This thread is for us practicing martial artists.... i've noticed a few of us, Big Truck Convoy and Bizzimoff.

I am a student(forever right?)/instructor in Kung Fu and Tai Chi (student only)....

I have been training for 13 years in this system (since i was 11) before that I was in a style of Karate called Goju. I find that for me, the softer fluid style of Kung Fu is better suited for me than the more ridgid style of Karate that I took. I have found an outlook on life that i think only martial arts can give someone. Respect for others (even loudmouth G1 haters), a NEED to help others in trouble, and an over all sense of duty to those in trouble... maybe its just me i don't know

Yeah, martial arts kind of gives you a better way to look at things in general. Unless you're like my buddy, who just likes to beat the living hell out of people.

i use to do tai chi a couple years ago,but chose to get into something else(yoga),have beeen considering getting into kicboxing.

What Style of Kung Fu? I study Long Fist Praying Mantis.

Hmm.... how to answer this...

I our school, we learn all the forms from the Fukian Temple (southern temple)

Which include;

Seven Crane Forms
Seven Tiger Forms
two Mantis forms
Southern Snake
Stone Monkey
of course all of the Lohans (I HATE YOU HORSE STANCE!!!)
Northern Fist (Kind of an oxymoron Northern fist in the southern temple)
Buddha Fist (Very loooooooooooooooong)
Chin Na
Iron Palm
Iron Shirt
Sheng Yi
Pua Kua
and some other obscure forms that I have yet to learn... Master rank stuff
all of the 18 Classical weapons and a few not so classical... Sea Dragon Cane anyone?

very cool, I like Brazillian juijitsu because there is no formal stances or any traditional clutter that wouldnt be useful in real combat say like getting bum rushed at an ATM. Its alot like extremely technical wrestling, I study at the Relson school in Austin and Instructor Phil also teaches standup in the form of MuayThai.

He has a website and forum for those interested.
http://www.austinjj.com/

I love this style, I feel I am a naturally aggressive person(unfortunately) and this really helps to get it out. My life has been much clearer and controled since I started it. Ive been there over 2 months now. I was studying Goshinjitsu at first but once I saw this style demonstrated and proven to really work I was sold and began training.

Last week though I got my knee twisted and it popped really bad. I dont know if anything is torn yet but I havent been to class for over a week and Im seriously going through some sort of withdrawl haha. I have begun dreaming about class and training in my sleep, its crazy!

I know what you mean! Class withdrawl is an ailment that can not be healed by any linement.... There is nothing like the comradory that people have in a martial arts class. Friendships build on blood sweat and broken bones!

I left my "school" after half of the class was seriously injured in a van wreck (traveling back from a judo tournament in Arkansas) and the law suits started flying. I was lucky to be riding in the other vehicle when the driver of said van fell asleep.

I want/need to get back into a class. Training by yourself (books, videos, equipment) can only take you so far and is not motivating at all

The most practical move that I have ever used in real life is either a cross leg arm bar or a wrist lock arm bar. At work, I can't hit the residents but I can use holds/bars so I do.

Security Guard?

No, I work at a Children's Home (orphanage). Yah, now I sound really bad for beating up orphans. The boys and girls here can be over 21 years old if the are in school or work. Because most of them are from very bad family situations they have a lot of anger. Boys like to naturally see who is the alpha male and sometimes I have to stop fights and control the situation. BTW some of the guys are 6' 3"+ and Big Mike is probably 500+ pounds.

is "Big Mike" his prison name?

I kid i kid

Actually, the altercations i have been in have always involved multiple parties, it seems no one believes in one on one combat anymore and in those situations, i am too scared to attempt any type of hold or grapple because it leaves me so open... I just try to keep everyone in my line of site and go for the quick take downs ie; knees, ribs, back of the head, etc....

Hmm....Ive heard of story of master Relson in a street brawl in Brazil taking on multiple attackers and using his grappling techniques, never taking a hit and imobilizing all.

Could be bs but usually if a gracie is telling you an unbelievable story, its usually true.

yeah, but I'm not a master of any sort

I would just get my ass handed to me if I tried to grapple with multiple attackers

Spoken like a true student of teh Fu

I bet master Relson grappled and broke limbs at approximately the same time. Doing so would be a very quick fight with lots of pain and suffering on the receiving end.

agreed!!

The only way to survive that type of situation would be to dissable opponents fast and assuredly

Has anybody had any experience with the Robert Bussey method? I have a coworker who is very high in the school in Jackson. He wants me to start attending so I have been doing a little research to get ready. Sounds practical yet cultish. Any opinions?

i used to do taekwondo for about 3 and a half years... but that was before i moved to London... so i'm kinda rusty since i've not been practising... anyone seen the movie Shaolin Soccer? it's quite funny, and it's about trying to find a modern way to package Shaolin martial arts...

I have seen it on the release list here in the states for late this month but I haven't seen the movie yet.

