Drunken Monkey

hey, don't forget that his opinion is WRONG.....

.....should i be pointing out that the wing chun punhing doesn't work very well when you don't have the ground beneath your feet? dude, in most of your posts, you seem to be hinting/suggesting that you are a REAL kung fu guy and that the rest of us are not. or am i the only one who sees this?

.....hmm, is your spinning back fist based on spinning very quickly for momentum or spinning (from step) to gain position? hey delta, remember that low, kneeling type stance we were talking about? do you guys 'turn/spin' to a backfist type move (by rotating/'undoing' the stance)?

.....not quite.... (again) i don't actually see many people use kung fu to describe any ONE martial art. the term itself is used to refer to all chinese martial arts. if i were asked if i knew any martial arts i would say that i practice kung fu. if asked further i would say that i practice wing chun. if asked more i would then list the sifu's i have trained under. all of them answers would be correct. then again, it isn't wrong to say hung gar kung fu although just hung gar would do or even hung kuen. wing chun kuen is more correct than wing chun kung fu (although wing chun kung fu isn't wrong) shaolin kung fu is correct shoilin kuen is a particular set of forms (i.e the fist ones and not elbow forms or kicking forms) but the again, it can also be used as a general name for all shaolin martial/fighting arts. white crane kung fu is correct white crane kuen isn't..... like i keep saying. it's complicated and what you use is different depending on the style and what you are describing of the style.

erm, no.... there IS shaolin kung fu. (the actual term means kung fu from shaolin) the forms and excercises were/are well documented. MY only concern is whether or not they are teaching it properly at the new temple school. (i mean beyond being able to 'do' it) from what i have seen of the place, they seem to be teaching basic shaolin 'sup sik' and other base forms BUT i seem to see more performance stuff being done....

.....wing chun was NOT created by a nun called ng mui..... don't believe everyhing you read. for a start, there is more than enough 'true' histories on the net these days. go look.

.....this is where i chime in and say that while 'kung fu' is not a martial art, it does, in one way mean (chinese) martial art. the context of the term as used in chinese is not in anyway similar to what it is in english. if you try to understand/describe what the term means according to english, you will miss the point and most probably get it wrong.

i'm not good with pets. i tried once. it died. very quickly. my most recent attempt was also my most succesful. i started a mini ant farm well, an antquarium it lasted three months until i forgot to put it away before bed. i woke up to find crispy ants after they got to watch the sun rise and bake them in their home....

.....hey, does 'finding ways to justify sending time with someone' count as being a hobby? or is that just an obsession?

...well, that is kinda it. in fact, in chinese, it's now only shortened to four characters. ng gung, yee sang centipede, moves moutain. from little fable to common proverb. we likes them. you'll find a lot of little four character sayings that have a little story to them. i think it's all to do with confucius and the way he wrote his texts and how that in turn was used a basis for teaching. i'm not actually sure where you would find them things. most of them were drummed into me as a child.... y'know, short, fat, lazy... i was prime target for 'motivational' proverbs.

now that kinda makes more sense... except now i have to say that i've never heard of it before i came here.

i've been staring at the bombs on level 13 for the past two hours....

..i still can't figure out what the chinese name for this is. i keep hearing about it but apart from the english name of 'dog boxing' i have no clue. the 'di long chaun' doesn't make sense to me. ground dragon fist/boxing? falling dragon fist/boxing? ground hole fist/boxing? anyone know what it's supposed to be?

.....the stories is something that comes from having thousands of years of history and culture as opposed to a few hundred years. also, the fact that the ancient chinese were highly superstitious, lends itself to story telling. have you come acoss any of the little stories? y'know, like the one about a centipede who was a real hard worker and eventually managed to dig up and move an entire mountain? (the story itself has been shortened into a phrase to represent hard work can gain great results)

....that's the world famous 'train at the shaolin temple' thing. it is good hard training but don't confuse it with any romantic image you have of temple training. like i keep saying, it is open to anyone who can fork out the cash so it isn't really anything special. also, yes. in china, a lot of people use the three years as a base for bodyguard work. it is expensive but at the same time, a worthwhile investment.

