fallen_milkman

Class at 6pm today...and I have the second part of my yellow sash test ahead of me. The first half was our form and 12 basic self defense moves. A half hour of sparring is the second half. I think I'm ready, and hopefully I'll return around 8:30 with news of my success. Wish me luck!

I've been a big Green Day fan since middle school. (about 7 years ago...) Definitely good stuff. I even like a lot of the newer stuff, although Dookie will always be my favorite album.

Silat is Indonesian, I believe.

You drink fruit loops?

Honestly, I didn't post until now because I think you're making too big a deal out of it. Competition does not ruin art forms, as long as you can seperate the ring from the street. What works in one won't necessarily work in the other. The only problem with competition based MAs is that some practise only one aspect. I am sure some TKD schools out there train in a way that they can both compete well, and fight well in defense. Unfortunaltely, everyone has seen that TKD guy that competes really well, but couldn't fight on the street to save his life. (And he might have to.) Could Hapkido become like TKD, where a lot of people only treat it as sport? Yes. Does that mean YOU have to treat it that way? No! Keep training how you want, and if some people wanna compete with it, who are you or anyone else to say they shouldn't?

We start sparring right off the bat in my school. Sparring is just about learning, unless you're at a tournament. Now, if your instructor enters you in a tournament within your first month, then it's pushing you ahead too early.

I think elbows_and_knees may be right on for most kung fu styles. What little ground fighting I have seen in my style involved very simple stuff compared to BJJ. Don't get me wrong, I think it would work against most styles and people. I just wouldn't try most of it with a BJJ expert. That is where keeping on your feet comes in.

Grenade. FRAG OUT!

Kung fu is too general a term. Do any styles of kung fu have grappling? I would imagine most do. If they don't, it's probably not worth your time. Some might have it, but just teach it at more advanced levels. That would mean fewer people learn it, since it takes a long freaking time and a lot of dedication to get to that level. I'll be studying for about 6 more years before I even reach black sash, not even considering ranks beyond there.

Not really fond of the show, but the music they play in it is awesome.

Step in, knifehand to the inner elbow. He'll feel that one. After that, depends on a lot of things.

Good clarification, and I definitely know what you mean by finding quality weapons. It seems like 95% of the stuff on the market these days is NOT made anywhere near as tough as it could, or should, be. And the stuff that IS good is way too expensive for the struggling college student.

I practise kuntao. It has internal aspects, more than some arts, but is mostly a softer external art. As for the weight of a kwan dao, they most certainly ARE heavy. Luckily, us Chinese martial artists like to let our weapon's weight do the work for us. I bet if you knew Chinese broadsword and staff or spear well enough, you could do some guesswork at weilding a kwan dao. I doubt I could, with only a year of study in, but if you've been working with weapons longer it might be worth a shot. (Assuming you can't find someone to teach you.) If push comes to shove, I'd just look for a dvd or video of a form, and start there.

You mean Kwan Dao? I haven't personally trained with one yet, but my teacher has been learning a form recently. The form is extremely impressive, and it looks like a lot of fun. How could a cross between sword and staff NOT be fun, though?

Probably not more weapon training, but probably different. We train in all the traditional Chinese weapons such as broadsword, straight sword, long staff, etc. We also train with canes and knives. How about you guys?

Another PA dweller! Welcome.

I was in a similar situation, and I must say I agree with Mr. Mike. I asked a female friend straight out one day why she thought no girls seemed interested in me. Apparently, I lack confidence. MA is supposed to help with that, so I guess I just need to look on the bright side and use my non-relationship oriented schedule to train like crazy!

No music unless I'm hitting the bag. Then it's Wu Tang Clan. TIGAH STYYYLE!

Bah. Most of the people who do it just copy code from others anyways. And way overdo it, to the point where you can't read anything. Moving text and crazy freaking colors that stab my eyes are NOT cool.

Neither. No idea what those are. Our kuntao might be similar, but we have entirely different forms in our system from Master Reeders. I just learned an Eagle Claw form he taught for fun.

Take care Warlock...ain't gunna be the same without you.

Sorry, I didn't really assume you studied kuntao. By "our systems" being similar, I meant schools with Reeders lineage and the school I attend. Bad wording on my part. My teacher is Master Matt Borczon. Sorry, but I've never heard of your teacher. I actually train in Erie though, so that's not such a surprise to me. The other American Fighting Arts school is near Philly, but I've never been there. As for kuntao being an internal style...I don't see it. I would consider it a 'soft' style, but we have way too many external aspects for me to consider it an internal art.

Congrats to all!

http://members.cox.net/eharris2/cimac/index.html There is a link for you. I actually study kuntao in an area Reeders taught in for awhile. I don't study Reeder's system, however. I know one of the basic Eagle Claw forms passed from one of his students to my teacher, and that is about it. I imagine our systems are similar though. If you have some other questions about kuntao in general the site doesn't cover, ask away and I'll try and answer. Just keep in mind I'm not very advanced, so my knowledge is limited.

I guess ashamed isn't quite the right word. Definitely not proud though. It just seems kind of lame. Don't get me wrong, I like how much it helps keep in contact with high school friends. It just seems goofy to have a page dedicated to just me.