battousai16

why are you asking me? i just said it could be done. 'sides, it's not like it would be the first chinese style to add a color system, and i doubt it would be the first wing chun school, either. i assume it's in the same thought process of the "gold star" thing you see in kindergarten. a material reward for the people who don't quite get the point yet. and buy some food and pay the rent while you're at it.

i seem to recall hearing it... as in i heard it, it very well may not be true, and i don't have a reference. the greeks were never my big thing. i could do some digging, but then again, so could you... i just posed it as a thought.

as i understand it, the color system isn't a documentary of what actually happened, but rather representation of the degree of training a student would go through as s/he progressed. y'know, you start out white and clean, than you get sweaty, a little dirty, your roll around in the grass a bit, a little blood here and there, than finally it's just so dark you can't even remember what color you started out with. just my understanding of course. could very well be someone just justifying their use of so many colors.

yes, there are still libraries around... but they all have computers in them i seem to recall hearing that the greeks used this symbol to represent lightning, as well. y'know, just FYI.

first of all, i never said everyone is the same. but i kind of have this "better safe than sorry" attitude, especially when weapons come into play (yes, even if it's just a stick). that said, anyone can be a natural. i've seen people who've never picked up a staff in there lives be called a natural, same with nunchaku. i was called a natural with the sword before i picked one up, and to tell you the truth, i don't even much care for it, and thus don't practice with it as much as i should. (i'm a much bigger fan of the staff ) not making any judgments about you, just a thought. and just a bit of a disclaimer, i don't mean for any of this to have a harsh tone. just stating my opinion. as you said, it's hard to demonstrate tone online.

not sure how ya get green i think that's supposed to be from the grass stains

the more you know and welcome to the forums.

^yeah, i was under the impression that it was a buddhist symbol and wasn't aware it was associated with any karate style^. and in all fairness, it was a reverse swastika. though, it's of course very possible and definitely probable that there are holes in my knowledge.

y'know, instead of putting up a thread in all of the different categories, you probably could have just put one up in the general one... and i still hold you should probably stick with shorin ryu. but if that's not available, here's a list of dojos and dojangs and kwoons and gyms and what not; as good a place to start as any. http://www.martialinfo.com/MartialMainFrame.htm

ok, see, the car analogy wasn't to express the danger of teaching yourself a weapon as much as the foolishness. you will make bad habits and you will make it harder for yourself in the future. why do all of that when the instructor is right there? if it's just a color belt issue, why not have a wee bit of patience and learn it when your instructor, who you chose to train you and i would assume you feel s/he knows best, decides you're ready to do so? just a thought...

well, of course, i'm using extremes but i think shorin ryu summed up my point nicely.

oh... is that all... the wing chun guy i'm looking at has a lot of training in hung gar, and i'm hoping to learn it, as i'd very much like to learn the 5 animal form. we'll see how it works out, but i think i'm kind of hoping against hope. i'd also like to learn 3 section staff and chain whip, but they look wicked hard; way out of my league right now. ah well, i'm young and spry. all in good time.

whoop, sorry, i'm a bit on the slow side today. not much sleep last night . are they as big a pain to learn as i hear? and are those typical wing chun weapons? how many styles have you dabbled in anyway, if you don't mind my asking?

awwww, is this the special lady in question? that is kind of cute!

...howdy...?

heh heh, i couldn't help but chuckle at that, myself. i have this thing about not executing techniques unless i'm sure i have full control and am comfortable with it, and, quite frankly, the spinning backfist is one of those techniques that i'm not that comfortable with. every time i try it in friendly sparring, i've never been able to land it. we'll see. i'll work on it.

the magazine in question just had a fairly large article on the differences between "real" and "fake" shaolin kung fu. it's worth taking a gander at.

ha, y'know my old history teacher used to have a poster with a lot of those on it, but they had adorable illustations to go along with it. many a time i walked passed it and considered swiping it... never got around to it, though.

as well as the 3 section staff which i've heard is a killer to learn (but looks like it would be great fun), i've heard it to be very difficult to learn the 9 section chain whip. but i don't know either of those, so i really can't verify

ach, i see. can you drive, 9 lives? when you learned, did you just hop in a car and "try it out" for awhile? try to get a feel for it? someone had to figure it out on there own, right? or did someone teach you? why risk it when you have a perfectly good and available instructor right there? not that i'll give you any techniques, of course also, one might want to point out that the staff wasn't all worked out by one person on a sunny afternoon. i assume it's been refined to what it is now over several hundred years.

hey, WW, someone finally commented without your pointing it out!

except for of course in chinese, which to my understanding, when you replace a little slash thing it can than be a daisy, or a car, or a swing, or a child, or a... but perhaps i've been misinformed...?

i wouldn't imagine so traditionally, but one could certainly insert them. it dosen't even seem as though it would be difficult; just give them a sash after every form. y'know, not that i would, it's just that it could be done, and probably has been.

do you mean to ask if i'm talented at what i do or if i train hard and often? i train about 6 days a week at least once a day, but mostly because i'm a big geek with nothing better to do to tell you the truth, i'm not very good at every aspect of hwa rang do. somethings i'm better at than others, but essentially i'm pretty crap. i do what i can, but it's such a long road... i'm sure you know the feeling.

ok, reading your shaolin kung fu post i see you're reffering to the translation thing. i think if you go anywhere and say you practice kung fu, people will know what you're talking about. even if it wasn't intended to be the name of a martial art at the time, it certainly is now.