americans think kung fu sucks

[drayconn]

Im a blond haired white average american child with his fair share of problems. So are all my friends, cept I goto kung fu 9 hours a week. All my friends thing kung fu is "stupid" (nice way of putting it) and they make fun of me for it. I really hate the fact that they think they could beat me up because they think kung fu doesnt really teach you anything. I really want to show them whats what (again nice way of putting it) but my schools creed number 5 is use kung fu only for good, and I dont feel like being the better man, any ideas?

[Repulsive Monkey]

Invest in Loss. As much as they bait you, yield to it so as to avoid fighting. The reason why we should fight are ones like protecting yourself from mortal danger or someone else who can't do so and is being abused in some way.
If you must fight use it for justice not to prove a point to some little squirts whos eem to be making a mockery out of nothing more than jealousy of your art.

[unkokusai]

Smite them.

[SanSoo Student]

Leave them to their thoughts, if you enjoy it, and it promotes good health/spiritual welfare...continue doing it regardless of others.

As all my friends have their fair share of problems, alot of them have turned to alcohol, I personally can commiserate with them. Drinking is the easy way for ephemeral happiness, but the best way IMHO is to find peace in martial arts. Whether its doing an extra round on the bag, or just chillin out in your horse stance. It seems to have a longer feel of euphoria.

[Ray Pina]

With all of that said, how is your martial ability?

Peace of mind can be gained by doing anything constructive: playing an instrument, painting, fishing going to yoga. But you chose martial arts. If the school you attend meeting your expectations? Are there guys there that can handle themselves using the technique not size?

Martial Arts is great! It will promote a lot of great attributes within in. But you can get all of those and be able to take care of yourself.

I recently hung out with a TKD guy a few days before a fight I had and he said, "well, we stress the other side of martial arts."

I know what he meant because I had that kind of training in karate as a kid, but you need to train on both -- or all -- sides of martial arts. Yin and Yang.

You want the confidence to be able to give a wise-ass smile and walk away, but be able to back it up if need be. Kung Fu can take awhile -- 3 to 5 years -- before you feel tough, and lifetime more to live it.

Enjoy.

[pest]

What about playfighting? then your not engaging in a real fight but you have a chance to explore technique's. I think in compliance with your schools rule you will be having fun, not hurting anyone and maby show off a little :D

[Ray Pina]

Play fighting is play fight.

Two hand touch football will make you familiar with running a pattern, catching/throwing a ball, and covering someone.

But football is a contact sport: can you catch and hold onto the ball when a linebacker comes up and pops you with the helmet and shoulderpads? Will you have the focus to even catch the ball when you know that's coming?

Can you tackle someone?

Play fight, or light sparring is one training tool.

I don't say these things to discourage and rank on anyone's training. Just speaking openly. You can aproach the full-out fighting and be relatively safe. Meaning you can somewhat control the amount of damage you receive giving priority to certain defense areas (covering the head, closing your lower door, ect). But that only opens other areas. That's all part of the "game" of fighting.

The main thing is to ask yourself what do you want. Of course, inside, everyone wants to be an arse kicker. No matter your size or ability, you can be. It just takes time, commitment, and a good teacher.

Forget about brand names (Tai Boxing, BJJ, Hung Gar, Wing Chun, Hsing-I). Go peak into as many school as you can and see which seems to be training the best way to suit what you're looking for.

Later, after you've learned, you can always break out into another style subject that interests you.

The hardest part is the truthful self evaluation: are you getting what you want from your martial art school?

The danger many have is that they invested one or a few years in a school and only have their eye on the black belt/sash/senior status. Can you kick arse? That's worth 10 black belts, four sashes and a bushel of bows from juniors. That will carry with you everywhere you go. That gains the respect of yourself, you know what you have put in, and you know what you have gotten out. That carries over into all things.

[Yung Apprentice]

Drayconn- Your about 15? A teen at least, right? I find it interesting, that most kids your age, wouldn't label themselves a "child", yet you chose to.

