So, I took the advice from the people of these forums, and I'm starting Kung Fu. 1st day, today, and I feel like some one shot me with a shotgun at point black range and I was left alive only to feel the pain. Oh man, the teacher made me and the other dude do some terrify and horrible stuff and streching, and then he has us trying to do Kung Fu attacks and moves... eek, I fell on the floor from the pain. The other dude has been there for 3 weeks, and was also using a bamboo staff. Well, atleast I got out... and to make this legal, post your own Karate or Martial Arts experiences...

Just remember to stay motivated. It's one of the main philosophies of Kung Fu.

I don't really have any martial arts experience.

Welcome to the world of exercise.

Nearly three years of Jeet Kune Do, and two years of Kali/Esrima, and Savate (as well as an occasional Krav Maga class here and there).

2 years ninjutsu, and lovin' it.

Did about 3 years of Tae Kwon Do (That's how it's spelt, right?) and quit after the place went out of business. It was cool while it lasted though.

I did Kenpo for a while. Stopped because I couldn't afford it after a while.

Two years of karate (not sure what type) when I was 7-9, and then I've picked it back up from 13-16 (Still doing it now).

Almost to black belt, and I plan on going into another drastically different type of martial art when I go to college. I'm thinking something based on throws, locks and holds, or something with a lot more focus on hand techniques. I'd have experience in fist and foot, as well as throws and grabs and such.

I love how you always say "to make this legal". lol.

3 years Tae Kwon Do, about 2 belts from Black...just too much repetition. I mean, there were only about 2 new kicks added every belt. Too repetitive for me...after 3 years



But stick with it, and when you spar, don't relent. Attack, attack, attack, and attack. If they attack, block it and then launch your attacks. If they block, continue attacking and wear them down.

3 years of Wing Chun
1 year of BJJ mixed with a little Muay Thai

One word from my own philosophy:
ROCKY!

Check out this video of a Jiu-Jitsu expert rendering a Kung-Fu expert helpless.

Yeah have martial eat potato chips experiance! Woo!

I must be either getting tired or going insane, because I swear I saw that smiley blink a couple times.
O_o

*scared*

This is great news indeed! I am happy to learn that another is taking a martial artistic approach to life now. I agree with Yoshi in which you should remeber also it's philosphies, as your mind is only one half of your success. Train your body; the pain will soon be gone. Do not fear it.

I have been a regular for Kenpo Karate (Tren Fa), which traced and surpassed it's orgins before any other martial art, has been developed over the centuries by Shaolin monks, and is now used currently in poilicework today. This is an external martial art, very hard hitting. I have been studying this for 3 years now. You might recognize famous people do this martial art, like Bruce Lee (before he made Jeet Kune Do), Elvis Presley, Ed Parker (before he turned to the Dark Side of American Kenpo), and our founders the Tracy brothers.

Tai Chi is my first martial art. I am a teacher at my studio now, and have been with this for a very, very long time. This is an internal martial art. Very slow and relaxed. Only a few famous people, namely one: Terrance Dun.

Before anyone ask, yes, I have been in more than my share of fights, and yes, I have observed many street fights, and yes, I watch anything combatant...such as Boxing, Wrestling, and UFC.

I ask you humbly for one thing though:
Ninjitsu is hidden. Do not mock it.

I used to take Northern Shaolin Kung Fu (Gong Fu, Gung Fu, whatever), taught by a friend of my friend's father (that's the best way I can think to explain it right now). They were both students together in China, I believe. He's Canadian, the friend's dad is Asian.

I was basically forced into the class by my parents. It wasn't really the best way for someone like me to approach martial arts. I didn't really put any effort into it and was very impatient. I think I took that class for a couple of years, then quit. Now, somewhere around five years later, I want to get back into martial arts. I guess it's different because it's my decision now, instead of earlier when it felt more like a chore. I have no idea which martial art I should be studying and whether I should see if my old sifu still teaches, try to learn in a "dojo" in the city, or try to do it on my own for now. A lot of the places in the city are very... "American-ized".

I'd like to know what "branch" of Kung Fu that "expert" is supposed to be trained in. 15 years and he's that sloppy? He's hopping around on his feet, he's not in any sort of defensive stance... There's a lot wrong with the way he tried to attack and defend. He doesn't really seem to know what he's doing. He looks like one of the beginners from the class I used to take.

I got in a fight once and the other guy sat on my head.

I've seen some Bruce Lee movies.

Ok, while I agree great video and yes it shows important points, realize that comparing that man to Royce Gracie (despite 15 years of training, guarantee its not as much as Gracie got within 5 years) is like sticking a Navy S.E.A.L. in a paintball ring against a guy who plays it once a month on weekends.

I haven't had chips in about a month. Man, I just realized I've really gotten away from almost all junkfood. Damnit, now I want some pringles. I CAN'T STOP.

I want some sour-cream and onion pringles.

Jackie Chan > Lee

...you probally just killed 500 kittens saying that.

Lee > Jackie Chan

Question: Where can I learn ninjitsu?

Not another one...

