[David-kyo]

Wow. That sounds serious.

[Gobbler]

Become a hamster-coach. They're the future.

[Slade]

Dave: I'm pretty sure that most of those faces were totally unnecessary.

[David-kyo]

I wanted to put across a SERIOUS amount of sarcasm there.

[Cyzyk]

So the man with the X-rated avatar is calling other people's actions unnecessary?

[Jordan]

Martial Arts only looks good when asians do it. It's not an art, at least not over here. Chuck NOrris, while I liked his old movies when i was young, set the standard of how lame white men look doing karate kicks.

[Gobbler]

I... ... must totally agree with that.

[Vesuvius]

Martial Arts only looks good when asians do it. It's not an art, at least not over here. Chuck NOrris, while I liked his old movies when i was young, set the standard of how lame white men look doing karate kicks.

Hmmm, ....so would it be alright if I said, "Basketball only looks good when black people play it?" No, there are decent caucasian basketball players as well. What defines their skill is determination. Or, "Only Italians look good at driving F-1 race cars." No, there are a number of ethnic backgrounds that race. Or even, "Only Spanish people should drive tricked out Honda Civic's with chrome rims and loud bass speakers." Be carefull of stereotypes.

I'm not meaning to rip on your post Jordan, but only to let you know that if someone is determined enough, they too can accomplish more than what others prognostications may be.

As for Chuck Norris, it's said that he counted to infinity twice. ...
I thought Van Damme was better anyway, until he started beating on his wife. Loser.

Besides, Martial Arts are not supposed to look pretty. Sure it looks nice when someone is completetly focused to the art, but it's more about control and discipline within. And Martial Art literally translates into "military science." It's just a science and learning of proper military action through precise movements and what works best for certain situations.

[Spoon Poetic]

Oh come on, Jordan... I look totally hot doing my martial arts.

[Cyzyk]

Y'know, artistic merit and functionality are not mutually exlusive. Brunelleschi's dome on the Duomo in Florence is quite functional, yet is nevertheless artistic. To me, there's nothing beautiful about a lousy outdated Kung Fu-esqe kata that would get your face punched in if you tried it in a fight. I'll admit a knee to the face may not sound artistic, but Tony Jaa in Ong Bok is just as impressive to watch as any wuxia scene that has no basis in reality.

Furthermore, saying non-asians don't look right doing unarmed fighting styles is completely idiotic. Technically the Japanese were among the last cultures to make proper steel weapons, but nobody says katanas aren't cool just because they didn't originate the idea. Anyway, the idea of punching someone with your fist is not unique to East Asia.

[Spoon Poetic]

Doesn't quite seem you understand the purpose of kata... But I'll let someone else field that one, I'm tired and I turn old today.

[David-kyo]

Oh come on, Jordan... I look totally hot doing my martial arts.

I'd love to see that!

EDIT: Oh yeah, by the way, happy birthday! Just checked the calendar.

This post has been edited by David-kyo: 18 December 2006 - 05:53 AM

[Cyzyk]

The purpose of katas is to drill basic moves (or not so basic, depending on the kata). If individually those moves are worthless, then the entire kata is worse than worthless, because it reinforces bad habits that will get you creamed in a fight.

[Slade]

For the record, my old avatar was ART. An 1800 Chinese wood engraving of an octopus performing cunillingus, yes, but still art.