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Post by Deleted on Feb 4, 2011 7:17:02 GMT
Why is everyone missing what I am saying and turning what I said into a big Political Debate? My point was that at the bare basic level the moves Koruda Sensei is using are not as effective when they are not being used by someone who is not a master like himself. That is my whole point. And even at his level the moves have a little more of a risk than I am used to seeing. Everyone keeps going on about techniques taking years and decades to learn. Well I guess if you want to be an artist that is true. It takes years to kill allot of original inspiration and to train you mind to accept the way that someone programs into you. What I mean by that is you are told how to see a thing rather than learning how to see for yourself. I cant stand the common outlook people have in that you have to suffer the teachings of someone else and except their way of things before you get to think for yourself and fallow your own way. It has never made sense to me... Sam: My friend was an uchi deshi at a dojo in chicago that had a study group under Koruda Sensei. Aikido and Aiki Ken were his main focus areas of training, but he had spent a considerable amount of time with the Koruda Study group. But again that is my point. If you are not getting basic practical effective use in the foundation of the techniques then what is the point? That is why I prefer "military" inspired styles and teachers. Abbott Sensei was one of the few people I met that stressed bare basics and the fact that he did not teach "hidden" or "inside" techniques. Not to say that Abbott Sensei's training is quick or easy. The time I spent under him was the hardest physical training I have ever had. The man was a machine and averaged 14 hours of training a day when I lived with him for a short time. And this was not time spent on Kata this was spent on Sparring, Suburi, and Kendo striking drills. Almost every day I was at my physical limits all to close to blacking out and a few times I did. Sam Goshindo and its 3 areas of study work together, but change on focus and meaning depending on the student and the goals. Goshindo is the way of self defense in more than a physical sense but also a mental one. Training in these areas is an experience where you are forged and like all hand forged swords have many close features to other swords, but at the same time remain unique to yourself. Why would you want to spend decades trying to get into an learn the mindset and view points of another person who in some cases has been dead for centuries and like many old books and poems you bicker with other people on who better understands the meaning behind a series of moves? In the martial arts world there are leagues of people in to many branches and styles to count that will defend and conform to a point of view as seen from a specific art that they can't even understand or voice their opinion on until they have surrendered a good chunk of their lives to it? That is what I like most about Goshindo and Chanbara. You learn how to use the weapon in a safe, practical effective way. And the simplistic nature of sparring and learning under pressure melts away all the trash talk and debate of theory. There is no great mindset to learn, no master secrets to find. There is just hard work and the self victory that is gained by finding out who you are when all else is striped away and you are 100% committed to the present task that is an art of physical expression and growth. No need for words or judgment because you leave it all on the mat. And each different weapon and opponent is a new level of growth a new way of looking at how you approach combat and the different situations presented to you. My point is you can practice a style of though and expression, or you can practice everything.... Mentally you are not learning a single way to look at things. You are not placing lines between yourself and other people.... You simple learn to be... and in doing that you live simply... this allows others around you to simply live. Also Sam to answer another question you had. I trained and lived with Abbott Sensei a short time (about 100+ hours of training) before that I worked on my own and called him weekly for training advice. Just things I could do simply on my own. One was just to stand in front of a door with a mirror and fallow the angles of the door. The Diagonals, verticals, horizontals ex. And that is what I did for about a year or so until I was able to travel and train with him. There he trained me personally over many hours and thousands of sword swings and hours spent doing basic moves over and over until I was ready to drop. Spoon feeding me basics and molding things to fit my needs. When I could no longer afford to stay I came home. Since then I just keep to my basics an hour a day and spar with some friends once a week. I call him every few months to ask for training advice and for him to give me something to work on. Every once in a blue moon I will send him a clip of sparring or something else for him to pick on..... I was actually given a basic combative certification and given the ability to train a study group. I mostly just work with people on basics bare basics and that is fine with them as I do it for free and supply the gear just to have sparring partners..... I would say all told I have just over 3,000 hours of training.... If you are really all that serious About training you can head to Arizona and train with Abbott Sensei Directly. I have some training time owed to me and it would be no problem to surrender that time to you so you could spend a few days of hard training under him. It would be a learning experience for a swordsman at almost any level. As much as I want to travel I have far to many things on my plate right now and it will be many months yet before I can go back to Arizona to train again. Let alone travel to other places....
