What have been your best and worst purchases from Martialartsmart (Tigerclaw)?

[themeecer]

What has been your best and worst purchases from the owners of this site, www.martialartsmart.com (tigerclaw.com)?

Best: The Water Style Boxing video by Helen Liang
Why? Well beyong the obvious joy of getting to watch Helen, it gives the most value for your dollar. You are taught a very nice form from multiple angles with applications throughout the video. This is some solid material. I would jump at the chance to be allowed to train under her or her father. Her snake video is great as well, and it has even more applications.

Worst: Chuck Hansen's Nunchaku DVDs. Trying to not be that critical here, if this works for him and his students .. then great. I knew something was wrong when teaching his first form he makes the statement "at this point you spin, turning your back to the judges." Judges?!?!? Holy freakin crap!! There should have been a disclaimer on the DVDs that said there is no martial ability taught on these, simply techniques to help one compete in an XMA competition. Bleh!

[GeneChing]

You'll be happy to know that we are working on part two of Water Boxing with Helen Liang. In fact, I just spoke to Helen on the phone a few days ago to clear up some ambiguities I had about the form.

As for the Hansen videos, we had a lot of requests for a demo nunchuk video series. Chuck Hansen offered us a pre-packaged program.

I'm eager to read other resposnses to this thread.

[Shaolinlueb]

best thing i bought had to be the new sun moon wushu broad sword or the wushu kwan do.

worst is the monkey staff video. i believe we already had a thread about that

[themeecer]

Originally posted by GeneChing
You'll be happy to know that we are working on part two of Water Boxing with Helen Liang. In fact, I just spoke to Helen on the phone a few days ago to clear up some ambiguities I had about the form.

As for the Hansen videos, we had a lot of requests for a demo nunchuk video series. Chuck Hansen offered us a pre-packaged program.

I'm eager to read other resposnses to this thread.
I almost didn't include my negative item, and felt bad after I did. I also ordered a set of his chucks, which were superbly made. They were a little light for my tastes but for a demo set of chucks(if one does this sort of thing), I don't think his can be beat.

And now I am drooling over the 2nd Water Boxing video. Will it be another form, or more applications of the first form? The latter would be better since there appeared to be hundreds of applications in the form from the first video. But anything would be great. It is a shame her school is in Canada. :(

Edit: I found this in Liang's site:
There are two Liuhebafa routines: Liuhebafa Quan and Sanpan Shiershi routines. The Liuhebafa Quan consists of sixty-six postures including over five hundred martial applications. It is divided into two sections, and each section is practiced as a routine. The Sanpan Shiershi routine is a foundation training routine that include advancing, retreating, rising and lowering movements which are designed to develope reaction skills for combat.
I also went back to watch the water boxing video and saw that it is only 32 movememnts. I assume this is the first section of Liuhebafa Quan, since it is never stated. Does this possibly mean the second section will be taught? The Sanpan Shiershi routine sounds more like a precurser to the other two. Are you at liberty to discuss Gene?

[Fen]

The Best!!
I feel that the best thing is the Customer Service. ?Joan Chen? is the best! She has never did me wrong... I have always got what ordered, and in 3 to 4 days!!!

The Worst!! :(
Jeremy C. a.k.a SilumKid and Kacie ( the one in the pic of the sweet shirt hood up) not working there anymore.. I feel that you should pay them anything "with in $$$ reason $$$" to get them back!!! Joan If you all need Jeremy C. Phone # Just e-mail me or Call!!!

For the Magazine:
Good:
Getting Brother Gene C. to work there!

Worst:
Martha not working for you all.
And to much push on SSKF!! And the Masters and Sifus of China, and not enuff on the Masters and Sifus ( All Races not just Chinese) here in the USA! IMHO
There should be a Ying and Yang!!! Not just one!

~Jason

[Pork Chop]

The good...

Got some decent videos & dvds from there like Hero....
Got my cotton shin guards from there...


The bad...

Ordered a staff once and received a Da Mo wall scroll instead. When I called to complain i was supposed to mail back the wall scroll on my own dime and include the receipt. Some time had passed in there so I didn't have the receipt or something and ended up not even bothering.


The ugly...

