Martial Arts Experiences Discussion Thread

If your topic has nothing to do with Spyderco, you can post it here.
James Y
Member
Posts: 7994
Joined: Fri Sep 24, 2004 10:33 am
Location: Southern CA

Re: Martial Arts Experiences Discussion Thread

#261

Post by James Y »

NorWest_05 wrote:
Sat Mar 20, 2021 11:01 pm
Naperville wrote:
Sat Mar 20, 2021 1:28 pm
NorWest_05 wrote:
Sat Mar 20, 2021 12:15 pm
I trained Boxing, and Aikido. Aikido when I was like 6 or 7, and boxing at like 13.
I bet that was a lot of fun. Something to look back on. I do the same....looking back on memories!
Yes it was very fun. I have been looking at starting Aikido again, it'll be a good test to see how much I actually remember.

Thanks for sharing your experiences!

I’m sure if you get back into Aikido, you’ll be back into the flow of it before long.

Jim
User avatar
Naperville
Member
Posts: 4360
Joined: Sun Feb 04, 2018 2:58 am
Location: Illinois, USA

Re: Martial Arts Experiences Discussion Thread

#262

Post by Naperville »

James Y wrote:
Sun Mar 21, 2021 10:08 am
Chung Moo Quan was started by the same man (John C. Kim) who started Oom Yung Doe (the same cult renamed), that used to be active in my area. I used to see their ads posted up in various places into early 2K. Thankfully, they’re all gone now. I read a book about the cult called “Herding The Moo: Exploits of a Martial Arts Cult.”
...
I'll have to get that book!

It's strange how everyone thinks it was a cult, maybe it was? I saw the other side of it, they were more like the mafia, and extorted money from people after they signed contracts to train. Really bad news in either case.

I was away at college and my mom called me up and said that the dojo in Naperville threatened the Naperville Police, the State Police and various reporters, then had their license yanked. I had to laugh, yes, they were that out in left field!!! They thought that they could threaten the police and get away with it.

My takeaway from the entire program was they were so brutal to those they trained that they turned you in to a weapon. I loved it. I was going for my 4th section when I left. Still have my uniform too.
I support the 2nd Amendment Organizations of GOA, NRA, FPC, SAF, and "Knife Rights"
T2T: https://tunnel2towers.org; Special Operations Wounded Warriors: https://sowwcharity.com/
User avatar
Naperville
Member
Posts: 4360
Joined: Sun Feb 04, 2018 2:58 am
Location: Illinois, USA

Re: Martial Arts Experiences Discussion Thread

#263

Post by Naperville »

LOL! The book is hilarious!

Every martial art I've been in has some aspects of all of this, NOT just Chung Moo Quan. If you want to learn to demolish people, you steal what is taught, and move on to the next resource. That is just my opinion.

If you get in too deep with any of these people, YOU ARE IN A CULT.
I support the 2nd Amendment Organizations of GOA, NRA, FPC, SAF, and "Knife Rights"
T2T: https://tunnel2towers.org; Special Operations Wounded Warriors: https://sowwcharity.com/
James Y
Member
Posts: 7994
Joined: Fri Sep 24, 2004 10:33 am
Location: Southern CA

Re: Martial Arts Experiences Discussion Thread

#264

Post by James Y »

:)
Naperville wrote:
Sun Mar 21, 2021 4:29 pm
LOL! The book is hilarious!

Every martial art I've been in has some aspects of all of this, NOT just Chung Moo Quan. If you want to learn to demolish people, you steal what is taught, and move on to the next resource. That is just my opinion.

If you get in too deep with any of these people, YOU ARE IN A CULT.


Thanks for sharing your experiences and insights, Naperville.

