[ Post a Response | North Shore Wing Chun Kung Fu Forum ]
Posted by Bruce Leroy on 8/30/2001, 1:20 pm --Previous Message--
I think you guys are both ####ing dorks.
: : --Previous Message--
: As a currently enrolled dork I feel I need to
: respond.
: Schools grow, age, shed their dead skin, and
: regrow. Sometimes students only come for
: a little while just to learn a little bit
: and gain a bit of confidence. Usually 99%
: of students don't remain. Those who do
: stay longer learn more and when they feel
: they have grown enough they leave and
: start their own school or just live life.
: The school has just gotten a bunch of new
: students in the past couple months. They
: are doctors, lawyers, computer specialist,
: etc. - in other words, all are egghead
: dorks who don't use muscles - just brains.
: Yet, all are smart enough to realize that
: there is at least a 1% chance that they
: might have to deal with an unarmed
: conflict sometime in their lives. This is
: what the school is for - teaching dorks to
: defend themselves in an emergency
: situation. The school gives them a
: strategy, a plan to deal with it, how to
: avoid it, and confidence that they will at
: least have a chance if they had to go into
: an unavoidable fight. Dorks who learn
: self defense for a few years become
: dangerous dorks; and it matters not which
: art you choose, that dork will become
: dangerous because he's a martial artist in
: dork disguise.
: In this school it is true that there is a
: much less emphasis of fighting. That's
: because we emphasize destroying, maiming,
: and (hopefully never) killing. We don't
: practice to fight. We practice to take
: out the eye balls, low balls, break
: joints, spit in faces, rip ears off, stomp
: on ankles, and bite noses off, and of
: course punch. We are taught that if we
: cannot avoid physical conflict you will
: defend your life in the extreme. This is
: not boasting. This is just reality.
: Unless you are looking for a fight a
: physical conflict will involve your life
: and/or your general health for the rest of
: your life. This is reality - dirty and
: unheroic.
: Speaking as a dork I can tell you I don't
: know how to fight. But I am learning how
: to avoid strikes and lash out permanent
: damage to my assailant.
: In the school we can only practice these
: things. We use minimum protection -
: goggles and cups. People do get hurt in
: the gym. I practicing with one of my
: older brothers who has 100X more fighting
: experience than I do in physical conflict.
: I have been punched by him dozens of
: times in the chest/stomach. These were
: not taps (from my perspective) but punches
: which bring me to the ground. One time I
: walked into his palm and clocked myself to
: the ground. And he is always holding back
: his power. Yet, as a dork, I'm learning
: how I'm getting hit, correcting myself,
: how to protect myself, and getting used to
: pain. Dorks are not used to pain but Sifu
: says get used to reality. But you don't
: do this with beginners. You do this more
: and more as you learn. I think I'm
: learning more from my older brother
: because this is the first time for me with
: physical contact in my life. At least
: until I joined this school a year ago.
: The methods in this school don't usually go
: with sports fighting because we practice
: for saving our lives. Not our honor or
: feelings.
: Since you were once interested in Wing Chun
: please come to the school and train.
: Maybe we can learn from you. Together we
: all can learn from each other. It's not
: just a saying but a maxim we use in the
: school.
: Besides Yip Man looks like a dork.
: :
: Andrew-
: Thank you for your insightful response. It
: was a lucid explanation of the life of a
: dork and more importantly, a clear
: demonstration of my point.
: From the day you enter any martial arts
: school, you are told that the techniques
: you will be learning are
: "deadly" and should not be used
: capriciously. While that concept is true
: to an extent, it is more likely the
: teacher is brainwashing his students into
: into a false confidence, teaching not to
: fight, because you are "deadly".
: This technique is also used on younger
: dorks, as their mother tells other
: children will not play with them because
: the dork-child is "special".
: However, I am adamant in my belief that
: Sifu is not one of these teachers; a
: teacher can only teach as fast as his
: student will learn.
: My point is further enforced by the means by
: which you train. It is highly dubious that
: the students are not ever trained in a
: real fighting situation with real
: reactions, not just other fighters
: providing barely noticeable resistance.
: While chi sao-ing is a pleasant respite
: and drilling a great party favor, more can
: be done to prepare yourself for reality.
: Throughout the course of our male lives, we
: have all had brothers, friends, and a
: random assortment of meatheads punch us in
: the chest, stomach and shoulders. It
: simply part of being a guy. Citing this
: tidbit of information only proves that
: your are of the male gender, which is not
: what I previously suspected. Until you
: have been hit two or three times in the
: nose, your eyes tear up to the point where
: cannot see and blood is all over the front
: of your shirt, and your opponent feel like
: you still haven't had enough, you can bet
: your practical fighting experience is
: somewhere above a pansy and a sissy.
: You seem to rely to heavily on the
: possibility that you know
: "deadly" techiniques when really
: I am questioning you committment to fight.
: Fights are very rarely won on one or two
: punch, or a quick eye-gouge or shot to the
: leg. There is the possibility of missing.
: There is the possibility that the guy's
: just too angry to quit. I am not saying
: that anyone should actively look for a
: fight, just be prepared for what might
: happen. It may not be as clear-cut as
: someone squaring off with you
: "Hollywood" style. You may get
: punched several times and have to get back
: in it. Whether you like it or not,
: fighting is a physical exertion.
: Andrew, I would sincerely like to thank you
: for you candid response. It took a lot of
: courage to write some of the things you
: wrote. And when it is all said and done,
: you are right about one thing: I should be
: in there helping you learn and learning
: from you.
:
:
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