The Banzai show

Posted on the bulletin board... On Sunday, April 10th, 2005, at 7:00 PM, we’re hosting our massive annual martial arts extravaganza here in the States, called the "show"

Does anyone know who's actually stepping up to present or demo during the event?

All the skills listed on this page will be featured—so we're looking at taekwondo, hapkido, kenjutsu, shorinji kempo, tai chi chuan, and the x-out demo team. I'm also assuming we'll see the usual suspects show up every year, like SWAT teams, ninjas, karate practitioners, and a few others...

It should be great 😎

slyowl9 said:Everything we talked about will be included in the training. I can't work with just one word! Throw me a full post to rewrite and I'll get to work making it sound like a real American wrote it. So we've got Taekwondo, Hapkido, Kenjutsu, Shorinji Kempo, Tai Chi, and that X-Out demo team lined up. I’m betting the usual suspects will roll through too—SWAT teams, ninjas, karate guys, you name it.

It's gonna be awesome! 😎

So, what's Pa Kua actually gonna bring to the table? Are we talking some serious Kung Fu? Maybe some Wing Chun, BJJ, or even Escrima?

Tyler Taylor6 said:Will they be doing any demos—maybe some Kung Fu, Wing Chun, BJJ, or even Escrima?

To be honest, I haven't a clue—but I’m hoping so. It would be pretty awesome if they threw in some Capoeira, too.

Great. Just my luck—I’m working the 7 PM shift today. 🙂

Tyler Taylor6 said:What’s the plan for the demo? Some kung fu, Wing Chun, BJJ, maybe Escrima?

As for the Pa Qua... I’m pretty sure they're gonna demo those old eight-palm forms. (Doesn't look much like actual fighting most of the time—but in a real scrap, it's lethal)

The guys doing Escrima will almost certainly be there too...

Jamie Fowler2 said:Regarding Pa kua, I can say with a fair amount of certainty that there will be demonstrations of the old eight palms forms. (Granted, they don't look much like a martial art at first glance, but their practical application is intense.)

The guys practicing Escrima will almost certainly show up.

Who in the States actually trains or teaches Pa kua, how long have they been at it, and where did they pick it up?

cheguevara who on earth is Paolo Cangelosi?

wanderingridge said:Who even is this Paolo Cangelosi guy?

I haven't the slightest clue... where did you even stumble upon him? 😕 A quick search suggests he's some kind of kung fu master, but I can't say I know his reputation.

So, I caught a glimpse of the future, and apparently, there’s going to be instructional footage for about a million different disciplines—mostly your stuff, plus Kua, Tai Chi, Tao Yin, Tsui Pa Hsien (whatever on earth that even is), countless Kung Fu styles, Wing Chun... I could go on forever, really.
It honestly strikes me as a little bizarre how anyone manages to get all that content produced and out there. Hahaha.

I noticed that too..... 🙄 ... it strikes me as odd as well.

wanderingridge said:I can see it coming—there’ll be instructional videos for about a million different styles. Between your stuff, Pa Qua, Tai Chi, Tao Yin, Tsui Pa Hsien (whatever on earth that is), dozens of Kung Fu styles, and Wing Chun, I honestly don't know how you find the time to cover it all lol.

One likely knows a little bit about everything. 🙄Regardless, when it comes to Wing Chun, the man is a complete unknown and probably just an amateur.🙂

Cangelosi is a polarizing figure. On one hand, he actually spent years living in China, and his students put on demos that supposedly look legit. On the other hand—and let's be real here—he’s probably way too young to have truly mastered all those different styles. Hung Gar? Sure, I buy that. 😁 Tai chi takes about two years per style to even grasp; Ba Gua takes anywhere from six months to two years depending on the school, and that's if you're actually putting in the work. That's just the time needed to learn the basics—not even master them—based on my own experience and what my instructors told me.

Tsui pa Hsien should basically be the eight drunken immortals. (You guys seen the movie Drunken Master? Yeah, that's not it 😁) It’s a "soft" style where the specialty is maintaining balance in every body position, mobility, and chi kung. (At least, that's what I've gathered from a few instructors outside of China and Taiwan. Another name for it is Zui ba xian quan.)