[blooming lotus]

if you're practicing ma for other people to approve, by all means "show off"...if you pracvtice for mind/body/soul reasons there should be no need. As for them thinking kungfu s*cks.....dude...most Americans dont even know what kungfu is let alone know whether they like it not......

Quote

"find peace in your practice"

Gene Ching

[GOT'EM]

I would'nt encourage playfighting with friends.It almost ALWAYS
leads into a real fight.Someone might hit you (vice versa),tempers flare,then you're not playing anymore.

[freehand]

I agree there should be no "play fighting"; it will almost always get out of hand. Even adults demonstrating their techniques to friends are asking for trouble, altho it will usually work if the friends are martial artists, too. "Here's how we might deal with that attack; how would someone from your art?"

But people who don't train will not cooperate with chin na, and they will ignore strikes that are pulled and flail away, either because they think you are superman, or more likely, because they want to show you up. The only counters to this silliness are the real application of techniques, which cause pain, can injure someone, create hurt feelings, and get you in trouble.

Instead, after you've trained for a year or so, invite them (not necessarily all at once) to come visit a class and watch, assuming it's OK with your teacher.

Let them see your hard work, and the progress you've made in this time. You can point out some senior students and say, "I hope to be like that in a few more years".

They may be jealous. Most martial arts classes are way more fun than aimless hanging out. Some might even decide to start taking classes themselves.

[Meat Shake]

Ego is a big thing. People dont like to admit that you can kick their ass.

[Odin of Wei]

Originally posted by unkokusai
Smite them.
If he was my age (I just turned 17 April 8th) he would be in high school. If he was to "Smite them" they would get in quite a bit of trouble, put on they're transcript and might be a bit hard to look for a good college. Believe it or not they're not looking for criminals here. ;)
I had the same problem. I wasn't getting mocked too bad. But I just got simply annoyed. I checked my problem...what did I do wrong?

The thing that I did was that I told them I did a martial art.
No one has to know your business...no one at all. You should worry about what concerns you and only you.
And if you need to use it....like some honney is in trouble then use your Gung fu. :D

What Gung fu do you do? If you don't mind my asking.

With me I just completely stopped taking about my Gung fu and everyone forgot it within a year. I may fool around and do part of a form in class but people seem not to care.

Power to yea, bro. :cool:

[No_Know]

Practice and let them make fun. If you do not defend it. They might lose interest. If you beat them (fight them), they will/might tease you more, because they might think you can't beat them all all the time. But that it will be entertaining/funny/a laugh (you the joke) to watch you futally try.

We do not really have control of what Others do. But we do have at least some say in how we act towards them. Part of Successful Kung-Fuing might be Humility.

[TenTigers]

one, you need better friends. A friend will support you no matter what. Their friendship is unconditional. A friend will not judge you or criticize you for doing what you believe in, whether or not they agree. My friends admire me for my steadfastness throughout the years. Perhaps you will develop friendships with your training brothers.
two-forget playfighting-these "friends" will not playfight long before it gets out of control. Egos and testosterone are a bad combination. Besides, there will always be the guy who says, "Yeah, while you're doing thiat, I can do THIS..." trust me, it goes downhill from there. It isn't worth it. Walk away.
You don't have to justify it. Some people either just don't get it, or they are "Too cool for Kung-Fu"-which means...they just don't get it. Fine. Let them. Some kids are too cool for school, too. They will end up mowing your lawn, or washing your car, down the road. Stick to your guns.

[CaptinPickAxe]

I've found the opposite result. People fear and respect me because of my martial background. I haven't really romped anyone in front of my friends, but I've shown them a few forms and applications. I think I've sparred with a handfull of them.

[Odin of Wei]

Originally posted by CaptinPickAxe
I've found the opposite result. People fear and respect me because of my martial background. I haven't really romped anyone in front of my friends, but I've shown them a few forms and applications. I think I've sparred with a handfull of them.
Lucky. :(

[GeneChing]

Smite them roflmao unkokusai roflmao

Drayconn, are you at the O-mei Kung Fu Academy? So am I.

