Well, at the request of Arnisador (did I spell that right?) I thought I'd use this forum to give a brief description about the style I train in.

It's basically a freestyle MA based around Wing Chun with elemnts of lots of other styles mixed in as well, such as Western Boxing, Ju Jitsu and Aikido.

The style is called Black Cat Do and was designed by our chief instructor, Ian Winter. It's very much a style of self defence rather than sport and the basic tenets behind it are things like evasion and quick finish. He chose the rather unfortunate name as he is English and wanted an English name for it.

It's difficult for me to describe the history of it much as I don't know a lot yet, but I will do soon as I am designing the website for the club and this will be one of the pages.

I've been training in it for about 3 years now, although I did take about a year off after the birth of my daughter, and I've just recently passed my second grading :D

I love the style as a lot of it is very intelligent and it's constantly evolving with the several instructors always looking at the movces to see if they are practical and how they can be improved and it very much emphasises using what works best for you rather than following a strict pattern.

It does have a belt grading system, leading up to the inevitable balck belt and beyond into the Dan grades. Personally, I would love to reach the black belt grade (as I believe that's when I would truly start to learn) but I'm not sure if I ever will, what with my advancing age (I'm 30 now!! :( )

I'll be glad to answer any questions about it, but I can't always promise a good answer as I'm still learning about it all myself, but then, aren't we all?

thanks for listening...
Laev.

Sounds a lot like Jeet Kune Do! I take it the emphasis is on punching, as opposed to kicking or grappling?

Actuall, I forgot about the very basic web prescence the club has already :D

Nothing spectacular, just on a local communities thing, and it would appear to be VERY out of date, there's a club photo on there and I don't recognise anyone on there!!

It's here if you want a laugh.

http://beehive.thisishull.co.uk/default.asp?WCI=SiteHome&ID=1601&PageID=6709

Later,
Laev.

Sounds a lot like Jeet Kune Do! I take it the emphasis is on punching, as opposed to kicking or grappling?

Actually, yeah, I have mnoticed a lot of similarities, at least in the philosophies behind it, if not entirely in the practical applications.

There is more emphasis on puches than kick, we don't feel that kicks are as useful in a street level fight for defence, they do have their uses but not as much as punches and stikes do. (shame really, as I', quite good at kicks :D )

at the moment we don't do a lot of grappling work, at least not ground work, although I think the instructors are planning on adding more of this to our syllabus.

There is a lot of captures, restraints and escapes though, which I probably enjoy the most.

LAter,
LAev.

The website makes it sounds heavily kung fu influenced!

Black Cat Do style is based upon numerous classical styles such as Chin Na. Wing Chung, Black Leopard Kung Fu incorporating circular movement of aikido and western boxing.


If you have practiced a kung fu type style and would like to try a more dynamic style effective for unarmed combat contact us now!

[

The website makes it sounds heavily kung fu influenced!



yeah, it does, that's what i mean by out of date :D

It is quite influenced by that, but I think that more to do with Ian originally training in Wing Chun.

Plus, I think he was trying to make the club style easily recognisable to anyone that reads the beehive site.

That's why i'm working on a more up to date and fuller site for him....his web designs leave a lot to be desired, bless him :D

Later,
Laev.

I love the style as a lot of it is very intelligent and it's constantly evolving with the several instructors always looking at the movces to see if they are practical and how they can be improved and it very much emphasises using what works best for you rather than following a strict pattern.

sounds like an exciting time for everyone. and the heads realize that reevaluation is crucial in those early stages, thats right on too! any black cat do in phoenix arizona? sign me up:D

[
any black cat do in phoenix arizona? sign me up:D

Sorry, as far as i know there's only us in little old Hull.

Still, you never now, one day in the future....world domination and all that. :D

.....why do I feel like I should be raising my pinkie to the corner of my mouth and have a white cat on my lap to stroke? ;)

personaly I always wanted a tazmanian devil, but I was always afraid it would naw through my hand or something...

Originally posted by Laevolus
Sorry, as far as i know there's only us in little old Hull.

Still, you never now, one day in the future....world domination and all that. :D

.....why do I feel like I should be raising my pinkie to the corner of my mouth and have a white cat on my lap to stroke? ;)

:D LMAO Greetings, Dr. E ! :D

Is the only club in the UK in Hull? Not anywhere a bit more... closer to london? ;)

Sorrry for dragging up an old thread, but I remembered that some people asked about our style and I thought I'd let everyone know that we have a new website that I did for the club!

