White Warlock

If he was bragging that he was a black belt, then he wasn't a black belt. And what's with the cigarette?!? I don't know about you guys... but i would think it is quite a rarity to find a chain-smoking black belt. I mean, he had to be a chain-smoker, if he forgot about the cigarette attached to his lips while he was spouting out threats.

Too much attention to the eyes, and the body gains an advantage.

Agreed 7Star, assuming you can grapple.

Hello Enrico, The best i've ever seen of Benny the Jet was in a movie he did with Jackie Chan. They fought each other and it was utterly intense. A great opportunity to see Benny's high-energy approach, without all the hiccups of sport competition, and considered by many to be the best fight scene of any Jackie Chan movie. 1984 - "Jet Fighter, Part One" The movie was edited and renamed, "Meals on Wheels" for the English audience.

I occasionally fear for injury to myself, but usually i fear for consequence. If i were to fight this person, would he then bring his friends and obtain retribution on my family? If i were to maim or kill this person, would i then be subjected to horrendous civil and criminal lawsuits? If i were to fight this person and lose, would i also end up losing the $600 i was foolishing carrying in my pocket, or my prized ruby crowned dragon ring that i occasionally wear for vanity's sake? If i were to fight this person and die, would my friends and family go on a killing rampage, or fall into deep depression? So many things to fear. In the end though, fear must take a backseat to necessity.

Definitely subjective. It's subjective because it is dependent on the individual's skill level of each 'form' of combat, as well as the skills of the assailant. Also, striking and grappling aren't the only choices available, despite your posing them as such. Personally, i can't see myself 'choosing' one over the other. Anything goes in the street, as far as i'm concerned. Setting limits on what you can or cannot do in the street, is essentially just defining rules for a competition. "Queensbury anyone? Oh, i'm sorry, is that a knife you're thrusting into my kidney?"

Really? I always thought flipping hamburgers for your enemies was a last resort.

Echo from the intercom

Hehe

I participated in this thread at the onset and decided to step back and read while this thread deteriorated. This is my observation: K4karate, you asked for input... and didn't like what you heard. You then argued your position, and the responses you received were sufficient to counter your arguments, but you persisted. That's when i stepped off and Luckyboxer stepped on. Luckyboxer was quite a bit more brusque than necessary, and this was exploited by the troll known as Kazuya, who is arguing points merely for the sake of pressing Lucky's buttons. Lucky, still showing himself to be a bit green to the antics of people in public forums, falls for it hook, line and sinker, letting his temperment be played with under the guise of debate. Unfortunately, you returned to the thread and decided to continue where Kazuya left off... pressing the buttons that Kazuya exposed. All in all, there's no real drama queens. Just opportunists. I think this thread has run its course.

Iron Face Kung Fu - The art of wearing out your opponent's fists using your face. Conditioning - Iron Face conditioning requires that you pound your face repeatedly against hard surfaces, such as gravel pits, makiwaras, and driver-side windshields after a most encouraging intake of elixirs. History - The earliest recorded practitioner of this system is said to have existed many thousands of years ago - http://www.nauka.lucksite.com/pictures/flat-face-man.jpg The man noted for its present form is 'Iron Face' Kao Fung, biographied in the movie Five Shaolin Masters. Instructor - Here's an early picture of my instructor. He started conditioning at a very early age - Sifu Pem Pars Doubt its veracity? Read this - http://www.karateforums.com/archive/o_t/t_13401/bah.html

Hmm... biggest street fight i ever had. That's a tough one. Okay, one of my latest big street fights - -------------------------------------------------- There's the one just a year ago where a gang of guys and girls postured and insulted for awhile before the bigger group, with guys and girls, started wailing on the smaller group, with just girls, at the trolley station. Since i thought the whole thing about the guys helping out their girlfriends to beat up other girls was b.s., and didn't want bystanders dragged into it, i jumped in barking for everyone to stop and began throwing people all over the place. I know, sounds dramatic, but that's pretty much what happened. They were focused on each other and were a bit thrown off by me stepping into it all, which i was capitalizing on. One guy obviously 'thought' about messing with me while i was breaking apart all the kicking, hitting, scratching and hairpulling fests, but i felt his presence approaching my back, quickly turned around, stepped at him with intent and barked at him. His hands came up and he opted to go to the sidelines like most of the others i threw. I think it was a total of about 13 guys and girls, ages 16 to 20. Only lasted about a minute or so. I never hit anyone and i truly doubt i hurt anyone, although i made it obvious that i could have. What i remember most about that incident was that i noticed i was keeping track of everyone's actions in that conflict at just about all times. Funny what determination, adrenalin and a badass attitude can do, eh? One of the earliest - -------------------------------------------------- I think the outright biggest fight i encountered actually did happen on a school campus (the circumstances of this one warrant it be called a street fight... or a riot). When i was 12 and living in Los Angeles back in 76', a friend of mine was roughhousing with me, when a girl kicked him. My friend was a little off in the head and he turned around and grabbed her by the hair. She screamed and the entire school charged in to her rescue. Yes, the entire school... except for the teachers. The teachers saw the riot and ran into the buildings to hide. My first big lesson right there. My brother, a friend, a korean kid and i (four of us) shielded my friend against somewhere over 500 angry, puberty-deprived other kids... helping to bring my friend out of harm's way and to the main building. A good 70 yards distance that felt like a mile. Then, after my friend was safe in the building, the focus of hostilities went to the korean kid, who proceeded to forcefully and skillfully kick away anyone that tried to attack him. My first introduction to kicking as an effective self-defense. -------------------------------------------------- There you are. One of my earliest and one of my latest.

