Noob

Thanks for the thorough reply anyway WW, even if the guy hasn't been on in awhile.

I agree with White Warlock and 47MartialMan. When you reach a certain level in martial arts, or rather a certain point in life, you realize the power is knowing that you can. It's good that you walked away when you did without saying anything, as you demonstrated that you have power over them. I think throughout the time you made your original post and when you replied above that you learned this. Still, at least you didn't resort to violence off hand, as some may have. At least that shows some control.

As for attacking the punching bag with bare knuckles..I did this for roughly 2 weeks to find my knuckles split and was in too much pain when punching to continue. I quickly stopped this, as I go on the bag for more of a strength and cardio workout. Also, in a fight I wouldn't think punching someone in the face would be a great idea..it kills. I'm all for the open palming as mentioned earlier. You tend to be able to generate more force in an uppercut or a side palm strike anyway.

lol, I just woke up and I find that really funny. Thanks for some early morning humor.

lol, I'm pretty sure I wouldn't want to try that at all..especially since I have hard wooden stairs. It'd be funny to see though. The teeth are also doing well. I get back into training tomorrow..although doing a small amount of break falls.

That may have been much more clear, I agree. However in addition to being my preferered art there are also aspects that make it more effective to me. Sorry for any confusion guys, I think it's all cleared up now anyway.

Honestly, I believe that it's simply the culture and history surrounding the Kung Fu club I'm in. It could possibly be the closeness that I have to the Sifu as well. Other than that..I'm not sure why, as stupid as it sounds. Just one of those preference things. I train in the Hung Gar style of Kung Fu regularly, and in Japanese Jujitsu roughly once a week.

I didn't find the content lacking, the art just didn't seem to peak my interest as another art did. I certainly agree that BJJ and JJ are effective, as are a lot of other martial arts. I wasn't stating that all martial arts are rushed, but I appreciate your comment on how Jiu-Jitsu tends to refrain from that. Personally, I find Jiu-Jitsu to be extremely effective in that aspect, and you cannot be "promoted" until you have the ability to actually preform against a few of the Sensei's. In our dojo (I'm not sure if it's the same for all) when you're going for your blue belt (I believe, possibly higher) the sensei's take you to a secluded room and physically test you - you being unable to strike back. They aren't there to beat the shizzle out of you, but they're obviously looking for a good defense against whatever it is that they throw. In that aspect I praise Jiu-Jitsu. You're correct, he is a black belt in Japanese Jujitsu. Sorry for any confusion, I should have minded the spelling. Those were reasons why to me personally I found Kung Fu to be more effective as an entire learning process. I'm not stating that the art itself is more effective than another, each have their pros and cons. I guess it all comes down to preference and interest. I know I am much more interested in Chinese culture rather than Japanese culture. Because Kung Fu is the way it is, training, skill etc. it would make me more effective than say training in Jiu-Jitsu. I'm totally into Kung Fu and it's ways, however if I had the same drive for JJ or BJJ I believe it would be equally as effective for me, which is what martial arts comes down to.

Hmm, I haven't heard of "face". In any event, this information gives me a good ground and a general idea as to what I should be asking my Sifu in regards to the above.

Drunken Monkey, thanks for the reply - it really helped a lot. Now I'm pretty sure I can completely grasp what my Sifu is referring to with a bit of practice. Thanks again, and all replies are appreciated!

