What do you think?

[Yajirobe]

What do you think about training with books? Like reading books on Kung fu. you think it's possible to learn like this? I am doing this because where I live there is no Kung fu places just karate.

[old jong]

You should go and learn Karate! It is impossible to really learn Kung Fu or any other martial art from books. Documentation can not replace real teaching. ;)

[Yajirobe]

i know it couldn't but there's no where to learn!

[Sharky]

Lifes a b!tch, so take karate.

[Yajirobe]

Actually I did take karate and the people were jerks ...bunch of punk kids and teacher...everyone had an ego problem it seemed.

[Daniel Madar]

Move?

[Sharky]

Take up water polo.

Or you could tell us where you live - people might know people who know people.

[Yajirobe]

I live in Pittsburgh PA i would move but i am only 16 and don't have a job.

[Sharky]

Get fit. Wait two years. Goto university. Begin.

[vingtsunstudent]

what about a boxing club?
vts

[JasBourne]

There's a ton of martial arts in Pittsburg, and there's public transportation too.

Martialinfo.com school listings for "Pittsburgh, PA" (http://www.martialinfo.com/search/result.asp?sitecity=Pittsburgh&sitecountry=USA)

[Xebsball]

I think there is Eagle Claw in Pittsburgh

http://www.yingjowpai.net

http://www.yingjowpai.net/schools.html

[Sharky]

:rolleyes:

[PHILBERT]

Pittsburgh...it had...to...be...Pittsburgh... :(

[Yajirobe]

Get fit. Wait two years. Goto university. Begin.

There are universities for kung fu?

[Justa Man]

lmao

[PHILBERT]

No, he means go to University of Pitt, pick up a book with all the classes, check to see if there are martial arts. The college I go to offers JuJutsu, Kickboxing and Tae Kwon Do (offered at different campuses, sadly none are on my campus). Check Pitt out, they might have classes.

[wu_de36]

GM CS Kim (tang soo do) is in Pittsburgh. Good guy.
Master Scott Homschek is in Ambridge. Excellent instructor.

Most colleges have sports clubs out the wazoo, many of which are martial arts oriented. Ohio State has about 19. Penn State has quite a few as well.

[JasBourne]

Dam n, kid, if this is how you do your homework don't bother with college, just start polishing your drive-up window customer service skills.

[apoweyn]

er, isn't pittsburgh one of the thriving-est metropolises on the east coast?! and there's NO kung fu?!

montgomery village, maryland has kung fu. and it comprises about four city blocks. yet pittsburgh doesn't.

i'm not buying it. sorry.


stuart b.

[Yajirobe]

Dam n, kid, if this is how you do your homework don't bother with college, just start polishing your drive-up window customer service skills.

umm i just asked for help i don't need your attitude.

anyway i guess i didn't look hard enough i think there is kung fu places in Pittsburgh and i am planning on going to a community or technical college i don't think they have those things. thanks for the help all.

[tsunami surfer]

Now we see why the karate guys ran you off.

[Justa Man]

don't take it personal yajirobe. it's innocent fun that's all.
that was great though jasbourne. :D

[Yajirobe]

well i can't tell joking over the internet sometimes....sorry about that.

[dubj]

I take kun tao(a style of kung fu) at my community college and it is a very good class but you will probably get more depth and harder training at a kung fu kwoon.

[wu_de36]

You might want to try some conditioning to thicken your skin before you join a MA ;)

Seriously, check out some schools in the area, see if they offer free classes.

See how you get along with the instructor. Trust me, if you don't get a good rapport with them, you're not going to stick around to learn anything good.

See what sort of skills their senior students have. If all the trophies and pictures of 13 brick breaks are his, what is he passing on? Are all of his black belts tall and lanky while you are short and stubby, or is it a class of bears, and you're the littlest of them all.

Are you taller than everyone else by two and half feet? Then you visited the kids class, come back another time :)

Don't listen to the people who diss various arts as being worthless, etc. Just about any martial art works, but the instructor and the student are the most important parts of the equation.

