Ever notice how non MA people ..

[qeySuS]

Well they just dont get it. Especially my parents, they think of it as seperate sports (different MA). Like when i told them i really wanted to go to America and train (and i'm currently in TKD) she asked "ohh to learn TKD from that grandmaster?" and i said no, i wanted to learn some BJJ and basicly just live at a place where i could train all day. Well after explaining to her what BJJ and groundfighting was she asked "can you do that in TKD tournements?" and i said no and she was all confused "then why bother if you cant use it?".

They look at one MA as football and another MA as baseball, she was really surprised when i told her i wasnt planning on doing only TKD and only competing in TKD my entire life. She thinks it's like wasting your skills, going from a sport where your good into a sport where your just starting out, like i said she sees no point in it if your good in this why study the other.

Ever notice this? I think the best way to explain this to people is to make them not think of it as seperate sports with different goals (as in scoring a homerun in baseball and touchdown in football) but wrather it's all one sport and each MA is a different method of playing or strategy if you will to accomplish the same goal (defeating the opponent).

[GunnedDownAtrocity]

i would have kicked her in the crotch and then choked her out.

she would have understood clearly then.

[Mutant]

my favorite is when non-MA people break into a bad bruce lee imitation yelling "whaaaaaaa" and stand on one leg like that karate kid!!! It never fails, i guess its the generic universal non-MA understanding of all martial arts, whether they be chinese, japanese, korean, brazillian, its just the ultimate stereo-type. It cracks me up, i usually just join them and have fun with it too, its nearly impossible to try to explain it to people anyway...

[KungFuGuy!]

Most people I know just call everything karate. If I correct them, I usualy get "whatever, it's all the same". When that happens, I'll ask them about their soccer or lacross, and of course they'll say that they play football/hockey, and I'll say "whatever, it's all the same" :D
I don't do that too often though. If someone says "hey you do karate right?" I just go along with it.

[rubthebuddha]

i don't have the slightest fûcking clue why people enjoy cricket, but they do, and no amount of explaining on their part will convince me ...

that's in part because i hate snobby *******s to begin with, but i digress ...

basically, until you do something for a while and it gets into your blood, you can't understand it or appreciate it. in addition, we all have different reasons for doing MA. if i sat down with my sigung and asked him why he does it, i think i'd get slightly different reasons than those in my own heart and head.

[Chang Style Novice]

GDA is on the right track, but you shouldn't disrespect your mama like that.

Just calmly, patiently explain that your ambition when you grow up is to be a ruthless thug feared by all, and you have to be able to kill barehanded in any situation.

She'll be fine with that.

[shaolinboxer]

Half of all MA people don't even get it ;) .

Oh well, sometimes ya just gotta play along.

[KC Elbows]

Here they are:

-Could you kick me in the head? No really, could you? Please?

-What style does Pat Morita do?

-But that stuff doesn't really work, does it?

-Are you a black belt?

-DAY ONE:When are your classes? DAY TWO: When are your classes? DAY NINETY: When are your classes?



Favorite statements by amateurs:

-I had a friend who did kenpo.(I'm never really sure what to say to this. I usually counter by telling them I have a friend with Bells-Palsey).

-I got a yellow belt, but then I quit.(Ensures about as gripping a conversation as telling a chemist that you took physical science in middle school).

-That Van Damme guy is awesome(OK, no one actually said this one, but I don't care. If you don't like it, too bad, you can't find me.:p)

[txwingchun]

Originally posted by GunnedDownAtrocity
i would have kicked her in the crotch and then choked her out.

she would have understood clearly then.

