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Surprisingly although my own children are adults, I have a niece and two nephews under three years old. Granted much of what you have said about age appropriate play is true, you have not answered my points about the baby's calm demeanor prior to the "assault". I also dispute that the baby is "about to blow". Perhaps spaceless can provide a link for that clip so we can view more of it. If that baby bursts into tears, I will agree with everything you have said
Everything I have said about age appropriate play is true and it is downright embarrassing that not only do you fail to notice that the baby was engaged with a toy before his father knocked him over in spite of the fact that I already specifically pointed it out to you, but also fail to scrutinize the baby's response sufficiently to even look in his eyes.
As a parent did you often startle your children sufficiently such that their muscles involuntarily pulled hard enough to twist them sideways and knock them flat on their backs onto the floor without your ever touching them while they were calmly sitting there happily ignoring you and playing with their toys? Do you regard that as appropriate "play" behavior? Do you regard that as "fun" for a child?
Perhaps you might regard it as fun if someone 10 times your size startled you so badly while you were playing with your own toys that all the muscles in your back and neck involuntarily suddenly contracted so hard that they twisted you over backwards toward your dominant side and knocked you flat on your back onto the floor... but even if you fell onto a nice soft cushion, emergency services would most likely be writing you up for whiplash, pinched nerves, and a jolt of corticosteroids that resulted in a blast of high blood pressure enough to give you a heart attack or a stroke. You might not regard that as such a fun game after all.
I can assure that I am not embarrassed in the least. It is because the baby is happily engaged with his toy before the attack that I think he has nothing to fear from his father. Again I say that in my view that baby has not been harmed. My view might change if I could see more video. I won't be sidetracking this thread anymore. Sorry to the OP.
that chicken was hilarious... wasnt having any of it - good for her...
@aura - I'm not sure - you feel quite strongly about it and I do see your point - guess parents are entitled to treat their children how they want and if that means the occasional hadoken to the face then so be it... I wouldnt do it but then I'd feel nervous telling someone else what they should do with their kid...
on the issue of qi / hadokens generally I'm not sure also - I have done tai chi for 6 odd years now and though the masters talk on chi, I have only observed body mechanics at play - the same result can be obtained without any understanding of chi or breath control...
Real life example - serious chinese kung-fu master was in London for a martial arts expo - this guy was all about the chi and he was there for a qi-qong demo - a friend of a friend who is an amateur boxer (and not particularly skilled and certainly no master) was in the changing rooms when there was some issue and the chinese fella came out with a racial slur - it got nasty and they squared down - the master came with his blow and the boxer knocked him down with one neat cross - as he left the chinese master challenged again and he turned around and knocked him out cold... none of his delagation of qi trained students wanted any either... check out MMA... no chi there mate - just bone meeting bone... also my brother was all about his kungfu teacher and how great he was, chi and everything - I went to check him out and I guess I wasnt taking his warmups and chi preparation seriously... he rode me all lesson and then invited me to spar for the class - he caught me a couple of times but it ended first with a straight right to his sternum and he had to take 5 and catch his breath - we called it a day when he tried some move about the mountains meeting the river and I axe kicked him in the head...
so for me chi is kinda whatever and hadokens are strictly limited to street fighter!
This thread is about how people who are smaller and lighter than others are perceived and treated by the martial arts community.
You have not sidetracked this thread. You have very effectively demonstrated exactly how people who are smaller and lighter are typically perceived and treated by the community. It's oh so funny when the so much smaller and lighter person is knocked flat, isn't it? Why you don't even have to touch a smaller and lighter person to knock that person flat... you can just simply use your size and weight and intention to intimidate, shock, overwhelm, and incapacitate the smaller lighter person. Certainly knuckle-dragging neanderthals have been using this neat little trick to exploit, intimidate, terrorize, brutalize and rape women and children for centuries in the name of their fun and play... in the manner of @Spaceless's inane offensive comment about "bliss" resulting from "fighting on a bed."
It is amusing that you have failed to answer my questions, but thank you for participating, because the OP can easily and accurately assess both the attitude and the competence of any martial arts instructor in town by simply obtaining the instructor's opinion of this discussion.
