AnonymousOne

Empty handed combat forms aka kata, existed long before MA, as we know them, were in China. These forms can be traced back to Gladiators and perhaps long before that in ancient Greece. It is not known where such forms were developed. But certainly as long as warfare has existed, empty handed combat forms also existed. On a scale of things; China is a relatively new comer to such forms and its long been believed that Gladiator empty hand combat techniques were introduced to China when the Romans made their way to China in the 1st and 2nd Century BC. It is believed that the Romans taught the Chinese such forms and combat techniques China was not a developer but rather was a refiner of such forms.

I pray they effect you as they effected my life many years ago and I also pray you fulfil your desired destiny. The author of those questions is a Australian man named Peter Daniel who is a self made multi-millionaire

Thanks krzychicano its nice to be back, now I have more time, how you been?

If anyone is interested in a thorough study of military training and Christianity; I recommend the FREE Bible studies of the Greek/Hebrew Bible Scholar Dr. Robert Thieme... retired US Army Colonel. https://www.berachah.org

what is your belt? Well I tend to use leather ones to hold up my pants but on the odd occasion when my son was young and rebellious I used it as a "high speed persuasion device" Haha

Treebranch Thanks for your comments. I do agree that some people have different talents. When I say "train" I am talking about someone who has dedicated many years of hard, assiduous effort to developing their mind and body for fighting. I have never seen anyone who has dedicated many years with a proper training programme that is not competent. I come from a back ground of traditional Japanese schools where the training is described as brutal and in many cases not palatable to the western psyche. Of course no one should ever underestimate any opponent. However in my mind a properly trained karate-ka can be fully confident in a street fight. To me, comparing the two is like comparing someone who has never done any running to competing against someone who has spent years of daily training and is fully equipped for running marathons for a contest in a marathon. There is no comparison. It doesn’t matter how much natural talent the person has, if he is going to compete against a trained and conditioned man, and he is not trained and conditioned, then he can expect little result in return. I do realise that in the western world there are schools that have watered down the extent and degree of training that is considered traditional and made the training programmes more palatable to the western mind in order to keep students. Not many in the west are prepared for the harsh training of traditional Japanese schools. Sadly this is even happening in Japan itself. Sadly, in the west, we look for fast methods to things. Unfortunately there is no drive through quick fix for karate competence. It takes years of striving to develop ones body wherein competence will lie. A good teacher will fully prepare his student for battle field warfare against others prepared for battle field warfare. Karate was not developed in the hope that one might be able to defend oneself. It was developed for battle field warfare against armed Samurai. That is why traditional training is so arduous. Someone who has never picked up a golf club like me would be arrogantly foolish to challenge Tiger Woods who has spent years practising. I may have some hidden talent for golf but none of it amounts to anything if not fostered through training. The talent just lies uselessly dormant.

mar·tial ( P ) Pronunciation Key (märshl) adj. Of, relating to, or suggestive of war. Relating to or connected with the armed forces or the profession of arms. Characteristic of or befitting a warrior. martial adj 1: (of persons) befitting a warrior; "a military bearing" [syn: soldierly, soldierlike, warriorlike] 2: suggesting war or military life [syn: warlike] 3: of or relating to the armed forces; "martial law" [syn: martial(a)] n : Roman poet noted for epigrams (first century BC) [syn: Martial] Main Entry: martial Part of Speech: adjective Definition: militant Synonyms: aggressive, bellicose, belligerent, brave, combative, heroic, high-spirited, hostile, military, pugnacious, soldierly, spirited, warlike Source: Roget's New Millennium™ Thesaurus, First Edition (v 1.1.1)

The question to this topic is somewhat moot in my opinion. The extent of training for a fight decides the outcome of ones ability. Its not the art but the level of deep motivational virtue in achieving high standards for oneself. One may only train 2 hours per week and another may train 20 hours per week. Without doubt, the more training - the greater the effectiveness. Many factors determines ones abilities in a fight and yet the foundation is the extent to which one trains. A person practicing high volumes of technique will always out perform someone who does little or no training. Any competant martial artist would never lose in a street fight. If you dont feel confident in defending yourself and defeating a street fighter then go and re-write your training programme.

