delta1

Easy! Just send me some Asterix, I'll send you some Far Side!

"I basiclly dont go thinking im going to kick the person in the groin. Everything happens naturally. You train to be able to counter/strike punches/kicks etc.." is about what I'd say. I don't rule out those strikes, but I don't limmit myself to them either. And I certainly don't go in preplanning to use any particular strike. MA developes reflexes, movement skills, situational awareness, and a whole list of things that might come in handy if someone throws a brick at you. If a jerk throws bricks your way, would you rather dodge them as a martial artist, or as a fool with nothing better to do with his time than ask you stupid questions?

cross, Ving Tsun is just a different westernized spelling of Wing Chun. There are several different lineages, each with its own differences. But all are similar, and if the practitioners I've come across are any indication, it's a good style. I'll let the VT guys tell you which lineage is the one true VT ! (Sorry, I couldn't resist!)

What can you say to ignorance... ? (The rest of this post is deleted, by delta1, in deference to the rest of the forum.)

Most posters on this forum are alrede ahed of the Uros, thatz how we spel anewa.

I'm 50.

In the contiguous 48 states, the city I used to look most forward to going to was Chicago. Honolulu would be first if you count all 50. But who gets there that often? Outside the States- difficult to pick, but I'd have to say Taipei.

Why is Shotokan so unpopular ? I didn't know it was. I do Kenpo and Taiji, but I have a lot of respect for Shotokan. Can it be used in real life ? I've only spared a couple of Shotokan guys, one with hard contact. They could take care of themselves- on the mats and, I'm sure, on the street. Don't worry about what someone else thinks about what you do. If you enjoy it and it is good training, keep at it. Later on don't be afraid to step out and spar with other styles. It will give you a whole new perspective on what you are learning. You'll see areas that need more work, others that work well will give you confidence. And you'll see that there's more than one way to skin a cat. I'm guessing that Shotokan would be an excellent base if you want to branch out later and learn something else. Or it would be a good style to devote your life to. Everyones journey is different, so don't listen to those who try to sell you on 'The One True Path'.

That's why the disclaimer. Maybe others have come across this, maybe not. Just throwin' it out to see. But I'll stand by the 60's part of the statement, based on my personal experiences.

If you can learn it as a martial art, do the Taijiquan-fa. It takes longer to learn than external arts, but at fourteen you have the time. And one day you'll be 54+. By that time, for the vast majority of external stylists, their art is dimminishing rapidly in its effectiveness. Taiji generally comes into its prime in about ten years or more. But from then on it only increases in effectiveness. I wish I'd started Taiji at fourteen. But I started later, and went the external route. As for its being for old people, that's true in a way. Taiji is for all ages, and it is effective against all styles as a stand up fighting art. It also incorporates grappling with chin-na and shui jaio (joint locks and Chinese wrestling). Taiji styles are extremely adaptable. And, while they are primarily gentle and yielding, they can be extremely brutal and deadly if the situation calls for it (though this is generally against their philosophy). Either style is good. But I'd recomend you seriousely look at the Taiji.

The big reason Tai Chi got such a bad rep is that it became popular here in the 60's. At that time it was mostly taken over by the Hippies and the pacifist crowd. They totally ignored the martial aspects, even claiming there weere none. So it got a bad rep as a freak dance. But the root of the problem goes back further. When China started to be opened to the rest of the world, especially the West, the masters were afraid their arts would get out. The Chinese are an extremely closed, exocentric culture. They put out a lot of propoganda that Taiji was just a healthy ritual, hoping no one would take the art seriousely. Unfortunately, they have allways been good propogandists, and fell victim to their own trap as a lot of Chinese also believed this. And that is how it was originally presented to the West, and later what the peace movement of the 60's glommed onto. Disclaimer: unfortunately, I witnessed the 60's (looks for a barfing smiley). The rest of this is what I've come across in reading about Taiji.

Exactly! But it can (not necessarily does) teach some bad habbits if you aren't careful. For example, I see most people doing this stiffly instead of relaxed. Relaxation is far more important to speed and power than distance. And chambering automatically in a fight takes your weapon out of optimal position for offense or defense. It also telegraphs. Not saying it is a bad thing to practice, we just need to think about what we are doing and why. The chamber does have some practical applications. As already pointed out, it can represent a grab and pull. Also a back elbow strike, or a block protecting the ribs or kidneys. And sometimes it is used to get the weapon out of the way, as when blocking or checking inward to clear an opponents weapon and turn him- you must chamber your other hand to get it out of the way momentarily and pepare to follow up with a strike. I disagree with it helping the rotation of the punch. Rotation comes at the end, and doesn't start before the elbow clears the body. So you can get as much rotation if the punch starts with the elbow just in front of the body as you can from full chamber. Starting to rotate earlier throws the elbow out and ruins allignment, and robs power. The only time you'd do this is with a hooking punch, which uses entirely different body mechanics, and is never (at least in my experience) done from a full chamber.

I'm 50, and still kickin' it. But one of these days I'm going to figure it out that I have to slow down. 'Till then...

Like Vince Lombardi said, "You make your own luck!" This has allways been one of my main objections to kicking with the instep to targets anywhere near a hard part of the body. In the dynamic atmosphere of a fight it is too easy for things to go wrong. Instep kicks are good to some targets. But shin kicks or the ball of the foot are better to any targets that are hard or too close to hard areas.