Sorry man, I hate to break this to you and the community: You cannot learn Ninjitsu in America. You have to go to Japan. Even then it's extremly hard to find a certified expert in it. If you see someone trying to sell Ninjitsu lessons in your area, and you're somewhere *other* than Japan, I would like to see his/her certifications with the USMA and the IMAF.

Now, there is a guy teaching his own style of Ninjitsu, which has the same philisophies as the traditional style, but is more modernized to today's useage...such as instead of Katanas, they use handguns and shotguns in their tactics. But they don't replace everything...they still use their ancient explosives, Hai Lans, and secerete tactics to vanish. This guy is in New York though, even then I'm kinda...meh...when will you assassinate someone these days? Just learn Self Defence instead of Assassination tactics.

I thought ninjitsu was self defense, oh well, I'm definatly scrathing that up.

Hehe don't worry, this is a common misconception. Ninjitsu was actually used as the style of well trained assassians. They were used against various orgnaizations, such as the Samurai, wealthy leaders, criminals, etc.

Now, it can be used for self defence, but that's a rare instance. Usually you hide in shadows, wait til the idiot comes around, grab him and break his neck. An alternative is to sedace them with a intoxicating-like fume, which I will not give the name of. There's lots of ways, if you think about it.

I like Kung Fu (Pronounced "Gung Foo") because it's flashy. Get used to body torture, as you will be streatching your legs like theres no tomorrow. But the good side is, you will be able to kick the cieling soon.

Unlike most martial arts though, Kenpo realizes that you will not be stretched out, wearing your uniform, and carring untraditional weapons on the street. We train to fight unprepared, but we also train prepared sometimes too.

Good news is, with Kung Fu and Kenpo, you are trained to find various things on the street you can use as a weapon. An example is Genki's favorite martial artist actor, Jackie Chan.

Bah I'm rambling...

Did judo for 6 years. Judo always was bloody knackering, try bodily lifting and throwing people for an hour or two for fun!
I keep toying with the idea of doing ju jitsu seeing as judo descends from it. Plus I'm not doing enough sport to keep me fit while at uni.
Personally I always found Kung Fu (and Tae Kwon Do for that matter) a little too "flowery" for my tastes, all the big flying kicks and elabourate moves seem like a waste of energy. But then all I've done is a grappling type sport so what do I know?

i wanna learn a martial art but i dont know what, i did tae-kwon-do for a while when i was a kid but i gave up after a while because i was a stupid little lazy *******, now i wanna learn for self defence, the number of arseholes in my town is on the increase and i may need to stop people using knives for my wallet at some point.

How's the combat system? How quickly do you gain levels? I hear the fatigue system needs to be toned down a bit.

That and the type of fighting he uses is meant for real world results. No philosophy behind it to speak of. Even in professional sparring they can't use their most devestating moves which easily result in broken bones or death.



I thought Chan's training was mostly in that extreme sort of Chinese dance. That was probably just as a child, though. He probably went on to learn some "cinematic style" as he got older.

I will type a basic summery of some of the most common Martial Arts based on what I have studied.

Tae Kwon Do (TKD) - This Martial Art incorperates a lot of fancy kicks. After all, what best weapon to keep your foe away from you than your legs? TKD has become the second most popular Martial Art, especially in our younger generation...mainly due part to that it's in the Olympics.

Personal Opinion: I am not a fan of this martial art at all. In some schools, the time it takes you to reach a black belt is about one and a half years to three years. Their kicks, although fancy, are really terrible scientifically speaking...as most kicks they launch have no "warm up" state, such as raising your leg in a position to protect your groin, to a "cool down" state, such as balancing yourself after you kick.

Tai Chi Chuan - "The Grand Ultimate Fist", although do not take it's name so literally. This Martial Art is actually very slow, relaxed, and gentle. A "Gentle death" if you will. This martial art practice has origniated from Shaolin Kung Fu, and has developed seceretely over the ages from generation to generation, because it was so deadly. This martial art, unlike others, incorperates the concept of Qi (or Chi), which is energy...for you scientist out there, "bioelectromagnetics". This energy has uncommon effects...ranging from healing wounds more quickly, to knocking someone out unconcisense without even touching them. But most of the moves are gentle and simple...for example, if someone ran after you with a knife, why panic and try to attack or flee? Just simply step out of the way with your foot out and trip them. Nothing flashy, nothing fancy, nothing too hard. This is one reason why a lot of elderly people do it.

Jiu Jitsu - Oh how fun this is. This Martial Art is basically self-defence wrestling...it has grapples, throws, counters, everything that has physical touch. This Martial Art is very defencive, but dangerous. If you plan on learning this, then you gotta learn how to stretch and train your body. Real fun stuff.

Kenpo Yay, I get to brag about my Martial Art. Kenpo was used back in the Yoshida days. Read more about the history there. Kenpo is an external martial art, meaning hard hitting punch punch, kick kick stuff. It has been developed so much that Police officers use it today on the streets (in fact, my Kyoshi is the trainer of our area's forces). This style isn't fancy; it's a lot like boxing...with kicks...without gloves...and counters for common attacks such as pushes or grabs.



