what is the problem with shaolin-do?

[Water Dragon]

Ray,
Did you jusy slam the Chang Jia arts?

[Chang Style Novice]

If you are pro-war, but unwilling to put your ass on the front lines, you are a chickenhawk hypocrite R.E.M.F., period. Nothing you have said addresses that fact, E-fist, and I doubt you'll ever even try, because you'd rather someone else take the risks for you. You aren't a 'warrior', you're a wannabe-but-tooscaredtobe. The real warriors are cleaning sand out of their rifles, or recovering from land mines blasts that blew their limbs off, or dead. And President Bush won't even attend the funerals of those who died in action because he's rightfully afraid that acknowledging the cost of this war would damage his chances at re-election. You guys are peas in a pod, and deserve each other, but the rest of the world deserves better.

As for my own fighting skills, at least I'm honest about what I am - a martial arts hobbyist without any particular talent for it. Could any number of people on this board mop the floor with me? Sure thing. So what?

- Austin Swinburn

[fa_jing]

I do not "oppose" the war in Iraq. However I am definitely unwilling to fight it myself. Thus any "advocation" I might profess for the war is definitely weak. That's why I don't talk about it. I'll die defending myself and my loved ones and some people here were definitely attacked in murderous fashion, however I think from there it gets alot more complicated.

Heck alot of people think the US should be fighting drugs in Colombia but will they go down and personally take away a farmer's sole means of supporting his family? Will they ever care about the horrible class divisions that maintain half the population in a constant survival crisis, causing the second bloodiest civil war ever in the Americas, LONG before drugs were an issue?

[Ray Pina]

I personally feel I can support a war against terrorism without joining the armed forced. You apparantly don't. I understand your argument, but feel it is a bit extreme and know you are wise enough to know better as well. Was it policy for past presidents to attend the funerals of all slain soldiers? Of this I honestly don't know. Personally, I don't care who calls the shots ... I think it makes little difference in the end.

I can't change your view of me. As I said, I'm typically against war, but this one hit close to home (the World Trade Center was a few blocks from my master's school). I know people who have lost family members in the attack.

In no way do I compare willingly fighting to being shot at and blown up. That comparison was of your own device.

However, please do not compare your pursuit of martial arts with mine. Sure, you can say 25 years+ is simply a long commitment to a hobby, but for me it is something else. My earliest memories are of me training. I was in the dojo before pre-school. My goal is simple: to be the best!

Anything less is giving in to mediocricy, settling for your technique to be "so so". That is fine. But since this is actually a martial arts board and not Politically Incorrect, and since you pursue this passion of mine no differently than a model maker a new sale for his mini-scale boat, your words weight little.

[Water Dragon]

Ray Pina,
Did you just slam the Chang Jia arts?

[Ray Pina]

No. I slammed taiji as it is practiced by most I have seen. Though I keep hearing about Max Chen and his sister so those folks must be doing something right.

I apologize now to Chang Novice before he counters and tries to rip me a new one. I don't like making these things personal. But when attacked....

Its just that by his logic, he should leave the U.S. It seems just as hypocritical to slam a presidency you live under and pay taxes too as it does to support a war that I am not currently inlisted in to fight.

I don't even practice taiji and see that things are not black and white. Circumstance! Nonetheless I apologize.

To keep it martial: I see a lot of taiji folks with bad knee placement (over their toes). Leads to no pulling angle, over committed and ruins the knees. I see a lot of things. Stomping the feet, rediculous applications and frown upon the whole, "relax, relax, relax" mentality and then push over an unsuspecting newbie. I also think too many forgoe hitting hand in favor of pushing hand. Sticking hand, pushing hand, hitting hand. You need all three.

I see a lot of bad Hsing-I, too. Guys who know the movements but lack power, don't understand that the 5 elements are not for fighting, they are ideas, foundations in power. Drill fist is not an upper cut!

These are just my opinions. And as popular as it is here to diss Karate, I would rather train at a good karate school than a so so kung fu school. It's the school's aproach and the teacher's ability to teach/students ability and willingness to learn that matters.