It's only a basic site for now, more of an info site for people looking for agood club to train at, but if anyone has any suggestions I'll be grateful.

Be gentle though, it's my first site :D

Ofcourse, it would probably help if I actually provided the link!! :D :D :D

Black Cat Do (www.black-cat-do.co.uk)

Move along now, nothing to see here...nothing to see.. :D

Are you in any of the pictures?

Yep.

I'm on the Members page under Steve Ducker and I'm also on a few of the photos page.

The photos somehow manage to make me look a lot more impressive then I actually am, benefits of have a friend who's a photography student doing the photos :D

Ah, doing the flying side kick, right?

That's the one!

Not very realistic, I know, but I built the site, so I got to choose the pics for each page :D

Black Cat Do? why is there a Do in it? doesn't Do usualy mean "the way" or "way of" in some other languages. would that mean its the way of the black cat? im confused. it would be the other Do right? not the "do not go there" Do, it would be the "way of" japanese or whatever language Do. i think im to tired:idunno: or do i have no idea what im talking about?

To be honest, I'm not entirely sure.

From what I can gather, whenIan (Our Chiref Instructor and style founder) created the style about 20 years ago, he decided that as he is English, he would give it an English name, bt he still wanted to reflect the history of the different styles he had done over the years, so he added the Do to show it was a martial arts.

He once told me that it was also partly an advertising trick, when new people see the name, they associate it with martial arts and so come along.

Way of the Black Cat sounds a bit daft, really :D

The irony is, most of the styles he studied were the Chinese Kung Fu arts, such as wing chun and chin na, and the Do part, if I remember correctly is a Japanese word, meaning Way

Ah well, it' still a great style.
:)

Originally posted by Laevolus


Way of the Black Cat sounds a bit daft, really :D

:)

So does Black Cat Do........:rofl:

Still, sides the name it sounds like an interesting style :asian:

Originally posted by Master of Blades
So does Black Cat Do........:rofl:


heh, you'll get no arguments from me :D

Originally posted by Laevolus
heh, you'll get no arguments from me :D

Awww.......was getting ready to see how good this Black Cat Do really is! :mad:

:rofl:

All jokes aside.......Is your main stance the Cat Stance by any chance? :rofl:

And I was thinking about starting my own style called Kit Cat Do......does that sound daft to anyone? :rolleyes:

Originally posted by Master of Blades
And I was thinking about starting my own style called Kit Cat Do......does that sound daft to anyone?

ROTFLMAO!!!!

Heh, is that were thin chocolaty biscuits are used as dangerous weapons, but only during a break in the fight? :D :D :D

Apologies to any non-english readers, this may make no sense to you at all!

With regards to the site, perhaps a few pictures of grappling techniques might be in order. All of the pics I saw were of flashy techniques, which might look good but generally aren't street smart.

Originally posted by Laevolus
ROTFLMAO!!!!

Heh, is that were thin chocolaty biscuits are used as dangerous weapons, but only during a break in the fight? :D :D :D

Apologies to any non-english readers, this may make no sense to you at all!

Bah.....Close enough.......But the fight is the break! I'm lazy ya see. And with the techiniques "Dipping in Tea" and "Sucking tea through Kit Cat" under your belt you will never need to do MA again :D

And you still havnt answered my question! Is Cat Stance the Primary stance in Black Cat Do :asian:

Cats and dogs are natural enemies and so I'm proud to announce next month on pay-per-view Black Cat Do Dojo vs. The Dog Brothers! :D

Originally posted by white dragon
Cats and dogs are natural enemies and so I'm proud to announce next month on pay-per-view Black Cat Do Dojo vs. The Dog Brothers! :D

Black Cat Do Dojo sounds even more stupid lol! :rofl:

Originally posted by Aegis
With regards to the site, perhaps a few pictures of grappling techniques might be in order. All of the pics I saw were of flashy techniques, which might look good but generally aren't street smart.

Indeed,I couldn't agree more.

The friend who took the photos for me is a photography student who wanted to do more artistic and dramatic shots for her university portfolio, hence the types of shots we have on the site.

However, she also wants to do more realistic shots as well, so she's going to be coming back to do more for us, and we are also planning on getting some short bits of video footage to put on the site later on, when we have the equipment we need for video capture.