....so we all agree that while 'full contact' is a term taken to describe a certain type of sparring, the actual use of the term is inaccurate/wrong.

oops. sorry. my bad... not just you but the guy who started thi thread as well. i mean, the thing about the name is a very basic and common piece of info. there is no reason why people who say they have been looking, don't know it.

...still chasing that arabian nights juzam djinn.... anyway you might've noticed that i like to paint. other than that i am a keen cook as well as being a part time bar person. these two things verge on being hobbies cos of the amount of 'back-stage' work involved. i can often be found hovering in london bookshops checking out the new stuff. also gives me an excuse to go to various bars/restuarants in london. same goes for my architecture. the nature of the profession means i am forever buying books and reading articles and going to exhibitions; anything that is even slightly design/culture/society related. i also occasionally build and paint little scale model cars. this is more like an indulgance (i am a classic car freak) and not really a hobbie. i 'suffer' from an addictive personality. as a result i'm always kinda conscious of starting something new cos i know it will get out of hand/control.

....well, you can answer to cos it applies to you as well. um, what do you mean by folk tales? the martial arts ones or the legends/stories about gods and demi gods and stuff? too many stories. the little boy/girl who killed the dragon king of the north seas (um, he/she cut of his head for fun) and angered the other three dragon kings who then went to plot against him/her and then getting entangled with evil underworldy gods until the top emporer guy in the sky got really annoyed with everyone, esp the boy/girl cos she's really naughty inbetween everything.... or the one about the ten brothers who each had an amazing enhanced power (sight, strength, hearing etc etc) and something about a turtle.... and then there's the many fantasy stories and semi historical legends like the story of the yeung gar who were a family of famous generals/soldiers. '7 goes, 6 comes back....' so, which stories do you like?

crouching tiger has the added benefit of being a single chapter in a set of five books, whose focus wasn't fighting but rather to tell a story about different lives in a certain era in a certain society. it's all about love....... once upon a time in china was blessed with a good director who has a good eye and experience working with 'traditional' guys. you might've noticed it turned to pap once wong jung got his hands on the sequels. the man is a fool who is obssess with sex and toilet humour. what i am saying is that it isn't just the plot/story that matters. anyway. back to the question. the best martial arts films seem to all have an underlying theme that relates to love, honour, dedication, commitment..... again, i refer to 'crouching tiger' and 'once upon a time' and even what you guys know as 'ashes of time'. these are set in a romantic world where it isn't just about beating people up. the characters are all capable of great deeds but the greatest things they do are often not about fighting. in crouching tiger, the act was of loyalty and honour towards the ones who you love and the ones who have given you more than they should. in once upon a time, the act was of standing up and to not be played like a fool (important when you take into account the context) in ashes of time, the act was.... well, you go and watch it. it kinda gives away the plot.... i guess, it is all about a human element. you really feel for what the characters are going through because in some way you understand because they relate to our lives. that is why trash like 'the one', 'romeo must die' (well, every u.s jet li film), hmm, in fact most u.s martial arts films don't work on the same level. they entertain but in a car crash kinda way. it doesn't involve you in the same way as the last samurai and co does. on the other hand, as a simple action film i point to the inimitable 'police story' to show how fight scenes can be set-up with being obviously so. somehow, everything in that film works (except one scene which makes me cringe every time... why? why try to insert comedy in that one???) but then, not all of the action is about fighting.... which might help.

wouldn't 'heavy contact' be more correct? (especially if the other end of the spectrum is called 'light contact') but of course that doesn't sound as good?

....it was directed at you. i was refering to the fact that i find it hard to believe that during your research, not once did you come across anything telling you what 'kempo/kenpo' means and where the term came from. i.e that it isn't chinese and it isn't shaolin. the two aren't easily confused; which only points to the simple possibilty that you haven't really been doing any real research.

...what i meant was, if it has kempo as a constituant part, kempo being something that can applied to all techniques, the end result will still be kempo no matter what techniques you absorb. does that sound about right?

.....what was that about real research?

.....do you have ANY previous training? and who has been supervising your iron fist 'training'? or are you just smacking a steel box around and calling it training?