I'm Batman!

So, us guinea pigs... we have to pay, right? If so... why not just be up front, honest and say what you're selling, instead of playing us like fools?

lol, i was confused there for a second, until i realized you had quoted me.

In most cases, i would say no. Street fights generally have no restrictions, have less chance of authoritative intercedence, and are far more lethal than what is encountered on a high school campus. The example above i wouldn't consider a streetfight. More like a lover's spat. Easy answer... summer vacation. We're getting the annual k-12 influx that hits just about every internet forum. Haven't you noticed i kinda decided to step outside for a bit?

For some people, and at the beginning it is. However, this article did not exclude trainers, as it was directed towards all practitioners.

Pfft

Sounds great K4. Just wanted to say you brought up a good topic, which clearly posed a variety of issues with a myriad of perceptions attached. Hopefully other threads, stemming from these discussions, will arise.

fascinating.

This post was originally published as an article in a dedicated KarateForums.com Articles section, which is no longer online. After the section was closed, this article was most to the most appropriate forum in our community. Days on end we practice, entering into a dangerous situation, working with people we hardly know outside of the training hall. Injuries happen, in some places more than most would consider acceptable. Personalities clash as bodies collide and in this turmoil, we learn. Many times we forget why we enter into a training hall. We exit from the freeway, having barely ignored impassioned gesticulations tossed out of rolled-down windows, blaring radios and overzealous horn-blowers, then join into a session of mock physical confrontation with a sometime partner. We thrust, kick, grab, throw, punch and when we get up, we feel guilt for the injury now held by the practitioner that foolishly agreed to practice with someone still struggling with road rage. A hard day at work, little sleep and a five-minute meal sets the pace for how you decide to handle your training session this day. Cold, quick and merciless, you practice techniques with methodical precision and wanton disregard. Your session partner fakes a punch and you maul him, not caring even to buffer your blows or his fall. The end of the session and you feel refreshed, but your partner... he'll be out for a week as the inflammations subside. Inside, you smirk. A taskmaster runs the warm-ups today. You find this person irritating, but fail to approach him with your concerns or attempt a relationship. Instead, you hold to a festering animosity and a growing disrespect. But, today, things will be different. Your opportunity for redemption has arrived as you and he are matched up for a sparring session. Entering lightly, you test your victim's defenses, but are encouraged by the instructor to commit... and you do. You find the taskmaster isn't up to your barrage and you feel vindicated. Then, stepping back to revel in your conquest, you become the victim. One quick strike and your victory is spoiled, the rewards rudely wrenched from your grasp as you buckle over and gasp for air. And yet... you think, "there will be another time." Revenge will be yours. By all rights you won and by all rights you will win again! And this time, the taskmaster will know who is the better! All of these examples illustrate a fundamental flaw in understanding the relationship that exists when you step onto the mat. Each incident is different, but played out in countless ways in countless places throughout the world. What is worse, is that so few realize what is wrong here. The martial arts is a study into the process of incapacitating an imminent threat, whether by physical force or mental command. It is "about" injuring, maiming and even killing. A study into the use the body and mind to project and eventually produce, a lethal outcome. It is not a dance, a race or a testosterone-inducing exercise. What we practice can and will hurt people, innocent or otherwise and therefore we should respect the tools we are being given and the partnerships we enter into. A training hall offers an environment where people of like interest can "safely" practice these studies, but the responsibility falls upon every participant to recognize the necessity of trust required in building each other's skills. Hidden agendas endanger those who have entered onto the mat to share in the trust required to expand upon the knowledge of this most dangerous study. Hidden agendas must be recognized at the onset, for they do not merely undermine this trust, they threaten a life. Both others and their own. Each participant needs to seriously consider the consequences of their actions and realize that their training partner is providing absolute trust. He stands before you naked, while you perform actions that could cripple him for life. He is not an adversary, enemy or fleshy mannequin with movable limbs. Regardless of your feelings for the person you study with, he is offering you his lifeline in order that you may gain knowledge. This is a living being that is offering you a means to study, trusting you to keep the physical form intact. In turn, you must offer your trust and each of you will learn together. Dismiss what has happened in the day, come refreshed and of sound mind, walk onto the mat, and bow to your classmates with a new understanding. Learn to recognize them as study partners, not as occasional adversaries and you will not only decrease the chance of injuries, but enhance your experience exponentially.

Most everyone does pushups incorrectly (cheating, etc). In truth, the numbers really don't mean much unless you're doing them right... which is unlikely unless you've been in the military, or had appropriate training from a professional. When i was in the army, i would do 96 pushups in under two minutes (correctly done). All in all, every day i would do somewhere around 1000 pushups. Nowadays i can do about 70 pushups in under two minutes, but i hardly make the effort to do more than 70 pushups a month. Yeah, i'm such an elitist has-been.

Ugh!

A great angle for picking up chicks. lol, it's hard for me to respond to this question seriously.