The Banzai show

Anyone else make it out? I was there, and honestly, it was alright. Not much of a crowd, though—I wasn't really feeling the Aikido vibe, and man, I couldn't make heads or tails of what that guy from China was teaching!🙂

The Wing Chun and Kempo practitioners were pretty decent, though.

But that urban survival stuff? Definitely the weakest part of the whole thing.

Tyler Taylor6 said:Was anyone else there? I made it out, and it was alright, though the turnout felt a bit light. The Aikido demonstrations were actually pretty impressive, but I honestly couldn't follow a single thing the instructor from China was saying!🙂

The Wing Chun and Kempo practitioners seemed pretty solid too.

I have to say, though, the urban survival segment was definitely the weakest part of the whole event.

What did you think of the Kenjutsu demo?
The instructor from China started off by demonstrating BA Gua Zhang, and then moved into Xing Yi Quan right after.

Tyler Taylor6 said:Anyone else make it out? I went, and it was alright, though the turnout was pretty light. The Aikido was decent, but I couldn't make heads or tails of what that guy from China was doing.🙂

The Wing Chun and Kempo practitioners seemed solid enough.

Urban survival was definitely the weakest link for me.

Was there an actual demonstration? Which other styles were shown, and do you happen to know which club was representing the Aikido group?

Jesse Lopez87 said:So, what'd you think of the sword work?
The American martial artist kicked things off with some BA Gua Zhang before moving into Xing Yi Quan.

True, keeping it realistic is tricky since you don't want anyone ending up in the ER! But how'd you feel about the Aikido? It was Iwama Ryu style. And what about the Wing Chun? I thought that last stretch during the Wing Chun demo was killer.

Also, seeing that little kid from the Kempo group smash those three bricks was wild!🙂

Tyler Taylor6 said:I guess it’s hard to make things look too realistic because we don't want anyone actually getting hurt! But I was wondering what you thought about the Aikido demonstration? It was Iwama Ryu style—what did you think of the Wing Chun? Personally, I thought that whole Wing Chun segment was pretty incredible.

Also, seeing that little kid from the Kempo group smash through those three roof tiles was such a cool moment!🙂

Jesse Lopez87 was honestly great. The thing about Wing Chun is that the movements are so short and compact, which makes some people feel like it isn't practical, but they're just used to seeing those long, sweeping cinematic strikes in movies. I think they did a really honest job showing it for what it actually is. I didn't catch the Aikido part, though; we were busy practicing our own stuff while waiting for our turn.

Tyler Taylor6 said:Fair point—trying to be realistic gets tricky when you have to worry about people actually getting hurt. What did you think of the Aikido segment? It was Iwama Ryu style. And how about the Wing Chun? I personally found that last section involving the Wing Chun quite engaging.

I also thought it was pretty wild watching that kid from the Kempo group shatter three boards!🙂

Based on your description, it sounds like it was a great event. I'm sorry I missed it. 😢

Peter Myers29 said:Based on that description, sounds like it was a blast. Man, I really wish I could've made it out there... 😢

Maybe one of our guerrilla fighters was in attendance? If so, hit us with the deets—what was actually worth the hype and what was just filler!🙂)

There were only about nine or ten techniques shown, even though there were supposed to be twenty. I guess they probably had to cancel at the last minute...

Tyler Taylor6 said:Maybe Guerilla was there, so he can tell us what he saw and what works versus what doesn't!🙂)

Right, let's hear his "expert" take... though I couldn't care less, frankly.

Peter Myers29 said:Alright, let’s hear his "expert" take... though honestly, I couldn't care less.

He probably just logged off and hopped back on with a burner account... or maybe he actually went to bed because he's got a long day teaching students tomorrow. Plus, like he said, he hits the gym for sparring three times a week and is always hitting the heavy bag, so you can't blame him if he doesn't reply right away.🙂

Tyler Taylor6 said:He probably just logged off and back on using a different handle... or maybe he did, but honestly, let's give him a break. He likely headed to bed early because he has a long day of lecturing students tomorrow, and as he mentioned, he’s hitting the gym for sparring three times a week. He’s constantly pulling on those gloves, so I think we should be understanding if he isn't responding right away.🙂

And you're being pretty silly too. I don't know how you can let someone that pathetic get under your skin like this.

Tyler Taylor6 said:He probably just logged out and back in under a different handle... or maybe he’s just busy. We can't really complain; he has to get some sleep since he’s teaching students all day tomorrow. Plus, as he mentioned, he hits the gym for sparring three times a week and spends a lot of time training, so we should be understanding if he doesn't reply immediately.🙂

Well, true enough...

Nobody actually got back to me. Do you happen to know which specific disciplines were included? I gathered there was Aikido, Kenjutsu, Wing Chun, some varieties of Kung Fu, Kempo... something like that?

Peter Myers29 said:Yeah, honestly...

I haven't really heard back from anyone on this yet. Does anyone happen to remember which specific disciplines were being taught? I'm just guessing at this point—maybe things like Aikido, Kenjutsu, Wing Chun, some various Kung Fu styles, or maybe Kempo?

Taekwondo and Capoeira.

wanderingridge said:Yeah, true. But BJJ isn't just about levers and chokes—not even close. That’s just the tip of the iceberg.
I’d argue nobody actually knows every single technique because the sport is constantly evolving. Every gym has its own flavor. The fundamentals are universal, sure, but mastering everything? Impossible. Look at Eddie Bravo—he’s got his own specific style that you won't see everywhere else (like how he teaches the rubber guard at his academy). One school might be killer at one thing, giving them some secret sauce that nobody else has.
It feels weird to me that someone thinks they can just "get good" in six months.

In BJJ, it’s all about positioning. Most sessions revolve around a few specific moves
that are similar—you launch an attack, if it fails, you transition to the next thing. Then there's the defense side, and yeah, escaping the guard comes up a lot. But honestly, it's mostly just wrestling and grinding. Because let's face it: a fancy technique is useless if you don't have the skills to actually get into the right position to use it.

My bad, this is my last off-topic post for a bit... sorry about that!

Vin Cuger said:TKD and capoeira

Capoeira? Now that's an interesting thought... 🙂

Is capoeira actually a martial art?

Jeffrey Taylor49 said:In BJJ, it’s all about positioning. Period. Every single training session revolves around a few specific techniques
that are basically variations of one another—you launch an attack, it fails, so you pivot to something else. Then you've got defense, and more often than not, you're just sweating through escapes from someone's guard. But at the end of the day, it's pure wrestling! It's constant fighting! Because let's be honest... what good is some fancy little technique if you can't even find the right position to actually pull it off!!

Positioning is the absolute cornerstone; without it, you have nothing. You have to control your opponent, secure a solid position, and hold onto it tight before you even think about a submission.
As for capoeira, it feels more like a dance these days, maybe even something else entirely.

Jeffrey Taylor49 said:Is capoeira actually a martial art?

It is. Capoeira is a martial art developed by enslaved Africans in South America. Since they were forbidden from practicing combat, they cleverly disguised their training as a dance... www.capoeira.com

chum_kiu said:We actually had some pretty solid Wing Chun and Kempo practitioners in our group.

😁 : Hey there! : I'm just really glad everything worked out and that the crew enjoyed it. I was actually one of the girls helping out with the Kempo demo... things should be even smoother next year.

As for that kid—the one causing trouble with the roof tiles—he's actually our Sensei's son.