seeing as there is a drought in topics here

[grifter721]

How many of you guys look at other styles seriously and see what they are good for and what they are not.
And if so what styles do you respect or not like.
Personally I think that Muay Thai is pretty good, hard style, but not as scientific about things as Kung fu. By scientific I mean we think A LOT about or punches and what they do to people whereas Muay thai from my experiences ( My brother and cousin have done muay thai for 1 and 31 years respectively) just have those hard as punches and kicks. Kung fu will have punches that drop in your mouth or body......Hopefully you guys know what I am talking about.

I also give a lot of ratings to Eagle claw, it is highly aggressive and is compared to mantis quite often in its agressiveness. It has many joint locks, however I am not too sure how long it takes you to get good at those moves and from what I have seen thier forms are very limited in area meaning that they stay in a large circle....(BUT ONLY FROM WHAT I HAVE SEEN)

Taekwondo I unfortunetly have not seen anything serious other than the kicks, they do have nice flowing kicks, but in order to get good at it takes too long same goes for karate. Unless you are gifted at either style it will take you too long to be good, at least at the pace they teach at. And karate is a bit slow for me.

Well this is a bit long for me so lets here form you guys!

[This message was edited by grifter721 on 11-23-01 at 10:18 PM.]

[EARTH DRAGON]

I have recently gained much respect for white eyebrow, my freind ius learning from a master in the stlye in san fran and some of the applications he has showed me is quite good, I admitt I dont know a great deal about the stlye its history or depth, but so far the fighting seems effecient and practical and has opened my eyes to other possibilities.
One stlye I do not like is funikoshi's shotokan, I have a freind that has devoted his life to his teachings and training and although funikoshi himself seems like a very wise man and well versed his stlye leaves little to be desired, the 8 dan blackblet kata looks as simple as a green belt kata, it moves in only 4 directions and extremly linear back and forth with high, low and side blocks , hi, low and side kicks and 4 punches.... if you have ever seen a shotokan form you know what I mean, not impressive to me what so ever,especially 8 dan kata... that should be complicated and complexed and have internal mening which it has none.

http://www.kungfuUSA.net

[nobody]

over 100 years old, they must have done something right to survive that long. i really dont like TKD however, not because it is bad, but because its almost impossible for one to find a school thats worth going to. plus, i really dont like the over enphasis on kicks.

[jon]

Well Im from the Hung Ga school and I actualy have a lot of respect for you mantis people.
I also respect most forms of Kung Fu but a few have a 'special' attraction.
White Eyebrows: fast, different and fluid
Eagle claw: long range stuff and chin na
Eight Diagram palms: ability to work the back of an opponent, its footwork and power generation
Black Tiger and Hung Fut:proberly couse there similar to Hung Ga
Mantis: For its hooking and off balancing

I have respect for most of the old schools of Kung Fu. I try to think the reason I dont like a style is that I fail to understand how it works.
I felt that way about UFC but after seeing a Royce Gracie interview Im starting to think differently about a lot of 'rolling and floor' martial arts.

you cant win all the time but you cant always lose either...

[tiger lui]

I respect all styles,but i would like to see Wing Chun and Tibet Lama in action to see their effectiveness.My son studies Arnis,i wish he would do Praying Mantis with me but alas no,Arnis looks very effective,i have sparred with my son's teacher and was quite impressed,their joint locking,takedowns and disarming techniques are second to none,not to mention their stick handling.

[Paul Skrypichayko]

I also come from a Hung Gar background, but learned some taichi mantis and seven stars mantis. I think there are lots of great Chinese styles out there (so long as you find a skilled teacher). I'd be interested in learning almost any Chinese style except for a few, like:
-wing chun, because it is very basic, and hung gar has all of the wing chun techniques already
-newer styles of mantis, like wah lum and 8 step, because I think it's better to go to the original mantis styles
-all the different styles of taiji, Chen and Yang styles seem to represent most of taiji, and have a great reputation
-modern wushu, it seems pretty useless as a martial art, but good for sport and fun.

As for tae kwon do having good kicks - I don't think they can even compare to hapkido or northern chinese martial arts, or even performance wushu.

I haven't seen too much of southern mantis, bak mei, lung ying, tibetan white crane, or fukien white crane, but they seem very different from typical shaolin kungfu. I'm a big believer in becomming well rounded and learning about other styles, but you should also pick something to specialize in.

[nobody]

8-step is atleast 2 hundred years old, i wouldnt exacly call that new.

[karate-kat]

it depends on what you mean by good. good for fighting in my exp.: muay thai, bjj, mantis, but most important is to want to. myself i mostly use mantis to get in(intercept, hook)and then go for a choke. i am realitivly small so i get scared of trading with some guys. that is just what has worked for me. i have decided to work a lot more atjust staying up, but when it is realy happening i mostly want tto stop the guy quick and i know a choke will.