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Sam H
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Post by Sam H on Feb 4, 2011 13:51:37 GMT
Ricky - I sincerely appreciate the offer of you surrendering your hours owed of training to me for my learning experience. That is a very valuable and worthwhile offer indeed. I would love to travel to Arizona to spend some time with a noted teacher like Abbott sensei however as you might understand I simply just cannot afford it. Having lost my job and also having 4 children to care for such an endeavour is beyond my financial capabilities at the time being - and for the forseeable future. Were I financially capable of picking up and heading off to AZ for a few days to a week I'd be pming you for details however alas that is not the case. Perhaps, if the offer is still up, I might be able to take advantage of your offer in the future when I am more financially sound.
As for my offer to you to come here it is still good and unless I become homeless will continue to be open to you (or anyone else who might be travelling this way). Btw if you do have certification from your sensei to teach a study group you should consider doing so at some profit. After all even if you charge just $10/person you'd be able to turn things around quickly - sword play seems to be growing quickly in popularity.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 4, 2011 21:53:09 GMT
Sword itself is popular, but allot of people have a very lazy attitude when it comes to attendance. Also when you tell them that they can't go straight to cutting things it is disappointing for them. When I tell people it will be 6 months before they cut it never goes over well. Many people see backyard cutting and want to have "fun" and don't really want to work for it. And then there are other martial art students, but they are obsessed with rank and I can't give rank. So I really don't havev anything to charge for.
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Post by jeimuzu on Feb 6, 2011 3:45:07 GMT
You do have something to charge for. Your exp in your art is what you can charge for. Give lessons and charge to teach it to them. Those who want to learn will learn one way or another. Rank doesnt mean anything. Like its been said before in other topics, if you cant get the basics down, you cant advance.
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Sam H
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Post by Sam H on Feb 6, 2011 20:15:53 GMT
I rarely agree with Jiemuzu however I do agree with him on this. Nowadays there are many people who aren't necessarily looking for rank. Most of these people that would be your primary demographic of customers would be more interested in learning how to fight with a sword (for various reasons). They wouldn't necessarily care about rank or tournaments etc. Instead they would be more interested in being taught the basic mechanics of swinging with a sword and also taught the basic techniques that would give them a decent base on which to build. Most of these people are also happy to self teach once their studies with you are complete. That being said I'm sure they'd be happy to pay for a base to build their studies off of.
As for not letting them cut till they've had 6 months of practice/study - heh you're right that won't fly. If you could find some sort of happy compromise with them it could be rather profitable for you. I mean you wouldn't really be teaching Abbott sensei's style in its truest style perse but then seriously how many schools and teachers out there are just teaching what people think they want to learn and not what they should learn when they start learning a martial art?
Regardless if you have something to teach there will always be someone who will pay you to teach them. I just recently started a part time business based off of one of my other hobbies - dogs and their training. I'm no Cesar Milan but hey I've got a good way with dogs and I can consistently train dogs to be obedient and well mannered members of the household. I also do hunt training with dogs - and have put out 4 consistent and successful hunting dogs now (not champion field trial dogs but just consistent and successful in an actual hunt). Most people nowadays don't like what I have to say or teach about dogs (like treating a dog as if it were a dog and not as if it were a human) but there is enough interest that I still get clients. I'm probably not going to be able to make a living off this but its still a little bit of an income.
That's my point actually - you've got something others will surely want. Nothing wrong in finding a way to make some money off it. Just make sure you're not sending people off thinking they're swordsmen when they've only just learned the basics.
