MA Clichés

[ps1]

BTW: My standard answer to the "could you take me" question is to say, "No." & walk away.

If we're outside the academy I tell the person that my training came with a disclaimer that it won't work on them.

If we're inside the academy I simply say yes and invite them to try their best.

[Sengra]

Cliches or trisms?

All chinese people know Kung Fu. It's a fact.

[squintykick]

my favorite is the "what would you do if I did this" then they try and hit you or rush you.

I usually pretend to cry

One person really tried to thump me and I managed quite a sucessful block (ie. I didn't get hit) but then they said I'd hurt their arm and I should have more control!!!

Oh and that all MA's go "haiya!"

I tell folk that we have to say "karate chop!" no one noticed I do TKD!

[username8517]

I also enjoy the assumption that as a martial artist I'm always on guard, ready for impending danger at every turn with every breath I take.

[NightOwl]

"All fights eventually end up on the ground"

Do a good number of fights end up on the ground? Sure. But there are also plenty of fights that end without both people going to the ground.

Of course all fights end on the ground!

Newton proved that during any and all fights, the force of gravity increases by 45%.....

Next MA Cliche: THE big one.....Ninjas!

Did they exist? Were they skilled combatants or merely spies? I do not claim to know the answer....

but for only $99.95 you can order today your very own Ashida Kim 'Suburban Ninja' Dvd! Order by credit card and we'll have the UPS guy wear a black t-shirt over his head when he delivers to your door!

I've tried reaserching the subject, but good information is hard to find. It seems that ninjas were for the most part spies ( assassinations were rare, let alone successful ones) from a more remote region of Japan...although there might have been a ninja who was also a samurai at the same time...duh duh DUUUH). Budo Taijitsu seems to be the closest that you can get to legitimate Ninjitsu...and yet during the 80's 'Ninja Masters' complete with mullets flowing from behind their hoods claimed to have mastered hidden skills that have been kept secret for thousands of years that WERE TOO DEADLY...for under 100 bucks a lesson. Sadly this has forever tarnished our friend the ninja, who has come to represent the absurd side of MAs (or the really cool side depending on your viewpoint). Thus the Ninja embodies the 2 extreme views of the public as well: That MAs are silly games... or that with a little MA practice you can kill 500 people by just flipping out. That's probally why you get these three responses if someone finds out if you do MA: 'Oh yeah, well I bet you can't get out of THIS!', 'Woah, I'd better be careful', and 'Are you a Ninja?'

[jaymac]

I have always enjoyed the oh so famous "Sure I know Karate and 18 other japanese words," also the "I have a black belt - I bought it at Kmart for $9.99."

My favorite is watching people on t.v. portray the image that they know Martial Arts with the fast Tai Chi hand movements and the "WHAAAAAA!" type noise that they make while performing said movements.

[Rateh]

Last night someone asked me "so I hear you do karate". I responded with "yes". And he said "so, your a ninja then?".

[SBN Doug]

my favorite is the "what would you do if I did this" then they try and hit you or rush you.

One guy at work made a punch motion toward my face one time (but stopped). He said I was supposed to have faster reflexes, I told him I didn't perceive a threat.

[username8517]

my favorite is the "what would you do if I did this" then they try and hit you or rush you.

One guy at work made a punch motion toward my face one time (but stopped). He said I was supposed to have faster reflexes, I told him I didn't perceive a threat.

I've used the same line when my boss jumps around a corner gives me a light karate chop and yells "ninja strike"

[bushido_man96]

I've used the same line when my boss jumps around a corner gives me a light karate chop and yells "ninja strike"

Reminds me of the "judo chop!" from Austin Powers!

My big thing with MA cliches was when guys you would spar with would take you down and wrestle you, when you were not actually trying to strike them, or they go through a strike that you controlled so as not to hit them hard in the nose.