PatrickGresham

Shorinryu Sensei: I went back and read the things I've been saying and I was ashamed of myself. I overreacted and do apologize. My instructor would have me doing push-ups till I puked if he saw the way I've been bickering. I don't want to come across that way, believe me, I'm actually a rather nice guy. We have a difference of opinion, that's all. peace, truce, all that good stuff good luck with your class. my offer still stands- come see what we're all about if you feel like it: http://doubledna.com/freestyle. Seriously, you're invited to visit. Patrick

"I appreciate your skills PatrickGresham in what you are doing with the nunchauku, but I view the nunchaku as a weapon, not a twirling baton. That's where we differ. I can cripple or kill a person with them, not leave bruises and bumps because you twirled them wrong. As long as the people you teach realize that what you are doing is no different than twirling a baton and has little or no relevance to self-defense, then that's just fine with me." Wow- what a poignant, well-substantiated, not to mention witty retort. Your last post tells me everything I need to know. You have no desire to understand, you only wish to degrade and be completely disrespectful. Arrogant martial artists are the true plague sir. Go ahead and sit in your ivory tower and feel good about yourself knowing how quickly you can kill people with nunchaku. Why you feel the need to insult, I don't know. You don't know anything about what freestylists work for. From your reply, it sounds like your goal is inherantly destructive. You brag how you can cripple and kill. When one of your students casually performs a wrist flip, do you smack their hand, or better yet, break it? I view nunchaku as taking something primal and potentially destructive and elevating it into something greater- but again, there is no chance you can understand that. After all, in your eyes, it's merely twirling a baton. Go ahead and think that. Why I ever bothered to address this with you in the first place is baffling to me now. I'm done trying- besides, I've got some batons to twirl and you have people to cripple. PS- if you ever feel like coming down from your high horse and opening your eyes, you're invited to our forum: http://doubledna.com/freestyle/ to Shorin Ryuu: This is the guy you were defending against the label of being "ignorant?" I hate to tell you this, but his demeaning attitude toward everything I tried to explain is the very definition of ignorance- he is ignoring it all and reducing it to baton twirling. Think about that.

to Shorin Ryuu: I totally see what you are saying and understand where you are coming from. It is your last point which is of most importance to me. You speak of: "But don't insult the intelligence of someone who has had far more experience in practical fighting experience than many of you have years on this good earth (myself included)." I agree with you. I hold respect for others as a treasured value. Just as we should respect him, I expect the same in return. I don't take kindly to having my fellow freestylists being described with terms such as "crap technique" and our form being likened to a plague. He should not be insulting the hard work that we all put in to realize our goals. Because we try unorthodox techniques, we pay our dues in bruises, blood, and the occasional groin injury. If he wants respect, he should pay it in kind. I have worked hard to help others go down their path toward gaining talent with freestyle techniques. When he calls the 400+ members of my yahoo group practicioners of "crap technique" it tends to insult them. I'm sure he has worked hard to help others grow in their traditional arts and were it not for his personal attack on me, I could see myself having great conversation with him. But when I spend hours coaching people in the dojang, on the phone, and online- only to have someone subject their practice to bias negative judgment, I have to respond in the name of all those who he targets, not just myself. You, Shorin Ryuu, are obviously a person of respect, so perhaps you understand where I'm coming from. I don't want this to become a sophomoric "my dad can beat up your dad" discussion. I just want mutual respect for our chosen paths.

Shorinryu Sensei: Are you suggesting that the nunchaku be limited strictly to traditional kobudo? If that's the case, should crescent kicks be limited to karate? Should you run afoul of a capoeirista practicing on a beach and tell him "hey, that's bad crescent kick technique" you would be applying your own bias judgement to a form which you are not involved (as far as I can guess). When you found my nunchaku page, you found a page dedicated to freestyle nunchaku, meaning NOT BOUND by the confines of "proper" or "tradition". FREE-STYLE. In the art of free style nunchaku, I'm showing proper technique. In your schema of nunchaku form, students should learn combat-applicable power techniques etc. I would never encourage people to carry their nunchaku with them in the unlikely event they are accosted by people not bearing guns. I kept reading words such as "ineffective" and "improper", so I can only assume you're referring to combat application. Clearly hundreds of nunchaku artists grew tired of merely battling evildoers with their nunchaku and thus began performing freestyle. Our patterns and flips are "ineffective" for combat, but I assure you they are quite effective at building neuromuscular control and coordination- benefits of martial arts in general. Someone commented on freestylists as not generating power with the nunchaku- I assure you that is anything but the truth, for unless you have the coordination to control the power you generate, it can backfire. "My problem with websites showing improper, flashy and ineffective techniques, whether it be nunchauku, or anything else, is that people that have no previous experience in legitimate good techniques don't know the difference." Well sir, perhaps such prospective students are comparing what you have to offer versus what freestylists have to offer. That's the great thing about freedom of choice. Some will gravitate toward stoic, internalized, traditional art and strict foundation- God bless them. Others are seeking a more expressive, external, and CREATIVE. "Creative" is a powerful word here. Necessity is a creative energy. Apparently some martial artists had the need to move outside the bounds of kobudo, thus creating the art of freestyle nunchaku. You don't have to like it. I promise you, you don't have to fear it detracting from your prospective fellow traditionalists. They would share your mentality. As for those who "don't know the difference"- well we share the same fear. I wouldn't want someone seeking freedom of expression and creative license to stumble into what is obviously the wrong application for our mutually beloved nunchaku. "I have seen over the years, God knows how many instructors that self-teach themselves weapons and then pass that crap off to their students as good technique. My problem with this is that the students are blindly listening to their instructors and don't realize that they are learning garbage technique, not good technique. Then these studetns go out into the world and open a dojo and continue to pass on this garbage as good technique..." Ok, perhaps I questioned your omniscience prematurely. Take heart that your own students will be learning the definitive proper technique, and perhaps they can save the traditional arts. Write the Bible of proper nunchaku form to counteract the wave of "crap" technique that for some unknown reason is becoming commonplace. You are onto something with your reference to freestyle as a "plague" for two reasons. 1- Negative connotation aside- it is a vastly growing practive. 2- your tradition certainly resonates a sterile quality in which the "plague" of freestyle would never survive. So don't feel threatened. Your tradition is protected as long as it holds value for students. Have fun with your proper technique, we freestylists will have fun with our proper technique- and never the twain shall meet. As far as tournements go- just hope there are more traditionalists on the panel.

To Shorinryu Sensei: Since I see I'm a target for your criticism, I figure I should address you myself. "Yep, they're fancy and flashy all right, and really poor technique. Personally, I wouldn't recommend them to anybody to learn from, but rather as an example of self-learned (probably) "what not to do" technique" Yes, I am self taught with nunchaku. I only intended my page to be specifically for those who wish to learn flashy techniques, not tradition. If people seek out to learn flash, they will find my page, and from it they will see what to work on to achieve THEIR goals, not yours. "I bow to that lad's right to do so, and his right to post it on the internet, but he is presenting something that in the long run will harm the arts more than they already are." You are not the god of martial arts, nor am I. I am doing nothing to harm the arts, I am simply giving people examples of how to expand their experiences with their own ventures into nunchaku. I'm not the one setting boundaries which practicioners must remain in in order to avoid harming the arts. I have never claimed to be a master, I have never claimed to have answers. The day I call others to my site with promises of mastering "traditional nunchaku" is the day you can judge me as harming anything. Thank you all who supported me.