[OT] Yet another martial arts help thread.....so, please help!!

[Lannon]

Why are you angry?

Though I suspect you know exactly what you're doing here and that you're enjoying every minute of this goad-fest, I'm going to give you the benefit of the doubt and assume you're just a moron mouthing off about something you know nothing about and basing your entire stance on nothing but impractical, romantic notions of peace and love.

Pray that you never get to find out what the real world is like...

I think I am perplexed. First, I would never pray for anything. Second, you are suggesting that I dont live in the "real world." What other world is there?

I havnt any romantic notions about peace and love. I do have some notions about probability and decisoin theory. Nothing you have suggested has been, in my opinion, a practical solution to living in the modern world. Threatening to kill people you live near is not practical. Turning your back on somone you are almost sure will attack you is not practical. Please, I am not the one here that has turned away from practicality.

 

[Lannon]

ugh

Martial Arts is a type of education. Thanks for making my point more clear. lol
I have not only worked in law enforcement but I have seen the statistics. There is crime in many areas including Affluent Areas and neighborhoods. Affluence is not a measure of a person's honesty or integrity. It also is not a measure of a person's worth in society.

Nothing I did made my own point moot. If you are unable to recognize that there is a difference between a college education and an education in martial arts then there is no reason to continue discussion. One notable difference would be that physical training devoted to damaging human beings is not found in the former.

Additionally, I never suggested that affluence made you a better, more honorable person. I did suggest that living in a affluent neighborhood reduces the chance that you will be involved in a violent encounter. I did not suggest that living in an affluent neighborhood assured that this would not happen. I did suggest that it would reduce the *probability* that it would occur.

 

[Lannon]

Good restraint?

Darius
p.s. Glad to hear your ok Fourdecks. You showed good restraint in a bad situation.

He threatened to kill a man because that man was asking questions. You consider this to be good restraint?

I hope that some others do not feel that this qualifies as "good restraint."

 

[Cyragnome]

Wow Lannon, that's a pretty impressive commentary...but I have to say that there's a lot more to the Martial Arts than fighting and spirituality...My wife and I have been practicing Wushu for two years and it's been a great experience. It's very acrobatic, good physical conditioning, fun, and quite frankly at this point more than useless in a "fight." There is virtually zero spiritual aspects in the form of Wushu we study and quite honestly a great social experience (lots of really nice, friendly folks). Further there is the personal satisfaction of doing things with your body you never thought possible...such things as my first "Wushu" cartwheel on the way to doing an "Aerial" (yup, that's useful in a fight as well), to the first time I did a leaping kick and landed on the kicking foot (not as easy as it sounds for someone my age and build) or the first Butterfly I did successfully. Talk about building self esteem (and nobody need get hurt ). It's yet another thing that my wife and I can enjoy together (much like gaming), a few less hours of time wasted at the TV or computer, exercise (which is always helpful) and we've made a number of new friends with entirely different interests. Sure there's weapons training (staff and sword so far) but those skills are for "show," I could never imagine swirling a Chinese Broad Sword in the method we do for training at a person, it'd just be silly.

Personally, I find a good use of time and energy (not unlike many other hobbies, gaming included) and will continue on and something I envision my children (once they are old enough...well...and born ) doing as well.

I hope you take a deeper look at some of the arts...don't let the posturing of a few turn you off to something (or allow yourself to be painted into making sweeping statements). Whereas you may not find Martial Arts interesting to you, there are many that do (and much more that do not for the "Martial" part as the "Arts" part)

 

[takyris]

Re: Good restraint?

He threatened to kill a man because that man was asking questions. You consider this to be good restraint?

I hope that some others do not feel that this qualifies as "good restraint."

Sounds stupid to me. But:

1) I wasn't there. There could be more to the story than Fourecks is telling.

2) Holding up Fourecks as an example of a well-rounded martial artist is sort of silly. By his own admission, he has little formal martial arts training.

3) You've implied in your posts that you believe most martial artists to have done martial arts instead of, say, college? Please confirm whether or not you believe that's the case, my plucky 23-year-old, and then tell us how much college you've completed.

In any event, the thread is dying. Lannon has done a fine job of trolling it to death.

-Tacky

 

[Lannon]

Fair enough

Wow Lannon, that's a pretty impressive commentary...but I have to say that there's a lot more to the Martial Arts than fighting and spirituality...My wife and I have been practicing Wushu for two years and it's been a great experience. It's very acrobatic, good physical conditioning, fun, and quite frankly at this point more than useless in a "fight." There is virtually zero spiritual aspects in the form of Wushu we study and quite honestly a great social experience (lots of really nice, friendly folks). Further there is the personal satisfaction of doing things with your body you never thought possible...such things as my first "Wushu" cartwheel on the way to doing an "Aerial" (yup, that's useful in a fight as well), to the first time I did a leaping kick and landed on the kicking foot (not as easy as it sounds for someone my age and build) or the first Butterfly I did successfully. Talk about building self esteem (and nobody need get hurt ). It's yet another thing that my wife and I can enjoy together (much like gaming), a few less hours of time wasted at the TV or computer, exercise (which is always helpful) and we've made a number of new friends with entirely different interests. Sure there's weapons training (staff and sword so far) but those skills are for "show," I could never imagine swirling a Chinese Broad Sword in the method we do for training at a person, it'd just be silly.