*Some* of the TC2000 stuff is kinda err lame...
In general the gear seems to be aimed at a broad range of japanese & chinese stylists for the specific use of point sparring.
Aside from the vinyl TC2000 shinguards and the cotton Tiger Claw shinguards; there's not much there that I would consider for my own, personal regular training needs- although I'm probably not representative of their customer base.

[David Jamieson]

I have been satisfied with everything I've gotten from MAM.

I am even "more" than satisfied with the heavy ass kwan do.

no complaints...and if I had em, you'd be sure to hear em!

[Vash]

The Good:

The subscription:

The Bad:

Nada.

The Ugly:

The fact I've yet to actually order anything. I've not credit card, and it takes forever to get the check over there.

I will, however, be ordering the Eagle Claw (traditional) instructional here soon, so I'll post a review then.

[Brad]

My favorites: Helen Liang's snake form & the Wu, Chen, & Sun style competition form videos. I also liked Shi Guolin's Xiao Hong Quan.

My least favorite: Shaolin Wind Demon staff(Basically looked like an extra simplified modern wushu staff routine by a mediocre performer, to me).

[PHILBERT]

Best (http://www.martialartsmart.net/19341.html)
Bestest (http://www.martialartsmart.net/102promax.html)

Worst (http://www.martialartsmart.net/tc-tt005.html)
Luckily I only spent $10 on it so I wasn't too upset.

What I'd like to take out one night. (http://store1.yimg.com/I/martialartsmart_1822_22608873)

[cerebus]

What? The chest protector with the pink trim? Well, I guess if you have the pink trimmed uniform to go with it..... :D :D

[David Jamieson]

lol Philbert bought a clown video!

as an aside, I think it would be in the best interest of everybody if todd the clown stopped making wing chun videos. But that's just my opinion. :p

[Dale Dugas]

Decent books about Bagua are like legs on snakes most of the time. Great book!

Havent had any bad experiences with Martial Arts Mart as of yet.

In Boston,

Dale Dugas

[Meat Shake]

Hey meercer-
Did you quit shaolin-do?
Just an honest question.
(that and I cant possibly see the need to add anything else to the 19081092730860176208730817201 forms already taught....)

[themeecer]

Originally posted by Meat Shake
Hey meecer-
Did you quit shaolin-do?
Just an honest question.
(that and I cant possibly see the need to add anything else to the 19081092730860176208730817201 forms already taught....)

Um no. I would never do so. It has aided me well in the past 21 years and will continue to do so.

Can a person not buy videos just to have? Also I have read that Water Fist Boxing is a combination of Tai Chi, Pa Qua, and Hsing I ... and since I teach all three of them I feel a study of the combination of all three would be beneficial. What's more I don't have access to many of the forms taught out in our system. (Not saying I am adding this ... just studying it)

And if you want to go down that road start another thread so this one doesn't go off topic. I think this one will be a good way for us to make wise purchases in the future.

[rogue]

The best: My pair of feiyue's.

The worst: The anatomically correct set of KFM moderator action figures (http://www.teach-a-bodies.com). Really Gene, you all could have done better. They aren't even action figures. And to further erode 7* street cred, the Kung Lek one is packing more heat than his, if you know what I mean.

[Meat Shake]

"And if you want to go down that road start another thread so this one doesn't go off topic."


Like I said, it was just an honest question. No need to get your panties in a bunch.

My best purchase from MAM - My only purchase. Kung Fu Qigong Magazine.

[themeecer]

Originally posted by Meat Shake
Like I said, it was just an honest question. No need to get your panties in a bunch.

My best purchase from MAM - My only purchase. Kung Fu Qigong Magazine.
Ok, I'm sorry.

Yes I almost forgot my feiyues. I even prefer these to my $60 Discipline shoes ... which look mighty sexy on me.

[Meat Shake]

Ive heard that the feiyues are rather heavy soled and cumbersome?

How is the padding on the heel?

[themeecer]

Originally posted by Meat Shake
Ive heard that the feiyues are rather heavy soled and cumbersome?

How is the padding on the heel?

My feiyues are light as a feather and I can 'feel' the ground with them on. I can feel cracks in the sidewalk while wearing them. In my opinion they are the best of both worlds, between being barefooted and shoed.

