Martial_Artist

I wasn't aware each of these was a style. You'll have to enlighten me on what the three ring circus is, double dragon(the video game?) kick, and the g-clef cannon. As I am a dote, an don't know what these mean, could you please elaborate? Thank you.

For me, I have peculiar tastes, Wesley Snipes fight scenes are bad. They play to bad a$$ genre of fight movies. They way they are choreographed is completely unrealistic. (Don't believe me watch his fights in Blade II against all the vampire guards. He manages to take them all on one-by-one.....) Plus his technique is limited to break arm; side kick to the face. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy watching him as an actor. I enjoyed the Art of War, but his martial arts fight scenes are a bit lacking in realism and effect. But, hey, this is just my personal opinion and really doesn't matter in the end.

I'm going to try and help. I come from the school of hard knocks and my advice isn't going be easily digested, but from what I have read, could help you improve. First, I doubt that this person has not changed in skill in the last 2 years of training. Bad day -> bad week, maybe, but bad week --> bad month? 30 days is quite a long time. Here's what you need to do: 1. Stop whining. Grit your teeth and work through the trenches. 2. Train harder. Your opponent is beating you because is gaining ground on you and becoming better than you. If you want to prevent that then TRAIN HARDER. Push yourself. Work those techniques to razor perfection. 3. Stop worrying about your opponent beating you. If you win, you win. If you lose, be thankful it's just a dojo fight and not a street fight. 4. Be a man and fight. There is nothing quite as disheartening as a martial artist crying. You may not be crying, and I may sound cold-harded, but this is the martial arts. We are not in a world of pottery or painting. It's more than ust mental. If this person is consistently beating you, matching your moves, then you've lost the razor edge on your training and need to trian harder. To get your skills back you need to train more. Everyone else's advice has been excellent. If you have been in the same school with the same person for 2 years, then he must know your particular taste in fighting. If he knows that then he is taking advatage of the opportunity. I don't believe he hasn't changed in two years. If he's gained a rank, then he has changed. If he has been doing the same techniques over and over for two years, then he's changed. Relax. And train harder.

BLADE II was a horrible movie. Further attesting that Wesley Snipes can't do martial arts. The production was terrible and made way too much use of unnecessary CGI FX shots. BLADE, however, was at least partially decent and had the redeeming quality of being somewhat original. BLADE III? I was hoping they wouldn't....oh well.

Ok. Here's another. Setting: The Philippines Again.(If you haven't guessed I've spent some time there.) I was getting a soda pop and something to eat at a little roadside store (called Tindahan) pretty late at night. (I had the munchies and nothing in my refrigerator) Anywho, there was this guy sitting on a bench just in front of the window. I had to hunch over to get to the window. He was sitting up a bit above where I was. He was amazingly enough, drinking! Surprise! Surprise! (I find most hostile situations are produced by those not in the right mind) So he starts to talk to me. The first words out of his mouth are, "Hey, joe.'" (Hey Joe is the universal filipino word for hey american. They call all americans joe among other things...my name however isn't joe) I ignore him. It's late, I'm hungry. I'm wearing some worn out sweat shorts and flip-flops. So he pulls out this one dollar bill and starts waving it at me saying stuff like, "Look! I got lots american money!" The store owner says to me, "Just ignore him he's drunk." So I ask him, "How many drinks you had?" Just 1. Then he says, "My name is Nothing. Do you believe it?" WTF?! I reply, "No. I don't believe it." SO he get mad now and says, "My name is Nothing. It's in the Bible. Do you believe it?" "No. My name is THE. That's in the Bible. Do you believe it?" I reply. This sets off some detonation switch. He gets furiated. And starts rambling off about how he's this big shot on the other side of town. (I'd been living there for 16 mo. Never heard of him.) Says his name is Leo. So he gets up now. And makes like he's coming for me. I get out from being hunched over and stand to face him. I am totally expecting this drunk man to take a swing at me. I'm thinking to myself, Do I hit him back? I walk up to him and we reach level ground. He'd been on elevated ground since I went to the window. I stand to my tallest. The top of his head comes directly to my solar plexus. He looks up at me and I look down at him. I'm at least 10x the human he is. I step back, relax, and wait. He looks at me then sits right back down and starts mumbling that I'd better watch out, He was Leo. If I wanted to finish this I could find him on the other side of town. I laugh at him, say, "Sure thing, Nothing," and leave to go home. This story was funny, because I didn't have to do anything. I know it's not mental fighting, but funny. Because while drunk off of one beer this guy felt he was 10ft. tall. When he called he felt more like 4'3". I knew this town very well, he was a janitor at the College. I avoided a fight by simply puffing up like an animal and it sobered him up a bit. Those were some interesting nights on the shore in that town in the Philippines. Most people didn't bother with me because of who were my friends, but there were the drunks who forgot where they were, or the tough guys trying to prove something. I was just there to learn and enjoy. Manila, was a different story. Such a big metropolis, plenty of guys looking for trouble with an unknown foreigner.