Also look at community centers, and anywhere people could practice for free. Sometimes at a Y, sometimes in churches, etc. I've seen martial arts clubs at technical colleges and junior colleges before, so don't be too surprised to find one. Also, a lot of places run clubs at college campuses, and may or may not require you to be a student. If you can work out with a club at Pitt as a non-student, you will save a lot of money and get equally competent instruction.

[Yajirobe]

Well I talked with my mom about it yesterday (if anyone got the wrong impression i'm only 16 when i said i was going to college i meant in the future) and she said that i would have to find one where i could take a patbus...i'm still thinking on it but I'm fat and not smart so I hope that doesn't matter in kung fu school...and i hope that doesn't matter in kung fu.

oh and for the record the record the other guys in karate "wrote me off" because i changed in a bathroom stall and didn't talk that much and this made me strange...i really hope that doesn't happen in a kung fu place ><.....hmmn good thing i don't know any of you in real life i never would've said that much to someone i knew.

[sanchezero]

"There are universities for kung fu?"

There's a new university that just opened up in Japan for NINJAS!

Fu<k kungfu - be a NEENJA! :D

[ewallace]

My friend it appears that you have a confidence problem. Kind of hard to be a good fighter without confidence. Who cares what people think when you change clothes. If they make fun of you take it out on 'em while sparring. In fact, I personally wouldn't train at a place that had students whom hadn't yet matured enough to refrain from making childish remarks about one's physical appearance. MA is not social hour. Sure you can make good friends but you are all there for a reason.

That is my one "feel good" statement for today.

[DelicateSound]

but I'm fat and not smart so I hope that doesn't matter in kung fu school

Not at all. If you turn up with the right attitude, and are willing to put in 110% almost all schools'll realise you're a good student. The ones that don't, aren't good schools.

Make sure you're taking up Kung-Fu for the right reasons though. If you want to lose weight, buy a pair of Nike's and run.

Only join a Kung-Fu class if you are sure you want to learn Kung Fu.

[Xebsball]

Dont worry about being fat, kung fu training will make you lose some weight depending on how hard you train.

Just go for it, come on, think of overweight masters of the past, they were all awesome:

Wang Shu Jin
Xebsball
Yang Cheng Fu

[Xebsball]

http://emptyflower.com/xingyiquan/drilling/wallpaper/wallpaper.html

Check out Wang Shujin, he kicked ass in China and Japan.

[Yajirobe]

Oh i wanted to learn kung fu because I was always interested in it. I think I'm going to do it....but that would be in the summer i have to give my mom some money to start out with I already saved up $120...in the summer i'll probly have more in the summer.

btw thanks for all the links everyone but i adventually had to look up a school in the yellow pages...who would've known phone books could be better then internet.

[ewallace]

One more thing, some of the smartest people I have ever known (bookwise) had some of the lowest common sense levels I have ever seen. A lot of MA is about common sense. It doesn't take an MIT grad to figure out that a spinning crescent kick won't work on a midget.

[Sharky]

"i'm fat and not so smart"

what kind of f.ucking attitude is that?

fair enough, if you're fat, you're fat, but the only reason (i usually find) that people are "not so smart" is cos they either don't educate themselves, or are lazy.

that's just the wrong attitude. you should never (IMO) put yourself down in that way. I NEVER say to myself, i am not clever enough to do this (for example) maths, when there are other people who can do it. I refuse to believe that they are better at me at something, and think there is nothing that i can do about it. I can be just as good if not better than anyone if i out my mind to it.

THAT is how a winner thinks. I am not saying I am god, or i am the best at everything, but you gotta have a bit of fu.ckin pride in yourself for gods sake.

And go for a fu.cking jog, fatty.

[bamboo_ leaf]

If you can’t train directly train indirectly work on things like flexibility, take yoga or gymnastics. There are many things that you can do now that would prepare you for when the opportunity to train at a school happens.

