White Warlock

Agreed. Mimicking a culture is one of the things many Asians have indicated to me they find to be 'insulting.' Westerners often attempt to mimic the cultures of foreign lands, within the constraints of their training facilities... and many Easterners take offense to this. Some take it as a sign of respect, but since many Westerners 'get it all wrong,' the tendency is to insult rather than compliment. Also, what was stated to me, was that they 'mimic the culture' within that particular 'scene,' rather than actually incorporate it into their being. Culture is not something you visit a fast food restaurant for, it is something you are... or become. Ah well...

Before, there were no belts. These modern-day attempts to 'quantify' our abilities is the problem.

SubGrappler, I agree with you on all points except this one: For two reasons. One is that a black belt is not, as you indicated, a determinate of a good 'teacher' and two, because some people prefer to instruct or study over making a significant income. It could also be, because this school is new to the area, that he is providing lower rates at the onset. Etc... Especially in the martial arts, price is absolutely no guarantee of quality.

lol, i just hope i'm not discouraging people from posting thier views.

good post

Ugh! Don't listen to him! /me smacks KempoTigger

oi, WHAT kung fu style? That's like asking, "which is better, an apple or a vegetable?" Answer is: depends on what vegetable... and how you intend on utilizing it. edit: No, actually, it depends more on how you study and how much emphasis you place on conditioning.

The base of Gracie ju-jutsu (Brazilian ju-jutsu) was judo. So both the past and the present, the foundations and forerunners, practice ground techniques and the whole spectrum of combat applications. Wherein could judo have missed the boat on all this? Answer is, it didn't. As noted above, competitions focus on takedowns, but this is not the totality of the art. Many judoists participated in the UFC and other MMA competitions, and fared very well.

For the longest time, i'm talking years, i had a broken nose. Not merely broken, but shattered. The cartilage was all over the place and 11+ bone fragments from the inner bone cleft were strewn about in my nasal passages. Everytime anyone hit me in the face, it hurt tremendously, but i gained a tolerance to the pain. This overwhelming 'ugly' feeling when your face gets impacted: your nose shakes, your eyes want to water, and your cheeks feel like exploding... these are things you can learn to 'accept' as part of physical contact. But, u must ask yourself what the goal is. I was disqualified twice in 85', because my nose ended up bleeding too much. I was directed to get it checked, and that's when i found out how badly broken it was... and how it had probably 'first' been broken when i was around 12 years old (a brilliant stepping-on-a-rope-being-dragged-by-a-bike incident), and then rebroken many times since. I struggled with rhinitis and other sinus ailments, and never once having a doctor that had the 'insight' to xray. Anyway, i got it fixed, and a few months after the plastic brace and insertions were removed, i banged my nose hard against a window (thought it was open, duh). I immediately grabbed my nose... then stood there in awe. No pain (unfortunately, all was not better and i had two more operations before the dang thing was functioning 'somewhat' normally again). Back to the point... it is mostly about mindset. The reactions to the pain are about 'fear of injury or disfigurement.' If you 'remove' the fear associated with these somewhat shallow concerns (at least the latter), you will find yourself able to better ignore the effect. In other words, it's mostly psychological... mostly in your head, not in your face.

i'm sorry, but this is not true. Muscle mass interrupts the person's ability to focus on using leverage, sensitivity, and balance. It does this because it encourages the 'use' of raw force. So, for internal art training purposes, it is best not to develop muscle mass. But, if you are already proficient in the internal arts, and have mastered the basics, developing muscle mass is not going to hinder your training... or interfere with this little 'undefined' concept called chi. Just to make it clear... chi is not magic. Indeed, it is not anything. It is a concept distorted by snake-oil sellers and by the unknowing. And most Westerners fall into the unknowing. This is not a knock on Westerners, it is merely a thing that needs to be understood. Westerners were brought up with the studies of physics and scientific study. Chi is a concept that 'explains' how things work, and which later became the basis for Chinese (and other) studies. I.e., things worked (like 'some' acupuncture) and it was associated with the flow or disruption of chi. If you examine the concepts of chi, you'll notice there are many similarities with that of matter/energy. In my opinion, these similarities brings about more 'faith' in the concept of chi as a viable understanding. In China and surrounding nations, chi was their basis for study... their physics if you will. Because of this, attempting to perceive chi 'hand-in-hand' with the Western studies... makes little sense, and thus Westerners tend to percieve chi as something tangible, yet intangible. A 'hidden' energy, rather than a 'concept' of how things work... or don't work. Thanks for your time in reading this.

Those three mentioned, although there are a variety of grips associated with each one, especially the epee'. I prefer the sabre. It is more inline with the styles i have come to respect and study and has more in-your-face applicability. ;P

KarateKid, find out what percentage of fat you have. If it is less than 9%, then you do have something to be concerned about. If not, then just don't worry about 'mass.' Most of the 'mass' building things out there merely add 'fat' or 'water.' If you wish to build your muscle mass, workout with the intent to obtain larger muscles. Larger weights, less repetitions. Has been the way, still is the way. Protein building is 'only' effective if you are actually working your muscles extensively. If not, you're just increasing your fat percentage. Carb diets... are a sham. There, i'm done.

