delta1

Tai Chi Chuan fa is the martial art. I do Yang style Tai Chi (Taiji) Chuan fa. They say that if you don't study it as a martial art, you get far less than half the health bennifits. And it is a fascinating and efective martial art. It does take about ten years to become proficient enough to use it to fight, and many people never get there at all. But, as they say, "It's the journey that matters". I highly recomend it for young or old.

SFMS, I'd be crushed- except that you've never seen my perfect pate!

How elderly? Do they have physical or health problems? The easy, and best answer is Tai Chi Chuan. But many arts can be modified for elderly or 'handicaped' students. The two keys are the desire and will of the student to learn, and an instructor who is capable and willing to teach that type student. By the way, I'm almost elderly (50"s), and I study Kenpo and Tai Chi Chuan fa. I pay a little more for it when we work out hard or spar with contact, but I can still surprise the young bucks.

OK, but don't get all infuriated at me. This is just my opinion (but it's a darn good one, in my opinion!). The old pugilists, or bare knuckles fighters, were excellent martial artists. But the advent of gloves and safety rules watered down the style and made it less effective. It also taught boxers some bad habbits. Punching with gloves allows them to strike in ways that are guaranteed to dammage bare hands (remember Tyson's litle foul up?). Also, the methods of guarding and throwing punches were modified to acomodate the weight of the gloves. And since they can now only strike targets above the belt (like Bob Hope, wearing hs trunks up under his armpits ), the style was modified to only guard the strike zone. They aren't as effective at protecting their base. The head is brought forward into range, and their stance exposes the groin and legs. They also tend to dance, bob and weave, which can be exploited. So, does this mean they are wussies? No. The average boxer will pick apart your guard faster than you can say "OUCH". He's probably in better shape than the average martial artist. And, he knows how to take a hit landed with intent. He also knows how to hit with the same intent. Most ma's don't have that kind of experience, some don't even train with moderate contact. Also, they only train one strike- the punch- so they know it well (even if it is not as good as their bare knuckle predacessors). How to handle the sorry buggers ( )? As allways, don't fight their game. I'd no sooner try to duke it out at medium range with a boxer than a Ving Tsunner. Low kicks to bring that guard down. If he bobs and bounces, he's vulnerable to attacks to his base. The ones I've fought don't handle those kind of attacks well. When you go in, get close and continue to attack or check his base. Many martial arts have a far superior in close arsenal to the boxer's basic hooks and uppercuts, but you'd best use it quickly and effectively. They aren't used to standing grappling techniques or positional weapons checks, so if your style teaches these you should use them. Well, ghost and sevenstar, if that offends you I'm sorry. But, there you have it, for what it's worth. And, you asked!

A young priest, taking his first confesion, was dissapointed to find it was the town drunk. But he wanted to do his best for the guy, so he went into the confessional and waited for the man to collect his thoughts. After a few minutes though, he taped on the screen to see if the drunk was awake. No reply, so he waited a few minutes more and taped again. Still no reply. So the priest knocked a little harder. This got a response- "You might as well quit knocking. Ain't no paper in this one either!"

Kenpo, American Kenpo in particular, has as complete a repetoir of strikes as any art I've seen. Far more than most. There are probably others which can also make this claim, but boxing?

Sure there is. They dig MA's with shaved heads! (But it's mostly the shaved head, I think )

Overkill. Untill I know for sure it is really over, and the danger to myself and anyone else I care about (may include strangers) is reduced to an acceptable level, I'd try to inflict as much harm as the situation warrants- and then some! As for the law, better to be tried by twelve than caried by six!

Interesting. I'd have to play with it before I adopt or give an opinion. Just thinking about it I can see advantages and disadvantages. For exampe, I don't think it is mechanically stronger, as the author said. In act, it is weaker. But that weaker, yielding block taken on a double bone structure could prevent injury. Good one to toy with in a slow training session. Thanks for the link. pang, the outside block is crap if done in a crappy manner. But I've used it in a variety of situations and for numerous reasons, and it worked well. I've even been known to use it as an entry move to check the opponents arm against his chest, or to position and gain cntrol. It is a designed block that works well. But to each his own. omni, maybe you could give some other pointrs on the use of the double bone block. What do you think about its strengths, weakneses, usefulness?