There is zero padding on the heel. The only padding would be the rubber of the sole, but besides that there is none.

[Meat Shake]

Eeeeh....
I may just go with some samba's again then, no padding = worse for my already bad knees.

[themeecer]

Originally posted by Meat Shake
Eeeeh....
I may just go with some samba's again then, no padding = worse for my already bad knees.
Do what I do. I purchased some $200 shoe inserts from the Good Feet store and all my back pain has disappeared. (I got hit by a car in college, who hit me as I was walking and he was running a red light. That and other accidents contributed to this pain) I can walk all day and feel no fatigue in my knees or my back. They are amazing. I alternate between wearing these in my feiyues and not, depending on what I am doing in class that day.

I know ... $200 is a very steep price. But when it comes to your health it is worth it. Also there is a lifetime warranty on them.

[PHILBERT]

Originally posted by Kung Lek
lol Philbert bought a clown video!

as an aside, I think it would be in the best interest of everybody if todd the clown stopped making wing chun videos. But that's just my opinion. :p

$10 out of the magazine, indeed, I watched it once (and in small doses). Now I use it sometimes when I can't sleep. It makes me fall asleep.

[ShaolinJOJO]

definitely my best purchase was my competition straight sword and the worst is the tiger claw shoes i destroyed those like in two days

[Shaolinlueb]

Originally posted by ShaolinJOJO
definitely my best purchase was my competition straight sword and the worst is the tiger claw shoes i destroyed those like in two days

those shoes are teh hotn3ss!!

[rubthebuddha]

philbert -- my sidai got the chum kiu video for ****s and giggles. he showed it to me once when i was over. i literally started yelling at the teevee. several times.

"hammer fist? HAMMER FIST?!?! WHAT THE **** ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?!?!"

:D

however, most of the time, i just laughed at that video and the assistant student's constant attention to his really pretty hair. he seemed more intent on perfecting that stupid head roll that flips hair around rather than working on his techniques.

[David Jamieson]

how many of you guys got the free *ug-lee* patch with your purchases?

that thing still is dang funny.

[MasterKiller]

I second the Tiger Claw shoes. I can wear Feiyues for like 6 months before replacing them. Tiger Claws start falling apart after a week or so. I ALWAYS have to get the soles re-stitched on them. They're crap.

[GeneChing]

I'll try to address each and every one of you here:

TMC: The previous videos is Liu He Ba Fa Quan, but only the first section. This is the section that is most often taught and demoed and it has a clear stopping point. The second part, which will be on our soon-to-be-released video, utilizes the same movements but in a different pattern. It's akin to Yang Tai Chi, which has three major sections, each of which are variations of each other and could be separated out.

ToW: I'll pass your kind words along to Joan. Kacie wasn't a martial artist, so she moved on to greener - more lucrative - pastures, although she still stops by to say 'hi' now and again. Jeremy also moved on to teach - he used to frequent this forum but I haven't heard from him in a while. Martha last wrote for us last year. Hopefully, she'll submit something in the future, but I haven't heard from her in a while either.
SSKF sells. When the others sell, we'll publish them as just as much. I appreciate that our readership likes diversity - I do too - but I gotta bow down to what the newsstand results tell me or there won't be any magazine at all.

BMB: I understand that we're abandoning TC2000 and upgrading to a new line. After all, it's 2005. But I'm not sure about this tho, it's not my department exactly.

SLL, KL, V, B, DD: Thanks for the props!

PB (& KL & RTB): I'll pass that along to Margie... No comment on the WC vid...

C: That's actually red trim - bad pic. I have a policy against pink stuff around here and I'm amazed at how many times I must invoke it. :rolleyes:

R: I'm aghast at the thought of anatomically correct moderator dolls, mostly because I work with Design Sifu and Silent Assassin.

SLJJ, MK: I'm a Feiyue man (http://ezine.kungfumagazine.com/ezine/article.php?article=527) myself. As for Tiger Claw shoes, if you get the Mar Apr issue, you'll see why I love them on page 83...

