fallen_milkman

Wow. That's pretty arrogant of you. I can tell you for a fact that my uncle, comepletely untrained, has beaten a karate black belt in a one-one-one unarmed fight. Not just some guy claiming a black belt, a man who was known for being very good at the art. My uncle grew up a fighter, is a big guy, and is fast for his size. This doesn't mean he is proud of it, he actually admits to having a bit of a big mouth that gets him into trouble. The point is, training isn't everything. There are an infinite number of variables involved in fighting.

Welcome! Another PA'er. Where in PA are you from?

Your head may have been tilted too far back. This can cause giddiness and some symptoms similar to hallucination. Meditative states are usually very calm, and I've rarely heard of visions. Try and use pillows to prop your head up so it is tilted tightly forward. I am not sure of the method you are speaking of, but a few more thoughts. Try to regulate your breathing. Breathe in for a slow four count, breathe out for a slow four count. As for the counting, I really like my method. This doesn't mean you have to use it, but I'll type it out anyways. Once you can do this without having to count it, start counting to 10 slowly. Clear your mind. Once you reach 10, start over. If you accidently pass 10, (it has happened to me quite a few times) it's not a bad thing, just start from one when you realize this. Finally, stop counting and focus on nothing. Very relaxing. This is what my teacher refers as "emptying the cup." I love it. Very relaxing and even if my mind does stray into thinking, it's usually about something worrying me and I have the clear mind to deal with it much better than when I was upset about it.

The big problem with street fights in my area is it's never, ever one on one. It's always gotta be the guy and a few of his toughest friends around here. So I would do pretty much anything in my power to avoid a street fight.

I REALLY think a lot of you miss the point of forms. Forms don't teach you how to fight. They are simply ways of organizing self defense techniques in a pattern that is easy to remember and transfer to a student. When I go through a form, I imagine each and every attack those forms are meant to be defending and countering against. I even try them out in our sparring drills, they work very well. Not sure why I usually find traditional arts being badmouthed. There is no bad art, only bad artists.

Not to mention the fact that almost all the Shaolin documents have been destroyed. Shaolin was burned multiple times in its history, and bombed once. The temple there now is not the one that was there before.

Lyrics from an Alkaline Trio song: "Keep 'em Comin'"

Your own sig says it all! Simply put, don't box a boxer. Make him fight you on your terms.

Googled! Ah, the wonders of the internet. http://groups.msn.com/NeiWaiChiaKungFu/historyofneiwaichia.msnw

I'm gunna go with "almost certainly a scam," since I am pretty open minded. Were I down to earth, I'd say "completely impossible." And here is why. 1. No Shaolin monk would sell this knowledge, or provide someone with it that would sell it. 2. Shaolin Kempo? They don't teach that at the temple. Nor do they teach any martial arts. It is the Chinese equivolent of vising Colonial Williamsburg. Most of the monks are actors. All of the monks were moved to a nearby city where they teach wushu for the Chinese communist government. There is more, but I'll see what everyone else has to say before I keep rambling. Besides, I work in about 15 minutes. This will be continued later.

A lot of the time, at least from what I've noticed working with aikido, you're not actually grabbing the punching wrist. You are blocking it normally, and the controling it. People who are good at it just make it look like one fluid movement. Aikido's effectiveness, even early on, is astounding.

I don't think the people bad-mouthing tai chi have ever tried doing a form at an extremely slow pace. Done correctly, it can become even more strenuous than doing it fast.

Extremely well put.

Hello everyone, my name is Tom. And I am an alcoholic. I mean, martial artist. I studied Long Fist when I was much younger (about 8 years ago) and I currently study a system known as Shaolin Kuntao, but plan on adding a few other arts to my knowledge later. Most notably, Hung Gar and Bakua. I am heavily into the internal aspects of training such as chi development and meditation. I think that about covers the basics. Feel free to ask questions, I'll probably answer them. Or don't, and I still might answer them.

