White Warlock

Interesting info Shorin. Gungrave, it might help if you think of it as your engine on idle. At such low rev, it causes the entire vehicle to shake. Once you go into gear, the shaking disappears. The bigger factor is allowing your fear to overtake your sensibilities. From the first moment you encountered a threat, to the time you must decide to act, there is this great anticipation. The shaking, if misunderstood, can undermine your confidence. But, it should not. If what you determined of your assailaint, from the onset of the confrontation, remains the same, then the only thing that can change... is you. And so, if you feel the shakes, realize you are 'ready.' Whether it be ready to fight, or ready for flight... 'should be' dependent on your initial observations, and not on the trepidation obtained during the wait. Whatever the course, realize the shakes as something not negative... even if friggin' annoying. Allow it to 'boost' your confidence, knowing that you are ready and that your body has boosted your physical potential and focused your mind, via the exceedingly potent natural drug of adrenalin.

I've trained formally and informally with the manriki-gusari, which is similar in concept to this 'meteor hammer,' although not television birthed.

We could all speculate on what we could, woulda done in a similar situation, but that's not really my point. My point is... we practice so we at least 'think' to do something. Training to have a firmer grasp of fight or flight, of real vs television drama, and of action or inaction gives us the 'ability' to do 'something,' even if that something is merely to obtain a license plate. Look back at that video and watch the people. Nobody reported anything to the police, even after an all-points media request was made. Grab a few of us and put ourselves in that picture, and things would likely have been far different (at least i hope). I suspect many of you would have, at the very least, attempted to obtain a license plate. At the most, intercede. But what did those people do? If you look at one of the persons in the bottom of the video, it looks like he's trying to change the channel. Or how about that one on his cell phone, chatting away with a friend. He wasn't calling 911, seeing as they never received any calls. With so many potential witnesses, blending in with the crowd whilst attempting to garner information of the scene would have been a breeze. But... nobody even lifted a finger.

Umm, Southern California alone is still larger than over 40 U.S. States. Care to narrow it down a tad?

Big Trouble in Little China, hands-down.

hehe, you get an A? Ahh, but that's it, isn't it? What exactly was the safer thing? Cooperate with two brazen gunmen, who were willing to hold a hostage, in the daytime, in order to obtain a little cash? Would it have been safer for me, for the other guy, for the store manager if i had simply played along and become yet one more hostage? Granted, at the time, beheadings and being slammed into skyscrapers wasn't the norm for hostages, but my microsecond analysis of the situation told me to 'freak out' or die, and so i chose to 'freak out.' It turned out for the better, could have turned out for the worse, but i'll never know the coulda, woulda, shoulda of this... only that what i did made the difference between a successful robbery and possible murders, and a failed robbery and no deaths. But yes, absolutely, coulda, woulda, shoulda died right then and there.

Melody, there was little to nothing you could do in that situation. At most what you may have felt was powerless. A very very long time ago, I believe it was the Jurassic period, i worked at a McDonald's. Of course, at that time they were called McPebbles and they served these really lame brontosaurus burgers. Jokes aside, as my fellow slave was directed to clean the bathrooms, i was directed to clean the outside, and dutifully went about my responsibilities, meager as they were. After a time, i reentered the restaurant, swatting back a stegasaurus that mistook me for a tasty mcnugget (okay, not really that tasty, but don't tell that to the kiddies). Upon entering, the manager requested i check on my fellow slave, as he had taken far too long to clean those nasty little ivory-lipped water basins. Again, i dutifully exited the restaurant, made a well-targetted swat on the nose of the stegasaurus that had been patiently waiting for me to return, and made my way to the bathroom... exit on the outside of the building (prehistoric times indeed). Granted, there was also an access entry, to the bathroom, from the inside of the restaurant, located right next to the cash box and dishwater, but none of us ever used that during open hours. For security reasons, no doubt. Noting a few droppings i had missed, i went about cleaning as i whistled my way to the commode, oblivious to the plight of the little people, or the fact i still needed to get a college education. Finally, upon reaching the door, i pulled on it and was witness to my fellow slave... and two masked gunmen, thoroughly engaged in a somewhat hostile discussion with the manager, who had been coaxed into opening the inner access entry (forget the fact there were no guns during the Jurassic period, or humans for that matter, and stay with me folks). For a split second i was shocked, but so were they. The gunmen saw me, did a double-take, and then one proceeded to point his gun at me while ordering me inside. At that point, something inside took over. I can blame it on stupidity, or on the fact i had been practicing diligently in the arts for sometime by then, and had reached the enlightened state of clueless. Whatever it was, my reaction caught even me by surprise. As the gun turned to me, I yelled "no!" and immediately swatted it, then slammed the door on the barrel, growling as i heard the other yelling as well. In the chaos of those few seconds, the manager was able to grab my fellow hostaged slave, and pull him in. He, along with a group of other slaves, forced the inner access door to close. The gunmen were trapped in the bathroom, metal doors on each side. But, i did not know the good fortune that had befallen the hostaged slave, and thus, after the gunman had succeeded in getting his gun free from the door jamb, i closed and secured the door, then ran across the street to a bar, where i proceeded to make a spectacle of myself... and the bartendress called police, to haul me out of there. The two gunmen got away, the hostaged slave was furious with me, and the rest of the company called me a hero. To this day... i think i was just plain stupid.

