bushido_man96

Just check the Post titled Wing Chun in Action, in the Chinese section here. Just scroll down the page a ways.

Check out the Sticky Forum of the Martial Arts Research Library. It has plenty of good stuff in it. I also agree with UseoForce--read The Tao of Jeet Kune Do, and the book on grappling. We ALL need grappling. (me especially )

alsey, you talk a lot about Bruce Lee's training methods, and how he focused on actual combat situations. However, his combat methods would translate very nicely into the ring. He did heavy bag work. He practiced kicking and striking. He trained with the likes of Bob Wall, Chuck Norris, and Gene Lebelle. He was kind of a pioneer of his time, cross training and learning from others. Bruce would probably have liked the challenge that the octagon presents, because it the closest that we can come to having a sporting event that envelopes most of the situations that you will see in real fighting. Yes, there are some rules, because after all, it is a sport. But you cannot discount the effectiveness of MMA fighters abilities on the street, either. Their toughness and superior training and conditioning would make them very formidable on the street. And I feel that, as fighters, they would be able to adapt to the street fight very well. They do leg kicks; lower it a few inches, and you get the knee. They jab to the face; open your fingers, and you get an eye-gouge. These are all simple transitions. As far as the medieval battle field comparison goes, you are comparing a weaponless combat to weapons combat, which is a WHOLE other world of fighting and training in and of itself, so that is really not a fair comparison, in my opinion.

The main problem with pressure points and joint manipulation is that they are not the same on everbody. Let me explain. You learn how to apply a manipulation technique, and finish is it with a pressure point. You practice with your partner, and get it going well. You feel good about it. Now, you get a new partner. You apply the same pressure, and he squeals, and is hurt because he was not as stiff as your last partner. So then you get a new partner. This one is big and burly, and you try to crank him, and he smiles, and then you feel like you have to over-exert to get him to comply. Then, when you try to finish with the pressure point, he laughs and asks if you are trying to tickle him. I like pressure points and joint manipulations. I think they are very valuable to martial training. The only downfall is that they must be adapted constantly to your particular opponent. When you punch, you just punch. It is true that a punch does not affect everyone the same, either, however, it is much easier to re-apply a punch, in my opinion. For my job as a detention officer, I will utilize joint manipulations and pressure points. If my safety or that of my family's would become threatened, I am going to punch and kick and do maximum damage.

You can get around this by training with some partners with different rules. Put some gloves on and allow face contact. You may have to do this on your own time, or ask your instructor if you can change things up in class from time to time. Also, just constantly keep these ideas and targets in mind, so you know those options are available.

You make a good point ps1, however, Bruce did have some work in ground fighting. I believe he worked with Gene LeBelle for a time, if my memory serves me correctly. Although it was not extensively, they did work together, and if he was in this environment now, he not only would have begun ground training, he probably would have been doing it before everyone else.

The problem with trying to adapt any traditional style system to MMA is that you are going to strip it down. Blocks become hands up, and parrying and slipping. You don't see complex blocking manuevers. Things are kept simple and efficient. Therefore, when you see an MMA fight, you will see stiking with the fists, kicking low to mid level for the most part, and takedowns to work a submission. Most of us have seen the video of the Wing Chun guy, with the super fast hands. But, realistically, there is a reason why he is not seen in MMA. (I am not assuming that he doesn't fight in MMA, but he is not readily recognizable to any that we know, and you don't see hand techniqes like that in the MMA for a reason.)

Plyometrics, my friend, plyometrics.

Yep. Strikers have very good success in the MMA.

Bruce could punch through a wall, his punches were so good. I don't think the gloves would hurt him much.

That is kind of a cool site. I may have to try a few things on it. Got kind of some different exercises, though.

Good stuff, guys. We gotta laugh at ourselves from time to time, right?

This is a cool method. Also, on the night before each of these two testings, I have to go to black belt class, in which we have to demonstrate all of the forms and one-steps, and black belt basics that the GM designed (which end up being like 5 more forms, more or less). Then we finish the class with sparring. An hour of pain, and then testing the next day!

Quote from aefibird: Many students doesn't automatically equal bad school. People are happy to pay high prices to join a gym or have tennis lessons or pay to see a sports match but often feel that an instructor which charges for lessons is a "rip off" and a McDojo". People will happily pay £70, £80, £90 or more a month to be a member of a gym or a health club but moan at paying half that price for karate lessons, even if the instructor is Funakoshi himself!! You are right on here. Very well said.

