Drunken Monkey

all training is good training. you've just got to have a balanced training routine. i mean, if punching thin air doesn't so anything, would boxers do it?

once again. kata is a collection of moves to TRAIN in for strength, mobility, precision, accuracy, record, stamina, concerntration, speed and focus. a fight scene is where two people follow movements with no intent.

well, i specifically asked about her straw man comment because it is another way of questioning the use of kata, forms, and drills. she says that any way of training a move other than full on in a realistic manner is a straw man. but if you are only learning to defend in a full on manner, you won't really be learning the mechanics of the move, right? i mean, if you get one person to repeatedly swing at you, you will learning to block his swing/hit. if you get another person, you will adjust to block his swing/hit. you could in time, learn to block against a lot of people's swings/hits but does that mean you have learned the move? my point is, don't you first have to learn to do the move properly first before putting it under pressure? really old saying: don't try to run before you can walk. maybe oneday, people will learn that kata/form/drills aren't just for learning/practising the moves. my t'pence. feel free to rip my post to shreads. i'm feeling in a kinda messy mood anyway. had a really bad sparring session today. elbows were drifting too much and i kept on getting popped in the middle gate section... i think too many late nights are catching up with me!

been looking but i can't seem to find any of these things you mentioned...

how about levitating?

i've got a big rubber-band kinda thing that goes around your back with grips for both hands (that is such a poor description... sorry guys) anyway, if you imagine, it offers resistance in the direction/plane of the punch and works pretty well for push ups as well. i'll try to find a picture of it for you. (if i haven't already thrown away the box)

we should kinda be glad that there are adverts like these and that people do buy the products. think about it, if someone wants to have quick results but doesn't want to put time and effort into it, do we really want that kind of person in our training halls? and another thing, they are happy after sending off their one off payment, it fulfills their needs and hey, they can always watch that tape over and over again. it saves them money on the classes that take too much time and they can instead buy more tapes, which lets the people post more adverts, which gets more of that sort of people out of our training halls... i'm sure we could all think of one or two of the psople i'm talking about. the one who always says 'i saw this in a video...' or 'i train in *(insert style here) at home' and well, if it works, then that's a bonus.

hmm, what do you guys think of her straw man idea? i'll let you post before i give my two cents worth...

yes but the majority of videos showing a wing chun getting beat by a cetain style of often spread by the purveyors of that said style. the ever popular kyokushinkai (excuse my spelling...) one is a prime example. i'm sure you've all seen it, does that supposed wing chun guy look like he knows what he's doing? my point is, the origins of those videos are suspect which in turn means the statistics you based on them are suspect. (side note; i have no idea how many 'wing chun vs...' videos are out there and examples of wing chun guys in any major fight. any info would be appreciated) i'm not saying that wing chun wins. just wanted to point out what flaws statistics have.

but statistics are nearly always horrendously sked/biased towards the side offering the numbers.

guys, stop it now. you are way off the topic of conversation...

it won't close unless people start to make daft comments... i've said this before about a similar thread. i can't say who WILL win but i know the one who loses will be the one who didn't prepare properly.

or if it played that start-up tune....

and it looks like the matrix guys shot themselves cos now, revolutions and reloaded both qualify for nominations... wonder what bright spark came up with that one?

i recently found myself a wonderful kitchen knife. it's called 'shun' (the brand). it doesn't look at good as a global knife but it is way more comfortable and it's edge has held without the need for sharpening and it's been two months already. i remember my global required whetstone about two weeks into it's use... anyway i know you're asking about martial arts related knives but i just had to add my kitchen knife experience!

they're gonna pitch it in a bit later when matrix and kill bill has calmed down a bit, but earlyenough before feb so that it qualifies for this year's oscars and earn a tidy bit of money... and today i've got my cynical hat on.

have you noticed how no one here really says that they lose fights? i mean, some of them actually go as far as to say that they have never lost... even against better grades from the same school.

but for all that is sacred, DO NOT sample streetfighter sound effects...

and another one who misunderstands the 'flying around' in crouching tiger... it is an artistic impression of the grace and agility of those who really are trained and those who know a few moves. the 'police' dude was shown a few moves as part of his job. the ones who 'flew' lived and breathed the martial arts.

i just hope that there isn't too much dramatic shadow/silhouette posing in the film...

no... he 'performed' a fight scene. katas have purpose/application, fight scenes do not.

well, i liked it. kinda funny at times. then there's that bit where he gets fried and his body slides down the road in that coat of his... some really wonderfully crafted scenes and niceley paced throughout.

hey don't get me wrong, i loved the ice storm. and i thikn that he's a great director. but for a 'foreign' film, it still had that hollywood feel... could just be that i'm used to hk films with virtually no budget.

well, that i put down to it being too polished. but then what could you expect from the director of the ice storm...?

er... let's see how to describe it... when you have your hand in front of you at chest/head height. open palm, fingers pointing straight up. the thing about that bit of the scene is the rhythm of the moves. roughly, it was kinda like 'padda padda padda' then all of a sudden, the wu sau and the the rhythm is broken for a beat.