Martial_Artist

I have, yes, but under a different light. Sort of in relation to the whole martial art I study. Puso ng Leyon = The heart of the Lion. Literally. Pusong Leyon = Heart of a Lion, more emphatically. Like he has the heart of a lion. Strong courage. It's an english transliteration into Filipino as in Filipino they normally don't say it like that. Glad to have helped.

A real katana. I assume by real you mean combat worthy? There are very few places that sell swords that could be called REAL. Most catalogues don't sell real swords. They're either 420 or 440 stainless steel. Or if they're carbon steel, they're case hardened. Or they have rat-tail tangs. A REAL katana will cost above $1000 and that's just for a basic plain sword. Add design and you can reach upwards of $5,000. Anything sold at martial arts supply stores, fake ninja swords, etc. are pieces of dung. I own a collection of swords, both fake and real. A 420J stainless sword snaps upon impact with a plain rat-tail carbon case hardened blade. Good places to get swords: BUGEI.COM, excellent swords Custom swords by Paul Chen. Knight's Edge(don't have a web page I think) for excellent carbon steel swords for practice, but they are flawed. Advantage: $100+ for a sword instead of $1000+) Museum Replicas: they have a webpage I think. Good quality cheap swords. But don't get anything oriental. Good for european weaponry that is compeletely fucntional. Those are the best. There are a lot more. Best advice anything from the back of martial arts magazines is very poor quality meant for display.

If you don't train your mind to work its hardest then you shortchange yourself. It's not about hitting hard, that is a part of it, but it isn't. It's not two guys going at each other like apes. The removal pads makes you move and react. Sometimes we spar in street clothing, shoes and all. Like I said earlier we do use mouthguards and groin protection. Then point of sparring to prepare for reality. Pad yourself up, reduce the speed of movement and you do shortchange your ability. You can practice your hardest kick on a bag and it has little bearing to practicing the same thing on a moving human. "Boards don't hit back." For the beginner it is necessary to wear more pads, the novice is the most dangerous person in the class.(He has the least control and discipline over his body) training your body to become comfortable in half-force doesn't prepare you to utilize full force. You can't expect some magic force to take over in a fight and change the conformity you've trained your body AND MIND into. About combinations: if it doesn't work under full force then why waste the time working on it? Like I said, but know wasn't clear on, blood and pain are part of the process not central to it. Occasionally you get the injury not every time. There's nothing stopping you from trying the daring combination but your opponent. Move faster than he and you can do it. It's not about adjusting the fight to you, but you adjusting to the fight. In a fight it IS about how hard you can hit the other guy so he doesn't came back harder and angrier. And getting it is a clear indication of what the attack did, not what it COULD have done. Get hit in the nose because you left your guard down and next time your guard will be in the same place faster. Worry about kicking an elbow because there's no padding on your foot and your kicks become more accurate and better timed. But then again it all depends on why you study the martial arts. For me it is a tool for self defense nothing more. As for it being dumb, which is dumber preparing yourself better for the reality of a situation or shortchanging your mind and body for a potential situation? I have sparred guys who do the same thing, train with pads, their movements are not as disciplined or powerful. There is a BIG difference between powering out on a heavy bag and trying to do the same on a moving human. There is speed and power to be developed in sparring without pads. A sharpness to be gained not to be found in a padded environment. Sure safety is a big factor, but as the old adage goes NO PAIN. NO GAIN. Think about it. When you spar you have no real threat of feeling any serious pain. Sure freak accidents can happen, but in all honesty there is no real threat of injury, pain, or loss. How can this sharpen your mind to fight? Now, this totally depends on why you study the martial arts. If it's not for self defense purposes then it really wouldn't matter and sparring without pads would be really dumb. But if you want to win a fight for life and limb then you had better sharpen your mind and body to remove any level of discrepancy in your ability.

Really want to improve your physical ability? Begin first by tuning your insides. Start by avoiding these two dangerous chemicals: MSG(monosodium glutamate) & Aspartame. These two chemicals are deadly. Here are the web page links for information on both of them. Example: for aspartame one of the 92 FDA listed SIDE-EFFECTS is DEATH. Imagine that, DEATH a mere SIDE-EFFECT. for msg: http://www.truthinlabeling.org for aspartame http://www.dorway.com/ In short, MSG affects your nervous system. Affecting nerve synapse function. Want to help your reflexes avoid MSG. Aspartame builds up in the system and NEVER leaves. You cannot remove what has been built up. But Aspartame makes you sick and drains your general health. A side effect being DEATH. Also, it does no good to live a healthy lifestyle and continue to consume these two. Sort of negates the purpose.