Good luck.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 7, 2011 1:40:31 GMT
Around me there are to many Naruto, Samurai Champloo, Bleach ex. Anime Junkies that have not "real" ambition of sword use. One guy who works with me is a huge Rurouni Kenshin fan and was interested until I brought him down to reality in that he will not learn any super human moves. Some old High school friends were taking an Aikido class at the local JC a few years back and I met their Aikido Sensei. He was a Sandan if I remember right and had many questions about Chanbara because he had not heard much good of it. In seeing Aiki Ken I see that it has solid basic footwork, but it has to much context of the hand to hand fighting, so many of its concepts as I have seen them focus on the "blending" concept in Aikido. So when he asked if we could spar a bit I did not want to at first. I tried to tell him that in Chanbara we use "dirty fighting" moves like one handed leg cuts ex. compared to Aiki Ken. He wanted to anyway and while he did much better afterward there was much criticism on his end about me using more "traditional" cuts and footwork. I just responded that "Tradition" was a constantly changing thing with each new teacher and generation. When Semesters Changed they brought in a Kendo class and there was to much attacking of Chanbara by that specific teacher, so I never went back.... I have constantly seen people make the implication that a student cant be a good swordsmen without their skills being applied to a "style" and by extension Kata context. Kata buy its use with a sword is similar to a military drill with a rife. Learning the sword and its relationship to your body as you move in various ways. Until after a certain point you know where the sword is without looking. That is the only practical use I can find. To many times in sparring I have seen to many people try and use Kata sequence moves and it always ends bad. Again simply because they try to apply a predetermined response to an unknown event. And beyond that Kata are slow and ... sparring is allot faster. If one can draw use the sword effectively and put it away then what about that does not make one a swordsmen? Because it is not approached as an art? You can take a soldier fresh from basic training and while he does not have an artist insight nor a specific style and name to his training other than what division it came from (Army, Navy ex.) does that not make him still a soldier? In my training with Abbott Sensei I sparred a 5 year student who normally did not do Chanbara, but attended the Toyama class of Sensei Klaas a 4th Dan in Toyama ryu. The student worked with me in the Toyama class and was asked to stay to spar with me. We had sparred at the beginning at my training and Abbott Sensei wanted us to spar the final night so I and the other student could see my progress. The first night I was beaten badly and did not take the beating well. The last nigh was a different story. He approached me with Toyama #1 while sparring and I saw it coming. He missed the draw cut and when coming for the Kesa Giri I lept in with a thrust to his chest and knocked him to the floor.... While in other bouts he scored some good hits I matched him pretty well for the 2 hours we sparred. I even was able to knock the helmet off his head when he came in lazy with a leaping cut. He had years on my 100 hours. But because that 100 hours was focused on sparring, cutting and bare basics like Suburi and striking drills I was able to match him and do a good job of jamming him up the whole night. His form as allot prettier and he could out cut me in tameshigiri, but sparring was way to close than it should have been given his experience level. But if you were to take the best swordsmen you could find that are amazing in Kata and cutting, but never really spar I would bet on seeing a similar result. Yes these things are not real combat, but training in this way will be a better way of learning how to deal with a combat type situation allot more than just doing Kata will. At the end of the day in a fight kata and the zen like art focus dont seem to do a whole lot of good. I happen to think that most schools dont do sparring because it does not make them look so amazing as Kata or Tameshigiri does. Sparring Gekken or otherwise is a very humbling experience for any swordsmen regardless of experience or rank. Again I am not implying a "superior" mark to anything. If anything I see it the other way around when people talk about Gekken or Chanbara. How you cant be a swordsmen Just by "hitting people". But the same can be said for swordsman who cut invisible opponents. When it all comes down to it the basics are what comes into use during a sparring rather than a kata.
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Post by Cold Napalm on Feb 7, 2011 2:52:13 GMT
That foam sword fight...just no. I'm sorry, but I see LARP players do better. You can not redirect real swords like they are doing in those "sparring" matches. And it shows since the actual tourney match using iaido looks NOTHING like foam sword matches. Yes I am of the camp that sparring is important...but it should no be the be all end all...especially when one lacks proper techniques like in the first video (with such a lack of technique, they should not be sparring...it just re-enforces bad behaviors). It's the SCA fallacy...the I beat you so I must be doing something right. Umm no, you can win because your just plain old stronger, faster or luckier. Proper technique lets you win despite those things.
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Sam H
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Post by Sam H on Feb 7, 2011 4:44:13 GMT
Its not the entire SCA that's got that method of thought though. I've fought against and been trained by (in SCA style combat of course) people in the SCA that emphasize proper footwork, body position and technique in blows and blocks etc. The problem though is that yes there are a lot of people in the SCA that believe the fallacy you just mentioned. To the benefit of the SCA though the veteran fighters ARE trying to get more technical.
I do agree after watching the videos posted that those sparring matches were well - sorely lacking... in technique, application and just sheer skill. Now maybe I'm just too ignorant to see the subtleties of the match in tournament but well I don't see much going on in that either. I've watched kendo matches that were more exciting than that and I scoff at the "I hit you so I'm going to reset after this point" mentality in Kendo...