[PHILBERT]

Tell her she can pass her number along to me too, and I don't mean 1-800-824-2433 :p

[rogue]

C: That's actually red trim - bad pic. I have a policy against pink stuff around here and I'm amazed at how many times I must invoke it.
There's a dirty joke ****ed, locked and ready to rock in there, but I wouldn't go there.:o

[Pork Chop]

Originally posted by GeneChing
BMB: I understand that we're abandoning TC2000 and upgrading to a new line. After all, it's 2005. But I'm not sure about this tho, it's not my department exactly.


Didn't mean to come off so negative, I really do love my cotton shin guards.

[GeneChing]

BMB: No worries - I'd rather you make honest criticisms than guard your comments. It's not like I'm going to ban anyone for not liking MartialArtsMart.com (http://www.martialartsmart.com) products. We like to hear your negative feedback too - it's the only way we can improve service.

R: They tease me with pink around here, ESPECIALLY DESIGN SIFU. They do things in pink just to taunt me. Superman has kryptonite; I have pink trim.

P: Try 510-656-5100 X105 ;)

[Golden Tiger]

Originally posted by themeecer
What's more I don't have access to many of the forms taught out in our system. (Not saying I am adding this ... just studying it)

And if you want to go down that road start another thread so this one doesn't go off topic. I think this one will be a good way for us to make wise purchases in the future.

OT- sorry.

Meecer, PM me what forms you would like and I might be able to help.

Now back to your regularly scheduled thread....

[brothernumber9]

best: kungfu magazine 10th anniv cover masters demonstrations. A whole bunch of the sifus everyone hears about on these forums in there, even though the stage was a little small and ceiling a little low (at least for 3 section staff). The slow mo replays faded into real time were cool.

worst: I havent bought anything else yet.

[@PLUGO]

They tease me with pink around here, ESPECIALLY DESIGN SIFU. They do things in pink just to taunt me. Superman has kryptonite; I have pink trim.

[GeneChing]

You see what I have to freakin' deal with? :mad:

[rogue]

Gene said, he has pink trim. Huh huh huh huh. Gene is so cool. Huh huh huh huh. Bet he has a Winger t-shirt. Huh huh huh huh.

[GeneChing]

That even made you sig. I'm honored....I think :confused:

And I don't have a Winger T-shirt. I have a New Kids on the Block T-shirt, but no Winger T-shirts...

[phoenix-eye]

I haven't been disappointed with anything from MAM so far

I've ordered some Shi Guolin vids, feiyues, KFTC mag subscription to Uk - no problems, prompt UPS delivery.

However, I can't believe some of the rubbish that you guys order....hansen nunchaku vids? eh? My anti BS forcefields prevented me from clicking on that one...

PE

[ShaolinJOJO]

Hey the ninjettes will never go to you and you know who is the true inheriter of the tong bei form from Hangzhou, me.

[Shaolinlueb]

Originally posted by ShaolinJOJO
Hey the ninjettes will never go to you and you know who is the true inheriter of the tong bei form from Hangzhou, me.

learn to spell my name right my younger pupil. ;) oh yeah i got some more pics they sent me form china. and if your the inheriter... watch out for those low cielings ;) :p
plus gene can verify this, I have tons of nacho covered injettes in my basement. ;)

[Kymus]

Best: the Got Qi? shirt that I am wearing right now (we should start a Got Qi? thread).

Good: Pretty much everything I've bought. I spent $300 (which is, to date, the most I've ever spent at one time. Hell, that's more than my monthly car payment!) on new sparring gear and my students haven't ripped through it (and it's still solid). The soft stick; while I prefer the rougher outside of the old one bought from my old school, the inside dowell is very strong and is great for beating senior students like an angry old chinese man.

Bad: The turtle with the Om symbol will not stay on its ring no matter how many times I've busted out the needle nose plyers. So instead of a keychain, it sits on my windowsil. I think I forget I own it 1/2 the time :eek:

the Ugly: I lost the left focus mit in a matter of about... oooh.. 24 - 48 hours? Dead serious. It has to be in my basement, but I d@mn near looked through that place with a fine toothed comb. But they costed, what, $17? No big loss for me!

Hey Gene - tell the Dudes over at TC that if they can produce a high quality focus mitt like the ones that Starpak makes, I'll promote it! My Sifu custom designed a pair that starpak sells and it's the best mitt I've ever used. I'll send pics if they can reverse engineer it and sell it for less than $60 :D :D
But keep those $17 ones! I tell all my students to buy them if they can't afford the ones that starpak issues.