I have gone and posted a bunch and missed the whole intro thing. Better late, perhaps, than never. I have been studying the martial arts for nearly 25 years. Various arts from all over the world. I currently reside in the Western US, but just returned from a 4 year stay overseas in Southeast Asa, primarily the Philippines. The focus of the art I train in is combat, self-defense. It focuses on hand to hand, weapons of all types(archaic and modern[ie, swords, bo's, etc, to guns, rifles, shotguns, etc]) I really look forward to some good discussions on this forum. In advance, some of my views and posts are unconventional and this tends to rile some people up. I'm not here to preach this or that. It's not about who's right or wrong, but about communal learning. I share, you share, we learn. Also I may want to warn, sometimes when I write I come across as very, very arrogant. It's just that I am very passionate about the martial arts and when I try to explain something I can come off as very blunt. Remember this is(in most cases) not personal, just topic related. That aside, I assure you once you get to know me I'm not a ****y jerk that my posts make me out to be. I'm really a nice guy, really I am. Here's to the sharing of knowledge.

It doesn't take a machete to severe a tendon even through jeans. A simple medical scalpel will do the trick just fine. I don't know if you've ever been in a knife fight and if you have it may have been different from the ones I have been in. Once the man pulled a buck knife with about a 4-5 inch blade. Again a stiletto type blade about 6 inches. Then again a 4 inch butterfly knife. Sure I'm not a medical expert, but any one of those knives could cut through your jeans and damage your tendons, tissue, and blood supply. I've done a lot of blade work and it doesn't take much to cut through clothing if your blade is even mediocre in sharpness. As brought up in an earlier post a blade movement of even an inch by his design or luck can cut deep. A one inch wound is very very deep. You've cut into some deep tissue there and may even hit some nerves, ligaments, or even tendons. Of course it's important to be aware of your surroundings, but if it was that simple then almost no one would ever have to face a guy with a knife. I'm glad you know what tendons are. I'm proud for ya'. So you know too that if that tendon is cut by chance through your jeans that when you pull your foot back and try to stand on it you'll fall over. If that happens then what? Shock maybe for starters, shock may not happen. You certaintly can't stand up to fight, you can't use your foot for leverage any more. Or what if it isn't your foot that gets a severed tendon, what if it's your hand? Or arm? Or above the knee? One swing, if it connects, is all it may take to get you badly cut. This isn't the movies or dojo training, friend, this is real. Human flesh cuts easily, normal street clothing provides minimal protection. Unless you're wearing mail, or leather armor, the knife will cut through. I'm not sure what you're trying to get at. But a knife fight is a serious thing and approaching it McDojo style won't help. A man attacking you with a knife will be close enough to stab you or the point of him pulling a knife would be defeated. Now, are you trying to argue with me because I hurt your pride? This is a discussion on knife fighting techniques and what we can do to better equip ourselves to avoid injury or death. Not a contest of words. If you're wondering why I called you an idiot then re-read your post to me. Then before calling names make sure you read the post well. This pointless banter ends here. Unless you have something constructive to add to the mechanics behind a knife fight don't post anything. Who am I to tell you what to do? I am nobody. But I am trying to equip some people with better tools to prepare themselvs for a knife fight. Sorry if that bothers you.

Martial arts are nothing more than a tool of defense for me. I have religion and the spirituality & philosophy I find there is sufficient. The martial arts provide a means whereby I can defend my rights, life, loved ones. I look to the martial arts not as a replacement or supplement to religion, but as a tool of defense. Others find religion in the martial arts. The question doesn't have a right answer. The martial arts are what you want them to be. A confidence booster, a self-discipline catalyst, a defense tool, philosophy governing life. All are correct.

It's not a club, but yes we spar all the time. We do our training and then we spar. No pads. Mouth guard and groin guard, that's it. Our teachers philosophy is you can't learn to fight properly if you don't train 100%. We don't go into trying to kill each other, but we make the hits count. We'll pull if we know there's going to be some damage done, but blood and pain is a regular here.