TBH, the four most influential martial arts teachers I had in my life, in Judo, Kenpo, Tanglang (Northern Praying Mantis style), and Choy Lee Fut, were not cultish at all. Just hard training. Neither they nor any of my other teachers ever had contracts. It was just month-to-month. My Kenpo teacher was a fighter with a boxing and wrestling background who adapted from whatever he found effective. He was the first teacher I met who emphasized opening your mind to other fighting methods, and having the ability to discriminate between what is ‘good’ (i.e., practical) and what is not, and testing it out. In fact, my two Kung Fu teachers had similar attitudes, in that they emphasized testing what you’ve learned from them against different types of fighters/martial artists.

I stayed with my last major teacher (who taught Choy Lee Fut) for 11 straight years, and just like my other teachers (not only those four), he never ran his school like a cult. He DID emphasize learning whichever art you’re practicing extensively, until you truly understand it and know what you’re doing. One of his sayings was, “You can start digging many little holes, or you can dig one big hole and go deep.” He meant that in his opinion, it was better to fully understand one art on a deep level until it becomes a part of you than to learn bits and pieces of many arts superficially. His belief on that may be different from many people today, but he was tested and proven effective in actual situations back in the day. Although I specialize in Choy Lee Fut, I’ve still retained aspects that have proven effective for myself from all of the arts I’ve studied, and continue to read and watch other methods and viewpoints as well.

Jim
User avatar
Naperville
Member
Posts: 4360
Joined: Sun Feb 04, 2018 2:58 am
Location: Illinois, USA

Re: Martial Arts Experiences Discussion Thread

#265

Post by Naperville »

I cannot say what I think about the schools I've been in. Most of the instructors are still alive and it would be inappropriate. This is a tricky subject to discuss. Bashing these men and their schools is not what I am about.

Some of the arts that I studied had world class instructors, nowhere else to be found in the US, maybe not in the world. Group camaraderie is not what I speak of, but of instructors wanting to control all aspects of a students life far beyond the classroom. I had a very famous instructor give me a tongue lashing for not selling, or merging my (then defunct) web hosting business with another business run by another student that he had. What he did not know was that the other student did many illegal things to me and my business to drive us out of the market. His ignorance was profound regarding the subject, but I just let him talk.

That is all that I really can say on that subject.

I learned a truckload from these men, so, all in all, I had excellent experiences.

When I said to "steal," what I meant was, you go there to learn an art and something martial, so do it, and make it yours. That was the point of going to class. My training in 10+ arts did not have to be deep, although, sure, I would have stayed and it would have been beneficial to stay far longer at a few of them but the opportunity did not present itself.

Now that I am 60, I could start my own school, but I have no motivation and I am not ranked highly in any art. There is no direct lineage, but I do in some ways have the chops. If I did it - it would be more of a combatives school, than any martial arts school. But NO, that isn't going to happen.
I support the 2nd Amendment Organizations of GOA, NRA, FPC, SAF, and "Knife Rights"
T2T: https://tunnel2towers.org; Special Operations Wounded Warriors: https://sowwcharity.com/
James Y
Member
Posts: 7994
Joined: Fri Sep 24, 2004 10:33 am
Location: Southern CA

Re: Martial Arts Experiences Discussion Thread

#266

Post by James Y »

Naperville wrote:
Sun Mar 21, 2021 9:40 pm
I cannot say what I think about the schools I've been in. Most of the instructors are still alive and it would be inappropriate. This is a tricky subject to discuss. Bashing these men and their schools is not what I am about.

Some of the arts that I studied had world class instructors, nowhere else to be found in the US, maybe not in the world. Group camaraderie is not what I speak of, but of instructors wanting to control all aspects of a students life far beyond the classroom. I had a very famous instructor give me a tongue lashing for not selling, or merging my (then defunct) web hosting business with another business run by another student that he had. What he did not know was that the other student did many illegal things to me and my business to drive us out of the market. His ignorance was profound regarding the subject, but I just let him talk.

That is all that I really can say on that subject.

I learned a truckload from these men, so, all in all, I had excellent experiences.

When I said to "steal," what I meant was, you go there to learn an art and something martial, so do it, and make it yours. That was the point of going to class. My training in 10+ arts did not have to be deep, although, sure, I would have stayed and it would have been beneficial to stay far longer at a few of them but the opportunity did not present itself.

