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Amen to that.

The only fight I've ever really gotten in was against a boxer. Basically, he kept hitting me every time I approached, and I got knocked up pretty bad. Then I think I connected with a kick and nailed him with a punch straight to the chest. I admit, it was satisfying to feel that punch sink in and tear through 'im, but later I was sorry I had been so stupid, because we both got hurt pretty bad. Since then, I've been training to improve my form, and hopefully will never get into a real fight again.

Don't worry yourself over it too much. After all, a 250 lb hulking brute can't take a punch to the throat any better than a little 100 lb guy can. Wing Chun's about tact.

Same way a lot of people say Jujitsu. Jitsu supposedly means 'fruit'. The correct term, I hear, is Jujutsu. Anyway, to stay on topic: Anyone here a big Goju-Ryu fan?

Understandably, streaming video files were not available to Naha-Te masters. They needed some way to preserve the art. Back then, the application of the art was a serious issue, and death could come at any time. Therefore, the masters taught their students kata, so that even if the master died, his students could go on teaching themselves through the kata. Today, this isn't much of a problem, but then again, neither is self-defense. Very few people are ever going to have to apply Karate in real life. So Karate takes on a new meaning: philosophical training. Here, beyond merely fighting, it is necessary to preserve the aura of tradition and discipline surrounding the art, and kata is, as they say, the soul of it all. But I stress again that kata is useful to you ONLY when you understand what it's meant for. Not when someone tells you, but when you understand.

Thanx Ya, Kyusho-Jutsu is really poular down here; they teach it to cops and in a lot of self-defense classes. Eagle Claw is another good style, but it's pretty hard to learn. The advantage? Being able to tear holes through people with your fingers. Morbid, no?

I like to leave the bloodstains in

When sparring barefist, our senpai used to punch us in the shins as we tried to do roundhouses or front kicks. It hurt like crazy. He would first do that scooping block from Heian Nidan, then punch the shin with his first two knuckles. It's quite effective, as is a forearm or elbow smash against their knee or inner thigh. As for being unexpected, leglocks, such as those in Shuai Chiao and Sambo, work wonders against Karateka who like low, solid stances. Basically, if you know your about to get hit, just throw yourself to the floor. Fold back onto your knees and just drop, with your legs facing them. Get their front leg in a knee lock and take 'em down. From their, you can push their back or chest down with your knee and pound the pulp out of them, and then spring back up onto your feet. Of course, this only works if it's unexpected. If they know what you're gonna do, you'll just end up getting a stomp to the groin as soon as you go down.

Everyone has at some time stumbled or tripped as they were walking. The natural reaction is the immediately correct this fault by stabalizing yourself. And yet verbally, when people err, they do not stabalize themselves in such a way. Instead, they turn to point fingers, trying to find someone whom they can blame for tripping them. And in doing this, they fall hard to the ground, and getting up is much more difficult than if they had corrected themselves in the first place. Truly, the mightiest of men are those who are able to correct their errors before they become mistakes. ~Gandhi

Tibetian Book of the Living and Dead: The human form consists of four divine elements: Earth Water Wind Fire The energy contained within these elements gives rise to the soul, the state of the human form which transcends the grave and never dies. Sounds like BS, right? But, in fact: Earth (solid) Water (liquid) Wind (gas, sorta) Fire (plasma) The structure of the body is bone and muscle, its substance water and other liquids, it's sustenance the air we breathe, and it's source the electromagnetic nerve impulses that help the brain control the body. There you have it, the four elements of existence. When you learn to harmonize these, you get ki. It is like nitrous for your body. But what good is nitrous without a good engine? Catch my drift?

A lot of those links seem to focus on little more than cheap party tricks. For a good feel of what chi really is, find a good Baguazhang school if you can, preferrably Jiu Long style. Very straightforward, effective art that will give you good insight into chi and how it really works, as opposed to lifting X-wings out of swamps.

It can be channeled through the physical body. That's how Yoga, Qigong, accupuncture, and other such techniques work. It's an amazing thing, really. Scientists haven't begun to study it until very recently, and from what they can tell, what we consider ki is the energy discharge from the magnetic fields that build up around nerve clusters. The more nerves active, the more electricity. Excercises like those mentioned above help 'open up' major clusters, getting over 80% of your brain going at once, as opposed to the normal 10-20%. Besides increasing awareness and overall composure (power, balance, speed, etc.), ki also helps in correcting many ailments, from psychological disorders to lower back pains. It truly is sad, the lies some people fabricate, attempting to pass them off as 'mystical ki power'. But really, there's nothing very mystical about it. Amazing, yes, but beyond that, hard science.

