Maybe it was how I told the story. My friend was always a bit competitive, whether it was academics or romantic conquests. To him fighting was another way to compete. As I remember it, he didn’t ask me if I studied, he told me he knew. If anyone had an agenda that day, it was him. I would have rather spent my days chasing a Frisbee.
<<Would it have been a bad thing for you to go along with his wishes?>>
The more I went along and the more he wanted to up the ante. He was looking for that thing he was going to be better at. When he found out that you can go against the thumb or simply reverse some locks, he didn’t want to know. I didn’t see any way to bow out of it once the ball was rolling. I wasn’t reeling him in, I was giving him a chance to save face. Some people can’t explain technique but still can fight like the devil.
<<It certainly sounds like he simply wanted to show his techniques>>
Nope, he wanted to trade punches and to me that was just silly. I saw two options, let him land a shot or give him the stand up linear attack he was asking for. I gave him what he wanted, if for no other reason so he would just stop. In hindsight I may have done him more good by exposing his weaknesses, than sparing his ego. But I wasn’t thinking like that either, I just wanted it to be over.
I didn’t think my story would make me look bad, I thought it would illustrate how people don’t appreciate what they don’t know. Today I can think of a better way to handle it but I can say that about most everything I did more than 20 years ago.
<<It has been my experience that people will eventually recognise gentleness and forbearance (not always immediately, though), and will really respect you for it.>>
It has been my experience that most people take kindness for weakness.
Your even-tempered response makes it quite clear to me that I did indeed misconstrue your story. Sorry about that.
It might be some consolation for you to consider that anyone who is that competitive isn’t really your friend – even if they think they are. Friends try to look after one another, not prove who’s the boss.
About the kindness thing: maybe I’ve just been lucky. On a few occasions I’ve had acquaintances do a bit of MA training, and eagerly show me what they’ve learnt. I just co-operated with them until I got bored with that, and then I just showed them a counter. Each time they kinda went quiet and looked at me a little differently.
By the way, where in Long Island are you? I was born in Patchogue, and we moved to Australia when I was 8.
hehe, ok there sunshine. there he goes again!
earth dragon, you continuously surprise me
with the off-the-wall stuff you come up with.
if you could truly do this, you should be able to
single-handedly further the internal arts by
demonstrating this to the world.
One of my student’s mom keeps calling my art “karate”.
But I don’t get worked up about it.
If I weren’t capable of understanding that people who don’t train my style don’t know ANYTHING about it, I’d have no business opening up a school in September.
I usually say that I am fight or kickboxing coach or that I beat people for a living. “Coach” usually puts them off from asking for a demo. And if they do, it’s out to the back of the house for a quick basic move or nerve pinch.
Keep in mind, this is just like a new student coming into your school. This person knows next to nothing besides what they see on TV and movies. Which is evident even here on the forum.
Acually I do , My teacher and I have done 6 seminars and demonstrations around various states. It is a high level technique but surley not unobtainiable. If you practice it becomes quite easy and used in many different ways but mostly for medical qigong treaments to heal specific aliments anywwere from back pain to cancer. I dont know why you are so skeptical other than never having the opportuity to feel chi or its forcesor have the slighest understanding of it. When you talk you sound as though you dont believe yet you are alive to type your messages so I dont know where your confusion lies… I invite you to open your mind in your training and realize that qigong is very real.
Since I have many times tried to explian the feats and practices of qigong to cagey vet and he thinks that I am from mars can anyone else take a crack at it and help me out, let me warn you he has a thick head and hard time believing and laughs at the things I say out of lack of understanding I hope and not out of ignorance like he has shown on these boards before, but I feel for him and would love to help him understand that qigong is not a magic trick or impossilbe feats that cannot be obtainned. So maybe if someone else help this poor guy understand it would be helpful… thank you please explain, I am blue in the face
Just so you dont think I am off the wall as you put it please read the “chi” thread it will be nice for you to see that I am not alone in what I have said about chi…