BT, I found these guys, and they seem to be pretty good. You might try them out and see if this is an option. http://www.karateconnection.com/ They aren't traditional, but if you need something to compliment an art you already know, or just don't have a school near enough to get to, something like this might be your best bet.

I've used sea bags/duffels for home made heavy bags. They work well. Old fire hose (2" or larger) doubled and hung also makes a credible dummy. For an appartment I'd say your best bet is to make a freestanding dummy. They aren't that difficult to make, and there's nothing better for working full power techniques. I'll see if I can find the IKCA website- I think they have instructions for making a dummy. Other alternatives: old boat seat cushions, stadium cushions, etc. can be used as focus pads or targets. Old car seats leaned against a post or wall are decent kicking shields or makeshift dummies. Foam padded sticks make good blocking or striking arms. A tennis ball and some chord make a good focus target for punches or kicks, even elbow strikes and finger techniques. Your immagination is the only limmit. Edit: found that website. http://www.karateconnection.com/ Go to the menue at left and select articles, Then select "Hey, Dummy". While you are there, check out the rest of their site. If you are looking for a good system to compliment another style, these guys are pretty good.

"It is my belief that true karate is learning the ‘Jutsu’ to such a level that it progresses to become ‘Do’." That quote summs up the whole point of the article, I think. And he's correct. Tai Chi, for example, is renowned for its health and spiritual aspects. But they have found you get less than half of these bennifits available in this style if you do not practice it as a martial art. American Kenpo uses English terms, but stresses physical, mental and spiritual development. These are interdependant, and to ignore one will dimminish the others.

In American Kenpo, we generally keep our side kicks low and our posture upright. We do two kinds- thrusting side kicks where the base foot pivots the heel toward the target, and snaping where the base foot doesn't pivot. Both chamber, strike, rechamber, then plant. But neither have to be chambered high unless you are going for a high target. Both get your hip into the kick, thrusting much more. Snaping is for speed, thrusting is for power and distance. Both are extremely effective. I've found the higher TKD style kicks to be easier to trap or sweep. And in a fight, where knee shots are 'legal', you'd be too open to major injury. On the other hand, the TKD practitioners I've fought don't usually throw the technically perfect kicks in sparing. I've eaten more than one kick, so I don't underestimate them.

Ballance- all have their strengths and limmitations. So I try to achieve a ballance in training. Regardless of which method you are using, you also need to be able to invest in loss. Remember, this is a training experience and not a contest. If you see the opportunity to take a dammaging shot, you might initiate the strike but do not follow through. Pull it before it even comes close. This will probably mean you'll take a hit, but better in training than in the real world. And, you've practiced exploiting an opportunity, even if you pulled it. The same is true in slow sparing- realize that you are going to loose if the opponent speeds up (and he almost allways will). To me, slow sparing is mostly about recognizing openings and developing flow into the next strike when he blocks. And, as JL pointed out, it is especially good since your moves and techniques are vertually unlimmited.

Relax. Speed comes primarily with relaxation. Tense muscles fight each other to move.

J Love- you are right on the money with your replies! Brick walls- might work to an extent. But you risk injury, and the certainty of pain or injury if you misjudge and hit it hard might cause you to develope some bad habbits (which monkeygirl alluded to). I'd use the wall to learn to judge max commited distance of a punch with different stances and stance changes. But if you're going to hit the thing, use a sheetrock wall and prelocate the studs. Sheetrock is easier to repair than your fist. Attatching tennis balls to string- drill or poke two holes in the ball on opposite sides. Thread the string through the holes and tie knots on both sides large enough that they won't pull through the holes. Alternatively, I just found some that were prestrung with light weight bunjee chord in the pet section of the local Dollar Store. All different colors and with fancy loops, so I strung them together in twos and threes so I have targets at nose, solar plex and groin levels (you can do this with the home made ones also). But these with the bunjee chords can be mounted and used like double end balls. They're great! Another advantage of the paper or balls over a wall is you can hang them in an irregular pattern and move as you work on them. So you are learning striking control with fotwork and stance changes, and your targets are constantly in different positions. A lot more like what you'll face when sparing.

