delta1

Someone sent me some jokes, and since not many people send me jokes, I thought I'd share them with you all. Actually, now that I think about it, people might send me jokes- I really don't know. Usually, by the time I check my e-mail, the box is full and, since I don't want to read that much * I just empty it. I figure, if it were that important, they'd call. Right? Any way, here: Here are the 10 first place winners in the International Pun Contest 1.. A vulture boards an airplane, carrying two dead raccoons. The stewardess looks at him and says, "I'm sorry, sir, only one carrion allowed per passenger." 2. Two fish swim into a concrete wall. The one turns to the other and says "Dam!". 3. Two Eskimos sitting in a kayak were chilly, so they lit a fire in the craft. Unsurprisingly it sank, proving once again that you can't have your kayak and heat it too. 4. Two hydrogen atoms meet. One says "I've lost my electron," The other says "Are you sure?" The first replies "Yes, I'm positive." 5. Did you hear about the Buddhist who refused Novocain during a root canal? His goal: transcend dental medication. 6. A group of chess enthusiasts checked into a hotel and were standing in the lobby discussing their recent tournament victories. After about an hour, the manager came out of the office and asked them to disperse. "But why?" they asked, as they moved off. "Because", he said, "I can't stand chess-nuts boasting in an open foyer." 7. A woman has twins and gives them up for adoption. One of them goes to a family in Egypt and is named "Ahmal." The other goes to a family in Spain; they name him "Juan." Years later, Juan sends a picture of himself to his birth mother. Upon receiving the picture, she tells her husband that she wishes she also had a picture of Ahmal. Her husband responds, "They're twins! If you've seen Juan, you've seen Ahmal." 8. These friars were behind on their belfry payments, so they opened up a small florist shop to raise funds. Since everyone liked to buy flowers from the men of God, a rival florist across town thought the competition was unfair. He asked the good fathers to close down, but they would not. He went back and begged the friars to close. They ignored him. So, the rival florist hired Hugh MacTaggart, the roughest and most vicious thug in town to "persuade" them to close. Hugh beat up the friars and trashed their store, saying he'd be back if they didn't close up shop. Terrified, they did so, thereby proving that only Hugh can prevent florist friars. 9. Mahatma Gandhi, as you know, walked barefoot most of the time, which produced an impressive set of calluses on his feet. He also ate very little, which made him rather frail and with his odd diet, he suffered from bad breath. This made him ...(Oh, man, this is so bad, it's good)..... A super calloused fragile mystic hexed by halitosis. 10. And finally, there was the person who sent ten different puns to his friends, with the hope that at least one of the puns would make them laugh. No pun in ten did!

Et tu, aefibird? I give up! I yield the point. You guys win. But I'm still not going to loose any sleep over the state of martial arts in the West!

You guys are just determined to make this difficult! Again, sooner or later the student will figure it out. Once you are into the ma's and are exposed to more ideas and more of what's out there, if he isn't satisfied he'll start looking. Some may become disillusioned and leave, which is too bad. Others may learn the hard way, which is angering but life's like that. But many will go on to find what they truly enjoy or need. And, let's face it, a lot of the people in the McSD schools are more than happy to be fooled. I just wouldn't be all that thrilled to train with them any how, so let them stay where they are instead of ruining a good school. I agree with WW & SS both, to a point. But I just don't think the martial arts are doomed because every school doesn't beat each other black and blue. Heck, the way things are going lately, I may be the one that's doomed. But I still enjoy a good thump-fest once in a while. To each his own!

"The Force be with you" would have sufficed.

SS, it's difficult to argue with you, because I think there's a lot of truth in what you say. I guess I just have to observe that things tend to ballance out and hope for the best. Also, when you look honestly at it, there have never been that many truly devoted martial artists at a given time in any society. And, by some standards, I wouldn't be included in that select group (nor a lot of us, probably). So I'm just not that worried about it. If what you want is flash, acrobatics, neet looking moves, it's available. If you want a belt factory, it's there, as are the social clubs and fitness bunch. Sport, there's more all the time. But if you want fighting skills, there are a lot of realistic systems, as well as the shorter reality based systems. There are also still plenty of traditional 'do' schools. People will usually find what they want.

Hey, if ya got it, flaunt it! Well done- and if you didn't look hideous in that kind of test, we'd all wonder about it. Allways glad to hear that someone made good, so I'll say again- CONGRATULATIONS!

If you can afford it and can arrange it, try private instruction. It is best if you can find at least one person to go to class and work out with you if you go this route. Make as many regular classes as you can, even if only occasionally, and work with your partners regularly.