Ricky is right though - that someone who doesn't spar at all will have a disadvantage in combat compared to someone who spars a lot and frequently however sparring with little or no proper technique is just a bit better than swinging wildly and hoping you hit something. I'd compare it to me trying to draw. I have no basis to build on and don't even have enough of a drawing technique to have it criticized as being bad. My technique when it comes to a pencil/pen etc. is just non-existent. I could try and draw something but its just me making a bunch of scribbles in the hope that someone will see it and think its modern art! lol
The same can be said of the first video - with the guy in the blue keikogi. No offense to him or anyone else that knows him but its a lot of "I think I'll just try and hit him and hope nobody realizes I don't know anything." The other guy wasn't doing a whole lot better. There's a reason why most schools won't let people spar until they've at least a few belts above white (in karate anyway). Some schools won't even let you spar till you're a black belt... Until you know the proper techniques you're just flailing away and basically practicing bad form. This can be said of any martial arts, WMA, CMA, KMA, PMA and/or JMA and any other martial art type/geographical origin I missed.
Remember - you fight how you practice therefore practice how you would fight.
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Post by Midori Kawakami on Feb 7, 2011 5:55:22 GMT
As martial artists, why can't we see the value in arts different from our own, respect them for what they are, and let it go instead of bickering about how this is different from that and how that makes it better or worse? Why must we argue over the validity of learning from books and videos versus a qualified instructor, whether MMAs or contemporary arts are better than Koryu or the arts from one locality better than another? Can't we all just get along?
In the words of Roxanne Ritchey (MegaMind; great movie if you haven't seen it): "Girls girls, you're both pretty. Can I go home now?"
Just because it is an opinion other than our own does not make it incorrect or bad, it simply makes it different. Respecting the viewpoints of others goes far in life and in martial arts.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 7, 2011 6:24:07 GMT
www.hksword.com/3_info/3_3_cutti ... ght_05.htm The first video is how you start to spar in the Hataya Branch and the second is the higher level of Gekken sparring. Yeah sparring is not the end all be all, but you notice that even in all these videos the moves and footwork in general is WAY different than many videos of Kata that are supposed to show combat "proven through the centuries" But when Judging the fist gekken video in the above post look at the one I just posted. These are two swordsmen at the highest levels of skill. But as you can see they are left with bare basics and yes it does look like as my friend put it "just two guys swinging at each other". But anyone who is trained in combative weapons can see small hints of experience and training. But even from the "blue gi" video that is met with criticism to Two masters of sword use there is not this huge "night and day" difference. Sure there is a more of a reflex response to the basic moves and strikes, but still some of the same criticism can be applied even to masters.... Question still stands if a person were to master the basics of grip, basic cuts, edge angles, drawing and putting the sword away ex. And these things were able to be done with speed and efficiency in a high pressure situation would that not make such a person a skilled sword user? Perhaps not a sword "artist" but still a skilled swordsman right? See the point I am trying to make here? No matter if its sword, knife or hand if the user is safe, practical and effective does that not deserve a common respect? See the reason why I embrace an Art like goshindo is that it allows its students to become simply themselves while using a combative tool. It is in this way that a goshindo student can walk into some high pressure situations and dojos alike and be able to adapt to what is currently happening. Basically you learn and master basic concepts, but don't form any "style specific" views. And because your views are changed via combative experience your form can constantly change.If you fallow the rules of a "style" and master the katas and techniques of another person and by doing so adopt many of their outlooks on things where is the personal growth? Where is the self victory? Where is the you? Again Chanbara and sparring is only one area of study with Tameshigiri and Toyama being the other two areas. But recently talking to a high ranking swordsman who I would call a mentor of sorts I realized the difference in or thought process. He does Gekken as seen in the Hataya videos to better help him understand how to use his Toyama ryu. Where I tend to do the reverse and use the Toyama basic grips, stances, cuts, draws and sheathes to help me understand my Chanbara. Neither of us are "wrong" but we have different wants out of our training. He simply wants to preserve the "Toyama Tradition" and I want to simply be a "swordsman" not a Toyama swordsman or a Shinkendo swordsman Koruda swordsmen ex. Because even though we respect and understand one another it is still that belief people have in holding on to absolutes and the ideals of another that we draw a tiny line between one another. I mean it is human nature to debate and disagree, but it makes this process more frequent and violent when people subscribe to a way that limits what they can think and do.