Now that I am 60, I could start my own school, but I have no motivation and I am not ranked highly in any art. There is no direct lineage, but I do in some ways have the chops. If I did it - it would be more of a combatives school, than any martial arts school. But NO, that isn't going to happen.


I fully respect your experiences, Naperville. I suppose I’ve been lucky in my martial arts life, in that none of my teachers ever tried to control their students’ lives. At least not in my experience.

We all have our own experiences and viewpoints, and we all take from our training and experiences those things that serve us best as individuals.

Many years ago, I taught Choy Lee Fut to my own group for 4 years. And although I know how to teach and my core group (which also included a couple of Goju-ryu Karate black belts) were becoming pretty good, I realized I wasn’t comfortable in the role of a martial arts teacher. People liked my teaching style, but I much prefer being an independent practitioner. So I recommended my students to other quality instructors I knew and quit teaching. Every now and then, people who knew me back in the day ask me if I’d be interested in teaching again, and I always have to say no.

I’ve always considered myself a “mixed” martial artist (not sport MMA, but combining a mixture of all my experiences). I’m not ‘trapped’ in a system or “style.” But I do understand and respect my Choy Lee Fut (CLF) teacher’s viewpoint as well. I’ve seen some people take only one or a couple superficial aspects of CLF, and adapt them into whatever method(s) they were doing, and those aspects were ‘off’ in application, because they weren’t being used in the right context, nor did they understand how to set them up, and the variations that make it work. And then, when it inevitably fails them, they label the entire art “ineffective” because they couldn’t make that superficial little piece work.

I am NOT saying that’s what you’re doing; I AM saying that there are instances (involving my own core art) where I’ve seen that happen with certain people.

Jim
User avatar
Dr. Snubnose
Member
Posts: 8799
Joined: Sat Mar 05, 2005 10:54 pm
Location: NewYork

Re: Martial Arts Experiences Discussion Thread

#267

Post by Dr. Snubnose »

First let me say throughout my 65 years (come this May)... of being involved with Martial Arts I have had many instructors/teachers and I can honestly say there was not a single teacher that I didn’t learn something from. Even if it were to learn how not to teach something or someone. As a teacher I’m a little bias...that said I have met and known through the years practitioners who were highly skilled in their art forms but couldn’t teach it for the love of money or if they did... the student population suffered as they were not very good at it....Having a High Skill set and the ability to transmit that information is a perfect situation for learning. Unfortunately it’s not always the case. As a teacher for more than 50 years I have learned that teaching is a separate Art Form...(if I’m not being perfectly clear here allow me to give an example) Let’s take the average dojo situated anywhere, what can you observe, (and you don’t have be taking the class to observe it) so let’s say your a spectator watching a class ...what do you see... I’ll tell you what I’ve seen over and over again. A semi large class with students, the ones in the front of the class are looking good (usually higher level belt/skill level, as you move you attention to the back line where there seems to be people who are not very good/coordinated/ and skilled and the teacher pays them little attention, why? Those student just don’t get it, they are basically a waste of the teachers time. ( not saying this is right just that I have seen it too many times)
This example is from my own experience what did I learn from this? I learned that everyone who wants to sincerely learn is worth the teachers time in gold. Having a few PhDs in Psychology also taught me that people learn differently from one another. Some will learn thru repetition, some from a very thorough explanation, others still will learn by watching and others thru moving or feeling. The person who says to you I hear what your saying learns very differently from the person who says I see what your saying. Hence they all must be taught differently if everyone is gonna “get it”! For me as a teacher I have always been all about everyone’s “getting it” thus I have taught each student in a group situation privately... in the manner in which they learn. And I have done this back throughout my martial teachings now for many years... As I teacher I can honestly say Nothing is more rewarding for a teacher to see all his students succeed in their martial endeavors and nothing is more satisfying then to see a student even exceed your own skill level...
James Y
Member
Posts: 7994
Joined: Fri Sep 24, 2004 10:33 am
Location: Southern CA

