Bingo!



Finally! Thank you. My work here is done.

What belt have you gotten to, Brad?

Well I obtained a 5th DAN (5th Degree Black Belt) in Toga Kure Ryu Ninjutsu, a 3rd DAN in Tang Soo Do by the age of 15, and a 1st Dan in Hakko Ryu Ju-jutsu, as well as Jiu-Jutsu. I have studies over 30 different forms of the martial arts exclusively during my life.

However belt ranking is more so just a systematic procedure used for class seniority, as opposed to representing actual skill levels. Example being, just because two students are the same belt, does that mean they are the same skill level, or that they would stalemate each other in a real life encounter?

Of course not. Everyone simply does the best they can at their own personal level, and to fit the criteria the rank calls for to the best of their ability. Just wanted to clarify that in case you were not familiar with some of the myths that come along with the belt grading system.

I was fighting at black belt level at green belt, because I put in the training daily, and usually 6-8 hours per day during my teen years while on the tournament circuit. So it was tough to divide martial arts time, and magic time.

But I managed. I stopped testing years ago, I felt that a higher rank was no longer really necessary, as I was already an instructor and saw no need to throw down $200 for just another piece of tape on my belt, which would not change anything anyway. So it is not about the belt color you wear, and as I always preach to new students, but about the determination, and perseverance that you possess deep within you that you allow to shine through.

Belts only give others in the class an idea of where you stand within the grading system, but do not always paint an accurate portrait either way.

darn, you sure know your Karate'...

I studied the art for a couple years, it got rather boring after the orange-striped yellow belt though.

I ain't no Jackie Chan, but I did win a few sparring tournaments.


(A tournament held within the same dojo group mind you. )

Unless you compete in Tournaments most of your Martial Art dudes cannot defend themselves very well. Because someone can chop a quarter inch piece of wood in half hardly makes them a killer. A lot of these Martial Arts studios hands out belts just by passing a practical test.
I've seen ten and eleven year old black belts.. pleeease!
They probably couldn't beat themselves off. Unless these classes are taken seriously and you practice and compete at a high level, most of the black belters learns just enough to get himself hurt if he tries to apply it.
As far as your escapades around town..I tip my hat..
You are in a bogey rich enviroment (college Town) take advantage of it, you are only young once.
Then they are only memories.. maybe not memories to tell the Grand children but memories nonetheless.
But somebody with the confidence that you claim that you possess, why do you feel that you have to toot your own horn so much? Especially to a bunch of thirteen year olds.
On topics that is unrelated to anything that was discussed. I do agree some of the stuff brought up on this thing by a lot of the posters scare me.. Why? because these people are the future..and most of them can't even spell future.
I do enjoy reading your posts when they deal with the topic, but when you get on your "I'm am the best" soap box and start patting your back, I am afraid that you may strain your rotator cuff.

honestly sluggo you are competely right. i am a black belt and got it when i was 11. i quit after i got my blackbelt....i am 15 now and forgot everything i learned.

A lot of these places do this to keep the money coming in, but they are being deceiving to it's students. There was one place in town where the Master "I don't know what you call them" was known very well. He spent time in Asia to learn the Art and had his own studio, it competed all over the world.
He was disgusted when these young kids would walk by with their 'black belts' headed to the gym acrossed the street. He said it was a discredit to the art. Plus he said these kids would get a misperception of what they could do and hurt themselves.
I never took Martial arts, I boxed in the Golden Gloves and when I was in the Army in Ft. Bragg N.C. it became my job as I fought my way onto the boxing team.
In the past ten years I have fought in several 'meanest man' and Roughman contests. But I never took martial arts, I thought it was mostly just show.

The real question is, am I truly 'tooting my own horn,' or am I just playing what is perceived as a "joke of a forum" for the most part by the majority as the joke it is? That is for you to decide ultimately. Is it entirely sarcasm, or is it reality mixed with a touch of sarcastic humor simply to pass the time, and to further the already ridiculous, and meaningless discussion?

As far as typical "commercial karate" goes, I have been well aware of what it consists of, what it claims to teach, and what it actually teaches. As a teen I went though many Dojos/Dojangs in my search of what I perceived as the "ultimate martial art." Ninjutsu is the closest, and most complete form of the martial arts that I have ever encountered, bar none. Not only is it a way of life, it's techniques are based on "realistic street effective combat" that has already proven effective on the streets, as well as any other potentially dangerous environment.