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Post by Cold Napalm on Feb 7, 2011 8:06:05 GMT
Sam, I'm an SCA fighter. I'm aware that the older fighters focus more on technique instead of just raw skill. That is because when you get older, you NEED technique and can't really rely on your speed, strength and stamina as much. I have seen dukes who became dukes by sheer force of arms become very technical fighters over my training with that group. Hell I have taught some of those dukes some of the techniques they have sprung boarded off from. So I am not saying that SCA is devoid of any technique...it's just that the method of the SCA of focusing solely on the spar makes a LOT of the new fighters fall into the trap of if you win, your doing it right. And it really isn't. I am even more painfully aware of this as I have taken over the new fighter training at my local practice since I have a hurt back and can't actually armor up right now (so I teach instead).
Ricky, all winning a spar means is that you are the better fighter with a constraint of a rule set. NO sparring match will equal a REAL sword fight. Even with steel blunts, you don't do full follow through and full force, even with padding (because lets face it, if I did a SCA shot using a steel blunt on a fencing mask, your gonna die. Hell on SCA helmet you could die). So you either have to use unrealistic tools (like shinai or padded swords) or you have to unrealistic force (like pulling your blows before you follow through with the shot and kill somebody). If you think that getting hit with a foam sword somehow makes you more ready to handle a real blade fight, you are sadly mistaken. I have sparred with iaido and the feel you get when your fighting with a real sword is completely different and does not help you that much. What helps is having the proper techniques burned into you muscle memory. And yes sparring helps to do this when it is done to re-enforce proper techniques. And yes one CAN develop a proper fighting technique and style their own...but the chances are your just not good enough to do better then a master of old have done. The better approach would be to learn many different styles and then combine them to fit you (aka MMA method).
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Post by Deleted on Feb 7, 2011 17:48:37 GMT
Currently we will never be able to match "the masters of old" because a sword has not been used in a fight since WW2. But again I do not agree with "learning many styles" and trying to sort through them and "combine them to fit". In learning many Japanese arts you do so without questions and have to conform your moves to each style. And as popular belief goes you wont be learning any of the styles higher techniques or "inside techniques" until you have devoted many years to each style. And by that time you are so used to fallowing rules that allot of original thought you once had has left long ago.....
Yeah Chanbara sparring is far from perfect, but to say that is would do nothing to prepare someone for a real fight is well.... wrong. Yeah the weight is way off, but many basics of Distance, Timing and adaptation to free style technique can be covered. Even more so in the 3rd form context when you use the Toyama basics and fallow more "traditional" strikes and footwork vs. the more sport Chanbara that is much more common. But fighting outnumbered as we often do as well as fighting against people with Yari, Bo Staff, Two swords ex also helps when learning how to fight with and against weapons at different speeds, distances and number. And Again since we use real Katana, Waki, Tanto, Yari ex. For tamishigiri and Suburi drills the real weight of the weapon is not lost. It is in this way that a modern swordsmen would never be "totally prepared" but you can t really say that they are unprepared either.... Just like military training soldiers shoot paper targets and run through tactical ranges. They are not shooting people who are trying not to get shot and also shooting back. But just because they are not 100% combat realistic does not mean that the training wont help a great deal when in real combat.... more so than again not doing it at all.
But again my point is that mastering basics and channeling them into combative areas in my experience would leave one better prepared than just focusing on the art and leaving the combative area of the sword behind. I am not telling anyone to just spar that would be quite a foolish thing because sparing is only one training tool. The MMA mind is kinda similar in the way that you use their basics and sparring to better understand their actual fighting. Rather than the "traditional" way of using those things to better understand and become an art. That focus can change in Goshindo depending on the person and that is what is so nice about it. The ability to become unique within a group, but still share common respect and insight.
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Post by Cold Napalm on Feb 7, 2011 18:38:05 GMT
Okay ricky, have you been in a real sword fight? I have. I can from expierence say that muscle memory is infinately more useful in such over anything you can glean from sparring with iaido...much less with foam swords using all the wrong techniques. You are overly focued in sparring with the illusion that it replicates a real fight or even remotely gets you ready to face real death. It doesn't.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 7, 2011 22:21:49 GMT
Again you are speaking from having no experience or training in Goshindo and having never done chanbara. I have been in a few SCA bouts... that took place about 3 years ago after my initial training. I am not sure what your experience is with SCA, but the people I sparred did not know much about edge alignment or proper grip. Even among the people who had been at it for years. I fared well until I misjudged an older opponent and was knocked out for my trouble. But the benefit of using those "foam swords" is that I was used to fighting being allot faster. And with the Foam swords you dont see as much of a tell when your opponent goes to move. With the SCA people they would constantly hold the sword like a bat and try to swing from their shoulder and jerk the sword rather than cast it. There was to much unneeded movement. It became easy to guess what they were going to do.... But the one time I lost.. No excuse could cover up the fact that I made a bad call and I would have been dead regardless it it had been a real fight...
