italian_guy

In our case pre-selection just means that during the normal lessons the teacher look at you performing the forms and if he feels you are not ready just tells you that you are not admitted to the exam.

I think is very good to have a community like this to share the experiences, and help motivating each other... and also I've learnt a lot from all of you, like ShotokanKid I say thanks to all of you for this.

Welcome to KF.

For my body type, size and age (43) I rather prefer Karate to Taekwondo and kung fu (Here I mean northern external style, because for Southern or internal styles it is a completely different business). I have not enaugh agility and flexibility to get proficient in those styles in a reasonable time so my personal best choice would be karate.

Yes these are the most popular.... in Italy there is a correlation... Kung fu Schools where southern styles are taught (Wing chun Hung Har etc.) usually teach Chen and Kung fu schools where Northern styles are taught (Northern Shaolin) teach yang.

I agree with that, and the previous Shorin Ryuu post... actually I don't wear shoes when I practice goju ryu but I wear shoes when I practice Tai Chi Chuan.

Contratulations aefibird! Not a particularly notewhorty achievement up to know. Just the enjoyment of training to get better and better and keep a good health, improving my self confidence.

Taken both in their prime I think Bruce Lee would win.. no doubt. Anyway I would not disregard too much Jackie Chan, although in the movie he shows all this fancy movement in order to make a good looking movie, his agility, speed and flexibility would make him a very good MArtist. I don't know if he can be considered so and how he trains but , at least is potentially very good.

Kung fu is a generic term that currently (but not literally) only means Chinese Martial Art so Tai chi is kung fu (internal style like Ba gua or Xing Yi)... aside this, even if the order is not correct the 3 most popular arts in the world kung fu, karate and TKD/TSD are well represented here.

I had two experiences one in Tai chi chuan and another in Karate. In Tai chi chuan the first grading exam has a standard form (Fundamentals, Ba tuan chin, and first quarter of Yang 108 movement form), the exam is just as demanding as a regular lesson, with the added tension due to the exam but this depends on individuals, usually nobody fails because the head teacher does a pre-selection, who is admitted very rarely fails (unless total catastrophe), however the pre-selection is somehow strict, who does not meet the requirement wait for other 6 months. In karate there is no pre-selection but the (even if remote) possibility of failure exists. Here they give also a score to each candidate so you know how far are you from excellence or from bare sufficiency. The test is divided in three parts Kihon (basics), Kata (forms) and Bunkai (interpretation of the forms) , from the second test they add also kumite (sparring).

I have to agree with The Saint about the fact that Kickboxing is cooler to watch then olympic TKD. As far as self-defence issues I know several bouncers that actively use kickboxing skills in their jobs. One of those is my former instructor the other is a former kickboxing middleweight regional champion.

Welcome to the forums

Welcome back to the forums.

It is a good movie although is not done 100% by bruce lee. But IMO Enter the dragon is better!

Yes probably you are right. The equilibrium and leg strenghtening exercies we use in TCC may be beneficial.

I find this quite strange... what's the source of this information?

Going back to the original question my point of view is that you need a sort of martial art system put togheter by someone who devote a life to this mission. I do not trust MA pachwork put togheter just to found a new school. This is why I like traditional system, to this extent it is also useful to cross train in some other martial art in order to have a broader orizon... I also like attending seminar about other martial art to get a grasp on their principle and some useful technique. The thing I have done myself is that I choose my style (goju ryu karate) and cross train in other styles ( for the moment is Tai chi chuan but this may not be the choice of a lifetime) and also enjoing the MA seminars organized by my dojo (e.g. jujitsu, kickboxing) in order to get a broader view. But I think that we need style to have a better definition of our choices.

Yes, it takes 15 minutes to be executed and 2-3 years to be learnt. It is no joke. We have the complete form splitted in 4 quarters and each quarter is the material for a belt/level test. Proficient people give 1 exam each 6 months so you can take minimum 2 years to learn it, at least at the level to take a test about it.

Slip or lateral deflection. I'm afraid that that block leave you opened for a front kick just above the belt.

Once I've made a poll about this issue. You can find the results at: http://www.karateforums.com/viewtopic.php?t=11875&start=30

How can I submit some review now that there is no section?

How are you going to procede? Are you making a new forum item?

Hi, welcome to KF and good luck for your test.

Welcome to KF

What are the other 2 internal martial arts like (aside of TCC)? I heard that Ba gua has no kicks and circular movements... and I know nothing about Xing yi (exept that is internal martial art).