Calling something Brazilian ju-jutsu doesn't guarantee it is legitimate. I agree it is important to see if the instructor is legitimate. If he is registered as an instructor with the Gracies or Machados, i would say he's qualified to instruct. Otherwise, research further.

i forgot to go... does that count?

Thanks Goju, but i'm not alone here and i share my thoughts on things in the hopes my words help others to grow in the arts. In turn, i hope the words of others help me to grow.

i would have to see a video of you getting in that situation to provide reliable insight, but i 'guess' that it is because you are leading with your head and not bending at the knees. Read my post in this thread... it covers this.

As a student, i would pick it up and put it back on, at the first 'safe' opportunity. If i were the instructor and someone dropped a belt, which is what #11 was referring to, if i deemed that the student was just going to leave it on the floor, i would wait until the first 'safe' opportunity to direct the student to pick it up and put it aside or put it on. Reason being: it poses a safety hazard.

hmm, what name are the shoes? I.e., do they have a brand name, or a design name? /slightly off tangent... but only slightly

i'm saying, don't think of it as a test. instead, consider it a formality. I.e., you already earned the belt, you just have to do this 'dance' in front of the instructors to show 'them' that you already earned it.

If to survive, you must kill, then to do so, you must. If to protect the lives of those you love, you must kill, then to do so, you must. It is not a perfect world, and there are not perfect instances. Violence reaches all stages, and one must determine the extent of violence they must commit to in order to end a confrontation with the least amount of injury, or death, to all sides. As to the question initially presented, aye... there is no 'one' deadliest martial art... only deadly actions. One can train to understand 'how' to commit deadly actions, but this is not the art... it is the understanding. To actually commit the action, is not the art... it is the failing.

Heh, i noted Gene LeBell is up there. The guy is a comedian, as well as a talented judoist that used to do professional wrestling. I'm pretty sure his 'crooked shillalegh' is a joke about how some persons grab 10th degree black belts by creating their own styles. A note... it is considered the standard for a person who founds his system to be considered a 10th degree black belt in their system, with his direct offspring (or adopted offspring), obtaining 9th degree. Therefore, many persons have 'exploited' this little caveat of information... and made up their own styles so they can 'legitimately' wear a 10th degree black belt. Personally, i think most of those who do so are deluding themselves, or are acting in such a manner as to exploit others. A quick way to gain rank, and in doing so... having credentials, even if bogus. I noted most of those are also 'part' of the person's name.

Seems like you're setting up those tests as goals, when they should not be. Practice, practice, practice, and don't consider the tests as goals, but merely part of the learning process. If you fail, you redo, no biggie. btw, you won't fail... eventually.

I agree with kivikala, you don't know if the instructor has plans to help her develop her self-esteem or confidence, but everyone trying to help her develop is likely only going to exacerbate her situation, feed her insecurity, make her feel like the odd-woman-out, the straggler, the black sheep. Treat her like a human being, like a fellow student, like everyone else, and don't worry about her dedication, commitment level, or motivation. What any student needs, at any stage of their development, is to feel they are progressing, and that they are 'part' of a community. By singling her out, trying to teach her, motivate her, beyond the instructor's efforts, not only are you distracting your own studies, you may indeed be going somewhere that would do more harm than good. Let the instructor do his job, and you do yours... go study.

Just wanted to cover a few points not yet discussed, or just lightly touched: Wearing your martial arts clothing to school, even if it's just the shoes, is advertising. There should be no need to do so, so don't. The shoes are not actually 'martial art' shoes. I don't believe there are 'any' martial art shoes (although some companies have tried to sell their shoes by giving them martial art brandings or associations). They are more likely slippers that are commonly seen in the ol' martial art movies. So, calling them 'martial art shoes' sort of opens up the door to ridicule. When people, who are not practitioners and who are at a stage in their life where they are somewhat insecure (most persons in junior high and high school fall into that category), get told that you know martial arts, suddenly you have violated their personal space. You violated their personal space by mentioning such. For, many persons feel by mentioning such, you are somehow 'challenging them,' stating something like, "i know the martial arts, so don't mess with me." This is one of the reasons those persons who mention they study the martial arts get challenged... because they failed to realize that they were the ones who actually committed the challenge. The cutdown about kiddies was, in itself, a counter-challenge. It was a means to put down your confidence in what you practice, so as to undermine the unintentional threat you imposed by your comment. It is much the same as someone saying, "i'm a violent person, respect me," and then the counter-response being, "yeah, i'm sure gerbils find you pretty violent." Notice how you feel when a person mentions he is a football player. Some mention it with the specific intent to 'intimidate,' but most do not. Despite this, most of the times it is mentioned, one can feel intimidated... because football is a very violent sport and we are in a very 'non-violent-minded' society. It is the contrast of civilized vs barbaric (which opens up a can of worms for discussion, btw).To avoid having to 'explain' yourself, or the love for your art, don't volunteer information like this. It's not important that they know, unless they have an interest in the material you study, or wish to study with you. Unlike many other sports or studies, martial arts 'is' about violence, and therefore... you are studying how to commit violence. This, in and of itself, needs to be understood... if you wish to be accepted in a 'civilized' society. Thank you for reading

and not all monkeys dance in a tree. (( it rhymed ))