JerryLove

It's a common conception, made omre so by the use of the old Anglicanizations of the words "ji" an "qi", both into "chi". It should have been closer to isometrics than aerobics. A better translation is "grand nexus boxing". The vast majority of Tiaji taught is not taught by people compitent in the martial art.

Because Xingyi is done always rooted. If you are boxing and not punching, you are doing it wrong. Why? Because boxing punches.

Yes. If you are doing xingyi (for example) and are ever unrooting, then you are doing it wrongly.

True... but it's pretty easy to write weather it does. It comes down to a couple of things. The ability of the author to correctly and accurately describe the method of performing an act, the ability of the reader to understand it, and the ability of the reader to correct his own performance. I will add from experiences that many martial artists don't know what they do... and this is *another* problem. As an example, I had a teacher at a seminar long ago doing a bassett; he would show how to do it, but many people had problems when the opponent simply rooted the leg. Well, the tacher in question was also placing lateral pressure on the person that he was performing the bassett on; this lateral pressure was suffucuent to counteract the effect of the root. I don't think the instructor would ever try to do the bassett without such an uprooting element; but I also doubt that the instructor consiously realized he was doing it (he certainly never mentioned it). This technique could be taught by a book, but the writer must first realize the entierity of what he is doing (many do not), and be able to describe that in a useful verbage (many cannot) to even have the information *in* the book. Then the reader must comprehend and leard from this info. To be honest, similar problems exist in person (see above)... but to a lesser degree. There are two ways this can be accomplished. You can have a good eye and watch yourself compared to the reference, or you can have someone else with a good eye correct you. This is true wheather in person or by book; the major difference being the presumed availability of said "people with good eyes". Of crouse, this also assumes that the failure in question will not cause the technique to fail. If having a stiff shoulder will cause you to tip over when trying to use tan-sau against a strong swing, the error should pop up in drilling as you keep tipping over. In essence, the nature of a book (assuming it's will written) vs a school (assuming it's well run) is to shift responsability for checking even more to the student.

Assuming I go ahead and accept your assertion, the prupose of using books and tapes would be to go that "so far" that you have stated they can get you. Again, you seem to have given an answer to your own question. Much like all entertainment media. Did you ever buy someone's boigraphy? Why not? Don't get me wrong. I'm a big proponent of studying under an instructor directly... But I learned fencing from books (and with a partner learning from the same source); why couldn't I learn another art the same way? Then, of course, the anti-book group here is ignoring their value to existing martial artists. Do I want to look at other ways to escape a headlock? Perhaps they are in this book over here. Also, there is the ability of a book to act as a primer for an art. It's easier and cheaper to find a good book on BobsObscureArt and see if travelling for a teacher has your interest than paying to travel first. Further, there's the utility of having the book remind you of what you already know. Say you have already studied WC under someone... the book can serve as a lot of "oh yea! Keep that spring-arm energy. I knew that, don't know when I stopped" The list goes on.

... in some arts. Other arts will gladly give him the central-plane in order to manipulate him. Taiji, Systema, Akido, and Tjikunling come to mind. Many will also specialize in moving it very rapidly (bagua comes screaming ot mind)

You can assume most all arts "cover" the centerline; but many do not use a "centerline approach". This approach seems most used in boxing arts (like WC).

His family? But not him. So, in 5 generations, no other qualified isntructors have ever come out of Sayoc Kali training but the one's you know of? Yes I did. It's a pretty nice site. I like it. And you believe that there is a type of knife-fighting which is for the weak of heart and teaches something other than killing your opponent? This is our problem with your statement (other than it simply being boysterous), it has no real meaning as there is not a non-extreme-knife art. They should really spend less time on knife play than learning an entire art would constitute and focus on real millitary skills. Which "black ops" group? I'd like to reasearch your claim.

I'm guessing you don't do Xing-yi or Systema.

Karate blocks come well outside the centerline. Rising blocks (for exampe) end up away from your center. I'm not calling this better or worse (I like Tjikuling a great deal right now, and it does not take the "defending the center" approach); but I suspect that you don't fully understand what the "centerline approach" is in WC. OTOH, I have not seen your particular Karate art/school and could be mistaken.

But that's not what you said is it? You said: The sound of the electricity crackling itself is enough to send anyone running in fear. I absolutely promise you that it is not. Actually getting shot is not enough to "get anyone running in fear", having a tazer turned on and stuck on a voulenteers arm is not enough to get them always running in fear. It is foolish in the extreme to say that *anything* will make everyone run in fear, much less a simple cracking sound; and when you say something extremely foolish in your opinion, I know your opinion is not from realistic data.

I took a peek at some of the clips. Two of them very much have the "stand out and fence" thing going. The third (3 of 9 trailer in mpg) is a tad bit better, except I don't understand why the large swing, nor the ignoring of limbs, nor the focus on "powering through" a given target. Damnint man, you have a knife, all you have to do is touch... and while there are some really nice places to touch, there aren't any bad places. Stop focusing so much, stop staying out at meat chopping range (unless you are the only one with a knife), stop allowing your armed opponent to keep control of the weapon. I've got some knife play from my school at home, I'll see if I can't cut a quick clip and put it up on the school website tonight.

his input amounted to "I do the best are, we rule". Licensed by whom exactly? Is the inventor of the name alive? I'm sure I could licence Karate schools and say "only these schools are licensed, the rest are imposters", but I hardly have a claim to the name (heck, I don't even do Karate, much less control the word). I wonder that myself. I'm in a knife art, one whose approach I like more than the kali approach (I think the FMA stay out to much and do too much "fencing" with blades). For me, a word like "extreme" is an immediate turn-off... it screams of bravado.

That doesn't appear to interact with any posts. What is "mind over matter" and how is that "willpower"?

I presently do.

Hrm. I will need to do some reasearch, but I suspect that "quaterstaf" was a method of staff-fighting, not a type of staff... Similarly, there should be a "half-staff" method, just as there is a "half-sword" method.

I've run into it indirectly. It seems to be pretty standard fair for Kali. I cannot say I know of a school on the west coast... the only one I know is Orlando.

Very few MA schools I've seen seem to teach fighting at all

So is this martial artists using a biomechanics trick found in football training, or football players using a qigong found in martial arts?

You can exploit both energetic and pressure-point work into figthing. In fact, you'll find it done throughout many non-pressure-point partial arts. The boxing combination to the side of the ribs and then side of the face is also in CMA because it is two strikes along the same meridian and is used for knockouts. If the pressure-point attack doesn't do anything, you've still hit him in the ribs and the head.

Same reason there are so many differnt ways to cook pasta... because everyone had their own idea on what tasted best. Your "what's the difference" is just as unanswerable for KF as it is for pasta. The difference is that they approach fighting and training differently.

God created satan, and cancer, and death, and sorrow, and smallpox, and any numbe of other things you would consider "bad". Then there's the issue, not weather it existing is bad, but weather using it is bad. God created magic, but the Bible condems its use.

This sentance by itself is enough to tell me that you don't have realistic data on the effacacy of this item.

Really? I have yet to see one that has the effect. I've seen a man pull, cycle, and fire a handgun with a tazer stuck to his arm and held on. On whom have you experiemnted with this? What happens if, in grabbing it, they push it into contact with you?

For the express purpose of being most likely to be able to improvise it? Either a flexable weapon (rope), as clothing is almost always available; or a rock/small weight.