Internet, serious business.

If they're bothered by that then they should be bothered by all those MMA fan who say kung fu is worthless.

This is why SF_Gold_01 shouldn't go on martial arts-related forums..

What did he do?

The poll is amazing.

Ninjas > monks (Shaolin or otherwise).

What about Ninja Monken?

Wait, aren't these Monks supposed to control emotions or something?

No, those are vulcans.

1.) It's really funny how people don't even know the real history of Ninjas or Shaolin Monks. Research it.

2.) Ninjas don't exist anymore, and the Shaolin Monks practice their martial art daily for 7 hours a day after an hour of Qi meditation.

3.) Ninjas were hired assassins, not macho martial artist looking for fights. The job was to kill a target. Shaolin monks are not...good heads to be collecting on. No one cared about them (well, not totally true...)

4.) I think it's funny that the Shaolin Monks came to America (even though they were fun to watch live) and now all of a sudden care about what is on the Internet. Know however, that any if not all don't know about computers, since they never have time to use them. It's probaby their tour managers.

Just a few things.



Quite a common misunderstanding. Qi meditation focuses on becoming aware of one's emotions, not controlling them. Calmness ensues after awareness, however. To them, it is like going upstream with a bunch of loose rocks and branches in the river. Instead, they go with the flow, and eventually the rocks and branches will clear.

I'm REALLY REALLY busy right now...

EDIT: Oh yeah, funny. I'm all up for a Monks v.s. Ninja confrontation.

I've heard like six different variations of what ninja "really" were so I'll probably just ignore yours in stride, since, you know, I haven't seen any sources, ever to say that they were "just" hired assassins. This is out of 80s movies where the hero has a mullet or Japanese pop culture.


So anyway. How about that martial arts? 90% of it is bull**** don't you know...

By martial arts you mean flying around trees and doing triple roundhouses?

Because everyone has an assumption that's true.

Real martial arts looks like a MMA match, if you've ever seen one.

Ignore me if you wish. I do not care if you accept or decline my information. The main emphasis on my post was to do research of your own anyways. Perhaps you should, for once, read and be more informed then saying "lol martial arts r crapz u suxbad".

Did I mention I've studied martial arts since I was 7? I do not appreciate the insinuation that I am an uninformed dullard who "for once" should do "some research", either. I've done my own research, and the idea that Ninja were guerilla farmers is, apparantly, as supported (somewhat more, IMO) as the idea that they were schools of hired assassins. As for doing research on martial arts I have done plenty of research.

90% of the skills people acquire in martial arts are all well and good in the context of that martial art, when it comes to conditioning and fighting other people with the same fighting background, but...

Most everything you learn is really unimportant in an ACTUAL, no **** fight.

There are three important aspects that all succesful fighters share;

1.Agression
2.Conditioning
3.Basic Instincts

Now granted, lots of the techniques drilled in martial arts are essential for developing basic instincts, but for the most part people spin their wheels practicing bull**** techniques with an improper focus. Lots of people knock on Katas, forms, whatever you call them. And they should, because they're freaking stupid. UNLESS, you are practicing them in the intended manner, with focus on the techniques and the mechanics of them.

Number one is the most important, because even if you are out of shape, and untrained, if you're ****ing pissed, you stand a fighting chance against a person of similar training level and experience. The idea of training should be to not only build confidence, and condition the body, but to develop basic reflexes, so that when you get into something you're not like "oh ****, what should I do?" you just do it.

Edit:2 is next on the list because if you can take some hits, and keep your wind about you long enough, they are going to get tired, and open up for you to strike them a good one, no matter how badly you telegraph or how poor your technique, you can **** somebody up. I put three last only because so many people win fights with no training against people who are "trained" and consequently think they are going to own the other person, and are therefore in the wrong mindset. However, when it comes to ground fighting, conditioning is still more important, but technichal skill is very important, because it's a much more complicated situation.

Those three things are the 10% of martial arts that matter. Most people practice the other 90%. That goes for McDojo as well as more serious schools. ALL of your training should be towards developing those three areas, and NOTHING ELSE.

Of course, this philosophy overlooks any religious or spirital considerations that a martial art may have, or the pure benefit of practicing one to learn history, or even social considerations or anything else. In the modern, real world, those are the only three things that matter to be a completely stellar fighter. Bottom line, if you are training to fight, it's all mindset.

Watching Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon does NOT mean you know martial arts.

Spook: What arts have you studied? And you're sorta generalizing by saying that 90% of what you learn in any martial arts is useless, there are a handful of arts that are far more practical than that.

Those monks crack me up.

Neither does watching the special features for how they did the fight choreography for Batman Begins, kid.

Don't try to talk down to me. If you want to, we can set up a fight and all of Massassi can be there.

I want FGR aka Miss Massassi to be the hot girl who carries the round sign around while we're sitting in our corners and kirbs is pumping me up.

Yeah, serious business man...



Tae Kwon Do was the one I studied the longest. I was blessed in that one of my longest time instructors beat the **** out of me on a regular basis, and so I developed some agression. Then I got an instructor who made martial arts his life, and so I got introduced to lots of instructors to the Salt Lake "scene". I played around with Wing Chun, Kempo, Aikido, Iadio (yeah, the sword one, but it did so much for my mindset) and yes even some ninjutsu, though I don't know how authentic it was, and some BJJ.

Then theres the accumulation of weird stuff from MCMAP during my military time. Whats great about that is I learned a lot of harmless restraining techniques. The last time I got in a fight I got hurt pretty good but I didn't even have to damage the other kid to get out of it. I was pretty proud. But also, I've gotten exposed to a lot of backgrounds, because all the Martial Arts instructors have different backgrounds. Not that I'm particularly skilled in any of them, I was a ****ty student and I'm no badass, but I can hold my own against even fairly skilled fighters.