No matter how you look at it, I’ll always put my money on someone who has spent their entire life dedicated to mastering a single discipline, rather than someone claiming to be a jack-of-all-trades—like Cangelosi. 🤔

What kind of style are we even talking about here that someone could actually pick up in, say, eighteen months to two years?😕 Is this more along the lines of some meditative Tai Chi movement, or are we talking about something legitimate for an actual fight?

If the skill sets overlap, they can definitely feed into each other. Think Goju-ryu and Shorin-ryu karate. Or even Ki-aikido and Iwama ryu.

Anyone actually serious about martial arts is gonna be curious about what everyone else is doing—even if it's just to size up a potential opponent...

For anyone who hasn't stepped onto a mat yet, my advice is to spend a month or two training BJJ—or whatever people around here call it these days, right wanderingridge? If you can't swing that, find a judoka to walk you through some newaza. Ground fighting is a completely different beast than standing up...

wanderingridge said:What kind of style can you actually pick up in like a year or two?😕 Is it more Tai Chi stuff or something legit for fighting?

That’s just enough time to learn the basic movements. How long does it take to actually master all the levers and chokes? How long until someone can even use them in a scrap? And how long before they're actually a master?...

Man, whatever version I've seen, it's got like 8 basic techniques. But that's not the point... 😁 that's the big joke with internal martial arts. You can learn the moves in a few weeks—but you'll never be able to use them because you're training the wrong thing.

Jamie Fowler2 said:It’s high time someone actually sat down and learned the fundamental movements. I mean, seriously. How long does it even take to teach someone all the various levers and choking techniques? And more importantly, how much time passes before they can actually apply them in a real situation? How many years of grinding away until someone finally reaches true mastery? It's a massive question, really. One that people always seem to rush through.

Exactly. And honestly? If you think BJJ is just about some fancy levers and chokes, you’re missing the entire point. That’s barely even scratching the surface. It's such a tiny, microscopic fraction of what the sport actually is.
Look, I’ll say it plainly: nobody—and I mean absolutely nobody—actually knows every single technique in BJJ. It’s impossible. The sport is evolving at such a breakneck pace that if you try to master everything, you’ll just end up spinning in circles. Every gym out there has its own specific flavor, its own little quirks. Sure, the fundamentals are basically the same whether you're training in New York or Los Angeles, but trying to learn every single move? Forget about it. It's just not happening. Take Eddie Bravo, for example. He’s got this whole specific style that you just don't see everywhere else—he’s constantly teaching that Rubber Guard stuff in his system, and it’s distinctively his. It’s like that... one academy might be world-class at pressure passing, while another has some secret sauce for leg locks that nobody else even realizes exists. Every school has its own little "ace in the hole" that they keep close to the vest. You can't know it all. It's just a fact.
It just strikes me as fundamentally bizarre—honestly, quite absurd—that someone could think they can just "cram" or somehow "brute-force" their way into mastering a skill in a mere six months. It’s preposterous! You can't just cram for a mid-term at Yale and expect to suddenly possess decades of intuition. It defies logic. Truly.

Jamie Fowler2 said:Ground fighting is an entirely different beast compared to standing combat.

Heh, spot on. And besides that, your reflexes and those raw, primal instincts? They’ll absolutely betray you once you hit the mat if you haven't put in the work to train them properly.

Caine said:Cangelosi is a polarizing figure. On one hand, he actually spent quite a few years living in China, and both he and his students put on demonstrations that are supposedly top-tier. On the other hand, I suspect he might be a bit too young to have truly mastered all those different styles. I can see the Hung Gar part, but as for 😁 tai chi—in my humble opinion, based on what my own instructors told me, it takes about two years per style just to learn the basics, not even counting the time needed to actually master them. For BA Gua Zhang, you’re looking at anywhere from six months to two years depending on the school, provided you aren't lazy.

Tsui pa Hsien should basically be an eight-fold immortal. (Has anyone seen the Jackie Chan movie Drunken Master? Well, that isn't quite what I'm talking about 😁). It's a "soft" style where the specialty lies in maintaining perfect balance in every body position, fluid mobility, and chi kung. At least, that's my understanding from a few instructors I've met outside of China and Taiwan. Another name for it is Zui Xian quan

Ego, Ego, I sometimes find myself thinking that I'm practicing Xing Yi every single day just by hanging out on this forum 😁 😁 😁

PS Vještina is something you spend your entire life learning!