I tried that since my mom keeps refering to kung fu as karate, but she reversed the choke and slammed me headfirst into the wall. There's going to be a rematch!:D

[Mutant]

funny :D
yeah its amazing how virtually everyone has a cousin or nephew or friend whos' like a 12th degree blackbelt in tkd or some karate style that is so supposedly so awesome and deadly that its futile to even question them and youre supposed to just stand there in awe of them....even though the person telling you this (feeling like they just 'won' the conversation) usually only has a yellow belt they got 5 years ago (i think just about everyone has one of those now-a days) and is completely clueless about martial arts. :rolleyes:
i usually avoid m.a. conversations at all costs, unless its with my peeps, then those are some of the best conversations, especially over a pint of guiness after training hard for 3 hours :)

[lowsweep]

My parents have no problem with the different styles thing. They look at me like I'm crazy evertime they see me eating a can of tuna out of the can with only a little lemon juice for flavor...usually twice a day or so... Also, they can't seem to figure out why I don't mind getting nailed in the head in sparring. I think the whole kungfu movie thing has corrupted them all. When I mention boxing, my dad usually says something like "have you ever known a smart boxer?" or "I just saw a show on how Ali is half braindead from getting hit so much..." When I say kung fu, parents automatically think all that bs they read in time magazine, etc. about how it builds self esteem and makes you a better person. Somehow, somewhere along the line, people seem to have forgotten that the purpose of a pheonix eye doesn't have a whole lot to do with self esteem. It also doesn't make you fly (i loved crouching tiger but still...) Lastly, people have got to get the HIIIIYYYAAAA, JUUUDO CHOP (where'd that one come from, don't remember there being a whole lotta chopping in judo) and standing on one foot in a make shift wobbly crane stance trying to look intense like Bruce Lee stereotype out of they're heads. When somebody says they are a boxer, everyone thinks "hey, this guy can fight." When Someone says they take kungfu, most people are like "ok, hes either a nerd that was bullied in early childhood and takes weak little kungfu classes so he won't be pushed around, or he just didn't get the message that martial artists all suck, like that karate friend I had when I was four..."
Sheesh, people these days. I now say I take chinese boxing. It gets a slighly better reaction.

[Mutant]

Or yeah, the old "i knew this black belt that got his ass kicked..." story, thats also an annoying one to be subjected to.:rolleyes:

But if someone really is sincere and asks, i'm more than happy to explain as much as i can to them.

[KC Elbows]

Actually, most people I talk mto about it are very cool on the topic, and usually the only error those people make is calling everything karate.

It seems to be a specific group of weirdos who all hung out with that kenpo fourth degree black belt.

[HopGar]

Usually if people ask, I tell them its kung fu, they usually try to push me and I usually end up with them in some kind of jiont lock....either that or I ignore the comments until they try to do something.

[Chang Style Novice]

"Can you show me some kung fu?"

"Sure, come at me."

Nothing happens. Funny, when you put it like that they seem to change their minds.

[Jeff Liboiron]

My parents say i do karate. I don't know any karate but apparently my parents think i do. I tell them it's wing chun, but the don't listen, and i tell them to shut up.

And also, i like to wear dragon shirts, and everytime i do some ******** asks if i do kung fu, what's with that? At least he got the "kung fu" part right, but i always say no i don't i just like dragons :)

And yeah, there are some A-holes out there that say, hey let's see some kung fu, and when i say no, they get mad, and either try and push me, try a lame kick on me, try to punch me, or do that lame karate crane stance thing. Either way, i usually hit them a few times.

If someone is truly sincere in wanting me to show them some wing chun i will, but otherwise, forget it bub :)

[SanHeChuan]

i saw somebody do that **** crane stance thing today!!12/11/01 about 12:00pm this afternoon right outside my work.

oh and i was taking a TKD class from my college for credit and there was this guy that had a roommate who was a 2nd degree black belt in tkd and was sooo awsome. :rolleyes:

my mom doesn't have a problem with different styles, but doesn't understand mcdojo or why i would want to changes schools, or take other styles.

[Stacey]

I hate it when guys who feel threatened say, "well it doesn't even matter because if they have a gun your screwed. I want to say, "you have to draw it first, but it doesn't matter. I should stay in the living room doing crochet when I'm not cooking.:rolleyes:

[GunnedDownAtrocity]

you're getting better at pretending you're a woman, i'll give you that, but you still got a chicken sack.

[Apprentice]

that crane thing is too common, when people do that i push em over or kick em in their supporting leg...

but thats a good idea whoever said it, when somebody asks me, ima say i do "Chinese Boxing"...or "Gung Fu"...cuz it doesn't sound like "Kung Fu" and I think it sounds more, well, chinese, i like it :) ...

