mysteri

the only difference between soft and hard styles is their approach to the same ends: healthy strong bodies and good martial skill. we could all agree that most "hard" systems like hung ga or choy lee fut, one could learn and be a pretty okay fighter within 2-3 years. whereas generally the study of softer systems, like taijiquan, would take around 10 years before someone can use their internal energy at a high enough level for good fighting. shaolin starts off with harder fighting tecnhniques for the first few years, and learn more internal applications years down the line. whereas someone learnin from a wutang derivative(like taijiquan) would learn internal methods primarily and then more fighting techniques later in their training as advanced techniques. after about 15-20 years, both approaches meet around the same place, and make a more complete martial artist... btw- a lot of kung fu systems use the "ball-n-chain" concept, not jus soft styles. jus my 2 cents..

welcome to kung fu. what system do u practice? it sounds either like a northern system or choy li fut. the key to more speed is to learn how to relax and tense at the proper times. when ur relaxed, u can move like a wave of water and come crashin into ur target very powerfully. but u must tense on the moment of impact(for ur round kicks) and then relax immediately afterwards. ur teacher should be able to help u better w/ this concept. in most southern systems of kung fu, the fighters prefer to keep the kicks low(usually below the waiste) because u generally begin to lose more power in ur kicks the farther they travel from the ground(usually when it crosses above ur hips). though we do train high stretching kicks for flexibility in our forms and for warm-ups. when u can hold a kick higher, it makes ur legs stronger for when we kick low. if ur tryin to achieve splits, then i'd say watch a t.v. show (usually 30 mins) every day and u will begin to see results within a few months, or possibly weeks. once u achieve it though, u need to continue to stretch daily(but not as much) to maintain it. i've said too much, jus my 2 cents.. good luck!

OMG! could it be that?

blackI-from what i understand, BJJ is a derivative of japanese jiujitsu, which there are actually MANY MANY systems of w/ no particular source. from what i know, it was designed (like most other systems) to teach villagers to deal w/ invading warlords. karate teaches mainly a lot of striking techniques which is fine and good. but when ur being attacked by people w/ swords and armor, karate doesnt hold up the best against that. there are jiujitsu schools that teach mainly sword techniques which is where the unarmed techniques derived from. when someone is heavily armored, they can withstand a lot of punishment from strikes. BUT, they still must move, which is where people learned to manipulate the joints (joint-locking). which is where jiujitsu was spawned.(i hope i havent confused my histories BJJ specializes mainly in groundfighting(joint-locking) techniques, although a lot of the techniques may also be applied while standing up. i have also heard that judo, aikido, and jiujitsu(the 3 main japanese grappling schools) derived from a chinese dim mak and chin na master(a master of seizing/controlling the joints and pressure point fighting.) someone please feel free to correct me. jus my 2 cents...

bon- like i said, i have YET to see with my own two eyes, but i didnt say its non-existent. i jus agree that its too commercialized and people have a false misconception of BJJ/GJJ being the "greatest undefeatable MA!" people have a false misconception that UFC and PRIDE= streetfighting. the only thing that equals streetfighting is streetfighting. contests have rules and rules put limits on fighters. real streetfighters don't fight limited, though they do try to fight with compassion. but when it comes to life/death situations, preservation of self automatically kicks in. yes, it is stupid for ANYONE to go to the ground w/ multiple attackers (i hear/see way more multiple attacker situations than i do one-on-one's btw.) BJJ in that since is use well when breaking arms, legs, using as sheilds, etc.. as u said...but in response to ur question, plenty of systems are designed to be mobile enough to deal w/ multiple attackers. as a matter of fact, most systems i've seen are designed specifically to deal w/ warlords attacking villages and such and for martial warfare, so of course expecting multiple attackers is a no brainer there. DON'T misunderstand me, i have great respect for BJJ as i have repect for most every art. but i truly think its goin off a limb to say that it's the best one designed. jus my 2 cents.

IMHO i think that BJJ is excellent for UFC/Pride type events where the rules are NHB. their track record speaks for itself. even on the streets, its pretty good if u have only one opponent and if u can get them to the ground. but i've yet to see anyone use BJJ against multiple opponents. jus my 2 cents..