Rogue, he obviously hasn’t got a mullet, or he would possess supernatural unearthly powers as stated already 
I saw some stuff like this demonstrated at a Taiji seminar yesterday - when I asked the instructor if it always worked he said ‘no - that’s why I hit them as normal - if it works then great, but I don’t count on it’ - I deeply respect the guy who ran the seminar and I know he has the skills to fight (after the effortless way he dealt with me I was very impressed - I’ve never felt so ineffective before).
I’m a sceptic of this stuff but the guys he was demonstrating on were doing some weird **** - none of them fell over or anything but they did seem to shudder to a halt and be unable to do anything - usually he hit them but he did achieve the same effects without contact (but he was at most a foot away when he did this). He then kind of ‘grounded’ them to relieve the movement (generally rubbing the kidney area I think - it was the lower back somewhere)
He then did a basic ‘feel your chi’ exercise - rotating the hands around an imaginary ball to feel the tingling. Then he said you should feel the heat from this and put his hands near my face - I didn’t feel any heat but I did start to black-out. I don’t know why - it was after 3 hours of the seminar so I could just have been faitigued. Anyway, it freaked me out.
I don’t know what to think about this stuff - but my personal belief is that if it does exist, it won’t work on everyone and therefore my concern is to use and train more conventional methods.
Speaking of stupidity, anyone catch Kim Dillmans article in this months Black Belt? Turns out the reason that their stuff didn’t work is because women need to use a different foot position from men!:rolleyes:
I didn’t catch that article in Black Belt and won’t be seeing any others for a while since I let my subscription lapse. Talk about silly magazines. BB is nothing more than a forum for people to write glowing articles praising their own questionable skills. I don’t miss it one bit.
I only read JAMA now. Of course, even it has its faults, but it’s better than anything else out there at the moment.
Why so schocked?
Martial arts magazines are all mostly crap and they always have been. Whether it’s Mooney and his Jedi powers, SYSTEMA, biting and pinching for ground fighting, or the Gracie’s and the 90% of all fights etc. fabricated statistic. People say whatever it takes to sell their product and we all continue to buy it.
I think they need to hire real journalist who take pride in their work and will ask difficult questions, instead of being used as an advertisement.
One of my pet peaves: photos. The one where the attacker stays in the same pose for five photos while the “sifu” changes five times. Rediculous! BS!
Get rid of the student/teacher photos and have MA journalists who can taste hands with the person being written about. How much money do these mags make? Put away the camera, pull out a video recorder and film differnt, live attacks and simply run the stills. It would be more realistic. Why not? WOuld this put too much strain on the “sifu.” If he’s good enough to make the pages he should be able to defend basic forward/rounded/kick attacks on film. Nothing crazy, basic, almost co-op attacks, but at least in real time where both players are alive. I don’t think that’s asking for too much.
Also, the full page adds of a streching machine right before an article on the same machine? Come on. Where is the pride? At least hide it in the back so it doesn’t look like you’re completely bending over for this guy.
I read them because they make for interesting train riding material, but I’d say 90% of it (all of them) is garbage. They need to tighten up the quality, get out there, and really do some investigative reporting.
So what would you like to see
I keep reading the same basic theme in most of these replies. And that is you would like censorship. Everything in these magazines should represent the opinions and teachings of the editors. So what happens when their opinion is different than that of your Sifu. I guess theirs gets published and your sifu doesn’t, even if both have merit.
As far as publishing things that are fraudulent, well, if you give a person enough rope they will hang themself. Publishing an exposa on these people could create legal problems. But publishing their own words protect the magazine and usually has the same effect.
As far as the grappling world laughing at us, they’re going to laugh no matter what we do. So laugh back. They can be pretty funny also.
The way I see it the job of a magazine is to present the MA world as it is and without biase. It should show the good and the bad. The factual and the fraudulent. The new and the old. And it should do it in a way that is proportional to the real world.
A magazine is not a newpaper that presents only fact. It is a window into a world and it should present who is doing what and who is saying what and it should do it accurately so the readers can informed and use their own judgement.
How would this forum be if the only posts that were allowed were the ones that the moderators agreed with or felt had merit?
I would like to see an article where someone goes inside Mr. Chen’s sword making factory. How is it done? What type of materials? What’s the process?
In the same issue, visit top swordmen from around the world (this of coarse should include my sifu, master chan bong, he has quite an interesting story). What’s their style? Their philosophy? COuld they sum it up in one sentence so we can compare their flavor?
Dim Mak: Does anyone have the touch?
Now there’s a headline. Interview everyone making such a cliam or advertising such. Where did they learn it? Have they ever used it? How do they know? We can get a cow a pig, have them study the anatomy, draw corralations, then get to work. We can give the meat to charity, a soup kitchen.