Re: Martial Arts Experiences Discussion Thread

#268

Post by James Y »

Dr. Snubnose wrote:
Mon Mar 22, 2021 7:56 pm
First let me say throughout my 65 years (come this May)... of being involved with Martial Arts I have had many instructors/teachers and I can honestly say there was not a single teacher that I didn’t learn something from. Even if it were to learn how not to teach something or someone. As a teacher I’m a little bias...that said I have met and known through the years practitioners who were highly skilled in their art forms but couldn’t teach it for the love of money or if they did... the student population suffered as they were not very good at it....Having a High Skill set and the ability to transmit that information is a perfect situation for learning. Unfortunately it’s not always the case. As a teacher for more than 50 years I have learned that teaching is a separate Art Form...(if I’m not being perfectly clear here allow me to give an example) Let’s take the average dojo situated anywhere, what can you observe, (and you don’t have be taking the class to observe it) so let’s say your a spectator watching a class ...what do you see... I’ll tell you what I’ve seen over and over again. A semi large class with students, the ones in the front of the class are looking good (usually higher level belt/skill level, as you move you attention to the back line where there seems to be people who are not very good/coordinated/ and skilled and the teacher pays them little attention, why? Those student just don’t get it, they are basically a waste of the teachers time. ( not saying this is right just that I have seen it too many times)
This example is from my own experience what did I learn from this? I learned that everyone who wants to sincerely learn is worth the teachers time in gold. Having a few PhDs in Psychology also taught me that people learn differently from one another. Some will learn thru repetition, some from a very thorough explanation, others still will learn by watching and others thru moving or feeling. The person who says to you I hear what your saying learns very differently from the person who says I see what your saying. Hence they all must be taught differently if everyone is gonna “get it”! For me as a teacher I have always been all about everyone’s “getting it” thus I have taught each student in a group situation privately... in the manner in which they learn. And I have done this back throughout my martial teachings now for many years... As I teacher I can honestly say Nothing is more rewarding for a teacher to see all his students succeed in their martial endeavors and nothing is more satisfying then to see a student even exceed your own skill level...

Thanks for sharing! Much respect to you for your many decades of experience.

I agree that the teaching needs to be adjusted for each student.

When I taught, my class was fairly small, so everyone got my personal attention. Unlike most teachers, I limited my enrollment to adults only. (18+).

There also has to be an awareness of how much explaining is required vs doing. Over-explaining can be confusing. There needs to be action. I’ve observed some classes with teachers (especially nowadays) who talk on and on and on about whatever skill they are demonstrating before they even move. In reality, that movement and its application may take only a fraction of a second. In such cases, having students start out with it slowly and building up is beneficial. Verbal explanations are important to a point, but at their core, martial arts are about action.

I had some students with previous martial arts experience (Karate, pro kickboxing, etc.), and some that were simply “natural talents.” But the one student I was most proud of had zero previous experience, and was not a natural at all. He was a clean slate. But he was eager to learn and willing to work hard at it. Seeing how much he had progressed from when he started, his improved coordination and ability to pull things off effectively, and his increased confidence, was gratifying, to say the least. He wasn’t drawing attention and impressing outsiders like some of my other core students were, but I knew how far he’d come, and I was proud of him. And he easily kept up with the others during class.

Jim
James Y
Member
Posts: 7994
Joined: Fri Sep 24, 2004 10:33 am
Location: Southern CA

Re: Martial Arts Experiences Discussion Thread

#269

Post by James Y »

Solo pad training:

https://youtu.be/oLH8PAgPbe8

Jim
James Y
Member
Posts: 7994
Joined: Fri Sep 24, 2004 10:33 am
Location: Southern CA

Re: Martial Arts Experiences Discussion Thread

#270

Post by James Y »

Older man KOs two larger, younger men.

I would have preferred this without the added music, but this is the only version of this same video on YouTube that wasn’t “age restricted” (at least not yet).