Try some focus drills. Hang strips of paper from strings taped to your cieling at varying heights. Move around and strike them in rapid successsion, but try not to hit them. They should just move a little from the rush of air from your strike. If your training area is a little drafty, hang tennis balls instead and try to just barely tap them with full power punches. Have a partner hold up a pair of focus pads and strike them with full power punches. But the pad holder will call out yes for a solid hit and no for a pulled shot. So if he says "Yes-no-no-yes", you'd hit the first pad hard, pull the punch to the second pad and the next punch to the first pad, then hit the second pad. Developes focus and concentration, and really developes control.

You lucky bugger! You almost can't go wrong! If one of the schools is American Kenpo, I'd put it at the top of the list, especially if you want to understand what you are doing instead of just learning the moves. AK stresses knowing, understanding and properly applying the principles of power and motion. It was also designed for the American streets, and taught correctly is an extremely effective art. If you are interested more in personal development and the gentle way, Aikido is the way to go. Aikijujutsu, from what I understand, is an effective art and has an internal component. I've worked a little with Aikijutsu, which is a spinoff of Aikijujutsu, and that was an external art which uses serious internal principles. Shaolin schools tend to be well rounded traditional schools. Chinese martial arts are very effective when taught and practiced correctly. CMA ranks along with good TKD as being some of the most underrated martial arts styles out there. But, like TKD, there are some really bad schools out there too. And that goes for any art as well, so be careful in choosing. If your mom doesn't want to go to ten schools and try them out (which is understandable), I'd try to narrow it down to one choice in each catagory. That's only four schools. Then try a few lessons in each one and see which gives you what you want from the martial arts. You are hopefully going to invest a lifetime in learning your base art, so a few weeks or months spent deciding now is a relatively small investment to make sure. Good luck!

Tough to answer, as a lot depends on what you are comfortable with. But there are some good indicators: Watch to see if everyone gets good instruction, or if there are a favored few (he may focus on a particular belt level, or get a group ready for a tournament- this is not the kind of favoritism I'm talking about). Is the instructor present at all times? How good is he at passing on the knowlege and correcting mistakes? Does the instructor maintain discipline? Not like a drill instructor, but there should be no horseplay or people causing distractions. Everyone should either be busy working their art or paying attention. If they claim to teach self defense, they should spar. And at higher levels they should spar with contact. Sport schools will point spar, or whatever sport they train for. This is good for them, but not for a reality/self defense based school. Check that the fees are in line with what other schools in the area charge. That includes test fees, and any hidden costs. If they promise rank in a particular time frame, I'd back out. As a beginer, it may be difficult to judge the competence of the instructors and students. But try, and if your gut tells you something is wrong, be extra cautious. Don't be overly impressed with the trophies and other stuff schools like to display. Don't discount them either, but rely more on your judgement than their advertisements. These are just a few indicators I'd look for. Take your time. Good luck!

Yes, Tai Chi Chuan uses swords at more advanced levels. I'm still a begginer, so I havn't got into any of the sword forms.