senna_trem You seem to be upset because someone has a different view to you. May you be blessed with tranquillity, poise and self control whilst under pressure, especially in combat or contest

fangshi I appreciate your civil manner in discussing this. Yes of course we should help people who need help and especially if we are able to render that help. To me it would be a crime to not help when one has the ability to do so. I have no problems with helping other people because it makes you feel good to be able to do so. I just sincerely believe that what I have said above is true. I am not one to just readily accept something just because some scientist says its true. At one time scientists told us that if a human being travels over 17 miles per hour that they will die and thus its dangerous to ride in trains. This was an actual scientific position long ago. Science has failed in many of its claims and of course things have been proven to be true. This is just one issue where I feel science is wrong. Personally I feel its easy to test the theory but putting someone in a situation, who is claimed to have a medical condition and force them to eat a limited calorie diet. That would be a good empirical test which science loves so much. My belief is never to accept things but test it. I have noticed scientists have made such claims about eating disorders but I have also noticed that they never actually put it to the firey test either. Therein lies my objections. Have you ever noticed how the victims of the WW11 holocaust in Nazi Germany and the prisoners of war by Imperial Japan, were all as skinny as a rake handle? With the thousands that were there, why did not some remain overweight? With the thousands, perhaps millions, surely some would have had this condition? Where are the overweight ones? Surely this horrible situation of the past would have provided great scientific evidence for this view. I do find this interesting. May you and your loved ones be blessed in all you do

Its glad to see people who look at problems and find solutions to them. Congrads!! This is an area where I have experimented for years. Today I have a specific system. I have a contraption, for the want of a better word, that allows me to attach weights to my legs and weight train in the exact same movements of all the kicks. The important thing to do for me was to be able to put my leg muscles, under load, in the exact same movements as my kicks. This ensures that the exact same muscle movements are employed, yet under load. Basically I tie a rope around my ankle and foot and through a series of pulleys I am able to duplicate my kicks. This really accelerated my kicks and gave me much greater strength and endurance. Not only did it effect my kicks, but it effected almost everything I do. It helps with running, footwork, stance, jumping and so on. I do 3 sets of 10 reps for each kicking movement, using decreasing weights for each set. I am very careful to warm up and cool down properly. Doing lunges with weights is also part of my weight training programme. Nothing will accelerate ones kicks better than a properly structured weight training programme. Naturally, some are concerned about adding bulk to their legs and thus losing mobility. This will not happen if you use a properly designed weight training programme, tailored for what you do. In fact I use this pulley/weight contraption for many things. It enables me to do oi zuki under load as well as all punching and striking techniques. I have designed it so that I can pretty much do all the basics, under load, duplicating exact karate movements. To me it’s dynamic. But be careful as you start such a programme. If your body is not used to it; you can be sore and drained of energy for days. Start slowly and gradually build up. In time you will reap great rewards and others will soon wonder where your added strength, agility and endurance comes from. At least twice a week for this kind of programme is best in my opinion.

Ummm I was kidding. I dont drink

I am a Christian and feel MA and Christianity is unrelated. There are some legalistic fundamentalist pacifists who claim MA is wrong and in some cases "of the devil" but obviously they dont understand the Bible. In the old testament military service was compulsory for the Israelites. Deuteronomy 20:4 For the LORD your God is the one who goes with you to fight for you against your enemies to give you victory." Isaiah 13:4 Listen, a noise on the mountains, like that of a great multitude! Listen, an uproar among the kingdoms, like nations massing together! The LORD Almighty is mustering an army for war.

Karate was developed from private tuition. It was illegal at one time in Okinawa and many teachers only had one student. Back in the 1970's when I worked night shift, I got one on one for several years. What it allowed was for my teacher to work me at my exact pace and needs and not a class pace. I found that most beneficial.

Hello, my name is AnonymousOne and I am an alcoholic... woops wrong bloody room

You are assuming that "science" is correct, only because its "science". science or excuseology... make of it what you will... Calling someone ignorant or uneducated doesnt change anything and neither do such attempts at insults bother me. If insulting is your only means of persuasion, I dont recommend you become a sales person.

