Meaning of your art to you

[soccer50]

I was just wondering why you started your style and what it means to you.

For me, starting Muay Thai was for me to learn to fight and get fit. But since I am Thai, it also means alot to me to be affiliated with Muay Thai.:asian:

 

[chufeng]

What does my martial art mean to me?

It has become so part of me that it is hard to differentiate it from anything else I do...it influences everything that I do...

To take it away would be like losing a spouse, only worse...

That's why I am so pissed off at the arthritis I've developed in my knees...many of the things I used to do, I can no longer do...OK, I can deal with that (on a personal level), but it's very hard to pass on a system of techniques when you are no longer able to do some of them...

I must rely on those junior to me to pass on some of the "fancier" techniques...in that, I am blessed with two extremely talented and capable YiLi practitioners...both teachers in their own right.

my two cents

:asian:
chufeng

 

[MartialArtist]

To better oneself (primarily to better my defenses)

 

[karatekid1975]

I got into martial arts for self defense. But I learned so much more. I learned character. I had low self esteem, low confidence, ect. And MA changed that. Now that I'm in a new school that blends fittness with self defense, I want to get healthier, too.

 

[KennethKu]

To back-up my big mouth when necessary.

 

[tonbo]

Egad.

I started MA to protect myself, in case my then-soon-to-be-ex-wife's new boyfriend decided to get ignorant and start throwing punches. I shoulda known that it would have started an addiction......

Anyway, 10 or so years later now.....I have learned SO much about life and myself from MA that a list would be difficult. I think of MA as a vital part of my being....something along the lines of blood or oxygen. To do without it in some form would be really difficult.

I love MA overall for all the good things that it can teach, especially to the young and those "in search of themselves". The right school and the right instructor can make all the difference.

MA. Love it.

Peace--

 

[James Kovacich]

Originally posted by soccer50
I was just wondering why you started your style and what it means to you.

For me, starting Muay Thai was for me to learn to fight and get fit. But since I am Thai, it also means alot to me to be affiliated with Muay Thai.

Hello my THAI, I didn't know you were the one that started Thai. Are you the grandmaster?


Let me see when I started my style, it was a matter of destiny that led me to so many systems in one lifetime, it just happened.

Actually I was a kid and my first class (Kajukenbo) was held in our church hall and it was a convenient location and my best friend was already in the class.:asian:

 

[soccer50]

Hello my THAI, I didn't know you were the one that started Thai. Are you the grandmaster?

Im sorry, i dont understand what you mean

 

[James Kovacich]

Originally posted by soccer50
Im sorry, i dont understand what you mean

I was joking.:asian:

 

[Matt Stone]

I can't really say why I started MA... cuz if I did, I'd have to kill you! :lol:

Seriously, I really don't know why - I just had to. I didn't join to defend myself, didn't join to get in shape... I just had to do it, no matter what.

Yiliquan is now so much a part of my life that I really don't make a distinction between living and training... Training is everything you do, not just when you do forms, throw punches and kicks, and spar. Training is in how you stand, how you walk, how you breathe, how you behave in public, how you deal with people (especially in crisis), how you approach your entire life!

I do all of that with my Yiliquan.

My Yiliquan (because while I'm not the best there is at it, I don't know all there is to know about it, and I have a long way to go before I have even seen all of it) is mine because I have worked it and earned it.

And ultimately, my Yiliquan isn't a possession. It isn't an activity. It has, very seriously, changed from something I do into who I am...

Gambarimasu.
:asian:

 

[chufeng]

Very nicely expressed Yiliquan1...

Truth is, no one person in the YiLi Association has a monopoly on ALL that YiLi is...not even the founder...

The sum total of each of our experiences with YiLi combined with the sum total of what we know about it, does not come close to what we don't know...and I speak for all TRUE YiLi practitioners...those who CLAIM to know, don't...

The Founder of our system has a tremendous wealth of knowledge and experience, yet still views himself as someone lacking...still looking for the BEST way to teach the ideas of YiLi...

I am completely amazed every time I stop to think about WHAT Sifu P.Starr did when he founded the YiLi system...and I am not easily amazed, believe me...

