NightOwl

I've heard that being short can help in grappling, while being tall helps in striking...maybe?

While I have no experience with JJJ, supposedly it teaches more small joint manipulation as in comparison with its Brazilian offspring (which tends to focus on the larger joints). My questions are this: A: Why was it taken out of BJJ? B: What are the pros and cons of small joint locks? C: Why is it not allowed in MMA?

The kung fu uniform is really just a slight variation on (what once was) more or less standard Chinese clothing right?

I too thought about that. For instance, on the Judo episode they spent a lot of time on JJJ- essentially cutting it out of a future episode to itself. Also while I did like the karate episode, I did find that it focused to much on conditioning instead of techniques. On the Judo episode: Pretty good overall. There were times where the 'mountainsupersamurai' training got to be a bit much though, and in the end I wish they had gone over some more moves....that was a short review wasn't it?

I don't train it so I guess I don't meet your requirements as outlined in the first post but...The JJJ I've seen has used belts. Of course, it never did originally, but it too has in general adopted the belt system as introduced by judo.

Isn't judo the 2nd most practiced sport in the world??? I'd have to say: Judo TKD Karate (all styles) Wushu (contemporary) Taichi Greco-roman Boxing BJJ ....that's all I could think of. I'm missing 8 eh?

Mongol General: Hao! Dai ye! We won again! This is good, but what is best in life? Mongol: The open steppe, fleet horse, falcons at your wrist, and the wind in your hair. Mongol General: Wrong! Conan! What is best in life? Conan: To crush your enemies, see them driven before you, and to hear the lamentation of the women. Mongol General: That is good! That is good.

Quite the resume you have there Nine! My big thing is that I don't have enough time to become efficient at an art...I am hoping however that I will get a chance to study Judo for the long run soon.

Oh and also, just because people lived in the past doesn't mean that they were either more stupid or smart than we are (Aristotle is still cool, despite what they say). I don't want to get stuck on Taichiquan, but here's an interesting look at a Chinese historian who would've been alive at the time of the bout: http://hunyuantaijiacademy.com/Masters/Tang%20Hao.aspx People were interested in realistic applications...and still are today. However I think it all comes down to this: fighting is hard. Most people are not fighters, but want to feel like they are. Constant memorization of forms and slow techniques are a sure way to give you the confidence you want, without having to test it. CMAs are some of the most hard hit by this attitude, even more so by contemporary wushu coming onto the scene- I do hope that there is a revival of the martial spirit, but to be completely frank I do not see it coming.

No, the 'tigers of canton' were noted for being able to beat up challengers, and reading firsthand accounts of battles for my Chinese history class, I would occasionally come across mentions of noteworthy martial artists who were very useful in battle. Check out the Baijiquan match earlier- looks similar to judo in some aspects. But guess what? these people weren't just training forms- they were USING them. If you didn't, than you could look forward to a few less teeth (dentistry wasn't all that great back then I guess, so maybe it didn't matter). The sad fact of the matter is that chinese martial arts have been practiced for generations now with no emphasis on fighting- mostly just forms- and the result is that CMA fighters are somewhat of a rarity. In the video in shown, there was a beautiful form demonstrated before the match. I bet you that master knew the form so well, that he could do it underwater in his sleep. I bet he also knew every single move that taichiquan/White crane had to offer...but the thing is, he didn't know how to fight. He had the knowledge (I can tell you how a classic armbar works) but not the practice (I couldn't actually pull an armbar on you). I forgot where I read the quote, but I thought it rang true: 'Being a martial artist is the only profession where you can be an expert in something you've never done. Please do check out this article again (as I can't quote the whole thing): http://martialtaichi.co.uk/articles/how_taiji_lost_its_quan.php Keep in mind, this site which is trying to put martial applications into taichiquan is CONTROVERSIAL. The majority of the taichi community as adverse to it....and I bet if you put them in a match they would fight very much like seen in the video.

Not very practical at all, as the only real reason that they had them was because they could be concealed as a regular item since it was common for someone to have a fan and it didn't look suspicious (I was reading the account of a famous samurai named fukushima who wrote of his friends getting a fan that concealed a knife during the violent period before the Meiji restoration). To be frank though, I don't ever see why you'd want a weapon fan over a knife, sword, stick, staff, or even a gun. The time it takes to unfold it gives you a disadvantage over an edged weapon like a knife or sword (and swords can't be carried these days, so they aren't practical for defense either), and there are much better choices for baton type weapons. It doesn't have a place in the world today, and even back when you might have been able to use it, if you were using a fan over or sword you'd be in trouble.

