Are you a Fighter?

[sanjuro_ronin]

Since it gets asked a lot and gets thrown around a lot:

Are you a fighter?
If yes, why and what kind.
If No, why not?


I will start:
I am NOT a fighter anymore, I used to be when I was younger and competed regularly ie: fought regularly, but I retired in 2000 when I got Married ( though I did do my last Vale Tudo about a year after that without my wife knowing:p).
I do NOT fight on a regular basis anymore and though I train anywhere from 3 to 5 times a week, I do NOT spar on a regular basis either so I do NOT feel that I am a "trained fighter" anymore.
Do I still know how to fight? Yes, 100%.
Can I still fight? Yes, 100%
In my opinion however, knowing and being able to fight does not make one a fighter in the truest MA sense of the word, one most FIGHT on a regular basis to be called a fighter.

[hskwarrior]

I will start:
I am NOT a fighter anymore, I used to be when I was younger and competed regularly ie: fought regularly, but I retired in 2000 when I got Married ( though I did do my last Vale Tudo about a year after that without my wife knowing).
I do NOT fight on a regular basis anymore and though I train anywhere from 3 to 5 times a week, I do NOT spar on a regular basis either so I do NOT feel that I am a "trained fighter" anymore.
Do I still know how to fight? Yes, 100%.
Can I still fight? Yes, 100%
In my opinion however, knowing and being able to fight does not make one a fighter in the truest MA sense of the word, one most FIGHT on a regular basis to be called a fighter.

Put that way...then this is true. I can say that I no longer fight, but back in the day we fought in the streets all the time. Have i used my gung fu effectively in the streets, YES. Have i ever fought in the ring like MMA or San Shou? No...my Spinal Injury stopped that from happening. Can I handle myself in the streets. YES 100%. So, in light of what you posted, I will stay true to myself and say "No, I'm not an ACTIVE fighter and have no plans personally to enter the ring, my time is done for that. Like you said, I know how to fight. And i can pass down the knowledge to my students and steer them away from the OTHER NONSENSE the martial arts world brings.

[David Jamieson]

Who cares? lol :) (hear me out here though)

People who are top ranked fighters in the world will not be that forever.

Not to mention, sport fighting is a narrow definition of what a fighter is.

I guess for some people, it's there only definition and when you point out other ways, they will put their fingers in their ears, sing lalalalalalala and maintain their ignorance for as long as they need to.

I could personally give a rats ass about anyone who bases their identity around fighter. Not that it's bad, it's just no different than putting your identity around being a musician or a chef.

It's something to do while you travel around the sun with the rest of us, but is it key to existence and better living? No. Nothing is except what's in your heart and mind.

What you bring to others to help them in their lives is far more important than anything else you could do in your life.

Priorities become clear when the door is opened to greater responsibility.

But you already know that and I'm sure you love your life even more now that it is filled with family. Enjoy that! It's completely relevant to the meaning of life itself and your identity.

Other than all that opinionated stuff, my back story is fairly similar to your own except for military service which I have not given beyond a cadet level.

[bawang]

being a muscisian takes work. being a chef takes work. being a fighter takes work. being a form instructor doesnt take work.

[David Jamieson]

being a muscisian takes work. being a chef takes work. being a fighter takes work. being a form instructor doesnt take work.

really? lol. Go take it up with the Ballet if you think physical work in patterned choreography isn't work. :rolleyes:

[bawang]

kung fu forms is nowhere at the complexity or tough training of ballet.
my east coast tai chi friend basically stands and looks smug for 2 hours and he gets paid. thats not hard. pretend adjusting the wrist here and there, telling some guy his stance is wrong even though its right once in a while, etc etc

[David Jamieson]

kung fu forms is nowhere at the complexity or tough training of ballet.
my east coast tai chi friend basically stands and looks smug for 2 hours and he gets paid. thats not hard. pretend adjusting the wrist here and there, telling some guy his stance is wrong even though its right once in a while, etc etc

bawang, if you have not seen how competitive wu shu is trained, then I understand where you are coming from.

