Martial Arts

Thor's Hammer

Wolfish. Sometimes Bites.
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Hey Stig,
as an old time Martial Artist, whats your opinion of Wing Chun? I've never done any martial arts (always been a boxer and a brawler), and last night went with a friend for a taster session. The Sifu was a Karate Instructor for 25 years before going this route, and claims its superior.
I'm interested in taking up a martial art of some description, for health, mental and physical reasons. What do you think? I was'nt convinced by last night, but mainly as I thought the instruction was poor....
 
I honestly don't know much about Wing Chun. They have a bit of a bad rep in Denmark for attracting the wrong kind of people, but I think that is a local thing.
Their series of chain punches seem to work unless they come up against a determined strong counterpuncher.
Their way of fighting seem more based on eroding the opponent away with a multitude of attacks, than on trying to end it with one good powerful tecnique, which is what I train my students towards.
I know from personal experience that they aren't very good at handling high kicks, at least the two that I've knocked out weren't.

IMO it is bullshit to talk about one style of barehand fighting being superior to others. The effectivity of a style is largely dependent on the person using it and how they train.
There are exceptions of course, when I hear Tai Chi guys talk about using it for self defense, I have to work hard at overcoming my desire to ask them to demonstrate it on me:lol:

And you are right MB, it is one of a multitude of Kung Fu styles.
 
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I did'nt know anything apart from having seen the film Ip Man, and knowing that Bruce Lee based parts of his method on it. I only went because a friend invited me. I do like the idea of practising a form of barehanded combat - but was not impressed with the instruction. Not that the sifu was'nt skilled, but as a beginner, I would like some explanation as to what I'm supposed to do.
 
I'd imagine that like anything else, Ed, you must match yourself up to the "right" instructor.
 
That is one of the few martial arts that I consider pretty much worthless for selfdefense purposes, unless you are extremely proficient at it.
The philosophy behind aikido is pretty much pacifist. When was the last time you saw a pacifist do well in a fight?


Ed, it is easier to refer you to wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kung_fu than try to explain it myself.
 
Aiki-jutsu would be a more pragmatic art...the original, combative form of aikido. A "do" art has been made "safer" to train...e.g., judo vs ju-jutsu, Judo is more competition oriented, jujitsu is more combative.

You'll run into 3 basic kinds of arts...aesthetic, athletic and combative. Finding one that effectively combines elements of all three can be difficult but will be a more "complete" system.

Here is some info on aikido, aikijujitsu. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daitō-ryū_Aiki-jūjutsu

Stig's link for kung-fu is more generalized and may be more useful.

A very important aspect will be for you to know that an instructor understands proper body mechanics and performance so that you don't learn bad habits early that can cause you to hurt yourself. And that can be tough because many people don't know that they don't know...they may be able to perform techniques that look great and work for them but may not be safe for other folks. Study the students to learn if the teacher knows what he is doing.
 
Excellent point, Gary!

Proper body mechanics is a large part of what martial arts are about.

In my dojo we look at karate as Karate jutsu, sticking to the original meaning and training it as a fighting craft instead of a sport.

A lot of sports karate trained people get a big surprise when they get in a fight with no rules or referee.
 
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Excellent point, Gary!

Proper body mechanics is a large part of what martial arts are about.

In my dojo we look at karate as Karate jutsu, sticking to the original meaning and training it as a fighting craft instead of a sport.

A lot of sports karate trained people get a big surprise when they get in a fight with no rules or referee.

Thats what I'm looking for. Bruce Lee said that too many martial arts concentrate on the forms too much, rather than actual contact sparring. My other idea was to join a boxing club -or maybe kickboxing. There are more trainers and clubs to choose from.
 
"There will never be another Bruce Lee, and I am privliged to have had the honor of calling him friend." - Bolo Yeung
 
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My opinion is that Bruce Lee would have been an astounding fighter no matter what discipline he used. Some people just have that in them.
 
Being an outstanding and famous fighter has it's downside, people will always be wanting to try and defeat you. James Coburn (student of Bruce's) talked about Lee coming out of restaurants when in Hong Kong and someone would be waiting outside tapping their foot, the sign of wanting to engage in combat. Bruce would knock them through a fence or whatever, and continue on towards his destination. Perhaps it helped keep his skills up, but the way it was described, it seemed more like a nuisance.
 
My opinion is that Bruce lee was nothing special.

He was just the first to popularize martial arts, at a time when nobody had ever seen a high roundhouse kick before.

That doesn't mean I think he wasn't any good, only that I get tired of people turning him into a semi deity.

I discussed it with Patrick Mccarthy ( probably the most knowledgeable karate historian today) once, and he said that Bruce's force was being a fluid high kicker at a time when that was an unknown phenomenon in the west.
" I have 3 kyu students today, who can kick as good" he said.

If you look into all the tall tales told about him, most will turn out to be myths.
Just like all the tall tales about Masutatsu Oyama.
 
And by teacher who dabble a bit in all of it, hence never really learn any of it well enough to be competent teachers.
 
That's what I was gonna say, Greg. MMA is all the rage 'round here too. But as previously mentioned, you gotta find the right trainer/instructor. I spar/circuit train with my trainer at least once a week, hour at a time. We do BJJ for my 'ground game' (cos let's face it, you get in a fight and 9 times outta 10 you're gonna end up on the floor) and Muay Thai with some other nasty shit thrown in for good measure. He trains my Mrs too......
 
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