At 100 lbs she does not have much mass on her side. She will need every bit of speed, strength, flexibility, intense skill of observation, qi manipulation, and acupressure point knowledge that she can come up with in order to defend herself effectively against everyone on the block with more mass and leverage than she has... She is Linda... she needs to find her Bruce... and getting a potential instructor's opinion on this discussion can show her who is a potential Bruce and who is not.
It doesnt have to be about being an awesome fighter straight away - I was 3 years in before I even really knew what I was doing - before then I was just an enthusiastic mess!! Whatever you do is great - you'll get fitter and make friends and learn discipline and respect... the aim is never to use the art so hopefully you'll never find out how rubbish you really are...
@aura - I'm not sure - you feel quite strongly about it and I do see your point - guess parents are entitled to treat their children how they want and if that means the occasional hadoken to the face then so be it... I wouldnt do it but then I'd feel nervous telling someone else what they should do with their kid...
I am glad that somebody here knows enough martial arts not to energetically slap a baby in the head to demonstrate martial art ability! Please know that a baby's energy system is not solidified and is completely geared for connection physically, emotionally, mentally, spiritually, neurologically, and energetically... and that damaging that energy system undermines both his ability to connect to himself and his own life energy, and to connect with anyone else on the planet in life.
If you have only observed body mechanics... you have not observed qi. If a "kung fu master" is idiotic enough to be engaging in racial slurs and brawling in a changing room, he has no clue of qi, irregardless of his personal entourage and advertising. As for authentic qi... The karate master was curious about it....."show me what you've got..." The akaido master was not interested in playing this game. When the karate master pushed the issue, the karate master was thrown so hard so fast that he was thrown completely out of his body... which he realized "that something was really wrong!" when he saw his body lying in a motionless heap on the floor on the other side of the room from where he was standing. He said his response was a scream, specifically: "Oh shit!" combined with the greatest stark raving terror he had ever experienced in his life (and he was ex-military), combined with frantically trying to figure out how to get back into his body... followed by the big ow, looking up at the ceiling, and pulling his body back from a crumpled heap on the floor into some dignified anatomically correct position and determining if he was physically ok or going to be paralyzed in pain for the rest of his life. I myself did not see it, but heard this story from that karate master, who told me that is what an authentic qi master looks like.
When it comes to sparring/punching, the largest mass driven home effectively with the largest force wins, always, it's only just physics... and a 100 lb 5 ft tall woman will have her ribs cracked just like chicken bones... unless she is being assaulted by a 12 year old boy or a woman of comparable size and weight. When it comes to being a woman... the odds of being assaulted by a 12 year old boy or a woman of comparable size and weight are nil... the odds of being assaulted by some guy twice her size and weight someday is much more likely. Guys have tons of fun roughing each other up just for the heck of it and not fighting for keeps, but a woman, any woman, is also a street fighter... with her life, sanity, health hanging in the balance, and it's not fun and it's not by choice. She is Linda... and she needs to find Bruce.
That sounds pretty cool - I admit that I loved that throwing out of your body thing - I would seriously love to learn to do that - or the dimak... I'd even settle for being able to pull my balls up... I saw this documentary where this old chinese master was doing that... amazing.
Unfortunately I have trained in the west and have no access to old super powers... I was thinking of maybe blocking out a year and going to taiwan - I dont think my tai chi is anywhere near good enough as the more you do, strangely, the more complex it becomes... I'm working to reach the peak of the hill so I can start unlearning the techniques... think that will take much longer than I first expected!!
I work with quite practical techniques that are simple - they start from a natural defensive position and the strike distances are short - its the most effective for my body size - hold the fence and strike from the ground up, straight line, limited target area.
I cant think of a style that could better that... I mean you can add different techniques like you may have a hard super hook but the underlying principle is the same - and I cant see how someone half my size would have a chance.
I think the truth is that on the street, where it may be life and death:
1st) its the psychology (and men and women can master this equally) this is the powerful first defence and attack.
2) space control (both are equal again), if youre smaller, its a tougher target to hit - this can be useful.
3) recognising the spark and reacting (both equal again)
4) Strike (here the disparity occurs) - more skill only goes so far against a physically superior opponent - its element of surprise time or you better get good at 1, 2 and 5 - I have never personally witnessed anyone overcome that.
5) Escape (equalish - I do more weights than running so imagine you'd outrun me easily).
