White Warlock

why?A long enough discussion occurred here - http://www.karateforums.com/viewtopic.php?t=22993 Essentially, blocking is the least effective means of defense. It is the hardest to implement, slowest to apply, easiest to exploit, etc...

Something i wrote earlier that is somewhat relevant to these discussions - http://www.karateforums.com/viewtopic.php?t=22089&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=46

marketing is one thing, an important thing.

Well, obviously this is a touchy subject, but i've never been one to walk on eggshells. Nonetheless i hope that what i have to say won't be misconstrued as my wanting to debate merely for the sake of debate. As always, i try to present information and insight. Jkd is not a system, it's an approach. Jun fan do is a system and it was used as a base for instructing the 'concepts' associated with jkd. This, unfortunately, has presented much confusion as to what jkd is, or was. The study of jkd has, in truth, very few 'legitimate' followers. Many people tout having studied jkd, but few actually know what it means and fewer have had any formal training. As to persons being inspired, as i noted earlier... he was presented to the mainstream by people who saw profit. There were plenty of martial art movies being made in Hong Kong, and a few being made in Japan. It was pretty much a 'pick this' or 'pick that' when it came to picking movies to present in the U.S., but Bruce had an edge in the business. He was a child actor and had the luck to link up with a producer as one of his students. This guy gave him the connections to Hollywood and he was later able to angle his HK movies into the U.S. As well as i know, he never made a movie for Hollywood (supporting actor bits for the Green Hornet series doesn't count). As to being an inspiration, yes... many people who needed an idol found him to be inspiring, but in many the wrong way. He presented, on screen, an overly confident, arrogant, yet otherwise skilled martial artist. The themes to his movies were almost always 'revenge-based,' which is not a 'good' motive for studying the arts. As to those who found him to be an idol and then became accomplished martial artists... there are no statistics on this, but i gather there are very very few. A lot of people tried the martial arts, and failed. Only a select few succeed in continuing their studies on any topic and actually become accomplished at anything in life. It is not the popularity of such things that make masters, but individuals who make themselves. Taking things out of context is not the way i prefer to have a discussion. When i stated this, it was specifically about the 70's and the influence movies had on a multitude of persons to emulate by action, not by effort. Wannabes exist in everything and in all fields. Which pretty much wipes almost 'everyone' that was 'inspired' by movies to enter the arts. Look, i entered the arts on my own, without ever seeing a Bruce Lee movie. I know plenty of longtime practitioners that followed the same route. Indeed, i have found no longtime practitioners that were inspired to join the arts because of Bruce Lee's onscreen appearance. I contest this. It is not a fact, nor do i believe it to be true. Martial movies, as a whole, catch peoples attention. But it is through the flash and fancy that people are intrigued. And, when it comes right down to it, 'real' martial arts isn't flash and fancy. Those inspired by the movies to enter the arts are often sorely disappointed with the products presented. It takes work to become an accomplished student of the arts. Movies don't present that, they only present the end product... the flash. It looks great but is unpalatable to the vast majority of viewers. I give Bruce Lee no more credit than i would any other movie-martial artist. Yes, they inspire some people to join the arts. Yes, a thimble-full of them actually rise above black belt. But, it is what is within them that makes them who they are... not the movie credits. What motivates a person to walk into that door... that's recruiting. It's not instruction and it doesn't develop the martial artist. In fact, it is the instructors that develop the martial artists... and instead, the limelighters get the credit. Bruce Lee was a limelighter. Plenty of persons have touched the screen, but few have touched the dojo, and in turn, the student. It is the instructors, the trainers, the educators that deserve credit... not the movie stars.

I wouldn't. Great things were already happening in the martial arts. He just ended up getting credit for a lot of it. I'm sure there were great things already happening when he burst onto the scene but there are countless individuals who were introduced to the martial arts though his movies. Several of them are now masters, preserving and teaching martial arts thoughout the world. I'd call that a great thing. I'm sorry, but if his accomplishments are going to be centered on his 'screen' efforts and the ensuing 'media' exploitation of the arts, i just don't think that's such a good thing. A lot of people entered into the martial arts because they saw him on screen? The growth and change of the arts is due to individuals within the arts that look beyond idols, and instead into themselves and into their arts. Granted, there are many people who found idols from different mediums, but i can't readily give Bruce Lee credit for the 'horrible' influx of wannabe martial artists that occurred in the 70's Bruce Lee era (as some people like to call it). In that time, a lot of fakers jumped into the scene, claiming to have belts and opening up schools with a modicum of legitimate background. Worse, however, were the many persons entering the martial arts for the 'wrong' reasons. The movies didn't help the martial arts... it hurt it. Mass consumption is for the masses, and that's what movies and other network-products target. As to Bruce's movies as a whole, they were mostly geared towards revenge and other 'unhealthy' MA ventures, but common-theme movie ventures. I also don't give credit to the times. It was at that time recognized there was an interest in Asian martial arts. It was the media moguls that capitalized on Bruce Lee and other martial artists of the time, because they noted the consumer interests... and went into it for the money. Had it not been Bruce Lee, it would have been someone else...