[Poison'dDragon]

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>I also give a lot of ratings to Eagle claw, it is highly aggressive and is compared to mantis quite often in its agressiveness. It has many joint locks, however I am not too sure how long it takes you to get good at those moves and from what I have seen thier forms are very limited in area meaning that they stay in a large circle....(BUT ONLY FROM WHAT I HAVE SEEN)

Taekwondo I unfortunetly have not seen anything serious other than the kicks, they do have nice flowing kicks, but in order to get good at it takes too long same goes for karate. Unless you are gifted at either style it will take you too long to be good, at least at the pace they teach at.
[This message was edited by grifter721 on 11-23-01 at 10:18 PM.][/quote]

Well, I do 7* Mantis , TKD and western Fencing (fencing came first). In my experience , TKD might not be the best for a stand alone art but can add greatly to your arsenal in the far range.
Also , the flo of kick is not very important in TKD ,in fact flow can be very bad (makes the kick perdictable). The think with tkd (HARD, EXTERNAL) style , is to use a very powerfull kick to start/finnish with , like the back roundhouse or Back kick.

If all the world were just , there woulde be noe need for valour" - Shakespear

[grifter721]

karate e kat what I mean by good, is the effectivness of the style and you can tell that by being in the style for a few months. For example, Karate takes a long time to become good.
Earth Dragon you have seen some shotokan karate katas so have I and I know what you are talking about...Way to slow and linear.
Earth Dragon you speak of white eybrow being pretty good? How aggressive are they? More defense or offence?
Taekwondo from what I have seen Poison dragon have their kicks flowing. But hey every school has different emphasis on things.

[SantaClaus]

Can you describe the white eyebrow technqiue? Is it a variation of other 8 step techniques or is it something you have just never seen before.

[grifter721]

Does everyone here that replied like these other styles because they mimic your own art in some way or form? Like I like Muay Thai because it is aggressive like Mantis, more of a brutish aggressive but aggressive nonetheless. Same goes for eagle claw.
Or do you like it because it is the total flip side to your style. Such as Judo or jui jitsui.
Judo has a lot of good throws and locks, same with jui jitsu,

[This message was edited by grifter721 on 11-25-01 at 05:35 PM.]

[NorthernMantis]

I'm mainly a wah lum mantis guy and will always be but I have much respect for hung ga and wiing chun.I just think hung ga forms are so cool.7* mantis rocks and bak mei even though I've seen like 1% of it up close its really practical stuff.

"Always be ready"

"right, that's it!you've insulted me, and you've insulted the shaolin temple!"-Fish of Furry

[karate-kat]

i like what works. not to sound cliche. i think mantis is very effective.

[Ginger Fist]

I haven't seen too much of southern mantis, bak mei, lung ying, tibetan white crane, or fukien white crane, ...

--not many of us around, difficult 2 remove the barriers of the past. reasons 4 the barriers no longer r valid ... but old practices die hard. some progress in some areas with becoming more open & active part of the community.

but they seem very different from typical shaolin kungfu.

--yes to spm, bm, & ly. not sure 'bout twc. fwc is split in2 4 - 5 subsystems, depending which lineage u follow. can b seen 2 some degree in wc, limited elements present in bm & spm ... more in certain internal formations 4 certain kind of power. fwc has more shaolin flavor than spm, bm & ly.

I'm a big believer in becomming well rounded and learning about other styles, but you should also pick something to specialize in.

--learning 'bout is not the same as learning. good 2 explore ... compare ... contrast ... test with other styles. right on the specialize.

[EARTH DRAGON]

white eybrow is extremly agressive, from what I have seen it is all fighting, this is good and bad for with stlyes that place to much emphasis on fighting it leaves less to be placed on healing and internal practices, but it depends on where your comming from I guess. But it is quite brutal as is mantis like ripping pulling and tearing joints and ligaments would be part of their attacks, they dont do as much trapping but lots of in fighting and takedowns.

eaglefish, white eyebrow has nothing to do with 8 step is is a differnt stlye all together but it shares some brutal taticts which in agression would be considered similar

http://www.kungfuUSA.net

[MiamiMantis]

I'm a Wah Lum guy, but I would have to put Eagle Claw pretty close to the top of the food chain. You really can't get anymore vicious than that. Also Baqua and Hsing.T hose are also devastating once learned.
I also respect shootfighting (I know I'm gonna get flack for this) because it's pretty well rounded with kicks, punches and locks with submission moves. Also it doesn't take an entire lifetime to master. (just my opinion) :cool: :cool: :cool: :cool: :cool:

[NorthernMantis]

Yeah dude but what's the fun in that? :D

"Always be ready"

"right, that's it!you've insulted me, and you've insulted the shaolin temple!"-Fish of Furry