Saddam Hussein was sitting in his office wondering who to invade next when his telephone rang. "Hallo, Mr. Hussein!", a heavily accented voice said. "This is Paddy down at the Harp Pub in County Sligo, Ireland. I am ringing to inform you that we are officially declaring war on you!" "Well, Paddy," Saddam replied, "This is indeed important news! How big is your army?" "Right now," said Paddy, after a moment's calculation, "there is myself, my cousin Sean, my next door neighbor Seamus, and the entire dart team from the pub. That makes eight!" Saddam paused. "I must tell you Paddy, that I have one million men in my army waiting to move on my command." "Begorra!" said Paddy. "I'll have to ring you back!" Sure enough, the next day, Paddy called again. "Mr. Hussein, the war is still on! We have managed to acquire some infantry equipment!" "And what equipment would that be, Paddy?" Saddam asked. Well, we have two combines, a bulldozer, and Murphy's farm tractor." Saddam sighed. "I must tell you, Paddy, that I have 16,000 tanks and 14,000 armored personnel carriers. Also, I've increased my army to 1-1/2 million since we last spoke." "Saints preserve us!" said Paddy. "I'll have to get back to you." Sure enough, Paddy rang again the next day. "Mr. Hussein, the war is still on! We have managed to get ourselves airborne! We've modified Harrigan's ultra-light with a couple of shotguns in the cockpit, and four boys from the Shamrock Pub have joined us as well!" Saddam was silent for a minute and then cleared his throat. "I must tell you, Paddy, that I have 1,000 bombers and 2,000 fighter planes. My military complex is surrounded by laser-guided, surface-to-air missile sites. And since we last spoke, I've increased my army to TWO MILLION!" "Jesus, Mary, and Joseph!", said Paddy, "I'll have to ring you back." Sure enough, Paddy called again the next day. "Top o' the mornin', Mr. Hussein! I am sorry to tell you that we have had to call off the war." "I'm sorry to hear that," said Saddam. "Why the sudden change of heart?" "Well," said Paddy, "we've all had a long chat over a bunch of pints, and decided there's no way we can feed two million prisoners." God Bless the Irish!!

If you want something that will compliment any martial art, and want to seriously improve your speed, as well as your reaction time, try Tai Chi Chuan fa (martial Tai Chi). I hear some of you laughing, but I'm serious. Speed comes with relaxation, and TCC will teach that better than anyting I know of. Omnifinite is also correct in that any of the kenpo/kempo styles I've heard of teach speed. And they teach the main principle of speed is relaxation.

I don't know anything about Soo Bahk Do. But I study American Kenpo, and it is very well rounded and effective. However, there are many different styles of Kenpo/Kempo. What style, or styles, are in your area? And what are their parent affiliations or lineage?

Black Rose, Of the styles you listed as being interested in, I'd say Jujutsu. Of the ones you listed in a 10 mi. radius, I'd advise looking closely at the Kempo and Tai Chi (Taiji) schools. I have to qualify this advice by saying that the quality of instruction is more important than the style. Also, I based my advice on your statements that you aren't sure what you want from the martial arts, and that you want a style that will hold its' own with other styles. The ones I recomended are generally well rounded and effective. But again, check out the school as well as the style. Tai Chi takes a lot longer to learn, and must be taught as a martial art and not just a health and exercise class. In fact, they say it takes about 10 years to get good enough to use it effectively in a fight. But a good TCC practitioner will more than hold his own with any body. Jujitsu has allways been known for its' effectiveness, and is well rounded. It emphasises locks, throws, and grappling. Kempo/Kenpo. There are several styles of kenpo from China, Japan, Okinawa, and America. All have their roots in Chinese Kenpo (actually Chuan Fa, which is more of a generic term for martial arts). Most are extremely effective at all ranges of stand up fighting. Many schools also incorporate small circle aiki (joint manipulation) and grappling.

hkf, the reason they talk about money is that it is important. It is difficult to do a good job teaching if you are starving, or even if you just get to the point you feel you're being taken advantage of. It takes money to run a school. It takes money to live. It takes money to continue to develope your interests. There is nothing wrong with asking a fair price for your time and effort, and there is also nothing wrong with the person providing training and capital insureing a return on his investment. Just because money is involved doesn't mean the people aren't dedicated. I'm not slamming you. Just pointing out the realities of life.