Thats the summary decision tree for unavoidable conflict - if qi is possible, perhaps its best kept out of the hands of the average man on the street - I am now going to have to resist the urge to hadoken a child... for scientific purposes of course
It is amusing that you have failed to answer my questions, but thank you for participating, because the OP can easily and accurately assess both the attitude and the competence of any martial arts instructor in town by simply obtaining the instructor's opinion of this
Did you really want me to answer those dumb questions? I'll say that I never once struck one of my kids. I'm sure I must have startled them on occasion. But then they startled me many times too. You havent lived until you have had a six year old take a flying leap onto your groin when you are asleep on the couch.
I cant think of a style that could better that... I mean you can add different techniques like you may have a hard super hook but the underlying principle is the same - and I cant see how someone half my size would have a chance.
On the street when it is life or death she has got one shot and it is to hit as fast and hard as possible in a lethal spot, because she won't get a second chance. Survival on the street is a matter of sensing the state of their qi, from down the block, and avoiding them before they have ever noticed you.
You havent lived until you have had a six year old take a flying leap onto your groin when you are asleep on the couch.
Children learn what you teach them, and it looks like you may not have done an adequate job of teaching him/her the appropriate safety rules for roughhousing after all... I would say that you haven't lived until you've been a single woman wearing a towel after a shower and beating a burglar/intended rapist out of her apartment with a tennis racquet.
You may not have done an adequate job of avoiding the notice of a criminal. Survival on the street also includes controlling your living situation. A single woman should not rent in a building that cannot be properly secured. Ground floor and basement units should be avoided. Windows and doors need to be locked at all times if you are in a dangerous neighborhood. Common sense.
Guys have tons of fun roughing each other up just for the heck of it and not fighting for keeps, but a woman, any woman, is also a street fighter... with her life, sanity, health hanging in the balance, and it's not fun and it's not by choice. She is Linda... and she needs to find Bruce.
She is Linda... she needs to find her Bruce... and getting a potential instructor's opinion on this discussion can show her who is a potential Bruce and who is not.
Now I'm not trying to sound rude, but who the heck is Linda?!
I won't be sidetracking this thread anymore. Sorry to the OP.
Oh, that's okay! You're not sidetracking.
@everyone thanks for the supportive comments so far. Yeah, I still have no idea which fighting style to choose. Haha. I would choose kung-fu, but I don't know which one and yeah...anyway...
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zombiegirlbeating the drum of the lifelessin a dry wastelandVeteran
@ittybittybat I didn't really understand what aura was going on about, but I do know that Linda was the name of Bruce Lee's wife.
I forgot to mention that the school I recommended teaches kung-fu. I did a free tour and it seemed extremely cool, they paired me up with an advanced practitioner and he taught me how to do some basic throws. I had a lot of fun and everyone seemed very nice, I just couldn't really find the funds for it, unfortunately.
Survival on the street also includes controlling your living situation.
Best of luck with "controlling your living situation" when building pass keys are stolen from rental property management offices, copied, and returned unnoticed. From what I've seen of this world, there is no such thing as a non-dangerous neighborhood for women and children.
Linda at Lakeview, where Bruce and Brandon are buried. It's a beautiful place up there, peaceful, it has a great view: "Bruce and Linda" is also a beautiful song by Edelman, from the movie "Dragon, the Bruce Lee Story."
@Lady_Alison Haha, thanks. That's always a guaranteed way of defending yourself.
Give it a go, but be aware that a sense of humour and an adventurous streak are essential.
I have both. Trust me, I'm very silly.
And the more I study it, the more I'm leaning towards kung-fu. I didn't know this, but there's actually a Kung-Fu place in Detroit where I live.
I highly recommend (since you already seem inclined towards) participating in a martial art! I also can't restrain my enthusiasm for seconding your motion for kung-fu, but being a child of Hong Kong, I'm admittedly biased
Seriously, though, it's a great thing imho to spend time challenging your body and learning what it can do. Nourishing for both body and mind, in my experience. Hope you find a great school!
If I were one hundred pounds thinking about defending myself I would think of carrying a gun.
Oh trust me, I do. But I know that I have horrible aim. People actually tell me it's the worst they've ever seen, so I can't rely on a gun all the time. I need to actually learn how to handle myself if, say, I am in a situation where a gun is not an option (like I'm out of bullets).
But really, the desire to learn a fighting style is more for the competition. Self-defense is just a bonus.