What real sword fight were you in aside from an SCA bout?
The dumbest thing I did with one of the SCA guys is do a simple duel to first blood. The swords we used were about as sharp as a butter knife, but with the right cast still proved enough to break the skin. From what the SCA guys told me it was an old tradition, but I still have the scar on my arm to prove that it is not something to do every day. My opponent still has a scar on his thumb. But I do not consider this a real fight since it was not or intent to kill just wound....I do not think that many of us can say even masters that the skills have been tested in a "real sword fight"....
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Post by Cold Napalm on Feb 9, 2011 6:31:30 GMT
I had an associate in high school try and kill me. He was using a real katana, I had to settle for grabbing the nearest stainless steel SLO...lucky for me, it was sharp and didn't break. I was able to make him back off by slicing open his arm. Course he came back with a gun and shot me so letting him go probably wasn't the best idea...but I REALLY didn't want to deal with the police at the time...not that it mattered after getting shot.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 9, 2011 9:02:33 GMT
If it is true I would not call it an actual sword fight. Someone who has no training and is just brandishing the sword should not be much of a challenge for someone of your experience.... I had a similar situation when working with a friend in a park near my house. I was working with him using mostly bokken. I had a Paul Chen Practical XL with me just so he could get the feel of a real sword in suburi. There were a few younger highschool kids watching us for about an hour no big deal. I sat the XL down on a bench about 5 feet away from where I was working with my friend. One of the highschool kids picked it up, drew it and kept saying "hey lets sword fight"..... I kept asking him to put it down and that it was not a toy... He then thought it was funny to point it at me and start to move in my direction... I decided enough was enough and struck his hand in a 12 to 6 cut with a bokken. He dropped the sword in the grass, my friend picked it up and we then left....
I do not consider this a fight, more stopping things before a fight started.... and I have never worked out in that park since.... In your case there must be more to the story than your letting on...
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Post by Cold Napalm on Feb 9, 2011 17:11:41 GMT
Who said he was untrained? do you always assume somebody who chooses to come after you with a sword when they have access to a gun is untrained? Seems like an odd and fatal mistake to me.
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Sébastien
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Post by Sébastien on Feb 9, 2011 19:41:12 GMT
Stay cool folks. If you keep trying to find out who was in the most realistic and most dangerous fight with swords, feelings will very likely get hurt and this thread will likely get very, very sour...
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Post by Midori Kawakami on Feb 10, 2011 15:02:27 GMT
Again, this is an opinion; that does not make it right or wrong. It simply states my personal belief on the subject.
That being said...
I must say something in defense of Koryu. A tradition that's still around after hundreds of years is still here for a reason, and many of the people that join Koryu-based dojos want that tradition and want to learn kata, etc. They want to learn what has been passed down, in all its pomp and circumstance. They are interested not only in the art as a martial one but as a piece of the history and the culture of a time long passed. Kata aids us in collecting the building blocks of a skill-set for 'practical' application at a later time. I personally love the fact that traditions such as my own Koryuha are life-long arts; I would become disenchanted with it very quickly if it were not.
I also do kendo as a way to round out my art. There is still tradition involved there, but aside from a few similarities, they are entirely different beasts indeed. I enjoy kendo for what it is; whacking armored people with bamboo sticks and trying not to get whacked yourself. There is still a technique and skill-set that must be learned with kendo, and this too involves kata.
These are not the arts I study for self defense.
I study a form of MMA for self defense which is very practical and, when used correctly, can be downright brutal. If you need to escape brutality, you must have the ability to be brutal yourself.
A couple quotes:
"Train like you fight."
"A nation who learns to use toy swords will be a nation of toy soldiers."
Note: This post is not intended to 'stir the pot', but is instead an effort to provoke thought before post and therefore, civility.
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