look nothing like the kata or Ippon Kumite. Again Just my 3 cents.

Sensei8 and Nidan Melbourne have said it best. My only imput would be are you there to learn or socialize. Look at the Teacher and the Seniors - their experience can be of great value. That being said do what makes you Happy. Good Luck.

Happy New Year 2017.

My - Sincere Condolences. May they RIP.

From a Chinese Kung Fu perspective - there is much more than just hitting a block of wood ( Dummy ) or sand bag.......and I will leave it at that.

Congratulations - on your 50th , Bob.

GojuRyu Bahrain wrote - I know, different sessions will be different, but we Karateka's should be fit like machines! I teach 5 days a week between my regular classes and privates. I am very hands on - meaning I get a good sweat. I also do cardio at home for 45 min. 4 days a week. When I was in my 30's I could drop 20 lbs. in a month. At 62 years old I now have to watch what I put in my mouth ( LOL ). And I've lost 47 lbs.

Sensei8 says -- "When did I NOT have an "Aha" moment?!? 51 years in the MA and I STILL have "Aha" moments." LOL - Very well said.

IMHO - you have to attack the attack - a calm mind and at the same time wanting to take someone's head off. The problem is people are people - look what happens when a movie theater catches fire - people panic - they get crazy aggressive and more people are killed form trampling than the fire itself. To change human nature is not easy - we often do it to ourselves. Just my 3 cents.

"Should the Kata's be executed slow or should they be executed at regular speed, hence, fast?? " IMO - i like to see it both ways. I've seen many videos that do it both slow and regular speed. But its just my preference. Just my 3 cents

For me training is not only in the Kwoon/Dojo/Gym.........Years ago My teacher and very good friend James Soo and also my very good friend Joe Musse. Expressed their views on taking it to the next level. For them it was not just training in the school environment. It extends on how one drives their car - on how one walks - the hand gestures - opening a door - pushing buttons on an elevator and so much more..............I've meet many Martial artists in my time Karate - Kung Fu ............however of all the Martial artists that I'VE MET - James and Joe stand above. A little story - about a year ago Joe and I were having lunch - crossing the street - we had the right of way - a livery cab cuts us right off. Instead of us being upset - he gets out of the car and starts cursing at us while walking towards us. i did not get it - it was 2 of us against him 1. Waking towards us and #@%%#$. Joe just looks him and in a calm voice says "do you really want to go there". The man looks at Joe not me gets back in his car and drives off. You had to be there - at almost 62 years of age I'm still learning.

The late great actor James Cagney - 2nd Dan Judo. Also James Caan - 6th Dan Karate.

From what I was told by my teacher - No forms actually existed in Kung Fu. Forms where created later and with the passing of time - later generations created more forms and more forms. The founders of many of the Kung Fu styles supposedly had a clear understanding of their particular style and developed their forms accordingly. If one somewhat understands their particular style somewhat inside and out - then create a form. Problem today is that many individuals don't understand or think they understand and start putting movements together just for the sake of it. They start rearranging instead of a block punch its now a kick punch. Just my 3 cents worth.

Hitting someone with a Frying Pan is Martial Arts.

How have you been Sensei8 - I hope all is well with you. What I am trying to say is that when you run it like a business - to run it successfully you have to attract students - having 40 + students on the floor instead of 5 or 6 students will effect the QUALITY of instructions. The Quality will not be the same. And INTEGRITY - well let me say this - I AGREE WITH YOU. But do you see whats out there - I live in NYC. almost all the full time schools that I pass by have attached MMA signs to them - like Tae Kwon Do MMA or Hung Gar Kung fu MMA. or Wing Chun MMA Kung fu. Where is the Integrity there. Again just my 3 cents.

If one is running a full time school - its a business. And if this is your job or the only means of income - you must run it like a business. Will the quality suffer? YES IT WILL. But when you have to put food on the table and provide for your family you do what you have to do. IMHO true combat can only be learned in small groups I don't care if it is Karate - Kung-fu and so on...... I teach 5 days a week. I have no more than 6 students in a class. My classes are now growing and I keep splitting up the classes. And if its gets to big I will put people on a waiting list. But its easy for me to say this because I collect a pension and will soon collect SSI. So I can pick who I want and dismiss who I want. Sometimes you can't have your cake and........ Again just my 3 cents. Good Luck.