Bizz, i haven't heard of that style but i'll ask around. If its fun and you think it practical, you should go for it. I am a bit of "Bodycount" when it comes to unpractical martial arts. Forms are very important and so is all other aspects of a martial art, as long as that art has some self defense applications

Here's Robert Bussey's website --> Bussey

It/they say a lot of nice things about him.

bump for me and Johnny Reb

thanks HR    

I practice Wing Chun and Muay Thai, currently an instructor in both, i also learn Escrima........the ball is now rollin'

does being self taught with several lessons from a few schools in swords count? Right now I can handle katana's/Broadswords/Hookswords/Staffs/small knifes/several pike-halbred weapons/a few others. I seriously need more work with short range weapons and the 'chucks for some reason are beyond me, lol.

nunchucks are overrated.......they are not too good as a self defense weapon.........IMO

i would certainly beg to differ on that, nunchucks were the first weapons i learned to use, and i know from experence that if you use them properly, you can fend of any hand held weapon attack, or cause serious damage to someone


on subject
i studied under my uncle who knows several styles of karate, kung fu, and  jujitsu

again it was just IMO personally i care little for them


on a side note: dontcha hate it when people call em Numchucks!!!

but how often are you actually carrying a pair of nunchuks with you?

IMO any kind of pole weapon (short or long) is the best to train with for purposes of self defense IRL because if there is something laying around your fight area it will typically be pole or bat shaped

that gets a big TAZBOt buddy

the pole is a VERY versitle weapon/tool in my experience plus its not illegal to carry one around town as opposed to chucks

yes

its kinda funny you said that, because i used to carry a pair around with me every where i went

i have two problems with that...
1. It's illegal where i live
2. I'm not that paranoid

one of the problems of carrying weapons around town is that youll eventually meet up with someone from a different school on the street and they'll want to challenge you, most of the schools up here, dont teach you how to be a nice person, but an arrogant closed-minded prick.

I cant stand that Kobra-Kai Blot!!


Agree??

Wow!!! this thread is deader than Bruce Lee!!!

restraint should be one of the first things they teach you, it was one of the foundations my uncle taught me when he was training me........














bruce isn't dead, hes in my avatar training

respect should be the first thing not restraint

i know that , thats why i said one of

Post your first Martial Arts experience.......

mine was when i lived in Cali in the 80's every kid tried Karate back then, i was no different, my first sensei was a cool black guy that was kinda jivin' like one of the panthers from Enter The Dragon. The only 2 things i remember other than that were, a really cute girl that also trained there, and learning side kicks.
apparently i only did it for 6 weeks, later in life i asked my mom why i didnt pursue it she said: "You just wanted to learn the killer- death moves"


whats yers??

nice thread

It's good to hear from people who train. Been training 9 years already. Been going from style to style in the beginning but am now a firm believer of Hung ga.

finally another poster in this thread..........

i did kuk sool won for a few years.. then switched to tae kwon do. i also do alittle eskrima. ong bak anyone?

Gonna use this thread as an update to my first real attempt at a martial arts movie......

characters have been decided, we have the story, my team is learning the weapons i gave them
Bo (3 chacters use this)
Kama
Chinese Broadsword
Sai
Kris Daggers

its gonna have comedic aspects with a serious (ish) story line

This might be what i want to do for the rest of my life(fight choreography) so we'll see, the deadline is Feb.25 so ill try to download it around then, but will continue with updates if anyone cares.....if not then just fer my own reflection

--jr

Renshinkan-ryu style.I want to be a ninja some day. Well I can dream can't I?! Tonfa training when I get to first Dan (black belt , first degree). curently 6th Kyu (green belt, first brown stripe) Ten Kyu system, Five Dan.
white, white 1 black stripe, white two black stripes, green belt, green first brown stripe, green second brown stripe, brown belt, brown first black stripe,  brown second black stripe, Brown with lateral black stripe: Shodon(black belt) canidate, black belt ,black belt first white stripe, and so on to five white stripes but that's reserved for style master. direct blood line only. (man that sucks!) We're complicated like that.

UPDATE!!
Started outlining the second to last fight plus end boss battle fight. We practiced for a few hours today......im pleased with the progress we are already making.........

UPDATE: Final battle will not be live......filmed end fight today (the one day it doesnt rain )

gained 12 exp points for our excursion today *final fantasy victory music*

BUMPED!!!!!!!!!!!


movie update.......tis been awhile.....but we finished it a month ago, just forgot to post that......its funnie as hell, slapstick kungfu is great!!! im tryin to get it online so y'all can see it woot!!

Please do - that would be AWESOME!

bumped for discussion and sharing of techniques


my hope of this thread is not to bicker and argue about which style is better, (cause clearly MINE is the best j/k) but to discuss why we do what we do and to help others understand the ways and whys of our individual styles, and to ultimatley gain in knowledge


thanks all

Si-Hing Dave(Johnny Reb)

Hey, thanks for bumping this thread, JR!

