Karateka

Arguing about which art is better is pointless. There is no possible way to say which is better because they help people in different ways.

There was an Indian monk named Bhodidharma. He made the trek from Northern India to China. He stayed at a monastary called Shaolin Szu. He taught the monks there the way of Bhuddism. However, while teaching them meditation techniques, he realised that they were passing out and he had to teach them Indian Martial Arts so they could sustain themselves. This is how the Chinese learned their Martial Arts. There are many theories but this is the widely accepted one and the one told by the Shaolin Monks and India.

I personally don't take much thought into which actor or actress is better at Martial Arts or not. I like watching the movies to see if they are enjoyable. Most things are not very realistic but they are cool. If I was made to choose which is the best Martial Artist, I would have to say Bruce Lee from the old school and Jet Li now.

In my style, kinsetsu geri is called gedan sokto. I still prefer sokto(sword edge side kick) to anything. It has a lot of power and is hardly blocked on the street because amateurs always block their head, like it is the only thing that will hurt when hit.

What Angus said is in most situations correct. If the person is trained in Martial Arts, they are taught, hopefully, to have the walk, talk and attitude of a humble,modest guy while having the ability of a kick ass warrior. My Sensei always told me, in a fight you may be smaller and weaker; but you always have to have the look saying "you can't beat me". Having that on your side will make you that much stronger and that much taller.

Taesujutsu is right. Unless he has the advantages of the elements. Higher elevation, you are on a slope, your in a corner, etc. To read more on this, read The Art of War. It helped my combat and my way of thinking.

Not exactly. Kata is a set of pre arranged fighting techniques. They were made from real life situations where people faught. I don't know anything about Muay Thai so I'll take your word for it.

True, and it also says that Kata is not a dance and it must cohere with traditional values. I think your statement with not dealing with other nationalities makes sense. Do you know why the only do Karate? Because WKF stands for World Karate Federation. It is all Karate, not any other styles.

The real advantage is avoiding the fight all together. But when the kickass cry comes from within, brains and technique win all the way.

Discipline comes when the person decides that they want to slack off and disrupt the group. That is how I teach. I will have fun and joke around and teach. If the person thinks they can take advantage of that, I prove to them that they are dead mistaken. My own personal methods.

Any kick that does any damage is an effective kick. In the dojo, there are rules. In tournaments there are rules. In real life fight, there are NO rules. (except rule of law, but we won't go into that)

That is the only way I can describe the techniques. Would you rather have me say front thrust punch with reverse punch and reverse roundhouse kick. Doesn't exactly have the same pzassz does it. Oh, by the way, no I am not a master because I know the words, a white belt knows the words when they first learn, it is part of their yellow belt test. Take it easy Ken!

I think you would have a fair chance, after all, it is the Kata your style teaches.

I think all sports teams are great for the all have determination and a will to win.

Any kind of training should be fun. I always liked an ancient Chinese Proverb. It goes: "Tell me and I will forget, show me and I may remember; Involve me and I will understand."

Size never matters when you back it up with technique and ability. That is what I meant. I agreed with your statement before. Geez, always trying to pick fights with me, eh? _________________ "If your efforts only help yourself, you are only doing half the job" RJ Wallia 2001 This Message was edited by: Karateka on Jul 5, 2001 10:33pm

Size never matters. You could be 5'4 and fighting a guy who is 6'2. If you do well he would be saying "Gee I could pound the little guy; if I could catch 'em!"

As you can probably tell I take Karate. I can personally say that is a great idea, provided you find a teacher who does physicall fitness as well as basics and kata and kumite. Shop around, see what they have to offer.

The new Kumite rules are at http://www.wkf.net and are downloadable in three languages.

Happy belated Fourth of July from your neighbors to the North. We do not live in igloos or eat blubber. I say about not aboot. A chesterfield is a couch. And its pronounced ZED not ZEE. The beaver is a truley proud animal. My name is RJ, and I AM CANADIAN. To those who don't know what I am ranting about, inside joke. To all Canadians, you know what I am talking about.

Bigrokido, dude! Are you just trying to get some customers or what?

To Ken's comment, there are actually a ground ruling for Kata. If you go to http://www.wkf.net and download the new Karate rules, you can see what they consider into Kata's. It is really quite interesting to see how the break it down into The actual techniques and not the styles.

With Ken's definition of Kata, I like the gedan kazami jodan kazami gaky tsuki, the double fake ushiro mawashi-geri, and grab the leg cross over the foot sweep punch manouver mastered by Ticky Donovan.

It is just sport guys. They have to show the public and the IOC that people can walk away. The rules are there because they have to promote safety. A lot of people realise this, but some people who go into the Olympics are there to kill people. That is why it is important to learn control and follow rules. On a personal note; I don't particularly prefer TKD either.

Some moves may be outdated but are still useful in today's world. Being attacked by a pipe or some sort of stick is just like being attacked by a sword. When fighting someone who is just an idiot on the street, the haymaker blocks come in handy. Plus, if you wanna impress your girlfriend, you can do some cool shit.