[straight blast]

I think that half of my church group thinks that I'm going to become a weird a**ed David Carradine wannabe (and isn't that insulting!) and the rest just don't get it. They think that training full time & sweating blood & tears for several hours a day is a "bludge" thing I'll do until I get a "real" job. How little they know.
I'd swap them jobs for 3 days & see who comes crawling back begging for mercy...
I suppose that you can't expect a non MA person to understand MA from their profound knowledge of movies (sigh :rolleyes: ) any more than you can expect a MA to understand that what we do is really the devil's work, as I've been told a few times by people who know absolutely nothing about MA. After all, MA are about eastern religion, aren't they?
Oh my poor imperilled soul...

[SanHeChuan]

LOL "chicken sack" wtf i never heard that one before.

[sanchezero]

If someone somehow finds out that I do kungfu and asks I just bullsh!t them with ninja stories.

"o yea, we train to catch arrows - this one time at ninja camp..."

Then I bust out my Ashida Kim Mind Control Superpowers and hypnotize them into giving me the keys to their car...

[GunnedDownAtrocity]

i laughed the first time i heard it too.

my buddy todd told me he was gonna kick me in the chicken sack until i puked blood.

[SevenStar]

"what would you do if I did this?"

or

"You may know kung fu, but I know glock fu"

I really hate that one.

[GunnedDownAtrocity]

yeah . . . cause it's hard to argue with.

the only good follow up i can think of is where's your gun now?

of course if they have it on them you just have to admit their style is superior.

[diego]

hey guys 7* is back,wtf does that mean duke???.
im thinking youse'n TRANS//formationX!!

HEY GOTO LOUD.COM YOU CAN LISTEN TO MOST THE WU,
OR CHECK THE HIPHOP THREAD FROM TODAY AND PEEP THE LINKS - AUDIO SECTION
YOU GOT GOOD DL LINX????

[rubthebuddha]

my parents have gotten the kung fu thing down right. they're still working on saying wing tsun.

usually, i hate badgering idiots and their insincere prodding about what i study. however, sometimes, i enjoy it when jackarses ask "what would you do if i did this?"

first they start with, what would you do if i punched you?

"break your nose"

and what would you do if i threw an uppercut?

"break your nose"

and what would you do if i threw an elbow or gouged your eye?

"break your nose"

what if i tried to kick you?

"crush your testicles with my heel and break your nose"

if someone hasn't shut up by that point, then it's best to change the subject quickly, because that's when people can get all uptight and *****y and things can turn unnecessarily nasty.

most people usually remember that one buddy who broke his nose in high school and decide they don't want to have a nose like his, or they WERE the kid who broke his nose in high school and remember that it hurts like a mofo and really don't wish to relive that experience.

[scotty1]

Yeah, all my friends are cool with MA. And they think its a cool thing to do, in fact, one of my mates little sisters has started going to class (GDA, don't even think about it).
:D
But my mum still calls it Karate, even though I used to do Karate like when I was 13.
In fact, my bud came to watch me at a comp, but I got my ass kicked, so now he probably thinks I'm crap.:rolleyes: :)

[Gigante]

A couple of days ago I showed a counter-move to a simple punch
to a friend of mine... I had control of his balance, neck and right arm in standing position, and I said "from here I can easily take you to the ground by putting my leg like this and blah blah..."
Then he put his left hand index finger in my waist and said "BAM!"

Yes, great, ok he wins... Hurrah. He's beaten me again.
When will I learn that my training is futile ?

Of course, had I applied REAL force and speed, he had not been able to do that, ... and had I seen that there was a GUN in his hand and not a finger... I would not have tried that move.. 8-(

[brassmonkey]

I was at the local bookstore the other day and there was a guy reading from the bottom row of the martial arts book shelf so he was standing on 1 knee like one of those baseball/basketball poses for the camera reading. He then see's me and in an effort to clear out alil so I could browse he loses his balance and falls. Funniest god**** thing I've seen in awhile. I figured he was someone interested in martial arts and checking some books so I figured I'd help him out with a couple recommendations on teachers in town but then I saw he was reading "The secrets of Tae Kwon Do." At this point I didnt know what to make of the situation so I just kept to myself.