Personally, I find a good use of time and energy (not unlike many other hobbies, gaming included) and will continue on and something I envision my children (once they are old enough...well...and born ) doing as well.

I hope you take a deeper look at some of the arts...don't let the posturing of a few turn you off to something (or allow yourself to be painted into making sweeping statements). Whereas you may not find Martial Arts interesting to you, there are many that do (and much more that do not for the "Martial" part as the "Arts" part)

There are differences in the kinds of martial arts that people practice. Point taken. I meant to discuss both styles and personalities that differ distinctly from your own.

 

[Lannon]

Re: Re: Good restraint?

Sounds stupid to me. But:

1) I wasn't there. There could be more to the story than Fourecks is telling.

2) Holding up Fourecks as an example of a well-rounded martial artist is sort of silly. By his own admission, he has little formal martial arts training.

3) You've implied in your posts that you believe most martial artists to have done martial arts instead of, say, college? Please confirm whether or not you believe that's the case, my plucky 23-year-old, and then tell us how much college you've completed.

In any event, the thread is dying. Lannon has done a fine job of trolling it to death.

-Tacky

I dont want to get into a contest about educational background. I am educated, lets leave it at that. And I certainly did not mean to imply that practioners of martial arts could not also be educated adults. I think, from reading your posts, that you are one of these people. I also think that this was the reason you brought this particular point up. I realize that you may be educated in multiple ways. Also please do not read my statements as implying that people that practice martial arts are somehow less intelligent than others. That is not my intention at all.

Additionally, I did not want to hold Fourecks up as an example. I was a little stunned by the described behavior and made light of it in line with the context of my arguments.

 

[Darius101]

hmmm interesting still and just as entertaining.

Cyragnome good post ...

Tacky it is still salvagable.
The topic is still looking for a Martial Art to study.....
Lannon states arguments that go back beyond 4BC or so.
History has shown that the Greeks and Chinese had arguments about this subject yet Martial Sciences still survive.
He has a right to state his opinion as much as he wants to. As do we all.
That said...I shall continue to train, and learn and grow.

What are we looking for in a school?
This has been answered well by many of the posters here and I think we answered well for the original poster.

What has each person gotten from their schools?
This also has been illustrated and shown. I found this part of posting to be fun, educational and entertaining.

Has material been posted for further informed choices?
Yes many times. Each individual is a conglomeration of their own experiences to not acknowledge this is to lesson it's worth. What I see as fun is boring to others...this is why there is diversity in all things (at least in part), it isalso why there are so many choices open to us. Everybody does not play the same game nor make the same choices in life. Why is there a new edition of D&D coming out? Because people have demanded it. It isn't even out yet and there is debate about it. To me it is silly...to others it is serious and to still others it matters not.

Darius

 

[Black Omega]

Not trying to hijack the thread from if I'm an ill-educated homicidal maniac for studying martial arts, but...

On the topic of Tai Chi and Aikido, do these have any practical value for self-defense?

I have a couple of friends who have sworn Aikido can be very effective. For the life of me I can't see what it could do against a grappler who knows how to attack without losing his balance.

 

[takyris]

Black Omega,

From what I've seen of Aikido, it can indeed be effective against a grappler, but it has the same learning curve that the rest of Aikido training possesses. I've always thought of Aikido as a great second martial art, but I don't know that I'd steer a beginner in that direction. Mileage may vary, and prodigies or people with natural affinities could shoot right on up the curve, but in general, the average Aikido student seems to take awhile to be able to apply his studies practically.

Lannon, thanks for the clarification. As for bad neighborhoods, incidentally, the last time I felt threatened was walking from seeing "Les Miz" to get to the train station in San Francisco. Very few people drive to see shows in SF -- the city just doesn't have enough parking, and the train station lets out right next to the theater district. There's a two-block stretch of bad neighborhood between the theater district and the train, and it's always interesting to try and walk that stretch with all the rich people wearing black leather (Note: Not rich. REALLY not rich. We make enough to go to musicals, but we're there because we love the music, not for any see-and-be-seen garbage reason).

Education and money alone wouldn't have removed the need to walk those two bad blocks, nor to walk them at night, since that's when the show let out. Being smart enough to walk with the rest of the crowd helped, of course, and hey, in theory, one could be rich enough to either hire bodyguards or have a limo pick me up -- but in general, it's effectively a necessary hazard of going to see a musical in San Francisco.

I've also run into trouble taking my wife shopping in San Francisco. And going to an SF Writing convention in San Francisco. Neither time resulted in physical attacks, although in one case it was me being obviously ready to fight if the need arose that made the person quit bugging my wife and leave.

Now that I think about it, I should really just avoid San Francisco...

-Tacky