Martial Arts

[Sylph]

I did Thai boxing in my early teens and did it for quite a few years, I gave it up though planning to get back into it this summer, I have a brown band which is the equivalent of the one below a black belt in karate I guess. Hope to get back into it soon, so I can take out my aggression lol

Hooray for taking out aggression? .

Yeah, It is a good stress reliever, but Bagua (Baguazhang) is more of a mind process than physical. You have to think and predict and blah blah :p . Can get a bit tedious but it's fun never the less.

I'm more lithe, so brute physicality is out and I can't risk my hands, so therefore, any fighting that requires my hands in a hardcore fashion, I can't do. I need them for music, so Boxing is definately out :p. That's why I like Bagua, cause it's not so physical or hardcore, plus it's more fun and elegant (still a fem you know lol) and again, Crippling.

[Sylph]

Heh I only have them to my shoulders anyhow, I'm actually considering to cut them of, I can't stop touching them and 4 dreads have already loosened

(but with a smiley face :p )

Omgosh, they loosened? Have you tried beeswax? I don't know if it works on straight hair, but it works fabulously on curly hair/ Niggaknots(it's what we call our hair, though my hair isn't exactly the same as black people's). Don't cut them , I'll send my friend out there and she can fix them :p , but she's very rough, so you have to have a high tolerance for pain. I cried the first time she braided my hair, but now I have a high tolerance for pain , that or I'm a Masochist(or is it Sadist) :p .

I grew my hair to my shoulders in a year :p 2010-2011. Although to be fair, I had braids to help it grow faster.

Most people with dreads here start in their early teens and grow them down their backs. I have two young cousins, who's dreads are down the middle of their backs, and they're only 8 & 7 :p .

[dfiant]

I love watching chinese martial arts movies with Bruce Lee, Jet Li, Chow Yun Fatt, Jackie Chan and numerous others.

The discipline and the serenity of the sport, and the power it brings to the one defending themselves. I was taught the famous '1 inch punch' and I think it is incredible how Bruce Lee used it not only to knock the wind out of people, but to literally knock them flying through the air.

Odi, good on you for learning Martial Arts, good for the mind, good for the body

[Sylph]

I love watching chinese martial arts movies with Bruce Lee, Jet Li, Chow Yun Fatt, Jackie Chan and numerous others.

The discipline and the serenity of the sport, and the power it brings to the one defending themselves. I was taught the famous '1 inch punch' and I think it is incredible how Bruce Lee used it not only to knock the wind out of people, but to literally knock them flying through the air.

Odi, good on you for learning Martial Arts, good for the mind, good for the body

I agree . It's like the one thing my Uncle and I do anymore, since he got married. It's actually personal as well, since he was the one who got me into it. I love those guys too, especially Jet Li .

Bruce Lee was, in short, the man lol. I've never heard of the 1 Inch Punch, but it sounds interesting. :p

Thanks Daddy , it's good to take a break from my Music/Animals/Books... oh gosh, I do too many things >.> lol.

[TimmyThink]

I've trained in boxing since I was 15, never took it that seriously though. I really like learning techniques parts foot work, head movement and such but I hate working out parts. I don't train at a gym anymore because the one gym we had in town closed about 2 years ago, I have a little corner in my basement with a punching and speed bag I mostly use when I get stressed out or just get in the mood to hit something.

[Sylph]

I've trained in boxing since I was 15, never took it that seriously though. I really like learning techniques parts foot work, head movement and such but I hate working out parts. I don't train at a gym anymore because the one gym we had in town closed about 2 years ago, I have a little corner in my basement with a punching and speed bag I mostly use when I get stressed out or just get in the mood to hit something.

That's too bad about the gym .

It must be nice to atleast have the knowledge .

We don't have Basements here. We dig more than a couple of feet and we'll probably fall into the Volcano we're on .