Whether you are encountered by one assailant, multiple attackers, or even a guard dog. You learn to overcome adversity with the least amount of energy possible, as well as utilizing the opponent's own energy against him. (Something I learned exclusively through my Aikido training) If an opponent attacks you with say 8 units of energy, and you redirect that attack in the same direction with about 3 units of your own energy, the opponent now has 11 units of energy working against them, and in your favor providing you are executing the proper technique.

That is why these 90 year old Aikido masters could throw around 12 young guys twice their size, and much stronger than they were. They directed, and redirected their opponents own energy against them. Something Steven Seagal portrays well in his films, and he is actually a 9th Dan in Aikido, and was an Aikido master long before he found Hollywood. He speaks fluent Japanese as well, and even taught in Japan for 20 years. But that is a whole other story.

There are good schools out there, and there are bad schools. It is the students job to educate themselves on which school is ideal as a realistic self-defense environment, and which ones are merely "expensive playgrounds." One cannot learn to react effectively in real world scenario, if one does not train in those same environment, and those same conditions.

Our schools are not limited to the "studio" they expand out into the dark alleys, the wilderness, inside vehicles, cornered/contained in a small room, on the dirty street , (with and without various items you would be carrying daily) and inside your own home when you least expect it. We teach the student to be prepared for anything, anytime, anywhere. That is the very least one should ask for from their training, and expect from their instructor. Nothing less, but maybe more.....

Heh if you think I post long posts here while elaborating on the in depth discussion of magic, penguin's faulty rules, or teen mods gone wild, you should see some of the posts I used to make on martial arts forums. I think I had a few around 32 paragraphs. Most were "mod less" and that is just how we liked it, but flame wars sure did run rampant! Also the "death matches" and personal challenges from one proclaimed martial artist to another were nothing short of hilarious.

"Dude I would kill you in da streets!!!111" "I wood jump kick you stupid head off!" LOL! Although there were some very intelligent/serious martial artist on those forums, most of the members there made this forum look like heaven. That is why I made my transition to magic forums, and never looked back since. Although I do still take part in the hilarity of gaming forums, and they are the worst I have seen as far as forums go. Yes worse than here.

who cares. I also have low self-esteem and a very boring sex life. I want to hear that story about the 15 sorority girls. Quit being Edited and let him tell the story.

Has anyone ever considered that those of us with low post counts are, perhaps, a little too busy to spend countless hours reading tedious and monotonous dribble?

Certainly there are plenty of posts which contain sound advice; but how many college women you successfully bed and whether or not Jackie Chan can kick Chuck Norris' rear in a good fight do not qualify in that arena.

See, here's the thing, I spend my time marketing and perfecting my craft. When I'm not doing one of those two things, guess what I'm doing?

I'm booking shows! And that, my friends, is what puts food on the table, not the number of posts I have at Penguin Magic.

So all of you post on, and while you're doing that some of us will be out here performing.

Ahh, no moderators?

Hmmm......I have yet to experience such a moment.

Then again, moderators do come in handy at more times than none, here at Penguin anyway...

The only thing about all of Penguins' moderators I didn't like was that half of them were moderating the forums while they were attending school!

There I was, getting talked down to by some little brat via PM. (*Cough*fingerfit*cough* )

Anyway, back to Karate...

I took Tai Kwon Do for quite some time.

But time got short with money so I sat down one day and re-organized my weekly schedule.

I guess my interest in the art just didn't hold together as tightly as needed.


Do you still consider yourself a student?

Cool. By the way what is "Tai Kwon Do?" I think you meant Tae Kwon Do. Sounds like a mixture of Tai Chi, and Tae Kwon Do. Perhaps Billy Blank's "Tae Bo." Tae Kwon Do is actually very similar to it's brother "Tang Soo Do" in it's purest form, as they both specialize in high aerial kicking, soft/hard, linear/circular blocking/striking, and share the same types of Hyungs. (Forms/katas) Tang Soo Do is the predecessor to Tae Kwon Do. The early Tae Kwon Do was Moo Duk Kwan (Hwang Kee's style) Both are also Korean.

Depending on the schools, they can be very similar, or completely different. As far as being "still a student" goes, it is actually our philosophy that one does not truly become a student until he has reached the rank of 1st Dan. (Black Belt) Only then is the now "student's" path just beginning. Many assume that becoming a black belt is the end, when in fact it is only the beginning.

A white belt turns black through perseverance, hard work, and training... A black belt turns white through wisdom, maturity, and experience. To know everything, is to again know nothing...But I will stop there for now with all the confusing Zen philosophy, as there is enough of that to fill a whole other discussion. One of the first celebrities to bring Tang Soo Do to the limelight is no other than Chuck Norris, a childhood idol of mine along with Bruce Lee.