@ittybittybat I didn't really understand what aura was going on about, but I do know that Linda was the name of Bruce Lee's wife.
I forgot to mention that the school I recommended teaches kung-fu. I did a free tour and it seemed extremely cool, they paired me up with an advanced practitioner and he taught me how to do some basic throws. I had a lot of fun and everyone seemed very nice, I just couldn't really find the funds for it, unfortunately.
Oh that sounds cool. I'll definitely check it out, although I think I've heard of it more than once...
you - have - a - gun... and you still want to learn kung-fu? I wouldnt worry so much if youre packing! Just pick whatever style you like - start with a class that is near you so its not too much of a hassle - set a 6 month goal and enjoy.
@hubris oh ...:)...still wouldn't want to piss you off...
That's funny to me, do I look that big and intimidating? Because I am 5'4", which is short in stature compared to most men. Granted I might be pretty scrappy if need be.
Truth be told I have only ever gotten in maybe 3 minor scuffles in my life, and I was very young. I eschew violence, and do not even believe in corporal punishment for children.
Oh, and for the "horrible aim" issue and to steady your nerves and improve your attention and intention hopefully well enough to avoid cracked ribs and ligament injuries... and teach you all the meridians and acupressure points (where to hit if the need arises in life!) and how to heal (because the need always arises in life!): qigong http://nqa.org/resources/what-is-qigong/
Oh, and this is a movie example of African staff, except that if it were for real, Eddie Murphy would have jammed that staff through his throat and he would have been dead on the floor. African staff was designed for self defense out on the plains.... against lions hunting oneself and one's children or one's flock... yes, rather like, well... Detroit.
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federicaSeeker of the clear blue sky...Its better to remain silent and be thought a fool, than to speak out and remove all doubtModerator
@aura, having extensively studied the movement of Qi, I can honestly say you've taken the second video with the little kid and blown it so far out of proportion, it's scary. You have read so much more into it than exists, and interpreted so negatively, I find it really rather worrying that you take it so ultra-seriously.... That kid is about as scared, terrified, shaken and close to tears as a bush. I'd say quite frankly, he's acting to form and looks relatively bored. when he turns his head, I see no level of distress whatsoever.
And before you make assumptions about me, i have studied and practised martial arts for longer than I'd care to admit, I'm a teacher of a Martial Art, I practise Shiatsu, and I am a mother - and a grandmother, and have interacted with children of all ages for a long time, having been a nursery assistant and class helper at a primary school, where I then became a Parent Governor. I absolutely fail to see how you have reached the conclusion you have. Utterly.
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federicaSeeker of the clear blue sky...Its better to remain silent and be thought a fool, than to speak out and remove all doubtModerator
the father is clearly speaking, and has his hands ready to launch. the child can obviously hear what we cannot.... The father seems to say 'Banzai!' which is an audible cue for the child to join in the game, glimpse the hands of his father coming towards him and throw himself back onto a conveniently-placed cushion. Which, I suspect, is there to safeguard the baby in case it topples anyway... If you look closely, the child smiles as he turns his head away. This is a carefully-rehearsed little game the father and child have. My grandson would play in similar ways with his mum & dad, when he was only 7 months old... As he turns his head back towards the camera, he looks mildly bored, and frankly, completely unfazed. The game is over. What shall we do now? (notice that the seismic shock of being catapulted back by his father thrusting shah-chi at him, has not caused him sufficient trauma to release his grip on his toy....)
the child is fine. And if you seriously think anybody with that kind of skill would use it to inflict harm on their own child - and film it for general global broadcast and viewing - really....? you think?
So, you're saying that given your expertise in martial arts and as a parent and grandparent you consider it just perfectly fine to thrust qi toward a baby's head?
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federicaSeeker of the clear blue sky...Its better to remain silent and be thought a fool, than to speak out and remove all doubtModerator
No. but I don't think that's what he was doing. He was just playing. i don't think he could thrust qi at anybody. i'm absolutely certain that was neither the point, nor the intention.
An adequately experienced master, capable of doing so, wouldn't demonstrate his ability in such an irresponsible and trivial way. In fact, an adequately experienced master wouldn't demonstrate such skill at all, neither would he need to. Such a Master would be most reluctant to display their skills in such a puerile manner. I think the father was just messing about and playing with his child. any qi manifesting would be so weak and inconsequential, it probably wouldn't discharge more than a couple of millimetres from the fingers. And I am utterly convinced that this was just a bit of tomfoolery playing.