[GeneChing]

We had two Got Qi threads - one here on the main forum (which I don't feel like digging up right at this moment) and another here on the TC Media forum (http://ezine.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?threadid=16852) .

There's a funny story with the Hansen videos. We occassionally get criticized for not promoting as many non-Asian masters, so when we were working on doing a new nunchaku video series, when Hansen came to us with the bid, everyone was happy. Little did we realize that white boys don't sell. OK, that's a joke, don't get all racially offended here now... :rolleyes:

As for high end gear, we're slowly moving that direction. There are some other companies that have that market well cornered, so our progress there is not that aggressive, but we are researching it. Keep in mind, it's a huge investment to develop a new product. It's not like we have a product development lab here. And if it doesn't sell, we lose a lot.

Are we going to have to separate Lueb and Jojo?:p

[themeecer]

Originally posted by GeneChing
There's a funny story with the Hansen videos. We occassionally get criticized for not promoting as many non-Asian masters, so when we were working on doing a new nunchaku video series, when Hansen came to us with the bid, everyone was happy. Little did we realize that white boys don't sell. OK, that's a joke, don't get all racially offended here now... :rolleyes:
Hey now ... I'm racially offended. That is exactly why I bought the video ... it has a fellow honky in it ... I just knew it had to be good. I was trying to support my fellow white man in an asian dominated market ... but the man keeps holding us back.

Honestly it was the description of the nunchakus that drew me in. I figured while I was getting those I might as well pick up a DVD or two of his. Like I said earlier ... the chucks are very well made .. but are very very light. Also one of the DVDs has a good demo on how to restring your chucks when they wear out or if you don't like the original string length. May contact Hansen through his site and see if they make chucks out of anything more heavy weight. Since he can do it in red white and blue mettalic or any other combo you could ask for, maybe he can make it out of different materials.

[GeneChing]

All demo weapons are super light and the sun dragon chucks are demo weapons. Personally, I don't care for light weapons at all (but muy kung fu is so ugly, I wouldn't be demoing it anyway). My issue with the sun dragon chucks is that the little sparkle glitter tends to rub off on you. Actually, I suppose I have an issue with any weapon that has sparkle glitter, but that's just me. I did think it was funny that our nunchuk guy was named 'Chuck'. I was calling the sun dragon chuks Chuck's chuks for a while.

[themeecer]

But who cares all about that. You've got more Helen Liang and water fist coming!!!!!! Whoo hoo! Watches calender.

[ShaolinJOJO]

Hey that low ceiling in the school is your fault. And i am the true inheriter because i broke that piece of wood right in half, and all i left with was a scratch. P.S. Dont crack on my spelling

[norther practitioner]

I got a bent staff. but I cut it down.. so no biggie.

Everything else:
rope dart (replaced brittle rope)
multiple feiyues
bride with the white hair
three section staff
more movies
more weapons

(I've ordered a butt load)

all I've been happy with...

[David Jamieson]

I got a bent staff

see a doctor about that. :p

Lueb, while those two girls in your basement may well be a ton when combined, I am not certain they are ninjettes and the nacho reference may only indicate what their grazing material is.

But hey, what's a good story without embellishment? A bad story, dry with nothing but the facts.

Gene~
White boys in silk pajamas indeed doesn't sell. IN fact, many people think that them that are that are pretty funny looking to begin with.

[Shaolinlueb]

Originally posted by GeneChing
Are we going to have to separate Lueb and Jojo?:p

dont worry, i can hodl him off. :o

[Shaolinlueb]

Originally posted by ShaolinJOJO
Hey that low ceiling in the school is your fault. And i am the true inheriter because i broke that piece of wood right in half, and all i left with was a scratch. P.S. Dont crack on my spelling

bwuahahahahaha thats why that piece of wood is still in one piece. guess we'll have to look out for it.... well you'll have to look out for it next time. that looked more liek a scab young apprentice!!.

kung lek, thats enough out of you. if theres a ton that means i have .... 12/13 girls in my basement. not two fat hoes. they jsut take up space. i traded em in.