P.S. Don't mind the website, Al Tracy put it together himself... :\

In a Martial Art that uses a color belt system?

http://www.tracyskenpo.com/FAQ'S/orgincoloredbelts.htm

Wear a white or black Gi?

http://www.tracyskenpo.com/FAQ'S/blackgi.htm

Elvis Presley!

Story of Elvis Presley's Martial Art History

Judo - Another one of my favorites, and another one I respect. This one is a lot like Jiu Jitsu, except more phyiscal than scientific. More famous is the "Judo Chop", which hits a pressure point between your neck and shoulders. Dosn't knock a guy out, you have to hit two pressure points at the same time to do that...but it sure does hurt. :\

Their choke is the best.

Wing Chun - Simply put best: Jackie Chan's Martial Art. Lots of chops and reverse-grapples, but they practice with wooden dummies. And those things don't fight back. This is the only martial art I have not seen in real life. I have seen Jackie Chan do it...but eh, it's a movie.

Jeet Kune Do - Bruce Lee developed this one. It's nice and uses a lot of Kenpo's moves. I do not know too much about it though, but the guy that fought with this looks almost like our style.

Kung Fu - The most name recognized art, this has been made popular by the Shaolin Temple (it's founders) and it's fight with the Lotus clan. They use amazing flexability and balance to fight with...but some could say that it's just flashy useless stuff. These styles are practiced around 6-7 hours a day by current Shaolin monks after meditation, and have been used in the past to protect their temple.

After the previous arson on the Temple, only one surviver remained from it. He later had a son and moved to America. Now, his son teaches what he knows up in Columbia, Missouri. But this dosn't mean that the place you're studying at isn't authenic; it is. kung Fu was actually practiced by lots of people, and eventually developed Tai Chi also.

Ninjitsu - What Ninja's used. I am putting this in here for really one reason: to make it clear that the probability of you actually learning this art is extremly low. Ninja's have been underground and hidden for years, mainly because of a few reasons: The older generation has died off after the Samurai class has been declared illeagal in Japan, and the carrying of a sword has been illeagal too. Also, the weapons and methods are obsulete; now people carry guns instead of swords and staves.

But it's still cool nontheless. What you see in movies is probally the best I can tell you about ninja's. They use their surroundings better than anyone else. this made this quote popular:



refering to throwing sand in the eyes of their enemies. Another example is hiding in the shadows, etc. You get the idea.

[EDIT] As some of the URL's contained a character not supported by the code for a URL. Still ugly...bare with me.

[EDIT] Added Kung Fu

[EDIT] Added Ninjitsu

I've taken Shinzen kai karate for about 1½ year. It's an Iranian form of full-contact karate. Very intense and very fun.

@ black gi: The first Shinzen kai dojo was in a coal cellar in Teheran. The karate-kas entered the dojo in clean, white gi, but when the session was over the coal dust had coloured their gi black. Thus, sempais and above are allowed to wear black gi to show that they've "been in the coal cellar during the entire session".

That's an interesting story.

And that is why your martial art, along with Kenpo's Brother/sister, Shorin Ryu does this too.

We, however are different. We wear black gi's for three reasons:

1.) It's an open inventation for anyone to attack you at tournaments

2.) Black in China actually resembles Life and the bright side of things (Why the monks wear white and yellow at funerals)

3.) It defines us as a war art, that we are there to harm, not play.

The thing about Kung Fu is that there are way too many branches/styles associated with it. A lot of styles focus on forms (katas) for the most part, so Kung Fu, as a whole, ends up being portrayed as a lot of flashy moves. Some styles are focused completely on practicing strikes and kicks, some styles are focused more on the spiritual aspect, some styles you learn variations of the different animal strikes, some integrate full-contact, etc.

GENERALIZATIONS = EVIL.

Well... at least generalizations pertaining to martial arts... and other things... or at least, that's what I think... or is it? AGH! THEY GOT ME!

[/crazy]

To my knowledge there is no judo chop. In fact the only place I've heard of it is in Austin Powers. Judo is basically Ju Jitsu with its teeth removed. You cannot strike, or lock any joint other than the arm at the elbow. This makes judo basically a wrestling sport than a full form of self defense. There is some work on pressure points, but it's purely about causing short sharp bouts of pain to distract your opponent.

The only other thing I can comment on is that through some free sparring with some friends who did karate, tae kwon do and wing chun; they all seemed fairly surprised and unsure what to do to defend themselves once their opponent started to hold on to them. The karate guys were incredibly fast and hard hitting, I personally didn't think much of the tae kwon do people, but I understand that the sport often calls for them to pull their punches so it may be a different story if they were hitting properly. That chain punch from Wing Chun is weird though, the guy I knew hadn't been doing it for long, but I found it hard to fend off or get near him. Very fast and very difficult to get a break from fending it off to counter-attack.
Having said all that, the only strikes and techniques like that, that I knew, were those I picked up from these guys. I mostly got my arse kicked unless I managed to grab a limb and get in close enough :p

Have someone chop the area between your neck and shoulder, making it "stick".

Heh, I know it bloody hurts, but it's got very little to do with judo!

I got up to my green belt in Tae Kwon Do in about 6 months...

Since then I quit, and after a while began to train myself. I do that now. Self Taught off what I learned before.