Who cares what others think about your practice? I know being a teen, this is more crucial. But I was a fencer from jr. high school on and I did kung fu. I had my fencing friends, my kung fu friends and my school friends. There wasn't much crossover. I didn't bring up my kf practice with my school friends or my fencing practice with my kf friends or so on. I just did my practice quietly. If you don't show it, nobody has anything to criticize and they'll leave you alone.

[Odin of Wei]

Originally posted by GeneChing
roflmao unkokusai roflmao

Drayconn, are you at the O-mei Kung Fu Academy? So am I.

Who cares what others think about your practice? I know being a teen, this is more crucial. But I was a fencer from jr. high school on and I did kung fu. I had my fencing friends, my kung fu friends and my school friends. There wasn't much crossover. I didn't bring up my kf practice with my school friends or my fencing practice with my kf friends or so on. I just did my practice quietly. If you don't show it, nobody has anything to criticize and they'll leave you alone.
Exactly! :D

[sticky fingers]

Gene is correct.
Be humble. Don't show off, don't wear your club Tshirt in public. Don't talk about kungfu with anybody that doesn't need to know.

If your 'friends' make fun of you just play along. Do your best Bruce Lee imitation but act like you don't know anytihing.
Tell them you've quit kungfu and taken swimming lessons instead but keep practising quietly.
Sooner or later they'll move on to more important topics to talk abouut, like girls.

[GeneChing]

that's the real reason to train. chicks dig it. ;)

[Odin of Wei]

Originally posted by sticky fingers
Gene is correct.
Be humble. Don't show off, don't wear your club Tshirt in public. Don't talk about kungfu with anybody that doesn't need to know.

If your 'friends' make fun of you just play along. Do your best Bruce Lee imitation but act like you don't know anytihing.
Tell them you've quit kungfu and taken swimming lessons instead but keep practising quietly.
Sooner or later they'll move on to more important topics to talk abouut, like girls.
ahhh, so that's the greatness of Bruce Lee?

hahahaha :rolleyes:

[guanyu]

Originally posted by drayconn
Im a blond haired white average american child with his fair share of problems. So are all my friends, cept I goto kung fu 9 hours a week. All my friends thing kung fu is "stupid" (nice way of putting it) and they make fun of me for it. I really hate the fact that they think they could beat me up because they think kung fu doesnt really teach you anything. I really want to show them whats what (again nice way of putting it) but my schools creed number 5 is use kung fu only for good, and I dont feel like being the better man, any ideas?

You shouldn't have let them know. But try this, **** one of them and wait for one of them to do the first move and beat the ****ing hell out of them just enough to make them look stupid. Why? because they are not worth to be your friends. Also don't let your school know. It is good way of training too you know? After that just say sorry and tell them you just get fed up. Its cool :cool:

[Friendless Tool]

sigh

[Odin of Wei]

Originally posted by Friendless Tool
violence is wrong. unless someone is trying to rape my girlfriend or soemthing. then id kill him. :mad:
And your from Texas? :p

[Friendless Tool]

unfortunatly, yes. I hate texas though. If you think Bush is bad, trying living in his home state. There isnt even a point of voting this election cause bush is gonna win texas anyway. so much for a democracy.

more importantly, dont think that everyone in or from texas is a redneck conservative christian. Ill admit there are ALOT of them here. But there are some very cool people here too.

[unkokusai]

Originally posted by Friendless Tool
unfortunatly, yes. I hate texas though.
more importantly, dont think that everyone in or from texas is a redneck conservative christian. Ill admit there are ALOT of them here. But there are some very cool people here too.

So, you hate all conservative Christians?

[Friendless Tool]

I dont hate them, I just dissagree with them.....strongly.