You see, there are over 80+(I'm being conservative) dialects in the Philippines. Each one different from the other. Your teacher, guessing because he is from Cebu, probably speaks Cebuano, Visayan, and Tagalog. He may even know some more isolated dialects. In northern Luzon the Ilocanos alphabet has no K in at all, it's strictly spanish with the addition of native sounds like the NG sound. Your teacher is more than likely speaking from modern filipino after they erradicated the 'C' from their official alphabet. But names, places, even systems are still spelt otherwise. Ex. Current President Gloria MaCapagal-Arroyo. The spanish were there for 333 years, they left a strong influence. Like you said, Cebu, Cauayan(another city, in your dictionary it's spelt Kawayan and is bamboo), Cotabato in Mindanao, and Cavite in Metro Manila. Depending on your dictionary,(C.S. English's being the best IMHO) there should be the original spelling of the word before the alphabet change. You've got my attention now. Are you studying tagalog? On tagalog, a while ago KAY, as in kay ganda, etc. was spelt que ganda, just as the spanish use it. The language is full of spanish influence. Now you can get really deep in tagalog, but very few people speak or understand it that deep. If you have any questions about spoken tagalog ask me. I'd be glad to answer.

YODA, You called my paranoid J/k. I'm going to have to agree with what you wrote, about certain steps to take in a knife fight. However, I am going to say that they apply in only certain applications and can't fully be applied in all. Meaning(not in all knife fights will you try to stop the limb or control the limb.) For instance the fight may ensue in a manner that allows you to blantantly just kick the other guy before the knife even enters a combat path. He could just pull it out and as you see him pulling it could just open with a front kick. Extraneous situations aside what you said was very logical. That's right, if you can grab something nearby to use(stick, dirt, rocks, jacket, innocent passerby(j/k)) USE IT. Don't get all full in the head and think to be a real martial artist you have to take the guy empty-handed. That kind of attitude can you killed really easily. I'm not saying that because of anything you said YODA, but because other people are going to read this too. Now I think I need to clarify what I meant about the knife/hand thing. It's a fear thing. When most people see a knife, especially a big one, there is a gut fear that enters them. There really is no need to fear that knife. I'd put more fear on the person holding that knife. Whether he's a skilled professional or psycho addict. Both can do much harm. There will be times when you must address that hand and the knife in it, but in my experience it is better to focus not on the knife(ie working to control) but on the attacker. Movement, cheating, etc. to neutralize him. Now on to analogy of knife and hand. That knife is nothing more than an extension of his hand. It can do nothing more than the hand holding it. The only difference is that it creates more damage upon impact. So if I enter the fight and recognize he has a knife, but don't view it as a knife to be feared, then it is just a longer hand that I don't want to get hit by. It's more of a mentality thing on how you mentally view the situation. One harboring fear the other dispelling it. And yes, if at all possible when disarming get the knife in your possession. Remember though trying to pry a knife will more than likely end up with your hand with a nice cut and or severed tendons. If you're going to disarm, unless the situation dictates otherwise, get the knife away completely. And then use whatever's around you(including yourself) to beat him down. So we proabably agree on methodology in many of the same aspects. i won't argue that. It's not about who's wrong, who's right, but communal learning. Our primary difference, unless otherwise noted, lies in the mentality of the fighter concerning the knife. Other than that, trying to effectively convey meaning and purpose by words alone is next to impossible. Very ineffective. However, I think some good things were brought up. Pretty much the advice I would offer is: -Move fast. Lightning fast. Faster than your opponent at least. -Hit hard and make it count. -K.I.S.S. Don't worry about the fancy moves. Kick to the groin, solar plexus, etc. Hit with purpose of knocking him down. -Cheat. If he cheats(fights dirty) and you die there is no ref to cry foul and restart the match. You're dead he wins. Fight to win, to save your life. There are no rules. The honor is preserving your life from a thug. -If the situation permits isolate and disable the attacking limb and gain control of weapon. See, pretty similar. Our philisophies differ somewhat. When i teach something I assume the person going to perform it has conditioned himself to do it as I teach it. It don't teach watered down technique to those who aren't physically able. I'm not saying you do either, just clarifying why it seems everything I say requires the practioner to be a really good fighter.