I have seen qi work in this way, I have seen the extraordinary ability of some masters, to channel qi effectively. this is no such thing. Doesn't even come close to pretending.
No. but I don't think that's what he was doing. He was just playing. i don't think he could thrust qi at anybody.
It's more than obvious that your powers of observation are lacking. It's also more than obvious that you have absolutely no understanding of the qi connection between parent and child and the extreme vulnerability of the child to the parent's qi, nor of the formation, development, and vulnerability of a baby's chakras. A pity. If you know any masters, show them the above video. They will be appalled.
@hubris...lol your picture looks so Stoic and I picture you in my mind tall and stocky like a bison or a strapping fire fighter andthen you where so kind to stand up for op...like a big brother.
Yeah, you have a big brother vibe.!
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federicaSeeker of the clear blue sky...Its better to remain silent and be thought a fool, than to speak out and remove all doubtModerator
No. but I don't think that's what he was doing. He was just playing. i don't think he could thrust qi at anybody.
It's more than obvious that your powers of observation are lacking. It's also more than obvious that you have absolutely no understanding of the qi connection between parent and child and the extreme vulnerability of the child to the parent's qi, nor of the formation, development, and vulnerability of a baby's chakras. A pity. If you know any masters, show them the above video. They will be appalled.
wow....I'm so glad you brought that up. as it happens, I have. He laughed like a drain.
that's what took me a while to respond. I showed it to my qigong/zham zhong master. and that's how I responded the way I did. I checked my facts.
it's just a farce.
You know, really, you really need to lighten up. not everything that comes your way either needs or deserves such serious consideration. humour is as important for laughing at ourselves, as it is for laughing at the antics of others. It's supposed to be funny, and it is. you seem to tackle everything you come across with so much seriousness, and no humour. this was just a fun piece of video, posted in the same vein as the kid and the chicken.
(coincidentally, the first three letters of chicken - are chi.
any problems laying that one to rest, or are you going to hatch some other great idea?)
I'm not impressed with your qigong "master" nor with your considering his/her opinon to be your "facts." And no, I don't think it's fun and I don't think it's funny and I don't think it's appropriate to knock over a baby with qi (or loud noises, or throwing up your hands in front of his face or whatever) but if it's your big ha ha fun of the day best of luck.
any problems laying that one to rest, or are you going to hatch some other great idea?)
You've just given me a wonderful idea, Fede, I'm no longer going to waste any of my time with your rudeness or your website.
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federicaSeeker of the clear blue sky...Its better to remain silent and be thought a fool, than to speak out and remove all doubtModerator
you - have - a - gun... and you still want to learn kung-fu? I wouldnt worry so much if youre packing! Just pick whatever style you like - start with a class that is near you so its not too much of a hassle - set a 6 month goal and enjoy.
May you never run out of bullets! Imagine...
Oh, no, I don't have a gun! Haha. No, I want one after I learn how to shoot it effectively. No use having something I don't know how to use. And honestly, getting my mother to agree to let me take kung-fu will be hard enough. She's said no everytime my dad has offered to take me to a shooting range.
I think stats show there is a real risk of shooting yourself or a close one if you have a gun... that said, you wont find a fighting style better than a shooter - thats the ultimate argument ender!! Let us know what style you do choose and how you get on - there appears to be various martial artists on here and I cant speak for all of them but for me, I never tire of talking about different styles etc!
You know, really, you really need to lighten up. not everything that comes your way either needs or deserves such serious consideration. humour is as important for laughing at ourselves, as it is for laughing at the antics of others.
Wrong again, ironically you merely miss the humor. Remember the "half-truth," I laughed like a drain at those antics!
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federicaSeeker of the clear blue sky...Its better to remain silent and be thought a fool, than to speak out and remove all doubtModerator
Comments
And women are boxing in the London Olympics this year, which I think is great.
Go for it.
As a parent did you often startle your children sufficiently such that their muscles involuntarily pulled hard enough to twist them sideways and knock them flat on their backs onto the floor without your ever touching them while they were calmly sitting there happily ignoring you and playing with their toys?
Do you regard that as appropriate "play" behavior?
Do you regard that as "fun" for a child?
