Martial Arts & Fighting Forms | Asian American Poll

MARTIAL ARTS & FIGHTING FORMS
(Updated Wednesday, Jan 22, 2025, 06:39:09 AM to reflect the 100 most recent valid responses.)

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WHAT YOU SAY

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Simulacrum, I think you are a little behind on the times. Remember Tank Abbott? In UFC 4 (or 5 I forget) Tank, using nothing but his bare fists, pummeled John Tua who was a Samoan grappling technicia. Tua tried and tried to close the gap but Tank held him at bay, pummeling him left and right with solid fists until Tua was knocked out under the weathering blows. Aside from that, no one fears the brazilian jiu jitsu experts anymore.
UFC man Tuesday, March 26, 2002 at 22:53:23 (PST)

TSJ,

Blade II...I don't doubt is a good movie. I like Marvel Comics stuff. But even without seeing the movie I already know Snipe is going to throw a signiture knee to the head. It's a stlye issues. Snipes is too stiff on all his techiques.

The form thing my original comment was to the freestyle karate forms, not about kung fu forms. Non-wu shu kung fu forms have techniques in them already, but are usually very well hidden. Very subtle. A casual observer would not know the meaning. It's like code. You need either a master or spend a lot of time studying the fundimentals to figure it out. It's like when I watch old ladies in parks in asia do tai-chi. I see movement but the chi, the meanings, of pushing hands is not there. When you see a master of pushing hand perform the same form and if you pay attention. It all becomes clear, breathing, wieght distributions, grapples, attack, defense, and when to apply the techique becomes clear.

Freestyle karate....well even though athletism is demostrated. But there is too much emphasis on the performance aspect of it. You know how many competitors I saw do a capoeira hand stand kick, from how many different schools. So it becomes a string of techique that might have nothing to with the school.

Wu Shu is very performance orientated, most of this stuff is will directly translate into choreography in HK studio. It also allows the altheles to demostrate athletism and an understanding of the fundimentals of the art. Also the only people doing hand stand kicks are the praying mantis style, to do the handstand thrust kick.

AC Dropout Tuesday, March 26, 2002 at 11:50:57 (PST)

RJA,
Taekwondo looks really artificial. Even I recognize that the only martial art in Korea is Taekkyon. Although I saw only a seemingly unprofessional performance of Taekkyon on TV it made a better impression on me than the Taekwondo per- formance which followed.
The demo of both Taekkyon and Taekwondo should have made clear the contrast between a rural martial art's tradition and and a commercial sport for soldiers and people who do it just for fun.
saw-it-on-TV Tuesday, March 26, 2002 at 09:54:29 (PST)

RJA,

"I guess the lack of flow and continuity of the form is what I don't like in TKD."

In TKD forms they like the definitive motions. With hard stops, and extremely clear motions.

I did a Praying Mantis Form at a TKD competition once and got second place. They deduct points for being too fast and not having definitive stops, to show punching, blocking, etc. So what one school of martial arts wants to see in their forms is not always universal.

AC Dropout Tuesday, March 26, 2002 at 07:44:43 (PST)

"Perhaps it is bias on my part. But if asked if I rather watch Westley Snipes or Jet Li perform martial arts on the silver screen. I would much rather watch Jet Li more fluid style."

Dude, have you seen Blade II?! Man, his moves are DOPE!!! Wesley Snipes is a master in capoeira and TKD.

"I've seen all black kung fu schools compete at some competitions. Not a pretty sight. They remind of what the first chinese kung fu school must of looked like thousands of years ago. Maybe a few thousand years of development in the USA will refine "hip hop kung fu""

Well, their kung fu may not be authentic, but I take it as a compliment that they admire our culture, and adapt it to their own style. There are few black only kung fu schools around here. Most go to Chinese studios since in many areas, blacks and Chinese live in the same neighborhoods.

"I thought it was crazy the first time I saw forms performed. Multiple high kicking. Very little adherence to traditional philosophy of the forms. Looked more like a floor routine at the olympics than anything related to the martial arts"

This goes back to what I've been saying all along, that kung fu is more like dance than practical fighting tehniques. A lot of traditional Chinese kung fu is performed to beats too. The lion dance is a good example.
TSJ Eric@KristinKreuk.net Monday, March 25, 2002 at 16:19:27 (PST)

RJA,
get your head out of the sand. We've already done the "what would happen if X martial art went against Y martial art?" thing. Go to blockbuster and check out the original UFCs. See how useful all those striking arts were? From TKD to Wing Chun to western boxing, they all got schooled by submission grappling.

BTW, a wrestler only knows how to get you on the ground. Once there, he doesn't know what to do to finish you. Once again, referring to the old UFCs, notice how little 180 lb. Royce Gracie choked out 260 lb. All-American wrestler Dan Severn.

Where the hell are you from where you get into fights against 5 people at once?
simulacrum Monday, March 25, 2002 at 11:48:12 (PST)

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