From the way he handled himself and from his demeanor in general, it’s clear that the older man had boxing AND street experience.

https://youtu.be/ZvRcEV2_hEI

Jim
James Y
Member
Posts: 7994
Joined: Fri Sep 24, 2004 10:33 am
Location: Southern CA

Re: Martial Arts Experiences Discussion Thread

#271

Post by James Y »

Geoff Thompson: “Perfect one or two techniques, then it will work for you every time.”

I fully agree with everything Geoff Thompson says...when it has to do with street fighting; sucker-punching, initiating an offense, etc.

Nowadays, I prefer to concentrate on a few key skills (as opposed to only one or two), and their variations, and work them over and over, ad nauseum. But there are periods where I will take a single move, such as one strike, and just concentrate on that for weeks on end. Different techniques (ex.: fist and open-hand strikes) often use the same platform(s) anyway. I tend to prefer open hand strikes to the head area, except for the hammer fist, one of my favorites. The truth is, you don’t need lots of techniques, and certainly nothing complicated. It’s better to know a lot about a few things than a little about a lot of things.

There is a saying: “Fear NOT the man who has practiced 10,000 techniques one time; but fear the man who has practiced one technique 10,000 times.”

https://youtu.be/7YCalpJzE1s

Jim
James Y
Member
Posts: 7994
Joined: Fri Sep 24, 2004 10:33 am
Location: Southern CA

Re: Martial Arts Experiences Discussion Thread

#272

Post by James Y »

Naperville wrote:
Fri Mar 12, 2021 11:57 pm
I watched the entire Geoff Thompson video. Just about 100% of everything he says sounds so legit that I have to run down to the bar and try it out, hahahahahaha.

Excellent material. I see he has books on Amazon, but I'd rather watch the DVDs.

I had missed this post before, Naperville.

Geoff Thompson is a **** of a writer, too.

I highly recommend his book Watch My Back. It’s not an instructional book; it’s his autobiography. It’s probably the most engrossing/entertaining autobiographical book I’ve ever read. He describes how he evolved from being a meek, scared young man to who he eventually became. He graphically describes many of the fights he had during his decade-long stint as a bouncer in some of the roughest nightclubs in Coventry, England. He also discusses the subject of fear, and the psychological aspects of fighting. In fact, this autobiography is far superior to most martial arts (and self-defense) books in that regard.

I also watched the movie ‘Clubbed’, which is ‘based on’ Watch My Back. However, the book is 100X better than the movie, which doesn’t go into anywhere near the detail, isn’t as exciting, and many aspects of the real story were either deleted or are not 100% accurate as they were presented in the book.

Jim
James Y
Member
Posts: 7994
Joined: Fri Sep 24, 2004 10:33 am
Location: Southern CA

Re: Martial Arts Experiences Discussion Thread

#273

Post by James Y »

Peter Consterdine demonstrating ‘double hip’ action for amazing punching and striking power:

https://youtu.be/yrmek6Ey9v8

https://youtu.be/IltICloGVI0

Jim
vivi
Member
Posts: 13846
Joined: Mon Oct 29, 2007 8:15 am

Re: Martial Arts Experiences Discussion Thread

#274

Post by vivi »

James Y wrote:
Wed Mar 31, 2021 12:08 pm
Peter Consterdine demonstrating ‘double hip’ action for amazing punching and striking power:

https://youtu.be/yrmek6Ey9v8

https://youtu.be/IltICloGVI0

Jim
Reminds me of this Teddy Atlas video I recently saw, where he's working with the new UFC HW Champ to hone his lead hook:

https://youtu.be/rtKMlyxIGEQ

You can see him focus on the hip drive and shoulder position too, which is where the power comes from, rather than the arm.
:unicorn
User avatar
Naperville
Member
Posts: 4360
Joined: Sun Feb 04, 2018 2:58 am
Location: Illinois, USA

Re: Martial Arts Experiences Discussion Thread

#275

Post by Naperville »

James Y wrote:
Wed Mar 31, 2021 7:44 am
Naperville wrote:
Fri Mar 12, 2021 11:57 pm
I watched the entire Geoff Thompson video. Just about 100% of everything he says sounds so legit that I have to run down to the bar and try it out, hahahahahaha.