Anyway, I've my training has mostly been in Seven Star Praying Mantis Gongfu/Kung Fu/Wushu/Quanfa... whatever the hell ya wanna call it -- (cheesy Chinatown accent) Chinese Boxing! (/accent)

RE: Gongfu/Kung Fu vs Wushu terminology - everything JR said about these terms is correct. Just to expand on what he's said:

Wushu: Literally means "martial arts." What we know as Kung Fu, karate, Hapkido, Ninjutsu, Savante, Escrima, Pencak Silat, Muay Thai etc - it's all "wushu." In Japanese, it's called Bujutsu -  written with the same Hanzi/Kanji as "wushu" and means the same thing. It's a very broad and generic term. Chinese martial arts in general are called "Zhongguo Wushu" which means "Chinese Martial Arts." "Xiandai Wushu" means "modern martial arts" and specifically refers to the more acrobatic/gymnastic form of exhibitionary Chinese martial arts commonly used in the entertainment industry. Amongst many English speaking martial artists, the term "Wushu" is often synonymous with Xiandai Wushu.

Gongfu/Kung Fu: This term simply means "to excel." To alleviate any confusion between traditional and modern Wushu, martial artists have come to also refer to traditional wushu styles as "Gongfu" or "Kung Fu." This term was popularised amongst Westerners by Bruce Lee.

Quanfa: The traditional Chinese term for "boxing" and is a synonym for "wushu" - i.e.: refers to any form of fighting/martial arts. In Japanese it is pronounced as "Kempo," although in the English language, Kempo refers to a specific style of Japanese martial arts known as Shourinji Kempo, which in Chinese is pronounced as "Shaolinzi Quanfa," which means "Shaolin Temple Boxing," as Shorinji Kempo was a martial art created by Japanese Buddhist monks who had studied source materials from the Shaolin Temple in China.

And as JR also pointed out, Kung Fu/Wushu doesn't refer to a single style, but many styles of martial arts which originate from China. e.g.: Praying Mantis, Long Fist, Southern Fist, Five Ancestors Fist, Drunken Boxing, Monkey Fist, Crane Fist, Wing Chun (Yongchun), Hung Gar (Hongjia), Pak Mei, Tongbeiquan, Baguazhang (Eight Trigrams Palm), Xingyiquan, Choy Li Fut (Cailifa), Baji, Taiji, Goroquan etc etc etc... the list goes on. And amongst these styles you have many substyles. For example, amongst just the Praying Mantis styles you have Seven Star Praying Mantis, Long Fist Praying Mantis, Plum Blossom Praying Mantis, Six Harmony Praying Mantis, 8 Step Praying Mantis, Taiji Praying Mantis, Jade Ring Praying Mantis, Shaolin Praying Mantis etc.!

Many faces of Praying Mantis...


Above: (L-R) Taiji Mantis, Plum Blossom Mantis, 6 Harmony Mantis &  8 Step Mantis

And Kung Fu styles can also vary greatly in nature... some styles can be more circular, fluid and deceptively "graceful," such as Taiji, whilst others are more directly physically brutal and rigid such as Fujian styles of Kung Fu -- which are the direct ancestors of Okinawan Karate and thus looks very similar.


Above: Spot the difference! On the left is Wuzuquan (Five Ancestors Fist), a Fujian style of Kung Fu compared to Shotokan Karate on the right. The two styles exhibit striking similarities, due to Karate's lineage from the Fujian (aka Hokkien) province of Southern China.

I started studying tae kwon do when I was 9. Got my 1st Dan when I was 14...haven't attended the classes since then (Im 30 now lol), but I still remember what I learned, both the physical aspects of the art and otherwise.  I would love to learn another style, preferably Kung Fu.  Sadly, all the schools in my area these days only teach MMA.

My beef with MMA is that it inadvertantly trains people to have the cocky "i can kick your ass" attitude, something that i HATE!!!

There are two main forms of Taekwondo - the original version and the competition/sport version (now an Olympic Sport).

The original form of Taekwondo was a modification of Shotokan Karate, devised primarily by General Choi. It was implemented by South Korean soldiers allied with the US during the Vietnam War and is currently taught to South Korean soldiers, including those who defend the North-South Korean border. This form of Taekwondo is largely regulated by the ITF (International Taekwondo Federation).

The competition/sport form of Taekwondo was created in the early 1970s to promote S.Korean nationalism and it became very popular and has since become an international Olympic Sport. As a sport, this form of Taekwondo has virtually no real merit as a fighting form. This because competition fighting and actual fighting are two very different animals. Competition fighting is created as a spectator sport - there are rules which govern the fight and enforce safety for the athletes involved. Conditions are always constant - you always fight on smooth level dry ground, will never be outnumbered, never fight an armed opponent, and your opponents have a limited range of techniques which they can use against you with a variety of moves outlawed by tournament rules. For example, one of sport Taekwondo's many weaknesses from a combat POV is their inability to defend the groin. This is because it is illegal to strike at the groin in Taekwondo tournaments. This rule does not exist in a real fight - in a real fight, there are no rules... no such thing as honour or clean fighting. In fact, in a real fight, the best moves are the dirtiest. Many traditional styles will happily strike at the groin - in some styles of Kung Fu there is a technique poetically called "Monkey steals the peach" - named after the Chinese tale of "Journey to the West" where the Monkey King steals and eats the peaches of immortality; in Kung Fu, it is a metaphor for grabbing and tearing off an opponent's testicles.

JR: I agree. One should always presume that your opponent is faster and stronger than you and to train/fight from the presumption that your opponent(s) is/are better than you are.