Physical appearance and your martial arts teacher

[GunnedDownAtrocity]

While girls are generally less physically active

i dunno man you might want to tell that to my five year old girl who does cheering, gymnastics, dance, and now soccer. the first three are all under one roof so im not tring to kill her with activities, but there are plenty of parents just like that at her school.

[David Jamieson]

I thought we were talking lard ass teacher vs non-lard ass teacher and who is better?

when did this become a boys vs girl thread again???

come on guys, stay on topic.

Having said that, I have never had an MA teacher in any art that was overweight.
But I have trained with some guys who could be considered overweight and it took nothing from their ability to apply their skills.

Now, would I study with a guy who had beer and pizza stains on his shirt? I don't know, It would really depend on what he had to show. If adept at it, yes, I would be all eyes and ears. If blatantly mechanically incorrect, sayonara, but I could say the same about thin ass pencil necks too. BTW, I have witnessed thin ass pencil necks who call themselves sensei or sifu and probably shouldn't. THey'll get schooled eventually I'm sure. Or maybe not, I don't actually give too much of a sh1t about it to be frank.

In the end, it has little to do with weight and more to do with doing the doings.

[SPJ]

When people get into middle age in 30's or 40's, they usually gain weight overall.

I tend to look at the skills and easiness, the teachers move and step than the body shapes or muscle masses.

True. The teachers that teach 12 Lu Tang Tui or bounce leg or swamp leg will have a good shape of the legs. because they kick in almost every step and land.

The teachers that teach Qin Na or Shuai Jiao may have strong hand grips and upper arms and back.

The Southern fist and Shaolin fist teachers may have good upper bodies.

If you practice a lot of Qi Gong, usually your tummie is not "buldging". because you breathe in and out deep and wide with tummie contracting and relaxing.

If you want to have 6 packs, you may need to practice to develop the muscles specifically for looks and that would be body building.

True, if you engage in some physical activity or any sports, your body shape would be better overall.

Dance, swim and many others may make you in a better shape and look nice, too.

I was impressed by many middle aged and senior moving easily, smoothly and swiftly in Tai Chi, Ba Gua and other MA practice every morning in Taipei city parks.

And they came in different physical shapes, tall, short, wide, thin etc.

[SPJ]

My point is that 6 packs may not equate to MA skills. Other muscle masses may or may not?

[ricksitterly]

hmmm... so lets take it a step further.

For those of you who have a MA instructor who is "hot sh--" (in body and skill).... what if he suffered a debilitating injury? Say a permanent knee injury (fairly common in martial arts). Now they simply cannot train. Can you no longer learn anything from this person? Are they unable to pass on the knowlege from their years of experience?

My point is that the shape someone is in now, at this moment, is of little importance. It's a poor indication of what kind of shape they WERE in while training. If you guys think you can preach the ideals of kung fu from an internet forum, then there's no reason why some over-the-hill martial arts instructor can't do it in his own school... no matter how out of shape.

Lets not be so superficial.

[SevenStar]

it's not necessarily shallowness. If I know that joey lardass was an awesome competitor in his day (by his record) and He's training quality guys now, that's one thing. But, if I were to just walk into his school and he told me of his accomplishments and they couldn't be verified, I wouldn't take the chance on him.

[David Jamieson]

rick, why do you think knee injuries are common in martial arts.

none of my teachers have knee problems and the training methods from each of them doesn't lead to it either.

I agree you can learn from someone who can no longer "do". But then, there is a guy who practices daily near me who is 80+, in good shape and still moves with grace and fluidity and has no extra pounds on him.

No, he ain't about to be the next greatest thing in the UFC, but if I still move as well as that should I reach his age, then I'm doing it right.

There are plenty of people who train incorrectly as well and this shows to someone with an eye that they have gained from the correct method over time.

If ya know, ya know. Leave the doubt to the doubters.

spj- a 6 pack doesn't equate to skill I agree, but obesity is obesity and that translates for what it is. A person who doesn't take care of themself can hardly be expected to take care of you in your learning path. Better to start at the obvious outward experience and over time move to the inward knowing.

at least from my point of view. Otherwise, people can do as they will.

[SPJ]

Such is the fact of life.

I have 2 cousins. They were good basket ball players. And yes, they were great when in prime age. And time waits for no man. One became a coach for women basket ball team. The other ran a business to sell shoes and tennis rackets. He also ran and won several terms as Taipei city councilman.

There were no problems with verifications. Because there are video and records from high school team all the way to the last game they were in.

True. If a dentist has bad teeth; if a fitness teacher is not fit; if a dancer is out of shape; if a hair dresser has bad hairs; if --

You can't really preach anything in any internet forum. You may share some thoughts and ideas.

Because everything may be argued back and forth, since it is not a timed debate with judges.

[SevenStar]

I think knee injuries are somewhat art specific. they are very common in judo...grappling in general, but judo specifically. I don't know of too many cma with severe knee injury.

[David Jamieson]

You can't really preach anything in any internet forum.

ya coulda fooled me bud, lol. People preach in the forums all the time.

Bow down before the god you serve and all that. yuk yuk