i want to clarify my stance on things here.....

Wai Jia: The Kung Fu Forum Kung Fu Forum
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there has been a thread that has sparked some serious debates and i have joined in in a serious manner sharing my thoughts and philosophy. usually i am a jokester here and not to be taken seriouslt at times.
let me just give you my Bio and my philosophy, so that there is no confusion as to the type of martial artsist that i am.
first of all i CLAIM NO MASTERY over anything that i have done, and i certainly do not think that i am ABOVE ANYONE ELSE HERE in these forums. i cannot control how you guys percieve my writings here so i just want to make sure that when next i do give my views and opinions that they are not misconstrued as me being superior to any of you,FOR I DO NOT FEEL THAT WAY AT ALL AND WILL STATE MY LIFE ON THAT.

I started martial arts at the age of 14 where i took classes in Aikido. i didnot stay with aikido for very long but i reached a point in aikido where i could be thrown and be able to fall or roll correctly.
i then started taking standard Karate classes(shotokan) this was thourgh a boyfriend of my mothers at the time, that only lasted a few months.

in the period between 17-20 i was reading books watching videos and practicing what i could from bits and pieces here and there, from people willing to show me anything.

in 1992 i met my first real teacher, master eric nessen who was a disciple of dr. john Ng in the 70’s. he was a personal friend of my fathers and began teaching me privately, praying mantis and aspects of hsingi pakua and taichi as well as some qigong healing work.
in 1994 i went to school in texas for anotomy and physiology and massage therapy and studied alternative eastern therapies here in austin as well as in kentucky(where master eric taught me)
1995 i permanently moved austin tx and was given permission by eric to find another scholl with which i could still continue to learn. i then found master joe shaefer who started the shaolin do martial arts academy and joined his school in september of 95 and was there until just recently, 2002.
there i learned the sd curriculum and the side curriculumn of tai chi pakua and hsing i and focused mainly on that. i earned the level of 2nd degree black belt there and am certified to teach the curriculum.

THROUGH OUT ALL OF THIS i was taught and have maintained the philosophy of utilizing martial arts as a means of self preservation,health,longevity,and community.
i do not fight for sport ,i was never really interested in tournaments, even though i went to some,sd and aau tourneys,where i won 1st place one year in mens advanced sparring and took silver medal in empty hand forms and bronze in weapons forms.

i am an internalist and have ALWAYS BEEN one.  i grew up an abused kid and the only thing that saved me was martial arts.  that is why i do not like sport fighting nor do i like the brutalization of martial arts to suit the needs of the tournament or the ego mindset(i am not devoid of ego).

if i seem self riteous it is becuase i am CONFIDENT in who and what i have become as a martial artist and i feel as though i have some sound wisdom to offer based on my experience.
i have worked with troubled kids ADD kids, abused women,and adults children and teenagers from all walks of life.
i have been a bouncer at a club at one time and have been in scraps where i have come out on top and where i have gotten my a$$ kicked.
again through out ALL of these experiences i have maintained the philosophy that martial arts is about preserving life and being healthy and disciplined. i was never taught and it is my contention that martial arts should NOT be taught for sport such as UFC,and no holds barred competition. i feel these endevours to be a WASTE of energy time and ones life.
i respect ALL forms of martial arts even the BJJ and the MMA’s
martial arts is constantly evolving and these arts should be respects as much as the wushu and others,even though i have some opinions based on effectiveness of martial arts systems.
what i do not respect are the politics and BS conatined within martial arts circles here in this country and that is ONE of the reasons why i left SD.
if i come of brash sometimes about certain aspects of things it is because i am very passionate in my ethics.
i am a clown to a degree and sometimes my words can be like a dagger. i am human and anger is something that comes easily to me(as in i wont take anybodys $hit),but love ,compassion and joy supercedes my anger and that i have ERic and another person to thank(whom i will not mention) for that discipline.
that is all i have to write about me. i will continue to post here and offer my thoughts jokes and other insights.

                                                     Many Respects,,,The Willow Sword
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No worries, man. Just understand that where martial arts served the needs of your psyche in one way, they serve other people’s needs in different ways.

Luckily, we don’t have to agree. :slight_smile:

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As long as YOU get what you need from martial arts and feel good with yourself!..;)No problems!

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I think people have criticised your not wanting to sport fight to justify thier own need for violence, or more probably violent fantasies. In combat the biggest blowhards were the first ones to wet themseves, cry or run.

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I didn’t read your post. Far too long in comparison with how much I care. But kudos for thinking it was worth it. Doesn’t matter what you stand for, people will rip you apart for slaying their sacred cows and kiss your ass if you happen to share their opinion. Such is the forum’s nature.

Say what you like and be done with it. :wink:

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" i have maintained the philosophy that martial arts is about preserving life and being healthy and disciplined. i was never taught and it is my contention that martial arts should NOT be taught for sport such as UFC,and no holds barred competition. i feel these endevours to be a WASTE of energy time and ones life. "

so, what exactly does the “martial” part of “martial art” stand for?

"I think people have criticised your not wanting to sport fight "

why is there this contention that everyone who practices MMA fights, and thus our criticsms of TMA guys is because they dont fight?

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Originally posted by jimmy23
why is there this contention that everyone who practices MMA fights, and thus our criticsms of TMA guys is because they dont fight?