Excellent material. I see he has books on Amazon, but I'd rather watch the DVDs.

I had missed this post before, Naperville.

Geoff Thompson is a **** of a writer, too.

I highly recommend his book Watch My Back. It’s not an instructional book; it’s his autobiography. It’s probably the most engrossing/entertaining autobiographical book I’ve ever read. He describes how he evolved from being a meek, scared young man to who he eventually became. He graphically describes many of the fights he had during his decade-long stint as a bouncer in some of the roughest nightclubs in Coventry, England. He also discusses the subject of fear, and the psychological aspects of fighting. In fact, this autobiography is far superior to most martial arts (and self-defense) books in that regard.

I also watched the movie ‘Clubbed’, which is ‘based on’ Watch My Back. However, the book is 100X better than the movie, which doesn’t go into anywhere near the detail, isn’t as exciting, and many aspects of the real story were either deleted or are not 100% accurate as they were presented in the book.

Jim
Yes, yes, yes....I did a little research and found the CLUBBED promo videos, and some of his interviews. Pretty violent. I'll have to pick up the book that you recommend, Watch My Back.
I support the 2nd Amendment Organizations of GOA, NRA, FPC, SAF, and "Knife Rights"
T2T: https://tunnel2towers.org; Special Operations Wounded Warriors: https://sowwcharity.com/
James Y
Member
Posts: 7994
Joined: Fri Sep 24, 2004 10:33 am
Location: Southern CA

Re: Martial Arts Experiences Discussion Thread

#276

Post by James Y »

vivi wrote:
Wed Mar 31, 2021 12:46 pm
James Y wrote:
Wed Mar 31, 2021 12:08 pm
Peter Consterdine demonstrating ‘double hip’ action for amazing punching and striking power:

https://youtu.be/yrmek6Ey9v8

https://youtu.be/IltICloGVI0

Jim
Reminds me of this Teddy Atlas video I recently saw, where he's working with the new UFC HW Champ to hone his lead hook:

https://youtu.be/rtKMlyxIGEQ

You can see him focus on the hip drive and shoulder position too, which is where the power comes from, rather than the arm.

Thanks for posting that vid, vivi.

Jim
James Y
Member
Posts: 7994
Joined: Fri Sep 24, 2004 10:33 am
Location: Southern CA

Re: Martial Arts Experiences Discussion Thread

#277

Post by James Y »

Naperville wrote:
Wed Mar 31, 2021 3:36 pm
James Y wrote:
Wed Mar 31, 2021 7:44 am
Naperville wrote:
Fri Mar 12, 2021 11:57 pm
I watched the entire Geoff Thompson video. Just about 100% of everything he says sounds so legit that I have to run down to the bar and try it out, hahahahahaha.

Excellent material. I see he has books on Amazon, but I'd rather watch the DVDs.

I had missed this post before, Naperville.

Geoff Thompson is a **** of a writer, too.

I highly recommend his book Watch My Back. It’s not an instructional book; it’s his autobiography. It’s probably the most engrossing/entertaining autobiographical book I’ve ever read. He describes how he evolved from being a meek, scared young man to who he eventually became. He graphically describes many of the fights he had during his decade-long stint as a bouncer in some of the roughest nightclubs in Coventry, England. He also discusses the subject of fear, and the psychological aspects of fighting. In fact, this autobiography is far superior to most martial arts (and self-defense) books in that regard.

I also watched the movie ‘Clubbed’, which is ‘based on’ Watch My Back. However, the book is 100X better than the movie, which doesn’t go into anywhere near the detail, isn’t as exciting, and many aspects of the real story were either deleted or are not 100% accurate as they were presented in the book.

Jim
Yes, yes, yes....I did a little research and found the CLUBBED promo videos, and some of his interviews. Pretty violent. I'll have to pick up the book that you recommend, Watch My Back.

Hi, Naperville.

