The Official Hype Martial Arts Thread

[KRYPTON INC.]

No less than in the world of super hero fandom, the "vs" mentality can be found in martial arts. "What style is better? What conditions make one style more effective? Which weapons make others look like also rans? What if weapon X from one country and time were to be matched against weapon Y from some other country and time?"

These can be silly discussions, true. But... There is something that can be learned with serious attempts to explore the ideas I think. First and foremost I think that with really looking into these things chauvinism and a sense of superiority should go away and the appreciation of the common threads should flower, along side the understanding of the important differences as well.

To that end many modern martial artists from across disciplines or those that have trained in various arts of myriad origin, have taken to "experimenting" with taking systems/styles/weapons and seeing how they fair in opposition to one another. The results are interesting and I hope the purists on each side can come away with a better understanding of other's arts but also of their own as well.

Boken (Japanese wooden sword) vs. Wooden European Long Sword:[YT]cFGPCTMp2cw[/YT]

An exhibition of the Naginatajutsu (Japanese Glaive) vs Kendo fencer:[YT]6X6wb0FC6Fg[/YT]

A demo of Kusarigama (sickle and chain with some sort of heavy weight at the end) techniqe against the Boken:[YT]bXesoopsWGE[/YT]

Escrima, double stick vs Kendo:[YT]JapMGyUbT68[/YT]

Poor video quality but here a Kendo fencer faces a European fencer. I find the footwork interesting above all else:[YT]m0CSrUrfA98[/YT]

 

[KRYPTON INC.]

The storied martial art that Bruce Lee first learned, Wing Chun's history comes from the time of rebellion in Chinese history. A style that is very conceptual with a curriculum that compared to many other Chinese martial arts is quite streamlined, the system emphasizes punches and kicks at a close range and sensitivity to your opponents movements. Wing Chung has a few ways to develop these skills and attributes. My first instructor had a half brother that was a Wing Chun instructor and his form was quite impressive. He could hit you in such a way that you would feel the impact in places different than where his fists touched your body. It was an interesting experience to say the least. Now... Wing Chun is a martial art that for a variety of reasons is mired in "political" disputes between various groups and instructors, many claiming "authentic" technique and lineage and on and on. Frankly, as much as I wanted to learn much more about the art for my own reasons, this aspect turned me off a lot. That said, the art has a depth and in the right hands can be effective at close range. My own take is that the curriculum of Wing Chun is solid but it really is up to the individual practitioner to bring life to what they have learned, sometimes even meaning that they must occasionally break the "rules" of the art to do so. Also... Don't believe everything you see in the Ip Man films. They are far from being sober minded legit Biographies.


Footage of Ip Man, the Wing Chun instructor of Bruce Lee from 1972 performing Wing Chun forms as well as working the Mook Jong or wooden dummy form:[YT]0YnEm1zaUyE[/YT]

A short documentary on Wing Chun history and the method of training the style employs:[YT]l6P0JhHjODY[/YT]

Actor Robert Downey Jr. in an interview that aired on Oprah's show talks about his training in Wing Chun:[YT]xfSMn7DvwII[/YT]

A short look at the Butterfly Swords of Wing Chun:[YT]zvnVuptgUio[/YT]

A look at the Pole/Staff form in Wing Chun:[YT]_U2crnECuC8[/YT]
[YT]xhTRZXCvY5k[/YT]

Wing Chun self defense techniques... Yes the way this teacher expresses himself is kinda hard to understand:[YT]fishf6nU0sc[/YT]

 

[KRYPTON INC.]

Where ever you find the species of man you will find a way developed to fight and kill. This is just the truth. So here are some examples of African fighting arts. I cannot make any claim to great knowledge of them. I will say this... There are many charlatans out there that are attempting to bamboozle those looking for authentic African martial arts by trying to pass off some Asian or European techniques and system as being African in origin. Now, there is nothing wrong with admitting to combining techniques from across many styles. That's fine to me. The problem is not giving credit to the system you have taken from and trying to pass it off as something else. Authentic teaching can be found but it is quite a search. Still though, across the continent you can still find the martial traditions being kept alive in various ways by Africans of different nationalities and Tribal identities as well as some Muslim traditions and styles in Norther Africa.