I believe Mitch Hedberg has once again put my thoughts into the best possible wording (I sometimes wonder if he was stealing them). I'm not gunna turn down an apple, just because it will eventually be a core. No apple can be eaten forever, and we must die someday. To worry about it is silly, to worry about it so much that we miss out on the fun aspects of life is even sillier. Death is inevitable. All we can do is use the time we have.

I'd go with Liu Leong Siong. Since few people probably know who that is... "Liu Leong Siong was a master of the family Kuntao system, a deadly fighting system that is said to be the highest level of the martial arts. It was only taught to Royalty and the emperor's family. A second style of Gung Fu that was derived from Kuntao was taught to the emperor's elite guards. The family's Kuntao was not shared completely with all of its members, but with only the first adult male child of each generation." (from http://members.cox.net/eharris2/cimac/history.html) Please understand I don't believe this is the "highest level of the martial arts," each has their own advantages. I just love the idea of knowing a style that was taught to Imperial house guards, much less one so few people had mastered.

There definitely have been studies measuring the way electromagnetic fields are altered in people performing internal arts. Since I can't seem to find any links to these at the moment, you'll probably disregard that comment. I don't much blame you, as I like a bit of harder evidence than some missing study some random person on the web tells me about. So I ask you this: How do you explain chi gung arts such as Iron Shirt and Golden Bell Cover, which ARE documented?

Simple answer: There are lots of them. In all seriousness, almost any martial arts weapon you can think of is trained in kung fu. Some exceptions are katana and nunchaku, which are traditionally only used in other martial arts. That being said, even those are starting to make their way into kung fu schools because of teachers being cross trained or the students themselves.

Normally I like the focus of a silent room, but I do occasionally break out some AC/DC for a good, angry punching session. Yeah. Definitely TNT. Very appropriate.

I believe you are refering to the Shaolin spade.

Wow, a lot of "respect your Sensei" responses. At the risk of creating discord, here is my take. First off, let me say I will never have to deal with this problem. Kuntao is a constantly changing art, and my teachers would be interested in any cross-training I had, especially useful techniques they didn't know. That being said, I think openness is always the best policy in any relationship you have, whether it is teacher-student or husband-wife. I would inform my teacher of my intentions before ever even looking for another class. So my advice is that you ask your teacher. Tell him or her what you are planning, and get their honest opinion. If they get mad, they probably aren't the greatest teacher for you to be studying under. If they give valid reasons for not wanting you to cross-train, then listen carefully to them. However, I am also aware my school is very small and strange. In fact, you can't even find it unless you just happen to wander in or already know someone who studies there. My teacher consistantly tells us that he thinks of himself as more of a player coach than as a traditional martial arts teacher. While I do respect him, it is not just because of the traditional role of the martial arts teacher. It is because he is such a good teacher, and just a cool guy. Finally, just let me say this: do what feels right for you. None of us is in your situation, so we don't know the full story.

Honestly, every Chinese art is different, like every Japanese art is different. Shaolin-do, for example, adopted the Japanese Okinawan belt system when hiding from the Chinese government.

Just for clarification, JKD is Jeet Kun Do, right?

Wow, I do believe I am the first kuntao student to post. I saw silat mentioned once, which as far as I can tell is almost the same thing. I am new to the art and its history, having only started 6 months ago, so feel free to correct me if anyone knows something I mixed up or left out. Kuntao is a southern Chinese fighting art mostly separate from any Shaolin styles (although my teacher knows a few of those, so I get a bit of that too). It eventually spread and mixed with Indonesian fighting arts as well as kali and escrima. One of the main interesting points of kuntao is the fact that it changes every time it's passed from master to student. The master will teach the student the basics, leaving a few minor gaps to force the student to personalize it with his own studies elsewhere. This forces the art to change and adapt to modern circumstances, while still being a complete art for self defense. A big part of kuntao is keeping what works in combat, and throwing away or changing what doesn't work. Again, I would love for any inconsistancies to be corrected.