Drunken Monkey

depends on what you mean by "invented your own style". let's take wing chun for example (mainly because it what i know most about). in the beginning you learn very strict forms that do not allow for any variation. then in training/sparring/chi sau, you leant how these fixed moves flow around and around. it is also during this time that you learn how to use the style to your advantage. what you end up with is your own application of wing chun, which is your own style. no one else in the world will use wing chun like how you do because of all of the diffrences that exsist between all people. different height, build, strength, how much you practise, how quick you are, how slow you are, how precise you are. all of these things change the way you apply techniques, what techniques you use and how you flow from one to another. even two great masters such as wong shun leung and tsui sheung tin had debates about how a simple tan sau should be used... like i say, this is just from a wing chun point perspective but i'm sure this is how it is supposed to work, right?

it's not really limiting yourself. the guy who started this thread is practising wing chun and the hook just doesn't really fit into the theory that the system teaches. however, once you have learnt the theory and practised the relatively fixed forms/techniques, you will find out what from the style works for you and if it doesn't work how you can make it work. this might end up meaning that you CAN use hooks because it fits into how you apply the principles you have learnt and practised.

okok, this thing about jet li having had some wing chun training. i'm sure i've said this before but if the teacher is willing, he can teach you all three (hand) forms in a week (a day if you're not fussy about accuracy). at the end of it, you would know all three forms but does that mean you are proficient in it? does it mean you will understand the nuances of the style? does it mean that you will be able to use it effectively against a guy who has only learnt the first form? and please don't use what you see in films as proof of ability. they are carefully choreograhed set pieces that you and i could learn and reproduce and with a little editing recreate EXACTLY.

and yes, we spar.

chi sau is a training method. think of it as a little game you play with your partner. both arms are in contact and you are both trying to find or make an opening through which you can attack. it can be done fast or slow and as heavy or as light s you like. however you do it has its own benefits. some people have described it as the testing ground for your techniques because it is a safe arena in which you can make mistakes. the idea of chi sau is that you learn to feel how any given force is coming towards you after the initial contact and because of the countless hours of chi sau you have already done, somewhere in your head is a way of neutralising the threat.

have many of you guys seen the older chinese martial arts films? y'know, snake in eagles shadow, five venoms and stuff like that? just wondering, what do you think of them using the old chinese forms as practised in the films for their fights scenes? or do you really prefere the highly choreographed "modern" use of moves that look good but have no real grounding? keep on talking

when was fast and the furious released? cos i first saw initial d on vcd (a bad quality format used in hk) about four years ago and i'm sure that was a bit before fast and the furious...

um, not trilogy there are about 6/7 of the films and in all honesty, the first one is probably the best. second isn't too bad but by three, with a decidedly not good director, it starts to lose the dark edge the first one had...

well, you might be aware of the "sticky hands" principles of wing chun. one of the purposes of the dummy is for us to get used to maintaining contact of the arms during contact. after the initial interception, there are lord knows how many things we can do afterwards. the fixed positions of the arms allows us to practise pivots, steps into/away, changing from inside/outside etc etc. probably doesn't make sense as this is best shown on the dummy. what i'm trying to describe i guess, is the way we don't really deflect but guide and move the arm to where we want it using very, small, precise movements.

there has to be a matrix in the matrix. that is the only way that an "anomoly" can exist. the architect talks of reinserting the anomoly but surely that can only be possible if it too is a program within the matrix. this also explains how all incarnations of the one looks the same. and explains how neo has power outside the original matrix. an answer to a question. the machines DON'T want to kill everybody. the whole drilling scenario is fake and part of the freewill program. after all, you need an oppressor to fully appreciate free will. and about trying to resolve the second matrix theory. i'm not sure they would have to. i mean, it's all a bit dystopian already. why try to make a happy ending of sorts? wouldn't it just be better to leave it as miserable as possible?

i don't think there's much point in replying to muay thai fighter anymore. all he keeps saying is that everything else is rubbish except pankration which he insists on being a mix of muay thai and bjj. he says that whatever i say doesn't matter to him because i've only ever practised "traditional" arts. i'll just be wasting time answering him. every post he has made, in my opinion has just been insulting to other styles.

sorry, must announce to the world how much i love this girl. maybe it's just youth and hormones but seeing her smile and happy and knowing that she smiles for me is the best feeling in the world.

whoa whoa whoa... initial d was waaaaaayyy before fast and the furious...

but it has many levels of meaning... one of which is roughly translated as little idea which in chinese roughly means do not hold high dreams and ambitions (in wing chun) because you might not get there. instead concerntrate on the immediate for there is always much to learn. even with the basics you will accomplish much. or another meaning is do not look to the day when you are mastering biu gee, instead concerntrate (keep a little thought) on the smallest most basic bits (without the basics, even the advanced forms are useless) i know this sounds odd, but it's a quirk of the chinese language. much of it does not have a simple translation.

one thing you mentioned is that the so called tradition martial arts are not meant for fighting and in a way i can see how you can come to this conclusion. however, i have to say that it is not the style that is not meant for fighting but rather the students these days are not taught to fight with the style. martial arts in the past were used for defending oneself and often, this meant defending your life, not just winning the fight. this alone proves that the traditional styles work. it's just how/what people are taught that has changed.

how about initial D? any petrolheads around here?

it's JUST the name of the first form...

well i wasn't talking about the length, more about the different style/techniques of pole form. i know know that the pole has a limited use up close, that's why we have the butterfly knives for that...

well, there's also the fact that technically he had no right to teach in the beginning because he was just another student too. that's part of why he had to have his own system. (edited out a typo...)

what was that about not using the word stupid? and it sounds to me that you really do not know what katas are for. to me they are just a dictionary of techniques. a record of the moves that you can perform to keep the technique accurate. i have never been told that you fight like how you perform moves from a training set. no style can claim to be the first to use anything (like elbows, knees etc) because the range in which you are fighting determines the weapon you use. if a dumb 24 year old like me can figure out that much then i'm sure the martial artists of yesteryear would've thought about it too. who is dumb enough to try to punch an aggressor when he is too close to punch effectively? look at it this way. in ancient china the martial arts were mainly used for defence. if the style didn't work the people get killed. if the style didn't work, it wouldn't get passed on. all i can say now is that if after however long you practised karate, you are not capable of defending yourself then either you didn't learn much or you are a victim of mcdojo.

hmmm uenpe woilf neu 106 of semprex i'm sure that's just gibberish, even for star wars.

i just saw your name at the bottom of the post... so sorry no offence meant it's just that i don't get to see many cool names here.

i probably think too much about things like this but... i think that the world they exist in is another matrix to give them the illusion of freewill. remember the thing about programs going beyond their original programming? well, the "neo" program has just gone beyond it's original parameters, hence the control in the supposed real world...

how about the ones from your local chinese medicine shop? after all, we've been using that one for ages...

the hottest woman in the world is currently having a nap in my bed...