[brassmonkey]

One piece of advice I learned a few weeks ago. People at work know I do martial arts so we have this new guy, former linebacker in high school, big kid. So he knows I do MA then he goes on this 10 minute rant about what works in a real fight etc. I try to pay him no mind then he goes onto saying how boxing isnt really good because he simply will do this standing arm bar and like posts on here that are riduculous I could not bare to stay silent any longer. So I explain to him that boxers retract theyre punches pretty quick and generally he wont be able to trap 1 of theyre arms. Then as an example he tells me to get in a boxing stance then to retract my arm and hold it, so foolishly I did and I just let some total stranger put me in an arm bar. Stupidest thing I've done in a long time. I tell you letting some idiot stranger put you in a situation like that I will never do again, its not a good feeling. Then after he's done there he's like "i have an even better one" and then proceeds to try to put me in it after I say stop. Needless to say I followed his movement and softly shouldered him into the wall, thankfully he hasnt brought up martial arts since.

[jesper]

I found two very annoying things happened when I was younger

1) my friends were more provocative towards others when we went to night clubs, because they figured I would step in to save their ass.
That stopped when I refused to help them once when they got beaten up.

2) the ever annoying "what would you do if" questions.
That was stopped by actually showing it. It usually stops people from repeating that when words get around that you are willing to punch them in the face to show the effectiveness of your technics.

[tnwingtsun]

Are you the evil side of me from a different universe??


All my Ex's live in Texas......................

If ya can get by the used parts they might not be so bad!:D



tnwingtsun
Senior Member

Registered: Jan 1970



Man,I didn't have a computer in 1970!!

[Robinf]

I usually get, "Yeah, I've always wanted to get into martial arts." It takes all of my will power to not roll my eyes at them.

Robin

[Satanachia]

In short my parents still call it Karate or Taw Kwon Do, which is weird considering i have never even mentioned those names to them.

My friends are all cool with it. One of them thinks he's god's gift to wing tsun. And i've got 4 others who do TKD. Another one started the class with me, but has practically dropped out since i dislocated his knee-cap. (It wasn't my fault! the idiot tried to resist the technique too much, and we later found out in the hospital he actually had an inherant problem with his knees that he didn't know about since he'd never played any strenuous sport)

We had to get an ambulance to get him out of the dojo, since we're on a top story, so he had to be carried down the stairs. Ever since that incident i don't think there have been many kung fu jokes :)

That and everyone notices i've put on about 10 kg of muscle since i started, so they're sure somethings going on when i go to class.

[GunnedDownAtrocity]

"It usually stops people from repeating that when words get around that you are willing to punch them in the face to show the effectiveness of your technics."

[Colin]

"Break your nose"..................
excellent!!!!!!!!!!! lol

[shinbushi]

I get some jerk that throws a lame punch and stops 3 inches infront of my face and asks, "Why didn't you move?" To which I reply,"because you did not try to hit me." He throws another that does not connect, REPEAT until he walks away thinking I don't know anything. PLeeeese

[PaleDragon]

constantly confuse chinese and japense things...they think im being an ass when i correct them...and i know i dont make it any easier by learning a chinese art and japanese language, but...they would surely correct me if i told people they liked bands, cars, movies, etc. that they didnt really like. or if i said they go to pre school instead of college or high school...people enjoy ignorance too much.

[BiNKy]

I do find the "what if" questions annoying. If someone wants to talk to me about the martial arts then I love to contribute but if they are just showing their idiocy then I try to refrain. Alot of people simply don't know what real kung fu or real fighting is all about. If they are talking to me I make them do the demonstration. Instead of letting them grab my wrist and ask me what I would do, I show them a correct way to throw a punch, correct wrist escapes, or something else that is basic and useful.