Well, nowadays, a black belt is more like an associates 'certificate.' Just a mastery of the 'basics,' with little to no peripheral understandings and a definite need for more education to be applicable in the field (street).

why do i find this hard to believe?

lol, forgot to say hi. hi

Chung do kwan, the originating form (or school) for tang soo do. It is considered a 'traditional' form of tkd, as opposed to the more sport-oriented.

I don't think it has gotten a bad rap, as much as it has gotten an appropriate rap. There's been a lot of goofing off with tkd over the years, moving from function into flash. As well, plenty of substandard instructors handing out belts to substandard students, and the trend continues until there is a flood of bad tkd practitioners out there. With the entry of tkd into the Olympics, things have only gotten worse, not better.

don't block

Agreed, the belt means nothing if it is not earned through hard study and effective learning, which is not guaranteed merely due to your son's efforts. If the school does not provide adequate learning, he will not obtain adequate instruction. Just like 'any' educational environment. The questions should be posed... what are your goals for your son? And, for that matter, what are your son's goals?

I wouldn't. Great things were already happening in the martial arts. He just ended up getting credit for a lot of it.

what a tremendous waste of energy.

Agreed. sounds like you have a deviated septum. Actually breaking the nose is not easy but having the septum, a piece of cartilage attached to the bone ridge in your nose, detached is rather common. The concerns are many. Despite what a lot of people think, having a broken nose or a deviated septum can create many health problems, including rhinitus, sinusitus, nasal polyps, regular hemmorhaging, etc. I've had them all. Three surgical operations later and i still have problems... Go to a doctor and get it checked out.

working out with weights can damage your joints. If you do work out with weights, with the intent to develop speed, do not do so at a high speed and do not fully extend.

physical contact of such a nature would very likely have escalated the scene. Also, it needs to be considered, and so far it hasn't, the social impact of confronting a female when you are a male. And with, another story: When i was 12 years old, my brother's friend was roughhousing with me in the middle of the schoolyard. Me being pretty tiny at the time, some girl thought he was abusing me, so she came over and kicked him in the leg and yelled at him. He got angry and grabbed her. Big mistake... In a matter of seconds, the entire... and i emphasize this... the entire schoolyard came swarming in. It was all we could do to protect my friend as we slowly moved toward the class' building. A few instructors came out of the building, saw the scene, and went right back in... not wanting to be a casualty of mob mentality. I have other similar stories. The point here is, a guy striking or getting physical with a woman is not readily accepted. In fact, at the k-12 levels of school, it could very well turn into a mob scene. A lot of guys, regardless of whether a girl is right or wrong, want to play the role of knight in shining armor. Add to that the gender comraderie that women/girls have, and you are asking for a world of hurt if you strike, or even 'grab,' a female in a public setting. Worse is, many females know this and exploit it. No, i think what the boy did was appropriate. A difficult choice, but appropriate. It is not merely the adversary you must consider, but the scene, the spectators, and the consequences.

agreed

You're being too nice Igm.

Well, that is the point... they don't know what they're missing. Or, for that matter, what they would be walking into.

aye, figured. The billings have always been questionable in these events.

his name sounded oddly familiar, so i looked it up and sure enough, he's an NBA basketball player. Nope, nothing about this guy...

what MOS?

lol, it's hard when i have to explain my jokes. Umm... we travel the belts, from white, to the rainbow of colors, to black, and then eventually back to white again. The concept associated with this refers to our path in learning, where initially it's all simple, it then becomes very complex, and eventually it is all simple again... So the joke being, you start with short hair (white belt), you learn the system slowly, your hair grows, you then cut your hair, thereby going full circle (back to white). Ah well...

Bah! Alright, all of you, outside!