Art vs art? Fighter vs fighter? Which is it? Comparing two arts...doesn't it really just boil down to the fighter? Yes, and no. It is neither one or the other. Those of you who are familiar with my martial arts philosophy already know my stand on this topic. However, it has occurred to me to offer my voice on this particular subject. I have seen it argued that art vs art is really quite irrelevant and that it plainly boils down to the fighter. While this mostly true I would offer a different persepective from which to view it. I would argue that it is not purely fighter vs fighter and that the art they practice is completely irrelevant. I would argue that there is more to the equation that such a simple logical conclusion. Let me elaborate. Fighter vs fighter. The art that they practice has no bearing on the outcome of the fight, right? Wrong. Take two men (or women) and pit them against each other. You could say that the art they study meas nothing, but where do the tools that particular fighter uses come from? In other words, this fighter is fighting but where do his techniques come from? What source has this man drawn is martial arsenal? If one man studies karate and another tae kwon do there is much more to it than simply which man is the better fighter. The karateka has all of fighting knowledge housed within karate. His whole fighting essence has been cultivated from karate. The same for the TKDist. They began martial arts perhaps with little or no prior knowledge. They brought to the table only what they innately possessed. The art they studied provided the rest to develop them into fighters. So, beyond their individual character traits, they are molds and products of their arts. From day one--when their minds were empty and devoid of martial knowledge--they have been trained in the philosophy, techniques, and way of life of their martial art. This effects who they are as a fighter. It also effects what they can do as a fighter. Each man when he fights fights purely from what his body knows to do, what it has been cultivated to do. For a karateka this is going to be different than for a TKDist. Because, both men have been cultivated with different tools and different environments. So, it is nearly impossible to say that their art has no bearing on the fighter. Because that fighter is nothing without his art. When the karateka fights every movement he performs is taken from the weaponry that karate provides him. When the TKDist fights every movement he performs is taken from the weaponry that tae kwon do provides him. That is what he knows as a fighter. That is who he is as a martial artist. Take the art away and that person is nothing of the fighter he is with that art. For that art has made him the fighter he is today. So, it is a fact of existence that not all things are created equal. Not every martial art is equal. Not every martial art is equally effective in combat. Some martial arts were strictly not developed, or were not further evolved to be effective in a fight. So, there are arts that are more effective for certain situations that others. There are arts that empower the student more fully to handle more situations. So, if a student of a less-effective martial art fights a student of a more effective martial art, the fighter involved is minimal in consequence to the art involved. The fighter from the less-effective martial art is going to have less weapons that work in his arsenal to choose from. He could be the best innate fighter in existence, but each and every single one of his movements, techniques, strategies, and philosophies come from the less-effective art. He can only carry that so far before the art becomes too much of a burden and he loses the fight. On the other wise, the fighter from the more effective art has a greater arsenal of weapons that work to choose from. He does not have to rely so much on his innate ability as his art will carry him further. Conversely, his art can only carry him so far before his lack of innate skill buries his art and his incompetence as a fighter causes him to lose the match. So, art vs art is incomplete without fighter vs fighter. You can say it all boils down to who's the better fighter, but for that fighter what art has cultivated him to be that fighter? He would not be the fighter he is if it wasn't for the art he studies. ps I, personally, have a different philosophy on the role of style and art, and the effect they have on the martial artist. Portions of this philosophy can be found in my posts under Combative Martial Arts, "The Martial Arts".