"The few, the proud, the !" I sort of agree with you and WW, or at least understand and can empathize with you. But if what they want is Xma, there's not much I can do about it- or would, for that matter. Who am I to dictate another persons' path? As for the decline of true combat or self defense martial arts- maybe some, but I really don't think it will be that bad. And it is possible that the reverse could occur. The flash draws attention and gets people interested. But if they want realism, they will sooner or later start to question and look around. I know one TKD instructor that, the minute someone starts talking about real fighting skill they are sent to another reality based TKD school to see what it's about. There are no hard feelings if the student makes the switch. You gotta respect that! Too bad there aren't more instructors and schools like that on both sides of the issue.

That's a little condescending, don't ya think? Do you even remember much of the mid to late 80's? It was a very scary time to be alive. Well, thanks to Bill Clinton the cold war is not over. Last I checked, the Chinese were still Communists, and still want to bury us. And WJBC gave them the technology to accurately deliver their warheads anywhere in the world, as well as the codes we use to communicate with our satelites. But, hey, that's a small price for us to pay so Billy could get a campaign contribution from the ChiComms. Thanks to Reagan, we won the cold war. Thanks to Clinton, my children will have to fight it again, in all probability. Just makes me proud to be an American!

OK, I've avoided this here so far. But what th' heck- let's play "Who's the Liar", shall we!? What's not so is this argument. The piece made no such claim, nor did it lead anyone to believe this. Read it yourself, then you decide. I think the author of this 'rebuttal' is the liar. Two problems here: The author is so big on the other guy stating his stats, numbers and sources. But note that he breezes right on by this point without any- accurate or otherwise. Liar! What is suspect is the re( ! )or, ( ( ! ) for short). We've already established that this claim was not made. Niether did the ( ! ) tell us how many or what percentage of firearms were left in private hands- perhaps it would have not been to his advantage??? This one is a push, and pushes go to the dealer (original author). We'll just say 'looser' instead of liar here. (I'm a magnanimous ( ! ) ). *! You/we can draw conclusions after a year. Long term trends may be more telling. But they also give the politicians and other liars time to skew the stats, so watch out. After all, they are liars! The demographics in Australia probably did not change that much in one year. If he's going to make that kind of claim, he's going to have to come up with some good stats to back it up. His general claims that it could happen don't hold water. Lieing sod! Well, only 171%? That's a real improvement! I'm sure the 12 extra victims would be thrilled to know that. Horse dung! The ( ! ) knows the point was that homicides are up because the criminal element knows they have less to fear from an (un)armed citizenry. This argument is misleading- in other words, a lie. Or because you just don't want to believe it. (Liar.) By all means, let's make this as difficult as possible! That way it will be harder to spotthe lies! So, are all 'liberals' liars? No! Only the pseudo intellectual types that believe their own hype about 'conservatives' being a bunch of idiots and offer up this kind of drivel for our perusal. Also, if you read this article and believed it, are you a liar? No! You're just dumber than a box of rocks... !!!!!

Stop! It's just a term I've heard and like, not a regular style or system (as far as I know). It doesn't even mean that all practitioners then were monks (they weren't). It does convey the idea that they had dedication like a monks to really learn the art in deapth (though probably not literally so). If you want to see it in writing, I have a little pocket book that I'll try to find. I think it is called 'The Essence of Tai Chi'. I used to read it whenever I had to sit around and wait somewhere (doctors office, running the kids around, etc.). It's hardly an ancient text, though it does have some of the ancient texts in it (translated, of course). Speaking of running kids around, I have to go. I'll see if I can find the book and get back to you. Meanwhile, don't go scouring the Cascades (mountains) for ancient temples. Edit: "The Essence of T'ai Chi", by Waysun Liao, Shambhala Publications Inc., Boston & London, 1995.

I wish I did! I'm not even sure it actually exists, to tell the truth. I probably should have said 'the fabled' or 'rumored'. The term, as I understand its use, refers to the old system where practitioners were able to pretty much devote their lives to it, and before it was watered down. As I recall, after the fall of the Ch' ing Dynasty(Manchurian, and I'm not sure about the name as I'm digging way back in my somewhat aging memory here), the ruling class had to make a living doing something other than ruling. They were scattered, and many of them taught Taiji. They said it was original, as taught by Yang, and were very popular as instructors. Of course, what they taught had nowhere near the deapth of the real thing, which is probably another reason it became popular. We aren't the only people who like to get 'the real thing' for a fraction of the effort! Any way, back to the question. I don't know how the 'temple' version was handed down, or how far it is from the old. And I don't know anyone that even claims to practice it. There are a lot of interesting systems out there, though. One of the best I've come across is Yiliquan. It is Taiji based, with elements of other systems incorporated, and purely a combat art from the start. Dr. Yang, Zwing Ming has an institution in Seattle (I believe). I usually avoid going to Seattle at all costs, but if I could visit that it might be enough to entice me to go there. Neither of these are 'Temple Taiji', but if you could find something or someone affiliated with them they are pretty in deapth and interesting.