Senegalese Wrestling:[YT]VcSRW90657c[/YT]

Some African Martial Arts weapon/sword/shield guards and ready postitions:[YT]r1xftoIKNXc[/YT]

A look at an African Sickle Sword:[YT]IU3bcnxx18k[/YT]

Some techniques using the Sickle Sword:[YT]yTgmxKjY--c[/YT]

Training with the shield and sword:[YT]5ujcwjVJCxU[/YT]

An attempt at recreating ancient Egyptian weapons and martial fighting techniques:[YT]QEyYlYweOBY[/YT]

A demo of the traditional Egyptian battle staff, the Tahtib, in Paris:[YT]ra4ryqV93gg[/YT]

Nguni stick fighting:[YT]EkBiR7wxVKE[/YT]

Xhosa stick fighting competitions:[YT]G-5LoBqWsqw[/YT]

 

[KRYPTON INC.]

As with many old martial arts the traditional martial discipline of Southern India Kalaripayattu was once outlawed but in modern times is attempting a comeback in the largest Democracy in the world. Claimed to be ancient it may well be a style that influenced the development of the Shaolin schools of fighting arts in China. The curriculum includes empty hands, weapons, Yoga and Tai Chi like exercises and a component of healing others and oneself. The weapons used can be quite exotic, things like chain swords and bull/water buffalo horns. The art is growing outside of it's home country as a way for many to keep in shape. Many who are into Yoga or Holistic/Eastern medicine practices have taken up the art.

A short look into the basics and a preliminary history of Kalaripayattu:[YT]oI84oM_bJeg[/YT]

A public display of various Kalaripayattu training methods:[YT]Ard0bvRGAEM[/YT]

An example of Kalariapayattu hand to hand techniques:[YT]FUUNgyH_47Y[/YT]

A look in slow motion of Kalariapayattu training:[YT]8gvvkXhVjq8[/YT]

 

[KRYPTON INC.]

Footage of Guro Dan Inosanto and the late Larry Hartsell, both of whom were students of Bruce Lee's doing a FMA public presentation. I met Larry a few times when my instructor hosted him for seminars at the school I was an assistant instructor at. He was a true gentleman and wise beyond belief when it came to the arts, and had a wealth of information on grappling and Filipino Martial Arts. His passing was a great loss to the world of Martial Arts and the family of Jeet Kune Do and FMA:[YT]-F7rIL_G1hM[/YT]

Silent OLD footage of Guro Dan Inosanto and his student and founder of Progressive Fighting Systems, Paul Vunak from I think back during the old Kali Academy days showing the flowing nature of Kali drills. I have done a little training with Paul, mostly with seminars and the like but I can tell you he's the real deal and I recommend anyone his methodology for street fighting preparedness:[YT]Fgqt3SZd2WA[/YT]

 

[KRYPTON INC.]

A quick interview with Roan Grimm, AKA Poi Dog of the Dog Brothers Real Contact Stickfighting group. I met Roan a couple of times and it's great to see how far he's come through the years. I especially love his point about how there is link in the creativity and humanity as displayed through what we usually call art and the fighting ways of the world. I agree. I can't draw, play and instrument or dance... But give me stick, sword, knife or staff and I can put on a show for some reason:[YT]87j_pEYxkdE[/YT]

 

[KRYPTON INC.]

Two part interview with the wizened Guro Dan Inosanto:[YT]6nByz3N40OM[/YT]

[YT]6nByz3N40OM[/YT]

 

[KRYPTON INC.]

A breakdown of some Filipino Martial Arts techniques:[YT]vIIQKVdIXGA[/YT]

 

[Assassin32]

 

[Lobo]

Vovinam a Vietnamese martial art.

I just recently learned of this one. Here's a cool demo



I'd love to learn this eventually. Focused on one martial art right now.

 

[Lobo]

I've done a few FMA classes now, and can see why you love it Krypton.

Anyway here's a vidoe on the history of White Crane Kung Fu (ancestor to Karate), Goju etc. It's long but well worth the watch and reading of subtitles.

 

[KRYPTON INC.]

I've done a few FMA classes now, and can see why you love it Krypton.

Anyway here's a vidoe on the history of White Crane Kung Fu (ancestor to Karate), Goju etc. It's long but well worth the watch and reading of subtitles.

Interesting to hear. May I ask what FMA style/system/school it was that you were learning at these classes? There are a lot of different branches on the FMA tree as it were.

 

[KRYPTON INC.]

I've done a few FMA classes now, and can see why you love it Krypton.

Anyway here's a vidoe on the history of White Crane Kung Fu (ancestor to Karate), Goju etc. It's long but well worth the watch and reading of subtitles.

That was a very interesting documentary. I wish there were more types of programs produced like this for Americans. It was fascinating to see Chinese students of Goju go seek the origin of Goju in Crane Kung Fu. I was really impressed by the strength training of Goju that they showed, the stone hammers and the weighted vases. Very informative. Thanks for sharing.

