thaiboxerken

Why do different people have different belts listed? Is this something of significance? I am officially a black-belt in Kali, but here it says I'm just a white belt.. the computer must be looking at my BJJ credential.. hehhe. Anyway, I'm looking forward to giving out my blunt and brutally honest opinions here at the karate forum.

Boxing is a great martial art! Yes it is a martial art, just because it doesn't have eastern philosophy instilled within it doesn't mean it's not a martial art. It has it's limitations, in that they don't deal with kicks, grappling and other methods, but as far as strking with the hands and defending hand techniques, there are very few arts that compare. If boxing was so "weak" then I don't understand why it has impacted the martial arts in such a huge way. I train in Muay Thai, and for out hand skills, we haven incorporated queensbury boxing because it adds so much more to the game.

Ki, Chi, Gi are all terms that I relate to religion. I would never try to rely on this "internal power". It's better to train in technique and leverage. Many "Chi masters" have stepped into the ring only to have been KO'd by well trained Muay Thai fighters. It's better to train hard and put sweat on the mat than to just rely on a mystical hidden power. But hey, I'm agnostic, so I don't believe in any religion.

I like Bruce Lee and Brandon Lee for their technical ability that they show in the movies, as well as the fluidity and grace. Jackie Chan is fun to watch and is amazing because of all the nasty stunts that he does. Van Damme and Steven Seagal are the worst martial artists to hit the silver screen. They had a couple of hit movies but it is still apparent that their skill levels are low. Also, I don't like Seagal because he's arrogant and beats women. _________________ Just kick 'em, they'll understand. This Message was edited by: Patrick on Jun 27, 2001 11:49am

It takes a very humble person for me to consider them a master. I only know a handful of people that I would call "Master". Those would be Master Chai (Muay Thai) and Guro Dan Inosanto. These 2 great men live for the pleasure of spreading the martial arts that they know and are always trying to improve themselves and their systems. Since I am not into the Japanese systems, I don't really look at Grand Master or Platinum Master ranks. Truly, a master is one that has achieved great acts for the betterment of their martial art and their students.

The Filipinno Martial arts has some great nunchaku techniques. In fact, Dan Inosanto taught Bruce Lee the nunchaku from the Kali system. It's really cool, see if you can find a qualified Kali instructor and ask if he's any good with the nunchaku. Chances are, you'll get a greater in-depth knowledge of all the ways to use nunchaku not just for striking, but for chokes, locks and grappling as well.