I've seen that video many times before, and it is often shown as the ultimate proof that kung fu is worthless. Looking up the fight a bit more, it was a challenge/charity match, and it never was finished because the referees were worried about injury. No kicks, locks, or throws/take downs were permitted, and they just ended up not really being able to get into each other's center, so they threw blows to each others forearms (although the taichiquan guy http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wu_Kung-i did get some punches in to the face). By the end they started throwing kicks anyways, and the match was called off declaring it a draw. Having said all that...it was a terrible fight. There's a long discussion on it here: http://forum.kungfumagazine.com/forum/archive/index.php/t-18490.html . Supposedly a magazine called the Qi journal did an in depth study of this fight in Vol. 12 issue 3, but I couldn't find it.

Got a knee to the shin once (as I was going in for a kick, so both of our momentums were going forward). Was sore for over a month...

Sorry, but I laughed a bit when I pictured a soccer mom looking to take her 9 year old into martial arts and seeing this drill as soon as she walks in the door...

anyone catch the judo episode yet?

Hey Bushidoman- I know that CMAs are not your particular realm of interest, but if you get a chance, check out the book that I mentioned in the CMA thread: http://www.karateforums.com/sick-and-tired-of-people-putting-down-kung-fu-vt31528-70.html I appeal to you as I have no money to buy the book with at the moment and you are the KF residential scholar. : p

here you go guys...an interesting group trying to put more martial applications into taichiquan. Apparently they are somewhat controversial, but this attitude is something than CMAs need at the moment I think. http://martialtaichi.co.uk/index.html http://martialtaichi.co.uk/articles/time_to_get_tough.php Also, has anyone read this book? Chinese Martial Arts Training Manuals: A Historical Survey (Paperback) http://www.amazon.com/Chinese-Martial-Arts-Training-Manuals/dp/1556435576/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/103-5165934-2770201?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1187416028&sr=8-1 it seemes like an interesting look into the issue 9at least in a historical sense)

I'm wondering how you can train these effectively. I mean yeah, when you had duels to the death you MIGHT have gotten some practice in but... its hard to train resistance when your object is to use a technique that either maims or kills your partner. I guess you could do eye gouge training with goggles- and it'd be interesting to go to town on some ballistics gel...

Boxing used to be a lot more complex and rough business before the 'Queens rules'. Anyone still practice old bareknuckle style?

If by morals you mean not trying to really hurt the other person...well, if it isn't just light sparring around but an actual fight, my favorite moral is : Do unto others so that they don't have a chance to do unto you.

Bouncing is good for point sparring I think, as it makes you a bit lighter on your toes. However in non point sparring, it definitely has more drawbacks that pluses, and as noted it doesn't help you on balance.

Hm- it's not so much that I can't find something that I like (I love BJJ), but rather moving for college and then work during the summer.

Many places like you to call first if you are going to show up, however definitely watching a lesson is something you want to do. 75 a month isn't too bad for a major metropolitan area, and if it is close by then by all means give it a try. As for aikido, it usually is a pretty soft style- if you take it, you will train in how to take a fall, so that throws and such won't have as much of an impact.

Ha- a bit late to the party but here it goes~ I agree- casualness does not mean sloppy technique or bad training at all. For example, I've for the most part seen BJJ places being very casual, and yet there are some hard core fighters there. Likewise traditional okinawan karate used to be casual as well, and if you do find a more old school kung fu gym (without ranks), you may find that the atmosphere is more relaxed than you are used to where you might train. Proximity breeds attraction, and relationships where people just met out of the blue are less common than people meeting up because they had the same friend, interests, school, etc. Personally, I think that a member of the fairer (or at least less smelly) gender does martial arts, it is very attractive. What's more romantic and beneficial to a healthy relationship than fighting?

Again I wish to plug PRIDE for its diversity (smaller and larger fighters, more styles, etc). However even there, nobody is foolish enough to go in without ANY grappling. As bushido_man said, grappler VS striker matches usually turn out in favor of the grappler, and even if you are a champion boxer, muay tai fighter, karateka, or kickboxer, if you know squat about what to do when most of your striking tools are taken away from you, then you are left in a very vulnerable position. Yes, I do prefer the wild west days- each fight felt new, unpredictable, and experimental....and even I will admit that having different uniforms was kind of cool. But thats what they were- experimental. And the results of that experiment are what you see in the UFC today : Striking with a heavy grappling emphasis.