Alan Armstrong

Hence the term, "using the right tool for the job."I wondered who would catch it first! Congrats.

For martial artists, energy is a topic that is very high on the list of things to understand, yet it is a topic talked about but rarely discussed. I'm very interested in hearing your views on this very broad subject. Chinese "Ling Kong Jing" Empty force energy. Will is a kind of energy. Animal magnetism is a type of energy. Fights start due to opposing aggressive energy. The area around you is your private space or energy zone that you allow others to step in to and repel others that are not welcome. The gravitational pull of the Earth is always there, some martial artists can deify the forces of gravity and others can use it to a great advantage. What is your understanding of magnetic energy zones?

Willpower is an important ingredient for all martial artists. How do you develops yours? Perhaps you were born with great willpower while others struggle with it on a daily basis. After all, willpower over others is a skill, over oneself is the true mark of a master. Willpower development could also be recognized as self control practice. How is your willpower today? Perhaps you are willing to share you self control tips?

Enjoy your new martial art journey. Good luck!

Martial arts is certainly not a get rich scheme for the majority of senseis. Some ci's are good at the art but not so good at teaching it and some are good at teaching but not so good when doing it, due to a multitude of reasons usally attributed to health issues. Both are fine, it is the knowledge and experience that you need to draw from and if the ci can bring out the best in you. If a ci doesn't seem very interested in helping you to develop your potential, go somewhere else. People that teach have a passion to share, this is your clue to the being in the right school or not. When the teacher is looking forward to finishing the class. Then it's time to look for a new school. I would always search out likewise individuals that would want to train on off dojo hrs; higher or lower ranks, no matter.

In an interview, Emin stated that William said that he would fight anyone, in any place and at any time; Emin took him up on it. Yes, it looks very much like an assault, this is what makes this incident so controversial. Emin was the guy on top. I don't agree Emin's method of attacking William in a surprised attack, this is showing a poor sense of character. Emin stated something like "I couldn't stand it any more"

Sometimes people can seem to be predictable, like using a metric spanner on an imperial nut, it might look like the right tool from the first impression that can turn out to be a simple mistake.

Response to Tempest: A "surprise attack" from someone like Emin (that is claimed to have had 300 fights) in Williams seminar is bound to look out of place. This isn't the sort of thing that happens on a regular basis. The way Emin beat up William is exactly the way Emin trains and fights; get it over with no matter how unflashy it looks.

Emin was not in agreement with Williams claims to the Wing Chun throne, neither were other long established Wing Chun societies. Fosan In China (birthplace of modern Wing Chun) has about two hundred WC schools, not likely to be passed over so easily. As William was an Ip Man student and was a younger student, there are many other students before and older than William. Chinese traditions would not allow for Ip Man to pass his legacy over to a none family member, especially when there are living descents capable of the task. Emin had popular opinion on his side, also as he is far more of a charismatic character than William, he was holding a winning hand and played it perfectly. I'm very aware of both martial artists, there Wing Chun styles are very different from one another, yet they both share a place in the development and spreading Wing Chun's popularity further in to the western world.

Re: tallgeese statement; Emin has Turkish wrestling experience.

Very fair and good description from "Tempest"This was not a fight scene written by a Hollywood producer, reality fights can look very amateur due to the surprise attack and the spontaneity factor. When one is way past their prime as a fighter and the other person is in their prime, it hardly seems like a fair fight. The younger tiger wanted to be king of the (Wing Chun) mountain, Emin took his chance over William and won! This is the law of the jungle; including the concrete ones.

Seems like the mechanical connection with tools with everything (including martial arts) has firmly taken hold, as there is no escape from this technological phenomenon. I'm all for technological improvements that saves lives or improves the quality of life for those that are unfortunate for whatever reason. As martial arts (hand to hand combat) has all been mapped out long before we were born, to use our modern day tool tech to understand it better is certainly understandable. Body mechanics is a recent term invented within my lifetime. I constantly learn and enjoy the benefits from this way of understanding. Martial arts and geometry is another fascination for me as well as the human nervous system and fight physiology. However my interest in ancient Chinese understanding (wisdom) that spans back almost 40 years, has personally stood the test of time. My martial art practice is 50% theory and 50% practice; this is the Chinese way. I Ching, Bagua and Yin/Ying including Taiji are doorways of understanding my martial art way; no technology or theory can escape the profound understanding of these gifts from the ancient Chinese past. As we all need new ways of seeing or using every day objects for examples in explaining our ideas to others as similarities are usually close by. Leverage principles from engineering can make a mediocre martial artist in to someone outstanding, with enough practice and understanding that person could become close to invincible. Using the right tool for the job in my mind is not the end all answer for using a technique for a target. This way of thinking is actually discouraged in some ma styles that I have learned that are energy awareness based. If references to tools or any ma concept works for the style, then who am I to disagree. Not to use what works isn't intelligent reasoning, how ever using what works is. As reasoning prevails, I have incorporated modern day objects in to my teaching. This is on a trial basis only, as a way to motivate and inspire enthusiasm for my martial arts students. Moments before a sparring class this evening, I ask them "If you were a motorcycle which one would you choose to be? One answered "A Kawasaki Ninja" A class they will probably never forget; very enjoyable to say the least.