Conversely many people paying big bucks taining at the schools are training in the things that you could be doing now in order to practice their chosen styles.


a lot of basic things can be done and practiced independent of any style but used in all styles.

[Yajirobe]

Sharky I'm just pointing out the facts. I have tryed my hardest in math and all classes in school but I couldn't do it..even with other people helping me. No it's not a good attitude but I have tried my hardest and I'm still not able to do anything. I wouldn't call it a bad attitude i would call it a truthful one.

anyway I couldn't find ANY Kung fu places that i could take the bus to and my mom has work so i guess I'll just take it in college...i did find one place that claims to be a kung fu place but i find out it's my old karate place! It says "Karate" on the sign and that's what it teaches but it says Kung fu in the phone book! sorry for bumping this topic this is the last time.


And go for a fu.cking jog, fatty.

wow you're just like the kids at my school a$$hole. :p

[KC Elbows]

My nephew is mildly autistic. Wouldn't know it right away talking to him, just might think he's a little awkward.

He knows he isn't smart. He also knows he's more honest than most. There's nothing wrong with recognizing your own shortcomings. Just don't give up. Keep at what you need to learn, never assume because you are having a hard time at a thing that you cannot learn it.

My nephew is amazing at other things. He goes sailing, and the kid knows and can apply so many different knots, its insane. And the guy can improvise origami. He asked me one time to pick something to make an origami of. I was joking around, and said "An old lady". The next day, he made it. I keep it on my dresser to remember not to think of anything as impossible.

BTW, his mother was pretty embarrassed. The old lady came complete with sagging bossoms.:eek:

Origami has never been the same.

[Yajirobe]

that's a nice story. maybe when I'm older I'll be able to get in touch with my knowlege.

[ewallace]

Please excuse my British counterpart, they drink real beer over there and are more subjective to directness. If you suck at everything else you have done then maybe m/a is your niche. If you can't train now then get yourself in a better position to do so. If you are really out of shape then start VERY slow. Do some cycling on a stationary bike, do some slow pace work on an elliptical machine. If you don't have access to a gym, be creative. If you don't live at an apartment complex with a fitness center, go to a friends' that does. If no friends live at one, find a fairly nice apartment complex and just blend in (note this may be illegal in some places:)). Be creative. Look at the Training and Health forum. There are some people with some very good knowledge there. Just don't make excuses to yourself. If you are overweight, do something about it. It won't happen overnight. But in 5 years if you have done nothing but sat on your ass you will think to yourself...crap, I could have been lookin pretty good if I started then.

Remember, NO EXCUSES. If you do nothing to improve your situation you have no right to complain about it. Not saying you are complaining or making excuses. Just saying from now on if you are not doing anything to better your situation it is no one's fault but yours.

Stop the madness.
Fit for life.
Just say no.
Hug a tree.

That is my good deed for today. I am going to find me a stewardess to pat on the fanny.

[Yajirobe]

Yeah it is no one's fault but my own...but I'll find a way to lose weight.

[Sharky]

that's different, elbows.

[Sharky]

and for heavens sake, you really think you need a gym to get fit? pfft. mind your diet, do pressups, crunches, run and skip. You do NOT need a gym. It's just a luxary. Just try going jogging for 15 mins 2x a week, fatboy.

Or, you could stay in and have another cream cake. I'd understand if you did.

[ewallace]

:)

[KC Elbows]

Sharky,
Are you sure? The milder versions of autism are very hard to spot, and in most ways, these people function. How are you able to tell the difference(I'm just giving ya flack, don't take this too seriously:D ). Also, everyone has differing levels of aptitude in different fields, and cannot expect every type of thinking to be easy for them. I didn't tell him not to try.

However, I'm with you 100 per cent on the gym stuff. It drives me nuts how people need to buy stuff to do anything nowadays.

[Yajirobe]

Whoever said I wanted to go to a gym Sharky? Oh and I'm sure you have plenty of faults so stop calling me fatboy and crap you immature piece of sh it....and if you're joking that's fine I'll joke back you're probly one of those morons that can dish it out but not take it.