Ooooo, bro. Like this PizzaBoy: if an attack is coming like in the post by YODA you asked what types of kicks I would do. Well without much thought it is a front kick. Ball of the foot(pull your toes back) As soon as you see this guy move, move with him and kick him either under the jaw, in the solar plexus(beneath the sternum), or better yet in the groin. I didn't say kick him in all three places. I just gave three options. And I think I'll mention that is one of many things you could do to an attack like that. I never thought I would have to answer a medical question to an idiot, but I'll try. Get your tendon sliced my friend and you automatically lose use of that part of the limb. Forget trying to move it or force it to move with the adrenalin pumping through your body. You just won't be able to move or use it. Forget blood loss, you can fight around that and still have time. Get a tendon cut on the top of your leg or underneath and that foot becomes useless, also the pain of losing a tendon(your body will know) may put you into shock. Obviously, you've never been seriously cut. I have had four tendons severed, took a machete to the top of my right calf, and been speared once in my left abdomen. F the blood loss, it's movement loss. Be stupid enough to let your tendons(or ligaments, but it's a different thing altogether) get cut and you can kiss that fight goodbye. It's lights out for you. Bullsh*tting my @$$. BTW, just for fun, when I had my four tendons severed, by a Paul Chen katana noless, there was quite a lot of blood and I almost lost my fingers. So don't talk my young one(referring to time in the martial arts). If you still think I'm BS'ing call any hand surgeon. Ask them. Upon cut you lose 50% of strength from that tendon once it's reattached, you have 4-7 days to get it reattached or you lose 100% recovery, it'll take 3-5 months of therapy to get movement back and that's just for hands. The moment it is cut you can't move the part of the body at all, no matter how hard you try. REASON: the tendon isn't there to facilitate joint movement. Blood loss...in a knife fight you've got more important things to worry about than a little blood loss. Sure, I'm not undermining the effect an artery being cut has, but the number of readily accessible arteries compared with tendons that have little or no skin covering them is small. Yes cover your vitals, but don't be stupid enough to give them something to cut and disable. [ This Message was edited by: Martial_Artist on 2002-04-23 09:33 ]

this is a bit off the topic, and it will sound like I'm trying to be a bit of a smart a$$, but honestly I'm not. Believe me there is no sarcasm in this post. The spelling of Escrima, Eskrima really depends on the era of the teacher. In the Philippines pre-Marcos era, actually I think pre Macapagal(I'm not sure it may even be Aquino) the alphabet was the same as the Spanish alphabet. There was no K in that alphabet. Instead just a C. After that time they introduced the Filipino ABAKADA(Alphabet) and replaced native spellings with a K instead of the C. Both are correct. But for modern Filipino the K is more politically correct. But in Metro Manila still see Escrima spelt with a C. Or other filipino words(like last names spelt both ways, C & K) This isn't meant to come across smart @$$-ly it's just I actually know about filipiniana. I think it's just good know more about the culture of something. Consider it trivia knowledge. Nothing personal.

About the two previous posts. A cresent kick most times isn't very efficient. Unless you are very very fast. (ie. 0.3 sec on delivery or faster) You won't make contact in the time it takes the attacker to move his hand only a couple of inches to avoid your kick. This also puts your foot in a position to be cut. Ever had a tendon severed? I have had four severed. The second it is cut you lose 100% of movement that tendon is responsible for. There's not much skin around the ankle area. Lose a tendon there and you will go to the ground and probably end up dead. If you survive there is several months of therapy after surgery to recovery. Best bet don't put anything in the way of the blade. Even a 3 inch blade can cut deep enough. All the knife fights I have been in(not too many mind you) and the ones my brother have been in(two) they have never lasted more than a few moments. Forget the whole stand off in stances and wait for the moment to attack. That only happens in dojos and movies. If he pulls the knife he may give you a threat and a second to comply and then he will attack you. The whole thing about keeping your distance is a dojo training trick. If the guy pulls a knife chances are he surprised you and cut you off so he could attempt his mug. If you want to keep distance keep an eye out on guys walking around you and don't give them the opportunity to head you off and pull the knife in that manner. When the fight starts you will be on top of each other in the blink of an eye. Be faster than he is. Move before he does. If you don't get the chance hope you trained hard enough to be fast enough to react. You've got to hit hard and fast and it has to count. Efficient, efficacious, and direct. Fancy movements result in severed tendons, deep slash wounds, deep fascia damage. It's just a knife, a part of his hand, avoid it like you would a fist, don't touch it, focus on the guy holding the knife. The knife only does as much damage as he makes it do.

YODA, In retrospect I see my message did come across very confrontational. It wasn't really my intent to seem as if I wanted to pick a fight with you. However, you did push some buttons with your assumptions about me as well.(ie grappling...) But I don't think that it's worth getting all riled up over. I have a different way of presenting information and sometimes it comes across as arrogant. In fact, it is arrogant, but that's just my way of writing. I don't give information out over web boards like this. Call me paranoid or whatever just never have nor most likely will I ever. Suffice it to say I live in the Western US. But just returned from living abroad in Southeast Asia for 4 years. I enjoy the macho chest thumping(kinda returning my evolutional roots if you will) Actually I do it for the way people react to it. Now let's get on with te topic at hand.