I would never have the STONES to do what he did...

...and as Yiliquan1 stated, everything I do, is influenced by my training in this system..

NO!!! It is not a cult...
No one has been asked to give up anything...
Sifu is not living in any kind of luxury, that's for sure...
It is his love for the system (and our love for the sytem) that sustains it...

:asian:
chufeng

 

[Disco]

I really envy you guys. Who have found a discipline along with a fellowship that many will never know. Your admiration for your Sifu is refreshing. Like many, I entered into the arts with an open mind and heart, only to be disappointed by politics and greed. Hold fast to your brotherhood and ideals.
With Respect :asian:

Chufeng, if you haven't already, you may want to try some of that joint osteo-biflex by Wal-greens for your knees. It seems to be working for my mother-in-law.

 

[Matt Stone]

Yiliquan is so expansive that I feel it includes all other arts within it to a certain degree...

Each person's experience of Yiliquan is so unique that no two people do Yiliquan exactly the same. We all teach the same material to the same standards of performance, but we all have our own specialties and preferences, our own understandings and insights.

My Yili, although influenced and nurtured by Chufeng's Yili, is still very different from his... Mine is rough, aggressive, punishing. His is more refined, more finely honed, though still very punishing (trust me on this one - I know; if you don't believe that a greying, limping old fart can still lay down a serious butt kicking, come visit some Saturday... Judo-kid - where are you? :lol: )

NO!!! It is not a cult...
No one has been asked to give up anything...
Sifu is not living in any kind of luxury, that's for sure...
It is his love for the system (and our love for the sytem) that sustains it...

We pay less than $50 a year for association membership. From what I understand, I don't think we have a school that charges for tuition at all, though if we do it is nominal at best. Our teacher works for a living, supports his family and makes nearly nothing from teaching. It is the love for Yiliquan that we all have that keeps it alive.

Disco -

We do have something valuable. We all know it, and even when we have disagreements, we remember that we have all gone through a lot, been there for each other, and have formed very lasting relationships with each other outside of training (as an example, my senior, Tim, in addition to tutoring me for the past decade and promoting me to Level 1 Senior, is also one of my best friends in the world and Godfather to both of my children!). That's where our cameraderie really stems from. It just helps that we all have the common interest in MA. We have had our own political squabbles, but because of the kind of people that stick with Yiliquan (we get a lot that come in the door, and nearly just as many walking back out - training is hard, and we don't compromise our standards ever), we deal with it and move on. Y'know, there's always room for another Yili student...

Gambarimasu.
:asian:

 

[Disco]

But at age almost 60, I'm grateful to be doing what I'm doing. The days of training hard are well behind me. But if I was younger, I would eagerly seek you folks out to see if I had enough metal to be accepted.

Thanks for the invite

 

[Matt Stone]

We have had brand spanking new Novices who have joined us at your age... Age means little, really. Sure, some things are a little less likely than others, and certain concessions must be made to the advance of time, but training continues...

Anytime, you're welcome.

Gambarimasu.
:asian:

 

[Disco]

If I should be so fortunate as to be in your neck of the woods, it would be my honor to show up at your training facility and seek your knowledge.

That's true, your never to old to train. :asian:

 

[MartialArtist]

Originally posted by KennethKu
To back-up my big mouth when necessary.

That too :rofl:

 

[cali_tkdbruin]

For me it's because the martial arts run in my family, and Taekwondo is the art of choice. My brother-in-law and nephew being the main practitioners. They encouraged my daughter to step up and get into the MAs. After watching them I said I'm game, and I got with the program too. Best decision I've made.
We've all advanced to BLACK. We're still training for the next one... :asian:

 

[karatekid1975]

I was the first to start MA. Now my nephews want to go to my school with me. I will encourage them and help them along if they so choose to stay. That's how I repay my instructor for teaching me what I know. New students for him, and training partners for me

 

[2fisted]

Well, when I first started training, it was for self defense, cuz I'm a little dude. 5'3. As I got more and more into it though, it became for genereal physical, mental, and spiritual development.

As to why I'm doing the art I do now, it's just because it fits all of the criteria of what I was looking for in a martial art.