Glad it works for you, but some of us need meat. Different bodies and metabolisms need different foods. A good resource to read is 'Eat Right For Your Type' by Peter J. d'Adamo.

Find a good instructor... I'm not beind a smart (!). There are a lot of intricacies to most CMA styles that you won't be able to get off of even the best videos. Some of these, like the relationship to your feet and knees, can dammage you if practiced incorrectly. Americans, for example, are for some reason prone to knee problems when doing Taiji with less than competant instruction. I'm not trying to discourage you. I think it would be a good idea to do something like Taijiquan-fa (martial Tai Chi). But first find a good instructor and get private lessons oce every couple of weeks. Ask this instructor which videos he/she recommends. This way you will get the right style, and a video that meshes with the method of instruction you are getting. Taiji will eventually enhance any other martial art, and is an outstanding martial art in its own right. It is also completely forms based. It is also a good form of meditation for those of us who prefer movement. It is often called meditation in motion. But make sure you find someone who teaches and understands the martial aspects of the art. The health oriented dancers get less than half the health bennifits and nothing else at all out of it.

3 UP DRILL Gear up, step up, and thump up on each other. Seriousely. Nothing tells you if you are doing it right like contact sparing. Also, try slow sparing (move at half speed) with emphasis on proper form and technique. Then at a pre-arranged time, or when one of you inevitably starts to move faster, kick it up to a contact sparing match (4 UP DRILL )

Codydoc, definately go see a doctor. You could cause all kinds of problems by leaving this. Some of them may not show up till later in life, or you could do seriouse, immediate dammage. If you go to a hospital or clinic that accepts any kind of government funds, they cannot refuse to see you. They will bill you, but you can work out some sort of payment schedule.

Many styles do some form of this. Kenpo calls it 'rolling', and the FMA folks have their version of it. Of course the Ving Tsun guys are the best known for it, and Taiji push hands is very similar. This is a sensitivity drill, and most styles that have 'soft' moves use some variation. Basically, you and a partner face each other in a ballanced stance. Often, the lead feet are together. You can then make contact at the wrist with one or both hands. Then you both start to move in circular patterns keeping contact and a slight pressure at the wrists. The object is usually to unballance your opponent using his own energy. A variation is to find openings to strike through, or to try to tie up or check your opponent. You can also do this with joint locks being the objective. Some variations allow footwork. And you can do 'sticky feet' as well. There is a tendency for the larger or stronger player to just overpower the other. This is not the idea. You should try to focus on technique and sensitivity. Learn to 'listen', or feel, his intent. If you overpower your opponent you will 'win' for a while. But eventually he'll learn to help you stand yourself on your own nose.

Thanks, kempocos. Nothing near my corner of the country (NW). But I bookmarked the site.

Crucio, if you have any doubts (and you obviously do) see a doctor. It doesn't sound like anything is broken- no swelling in the foot and your chest pain is getting better. But who can say over the net? And different people have different signs for the same problems sometimes. One of the primary signs of a broken bone is crepitus. You can feel the fractured ends as they move and rub together. If you feel or hear this, you probably have a fracture. But just because you don't feel it doesn't mean everything is ok. Some fractures, like a torsional or greensplint fracture, may not do this. And even a simple break may not exhibit crepitus for a number of reasons. Another sign might be a knot, or lump at the site of the suspected fracture. If you see this, definately see a doctor. If a bone end works its way through the skin, of course, it would be safe to assume you now have a compound fracture which you definately need to have treated . You should be careful with hard strikes to the sternum. A blow to the heart can irritate the nodes that trigger your heartbeat. This can cause dangerous arhythmias/disrhythmias (wierd heartbeats) that may not show up till much later. Also, at the top of the sternum is a flat protrusion called the manubrium, and at the bottom is a point called the xyphoid process. Either can be broken and can cause seriouse injuries. As for kicking with the instep, especially to hard targets, you do so at your own risk. The metatarsals are relatively fine bones and are easily dammaged. I doubt you could ever adequately develope the instep to protect these bones. Hopefully someone with more exprience tha me (like NinjaNurse) will see this and give you some advise. (If they do, I apologise for my spelling- it's been a while since I had to use these terms ). But I'm betting they'll tell you pretty much the same. See a doctor!

American Kenpo uses vital points to set up the next strike or move. But this is done mostly at the basic level where you would either target a point to set up a reaction or bring an organ into an exposed, vulnerable position to be targeted, and some basic cavity strikes. There is one branch of AK called Sub Level 4 Kenpo (Dr. Chapel's group) that makes extensive use of advanced cavity striking techniques. As stated already by others, angle and method of striking are important. Also important is the time of day (different cavities effect different organs or systems, and are more active at times than others). There are a lot of other considerations, and it gets pretty complex. I'd love to study SL-4, but as I understand it studying this kind of in depth vital point striking is best done with competent hands on instruction. Not something you'd want to try out on friends and family from a book or internet description.

Metsubushi, not really having a go at you. But this topic comes up from time to time, and from everything I've heard from credible sources the man was better than his movies. It is easy to see why people question actors these days. Most of the current crop are shallow, simpering idiots. But it wasn't allways that way. Sorry if I came off a little brusque.

Think again. I've heard first hand accounts from highly respected martial artists that trained with him. He wasn't invincable, but he was good- one of the best. Let the guy rest in peace.