If you have ever tried your hand at all with North Shaolin, you would understand that what you are saying is wrong wrong wrong on a billion levels.

What I am saying is that if you are only exposed to low level stuff that doesn't require work, then you haven't been exposed to much kungfu.

there is a lot of form work that is extremely difficult, takes a lot of practice just to get the shape and even more work to find a way to make some of it work.

If all you have seen is tai chi and wing chun, then yeah, that's not so difficult. Those were designed for people without much skill to acquire enough to do something. Tai Chi these days is useful when practiced by someone with a good background in kung fu or for old people who need to recover some activity in their lives.

Go try some BSL, some Cha Chuan or even some of the more difficult stuff in Hung Kuen or CLF.

You'll be surprised at how weak ass you really are and you will discover that this argument you are putting forth is coming from your own ignorance. :)

[Iron_Eagle_76]

In the sense of how Ronin put it, no.

I have not fought in combat sports for about two years. I train regulary and spar sporidically when I can. There are two gyms I train at when I get the chance. One is an MMA gym where I train Muay Thai, the other is a boxing gym where I, well, box.

I am pushing 34 and do want to compete again in San Shou and kickboxing. I have no desire to fight MMA, love the sport, just don't want to compete in that venue.

My main goal right now is to open a school. I have an old garage building on the property I own that I am renovating and hope to have it done in the next few months. I plan to teach Pai Lum Kung Fu, mixed with training from my MT and boxing experience, sparring will be done San Shou format. My greatest hope is to provide a gym where people can work out, learn a good martial art, and simply get out of it what they put in.

Sorry to get off subject there, but back to the question, no, I do not consider myself a fighter anymore. I train to fight, as I believe you should always do in your training. But until I decide to undergo a competition and start fight training I do not consider myself a fighter in that sense.

[bawang]

bawang, if you have not seen how competitive wu shu is trained, then I understand where you are coming from.

If you have ever tried your hand at all with North Shaolin, you would understand that what you are saying is wrong wrong wrong on a billion levels.



you are seriously trying to say backflips is advanced kung fu?

[David Jamieson]

you are seriously trying to say backflips is advanced kung fu?

can you do a backflip?

as an aside, there are no backflips in BSL, Cha Chuan etc.

But there are difficult aerobatics that require pretty good skill that your average dude, fighter or not cannot do without working at it.

of course, if you are just trolling this stuff, then I'll stop right there because i haven't got time to do this dance really. :)

[bawang]

i havent seen any acrobatic stuff in traditional changquan other than the tornado kick and thats easy as hell. clf i did some also, ng lum choi, ping kuen, tai kuen da siu muifa. i dont see whats hard about it. i could do backflips as a kid my uncle made me do it it was easy what is your point?

i remember my friend showed me a long meihuatanglang form i learned it in 1 hour. whats so hard about forms for you?
i took some shotokan karate i learned naihanchi basai meikyo kankudai empi. its all pretty easy.
shaolin xiaohong dahong erluhong my uncle showed me it was pretty simple. qixingquan and xiao luohan i learned also. i dont see how theyre hard.

i find working at rays chinese takeout 10 times harder than training forms.

[David Jamieson]

i havent seen any acrobatic stuff in traditional changquan other than the tornado kick and thats easy as hell. clf i did some also, ng lum choi, ping kuen, tai kuen da siu muifa. i dont see whats hard about it. i could do backflips as a kid my uncle made me do it it was easy what is your point?

i remember my friend showed me a long meihuatanglang form i learned it in 1 hour. whats so hard about forms for you?
i took some shotokan karate i learned naihanchi basai meikyo kankudai empi. its all pretty easy.
shaolin xiaohong dahong erluhong my uncle showed me it was pretty simple. qixingquan and xiao luohan i learned also. i dont see how theyre hard.

i find working at rays chinese takeout 10 times harder than training forms.

dude, not what have you seen, what can YOU do. What do YOU work towards, how much effort have YOU put forth into your life?