I think uniforms would be excellent for public education. I don't think it has anything to do with infringing upon a person's civil rights. The constitution stipulates the pursuit of happiness, not the guarantee of happiness. I feel that if a school district decides it is in the better interest of the students, teachers, schools, and neighborhoods that schools reside in to have uniforms then they--as public educators and the stewards of our children--have that right. I have traveled quite a bit and resided in quite a few places. Children in uniforms from elementary to college/university seem to me (I'm no expert, just offering my take on it) to better cultivate a school environment. For children I think it would better to take it a step beyond dress code. Dress code is something for the working class individual. Even then, most jobs require a specific uniform. Ever wonder why? More than simple product adertising, uniforms create a sense of community for those wearing them. Albeit, this is not true for every single individual who dons a uniform, the majority of those who do perform better in their job duties while wearing a uniform. Wearing the uniform creates the mental environment that, "This is where I work. Whil wearing this uniform this is who I am." And thus, this furthers workplace productivity. Removing uniforms from the workplace results is people taking their jobs less seriously and ultimately harms business productivity. This is why bankers wear dress shirts and suits, and fast food chains wear their uniforms. It cultivates the mentality to perform the task at hand. If everybody wore just whatever they pleased to work, exp. their home clothes, then people would slack-off in their respective jobs. This, I believe, can translate perfectly to the education environment. Surely, it would not completely eliminate bullying, and the such (discrimination, etc) but those things are personal character issues anyways and dress doesn't play such a vital role there. I believe that kids wearing uniforms, even at university level, would greatly help improve productivity. While wearing your uniform you are a student. The uniform helps remind you of that, and why you are at school. Regular clothing is reserved for when you are not acting as a student or studying at school. These clothes reflect that mentality. Wear a suit and tie and you feel a bit more dignified. Wear a wife-beater and torn jeans and do you feel so dignified? You don't change as an individual, but your external attitude does. Now, obviously, this won't apply to everyone. There are always rebels who think that breaking the rules make them special and somewhat better than others--rather than displacing them and causing more harm to productivity and general peace than naught. So, IMHO, uniforms would be great. I think they would bring back a sense of dignity to attending school. Wearing your uniform, especially in a university environment, would challenge the student to act mature, to leave behind childish things, and face the world as an adult. Those that whine about uniforms taking away their individuality don't understand what being an individual is. Dressing like others to fit in is not expressing your individuality; it's walking the line like all the other lemmings. Individuality is who are in the dark. It is your character. It's who you are when no one is watching. Wearing a uniform doesn't affect that, especially when you're wearing that uniform to perform a specific task: going to school. Students should spend their time focusing on their studies rather than what to wear to school, or whether or not uniforms will be implemented. BTW, in the south-western US, there are countless elementary schools that have a school uniform. Usually it is nothing more than a simple white t-shirt and dark pants. (or skirts for the girls) So, uniforms do happen in the US.