Degrading each other isn't getting y'all anywhere. I recommend the Tibetian Book of the Living and Dead. I believe 'you' can be measured against only one thing: 'yourself'. The only time it matters what you are is when you compare yourself to others. That is subjective, and will teach nothing. What one should focus on is improving on what he/she was before. Can you kick up to your shoulder height? Then it doesn't matter how high your friend can kick. What matters is that you're kicking shoulder height when you could be kicking past your head. C'mon, fights are an ugly thing in any form. Read the book I recommended, and before anyone gets skeptical, it has some very solid medical basis, so although it is arranged in a mystical manner, it is, in truth, very scientifically oriented.

Ya, all martial arts take a while to get right, but once you do, you're not just okay, you're good. I'm starting Centerline style sooner or later, and I hope it'll be a good supplement to my Shotokan. One thing I'm wondering, in case there are any experienced Shotokan guys here: Wing Chun deals with jabs and other fast, circulat strikes, but what about Shotokan? I try to block boxing hooks with knife-hand blocks, but they curve around and hit me anyway. I end up having to plunge deep into the boxer's range and go all-out, and am never able to do it quite how I want to. What's Shotokan's defense against fast, hard-to-block attacks?

Not that it's any of my business, but how the flying f*ck did this get from kata to after-match showers?

It works wonders for boxers, too. I showed it to a friend of mine, and now his duck 'n weave looks like Dempsey's. I recommend Push-Hands for any martial artist, prizefighter, bouncer, law enforcement officer, football player, or anyone else whose occupations involve a lot of rough and tough beatings. Pain is good for you. Avoiding it is better.

Thank you for the deep, philosophical insights, Ogre Hey, just messin' with ya. Martial arts got me into the world of philosophy and helped me rediscover and take pride in my roots and heritage. Just two years of Shotokan has done so much for me, and I can't wait to see what more will bring.

I agree, some places know how to handle belts right, and I'm sure Kano would be proud. But it's kinda sad that most martial arts schools in the US, and across the world, I suspect, are more oriented towards using belts as money-making tools than as signs of respect.

Hey, time out! Lau Gar, I didn't mean to offend you in any way. It was a joke; I'm sorry it came across the wrong way. Truce?

There's an interesting alternative to striking and grappling altogether coutner-balancing. Arts such as Taijiquan and Baguazhang excel in this. Basically, you knock the opponent away by disrupting their center of gravity. You literally send people flying. For all you grapplers out there: take some classes that teach Push Hands. You'll find it at Tai Chi places. It will really improve your balance, control, and composure when grappling. For me, Taiji and Bagua are very effective against grapplers, especially Greco-Roman guys who go fo the bull rush and tackle.

It's very effective simply to know some good strikes, if not the entire system. Do you take Hakko-Ryu, by any chance?

I guess the thing I disagree with about belts is how readily they are handed out at some schools. A lot of TKD places give out belts like candy. It's basically, learn a new kick, take a $40 belt test, learn a new punch, take another belt test, etc. Hardly any focus on the degree of skill or understanding. It's true that dedication is a huge factor, but the student should also understand the art, not just the kicks and punches. Btw, both my gi and belt are clean, but I hand wash 'em. I leave the blood stains and such in, while removing sweat, dirt, etc. It takes a while to wash, but nothing looks cooler than a slightly torn-up, blood-stained gi.

Someone's bitter...

There's a cool manga based on Five Rings called Vagabond. It's kinda cool, though it is quite violent and otherwise inappropriate (as a samurai's life should be ).

In Shotokan, we learn both, althought closed hand is stressed as the basic block. The problem with open-hand is that you run the risk of having your fingers broken, even if you're performing it properly. Although open-hand will allow you to control your block and counter better, it's dangerous against the kind of opponent who just barrels into you kicking and punching, because you never know when an attack will come in from a weird angle and break your fingers. Okay, I'm talking too much. I'll just sum it up: Open hand: better control, good for countering Closed hand: safer, more power If you're trying not to hurt your opponent, or subdue them safely, open-hand is best. If you're just aiming to beat them down, go for the closed hand. Of course, this is just my opinion. Do whatever works.