[Zet]

(but with a smiley face :p )

Omgosh, they loosened? Have you tried beeswax? I don't know if it works on straight hair, but it works fabulously on curly hair/ Niggaknots(it's what we call our hair, though my hair isn't exactly the same as black people's). Don't cut them , I'll send my friend out there and she can fix them :p , but she's very rough, so you have to have a high tolerance for pain. I cried the first time she braided my hair, but now I have a high tolerance for pain , that or I'm a Masochist(or is it Sadist) :p .

I grew my hair to my shoulders in a year :p 2010-2011. Although to be fair, I had braids to help it grow faster.

Most people with dreads here start in their early teens and grow them down their backs. I have two young cousins, who's dreads are down the middle of their backs, and they're only 8 & 7 :p .

Heh it was ratter painful getting braided when I did But mine is natural dreads no wax no any, as I've worked in the kitchen, I don't want anything sticky Dunno if they really are but the girl who braided my hair told me that Waxed dreads never got real clean. But bring on the pain, I can take it. Lol a Sadist is a person who loves giving pain ;Eek; Buts its hard with straight, or I've got really more Wavey / curly, If I didn't comb my hair I looked like einstein :biggrin: But my dreads have also gotten worn out, do you know anyway to repair them?

Oh sos for Off topic, shall I stop?

[Lunar]

Hey QueenOdi I love martial arts.
Have you heard of Wing Chun? It is a Chinese martial art form that Bruce Lee trained in before adopting its principles to develop his Jeet Kune Do.

I've been training in Wing Chun for over a year now and I'm in love with the forms and principles. I'm hoping to become properly trained through an instructor this summer. Unfrotunately the closest place for instruction is about 50 miles away from where I live :frown:

I'm glad you are taking part in something you enjoy. Keep at it :biggrin:

[Pix]

I've had a couple years of informal training in Wing Chun mixed with self-defense techniques useful for women against men much larger. At the same time I received some other types of training including paramilitary. Oh, those were some interesting times, but it proved useful as I instantly brought a would-be rapist to his knees despite his superior size (but this started a chain of events that forced me to leave town, at least if I didn't want to put certain people at risk).

I briefly took up Wushu since it sounded cool but just didn't like it and instead went with Krav Maga which I stuck with for years. I also moved in with a Taekwondo champion who also had significant training in 2 other Korean martial arts, and we sparred with each other a lot and took a kickboxing class together.

I remember when she and I didn't know each other very well yet and we discovered each other was into the martial arts. At some point I said I thought the ax kick was the most useless move ever invented and she responded by instantly putting me to the floor with one to which I calmly replied, "Of course I could be wrong." But given how many years she's been trained in kicks plus her being 5'8" (approximately 1.5m) and me 5'2" at the time (I'd gain 2" later on) helped such a kick to be a lot more useful to her. Since then I've decided the scorpion kick is the most useless move ever invented, but I've decided to never say this to anyone trained in kicks. :tongue:

I've also taken self-defense courses for women such as IMPACT and FIST. I like how these courses teach how to avoid and defuse dangerous situations before fighting, though when it comes down to fighting neither teaches mercy for enemies who would have no mercy for us.

But I recall snarking at FIST instructors for their trying to instill fear of all men into us. They had said they'd teach us who to watch out for but when they explained with an anti-men speech I snarked, "So I have to fear all men, especially the ones I know and like. I'm glad this class is free." Others laughed and perhaps I was lucky that I wasn't kicked out, and I have to admit I found the self-defense part very helpful (I never realized just how vicious even someone with a broken leg could be with a crutch until that class...)

[Rainbowmum]

With me it's become a way of life.

I have been practicing Wing Chun for 34 years now .
I started at the age of 14 , not a day goes by that I do not practice my Tao Sulim.

Both my boys have grown up with it , and have had it passed on to them from me.
My eldest son Jay , actually has gone beyond just this art and is in the process of developing his own art.

Just as I passed on my learning to him , he is passing it on to his girls.

From the moment my boys could walk they were out in the yard with me practicing.
It has blessed them with dedication , self control , respect and empathy for the weak .