Unfortunately, some guys must pretend they are macho and I am forced into a crappy situation. Once my friend called me on my cell phone because he saw me driving by his house on my way back from class. I did a u-turn and went over to visit and we were talking and a friend of his asked me if I could fight. Casually, I just said "yeah we do a good deal of sparring and its pretty fun" and he said his cousin taught him a little bit of jiu jitsu and he asked me if "I wanted to fight". I told him I had my gloves and mouthpiece in the car and he dropped the subject by saying he might want to check out the class. I'm not sure if I should have said that but it worked. I didn't feel threatened because he was a good kid and a very lazy one so I knew that he wasn't going to act tough especially if there werent girls around. Girls tend to bring out the competition so if someone is trying to impress a girl by intimidating you or others then know that the stakes are raised. Fortunately, the only times I've encountered this are from people that I know a little bit. A purely pacifist approach might be the best thing to do but sometimes you might want to let them know they really should drop the matter. I find that a logical response works for me. They ask if you can fight you can respond very matter of factly "of course, I fight regularly and have been doing so for years". I don't suggest that response if they have friends around. It can be hard knowing when to stand your ground and when to just leave. Look to the future and see which response will help you tomorrow. If standing your ground avoids future conflict then it might be a considerable option. If it will bring you trouble then make your life easier and just do something else. Just my thoughts. Play it smart.

[txwingchun]

Originally posted by tnwingtsun
Are you the evil side of me from a different universe??


All my Ex's live in Texas......................

If ya can get by the used parts they might not be so bad!:D

tnwingtsun
Senior Member

Registered: Jan 1970
Man,I didn't have a computer in 1970!!
Yes I am and I have been destroying all the others that exists in alternete universes BWHAHAHAHAHAHA! and you are the only one left. Soon I will have all the power.

[Mr. Nemo]

Gunneddownatrocity's posts are consistently among the funniest on KFO.

I've had three seperate people tell me about this thing they heard about how you can ram somebody's nose up into their brain and kill them. I tell them that's a myth, but I can tell they're not convinced. They still think it's true.

I've also been informed by experts that the purpose of judo is to break your opponents' spine, that all martial arts come from praying mantis, and that capoeira is a kind of kung fu.

[joedoe]

Well, my mother is Chinese with her lineage leading back to Fukkien province. I practice a Fukkien system of kung fu. Even after all that and over 14 years of training in the art, she calls it karate! Sheeeesh.

[rubthebuddha]

the palm to the nose thing is a bunch of shît. why would it just be palm?

the reason why people can die during such a strike is because of the shock this can cause to the brain. the brain is padded in the skull pretty much by fluid and little else. push that skull back at an alarming rate, and all brain matter will naturally compress into the front of the skull.

and if we all think back to mrs. stevens' 2nd-grade class, we will remember that compressing brain tissue is harmful and should NOT be done without adult supervision.

now add to this the nasty snap at the base of the neck suck a strike causes. now that's naughty stuff.

and please don't think about cartilage being thrust into the brain. all the important matter in the brain is at the back -- all the stuff that controls breathing, heartrate, hiccups, burping (ah, burping, how i love thee), etc. is on the other end of the noggin. honestly, if it's just cartilage hitting brain, you're probably going to just make someone stupider. :)

[DelicateSound]

I love it when someone puts on a Jackie Chan film and says: "Bet you can't do that sh!t"

My responce varies between:

"I'm not a stuntman"
"Give me 50 takes and I will"
"Yeah - everyone fights with stepladders"

[GunnedDownAtrocity]

if someone asks me to show them something i just pull down my pants.

they don't ask me about martial arts or anything else after that.

[David Jamieson]

put yourself in the shoes of a sop****re asking questions to a higher mathematics professor.

not everybody can know everything.

Often times, people will "make fun" because they are not comfortable with their own ignorance. People are like that.

Better to smile and answer their questions as honestly as you can and be a good representative for your style. If they persist with foolishness, reward their ignorance by ignoring them.

peace

[HopGar]

the word s o p h o m o r e is censored too? does anyone else think that this is pushing it a bit?

[David Jamieson]

the censor is automated.