 

[KRYPTON INC.]

An introduction to Kyodo, the Japanese Do method using Archery. It's important to note that the Japanese martial arts have quite a number that have become much closer to a physical meditation or spiritual discipline than to a combat ready sytem, and Kyodo is for sure one of them. Which isn't to say that some Kyodo students don't also go on to become great archers but Kyodo has more emphasis on the meditative aspects and less on hitting the target, surprisingly:[YT]9NIadIGDqs4[/YT]

[YT]Kpe3rSiJtE8[/YT]

A comparison of the European longbow and the Japanese bow:[YT]ir5GKAQG14g[/YT]

A look at the European longbow:[YT]CmDe-XY9540[/YT]

 

[Lobo]

Yeah we definitely need more documentaries like that here in the states.

As for the classes i tried two Arnis classes. I love how the techniques work with or without the rattan

 

[KRYPTON INC.]

Yeah we definitely need more documentaries like that here in the states.

As for the classes i tried two Arnis classes. I love how the techniques work with or without the rattan

Yeah in FMA you really start to see the influence the weapons have on the empty hands. I personally think that the way they go about it today with many arts is backwards and not how it probably was done a long time ago. The idea that weapons come after hand to hand training in so many arts doesn't make sense to me. I think back in the day when this was really life and death that they gave the weapons training more primacy and were taught first. If your village was under attack, I don't think learning empty hands against bandits with swords and spears is what is going to help. No, I think they taught the weapons and empty hands together, but the modern methods for too many systems is to develop empty hands first.

During the depths of my Dog Brothers training I used to put ankle weights on my forearms and use metal pipes instead of sticks and do my techniques very slowly. This not only made my stick work stronger but I think it improved my empty hands as well. The idea of doing the weapons in FMA is to develop ambidexterity, fast reflexes and ultimately the ability to pick up ANY weapon or anything that can be used as an effective weapon. To that end again my opinion is that the modern method of FMA to do single stick/single sword/single knife to double stick/double blade/double knife to stick and dagger/sword and dagger/sword and knife and then empty hands misses something. I think that stick and dagger is the soul of FMA and that it's the key to unlocking the other weapons combos and empty hands. It benefits the double weapons by putting the other hand in play in a way that doesn't just mirror the other side and it benefits the single weapon because again you develop the other hand to be in play for disarming or empty hand attacks like slaps, punches, grabs or finger jabs. Do you remember the specific name of the Arnis style you took lessons in?

 

[KRYPTON INC.]

Have you watched a good amount of those Anthony Cummins vids on Ninja and Samurai yet? I happen to think his historical POV is spot on.

 

[KRYPTON INC.]

So in looking to educate myself more on the traditional Japanese martial arts traditions I came across the fact that there are those looking to keep the traditions of the ancient culture of Persia alive for the 21st century. I can't say I have any experience but looking at the weapons usage I think that there is something to what these people are doing for sure and wish them luck.

In this video academic historical researcher Anthony Cummins gives his impressions on the works of Dr. M. M. Khorasani in trying to recreate from translated old Persian era combat manuals the fighting styles of the old Persian Warriors. Cummins is the right man for this little overview since he himself has done much the same with the Ninja and Samurai of Japan, stripping away the false romantic notions and silly pop culture nonsense with no basis in the historical record and basing his views on solidly sourced historical documents rather than the unsubstantiated claims of so called "ninjas" from modern schools. The footage before Cummins talks shows that much like with HEMA or Historical European Martial Arts groups, that there is an attempt being made to bring the Persian era fighting arts back and keep the traditions and skills alive:[YT]jE48E0kitC4[/YT]

Anthony Cummins, again, reviewing books on the old Persian fighting arts, which according to him is quite thorough in it's information:[YT]HfuLp-FtdJc[/YT]

[YT]MANRsbztuww[/YT]

Techniques of Persian wrestling for the battlefield (yes... the music chosen for these videos is annoying as hell):[YT]Dvkee5lss_8[/YT]

Recreation of mace and ax techniques:[YT]Lw6NIH31vcw[/YT]

Recreating spear fighting from old Persia:[YT]lmjOInPEpio[/YT]

Use of kicks in Persian fighting including during use of the sword:[YT]VPpP25XQ9Oo[/YT]

 

[Lobo]

Interesting stuff Krypton.

Have you watched anymore of the Kung Fu quest docs on YouTube? I'm starting to go through them. The Tai Chi one is very interesting to me.

 

[KRYPTON INC.]

Interesting stuff Krypton.

Have you watched anymore of the Kung Fu quest docs on YouTube? I'm starting to go through them. The Tai Chi one is very interesting to me.