[Odin of Wei]

Originally posted by Friendless Tool
unfortunatly, yes. I hate texas though. If you think Bush is bad, trying living in his home state. There isnt even a point of voting this election cause bush is gonna win texas anyway. so much for a democracy.

more importantly, dont think that everyone in or from texas is a redneck conservative christian. Ill admit there are ALOT of them here. But there are some very cool people here too.
Oh, you just surpised me by saying violence is wrong and that you were from Texas. :p :p

[Banjos_dad]

If you pay attention and do what your Sifu says, you'll get kungfu skill, and you will know for yourself, the reality of kung fu. Then it won't matter when someone says something ignorant. You'll know better from experience. It also builds strength effectively, in different ways.
My friends know i do kung fu but outside of this forum I don't like to reveal it. My first martial arts teacher always said, "Karate is my secret." Kung Fu is a most powerful secret to have.
Your friends may be trying to draw you into fighting or revealing kung fu moves to them. Did you think of that. In our school the rules specifically prohibit us from demonstraing moves or applications to no-students, & even students at a more basic level of study.
Keep training :cool:

[Banjos_dad]

Oh yeah:

If you step it up to 21 hours training a week you'll have them eating their words much sooner :D

friend in martial arts. B_d

[Dark Knight]

In our school the rules specifically prohibit us from demonstraing moves or applications to no-students, & even students at a more basic level of study.

A lot of schools do this so that the students are not exposed to other methods, normally its out of fear that they will lose a student because soemone comes along and critisizes the style.




revealing kung fu moves to them.

If you have an instructor telling you that he teaches you secret moves that no one else has, then you should find a new instructor. He is misleading you, and taking advantage of you, there are no secrets.

[Banjos_dad]

:rolleyes:


It is better to learn from the mistakes of others, true :-D


<haw, haw!>

Other reasons for non disclosure type rules:

1. A little knowledge is a dangerous thing: A non-MAer who tries to demonstrate ' martial arts move that someone showed him once or twice is likely to be seriously pummelled, more so than if they hadn't tried to make any pretense of skill. cough[yourpost]. oh excuse me!

2. Sifu makes his living...teaching kung fu. Showing other people kungfu moves = taking work away from Sifu.


** See drayconn, even within kung fu, everyone acts like each other's kung fu sucks. Stick with it anyway.

[No_Know]

"All my friends thing kung fu is "stupid" (nice way of putting it) and they make fun of me for it. I really hate the fact that they think they could beat me up because they think kung fu doesnt really teach you anything. I really want to show them whats what (again nice way of putting it)"

Friends like yours tease. Not much else to do besides tease your friends. And if you ever do get a life, your friends can sometimes be the ones who keep you down with taunts to fill your self doubt. This way they don't lose a hanging-out-with-because-we-don't-have-anything-important-in life-to-be-a-part-of buddy.

There was a reality show called Survivor. The people who were apparently tough competition got ganded-up on in secret and those trying to lead got voted out in at least some instances. Being strong can be helpful. Showing how strong you are is like playing high stakes Texas hold 'um (Poker) with your cards, faces, showing. And some will back down or back off. But at least some will press you because they Know what your cards are.

[Odin of Wei]

Originally posted by Dark Knight
A lot of schools do this so that the students are not exposed to other methods, normally its out of fear that they will lose a student because soemone comes along and critisizes the style.





If you have an instructor telling you that he teaches you secret moves that no one else has, then you should find a new instructor. He is misleading you, and taking advantage of you, there are no secrets.
"Seldom used, rarely shown" is the old saying.

My Sifu told me that one.



Yet don't you think if you demostart a few moves that would better your sifus business?

[freehand]

It is my experience that folks who are *not martial artists will feel compelled to challenge you. If you demonstrate a wrist leverage, and they don't cooperate, do you:
A. Give up and let them think it doesn't work?
B. Apply it anyway, with force, and break your brother-in-law's wrist?

This is not a question of taking sifu's business away from him. The odds of any random aquaintance being a potential student of any sifu is pretty slim.

The secret of all the arts I've studied has been the training. "Kung Fu" after all, means "mastery thru hard work". There are secret techniques, but I don't think I've been shown any. Maybe I can't be trusted with 'em :)

But demonstrating techniques can lead to hard feelings, injuries, criminal charges and law suits on one hand, or folks thinking your art is ineffective on the other.