Perhaps you might regard it as fun if someone 10 times your size startled you so badly
while you were playing with your own toys that all the muscles in your back and neck involuntarily suddenly contracted so hard that they twisted you over backwards toward your dominant side and knocked you flat on your back onto the floor...
but even if you fell onto a nice soft cushion, emergency services would most likely be writing you up for whiplash, pinched nerves, and a jolt of corticosteroids that resulted in a blast of high blood pressure enough to give you a heart attack or a stroke.
You might not regard that as such a fun game after all.
@aura - I'm not sure - you feel quite strongly about it and I do see your point - guess parents are entitled to treat their children how they want and if that means the occasional hadoken to the face then so be it... I wouldnt do it but then I'd feel nervous telling someone else what they should do with their kid...
on the issue of qi / hadokens generally I'm not sure also - I have done tai chi for 6 odd years now and though the masters talk on chi, I have only observed body mechanics at play - the same result can be obtained without any understanding of chi or breath control...
Real life example - serious chinese kung-fu master was in London for a martial arts expo - this guy was all about the chi and he was there for a qi-qong demo - a friend of a friend who is an amateur boxer (and not particularly skilled and certainly no master) was in the changing rooms when there was some issue and the chinese fella came out with a racial slur - it got nasty and they squared down - the master came with his blow and the boxer knocked him down with one neat cross - as he left the chinese master challenged again and he turned around and knocked him out cold... none of his delagation of qi trained students wanted any either...
check out MMA... no chi there mate - just bone meeting bone...
also my brother was all about his kungfu teacher and how great he was, chi and everything - I went to check him out and I guess I wasnt taking his warmups and chi preparation seriously... he rode me all lesson and then invited me to spar for the class - he caught me a couple of times but it ended first with a straight right to his sternum and he had to take 5 and catch his breath - we called it a day when he tried some move about the mountains meeting the river and I axe kicked him in the head...
so for me chi is kinda whatever and hadokens are strictly limited to street fighter!
You have not sidetracked this thread. You have very effectively demonstrated exactly how people who are smaller and lighter are typically perceived and treated by the community.
It's oh so funny when the so much smaller and lighter person is knocked flat, isn't it?
Why you don't even have to touch a smaller and lighter person to knock that person flat... you can just simply use your size and weight and intention to intimidate, shock, overwhelm, and incapacitate the smaller lighter person.
Certainly knuckle-dragging neanderthals have been using this neat little trick to exploit, intimidate, terrorize, brutalize and rape women and children for centuries in the name of their fun and play...
in the manner of @Spaceless's inane offensive comment about "bliss" resulting from "fighting on a bed."
It is amusing that you have failed to answer my questions, but thank you for participating, because the OP can easily and accurately assess both the attitude and the competence of any martial arts instructor in town by simply obtaining the instructor's opinion of this discussion.
At 100 lbs she does not have much mass on her side. She will need every bit of speed, strength, flexibility, intense skill of observation, qi manipulation, and acupressure point knowledge that she can come up with in order to defend herself effectively against everyone on the block with more mass and leverage than she has...
She is Linda...
she needs to find her Bruce...
and getting a potential instructor's opinion on this discussion can show her who is a potential Bruce and who is not.
Please know that a baby's energy system is not solidified and is completely geared for connection physically, emotionally, mentally, spiritually, neurologically, and energetically...
and that damaging that energy system undermines both his ability to connect to himself and his own life energy, and to connect with anyone else on the planet in life.
If you have only observed body mechanics... you have not observed qi.
If a "kung fu master" is idiotic enough to be engaging in racial slurs and brawling in a changing room, he has no clue of qi, irregardless of his personal entourage and advertising.
As for authentic qi...
The karate master was curious about it....."show me what you've got..."
The akaido master was not interested in playing this game.
When the karate master pushed the issue, the karate master was thrown so hard so fast that he was thrown completely out of his body...
which he realized "that something was really wrong!" when he saw his body lying in a motionless heap on the floor on the other side of the room from where he was standing.
He said his response was a scream, specifically: "Oh shit!" combined with the greatest stark raving terror he had ever experienced in his life (and he was ex-military), combined with frantically trying to figure out how to get back into his body...
followed by the big ow, looking up at the ceiling, and pulling his body back from a crumpled heap on the floor into some dignified anatomically correct position and determining if he was physically ok or going to be paralyzed in pain for the rest of his life.