And yeah, I am generalizing a bit, but I did edit my post (sneaky yes?) to add a caveat that there are a lot of other reasons to study martial arts. Plus, all the other things you learn can contribute to real fighting skill, but only if you have the right mindset in learning them. And there are certainly martial arts that focus more on this practical aspect, to be sure!

One time I tried to karate chop a squirrel.
I missed, but... well... doesn't that count for something?

Yes, yes it does, grasshopper.


Squirrelchopper?

Its funny how you took a loose joke serious enough to even consider challenging me into a fight.

It's funny how you took a loose joke seriously to even consider that I challenged you to a fight.

Oh ****!

The difference is your joke tried to insult/offend/degrade me while mine was just making reference to a "A glitch in the Matrix" film.

I think a Ninja could probably take a Shaolin Monk.

(inb4 offending someone)

Weird. I always found the three important aspects of fighting were:

1.) Fluidness
2.) Conditioning
3.) Not thinking

And I find it funny I sort of agree on the rest of what you have said.

As for Tae Kwon Do...I consider that martial art in particular the #1 reasons for evidence of what you said. The mechanics of their kicks are just horrifying for fighting. And since it's taught to most kids in America today, it kinda has this reputation of being the only Martial Art around. Which sucks, because it's....well yeah.

Also, it's spelled Kenpo now. Yes, they did a convention on it.

I doubt Ninjitsu in America is even possible, so I'm with you when you said you doubted it.

Anyways, I think you're just studying the wrong stuff and/or not sticking with any one martial art to be proficient at it. Otherwise when you spar or fight, you will look like two brothers wrestling for fun.

By the way, this is just a reply in general to what you said in the past few posts.

Yeah, cus the ninja would take his 9 and cap the monk while he was meditatin' on the wonders of his rock garden.

A pirate would then run the ninja through with his steak knife and wonder why the monk was "just sittin" as he gulped his grog.

REFERENCE? WHAT TV SHOW?

Should we add monks to the legendary battle?



Yeah, I mean, the "Tae Kwon Do" part of the Tae Kwon Do I took was, eh, I mean, it taught me stuff, but not a lot. I agree with you on that. I do kind of see it at a gateway style, so lots of kids get into martial arts through it, which if its what they enjoy is a good thing.

So I guess the second thing on our list is the same, and the third is basically the same, don't you think? And I guess the first is the main difference between different philosophies. I try not to start a fight. Wait, no, I try not to start a physical fight, my annoying personality and propensity for wooing other men's partners into bed can be a problem I guess. So I'm always ****ing pissed off when someone hits me, and it has served me well.

But I've seen too many kids get their asses handed to them because they thought that they could be all "calm and placid" in the head and prevail. Thats some high level mental conditioning. For most people, people who don't dedicate their existence to this, simply being able to want to destroy the other person with all your passion (while still keeping a bit of your wits, of course) is the best course of action.

To me, your number one is part of my number three. Your reactions to different things should be fluid and relaxed.

But yeah I think we pretty much agree.

I've done a small amount of research in the past and there actually are real schools of ninjitsu in the United States, though the good ones are few and far between.

O rly? My lvl 42 Charizard says otherwise!

Well, it depends on what you think is authentic.

Theres Hatsumi and his lot

and then theres Kim and his ilk

One of these looks more real than the other...

FIREFLY!

"Beats just sittin'."
"It is just sitting."

You mean people won't go for the eyes, throats, and groin in real life fights as well as manipulate small joints?




Tae Kwon Do often has a bad rap because there are a lot of McDojos for it. However, the art can be practical. A martial artist known as Jang Lee Hwang killed a guy who tried to stab him in self defense with a kick to the temple. Then again this man also taught Tae Kwon Do to the Korean army.

Looks like =/= is

Read.

Also, look at a Tae Kwon Do specialist. Focus on their kicks. It's a horrible form to kick with. They usually leave their groin open, they leave their knees open ready to break a leg, and most have no power when they do a back kick.

I see what you did there.

I can't begin to imagine what you mean...

Actually no seriously, haha

My uncle played monk for a while, and I used to play-spar with the little kids at his temple, and get gigantic bruises from 6 year olds swinging wooden sticks aimlessly. From what I learned about those monks, they're rather arrogant. I met a master in Chicago, as his son was in our dorm down the hall. Needless to say, every Chinese born Shaolin Monk I've ever met were arrogant and easily offended. This story doesn't surprise me.

Everytime I think of Tae Kwon Do I think of a match I had at school where I accidently put a kid through a wall when he tried a jumping kick on me. The teacher got really mad, but that Tae Kwon Do guy just needs to learn that crap like that ain't gonna work if your opponent is paying any sort of attention.

I'm fully willing to go out on a limb and say that TKD is all sorts of

Seriously, I'd rather spar with someone fresh out of five animals kung fu than deal with a TKD practitioner.

I'm gonna stop reading the thread for a moment to comment on this little bit. I studied Japan exclusively in History and I remember reading that the Ninja was more or less a samurai trained in the art of "Invisibility" or stealth.

Yeah, Except you're overlooking the fact that they are two completely different things.


Samurai were clan warriors from China.

"Ninja's" are basically Japanese Assassins.
A Ninja is one who is trained in Ninjitsu. Also, "Nin" in Japanese means Stealth. Quite literally the art of Stealth.


If you think I'm wrong, Wiki it.