Usually the definition of MMA is someone that trains for sport fighting.

Otherwise, everyone is an MMAer as no martial art is untouched by influence from other styles. Therefore, all martial arts are, in essence, a combination of the best of what came before, making them essentially MMA’s!

However, if you train in the aspects required for sport fighting, especially having a high concentration on grappling, then you’re an MMAer by modern definition. Lots of grappling training is unnecessary for the street.

Flame on.

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"Usually the definition of MMA is someone that trains for sport fighting. "

hmm, I would define it as someone who trains in a live enviroment for every range of combat

“Lots of grappling training is unnecessary for the street.”

nope, wrong answer

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Nope, right answer, depending on your paradigm.

The grappling you definitely need is:

  1. Avoiding takedowns.

  2. Once taken down, how to escape and get back up.

In an MMA arena you need and can use all sorts of submissions and control techniques. Do that on the street and get your head stomped, your back lacerated with broken glass, etc.

Therefore, lots of grappling training is unnecessary for the street. By lots, I mean in variety, not lots of practice. Everything you do requires lots of practice.

"Usually the definition of MMA is someone that trains for sport fighting. "

hmm, I would define it as someone who trains in a live enviroment for every range of combat

Every proper martial art class should do this, regardless of style and regardless of where those skills are likely to be used.

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youre talking about groundfigthing, not grappling. Clench work is grappling, and push hands and trapping are limeted (IMO) variations on this theme. You would be surprised how much of a good sportifhgters training deals with the standing clench, how to use it, it svariations, how to do strikes and takedowns from it, etc.

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OK, good old semantics. In that case, I am talking about groundfighting. Apologies if that wasn’t clear, my mistake.

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goddness, my typing gets bad after a few beers late at night!

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Thanks for the introduction,I liked the post.
You have certainly had some special jokes,some of which I don´t understand.
:slight_smile:

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:rolleyes:

Well I think you’re both wrong in that sense. Groundfighting can be used in a streetfight depending on what scenario you’re faced with. Streetfights are taped all the time, and you can see lots of on the ground grappling in them.

This stuff about the lacerations on the back from broken glass, and multiple opponents is not only a tired argument, but faulty as well.

If I take you down in a streetfight, I will NOT be on my back. I will slam you down, knock the wind out of you, blast you with strikes and headbutts, and then stand up and kick you in the head.

That’s “street grappling.” And you can see a large portion of real streetfights (even involving multiple opponents and glass) ending that way.

Ryu

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Ryu

you’re assuming that YOU take THEM down, but what of the reverse? then you could end up on your back… not a pleasant spot to be in if his buddies appear wanting to kick your head in…

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to be hgonest, if lacerations on the back will inhibit you, forget about winning a fight anyway, because a bloody nose or black eye will drain your will to fight just as fast.

If you cant fight off your back, you wont be able to regain your feet if (when ) you end up there.

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Re: Ryu

Originally posted by GreyMystik
you’re assuming that YOU take THEM down, but what of the reverse? then you could end up on your back… not a pleasant spot to be in if his buddies appear wanting to kick your head in…

:wink: Well of course! This is why knowing how to fight off your back (as Jimmy is stating) is so important. I don’t want to look for a triangle there. I want to get on TOP or back to my FEET. :slight_smile:
Knowing how to fight from and use “guard” gives you the ability to reverse and escape easily against a non-grappler.

Ryu

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And if anybody knows about how banged up your knees can get in a barfight it’s Ryu!:smiley:

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that’s incredible. i can barely believe how quickly this morphed into another debate about grappling on the streets. we are a rare talent on this forum.

as for the willow sword, i can totally respect your explanation. and your convictions. however, it seems odd to say in one paragraph that you don’t consider yourself better than anyone else and express in another paragraph that you have strong moral objections to people who train for competition (i.e., they do it for ego gratification, which is true to varying degrees). that’s kind of the nature of moral judgments, isn’t it? you’re making a statement about another person’s actions in relation to what you believe to be right or wrong.

now we all make those sorts of judgments. i can’t condemn you for that. but just understand that you’re bound to draw flak for making those moral judgments on other people. and understand that the flak you receive is going to be every bit as valid and justified as your initial reaction is. it’s the nature of communication.

anyway, i can respect your honesty, even if i disagree with your message.

stuart b.

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just because i have moral objections

to what those guys do doenst mean that i think that they are bad people. i have found that when people are confronted with a moral standpoint or something of that nature. they tend to want to justify themselves to make themselves feel better about what they are doing. for instance: you tell a smoker that it is bad to smoke,it causes cancer,you may make someone sick with your second hand smoke,and they get all huffy and say something like" well gol dangit i live in a free country its my right ta smoke if i want to" and its true they live in a free country but ,does that mean that for thier freedom a person has to die miserably or get cancer and die miserably just so a smoker can enjoy his/her cigarette?

same thing with how i feel about sport fighting and my morals counterring it. but i really do not think that i am alone in this philososphy,maybe i am the only one at this point to voice it in such a way that it rings a bell or ****es someone off,at any rate it gets you thinking, how YOU think beyond that is up to you.

note: i do not think that sport fighting causes cancer:rolleyes:

     or that watching sport fighting causes cancer:rolleyes: 

                     Many Respects,,,The Willow Sword