Once, in the Philippines a group of drunks tried to pick a fight with me. The 'leader''(ie the one most drunk) was calling out obscenities to me because of being an American. I did not feel like fighting a bunch of drunks because I was going somewhere so I instantly said to him in Filipino, "Man, you are so fluent in Chinese!" He paused for a moment trying to comprehend what I just said. So I repeated, "You are really good in Chinese. That's so amazing!" For him not to lose face, and he being so drunk to not realize otherwise he agreed. I told him I was fluent in Chinese too and then made up something that sounded Chinese. He replied in more made up chinese. For a few moments we exchanged a conversation in completely made-up chinese. After a few moments I laughed uttered something incomprehensible and motioned like I had to go. He laughed and said something in fake-chinese and we waved good-bye. End of confrontation. Second, in the US. I was walking with a friend of mine at night; not too far from home and not too late either. A man and his buddy came out from behind a bush and he pulled a balisong(butterfly knife). He asked for our money. I looked at him and yelled very loudly, "If you attack me with that, I'll kill you!" He looked at me then said, in a meek voice, "Just kidding, man." And he and his buddy turned and ran. I've got a few more, but those two most entertaining.

Best weapon: Thermonuclear Hand Grenade. 10km blast radius. 100% effective. Second Best Weapon: The insides of your head. % of effectiveness depends on how much common sense you put into it. Avoid using the Thermonuclear handgrenade when possible, but if all else fails...

Yeah, that could be a problem. Shame on you KickChick! Always sending people away from this site... tsk...tsk...tsk. j/k. Ah, but maybe we can be a glass-half-full guy, Patrick, and think: they may send them to another site, but they'll always come back for more.

After much research (ok not too much research)...After much observation I do hereby nominate KICKCHICK for the award of LINK QUEEN. Never before have I seen anyone find links for just about anything. I am indeed impressed. Anyone second the motion?! Hear! Hear!

WHuh? Good luck Bon. Hope you find a karate-chick (excuse the chauvanist) that can kick your butt.

Read the James Clavell version.

I see what you're saying. It applies to the MA community at large. For me, personally, even if Bruce Lee never existed nothing would change about my martial art training.

youkoso!

I didn't choose to. I was just brought up that way. I never knew anything different until I got older.

Sun Tsu, The Art of War. - 5

I don't understand this. What do you mean? I never said Bruce didn't influence the West's view on martial arts. I only said the personal influence on me being a martial artist wasn't because of Bruce Lee. I don't know what you mean by practicing being easier, but with or without Bruce Lee I think practicing my martial art would still remain the same.

I'm not an expert, but I have experience. When I was living in the Philippines a couple of years ago I noticed something related to height. Children that did not eat healthily or had proper vitamins and nutrition grew to smaller statures. The rich children, those whose parents could afford vitamins and good food, were almost always taller. I think the things KickChick listed make the most sense. I agree with them. Of course, you'd better start while your body is still growing. I am happy with my height. 6'3".

People relate to it more.