Welcome, Steve! And Phoenix is a nice town- but I wouldn't buy property there! (Just kiding, Lucky )

Hey, Erin- welcome!

Interesting. I do American Kenpo, but one of my 'projects' is to take the TKD one steps and forms and work the applications at all ranges, especially close in. There's some good stuff there. So I'd be interested to hear more about what CDK does with these moves. Any web sites or video clips? AK doesn't lock out, or hyperextend, strikes either. But often we do practice at full range of motion so that we are familiar with where our limits are. It's one way to get familiar with your points of reference. Just a little warm discussion. Training with contact doesn't mean someone has to get injured. And you don't have to go 'full' contact every time you train. But I find that as contact increases, everything changes- timeing, positioning, structure and allignment, ..., everything. You also learn to deal with the inevetable- you get hit. Better to take 100 hard hits in class where your assailant is not trying to seriously hurt you than one from a ( ! ) that is. Not saying your method is wrong, just an alternate viewpoint. And, to be honest, the older I get the less hard contact I do. But I still enjoy it from time to time.

CONGRATULATIONS!

Congrats!

In Yang Taji, there are typically three. They have 24, 48, and 108 movements, but that can varry depending on how your school counts the movements. The 24 & 48 forms are actually recent adaptations by the Chinese government. If you study Taiji as a martial art, you also have: qigong- meditation and qi developement push hands- sensitivity training applications are extrapolated and developed from the moves in the form some chin-na and shui jao with your applications sparing- often pre arranged but not allways drills Actually, if you can start earlier, I'd recomend doing the Taiji as soon as possible. It will improve any martial art you do.

"Grand Ultimate Fist" is the most common, and probably least correct translation of Taijiquan (Tai Chi Chuan). Also called the Grand Terminus or Grand Nexus, Taiji is the seperation of Yin and Yang. Taiji was actually a philosophy over 1000 years before Tamo introduced Buddhism to China. The martial art of Taijiquan-fa is relatively new in history, and is based on Taiji philosophy. There were several family styles of Taiji, but the older 'Temple Style' is rare, and really the only true Taiji. What we get is almost allways the more modern family styles- which is probably good since few of us have the time, dedication or determination required to learn the real thing. I've read that those who practiced it lived like monks and dedicated their lives to its study. The family styles came into prominence in the late 1700's after the Manchurian conquest of China. The head of the Yang family was forced to teach the Manchu's Taiji, but taught a watered down, adulterated version. This is what spread and became popular. Still one of the most effective fighting arts out there, so the original must be truly remarkable. I've avoided getting into the philosophy. Hopefully Jerry Love will see this and comment on that aspect. I think he's a Taoist, or at least a student of Taoist philosophy, and so can probably give a better representation on that subject.

First off, I understand your anger. But letting it get the better of you will probably get you into troublewith the law. Too many people, including the police, know there is something between you and them, and that you are angry. Also, it has been my experience that this kind of dishonorable trash are the first to start something when the odds are in their favor, and are usually the first to run to some authority figure for help evening things up when they loose. So, going after them is a bad idea. Another take, when you squared off with them they were too chicken * to do anything, even with four of them to your one. It sounds like they pulled the gun to intimidate you so they wouldn't have to fight. Even if you deescalated and walked away, you won this one. Sounds like they were all too willing to let you go, as they had you cornered and had a gun, and did not press the attack. You showed common sense leaving, but they are the ones that backed down. Don't blow it by letting them land you in jail.

Again, some good points (and I'm with you on the need for better ground fighting skills ). One thing this discusssion is clarifying in my mind is the interdependance of all aspects of the arts in effective fighting. And with the ebb and flow of the fight, the importance of each component seems to change as well. In pure strikeing at long to medium range, A S P would probably be the order of importance (to me, any way). But as the fight moves closer, even without grappling, I think speed becomes more of a factor as things tend to start to happen a lot faster. At the point where someone clinches or grabs, the ballance might shift to S P A or even P S A. And one might overcome the other in any range against a particular opponent, you play to your strengths and his weakneses. So I doubt there is a clear and constant dileniation to any of this. I've probably just increased the popularity of the smiley with this post, but oh well... . Good discussion so far.

Welcome!

Welcome!

Welcome!

...and from the northwestern USA!