Drunken Monkey

no offence but i don't give a monkey's if you feel like i need to be corrected. in fact, if you do think i'm wrong, then feel free to tell me. just bare in mind that if you correct me, or anyone else for taht matter, with something that turns out to be wrong or misguided, or even just misunderstood, it just looks bad for you.....

whoa.... did you say that you 'learnt' poon sau from a book?

like i said, depends on what style you train. what you said was just one version of dragon.

oi, children about.... anyway. how about a nice simple hug? or going downstairs after your morning shower and there's a cup of tea waiting for you.

it's not anger. it's not even frustration. (mildly annoying sometimes but that's a different story.....) it's more like how things need to be done sometimes. it's down to the fact that i've seen/witnessed this more than once. they come in, all talk, realise that it actually involves work then never turn up again. i think that if i have at least shown him/her what martial arts training is like (in my style) then at least i have done something good. i guess i could just be all nice and patient but then what purpose does that serve? maybe the kid will come back next week and give me attitude again? now if i work his butt off and he hates it and he hates/resents me for it but still comes back then i think i've done something worthwhile. what he/she feels about me doesn't matter, as long as they train seriously and i feel like i'm showing/teaching them something that they are absorbing. it's cheesey but sometimes, the only way to teach people is to make them want to beat you. at least then they have a drive of some sort. the problem with the situation as posed is that the kid already thinks he can beat the black belt.

21? how about a pic...? but er, cheese state, obesity capital, something about uphill battle against family genetics.... i'm not so sure.....

....heh, trust you to be the one who gets what i mean......

"I dont believe wing chun is a shaolin beater" try reading what i typed again. you seemed to have missed the point.

well, technically, since he wants to imitate bruce lee's way i.e copy his movements he's made it into a style, which is why i said what he wants to do ISN'T jkd anymore.

"My theory is, that mandarin and Cantonese has different ways of saying it" it's not theory. mandarin and cantonese are almost two different languages that just happen to use the same written form. different langauge=different pronunciation. it's hardly rocket science. "Then its settled then. In the northern China its called Shifu, In the southern China its called Sifu" nope. it depends on what they are speaking. the mandarin pronunciation is close to 'shi-fu' the cantonese pronunciation is close to 'si-fu' like the guys said before. to-may-to to-mar-to

bruce lee said that jkd was 'pak sau and hip'. you should know that dan inosanto teaches people to NOT jump around like bruce lee does in the films. that should answer your question about footwork in jkd.

well, today seemed more my thing with sensei rowe and sensei marchant taking sessions..... hey, if it went well, then does that mean it looks like next year is on the cards for definite?

i have never extended my punches fully ever. the only time i did, i put my arm out of action for about two weeks. AND the punch is driven by the elbow movement. think piston. and you can't really see if he has body structure behind the punch or not. that's something you can only feel. from the open goat stance, if structure is correct, you won't be able to push him over. it's kinda like a trick but it shows you how to redirect/manipulate forces applied in that direction. i.e something going against the punch. it's that manipulation that lends the wing chun punch to having a 'lifting' effect (or 'dropping' depending on the situation). wing chun is brutal. at least it's intention is to be. at least at it's most extreme it is brutal) at the end of the day, it is something that aims to knock a guy down and make sure he stays down. then again, most martial arts out that have at their core, the same intentions.

......i couldn't get down there today. right now, i'm sitting at home with searing pain in the middle of the sole of my left foot. walking on it hurts. i also have a strange ache around my knee that started after kneeling down on the same leg. (actually, it was whilst doing backward rolls from stand up and the knee hit the floor first) dammit. i hate not being to keep my word......

...just a little back-tracking. bruce lee has said that what he did in the films was not jkd. the stuff for films was just stuff done for films. hmm, the original 'movie-do'? i keep mentioning this but when asked by one of his wing chun seniors what jkd was, he responded by saying 'pak sau and hip'. jeet kune do. intercepting fist way. pak sau=the most basic fundemental receiving/intercepting move in wing chun (ignoring the straight punch that is). hip=correct use of correct structure. footwork is a way to carry correct structure as you move. stance is an example of correct structure, even if it is only momentary in application. the only way to train footwork whilst maintaining correct structure is to have someone who can show you what works and what doesn't work. you need someone who knows where and how to apply pressure to test structure. as i said, jkd does not teach you fight like bruce lee. it teaches you to see things differently. how you fight depends on you. if you are aiming to ape bruce lee's movements then you are not doing jkd. if you want to fight like bruce lee then go ahead and copy things from the films. just remember, moving like bruce lee doesn't make you as good as he was (or whatever).