[bawang]

bro, i learned all these forms. i was learning forms from family and friends since 10 year old. forms dont take hard work or dedication, mang.

all those forms i learned did nothing. it was meaningless. i forgot them all now.

[TenTigers]

I'm a lover, not a fighter.

[David Jamieson]

bro, i learned all these forms. i was learning forms from family and friends since 10 year old. forms dont take hard work or dedication, mang.

all those forms i learned did nothing. it was meaningless. i forgot them all now.

lol. yeah..ok.

funny how that works eh? nothing ventured, nothing gained. :)

[David Jamieson]

I'm a lover, not a fighter.

I know! what's with all the hotties wooing you constantly on your facebook!? :p

[SPJ]

a male lion only has to roar

however, the female lion has to hunt for the meals for the whole family.

--

let the firefighter do the fire fighting

let the soldier do the firefight

let the pro wrestler, boxer,-- do the fight in the ring

--

the rest of us are only amateurs

we do not do the fights as a profession, do we?

a friendly spar, swordfight and staff fight on the weekend

so in a way, I am only a weekend "warrior".

---

[pateticorecords]

What is the definition of a fighter...

merriam-webster Definition of FIGHTER
: one that fights: as a (1) : warrior, soldier (2) : a pugnacious or game individual (3) : 1boxer 1

freedictionary's definition is
1. One who fights, such as a soldier or boxer.
2. A fast, maneuverable combat aircraft used to engage enemy aircraft.
3. A pugnacious, unyielding, or determined person.


So, technically everybody here is a "fighter" to a certain extent.

Maybe you are not a professional fighter, maybe you are not a soldier... maybe you are a determined person (you won't make far in MA unless you are, even if you are not that good).

I have competed in full contact, continous sparring, san shou, and point sparring; I also have had to defend myself in street fights in the past; I was in the military for 6 years, been in combat, and had to use hand to hand combat and martial arts in a real combat situations (also got a couple of bullet scars and knife wounds to show for it)... but I still don't consider myself a "fighter".

Do I still spar? Of course, it keeps the reflexes sharp.
Do I watch my back when on the streets? Of course, it would idiotic not to do so.
Do I believe I can kick anyone's arse? Not really, but I can kill you very easily (it's what I have been trained to do)



Anyway, those are my 2 cents (or maybe 10 cents...lol) on the subject.:D

-Tom

[hskwarrior]

Not really, but I can kill you very easily (it's what I have been trained to do)

But Some folks will try to ask you for video proof of this or you are just another pathetic fantasy fighter. LMAO :p

[YouKnowWho]

Just had a similiar discussion in another forum. Is combat truly that important in CMA training? CMA is like the chess game. It's 2 persons art and not solo art. It will be boring that you have learned how to play chess and never have chance to play with anybody. Health, fun, and combat skill are the 3 reasons for people to train. When you remove fighting, not only you have removed the combat skill portion, you have also removed the fun part. When your friend come to visit you, your throw him a SC jacket (or boxing glove) and wrestle (or spar) for 15 rounds. Both you and your friend are so tired and lie down on the ground laughting, that will be very good and fun life to live.

The 1st time that you pull out a move successfully on your opponent, you will smile in your dream for the next 3 days. Where else can you find this kind of fun on earth?

http://johnswang.com/sc_for_fun.wmv

[PalmStriker]

i havent seen any acrobatic stuff in traditional changquan other than the tornado kick and thats easy as hell. clf i did some also, ng lum choi, ping kuen, tai kuen da siu muifa. i dont see whats hard about it. i could do backflips as a kid my uncle made me do it it was easy what is your point?

i remember my friend showed me a long meihuatanglang form i learned it in 1 hour. whats so hard about forms for you?
i took some shotokan karate i learned naihanchi basai meikyo kankudai empi. its all pretty easy.
shaolin xiaohong dahong erluhong my uncle showed me it was pretty simple. qixingquan and xiao luohan i learned also. i dont see how theyre hard.

i find working at rays chinese takeout 10 times harder than training forms.