I'm not a kid anymore, and if I meet another martial artist, I can usually show him how I might try to handle a situation without any hard feelings or injuries. A karate man asked how my kung fu might block a kick. I told him to throw a side kick at me; I swept and scooped his foot and pushed just a little on his chest to unbalance, then dropped his leg. An onlooker remarked that my kung fu was "better", and I quickly pointed out that I knew what the attack was going to be, he didn't throw it full power, and he didn't try to counter my counter. The karateka's curiosity was satisfied and he was not insulted. No problem.

But the potential for trouble is there, and when teachers advise against it or forbid it I doubt they are worried about lost business.

[Odin of Wei]

Word!

I thought it was werid too that it would decrease Sifu's biz. :D

[SimonM]

I'm all for the play fighting angle.

I am a bit overweight. I used to be REALLY overweight, that is why I started doing Kung Fu in the first place.

About a year back, I began to get confident in my abilities and started talking to my friends about Kung Fu a lot. A few of them had a "yeah right fat ass" attitude about what I was saying. So I said, "well, you want to play fight?" It didn't take very long before my friends started taking my Kung Fu seriously and I never hurt one of them. Seriously, the concept of "play" within Martial Arts does not violate the tenent of using Kung Fu "only for good" while still giving you a method of protecting the reputation of the martial art.

Just don't go too far and accidentally hurt someone you care about.
:cool:

[Friendless Tool]

This is what i did...

I told a friend at school i studied kung fu.

he seemed interested..
so i told him..

"Hey why dont you join?"

now we train togeather every monday and thursday.

No problem...


now once a guy did tell me that kung fu was bull****..
this guy also happens to snort cocaine...

so i told him... well i rather waste my time with kung fu then be a worthless cokehead....

he shut up....


if your peers are being b-a-st-ard's about you training..

all the more to be an even wittier b-a-s-ta-rd back.

[Shadow Skill]

In some sutuations you might have to (as my sifu would say) make a believer out of them.

when I started kung fu I was also playing football in college. I would always get crap "that $hit work on me" or " that wouldn't hurt". This went on for a while, I told my sifu about it. He told me a very simular story to mine (he played football at florida state) then he told me something I never expected from him he said "sometimes you gotta make believers out of them".

that following practice I got the same crap "what if I hit you like this" so I said to one of how about you try it in real life.

This guy was 6'2" 260 I was 5'9" 171 with pads on everyone in the locker room gathered around. He proceeded to swing as hard as he could I ducked under the punch and pushed under his punching arm knocking him off balance. see I could have hurt you
he swing again I block his punch an push him off balance again.
The third time I blocked his punch and sent him to the ground w/ a knife hand to the throat. I didnt realy hurt any thing but his pride. after that the "your kung fu sucks" jokes ended.

[unixfudotnet]

Originally posted by drayconn
Im a blond haired white average american child with his fair share of problems. So are all my friends, cept I goto kung fu 9 hours a week. All my friends thing kung fu is "stupid" (nice way of putting it) and they make fun of me for it. I really hate the fact that they think they could beat me up because they think kung fu doesnt really teach you anything. I really want to show them whats what (again nice way of putting it) but my schools creed number 5 is use kung fu only for good, and I dont feel like being the better man, any ideas?

real friends care about your feelings. sure, guys joke around a lot, but if you let them know that it is really too much, they should respect that and back off. though I didn't find that out after I moved out of my parent's house, heh.

after all, you have a choice if you want to hang out with them or not :) you have control ;)

[Meat Shake]

". A little knowledge is a dangerous thing: A non-MAer who tries to demonstrate ' martial arts move that someone showed him once or twice is likely to be seriously pummelled, more so than if they hadn't tried to make any pretense of skill. cough[yourpost]. oh excuse me!"

Yup. I had a drunken friend "show me a move this guy taught him real quick" ....
Wound up in the E.R. with a dislocated shoulder after he picked me up and promptly fell on me without warning.