I've been in plenty of situations, and i agree with you Logan. In each and every case, i reacted differently. But, my training helped me to think quickly and effectively, looking for options, examining things to their consequences, and deciding to act when warranted. Without training, people tend to simply watch, as they would a television screen. No consideration is given to "what can be done." The furthest that many think are, "oh my god!," "is this real?," or "not my problem." One is shock and inaction, another is denial and inaction, and the last is indifference and inaction. All three end in inaction, whereas we train (or at least we should) to not be shocked into inaction, to assume that what occurs before us is real, and to care for our fellow man, or woman in this case.

People in threatening situations don't always react logically. I also thought it was foolish for the woman to run in the same direction as the car was traveling, rather than turning around and running into the mall, but foolish acts and adrenalin often go hand-in-hand. But really, it's all those sheep, cows and monkeys i have a problem with. Nobody reacts because nobody else reacts. Ladies and gentlemen, this is why we study the arts. So we don't think and act like this.

Thanks for quoting it. Judoguy's post following that one lost me so, that i lost the message provided in this post. Agreed, good post.

Hehe, if you want me to get nippy... the official name for 'water intoxication' is hyponatremia. There are five types of hyponatremia, all of which could impact the heart's performance, but moreso... the head's performance. Ooo... i made a funny. Anyway, hypovolemic hyponatremia is the one most commonly associated with too much water intake while exercising in hot temperatures. Euvolemic hyponatremia is the one most commonly associated with psychogenic polydipsia, a psychologically induced overintake of water. Hypervolemic hyponatremia can be experienced by an excess intake of beer or ecstacy. Many drugs and medical conditions can also cause hyponatremia. Pfft. Hey delta1. He doubted our... err... my uberness.

i'm not sure i understand your comment. You've never seen them applied, or never seen them work when applied?

Yes, it's called hyponatremia. If you drink too much water, the salt content of your blood becomes diluted, which can lead to organ problems. It also creates an effect similar to being drunk. hehe

Here's a more public presentation of the video - http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6469453/

lol AngelaG, just saw your post.

It's always a tough call. I know my reaction would likely have been to charge in and do something, and possibly end up with a bullet in my noggin'. But, actions that would be smart, for the non-combatant, would be to collect as much information as possible (description of victim and assailant, license number, etc) possibly even jumping in your vehicle and tailing them while chatting on your cell to 911. The disturbing thing was that 'everyone' in that video just stood there and watched.

This is conjecture. Well, let me tell you this is totally untrue. The Western world actually introduced him to the idea of full-contact sparring (wrestling/boxing/fencing/savate). What he 'did' do was introduce full-contact sparring within Chinese styles being taught in the U.S., although i understand that full-contact sparring did exist in in mainland China, prior to the Boxer rebellion, so even that is not his flagship to claim. Also, please realize that Bruce was in the entertainment industry, so most any 'movie' that comes out about him is going to be geared towards increasing his 'onscreen' saleability. A story about a guy who studied dance, won a Hong Kong junior dance competition, studied wing chun for a few years and then who was sent to the U.S. to obtain a college education... isn't all that interesting. "Ya gotta spice it up baby!" A student? Well gee... when have you not owned one of your students? Aye, when you look through tinted lenses, what you see is a tinted view. ROB said this, and i disagree. He did have a few 'undocumented' fights, but none of them showing anything even remotely domineering as what is presented on screen. Bruce did not participate in competitions. Of the information i've been able to obtain, he faired well and poorly in the so-called 'undocumented' fights. In the case of a Chinese practitioner visiting his school and challenging him, the reports are they 'danced around' for over 15 minutes before Bruce got all frustrated and ended up wrestling the guy instead.