Just to let you know, Watch My Back is full of British slang. I don’t think that the book was ever expected to be read outside of the UK. However, I had no problems understanding the expressions he uses, or figuring others out in context. Plus, years ago I had some friends who were from England, so I wasn’t totally unfamiliar with some of the slang going into it. To me, it just makes it all the more colorful. The seller of the book on Amazon is located in the UK.

And as I mentioned, the movie ‘Clubbed’, while decent, doesn’t even come close to Watch My Back. The movie completely omits Geoff Thompson’s (the character based on him has a different name) martial arts background from before he even became a bouncer, and the movie has few actual fight depictions.

Jim
User avatar
Naperville
Member
Posts: 4360
Joined: Sun Feb 04, 2018 2:58 am
Location: Illinois, USA

Re: Martial Arts Experiences Discussion Thread

#278

Post by Naperville »

James Y wrote:
Thu Apr 01, 2021 12:14 am
Hi, Naperville.

Just to let you know, Watch My Back is full of British slang. I don’t think that the book was ever expected to be read outside of the UK. However, I had no problems understanding the expressions he uses, or figuring others out in context. Plus, years ago I had some friends who were from England, so I wasn’t totally unfamiliar with some of the slang going into it. To me, it just makes it all the more colorful. The seller of the book on Amazon is located in the UK.

And as I mentioned, the movie ‘Clubbed’, while decent, doesn’t even come close to Watch My Back. The movie completely omits Geoff Thompson’s (the character based on him has a different name) martial arts background from before he even became a bouncer, and the movie has few actual fight depictions.

Jim
The one promo video that I saw(out of 4 to 5 vids) showed the guy getting attacked and him hitting a guy in the face w a brick.
I support the 2nd Amendment Organizations of GOA, NRA, FPC, SAF, and "Knife Rights"
T2T: https://tunnel2towers.org; Special Operations Wounded Warriors: https://sowwcharity.com/
James Y
Member
Posts: 7994
Joined: Fri Sep 24, 2004 10:33 am
Location: Southern CA

Re: Martial Arts Experiences Discussion Thread

#279

Post by James Y »

Naperville wrote:
Thu Apr 01, 2021 5:26 pm
James Y wrote:
Thu Apr 01, 2021 12:14 am
Hi, Naperville.

Just to let you know, Watch My Back is full of British slang. I don’t think that the book was ever expected to be read outside of the UK. However, I had no problems understanding the expressions he uses, or figuring others out in context. Plus, years ago I had some friends who were from England, so I wasn’t totally unfamiliar with some of the slang going into it. To me, it just makes it all the more colorful. The seller of the book on Amazon is located in the UK.

And as I mentioned, the movie ‘Clubbed’, while decent, doesn’t even come close to Watch My Back. The movie completely omits Geoff Thompson’s (the character based on him has a different name) martial arts background from before he even became a bouncer, and the movie has few actual fight depictions.

Jim
The one promo video that I saw(out of 4 to 5 vids) showed the guy getting attacked and him hitting a guy in the face w a brick.

That scene is a cathartic one for the Geoff Thompson-based character; it was actually my favorite scene in the movie. But the movie has little physical fighting in it. Compared to the book, which has lots of detailed recollections of Thompson’s fights in his job as a bouncer. Which is OK, the movie is more about the people. I didn’t expect the movie to be a fight movie. Also, Geoff Thompson’s descriptions of his real fights, while educational to read about (especially the psychological aspects), would probably have come across as unimpressive onscreen. Oftentimes, simple, basic stuff that really works in fights doesn’t come across as dramatic or impressive-looking in the movies. Especially when most were over in a matter of seconds.

Jim
vivi
Member
Posts: 13846
Joined: Mon Oct 29, 2007 8:15 am

Re: Martial Arts Experiences Discussion Thread

#280

Post by vivi »

Image

Just ordered a pair of these. Excited to put in some time with them at the gym :)

Gonna order some new elbow pads next. Too easy to slice the skin open on a heavy bag without em.
:unicorn
Post Reply