I have not yet but I surely will. The Goju one was very cool. Right now I am going through Anthony Cummins vids. His stuff is less about specific techniques used by Samurai and Ninja from the warring period of Japan and more about the historical methods and mindset from then. He's got a lot of vids, and I mean A LOT so once I am through I will see more from the series you introduced me to for sure.

 

[Golgo-13]

Where ever you find the species of man you will find a way developed to fight and kill. This is just the truth. So here are some examples of African fighting arts. I cannot make any claim to great knowledge of them. I will say this... There are many charlatans out there that are attempting to bamboozle those looking for authentic African martial arts by trying to pass off some Asian or European techniques and system as being African in origin. Now, there is nothing wrong with admitting to combining techniques from across many styles. That's fine to me. The problem is not giving credit to the system you have taken from and trying to pass it off as something else. Authentic teaching can be found but it is quite a search. Still though, across the continent you can still find the martial traditions being kept alive in various ways by Africans of different nationalities and Tribal identities as well as some Muslim traditions and styles in Norther Africa.

Senegalese Wrestling:[YT]VcSRW90657c[/YT]

Some African Martial Arts weapon/sword/shield guards and ready postitions:[YT]r1xftoIKNXc[/YT]

A look at an African Sickle Sword:[YT]IU3bcnxx18k[/YT]

Some techniques using the Sickle Sword:[YT]yTgmxKjY--c[/YT]

Training with the shield and sword:[YT]5ujcwjVJCxU[/YT]

An attempt at recreating ancient Egyptian weapons and martial fighting techniques:[YT]QEyYlYweOBY[/YT]

A demo of the traditional Egyptian battle staff, the Tahtib, in Paris:[YT]ra4ryqV93gg[/YT]

Nguni stick fighting:[YT]EkBiR7wxVKE[/YT]

Xhosa stick fighting competitions:[YT]G-5LoBqWsqw[/YT]

Incredible…and informative.

 

[KRYPTON INC.]

Incredible…and informative.

Thanks. Video is important in seeing the fighting arts I think. You get the real "flavor" as it were. Later tonight I am going to post something on both the fighting arts of the Zulu and the native Hawwaiian martial arts. The Zulu have a really cool method of stick/club/short spear combined with shield fighting that reminds me a lot of Filipino Martial Arts and the Lua of Hawaii is fascinating in it's brutal nature, eclectic weapons and rough use of joint locks.

If I am remembering correctly you are a woman yes? What made you take up BJJ?

 

[Golgo-13]

Thanks. Video is important in seeing the fighting arts I think. You get the real "flavor" as it were. Later tonight I am going to post something on both the fighting arts of the Zulu and the native Hawwaiian martial arts. The Zulu have a really cool method of stick/club/short spear combined with shield fighting that reminds me a lot of Filipino Martial Arts and the Lua of Hawaii is fascinating in it's brutal nature, eclectic weapons and rough use of joint locks.

If I am remembering correctly you are a woman yes? What made you take up BJJ?

I've always loved the beauty and coordination of the martial arts. I took karate as a kid; now as an adult i found that BJJ is a lot more practical, as the majority of the time a woman is attacked (usually by a man) he wants to take her down to the floor to assault her; so grappling and ground fighting - BJJ- seemed like the logical martial arts for women imo, seeing as how it's not reliant on strength but more so leverage, technique and timing.

 

[KRYPTON INC.]

I've always loved the beauty and coordination of the martial arts. I took karate as a kid; now as an adult i found that BJJ is a lot more practical, as the majority of the time a woman is attacked (usually by a man) he wants to take her down to the floor to assault her; so grappling and ground fighting - BJJ- seemed like the logical martial arts for women imo, seeing as how it's not reliant on strength but more so leverage, technique and timing.

You made a good choice I think. BJJ is also a just great exercise. I am currently getting back to my more hardcore training and am REALLY thinking of finding a BJJ school or instructor in NYC to go to. My FMA gives me some really good hands and weapons skills but I could use some more, make that WAY more polishing on my ground game.

 

[KRYPTON INC.]

A History Channel show hosted by Green Beret Terry Shappert about the warriors of the Zulu, their history, weapons and the way that Shaka Zulu unified them and made them a efficient fighting force. Quite interesting to see the link with different stages of stick/impact weapons becoming a short spear method of fighting. :[YT]a1hzR9_tYjg[/YT]

From the same History Channel series an overview of the methods of the Lua, the native Hawaiian martial art which include empty hands and weapons like clubs lined with shark teeth:[YT]G1n1hEs9pfI[/YT]