Her side of the story: My husband was in an odd mood Saturday night. We planned to meet at a cafe for a drink. I spent the afternoon shopping with the girls and I thought it might have been my fault because I was a bit later than I promised, but he didn't say anything much about it. I don't remember doing anything to make him upset, but could tell there was something wrong. The conversation was quite slow going so I thought we should go off to some place intimate so we could talk more privately. We went to this restaurant and he was still acting a bit funny. I was getting really worried, what did I do? What was bothering him? Was he mad at me? I tried to cheer him up, but started to wonder what was bothering him. Was it me or something else? I asked him if he was upset with me, he said no. But I wasn't really sure. So anyway, in the car on the way back home, I said that I loved him deeply and he just put his arm around me. I didn't know what the heck that meant because, you know, he didn't say it back or anything. We finally got back home and I was wondering if he was going to leave me! So, I tried to get him to talk but he just switched on the TV. Reluctantly, I said I was going to go to bed. Then after about 10 minutes, he joined me and to my surprise, we made love. But, he still seemed really distracted, so afterwards I wanted to confront him but didn't, so I just cried myself to sleep. I just don't know what do anymore. I mean, I really think he's seeing someone else. His side of the story: Played badly today - shot 93 - can't putt for shiat! Felt kinda tired. Got laid though.

Thanks! I'm feeling quite a bit better than yesterday already..still off solid foods, though. Haha, I know what you mean. I nearly fell down the stairs going to get a drink last night. Haha. I could still probably pull off a break fall, but I wouldn't want to test that out.

Wow, that's really informative! Thanks a lot!

Hah, I had mine out yesterday. It's actually not as bad (pain wise) as I would have thought. The pain killers they give you work pretty well. Ice cream helps also. The biggest pain is not being able to train..but then again I don't feel much like training at the moment. Hope it all works(ed) out!

In my Kung Fu club the students are between age 17 - 45, although there is more of the later. You don't really see a lot of younger people due to the fact that the work outs are intense, aswell as the time it takes to get a grasp on the art itself. I think that younger students tend to go for something that will educate them the quickest and possibly give them a decent workout while they're at it. Personally, I'm not entirely in it for the self-defense and fighting aspect as most "young" people are. I generally see kids in TKD, Karate and Jiu-Jitsu type classes because they want to learn something and learn it fast. I'm not saying it doesn't take effort, nor am I knocking any other martial art.

Can someone please explain a little on the concepts of "bridging" and "gates"? I know they're simply to describe fighting concepts in a generalized way, I'd just like to know the meaning. Our Sifu meantioned a bit of bridging last night stating that Hung Gar puts emphasis on firstly making contact with your opponent either by arms/legs or both, and then "letting loose" from there..while keeping the contact. Hence the closeness of Hung Gar. I'm sure different martial arts may call these different things, or maybe there's an even better name for it in Kung Fu. I'd just like to know if the above is generally what bridging is, and if gating is possibly striking in accordance to where the opening the "bridge" created is? Any comments would be appreciated.

I agree with the fact that effectiveness lies in ones skill, either teacher or the actual practitioner - however I believe that there are certain aspects that will make Kung Fu or any other martial art more effective for a single person. For example, direct one on one training or whatever else. This part I did know. I guess it varies on the attitude and skill level of the person, I should have written it took my Sifu that period of time. I had an idea but I wasn't completely sure that's that being a Sifu meant, some Sensei's in our club don't teach..at least yet. I'm guessing the same doesn't go for a Sifu? That's a really great example of what it is to teach. My Sifu was only titled Sifu after his Sifu stopped teaching due to old age, and only then was he "oppointed" Sifu by his.

I agree, if I get what you're saying. In my practicing of Jiu-Jitsu I honestly found the workout to be lacking, and the entire style too relaxed for my liking. I think people tend to enjoy it because it's quick to pick up, and yes, less effort. I'm not saying it's not effective, I just don't believe it's right for me. As for the Chinese "level/ranking" (is there a correct name? If so, please let me know here or in PM) system - you gain "rank" as you gain actual experience. To me this seems a lot more practical than rushing (which I have seen some do) just to get to their next belt. I'm not saying it's not hard work, but to me, I believe martial arts to be about a lot more than what belt I am or "at what belt am I considered good" mentality. An example: We have a Sensei in our Jiu-Jitsu class who is 17-18. That's fine, except for the fact that he uses his skill to push around people at his highschool, on the street and even in the dojo. Within the dojo you need to respect him because he's a "black belt", but he's a total * BECAUSE he's a black belt. He has power and he feels he needs to constantly exercise that. In Kung Fu, however, this is unlikely due to the fact it takes roughly 17 years to become a Sifu..you generally grow up before you reach that stage. Just some experiences I thought I'd share, I know it's not like this everywhere. To me, these are reasons why Kung Fu is more effective.

