Drunken Monkey

the hard part being the switching of hands during punching without compromising your structure (or 'bouncing' in simple terms...) also, because, in the ideal situation, your structure leading into the ground is 'perfect', as you step forward into your opponenet during punching, you are almostforcing him backwards, his inertia adding to your 'power'. there are lots of things that relate to adding power but i would say the vital structure is probably the primary influence on power.

i was just curious what a karate guy wouyld do with a dummy... assuming that we're talking about the same kind that is.

just wondering, what kind of dummy did you make? what did you make it from and what do you use it for? y'know, what do you do on it?

well, if you look carefully, what they say is that once you get a black belt in a system you can join them and be one of their black belts. so most of your training does not come from them. or something like that. i kinda got bored after a while. is anything from there an original (read: not plagerised) bit of text there?

my point is, using some sort of recognisable means of differentiating between people of different ability and level of training is a good thing. a belt system does this rather well. the problem occurs when people mess with it. when someone adds grades betwen belts or even adding a colour to their own belt system, it isn't the system that is causing the problem. after all, it is the people who are messing with it. like i say, the problem is that a lot of people abuse the way the system is applied. analogy time. a knife is a dead object. some people use it to cut plants. some people use it to cut food. some people use it to kill people with. the belt system is a dead thing. some people use it to keep check/track of their students and their progress. some people use it to let students know how far they are on their journey. some people use it as a means to earn money.

manics? before or after the dissappearance....? and not sure what oasis would think about being on the same list as michael jackson. anyway. blur, pulp, coldplay, massive attack, moby, garbage, bush, prodigy, beatles, faithless, stereophonics, travis, chemical brothers and many many more... basically, look at who turns up at the reading festival and chances are i've got an album or two from them.

y'know, i always thought that 'ninja' was just a term used to identify a person that is on a covert mission. damn, my english is totally gone to pot today.... i mean, whenever anyone, at the time, went on a 'mission' that involved stealth (and this is basically anyone that the shogun or whoever commands to carry out the mission) is called a ninja. y'know, so sometimes, maybe a 'bog standard' samurai is called to go on an assasination mission BUT has no formal training in the ninja arts... hmm, maybe someone should take a little time to explain just who were ninja.

i would say that it isn't the belt system that is flawed, rather that it is the syllabus and the way that it is followed, which needs to be addressed. when you adhere to an already rigid syllabus in a rigid fashion there are going to be problems when the thing we are adressing is martial arts and martial ability which by its nature, is alive and expressive.

treebranch, like i said, left hand or right hand, shouldn't matter....

martial arts is supposed to be about yourself. it is supposed to be about you as an individual and about you as a member of a community. it isn't about comparing yourself with other people. it isn't about being better than other people. it isn't about how long you have spent learning the art. it isn't about your 'grade' in your martial art. it is about you as a person and what you have learnt, what you are learning and what you will learn in the future. i thin the problem is that people are looking at the actual belt as the actual award. they are 'concerntraing on the finger' so to speak... but alas this is where the problem lies. you cannot see ability but you can see belts. you cannot judge ability but you can test their knowledge. the belt system means good but it is not sufficient for the task it attempts to handle. it is widely accepted that even within a group of the same belt levels, you are going to have a large range of people with different abilities. you can take two people of the same belt level and they can be a world apart in ability. if you are going to have a grading/ranking system then you have to enforce it properly and be absolutely just and harsh with how you 'award' those grades. after all, you don't want anyone of supposed higher ability to be beat by a lower ability guy. i guess what it boils down to is how do you decide that this guy is this level and that guy is that level. you can have a new guy who has previous martial art experience and is a natural fighter (good timing, good execution) and can hold himslef against people of 'higher grade' with his basic knowledge of your style. then you have the 'long timer' who has vast knowledge but is at the same 'fighting level' as the new guy. how are you going to decide who is what grade as they fight the same, so to speak...(?) where ever there is a physical symbol that is used to represent someone's ability, there is going to be dispute. it isn't really the belt system that is the problem, rather it is what people have done to the belt system. they charge for you to take a grading and if you fail, they charge you for the belt if you pass. this is where a lot of the scandel comes from. there is incentive for people to fail you when you take a grading (mucho dinero....). by all means use a belt system. just be honest. i've never been part of a school where a belt system is used. we know who has been learning longer and who is new. we know who is good at this and who is good at that. we know who is the better fighter and who is the better teacher. we also know that best fighter and the best teacher and the one who has been learning longest ISN'T always going to be the same person. you have just to educate people on the significance or insignificance of the belt. the system is a dead thing, it has no anima. it is a thing that people use and abuse. the problem is not with the system. the problem is with the people. educate the people and the system will work.