The theories of Wing Chun are more than still intact.Two guys out of 2 million that practice Wing Chun, hardly fluff with this "and all that jazz...." theory. It wasn't a UFC (for entertainment) fight, the event was inevitable due to the high caliber of each individual; it is the way of Wing Chun.... any place any time! The fight was not a pay per view spectacle, rather a way wars should be faught with two combatants, this way blood shed is kept to a minimum with only two combatants instead of 1000s or more.

Who decides when a person should be called a "master" ? Different style have different levels of when a person should be considered a master. Personally, I don't care for labels or nicknames, call me what you want, I try to respect everyone equally no matter there given title.

Performance artists don't need tools.A dancer uses his/her mind and body. Those are tools. A singer uses his/her mind and voice; tools. I really can't take this any further. So as it stands "everything" is considered a tool?Just not by me; perhaps I'm not the sharpest tool in the tool shed. The next time someone has an axe to grind with me, hopefully I will not need to put my nose to the grindstone, with my newly found MA toolbox, I will easily be able to rewire their circuitry and fuse out their lights.

Conceptual artists don't need tools. Tools are not the art, as much as tools are not the house, building or fixing or improving things yes.

Performance artists don't need tools.

JR 137; of course artists use tools, but tools don't make them artist, skillfulness and imaginative problem solving combined with finesse and artistry, creativity and originality are just a few examples. Bruce Lee is an artist; he could have easily chosen to be a xerox copy of Ip Man.

Tools can be over rated. Some people need the latest and greatest tool to compensate for their inadequacys. Many times the answer to a situation is not to block with a tool, but rather to avoid it or flow around it, or even be too close, to stop it before it has any momentum. Slipping punches, ducking and bobbing are not tools. Deflecting kicks by moving directly in to an opponent is more efficient and better than trying to use a tool/technique. Battling with am opponent at full speed, to pick and choose which tool/technique to use is not practical. There is no time to pick or chose a tool to fit the situation, because for me personally, all of my weapons are aiming straight at the opponent, hair triggered for instant effectiveness.

Tools; for some, when they have a hammer in their hand everything looks like a nail. A reverse punch is like a hammer for many martial artists and the opponent looks like a nail. Which tool is used to fight without fighting? Is the answer, using the brain? Some martial artists equate a Dojo as a garage; why? Using the right tool for the job. This Is a very rudimentary way of looking at things. The reverse punch is a very handy tool for the mechanical martial artists, why? because it is very handy against likewise individuals. Handyman martial arts is very handy because it doesn't take much thought and is always close at hand. This is why Jackie Chan played the part of a handyman in a "Karate Kid" movie. Ironically he was not teaching Karate! The movie was playing up to the toolman mentality, which is easier to sell as a karate movie, that was actually a kung fu, flick. Jackie Chan was showing the boy the essence of martial arts with the Yin/Yang fish and not his handyman toolbox. Isn't karate "The art of the empty hand" or should it be changed to "The art of using a tool" Funny for me to notice that a mechanic can never have enough tools. Also to solve a problem the answer is to go out and buy another tool. Japanese can build without nails, a lesson for many to learn how. Tools are only as good as the person holding them.

Absolutely fine to use mechanical or engineering terminology to describe martial arts. As they are a small part of the bigger picture of Yin/Yang. Using the right tool for the job is not art, ask any artist. Art is about expressions not mechanical paint by numbers. Any brute can fight, that doesn't make him a martial artist, just because his favorite tool is a hammer fist.

As a martial artist, I am more than my moving parts. The (male) predictabilities of the mechanically inclined martial artist loses out on the adaptability qualitys of (female) spontaneity and unpredictable surprise maneuvering.

Describe the grace of Tai Chi through the eyes of a mechanic? Tai Chi movements are like a well oiled machine! Torque comes from the waist and hips! He is a killing machine! Men are known to be mechanically inclined, are women? If looking from a perspective of, men are from Mars and women are from Venus, engineering and mechanics is geared towards male attributes. Many male martial artists enjoy the Japnese masculine qualities, yet there arts are also balanced with a feminine quality also. Mechanics don't win races, drivers do. All of martial arts can be described with Yin/Yang, this is why it is the most universally used symbolic symbol of martial arts in the entire world.

Tools of the trade. A Redneck's toolbox only contains a hammer. A man is only as good as his tools. The expressions using tools are many. The question is, can everything about martial arts be understood with tool idioms and metaphors or just a few things?

Military self-defense? Will polish women start carrying around double edged knives? Or do they only learn how to defend from an attacker that uses one? If polish women need self defense, then a proper program should be set up to for fill their needs. Civilian women certainly don't fight like military men so why train them as if they are? At least if the police was doing the training for the women, it would be closer to mainstream society in a city setting in high heels than the alternative of being in a warzone wearing commando boots. Perhaps the Polish government is preparing the women of their country for homeland security reasons!