I myself did not see it, but heard this story from that karate master, who told me that is what an authentic qi master looks like.
When it comes to sparring/punching, the largest mass driven home effectively with the largest force wins, always, it's only just physics...
and a 100 lb 5 ft tall woman will have her ribs cracked just like chicken bones...
unless she is being assaulted by a 12 year old boy or a woman of comparable size and weight.
When it comes to being a woman...
the odds of being assaulted by a 12 year old boy or a woman of comparable size and weight are nil...
the odds of being assaulted by some guy twice her size and weight someday is much more likely.
Guys have tons of fun roughing each other up just for the heck of it and not fighting for keeps, but a woman, any woman, is also a street fighter...
with her life, sanity, health hanging in the balance,
and it's not fun and it's not by choice.
She is Linda...
and she needs to find Bruce.
Unfortunately I have trained in the west and have no access to old super powers... I was thinking of maybe blocking out a year and going to taiwan - I dont think my tai chi is anywhere near good enough as the more you do, strangely, the more complex it becomes... I'm working to reach the peak of the hill so I can start unlearning the techniques... think that will take much longer than I first expected!!
I work with quite practical techniques that are simple - they start from a natural defensive position and the strike distances are short - its the most effective for my body size - hold the fence and strike from the ground up, straight line, limited target area.
I cant think of a style that could better that... I mean you can add different techniques like you may have a hard super hook but the underlying principle is the same - and I cant see how someone half my size would have a chance.
I think the truth is that on the street, where it may be life and death:
1st) its the psychology (and men and women can master this equally) this is the powerful first defence and attack.
2) space control (both are equal again), if youre smaller, its a tougher target to hit - this can be useful.
3) recognising the spark and reacting (both equal again)
4) Strike (here the disparity occurs) - more skill only goes so far against a physically superior opponent - its element of surprise time or you better get good at 1, 2 and 5 - I have never personally witnessed anyone overcome that.
5) Escape (equalish - I do more weights than running so imagine you'd outrun me easily).
Thats the summary decision tree for unavoidable conflict - if qi is possible, perhaps its best kept out of the hands of the average man on the street - I am now going to have to resist the urge to hadoken a child... for scientific purposes of course
I'll say that I never once struck one of my kids. I'm sure I must have startled them on occasion. But then they startled me many times too.
You havent lived until you have had a six year old take a flying leap onto your groin when you are asleep on the couch.
Survival on the street is a matter of sensing the state of their qi, from down the block, and avoiding them before they have ever noticed you. Children learn what you teach them, and it looks like you may not have done an adequate job of teaching him/her the appropriate safety rules for roughhousing after all...
I would say that you haven't lived until you've been a single woman wearing a towel after a shower and beating a burglar/intended rapist out of her apartment with a tennis racquet.
Survival on the street also includes controlling your living situation.
A single woman should not rent in a building that cannot be properly secured. Ground floor and basement units should be avoided.
Windows and doors need to be locked at all times if you are in a dangerous neighborhood. Common sense.
Now I'm not trying to sound rude, but who the heck is Linda?! Oh, that's okay! You're not sidetracking.
@everyone thanks for the supportive comments so far. Yeah, I still have no idea which fighting style to choose. Haha. I would choose kung-fu, but I don't know which one and yeah...anyway...
I forgot to mention that the school I recommended teaches kung-fu. I did a free tour and it seemed extremely cool, they paired me up with an advanced practitioner and he taught me how to do some basic throws. I had a lot of fun and everyone seemed very nice, I just couldn't really find the funds for it, unfortunately.
It's a beautiful place up there, peaceful, it has a great view:
"Bruce and Linda" is also a beautiful song by Edelman, from the movie "Dragon, the Bruce Lee Story."
Seriously, though, it's a great thing imho to spend time challenging your body and learning what it can do. Nourishing for both body and mind, in my experience. Hope you find a great school!
But really, the desire to learn a fighting style is more for the competition. Self-defense is just a bonus.
Oh that sounds cool. I'll definitely check it out, although I think I've heard of it more than once...
@aura oh okay, I see.
@Sile Thanks, dude.
May you never run out of bullets! Imagine...
Truth be told I have only ever gotten in maybe 3 minor scuffles in my life, and I was very young. I eschew violence, and do not even believe in corporal punishment for children.