also, the animal styles don't set out to imitate the animals, rather they take the animal's characteristics, with respects to chinese views on their nature/essence. i.e the dragon is ethereal, sliding, gliding, pushing, pulling, hard to ascertain it's intention/direction. hmm, but then again, that's also dependent of the style. white crane movements can be veeerrry crane like whereas eagle claw hardly resembles an eagle. there's a dragon style i know of but can't quite remember the name, that involves a lot of really close contact. it 'sticks' more than wing chun does.....

"I told him that he was wrong" hmm, a student telling the instructor he was wrong. correction. a NEW student telling the instructor he was wrong. what was that i hear about empty cup....? anyway. "he said that you should just throw your Punch without using your shoulders, hips or foots" this is almost true. the punching motion in wing chun does not rely on the body moving at the same time (kinda... something i'd need to show you in person). it relies on the structure of the body to be correct. the wing chun punch DOES use the shoulder, and hip and foot. in fact it uses, in asending order; ankle, knee, hip, shoulder, elbow and wrist. BUT like i said, the punch is 'performed' independently of the body structure (which is trained to be always 'on': hence independent of the punch) when you combine the punching mechanics with footwork, turning/torquing is added to the mix. BUT that is just the mecahnics behind the basic punch. in practice, we punch from where-ever the hand is (which just happens to be normally near the centre....) not sure what else to say (without falling foul to trollish comments....) except that you said it was wing tsun. as in leung ting/keith kernspecht's organisation. they're not the most respected of wing chun guys out there. but then again, i have no idea what wing chun you have access to so i can't recommend any point of comparison. see, i can (almost) be diplomatic when i want to.....

....yeah, i know. that pic of the girl. looks like she'll be haunting me for a loooong time. in more ways than one......

who did you have your free lessons with?

and trying to get this back to something about martial arts.... .....the same can be said about the question of effectiveness of certain styles. unless you really are being taught nonsense, if the things you learn don't work, chances are, it's your fault. it has been said by many people more qualified than myself that mostly it is down to the person. let's take royce gracie (or should that be the whole gracie family...?). if what he (they) trained since year dot was something else, let's say tkd, or wing chun, or shotokan, i'm pretty sure he (they) would've still excelled. there is no magic pill that makes you lose weight. nor is there a magic way to make you instantly fitter or build more muscle. nor is there a magic style that will make you an 'invincible' fighter. it all depends on how much work you are willing to put in. if nothing works, it's probably down to you, not the thing you are doing (or not as the case may be).

hey, someone actually tried to answer my very poorly written post. still very sorry about that but it looks like you got the jist of it. anyway. so in BJJ you aren't really taught to react with a strike of your own but tend to go straight into using what-ever is coming to you with a form of control. i.e there isn't really a striking 'game' as it were. it kinda sounds like the way things are shown are quite similar. only difference being whereas we would move to hit back, you move to grapple. does that sound about right? and er, just to clarify, when i say "receive" i mean that immediate moment/movement when your hands meet with your opponents. in your example, you received with a double forearm.

it sounds to me he wants to fight like how bruce lee did in the films.....

"Dont drink to much Coke,pepsi etc " exactly. someone earlier blamed unfit/unhealthy/overweight people on mcdonalds. that's utter cack. the only person you can blame if you eat too much junk food, is yourself. by the same token, if you want to get fit and lose weight and be healthier, YOU have to put the work in. stop finding things other than yourself to put blame on.....

.....i didn't do it for free y'know...... i got money for the alcohol and juices from each of the people involved in organising it. i just had free reign to do whatever i wanted. i think what shocked them the most were the strawberries and watermelon. hey, did i mention i can also cook? and um, for all you single girls out there, i also enjoy travelling, the arts and am on my to becoming an architect. if this sounds good please leave your name and phone number at my PM box.....

the feeling when you've already been caught by the rain and you know there is nothing you can do to cover yourself. AND then knowing that you're not going to get any wetter so you hold your head up and carry on walking.