[KC Elbows]

He's just joking you, yaji. He himself weighs in at about 650 pounds wearing a thong.:D

[Sharky]

Fu.cking finally. Now get off your flabby ass and go running.

[Yajirobe]

no you wannabe gym teacher type fool. wantin your ki energy jive to help you through life...you think so you punk new age jive? well i am positive you are negative oh btw i may be fat but i'm not flabby.

[Sharky]

So, you're gonna stay in then?

[Yajirobe]

stay in?

[Sharky]

Oh, i can't be bothered with this anymore. Do what you want. Best of luck.

[Yajirobe]

yeah allright go away. you're upset because this forum doesn't use html.



nm...i coulda sworn i saw a doubleost...i'm too use to ezboard.

[KC Elbows]

If he did doublepost, he would have deleted it.

This whole thread is cracking me up.

[Yajirobe]

no i think i was just seeing things...anyway i wanna go back on the original topic. I think I'm going to have to prove you all wrong that training with books and getting videos can be a way to learn.

[Ryu]

training with books and videos IS a way to learn, just not good by itself with no formal instruction behind it. You can start with videos though, there's nothing wrong with it. Just be careful about picking up bad habits. You need a school to teach you what you're doing wrong. But tapes are ways of learning. Don't let someone tell you they're not (hell they're a multi-million dollar industry in the MA world :rolleyes: )

No on to something even more important.
LOL!!! Sanchezero, I LOVE your signature! :D LOL

Ryu

[yenhoi]

What sharky is saying is go do something, anything, exchanging posts about how sorry your are for yourself, or how you cant find a school, or that you think you can learn from a book is just making you less kung-fu-ish.

If your 16 and overweight and want to learn kung-fu but there is no convient kung-fu nearby:

Read up on the training forum. Use the search button, do searches for things like 'cardio' 'weight-loss' etc etc. I read nearly every post on KFO in october before I started posting -- there is alot of good info here, you just need to do a little bit of research yourself.

Low on cash also?

Dont waste your money on kung-fu books, goto the book store, look at the books, dont buy them, not until you find a good one that is trying to present infomation rather then sell more books.

You wont really 'learn kung-fu' until your in some sort of physical shape, you might 'learn about kung-fu' but you will not be really getting anything more then you get from a history book at school.

Your in highschool, dont you have a gym class? Physical education class, anything? Im sure it was required for a semester or two, even if your afraid or whatever of going to them, IF YOU EVER DID GO, then you must have learned some basics concerning your health, like: jumping jacks, pushups, situps, streching and running. Do those things, do them slowly, try and do them regularly, keep track of your progress. Your kung-fu and health will improve more and better if you worked on these things first before wasting your energy trying to find a teacher / books / arguing on internet forums.

If you worked out regularly starting now, until you were 18, with only the physical knowledge you can get from KFO + highschool/middleschool/elementry Physical Education classes - you would have an awesome base to begin your real kung-fu training, if you havent found a teacher before then.

Otherwise, if you think your going to honestly gain anything, and actually learn kung-fu through books and having a poor attitude about yourself, you are not going to get very far, and your not going to get any better health wise.

You could even start a thread on the training forum about: YOU. Post your stats, weight, height, anything else that might help people help you, like: waist size, if you have any sort of measurable weights, lift them and tell us how much you can get off the ground. People can help you out here, and people will flame you here and joke about you here, but its up to you to do the situps, its up to you to lift your knees.

[Serpent]

Troll!

FIRE IN THE HOLE!

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>fsssssssssss........

*BOOOOOM*




Smoked!

;)

[Yajirobe]

yenhoi i'm not making posts "feeling sorry for myself" what the hell do you know? I was posting that because I wanted to know if you had to be physically fit to do kung fu.

edit: had to word a sentance better.

[Ryu]

Hmm
What have you heard of the Gracie CD rom? .......maybe you already own it?

[red_fists]

Yajirobe.

Kung fu for some is easy, for others it is hard work.
It also depends on the style you choose.