Chi and sex, what do the masters say?
I could go on and on. We all have questions and intrests. I don’t care about the 10th secret Wing Chun method that some guy is teaching in the basement of chicago. He’s the only one (convenient so know one can compare) and he’ll illustrate it by pac sauing his student. Whooopie freaking doooo!
If I never see another guy bouncing five guys off of him with his chi or a bending spear on a guys throat, I think I wouldn’t be missing much.
Or, have me, a reporter, go and be bounced. Or, let me go to canal street and buy a new spear and hold it. See if it will bend. Let me bring a sharpening stone too, let’s make it legit.
I guess what I’m saying is I want accountability. Newpaper or magazine, you still need the according to … According to who? Great Grandmaster Joe Blow from Montana who learned the 10,000 fish splashing hand methods. Fine. Let’s test it then.
This is what I’d like to see. Here from more than the man featured. Let’s here from his surrounding sifu, old students, people that know him. His teacher, if possible.
All this here say gets borring.
whatever..
american martial art mags suck 
Evolution fist- so basically you want to challenge(or have"reporters" do it) all the people who contribute articles:rolleyes:
I think you guys are to hard on this mag. Like someone said above if you give them enough rope they will hang themselves. A magazine can’t go around saying this guys a fraud that guys a fraud cause they will loose their magazine if they did. If you read that article and felt it was bull then somebody else probally did to. In any case controversy sells magazines and that’s what Kungfu mag needs to do- sell magazines. It’s only 1 article don’t get so upset. If you don’t want people getting misinformed write an article that shows people the real deal and let them make their own choices. If they censored that magazine down to a particular veiw point then allot would be lost cause there is a million different opinons in kungfu.
Just because it is one article does not really mean a thing, what it preaches does though, to not be to trite but what that endorses is a insult to those people who have had to encounter armed attackers and to those who have losg there lives or loved ones to a attacker armed with a blade.
It’s shamefull, to use Rogues boxcutter example, Mooneys bs is a perfect example of a insult wrapped in a sheeps clothing, to those who were attacked with knifes on that plane, marketing such junk as if it had actual merit can damage people by leading them down a vary risky path.
At least in my own outlook, no matter how distorted.
Oh, and I would love to test out Mooney, give me a training blade, use just your empty force and we will see what happens.
comic relief
i think we’ve got to just view articles like this as some sort of comic relief.
the problem is that it tends to discredit some other articles that may have merit and substance. some may not be able to distinguish the laughable from the real stuff, which could be dangerous for them.
this guy could have been a ma consultant for ‘kung pow- enter the fist’, but thats about the depth and practicality of it.
while its their perogitive what to publish, if kungfu/qigung magazine chooses to publish such parlor tricks, they should at least publish our responses. is there a way we can have response letters published with the articles? they should publish this thread next month to balance it out. :rolleyes:
Qigong knock down power
Our decision to run Mr. Mooney’s story was most based upon the subject matter - qi projection. It is an intriguing notion that certainly arouses skepticism. But kungfu is based on qi, and if you buy into that concept, qi projection is part of the package. Is Mr. Mooney, or any qi projection for that matter, fraudulent? Well that’s for you to decide. Whatever your opinion, qi projection has been a significant part of the belief system of the martial arts for a very long time.
While it’s true that sales are very important to us since - obviously - there’s not point in publishing a magazine that no one buys, but we really didn’t view publishing Mr. Mooney’s article as one that would generate increased sales. Moreso we were interested in the topic and encouraging more dialog on the subject. Our magazine has always kept an open mind policy and taken risks that the others might not. We also try to keep as positive as possible. Officially, we try never to put down anyone. There is no need for us to expose the frauds, just lead them to face truth and they will perish.
For what it’s worth, publishing Mr Mooney’s piece was in part a set up for a piece that I am personally researching on qi projection. It is slated for our Jul/Aug 2002 issue. I hope you can wait until then…
p.s. rogue - I’d never ban you for dissing IKF - in fact, I should send you something for doing so (hee, hee.) But in the same light, I wouldn’t ban someone for dissing us - thread like these are what a forum is all about - discussion and debate. Although I might ban you for calling someone a mullet head. Mullets rock.
I understand what you are saying Gene, but I still think it is a bad policy none the less, you guys can be so much better, why publish the aspects of a fool when you can have all of your articles be of high caliber???
Get some articles in there by guys “like” Rovere and other players who stress realistic fighting aspects of CMA arts, they are out there if you look hard enough, it would be interesting to read.
By the way I did like the Black Tiger articles very much, that was good stuff, articles on the esotric systems are always a great read.