These poor Shaolin Do guys. Give them a break already. They know it's not the Harvard of MA. But maybe they can be the genious at community college. That's enough. Even the stupid revese punch, roundhouse kick, front kick, back fist, hammer blow I was training in karate made me tough, taught me fighting spirit. That's 70 percent of the battle right there.

[backbreaker]

Whoa,that's mind boggling.I never thought about that drilling fists weren't uppercuts.What are they considered to be?A different hidden strike?Maybe chin na applications?But that's fighting still.What is exactly an uppercut?Can shoalin do block uppercuts?How would they?This is confusing.Learning to relax a lot is important in many styles like taiji,qigong,yoga,meditation.I don't find karate at all as interesting as kungfu,nothing against karate I don't know any.

[fa_jing]

Originally posted by Water Dragon
Ray Pina,
Did you just slam the Chang Jia arts?

You just called out Ray by his first and last names. Provide your own or step off of the plate.

[Water Dragon]

Originally posted by fa_jing


You just called out Ray by his first and last names. Provide your own or step off of the plate.

Everyone here who cares to know, knows my name is Larry. Ray posted his last name here, I did not give that info out.

It's cool E-fist, for a minute there, I was like WTF??? Did he just talk smack about Chang's stuff? No prob, you can have your flan tonight after dinner.

[CrippledAvenger]

Originally posted by Water Dragon


Everyone here who cares to know, knows my name is Larry. Ray posted his last name here, I did not give that info out.

It's cool E-fist, for a minute there, I was like WTF??? Did he just talk smack about Chang's stuff? No prob, you can have your flan tonight after dinner.

I had flan yesterday. It was delicious.

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[Bluesman]

Originally posted by Meat Shake
Our boys over there have all of my best wishes and support. Bush can chew on my taint, after I go for a looong jog on a hot day. I hate our government. Get bush out of the white house. Re elect Gore in '04.

You must be smoking dope
I do not know what kind of mess we would be in with gore ( low case intentional)

[Bluesman]

Originally posted by MC Taiji Hips
I think war is stupid. You can't bomb the world into peace but you can bomb the world in to pieces. I'm proud of my family serving, but honestly, I would never serve. I'm not a killer, and regardless if you Commander and Chief says it right, Its not okay to kill. these old ****s are too eager to start a war. I think we should throw them in to a Barbedwire ring with landmines strategically placed through out it and let them fight to the death. Instead of sending off my friends and family to die in vain.

Remember that freedom is not free. If not for the patriots that have gone before us and are serving us now we would not enjoy the liberty that we have.Everyone needs to somehow serve their country. If not , you are taking a free ride for what others have paid for.

Oh yeah, go to this site and tell them what you said on here.
http://forums.flyingtigersavg.com/cg...i?action=intro
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[cerebus]

Actually, though Evolution Fist said nothing about the other Chang Jia arts, he did seriously slam Chang Shih Tai Chi Chuan. Though I generally agree that a Shaolin Do black belt could probably take the average American Tai Chi practitioner, I can't agree when he says "particularly Chang style: I'd say it died with the father". Sifu John Wang (who practices Chang Tai Chi as well as Shuai Chiao) might disagree with that comment also. T.

[anton]

I don't think effectiveness is at the root of what people criticise SD for. It might be the most effective MA in the world, the allegation is that SD has nothing to do with Shaolin, and very little to do with CMA. It seems that if Grandmaster Sin admitted as much, 90% of SD's critics would shut up...

PS - I have no personal opinion on SD.

[cerebus]

Anton has stated very simply, exactly what most people who have any problem with SD have spent many more words trying to explain to the SDers on this board. Shaolin-Do is not traditional CMA. It IS Shaolin-Do (not, however, Shaolin Chuan or Chung Kuo Wu Shu [Chinese MA]). It might be effective, and it has certainly done much good for many people but it's frustrating that it is represented as something which it isn't. The SDers on this board have shown that, for them, SD is good enough to stand on it's own regardless of it's background or "history" it's just to bad that Sin The doesn't seem to know they feel this way (though by this point it's a bit late for him to come clean with the truth as it would be a tremendous loss of face to admit that maybe the background was "embellished" a bit here & there). T.