But nobody can answer that question over the Net for you, your only and best bet is to try different things.

Books and Videos can give oy a very vague idea as to what the style is really like and feels like.

They are good study aids for people that have mastered the basics of their style, but not suited for absolue beginners.

Also no guarantee that the Books and Videos you get will be supported by your future Instructor and you might have to start from scratch again.
Which you should do anyway when you join a Dojo or Kwoon.

Just my Opinion.

[Yajirobe]

don't have it never heard of it. i would never train with cd roms...my comp has enough installed on it. oh btw yenhoi of course i have physical education it's a law if you didn't know that.

[Yajirobe]

yeah but the problem is i can't fine a kung fu place that i could go by on bus...i'm just going to take it at college.

[Ryu]

There was a guy on here who used to train using Gracie CD roms...his name escapes me right now though. :cool:

Ryu

[Yajirobe]

well i could get it off kazaa for free anyway....probly

[friday]

hey Yaji, just kinda skim read most of the stuff on this thread so i might be repeating things u have already been told. anyway have a look at the schools in your area, nothing really beats actually being taught by an instructor...unless the instructors are really crap.
in respect of books and videos sure they will help. i actually know of a few ppl that learn from videos and actually visit their sifu who is overseas to get thing sfixed up and have everything explained to them , questions abou tapplication, how does this techniques work, is this right? etcetc. these videos are not stuff that is sold or anything, but videos their sifu was kinda enuff to give to them on trust that it will not go anywhere beyong thes eindividuals. they are actually quite good with the sifu doing the form slowly then breaking it up and doign it from different angles. it doesn't beat personal instruction but videos can help, but like any school, if the vidoes are done by a crappy sifu or instructor...u are gonna pick up a lot of bad habits. do a bit of research etc...but i hope u realise eventually u will need to get someone to teach u hands on.
in the meantime conisdering u are 16 yrs of age they are better than nothing.
in terms of fitness...mayb u should train up yoru body slowly till u are a bit fitter and then gradually introduce your kung fu training in. but pls pls pls don't go nuts and start training everyday 4 hrs or something. pl sdo all your warm ups and warm downs etc.
mayb u have a gym instructor in the local area who could help u with these things. i have a magazine thast really good on warms ups and warm down with stretching in it etc.
anyway hope this is of help
good luck :)

[red_fists]

Originally posted by Yajirobe
yeah but the problem is i can't fine a kung fu place that i could go by on bus...i'm just going to take it at college.

A lot of Places also DO NOT advertise publicly.

A friend of mine in the US studies Tai Chi at a church.
Was never advertised, he simply walked past the place and saw the Guys doing stuff. :eek:

Don't limit yourself to places on Bus routes, where a Bus doesn't go a Bicycle can. ;)

Check around and ask the people in the Neighbourhood, you might get a surprise.

[Yajirobe]

Thanks my favorate day of the week now I have some advice for you slow down on typing and work on accuracy more then speed. ;)

[Ryu]

On a completely different topic...anyone seen Ralek around lately?
Oh now where could he be..... HMMMMM :cool:

Ryu

[red_fists]

Originally posted by Ryu
On a completely different topic...anyone seen Ralek around lately?
Oh now where could he be..... HMMMMM :cool:

Ryu

Naaah, the Person you are refering to at best is still a wee little baby troll, needs plenty more practice to reach Ralek's level. ;p

s******, snort.

[Serpent]

Awooga! Awooga!

Troll!


FIRE IN THE HOLE!

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>fsssssssssss........




*BOOOOOM*




Smoked!


;)

[ewallace]

edit: had to word a sentance better.

The possibilities are endless.

[CrushingFist]

i like that thing in your signature

"Ping shi duo chu han, zhan shi shao liu xue "

Where did you get it from and who said it?
just curious.
byebye~

[red_fists]

Crushing Fist.

I found it somwhere on my travels on the Net and copied it. (me bad Boy)

Sorry, don't know who said it originally.