“I’d never ban you for dissing IKF - in fact, I should send you something for doing so (hee, hee.)”
Uh…Gene didn’t you used to write articles for them? 
I don’t know what exactly the article said since I haven’t read it yet but I do know if it was bull and was put next to some good articles then it will show.(I think this was secretly a part of their intention although they will never admit it).
Gene,
While I’ll take credit for the mullet remark, after all I think I was the one who brought mullets here while poking fun at Watchman, I can’t take credit for the IKF remark (it was Kristopher). I’ll still gladly take some free stuff off your hands! Got any manriki geri’s?
One nice thing about KFM is that we can praise or rip it apart on their own board, get a response from Gene about it and still not get thrown off. Kudo’s to Gene and KMM
Heck guys, we even have Rich here to beat up on!
Gene, how about a column (or an issue) about practical CMA or CMA on the street? There has to be some real street savvy sifu out there. Also an article by or about Rovre would be excellent. The Race Bannon article was good but I wanted to hear more about his training. There are so many things to write about while still remaining both positive and in the CMA world.
More San shou and Sanda coverage would also be nice.
PS I do enjoy the more historical articles and like Black Jack the ones about the more esoteric styles. The Black Tiger ones were pretty good.
PPS Pictures of nekkid chics would be really nice too!!!
I praise a response from an editor. I think that’s great.
Also, for the record, I did not imply that one should challenge the person being interviewed, just make sure that the dog he is tryint to sell you will hunt.
I don’t believe throwing a single full speed straight blast to a sifu’s chest (especially when he knows its coming) is a challenge. However, I do think holding your arm out there while he manipulates you and walks around is insulting to me, and I would think other martial artists. My point, if you say you can bend a spear with your throat, let the editor bring and hold the spear. You want to be so bald as to claim that you can project chi (yea, out your as$$) and disarm a knife wielding man – well, that’s a bald claim. I could see that getting someone in trouble some day. What if one of his good readers where to surprise the sifu one day, wanting to see the trick. Sharp knife, not a student, that could be bad.
Accountability! Claim it … prove it. But to just drop down some advertising dollars and run out the mouth and have students fly backwards when they grip your arm, well, that’s a horse of a different color.
I do think the magazine should do more than present and let the reader decide. If you are running aphoto of this man doing this, well, then it looks like it can be done. Can it? Did you see it first hand? Where the people involved cooperating? Did you have anyone question it. If you are going to bring it to let the reader decide, bring both sides to the story. If that was the case, I’m quite sure it would have ended:
"Well, after several attempts Mr. So-and-so said he wasn’t feeling well, that something was off that day. ‘I just don’t understand it,’ said So-and-so. ‘Usually this works right off the bat.’
IKF has scheduled another apointments with Mr. So-and-so next month, where he will try this feat again."
I would wait a month for another try, not like the guy is trying to tie his shoes, I’d give him the benefit of the doubt to have a few goes at it. But not give him the benefit to go against logic and everything I’ve learned martialy to this day. To me, that’s irresponsible journalism.
This stuff is total crap and I’m glad that someone singled this article out. If they hadn’t I would have done it myself.
This kind of stuff confuses the general public.It makes all Martial Artists look like fakes and frauds. It confuses martial artists as to what Chi actually is.
From a physical standpoint if Chi = bioelectricity then this demonstration is impossible. Any kind of electricity has trouble traveling through the air, it is a strong insulator and a poor conductor.
It takes the massive electrical force of lightning to make air a conductor.
If Gene Ching wants to run articles about Chi Gung there are some really good Taiji and Chi Gung practitioners out there. Feng Zhiquiang for example. He has some awesome stuff from Xing Yi. Or how bout Chan Si Jing excercises from Chen Xiaowang. Thats the stuff I"d want to see.
Whats’s the point of running this crap?
Gene you’d look so good with a mullet :eek:
“I do think the magazine should do more than present and let the reader decide.”
Isn’t that what magazines do?
“But not give him the benefit to go against logic and everything I’ve learned martialy to this day.”
Fine for you but what happens when someone feels what your teacher does goes against what they have learned?
If that article was on “qi projection” and was wrote by someone who is said to be a fraud on these boards then duh you won’t believe it. But what about the guy who writes the article on somthing you haven’t heard about or is very rare?
“Well, after several attempts Mr. So-and-so said he wasn’t feeling well, that something was off that day. ‘I just don’t understand it,’ said So-and-so. ‘Usually this works right off the bat.’”
Yeah right like you’ll ever see somthing like this in print:rolleyes:
I still think presenting the article and letting readers decide is still the best way to go about a good magazine. Otherwise how would a magazine keep the material free of it’s personal biases and opinons? It wouldn’t, and that would be irresponsible journalism.