Truth is, if people would quit posting profanity, it wouldn't be required at all.

the potty talk is thick here though, so I don't blame the websters for knocking of as much as they can.

saves me time and effort editing stuff only to find people are actually spending time trying to figure out how to post profanity without getting censored, yeesh!

seperated letters, wildcards.
Why not just say what you wanna say without the profanity?

peace

[red_fists]

Since I am doing a variant/mixed style of Tai Chi, and practice Sunday mornings in the Park I get to meet a lot of weird people.

Most think that my Tai Chi is a form of Yoga. Or a simple easy realxing exercise for the over 60's. Sheesh.

Anyhuh most people get REALLY confused when we start Push Hand ,Weapon Forms and Weapon sparring.

With the Combat Fans it is still a form of "ooh, nice and elegant".
With the except surprised shocked look as we flip them open and close. Nice sound there.

But the 6 foot steel staff and the Tai Chi Sword tends to silence them quickly. :-)

2 Weeks we had a Team of little soccer tykes rock up and stand in awe with comments like "Uuuh, just like Bruce Lee".Yeah, sure.

[qeySuS]

hey there ****ty ****ty *** *** ****ty ****ty *** ***.

-Mr.Garrison.

[anerlich]

You ought to try practising BJJ at the beach. It gets some very weird looks, but for some reason nobody seemed very keen to talk to us.

[Stacey]

bjj on the beach? Are you stupid? Did you ever hear of a thing called sand? It gets on your skin and thats not conductive to wrestling.

[joedoe]

That's because you were doing the Hopoate to each other.

Just kidding :D

[red_fists]

Personally, I would keep the training on sand to a minimum.

It can muck up your stances and cause some bad ankle and knee injuries over prolonged time.

[sticky fingers]

I tell ignoramuses(?) that I do Ikebana and there's a lot of chopping and cutting involved in this deadly art.
Ikebana is Japanese flower arranging.

and the classic Mr. Miyage answer to 'what belt do you have?'
leather...you like?

[red_fists]

If People ask me what belt I got.
I tell them one strong enough to hold my pants up.

But than I nicely explain that that we do not have any rank structure and hence no belts or Certificates.

[jimmy23]

Wimps.

Try being a mixed martial artist , where 60 percent of what you do is ground work. Then, let the people you work with know that you do this. Thrill to the joy of being introduced to people as a "wrassler" or hearing " He does Toughman stuff". Maintain calm as you explain, once again , that what you do IS NOT what Stone Cold Steve Austin does, and no, i will never box against Butterbean for $20,000. Bask in the attention when someone who has never seen you train, or fight, or even knows you, loudly proclaims to all " What he's doing is for sport, not the street, it would never work against (insert style here)".

CMA dudes have it so easy.....

[Serpent]

Originally posted by Kung Lek
the censor is automated.


seperated letters, wildcards.
Why not just say what you wanna say without the profanity?

peace

Fu ck that. What are ya, some kind of pu$$y?

;)

[Serpent]

Now, you might delete that previous post. But I bet you laughed!

[Ryu]

LOL@ Jimmy23

[OdderMensch]

and no, i will never box against Butterbean for $20,000.

hey is there some kind of open offer going on? 'cause, um, I'd fight Butterbean for $20,000. :)

I only saw him in one fight (i think his first pro?) where he flatted the other guy! it was cool. how's he doing now?

I'll be opening a school in September - against parental wishes.

Being Chinese, my parents are very against my becoming a kung fu teacher. They had it in their minds that I was going to become a Western medical physician long before I was born.

Yet if I DON'T become a sifu, I won't survive emotionally or even financially.

I'm just not that great at much else in life except classical violin - and I'm too innately pugilistic and kinesthetic to do JUST violin. And I don't earn much money at violin - barely enough to pay the current rent and keep myself clothed and fed.

As far as dayjobs go, I work one but feel utterly trapped by it. I'd rather spend the time trying to market myself in kung fu and becoming the best martial artist I can be for myself and my students.

[Robinf]

HuangKaiVun,

Good luck with your school. It is often very difficult for those not in martial arts to understand what drives us to continue and even to teach, let alone opening up your own school. That takes a lot of courage and I applaud you for that one. Follow your heart and you'll be happy with your life.

Robin