For them to face off in a movie (Return of the dragon) was a dream come true for me as a kid, and in fact was only Norris' second appearance in a movie I believe. (Wrecking Crew 1968) 'Return of the dragon' debuted in 1972. In addition to being one of the most popular stars in the world today, Chuck Norris is also one of the greatest karate champions in the history of the sport. His legendary on screen fight with Bruce Lee helped make the movie a winner at the box office. That would also be the last time Chuck Norris would ever lose a fight on the silver screen.

He has a 10th degree black belt in Tang Soo Do, and also an 8th degree black belt in Tae Kwon Do...that is, the Korean (or traditional) styles of each. Personally I have found Taijutsu (combat aspect of ninjutsu) to be the most realistic overall as far as physical combat goes, and prepares the student both mind and body for any type of real life confrontation.

I have created a style of my own which is in fact a mixture of a few martial arts that I have become the most experienced in, and threw out all techniques that did not work in today's society, as well as refining those that still are applicable in a realistic combat environment.

Granted that being a black belt does not always mean one can realistically defend oneself. I have seen black belts who were so out of shape physically that they could barely move, let alone survive an real life encounter. Our martial arts philosophy is that we fight how we train, and train how we fight. Most typical martial arts today focus more so on sport, as opposed to street effective, no rules, and no holds barred combat.

I have found the style of Ninjutsu, which utilizes natural, relaxed, and flowing body movement, to be the most productive in a high stress, high adrenaline situation. However I have found something useful in all the arts I have studied over the past 20 years, and continue to adapt, and revise them to fit todays society, instead of simply grounding my students, and myself in only tradition.

The body will react out of habit based on a rehearsal process, almost in the same way we are able to perform a smooth magic show because we rehearsed adequately. In the absence of training, or in snapping back with impractical techniques under pressure, the body will react out of 'panic driven guesswork.' In other words, your responses may fail you.
Obviously, it would be impossible to imagine and prepare for every possible scenario.

However, you can be assured that human tendencies remain consistent and there are, if you study them out, common attack patterns used by aggressors. Real combat is continuous and ongoing, not static. I always find it humorous also when those who claim to have obtained a black belt in some form of martial arts, have now "forgotten" all their studies.

Anyone who has obtained such a degree from any REAL school that teaches the traditional aspects of the martial arts, would never forget what they have experienced. The curriculum would not allow you to forget. It would be engraved into your very soul forever. Another equally, and if not more hilarious statement I hear from those who claim to have a black belt in some form of martial art, is that they forgot what the style was called.

They spent 15 years obtaining a black belt in a style, yet for some odd reason the name of the style now escapes them. Why? Because they are full of you know what, and trying to cover up for their lack of being able to provide any proof, and trying to seem cool at the same time. But blatantly lying is never cool, and you have to be careful who you try and lie to. I love nothing more than exposing, and debunking these frauds publicly.

Also it is not about what style one chooses to pursue, but more so what kind of quality instruction is one receiving? How fit is the student overall, mentally and physically? How hard is the student willing to work? Every style has something to offer, and no one style is exactly the best. That is why I have blended all the best techniques, and philosophies from all the styles I have become proficient, and most experienced in over the years- to formulate a style that has been tried and tested, and can be dependable in a life or death situation.

Just like in magic, you take what works and use it, and utilize what you do best, thus capitalizing on your own particular strengths, and work to eliminate weaknesses. This is the short answer of it all. It is a constant, and ongoing process, and one never truly stops being a student, as if they did, they would not continue to learn, grow, and be open minded to further knowledge and experiences. They would simply stagnate their own growth from that point on, hence "having a full glass" that can hold no more water...

Posted: Fri Jul 16, 2004 12:49 am Post subject: Practical vs Impractical (essay by sirbrad)

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I always find it humorous when magicians complain about how a trick is not practical. To tell you the truth, I honestly believe that most of the time they substitute the word 'practical' for 'too much work' The trick I hear most ppl talk about in this respect is healed and sealed.

Nice grammer sirbrad you cant even spell people.
Take that fatty.

Wow 'faceless guest,' you read my entire essay(s) in order to pick out one word that was actually "abbreviated" not misspelled. That was back in the day when I abbreviated quite often, as it saved some time. Perhaps you should use a dictionary and find out the difference between the two...

Oh yea, also I am a chiseled sculpture of perfection...you lose again. Nonetheless ppl or a better term, "idiots" like you would be better off to stay at "guest" status...

But at least I have username. Nah nah nah...Ok recess is out.