HG

I'd eat a large plate of broccoli & raisins the night before the competition. There is no defense against it. On a serious note I would choose a long pole or spear. Butterfly swords for close range.

Excellent! I'm glad to hear that. My father lost a lung due to smoking. Keep up your will power.

In the Chinese martial arts world Hung-Ga practitioners are called Hung man or Hung men. I thought HG would be more appropriate. A quick history lesson- The founder of our style Hung Hei Guen learned Siu Lam Kuen then changed his surname Jyu to Hung. This was done to protect his family & honor the first Ming Emperor Jyu Hung Mo. At the time Hung was part of the rebellion against the Empire (sorry couldn't resist).... reigning Ching government. His students renamed the martial art he taught as Hung-Ga = Hung Family Fist.

Spear is considered the king of long weapons in Chinese martial arts. More of a speciality of Northern kung fu styles. What makes it the 'king' is the many options the tight spiral thrust gives to the weidler. Equally effective in both offense & defense, it has the ability to pierce or slash on many planes. Also being more of an aggressive finesse weapon it dosen't take much effort on the spearman's part to keep the tip of the spear in front of his opponent. Traditional spear has few single handed moves or jumping arcing swings common in Wushu performance. The funny thing is spear is my least favorite weapon. Just doesn't fit me. Go figure.

Good for you & best wishes!!!

Dragonforce reminds me of the band Crimson Glory. Their album/CD 'Transcendence' doesn't have a bad song on it. Like Dragonforce it has some amazing guitar work. Dream Theater is another favorite.

We've all read them in the yellow pages, school brochures & magazine advertisments/articles of what martial arts can do for you: Build confidence, self defense, health, flexibility, good grades...etc...etc. The list goes on & on. So, what did you really get out of martial art training?

That's where I got the email address. According to the posted rules hair cream is more dangerous than a strike to the throat. I agree that having gloves on it's going to make it a difficult target to hit & a swift hook to the jaw might be the better option. Barehanded striking the throat can be lethal. Having unfortunately been on the receiving end of a throat strike(grazing) I can attest to it's effectiveness.

I wouldn't be too quick to rule out specialization in one martial art. Everyone has their own opinion on this one. I put quality over quantity.

I doubt strikes to the throat are legal. I've sent off an email to Pride asking about it. I'm interested in what the response will be.

Sometimes I don't either & I've been at it for awhile. There is a definite method to the madness. Come to our tournament Sept. 23rd. Sparring is continuous - checkout https://www.yeeshungga.com for a complete explanation of the rules. Saftey & repsect to your fellow martial artists is of the utmost importance. There is an expected skill level for intermed. & adv competitors.

To get the most of your martial art make daily training a habit. Best of luck in your search.

Your best bet would be to share these concerns with your Sifu.

If you are doing groundwork & concerned about ruining the uniform just get a pair of sweats or karate/jujitsu gi.

You make some good points. My biggest pet peev is they used a Wushu performer to represent TCMA.

Videos are not the way for a beginner to learn. Nothing can replace proper instruction from a Sifu or Sensei. Philly has some Shaolin martial art schools.

Try https://www.jonieuniforms.com

I remember a Wing Tsun guy teaching out of his house in Livingston. Check their website for his name & #. Hopefully this helps. Yee's Hung-Ga is in Clifton which is right next to you.

This is reminds me of the ninja craze of the 80's. All the MA magazines were filled with ads of ninja gear. There was even a NINJA magazine as well. Stephen Hayes was pumping out ninja books every month it seemed.

you can't revert to something you've never trained. They don't revert to kickboxing, they revert ro their basics - it just so happens that the basics of several styles are similar. Based on experience thats what it looks like to me. I chose kick boxing for lack of a better word. You know it when you see it; who is using TCMA skill when fighting & who is not. A good example is the video clip shown above. They sure moved tipsy stumbled around drunk but it only gave a false sense of confidence that was quicky beat out of them. There was no demonstration of basic fighting skills that TCMA drill from day one. As I stated before druken has a purpose but is no more or less effective than sober techniques.

The impact data was the most interesting for me. The program was at least a better representation of martial arts than Final Fu.

Good program. What other martial arts or techniques would you have tested? I would have liked to seen the following: - Traditional Kung Fu Style - Iron Palm Impact - M.T. Leg Kick Impact - Tai Chi or Aikido - Reaction/Speed of Wing Chun

There is some truth to this. The inital learning curve can be quite steep at times. Those kung fu schools that train to fight usually do it well. Schools that focus only on forms performance never develop usable fighting skill & resort to kick boxing when sparring. I think other styles of martial arts will disagree with you.

Fascinating post. I love learning about other styles of martial arts. What are some good goju & shorin websites to check out?

The druken section in our forms is to further train the body. Practical druken techniques are more streamlined. Movies have given an esoteric aura to druken movements. They do serve a purpose but are not any more or less effective than sober movements.