What's Meigeedo? I don't find this a problem. It's ignorance, but not necessarily conscious ignorance. Simple ignorance. Can you blame them for their attitudes? What have they had as a witness to the martial arts? Mostly old movies, corny movies, and an endless supply of McBlackBelts. Quite honestly the MA community is something to laugh at. Amidst a plethora of McDojo's there are really only quite a few dedicated martial artists. In the town I was born in there are plenty of martial arts schools. There is only one that I would consider not a McDojo. All the others are practically jokes to the martial arts. When people drive by and see ads in the windows of these dojos they're going to make a judgement. When the ad reads, "Ultimate Karate!" or anything similar. People are not going to take it seriously. We need to ask ourselves, "Why should they?" Should the general public take every single martial artist they meet seriously? Do we, as a martial arts community, give them enough reason to? Personally, I don't care what people think. I could care less if someone screamed out at me, "Hey Mr. Karate! WAaaAaaaAAaaH!!!!!" My day would be no less sunny. People, the general public, are mostly justified in their teasing. I know it doesn't feel right, but can you argue with 30 yrs. of MA jokes in America? Since the 70's onward there have been McDojo's all across the nation. The martial artists that do get into the public usually are foolish enough to either be a loud-mouthed braggard that gets his upcommence, or a man that claims to do the Dim-Mak on TV. Who, without any martial arts knowledge, is going to take any of that seriously? Put yourselves in their shoes. You are at home, you live your life, and you honestly know nothing about the martial arts world. Sure, you've been in a few school fights, maybe even a bar brawl. Now, you are watching on TV some guy dressed really funny in a white robe throwing his legs into the air and yelling like he pulled something he shouldn't have. What is your reaction going to be? Me? Personally, I would laugh. Laugh really hard and say to myself, "Is this guy for real?" Then when a demonstration is held the choreography is horrible and the observer only has to say to himself. Looks good when your partner plays along, betcha it wouldn't work in real life. And then the NHB matches look like High School wrestling matches with punches. They're turning more and more into WWF type events than anything martial artish. I'm sorry to say, I really am, but the ridicule the martial arts community gets is its own fault. When someone yells, "Hey Kungfu let's fight!" Or does his best Bruce Lee kia. That's because there have been hundreds of martial artists before you that have given that person such an impression. I consider myself a martial artist. It is my life, I've been doing it for such a long part of my life I know nearly nothing else. What to do about it? How do we change the public's attitude or impression about the martial arts world? We can't. There will always be McDojo's because there will always be somone trying to earn a buck. There will always be McBlackBelters because McDojos will always hand them out. People will always get glimpses of those martial artists who make fools of themselves in the public by trying to bring attention to themselves. It won't ever change. What to do? Nothing. Why? Well, why should we try to do anything about it? Are you a martial artist or a PR man? The best advice is just ignore it. Don't let it bother you. I must say that only the weakest of self-esteem gets bruised from uneducated jesting. Who are the people mocking you? Most likely nobodies in the martial arts. So why would their opinions mean anything to you? Really, now folks, attitudes of the public? Since when have they meant anything to the martial artist? The old masters were not training to get famous. Should we be training for fame? IMHO, I don't think so. Sarcasm is the recourse of a weak mind. Let them talk and point, and snicker. Who cares?! We shouldn't. When we do it comes across as whining. When the big bad martial artist can't hack being laughed at and says something it almost always sounds like he's whining or crying. We're above that. The rest of the martial arts community, the truly dedicated martial artists, should continue in their serious pursuit of martial excellence. Our path towards personal development really shouldn't have a public face to it. We do it for ourselves and no one else.

I am not a martial artist because of Bruce Lee. He is not the reason I am a martial artist.

I have a feeling any information on this guy and his art is not going to be found in english.

The Chinese gods of cinema ended Bruce Lee. They did it to prevent his worst film ever, Game of Death, from being fully completed. Chinese gods are strange that way. The conspiracy you are referring to is the Hong Kong Big Boss Movie Producer Theory. Basically, the HKBBMP's wanted Bruce to stick with them, they had a deal, mofia-like, Bruce, however, was going to make it big in the US (his life-long ambition). They (the triads/HKBBMP's) got word of it and gave him the substance that killed him in HK. I, however, more fully believe that the Chinese gods killed him. Chinese gods are so fickle. Anything can upset them. Of course, just like good gods most of the time they sleep, or are away. So it's always good joss to make them offerings all the time.

Over-rotating? Proper form, that's what keeps me from over-rotating. Muscle control. When throwing a spinning reverse side-kick it's bad form to throw your arm out wildly. Better to keep everything nice and tight. Controlling your kick comes from training your leg muscles. If you miss your energy still went in a straight line and you have over extended your intended range of motion. If you miss you are in a better position to follow up with another kick or punch, or whatever. Over extending and allowing yourself to unwantingly return to your originating stance can cost you valuable seconds. For one you weren't really expecting to miss and the returning momentum is not a conscious decision. If your opponent attacks just then you could be had pressed for what to do in return, since you are technically off-harmony with your movements. Simple good form and muscle control will prevent you from over-rotating no matter how fast you spin. Throwing your arm out, however, adds an unnecessary weight that causes you to over compensate and eventually over-rotate. Hope that helps.