Why I love MMA or My training right now

[irontiger1981]

more like september evenings with lots of beer...

dude i so want a beer right now

[irontiger1981]

its even september

[uki]

big laughing gyms laugh in september...

[SimonM]

Look at it this way, you can contemplate your bellybutton all day, and get some benefit, but it's nothing compared to the time spent actually going out there and actually showing people your belly button. See what I'm saying?

ROTFL!!! That is the funniest thing I've read all day.

(Of course it is 9:13 am)

[SimonM]

Step 1: Take any random line of text typed by Uki.
Step 2: Add "Confucius say" to the beginning.
Step 3: Add "Your lucky numbers are #,#,#,#,#" at the end.
Voila! Instant fortune cookie.

[Ray Pina]

i feel its rather safe to say, that if this is the case, either or would be capable of defeating a good deal of internal stylists, while on the flip side, a good deal of internal stylits would be capable of beating them.

With all do respect, and with total humility, is there ANY other internal stylist out there fighting? I know my style of fighting has internal elements in it. And frankly, I'd have to argue BJJ is internal, for adhering to the same principles that I would use to define "internal" in Hsing-I and Taiji. I can't really speak of Ba Gua.

Anyway, my point? Where are these internal stylists? I either want to learn from them or beat them. Because of they want to fight they expect to win, right? And if they expect to win that means they must think they're better than me. **** that! I've studied too long and am training to hard. I'll say it right now, I'm 174.9... I don't think there's an internal man below 205 lbs that would take me. And I'd be willing to stretch it further than that if motivated.

[sanjuro_ronin]

With all do respect, and with total humility, is there ANY other internal stylist out there fighting? I know my style of fighting has internal elements in it. And frankly, I'd have to argue BJJ is internal, for adhering to the same principles that I would use to define "internal" in Hsing-I and Taiji. I can't really speak of Ba Gua.

Anyway, my point? Where are these internal stylists? I either want to learn from them or beat them. Because of they want to fight they expect to win, right? And if they expect to win that means they must think they're better than me. **** that! I've studied too long and am training to hard. I'll say it right now, I'm 174.9... I don't think there's an internal man below 205 lbs that would take me. And I'd be willing to stretch it further than that if motivated.

You may need to get out more...

[Xiao3 Meng4]

Not sure if you've seen this, Ray...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pWBBhVLbDgk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eIc5N...eature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NznIJ...eature=related

I don't think he's actually competing, but he's definitely training competitors, at least on a seminar basis...

CSP

[SimonM]

For a long time I have been apprehensive of the "internal / external" dichotomy. AFAIK the "internal arts" (Bagua, Xingyi and Taiji) were called such because of a reference to them in a single military manual from the Qing dynasty. What I heard was that, basically, the author of the manual suggested these three martial arts to be a good training regimen. Now considering that there is some simmilarity between Bagua and Taiji people seem to have interpreted this to mean that these three styles were somehow pseudo-mystically related - and different from other martial arts. Xingyi is, IMHO the deal breaker for me on this explaination. I don't speak from ignorance here, I studied Xingyi in Shanxi (the home of one of the two main branches of Xingyi).

And you know what?

For all the fancy talk I see on this board about how Xingyi may look linear but uses circular internal power development... I don't see the difference between that and the advice pretty much any "external" martial art to develop striking power by turning the torso.

As a result, my hypothesis was that the three "internal" arts were advised as a form of cross-training with Xingyi providing striking, Bagua providing grappling and taiji for general physical fitness.

If we dissolve "internal" / "external" and look at each practitioner based on his own merits the question becomes much simpler... of course... it also gives us less on-topic stuff to argue about here on the forum.

[lkfmdc]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pWBBhVLbDgk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eIc5N...eature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NznIJ...eature=related

Jose Figueroa, disciple of Chen stylist Guangyi Ren brought us footage of real Chen Taiji back in the early 90's and I'm glad to see stuff is making its way onto youtube and the internet

It shows that TCMA, even "internal" is not about chi blasts and mysticism crap

It also shows that real Taiji is a lot like Greco-Roman

[bawang]

true true. u know the saying goes, the external starts hard and end soft(er), internal styles start soft and end hard. i think those yang taiji people forgot that lol.

[D-FENS]

true true. u know the saying goes, the external starts hard and end soft(er), internal styles start soft and end hard.

Just like my ham candle.

[Ray Pina]

Not sure if you've seen this, Ray...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pWBBhVLbDgk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eIc5N...eature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NznIJ...eature=related

I don't think he's actually competing, but he's definitely training competitors, at least on a seminar basis...

CSP

I've seen it now. And what I assume you're passing off as "high-level internal" seems a lot like pummeling and clinch drills that I do three times a week. Only the guys are fighting back with full force and intention.

This goes to my point. This gentlemen, I don't know his skill. Actually seems like he has great mechanics. Someone mentioned Black Taoist, his technique seems sound.

But my question was: Where are these internal FIGHTERS!

I felt very fortunate to train with who I considered the best internalist available to me, and having lived in NYC at the time I would say my options were deeper than most. Principles are great. The training and mind set healthy. But it's the bottom line that matters. You're either less, equal or ahead of your contemporaries. There's only one way real fighters determine that: who's winning. Non fighters will debate, dig into historical records, quote magazine and books (often published by people profiting from perpetuating a thought) ... a lot of ifs and buts.

I want to train with people equal to or better than the standard. Not good marketers. Not good demonstrators, crafty situation manipulators. My BJJ coach is heading to NYC next week for the worlds. My head boxing coach fought 9 pro fights. The assistant, who's teaching me now, has a couple pro fights.

One word from these men hold more weight to me than a million demonstration videos.

[Ray Pina]

You may need to get out more...

To where?

I'm not saying these things to be a di(k. I'm saying them to a) potentially find something good and b) wake people's minds up. It's easy to say there's a given number of internal stylists (taiji, Hsing-I, Ba Gua) that can demolish a high-level MMA fighter.

I'm asking for one. Don't even need to post video. Just type their name and where they train.

[sanjuro_ronin]

To where?

I'm not saying these things to be a di(k. I'm saying them to a) potentially find something good and b) wake people's minds up. It's easy to say there's a given number of internal stylists (taiji, Hsing-I, Ba Gua) that can demolish a high-level MMA fighter.

I'm asking for one. Don't even need to post video. Just type their name and where they train.

Well, you can look up the jiulong Bagua guys of Master Painter or you can go to NYC and look up YY Chen and his son Max, they are Tai Chi practioner and Max competes ( or competed) in Full contact matches, there is also Tim Cartmell ( SP?)