Gotta Admit!

[Violent Designs]

God I HOPE that I'm a fighter.

I fight at the lowest rung of the amateur levels, so nothing to be proud of.

And I know how much I suck and need to improve, so there's that.

But I spar about 4-5 times a week (4-6 per training session) and I'm training a lot so I hope that qualifies me.

As for my abilities I'm don't like to talk myself up or act tough. Skills in the ring are the only thing that matters.

[pateticorecords]

But Some folks will try to ask you for video proof of this or you are just another pathetic fantasy fighter. LMAO :p

I can show you ... but I have to kill you (afterwards)...LOL

[hskwarrior]

I can show you ... but I have to kill you (afterwards)...LOL

promise? :p

[Lucas]

nope, dont wanna.

[Drake]

I've always been a fighter. I'm done with it, though.

[goju]

i wanted to compete largely in striking competitons but luckily for me i collapsed on the floor one night and seized and few days later found out i had epilepsy:mad:

still would like to do grappling stuff i guess even though its not my cup of tea its all thatsleft since i cant be punched in the noggin:cool:

[Lokhopkuen]

Your candor and naked chick photos make you such a likable fellow.:D

The practice, learning, teaching, writing, discussing, filming or drawing of martial art consumes the better part of my day, every day, now and for as long as I can remember. Since you asked I am not a fighter, yet I practice violence so that I can avoid being victimized by violent people. I have fought many times to protect my life, feed my ego, compete as a sportsman, to promote martial art and in the service of career and country.

Since I attempt to consider deeply, apply subtly, act artfully in my learnings, my practices, my seminations I consider myself a martial artist.




Since it gets asked a lot and gets thrown around a lot:

Are you a fighter?
If yes, why and what kind.
If No, why not?


I will start:
I am NOT a fighter anymore, I used to be when I was younger and competed regularly ie: fought regularly, but I retired in 2000 when I got Married ( though I did do my last Vale Tudo about a year after that without my wife knowing:p).
I do NOT fight on a regular basis anymore and though I train anywhere from 3 to 5 times a week, I do NOT spar on a regular basis either so I do NOT feel that I am a "trained fighter" anymore.
Do I still know how to fight? Yes, 100%.
Can I still fight? Yes, 100%
In my opinion however, knowing and being able to fight does not make one a fighter in the truest MA sense of the word, one most FIGHT on a regular basis to be called a fighter.

[Violent Designs]

Your candor and naked chick photos make you such a likable fellow.:D

The practice, learning, teaching, writing, discussing, filming or drawing of martial art consumes the better part of my day, every day, now and for as long as I can remember. Since you asked I am not a fighter, yet I practice violence so that I can avoid being victimized by violent people. I have fought many times to protect my life, feed my ego, compete as a sportsman, to promote martial art and in then service of career and country.

Since I attempt to consider deeply, apply subtly, act artfully in my learnings, my practices, my seminations I consider myself a martial artist.

a very honest reply,

thanks

[Syn7]

my east coast tai chi friend basically stands and looks smug for 2 hours and he gets paid.


thats funny sh!t...!

[David Jamieson]

thats funny sh!t...!

"east coast tai chi friend" is code for "gay love partner." :p

[Violent Designs]

dude, why does every single post have a reference to gay people?


this forum is not the place to show us your struggle with your own h0mosexuality.... :D

[David Jamieson]

dude, why does every single post have a reference to gay people?


this forum is not the place to show us your struggle with your own h0mosexuality.... :D

so what are you saying? You don't like the man butter then? You're certainly not your fathers son.

[Violent Designs]

so what are you saying? You don't like the man butter then? You're certainly not your fathers son.

No I am not my father's son, never want to be, but my father's life choices certainly helped shape who I am....

[David Jamieson]

No I am not my father's son, never want to be, but my father's life choices certainly helped shape who I am....

crikey, a hard luck story!