When yours young putting in the hours is good. When one gets older it quality instead of quantity. Just my 3 cents.

You have to learn to pressure test - and i'm not talking about sparring. I'm talking about a continuous flow of strikes - not 1 punch kill power shots. 1st one must train both their mind and body to react - blocks really don't work against someone with some level of skill throwing multiple punches at you. You have to attack the strike. There is no getting into a stance - or getting set. No time - its happening to fast. 2 of my students competed in MMA events - with 1 having a winning record. Don't you think I was tested? Yes I was - my only chance against someone who is old enough to be my son was to attack the attack and end it quickly. Needless to say he is one of my most dedicated students. And getting older I kinda shy away from these confrontations these days but once in a while I do get the urge Again just my 3 cents.

MMA - is not something new - the Romans - the Greeks and other counties including Asia did MMA - however back in the day it was for keeps/staying alive - surviving. And now its kinda come full circle. And look at it this way we have 2 arms - 2 legs - 1 head. How many ways can we move. A quick story I'm teaching 2 students who are high level in karate. I'm going over some breakdowns from the Mantis form i'm teaching them. One of them says " we have this move in Sanchin Kata and we have this move in Seisan Kata." And I reply your right - now whats the difference between you and me? I told him to think about it. If you look at MMA - its based on some form of grappling and striking that most of us have been exposed to. The major difference is the training and conditioning that they do - which is heavy duty. You must not only be able to give out punishment but must condition yourself to take punishment. This year I'm 62 years old - I have NO fantasies about taking my high level Praying Mantis style of Kung Fu - getting into the ring and be victorious against a well trained MMA fighter who is 30 years younger.

1st its been awhile - hope everyone is well. I started to feel proficient when I tested my skills against other Sensei - Sifu from other styles. Then I would touch my teacher's hands and felt like a beginner.

In the style of kung Fu that I practice and teach a big part is about the feeling. The visual - looking at the teacher move, the verbal instructions and lessons on and off the floor are also important and so on............. But a big part is the touch - touching the teacher's hand - getting to feel the energy - the transmission of the art from teacher to student. That is why IMHO in the old days or old ways, Karate ( Te ) , Kung Fu etc..... was never meant to be taught to the masses - large classes. Things kinda started to change in the early 1900's. In China it was the Jing Wu ( Mo) And the Nan Jin Institute which started teaching Kung Fu to the masses. The same can be said for karate things changed in Okinawa then it went to Japan and things changed even more. And then it spread to the rest of the World.

" How many different ways can one punch, kick, strike, and so on and so forth? I've no idea! One might imagine that there's a limit to everything. It's not how many methodologies, but how many ideologies can birth something effective. " Could not have said it better myself. Many of the styles we have today in karate - Kung Fu were created within the the last 150 years give and take. I'm not against someone creating their own style - but one must or should have a total understanding of their existing style. But then again everyone that creates their own style thinks that they do. Just my 3 cents.

First off there are many ways to condition the Phoenix Eye Fist. The Internet is full of conditioning exercises for the Phoenix Eye Fist. Examples would be push ups on the floor or against the wall- hitting the phone book - trying to make holes in cardboard boxes or quickly hitting cardboard boxes until you can make the hole in them - and so on.................. The key is not to damage the finger/hand while training the Phoenix Eye Fist. The proper way is to start off slowly and have a good Jow ( Dit Da Jow ) - Chinese Medicine to rub on the whole hand before and after training and wait at least a couple of hours before washing you hands after putting on the medicine. Also when hitting with the Phoenix Eye Fist you should articulate and hand - hitting at different angles - straight In is not always a good thing to do when hitting with the PEF. And one must develop the ENERGY/POWER in their particular system for the Phoenix Eye Fist to really be effective. This is just the basics - it gets a lot more involved. You can try developing the PEF by yourself - BUT I WOULD RECOMMEND A QUALIFIED TEACHER WHO SPECIALIZES IN THE PHOENIX EYE FIST. Again just my 3 cents.