I liked the Cincinati Shotokan site, and the two wing chun sites. Didn't like Cinci Shotokan's 50 minute classes, but that's just me. The kenpo place is probably legit, the website was just too cluttered, though. Spend a day or 4 and go check out each school, and talk to the instructors, and learn everything you can about them before making your decision. One more thing....you said you didn't have a lot of money, being a student, so you should check to see if the college you attend offers a martial arts credit. The juco I attended and the 4 year college I attended both offered MA classes for credit, so I have 6 credit hours of TKD on my college transcript! One more option to look into.

I try not to worry about dieing too much. "Death smiles at us all. All a man can do is smile back." Quoted from Gladiator, and I love it. One thing I don't believe in is fate, destiny, or that our time is already decided for us. I believe that I am in control of what I do, and I don't believe that I have a scheduled time to move on. I believe that I can control my factors as far as health and being always aware of what is going on around me, and that by making good decisions, I can give myself the best chance for living a long and healthy life. If I was staring at death, gun pointed at me or something, I would probably by scared, but don't know. A lot of things can cause fear, and death is just another one. I am not trying to be tough, I am just trying to realisticly prepare myself, I guess. Hard topic to discuss.

The directors of his fimls, no doubt. No, I think they were his idea. Pretty sure I heard this somewhere, like in a documentary or something.

Quote parkerlineage: so we're both the opposite of you and your brother - light and fast. Hey, c'mon, I aint too slow! Got stuck with the leg up high, huh? That stinks, especially when everyone is around to see. I was fortunate; it was just me, my brother, and a few friends around as witnesses.

Me and my younger brother, who is about 5'10" and weighs 300 some pounds decided to change our sparring rules one time. We allowed head contact with the hands (light contact, acknowledging good hits), and we decided to allow throws and takedowns. I am 5'7", and 245, so I aint gonna wrestle this boy too much. Anywho, we go along, and I get pretty good shots with some head kicks, and some high hand strikes. He gets good hand strikes, and believe me, he can kick, too. I got taken down a few times, so we were pretty even. Well, I am going along, and I get to chasing him with a combo, and end up with my right leg set behind his right leg, and I had my hips low, and my right arm around his chest. So, I try to hip throw the guy.....very bad idea!!!! I tried to push once, then another time, then I looked at him, and he smiled, like this: , then proceeded to hip toss me about 5 feet in the direction of his choice! In the end, I gave him the match, and we had a good laugh about the whole thing. Does anyone else have any good natured, laugh-at-yourself sparring stories like this one? Share 'em, if you like!

The first time I ever put one on, me and my brother did it so we could go with harder contact, and just beat the pulp out of each other. It was strange, because we actually didn't hit each other that much, and we did a lot of blocking and some countering. We took them off, and then went at each other again, and really went harder and meaner than we did without them. Kind of weird, but that's the way it went. We didn't hurt each other too bad, however.

That is an interesting response, Shinobu. I like some of it, and disagree with a few ideas. Bruce Lee was a proponent of the idea that the best form of practice for an event is the performance of that specific event. I do feel that this goes along with streetfighting, just like anything else. Now, I don't want to be misunderstood. I feel that the repetive practice of martial arts techniques, inlcuding basics, forms, and self-defense segments can all help us to be able to better defend ourselves should the situation arise. However, if one has never been confronted before, then the initial feelings of anxiety, adrenaline, and what-not can set in. It is very difficult to train these feelings in the dojo/dojang. However, the ideal place to experience them is on the street itself. I don't condone this behavior, I just accept the fact that there are somethings that are hard to account for unless you have direct experience with them. As far as things that have changed in street fighting over the last 1000 years or so, the biggest impact has been the firearm. Once a gun becomes involved, I don't refer to it as a street fight, it is now a gun fight, or just plain shooting.

Bruce Lee did Wing Chun, didn't he? I wonder where he got the idea to yell so much.

My span is about 67", and my pathetic reach is between 23 and 24 inches. Yeah, me!

The recommended testing is like a probationary period. I'll have to learn a new form, and then test on it again withing the 6 month period to test for 3rd decided. So, essentially, I have to test twice to get to 3rd decided within a 6 month time span.

I always liked the boxer kick, and a little variation where I bring my knees in to my chest, and then poke my feet up through my partner's circled arms (if that makes sense).