Our school, which is a derivative of Shotokan has it. Gojuryu has it also

Mental imagery also known as Visualisation has been a hot topic in many fields of sporting endeavour for quite some time now. Much money and research has gone into its effects and many champion athletes contribute great success to its use. Much has been written on this topic by sports writers and sports psychologists. When one starts to study this facet, particularly with regard to the martial arts, from reading these articles and books, one gets the impression that it’s a relatively new science. One could even assume is a phenomena of the 20th Century. After delving into this topic one soon sees the benefits. I personally heard of a man who was jailed for many years and daily in his mind he played 18 holes of golf. When he got out of jail, despite not having picked up a gold club in many years, his golf performance score was significantly better. There are many such stories. Too many to list here. The great Karate master Itosu said this “Karate should be practiced with great intensity and the concept of always being prepared to defend your self, as if on the field of battle” “As if on the field of battle”. We can see from this that this master is advocating mental visualization as one practises. This is the key to successful learning, assimilation and application of Kata. Today many reject Kata as an old ineffective means of training. The problem is not Kata; it’s the attitude and application whilst under performance. The “ancients” well understood visualization and the profound effects it has upon the development and mastery of martial skills. When you perform your kata, are you just lightly performing a series of sequential movements or are you heart, mind and body in the heat of a ferocious battle? Where is your mind as you perform your kata? Can you see the attack? Can you image your opponent? What is he wearing? What does he look like? What stance is he standing in? Where are his hands? Did he kiai as he attacked? How tall is he? There are so many questions you need to ask yourself as your perform each simulated battle. If you are not practising your kata as a “simulated battle” each time and in every movement are not giving 100% effort to the destruction of this evil monster attacking you, then you are playing games. You are merely dancing. Kata, without doubt, is “simulated battle” sequences passed down from our martial art forefathers. Today many countries use simulation for their soldiers and combat troops. They use war games and computers to meet this end. The software that has been passed down to us is in the form of Kata. Kata is not a game. Its not a toy. Its not a dance. It’s the cutting edge of “battle simulation” that can take you from being a mediocre fighter to a highly skilled warrior. It all begins with a perception of what Kata is about. If its just a sequence of moments you need to get right for the next grading, then you will fail. I have been training for 41 years now. Since the age of 7. I prefer to remain, where possible, a humble student of this very noble martial art. However at times, when I see people with misconceptions of what Karate is about, I must allow my many years of experience speak. And this is one issue where I must. As a young Shodan way back in the 1970’s I saw Kata just as a means to get past the next grading. I concluded that Kata was ineffective for “real” battle. I was ignorant and arrogant simultaneously. I discussed this with my Sensei one day and expressed my views. He chuckled and challenged me to take a Kata that was difficult for me to perform and practise it as hard and as fast as I could for 2 hours straight. So I did. Well, I think you can imagine the results. I was exhausted. It proved to me my aerobic, anaerobic, and martial capabilities were wanting. I found out the hard way, how hard they are to perform under pressure. This threw me a little and even bruised my ego. But I did learn a lesson. Fully explore before casting something away and clearly I had not fully explored. Since then I have a new love for Kata. There are many Kata I have spent years training on alone. There have been times when I have practised one Kata only for 3 years. The Tekki Kata took me years to understand. That particular “trilogy” is amasing and I highly recommend more advanced students pull them apart and assiduously train with them. Practise one daily for 3 years and then the next etc. I took this advice from the autobiography of Gichin Funakoshi about the Tekki Kata. The man was right. Kata its not what you think. The more you study and practise them properly, the more your martial skills, knowledge, understanding will grow. Therefore, what you think of Kata today, will be different in one years time. And what you understand in one years time, will be different in 10 years time. The knowledge that you seek, will not be the knowledge you will possess. Because what you seek to possess, is unknown to you at any particular present time. The end is always different from the beginning. The beginning hopes for one view. The end reveals that which you did not seek to possess, but now possess.

I guess we are lucky this isnt an actual dojo, where name calling is not possible for obvious reasons

Custom made

Style is irrelevent, your attitude is the only thing relevent

I agree KaiShin, either that or take up my offer, assuming they meet the criteria

"Tai Chi can draw Chi/Ki from nature into yourself, the practitioner" I am sorry, I have to disagree with that statement. There is no magic force you can muster on demand. Chi or Ki in Japanese, is simply focusing all your concentration and power on one point when you attack. Many people mistake a heightened fighting spirit as some kind of magic force and that is simply not the case. As for getting it from nature that is beyond the realm of belief. I dont know of any legitimate MA schools that teachs that concept. In all my 41 years of training I dont know of any good school that teaches that at all. Even in Japan when I was there I never heard that. Honestly that sounds like a Hollwood MA myth.

You are right you wont change me and neither will psuedo science. The reason is, give me a fat person where a claim is that its a physical illness and I will lock them up for 6 months and only feed them a healthy diet and force them to exercise properly. They will lose weight. Put that to the scientific test!!

If the means of commuication is good, it may well be worthwhile. I was in Japan from 82-84 and got permission to audio tape the lessons. I follow along to the commands even today. The only part I cant do at home is the sparring. But the exercises, basics and kata I can definately follow along. It ensures I get good training even alone