Amazing. Guess what. No grappler ever has either. I don't train for show or contest. I train to win the fight. In reality there are no rules or guidlines or anything remotely coherent. If I have to bite, poke, claw, punch, kick, break bones, etc to get out I do it. In defense of self and others there is no round two. If your opponent cheats and manages to kill you your sensei is not present to call foul and restart the match. You're dead. The people you try to protect may die. You know what I write like that to get people to respond, those that feel the sting the most. I'm not invincible but I know what I'm capable of and sometimes that confidence threatens others. You asked a question. I answered as honestly as possible. It has nothing to do with being full of myself. It is truth. I have been attacked with knives before and not once has any of those attackes EVER tried to attack me in that manner. It's foolish. It only happens in movies or in McDojos. I gave a REAL response flavored with raw character. I apologize if it's a bit too raw for your liking. Yes. A man attacks with that specific attack and I would do exactly as I wrote, or I might change it. I would still have the same attitude about it afterward. The guy was an idiot to even try a knife attack like that and obviously has never tried to kill anyone with a knife before. I think the way schools train against that kind of knife attack is a robbery and deception to the student. Preparing them for something unrealistic and impractical. The movments taught to defend against them are pointless. They require your opponent to be mentally challenged and just stand there and you perfom some complex inefficient series of moves. My post was completely realistic and based on true physical form and physics. If had no bearing as to whether I was invincible or not(which I whole heartedly admit I am not). If my answer didn't fit into your criteria for a correct answer then i failed your test, but I passed the test of reality. One last thing. If someone was stupid enough to raise his arm up to attack you would you not see it coming? Why on earth then would you even bother to try and grab the knife when it would be so much better to kick him first? Relax. You don't know me. You don't know what I know. It is best to think and learn more from someone than to make an assumption and come across as an idiot. I had read some of your other posts and was beginning to think you mature in the martial arts. I have now been proven wrong.

Favorite technique: myself. I feel confident performing every movement I have ever learned. There is not one I feel better doing than the other. Real fight or sparring it doesn't matter. (I train full contact, no pads) As for the combos mentioned. I think it foolish to have a favorite opening combo or move that you have programmed into your mind. I prefer to just let it flow. Since I feel confident regardless of the technique I don't have to worry about what to do in any situation I just do it.

Multiple attackers...hmm...interesting. If there were that many stupid people who decided to attack me simultaneously I would have to remind them of their place in the evolutional chain of existence. This is how it works: One guy vs many. I have personally been in a me vs 5(3 of those BTW were trained fighters too). They didn't like me.(Imagine that). Well it doesn't matter who you take down as long as you take them down as they come. Forget focusing on the big guy and then hoping the others get discouraged. That's for the movies or juvenilles. Real thugs won't care. The nearest guy to you take him down fast and hard. He'd better not get up after you hit him. Not like in that stupid video posted previously. That guy had no clue what he was doing. The guys he was fighting weren't there to fight and his attacks did absolutely nothing. In fact it almost looked staged. Keep moving don't sit still and don't waste time or energy with multiple movement attacks. K.I.S.S.(Keep it simple stupid) Forget the he punches I block, step to the side, and execute my attack. WASTE OF TIME. Instead, he attacks, I attack faster and hit better. If they get around you it's still the same thing nearest guy gets creamed. Hit hard and be sure it is strong enough for them not to get up again. Just work it that way. Move and hit, if there are four of them. You should move and hit four times and the fight should be over. If not you have done something wrong and may not survive the fight without running away.(MONTY PYTHON). Hope this helps.

So this guy is coming at me with such a stupid attack? Oh, this is really easy. I don't even bother with the stupid knife and as soon as I see his ******ed arm(what is this guy a special olympics competitor?) raise up I unleash a very fast, very strong kick(with either leg) either under his jaw, into his sternum, or better yet to his lame groin. After which I don't stop. I continue to kick either at his head(unless his hands are holding his broken jaw), his weak stomach, or if I didn't kick him in the gonads, I'd kick him there now. Maybe, a big MAYBE, I might decide to punch him at the crease of the jaw shattering it. If my attacker was that stupid I would laugh, mock him profusely, then proceed to beat his lame butt into the earth. Hope that helps.