:p

[bawang]

hes jealous because i learned more meditative yoga like forms than him.
*rubs forms

[Hardwork108]

i havent seen any acrobatic stuff in traditional changquan other than the tornado kick and thats easy as hell. clf i did some also, ng lum choi, ping kuen, tai kuen da siu muifa. i dont see whats hard about it. i could do backflips as a kid my uncle made me do it it was easy what is your point?

i remember my friend showed me a long meihuatanglang form i learned it in 1 hour. whats so hard about forms for you?
i took some shotokan karate i learned naihanchi basai meikyo kankudai empi. its all pretty easy.
shaolin xiaohong dahong erluhong my uncle showed me it was pretty simple. qixingquan and xiao luohan i learned also. i dont see how theyre hard.

i find working at rays chinese takeout 10 times harder than training forms.

I don't want to strain your already fragile brain cells but doing forms is more than just mimicking movements. If none of your sifus/senseis ever taught you that, then I suggest that you go and ask for your money back.

I estimate that the money that they owe you will enable you to live comfortably for the rest of your life, meaning that you can affortd your own personal bodyguards, hence you won't need to train your deadly glorified kickboxing and "big stone ball" tai chi, to protect yourself.

This way you will have time to dedicate the rest of your life to internet trolling, insulting and making clueless comments, when they are not required.....

[Yum Cha]

No I am not my father's son, never want to be, but my father's life choices certainly helped shape who I am....

I'm not the Pheasant Plucker,
I'm the Pheasant plucker's son.
But I'll pluck your Pheasant
Until the Pheasant Plucker comes.


Sorry, just a little levity...

[EarthDragon]

Are you a fighter?
Yes and beleive we all are in some form or another



If yes, why and what kind.

Quick and fearless, skilled but humble.

[taai gihk yahn]

No I am not my father's son, never want to be, but my father's life choices certainly helped shape who I am....

No! I am not Prince Hamlet, nor was meant to be;
Am an attendant lord, one that will do
To swell a progress, start a scene or two,
Advise the prince; no doubt, an easy tool,
Deferential, glad to be of use,
Politic, cautious, and meticulous;
Full of high sentence, but a bit obtuse;
At times, indeed, almost ridiculous—
Almost, at times, the Fool.

-----

Even though I competed in a number of differnt venues (from point style to Filipino stick comps), I used to THINK I was a fighter, but as it turns out, I am actually a healer; although there are certainly some similarities: as my teacher likes to say, when you are working with a patient, it's just you and the disease alone together in the room...
I also use the metaphor of guerilla warfare when treating certain types of patients: get in quietly, do what you gotta do fast, get the heck out (or as A.T. Still, founder of Osteopathy said, "Find it, fix it, leave it alone.");

[EarthDragon]

what kind of medical do you do taai?

[bawang]

I don't want to strain your already fragile brain cells but doing forms is more than just mimicking movements. If none of your sifus/senseis ever taught you that, then I suggest that you go and ask for your money back.

I estimate that the money that they owe you will enable you to live comfortably for the rest of your life, meaning that you can affortd your own personal bodyguards, hence you won't need to train your deadly glorified kickboxing and "big stone ball" tai chi, to protect yourself.

This way you will have time to dedicate the rest of your life to internet trolling, insulting and making clueless comments, when they are not required.....

i learned from friends and family for free. your teacher is crazy weirdo and he still disowned you.

your country is poor and filled with drugs. it makes sense you learned opiumhead yip man wingchun. because skinny drug addicts attract each other.

i would rather die than learn wing chun. wing chun practitioners are subhuman.

[Syn7]

i would rather die than learn wing chun. wing chun practitioners are subhuman.

you really hate the chunners ay...

[WinterPalm]

I'm Dave.
Here's me getting my ass kicked last month:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fQpKlkrbYDc

Haven't fought since.
No fights coming up.
I intend to compete more but have to wait till mid 2011. Does that mean I am or not am a fighter? All I know is that when I fight, I'll be one of the fighters fighting and that's about it.:)

[EarthDragon]

nice winter, you did OK man, no worries , most wont even get in the hex so props to you.