Saying that, we did make a concious (sp?) decision not to show shots that were too dramatic, as we didn't want to put people off. I've seen the higher belts in our style when they are really going for it, if I put up any photos or shots ofthat on the site, it may scarepeopleoff....hell, it scares the crap out of me when I watch them.

Rest assured though, there will be some better images to come though. Thanks for the comments as well :)

Don't suppose you guys have any Korean influences do you? that way you could wear Black Cat Do Dojang Dobok's :D

Originally posted by Master of Blades
And you still havnt answered my question! Is Cat Stance the Primary stance in Black Cat Do :asian:

Indeed, yes it is one of the main stances we use, there are several we work through as part of the training, including Bear, Horse, Crane, Dragon, Monkey and others as well.

For the actual realistic part though, we tend to use a more natural, legs slightly apart, hand out in front in a fence kind of stance and use the traditional stances as necessary

And yes, Black Cat Do Dojo sounds even sillier! :D

So, who are the Dog Brothers? :confused:

Originally posted by white dragon
Black Cat Do Dojang Dobok's :D

oh man, this could run and run!! :D

What's a bear stance like? Do you guys have a sylabus by any chance that you could put up? I really like the sound of the style, would be nice to see more of what you guys get up to!

As for the dog brothers:

www.dogbrothers.com

the slogon on the front page should tell you all you need to know :)

Originally posted by Laevolus
Indeed, yes it is one of the main stances we use, there are several we work through as part of the training, including Bear, Horse, Crane, Dragon, Monkey and others as well.

For the actual realistic part though, we tend to use a more natural, legs slightly apart, hand out in front in a fence kind of stance and use the traditional stances as necessary

And yes, Black Cat Do Dojo sounds even sillier! :D

So, who are the Dog Brothers? :confused:

Oh god.......room for even more jokes :rofl:

Black Cat Do's Monkey Stance.......HA :rofl:

OUCH!! they look....nasty! :D

We were thinking about putting the syllabus up on the site, but it's very much an evolving style and changes a bit fairly regularly.

We also didn't want to have the site too bogged down with technical stuff, again, we didn't want to put of any prospective members. Saying that, it may be worth putting a basic version of it up in case we get anyone looking for a new style to train in.

I'll have a chat with the guys tomorrow night. Thanks for the input.
:asian:

Damn it man! Shame you guys are all the way in Hull or I'd love to drop by and do some training! :)

Originally posted by white dragon
Damn it man! Shame you guys are all the way in Hull or I'd love to drop by and do some training! :)


Ok Where is Hull.......and WhiteDragon where you at in England?

MOB you live in england but don't know Hull? You must not understand the punchline to many many jokes then! *snerk*

I'm at university up in Teesside (near Newcastle), but I live about 20 minutes outside the center of London in Stevenage normally, and will be heading back there this time next week for easter. hazzah!

where abouts in London are you from?

*sings to himself* getting to know you, getting to know everything about yooooou....

Originally posted by white dragon
MOB you live in england but don't know Hull? You must not understand the punchline to many many jokes then! *snerk*

I'm at university up in Teesside (near Newcastle), but I live about 20 minutes outside the center of London in Stevenage normally, and will be heading back there this time next week for easter. hazzah!

where abouts in London are you from?

*sings to himself* getting to know you, getting to know everything about yooooou....

I'm from North West London Myself........Kilburn/Cricklewood/Willsedon/West Hampstead.

How easy would it be to get from Stevenage to Westminister on say a Tuesday lol? :asian:

I'd say it would be as easy as a hop skip and a jump on the merry ol' underground. Be there a weblink for you school?

*raises an eye brow* we are talking about training here right? Only some guy from east london told me what you guys from west london get up to :D

Originally posted by white dragon
I'd say it would be as easy as a hop skip and a jump on the merry ol' underground. Be there a weblink for you school?

*raises an eye brow* we are talking about training here right? Only some guy from east london told me what you guys from west london get up to :D

LOL of course........My class is on Tuesday at the City of Westminister University. Its a Kali/ Hapkido Class (Theres a differant teacher for each class) so you can decide which to do. Or if you dont like that theres a Kenpo Class next door or some other stuff around. Reckon you would be able to make it over Easter :asian:

Oooh Kali and Hapkido! I've never done either, but wanted too! I think being a TKD guy at heart I'd have to give the Hapkido a shot. Is it a unviersity run class, if so would there be any problems with me coming down? I've got an NUS card.