[GeneChing]

White boys in silk pajamas indeed doesn't sell. IN fact, many people think that them that are that are pretty funny looking to begin with. If you're referring to Chuck, he's wearing some kind of demo uniform, which might be even worse in some people's minds. But then, this is the CMA market, where chucks sell the least, oddly enough. We sell more chucks to the Karate/TKD crowd.

P.S. NP, thanks for the buttload. Whenever you need another buttload, you know where to come. :p

[David Jamieson]

NP, thanks for the buttload. Whenever you need another buttload, you know where to come.

Uh, G~ That sounds pretty, ...well you know. Unless you're saying it to one of Luebs (alleged) 12 or 13 ninjettes. :D

[norther practitioner]

Yeah, Gene, could you rephrase that...

but yeah, I've spent a few full days salary there.

[GeneChing]

I was afraid this thread might descend to this...:rolleyes: ;)

And just remember where Shaolinlueb got the idea for a basement of nacho ninjettes. That's my quote in his sig. I'm the originator of nacho ninjettes. Shaolinlueb may have the pic (ask him, he does) but I'm the original.

Seriously, we do appreciate y'alls support of MartialArtsMart (http://www.martialartsmart.com). Without it, frankly, this forum would not be paid for. And I'd probably be working at Taco Bell, dreaming of ninjettes but stuck with refired beans....:eek:

[Shaolinlueb]

Originally posted by GeneChing
I was afraid this thread might descend to this...:rolleyes: ;)

And just remember where Shaolinlueb got the idea for a basement of nacho ninjettes. That's my quote in his sig. I'm the originator of nacho ninjettes. Shaolinlueb may have the pic (ask him, he does) but I'm the original.

Seriously, we do appreciate y'alls support of MartialArtsMart (http://www.martialartsmart.com). Without it, frankly, this forum would not be paid for. And I'd probably be working at Taco Bell, dreaming of ninjettes but stuck with refired beans....:eek:

are you going to make me post the nacho cheese of death ninjette up? heck maybe when the new issue of kfo comes out.

[David Jamieson]

These girls in your basement, they don't put the lotion on their skin do they.

(evil laugh ensues):D

[cerebus]

I, for one, am VERY unhappy with Martialartsmart! :mad:

I ordered one of those girls you have wearing t-shirts in your ads and someone in your shipping department screwed up and just sent the empty t-shirt! :mad:

I MAY consider forgiving you if you correct this error however... :D

[norther practitioner]

Originally posted by cerebus
I, for one, am VERY unhappy with Martialartsmart! :mad:

I ordered one of those girls you have wearing t-shirts in your ads and someone in your shipping department screwed up and just sent the empty t-shirt! :mad:

I MAY consider forgiving you if you correct this error however... :D

I was waiting for this one...

I ordered bride with the white hair.. and i just got a stupid dvd.

[Shaolinlueb]

**** gene.
here is your nacho covered ninja girl for the public to see. :D :o

and honestly, the death cheese dip was by accident. :D

[GeneChing]

See? Now you know that Shaolinlueb has waaaaay to much time on his hands if he's making nacho ninjettes. No way he's got a basement full of 'em. We'd never hear from him if he did. Speaking of which, y'all caught his e-zine article (http://ezine.kungfumagazine.com/ezine/article.php?article=575), yes?

cerebus & norther practitioner: If we were sending out the models with every order, do you think I would be spending time posting here? ;)

[Shaolinlueb]

Originally posted by GeneChing
See? Now you know that Shaolinlueb has waaaaay to much time on his hands if he's making nacho ninjettes. No way he's got a basement full of 'em. We'd never hear from him if he did. Speaking of which, y'all caught his e-zine article (http://ezine.kungfumagazine.com/ezine/article.php?article=575), yes?

cerebus & norther practitioner: If we were sending out the models with every order, do you think I would be spending time posting here? ;)

gene ;) its like any food. if you have too much of it, you eventually get sick of it :o. lets just say i tried the cinamom bun icing ninjette's but that didnt last too long. the nacho cheese was more enjoyable and you get eat many things with them. I'm getting used to this url tool at the top. i like the plug feature ;) (http://ezine.kungfumagazine.com/ezine/article.php?article=575),