Okay, i need to step in again. Tiger, please. Chinese studies, unfortunately, do present things in a far more convoluted fashion. It takes quite a bit of time to obtain 'mastery' in Chinese styles, mainly because they place a helluva lot more time and energy into studying the foundations, before stepping to the next level of study, and then the next. Many, but not all, Chinese styles do tend to be broken up into three sets of study... basic, intermediate, and advanced. Many Chinese styles, as i mentioned in another post ages ago, have a whole series of 'tricks' and 'show' as a means to obtain sponsorship. A remnant of a bygone era that has now found a home onscreen. However, to assume this is the totality of an art, or to assume that the effectiveness of an art is somehow disrupted by these 'tricks' and 'show,' is to assume the exception is the norm. There will always be those Mcdojo instructors who studied only the basics of a system, and then tout it as the totality of a system, as is... unfortunately, the case with many Chinese systems nowadays. However, to label Chinese systems as ineffective, or insufficient, based on the corruptions of the financially motivated few (that also unfortunately end up dominating the marketplace)... is fundamentally unjust. The thing is, in our day and age, the ways and means of teaching Chinese styles is causing Chinese styles to be fractured. A lot of impatient Western practitioners are getting their 2 to 6 years of training and saying, "okay, i know this system. Now let's make a buck." The problem with this approach is that the vast majority of Chinese styles are taught with the assumption the students will remain students for 'decades,' and thus not all that can be taught... is taught... within a 2-6 year span. Now... having said this, i think it is critical, for the future of Chinese styles, that this 'assumption' end, and that the totality of a system be presented to students within a 6 to 10 year period, lest we continue with the fracturing and dilution of Chinese martial art styles, until all that is left... is show.

ouch... hate to walk into a love fest, but... What streetfights? There are no recorded incidents of such, nor are there any police reports indicating such. What battles on rooftops? The only time i know of him 'battling' on a rooftop, was when he worked out with William Cheung on the rooftop of the building Yip Man's school was situated in. William Cheung was the senior student and outclassed Bruce Lee in wing chun skills. He introduced fullcontact? I saw a video where he wore protective gear and sparred with someone, but i would hardly have called that the 'intro' of full contact, nor was it all that impressive. Bruce was a dance champion in Hong Kong. He studied a few years of wing chun. He eventually got into film. What he had, more than anything else, was the willingness to question the status quo, once he was exposed to American systems. Particularly wrestling, fencing and boxing. Occidental fighting systems he encountered while in college. Some have argued that Bruce was the first Chinese to teach occidentals. However, Jimmy Woo taught occidentals before Bruce, and there were many others prior to Jimmy. So... not a legendary martial artist who died before he could pass on his vast wealth of knowledge, but a martial arts actor who died mysteriously at the height of his career, and thus became a legend.

Yes, don't put your money on it. Modern-day pankration is merely the name of yet another series of schools offering mma instruction. And DokterVet, i should have said "appendage," as i do not recall any reports of an entire limb being removed in a pancratium competition. I have read of hands, toes, fingers, ears and organs being torn off/out in those ancient competitions.

Steel is steel, so yes. The fragility of stainless steel does not suddenly take a leap off the high tower of physics merely because it is being used for something other than a sword. Seriously though, for knives and such, things used for every day utility, stainless steel is a good route to go. But, for long blade/shaft weapons, the influence of torque plays a far heavier role. A durable, resilient metal is needed for such. The chromium in stainless steel prevents oxidation, but weakens the molecular bonding, or some such drivel. A high carbon content, however, does the opposite... on both counts. Anyway, yes, it's an informative site. Learned a bit from it myself.

That's fine.

Shorin, could you provide the name of this instructor? I have a suspicion, which i indicated to you sometime back, and would like to be able to verify this.

Being exposed to a variety of techniques allows one to have a larger base for being able to adlib, or adjust to awkward situations that may eventually occur in a confrontation. Having said this, it is important to develop a high degree of skill with a small repertoire of actions. These will be your primary tools, but they should not be your 'only' tools. Now... what was this thread about again?

lol, for a second there i fell for it.