you cannot be a "certified samurai". the samurai were a class of people that used to exist in japan (and to a certain extent, they still do, the actual family that is). even if you are born of the old samurai family, it still does not make you a samurai because that class of people were effectively abolished how ever many years ago.

like i say, when you want to kick, it is already there...

well, i'm currently trying to find a cheapish central location for a possible meet. i've e-mailed a few clubs and asked about maybe using their place and some central sports places for some costs for hall hiring. but i'm not too keen on getting a hall. don't want it to just be a 'fight club' night. anyway, the point of this was that if anyone is interested post here with suggestions of any possible arrangements (maybe a nice visit to your own training place) that we could all accommodate.

maybe we all have different views on what a mcdojo is...

that's what i'm talking about. the 'san shou' that the guys here are talking about is the thing taht that cung li dude plays in. it's kinda like a kickboxing fight with a slightly different set of rules. it's not 'san shou' (loose hands)as we know it from cantonese, which is more or less the same as 'san da' (loose hits). it also sounds like that there is another application of the name 'san da'.

um, not really. a traditional school isn't a mcdojo (for your reason) because the art taught is real and recognised to be so. normally, making the art work is up to you and how you train (the school acts as a guide to help you achieve what you want). sport places are not mcdojos because they teach you to do well in what you train for, sport/display/performances. contracts are often linked to insurance purposes. you have to see why and what the contract binds you to (must attend for 6 days a week or else pay 4x the normal listed price unless you pay a waiver of $600 before teaching commences... cannot tell or show or exchange what you are taught... must obey...). it is what is in the contract, not the contract itself taht is the sign. not belonging to an organisation does not mean a thing. in some cases, it is the big organisations that are the route of the money grabbing problem. mcdojos are a problem for too many reasons and it isn't just a case of 'if you're happy...'

well, nowadays i'm in architecture, working towards my certificate so my 3d stuff tend to be archi stuff. my art school days were back when pcs were still glorified word processors and photoshop was totally unknown to people outside of the industry. anyway, maybe i'll open up a new yahoo photos or group for sticking up some pics.

hey i'm a dab hand with the ol' acrylics too... well, former arts student. painting, sculpture, casting, printing, photography. right now i'm mainly a 3d max+illustrator+photoshop+illustrator user. what you doing and what're you using to do it?

i'm sure a lot of us can't wait to see what natural has for us... on a slightly different note, anyone know a good place for us to upload and hence link videos to?

point sparring in lau gar? you mean the kick-boxing bit that is done as well or part of the actual lau gar style?

hey, just wondering, anyone in the london area, or otherwise, interested in meeting up maybe? have a chat over coffee, cross hands.... kinda unofficial 'KFmeet'. interested parties post here and i'll see what arrangements can be made. laters guys and gals. monkey out.

well, i think the general point here is that often, there is no reason for you to be angry and if you are one to get angry easily, then you should be looking to calm your anger, rather than find a way to 'release' it.

y'know, i've only recently seen san shou rules fights. for a long time i've taken what you guys to be talking about to be proper san shou, as in traditional chinese loose techniques fighting. totally different kettle of kippers. but a general question. isn't it all just about a different set of rules?

well, actually.... the 'no shadow/image kick' is a direct translation, from the cantonese, of the name of the type of move. as you may or may not move, the chinese language does not work in the same way as english does and should not be taken in the same way. also, names of techniques in chineses are more than just the name, often including an element of its essence/ideal as well as poetry. hence, no shadow/image kick is telling you that you kick without telegraph, without forcing and without being seen. when you want to kick, it is already done. it is also widely taken that the most effective, quickest, simplest kick that follows these principles is the good old front kick.

yes, i'll admit that the simple answer to this is to simply obey speed limits. BUT it is kinda hard to stomach when you know aht the speed limits are out of date by about 30 years. that is what i am trying to say. the limits are out-dated and the laws are out-dated and the reasons for the use of speed cameras are suspect and the actual use of the money gained from speed fines is suspect. like i say, ok, lets use cameras and the fines to help pay for better roads, better lighting on roads, better public transport etc etc. AND lets have all road users obey the same rules. if you're going to fine one particular group of users then why not fine all groups. cyxlists shouldn't cross lanes without indicating/looking, shouldn't ride on pavement, shouldn't run traffic lights. let them pay road tax, insurance, have some sort of test maybe....