I don't see why I couldn't make it over Easter! I assume training in dobok trousers and a t-shirt would be fine? you guys train bear foot?

wow I'm arranging to meet up with a strange man over the internet, and I already know he knows how to fight, is this wise? ;)

Originally posted by white dragon
Oooh Kali and Hapkido! I've never done either, but wanted too! I think being a TKD guy at heart I'd have to give the Hapkido a shot. Is it a unviersity run class, if so would there be any problems with me coming down? I've got an NUS card.

I don't see why I couldn't make it over Easter! I assume training in dobok trousers and a t-shirt would be fine? you guys train bear foot?

wow I'm arranging to meet up with a strange man over the internet, and I already know he knows how to fight, is this wise? ;)

Lol......Okay, well see when you get there if you come. I'm not sure if its University run or not, cuz my Dad and Godfather are the teachers. Training in that is fine.....and I dont think theres any problems with you come down. I dont go to that University anyways. And yeah its probably best to train bear foot.

As for the man comment, I'm only 16, and as for knowing how to fight........well you can tell me :asian:

Well I'm only a young 21, so don't let them go to town on me too much! And PLEASE dn't be under the impression that I could hold my own in a fight! :D

Originally posted by white dragon
Well I'm only a young 21, so don't let them go to town on me too much! And PLEASE dn't be under the impression that I could hold my own in a fight! :D

LOL.......Well I look forward to it. But if your looking for sparring as well then dont get too excited.....we only occasionally have enough time at the end of the class to do a few rounds of sparring with a padded stick. And even then those few rounds are dedicated to me and the other two senior students. But you never know :asian:

Not that I'm looking for a fight! But sparring would be fun, simply because I think it's always benficial to "play" with someone new, and as you're coming from a different style it would be interstin to see how the two go together, or against each other as it might be.

Again, just for the record, I have no ideas in my head that I'm side kinda fighting master and would fully expect an arse whopping.

Originally posted by white dragon
Not that I'm looking for a fight! But sparring would be fun, simply because I think it's always benficial to "play" with someone new, and as you're coming from a different style it would be interstin to see how the two go together, or against each other as it might be.

Again, just for the record, I have no ideas in my head that I'm side kinda fighting master and would fully expect an arse whopping.

Alright cool........Well then if you have any other questions then best to PM. But I hope to see you over Easter :asian:

Sign me up for the Kit Cat Do home study series.:karate:

Originally posted by Kroy
Sign me up for the Kit Cat Do home study series.:karate:

No Problem, I can give some privates, you can train with my Cat she is a Master :)

Hi,

Laevolus,

I just had a look at your website and noticed this statement:

"Registered and licensed with Professor Tony Smith of the Nippon Dai Budo Kai Federation we can offer a fully structured grading system from beginner to Dan grade."

I was just wondering where the Nippon Dai Budo Kai Federation is based and what connection it has to Japan or any Japanese Federation.

Feline seeks its path, Kroy does Kit Cat Stance, Kitty whips tail. I smell a movie script coming (or is that just cat poop)

Originally posted by RyuShiKan
Hi,

Laevolus,

I was just wondering where the Nippon Dai Budo Kai Federation is based and what connection it has to Japan or any Japanese Federation.

To be honest, I'm not certain. There is a link to their ite on our club site but the site is here if you want to have a look.

http://www.nippondaibudokai.com/

It's seems like a decent enough body, despite having a porrly designed site, perhaps you'll be able to judge it better then me?

I hope it's a decent group though, worrying if it's not! :confused:

It’s kind of odd they don’t mention any connection to Japan, only England, Spain and Gibraltar and yet they call themselves
“Nippon Dai Budo Kai & Nippon Dai Ju Jitsu”………the Japanese name is grammatically incorrect as well.

That makes about as much sense as me calling my club “The British Great Martial Arts Society” when I have no connection to Britian.

Anybody else getting that “Red Flag” feeling?

And there’s more………they are soliciting members to be there representatives but are asking them to be 4th dan and up.

That’s weird as well.

Originally posted by RyuShiKan
Anybody else getting that “Red Flag” feeling?


Erm, you'll have to explain that one, I'm afraid.

Bear in mind that I'm relatively new to all this stuff :D