#1: Jeet Kune Do
http://worldjkd.com/
#2 aikido
http://www.aikidofaq.com/
#3 African staff (if you can find anyone teaching it)
and teach you all the meridians and acupressure points (where to hit if the need arises in life!) and how to heal (because the need always arises in life!):
qigong
http://nqa.org/resources/what-is-qigong/
Oh, and this is a movie example of African staff, except that if it were for real, Eddie Murphy would have jammed that staff through his throat and he would have been dead on the floor. African staff was designed for self defense out on the plains.... against lions hunting oneself and one's children or one's flock...
yes, rather like, well... Detroit.
You have read so much more into it than exists, and interpreted so negatively, I find it really rather worrying that you take it so ultra-seriously....
That kid is about as scared, terrified, shaken and close to tears as a bush.
I'd say quite frankly, he's acting to form and looks relatively bored. when he turns his head, I see no level of distress whatsoever.
And before you make assumptions about me, i have studied and practised martial arts for longer than I'd care to admit, I'm a teacher of a Martial Art, I practise Shiatsu, and I am a mother - and a grandmother, and have interacted with children of all ages for a long time, having been a nursery assistant and class helper at a primary school, where I then became a Parent Governor.
I absolutely fail to see how you have reached the conclusion you have. Utterly.
the child can obviously hear what we cannot....
The father seems to say 'Banzai!' which is an audible cue for the child to join in the game, glimpse the hands of his father coming towards him and throw himself back onto a conveniently-placed cushion.
Which, I suspect, is there to safeguard the baby in case it topples anyway...
If you look closely, the child smiles as he turns his head away.
This is a carefully-rehearsed little game the father and child have.
My grandson would play in similar ways with his mum & dad, when he was only 7 months old...
As he turns his head back towards the camera, he looks mildly bored, and frankly, completely unfazed.
The game is over.
What shall we do now?
(notice that the seismic shock of being catapulted back by his father thrusting shah-chi at him, has not caused him sufficient trauma to release his grip on his toy....)
the child is fine.
And if you seriously think anybody with that kind of skill would use it to inflict harm on their own child - and film it for general global broadcast and viewing - really....?
you think?
but I don't think that's what he was doing.
He was just playing.
i don't think he could thrust qi at anybody.
i'm absolutely certain that was neither the point, nor the intention.
An adequately experienced master, capable of doing so, wouldn't demonstrate his ability in such an irresponsible and trivial way.
In fact, an adequately experienced master wouldn't demonstrate such skill at all, neither would he need to.
Such a Master would be most reluctant to display their skills in such a puerile manner.
I think the father was just messing about and playing with his child.
any qi manifesting would be so weak and inconsequential, it probably wouldn't discharge more than a couple of millimetres from the fingers.
And I am utterly convinced that this was just a bit of tomfoolery playing.
I have seen qi work in this way, I have seen the extraordinary ability of some masters, to channel qi effectively.
this is no such thing.
Doesn't even come close to pretending.
It's also more than obvious that you have absolutely no understanding of the qi connection between parent and child and the extreme vulnerability of the child to the parent's qi, nor of the formation, development, and vulnerability of a baby's chakras.
A pity.
If you know any masters, show them the above video.
They will be appalled.
Yeah, you have a big brother vibe.!
as it happens, I have.
He laughed like a drain.
that's what took me a while to respond.
I showed it to my qigong/zham zhong master.
and that's how I responded the way I did.
I checked my facts.
it's just a farce.
You know, really, you really need to lighten up.
not everything that comes your way either needs or deserves such serious consideration.
humour is as important for laughing at ourselves, as it is for laughing at the antics of others.
It's supposed to be funny, and it is.
you seem to tackle everything you come across with so much seriousness, and no humour. this was just a fun piece of video, posted in the same vein as the kid and the chicken.
(coincidentally, the first three letters of chicken - are chi.
any problems laying that one to rest, or are you going to hatch some other great idea?)
nor with your considering his/her opinon to be your "facts."
And no, I don't think it's fun and I don't think it's funny and I don't think it's appropriate to knock over a baby with qi (or loud noises, or throwing up your hands in front of his face or whatever)
but if it's your big ha ha fun of the day
best of luck. You've just given me a wonderful idea, Fede,
I'm no longer going to waste any of my time with your rudeness or your website.
OK, bye.
Thanks, I will enjoy, btw.