I'll definately be sure to ask him, as I am curious aswell. I'm pretty sure we'd only practice techniques etc. just to know what to expect..our Sifu tends to compare our style to TKD, Karate, Jiu-Jitsu and various other martial arts aswell, so I figure it's just a matter of time before we get into a drunken boxing scenario. It's really cool though, you can get a small glimpse at different styles and generally know what to expect if you're ever faced with something like that (yeah, I know situations vary). And yes, our Sifus (3) have training in those arts themselves, so I'm sure they know what they're talking about. I'll ask in class this week.

You're right on with the horse stance. In a 2 hour class, roughly 70% - 80% is in your horse. That's not every class, but it happens a lot more often than not where I practice. As for kicks - the only time I've used a kick in class (not that I've been taking it that long) was in a "pattern" type form. Ie: fake, punch, punch, punch, DIRECT kick (no fancy stuff) and step, then finish with whatever. At my club we don't focus on kicks hardly at all, we take more of a Jiu-Jitsu approach - keeping it close and executing attacks with a tiger type style, open palming, punching, kneeing or whatever else we can do that generates the most power from the hips. That's why the powerful legs/stances are important. As for Wushu..I've only seen it in action at a Kung Fu tornament. I'm not knocking any martial arts or different styles, each have their pros and cons, but I find other Kung Fu styles tend to focus more on forms and patterns as opposed to the more direct approach. Our club is the only local that practices Hung Gar, and we have gotten kicked out of the tornament every year for being "too rough". An example is as follows, which I have seen only (I'm not stating this will be the case everytime, nor am I knocking styles etc.) Wushu vs. Hung Gar (our club). The Wushu fighter was more "stylish", attempting to throw fancy kicks and wide arm blocks/"technical" punches..which failed. Everytime our club would capitalize on the weakness (the center or "core") and destroy them with a series of knees and punches. The way I view it, we got kicked out of the tornament (more than once) because our art is too efficent. And yes, that's a biased opinion.

lol, that's where I run into problems. I don't regularly mix up spellings to do with martial arts, yet sometimes I do. Maybe it's because there is no "official" text that I've seen on the Internet? If there actually is a site with official spellings on it, proving all others are wrong, then someone post me the link. I think that could save me some trouble in trying to decypher things.

True - it's still cool to know different spellings and such. Sometimes there's an "official" spelling as opposed to the hearsay kind of spelling I guess. The more the marrier!

Yeah, I've seen it as Siafu aswell. Thanks for the spelling tips, though. I like learning from simple misinterpretations and such. Keeps me wise in the long run.

I just recently started training in Hung Gar kung fu, and I really can't say enough about it. I prefer it over BJJ and JJ, mainly for the intense workout and the "Attack, attack, attack" mentality. I've still got tons to learn, but I can tell that things can only improve from the classes I've attented already. I was also pleased in the fact that the BJJ instructor stated that the Kung Fu instructor could easily overtake him in less than 60 seconds in a real street fight. Maybe it's a time/experience thing - I don't know. The BJJ instructor is a 2nd Dan in Jiu-Jitsu and Taekwondo. The Kung Fu instructor is 2nd Dan Jiu-Jitsu and a Seafoo in Kung Fu. To each their own I guess.

What exactly is the difference, apart from the "intense" training and grappling of Muay Thai, of Muay Thai compared to "regular" kickboxing? Or is there different "classes" of kickboxing such as that in karate? (Karate being an example, I would doubt many things would be similar) Any input would be appreciated as I am looking into kickboxing as a total self-defense tool and Muay Thai isn't offered here. I know BJJ is great for one on one grappling, however I feel with kickboxing or a Muay Thai style my chances of self defense would be greater if there were more than one attacker. Which there usually has been in my cases.