General Chat & Info Board

Ronald Morris3 said:I'm going to tinker with the plans a bit more before I dive in. I found some great blueprints,

tracked down that woodworking book by Janich, and I'll watch a few more YouTube tutorials on wood processing, then we're off.👍

Good advice is worth its weight in gold.👍 Thanks,😉

Listen, before you start drilling into a log, grab some metal rings and slap them on the ends. Once you're done drilling, the whole thing loses its structural integrity and starts splitting apart. Then you'll be stuck wasting even more time patching up holes.

Please keep the chat and spam out of this. Just stick to questions and direct answers.

For the first one, you already know where to go...

Jamie Fowler2 said:Go see Greg ( www.shaolin.com ). Most of the others are just selling junk. Steer clear of Wing Chun and Tai Chi...

Haha, I don't know much about Tai Chi, but I've been looking into Wing Chun lately. What's the deal with that style in your book? Is it just an issue with the local schools here, or do you think the whole thing is just... off? Like, what's the reasoning? I'm definitely still a newbie at all this!

Larry Hall67, I see what you do for a living. So, I figured I’d share a few things with you. First off, I noticed you were looking into that SHAN kung fu club and Master Veljko Matokovic. Man, Veljko passed away back in '99—it was such a tragedy. I really hope he's resting easy now. I’ve heard some whispers from folks that the club hasn't actually been around for quite a while, so if anyone out there has any actual updates on what happened to the place, please, let me know. I’d really appreciate it.
Regarding Wing Chun and Tai Chi, I mean, they’re both pretty beautiful martial arts, just like any other discipline, I guess.
Wing Chun is definitely one of those hard styles, right? It's all about that explosive energy and raw speed... and you have to work both sides of your body equally. It isn't like, say, boxing, where everything is skewed. I'm a righty through and through, and I stay that way regardless of who I'm facing. Wing Chun fighters are probably the closest thing you'll get to wrestlers because everything happens at such close range. You end up using basically every part of your body in a fight. There are only three main forms, and honestly, I think learning how to execute them perfectly—especially the first one—is absolutely massive. Then you’ve got the "sticky hands" drills, which are used to sharpen the techniques from all three forms, and then the wooden dummy training, which does the same thing. They also have two weapon forms involving butterfly swords and a long staff. One thing though, there aren't really "sports competitions" for this. I mean, if they tried to make it a sport, they’d probably have to strip away half the techniques just to make it work, and people have tried that before, but it never really sticks.

Now, Tai Chi falls into the soft style category, sort of like a martial art mixed with therapy. Since the forms are trained for combat, they can double as therapeutic movements too, I suppose. In most clubs, you’ll mostly practice the first three forms, depending on how experienced the instructor is, and sometimes the Tai Chi sword form too. Back in the day, Tai Chi had tons of different forms, so a dedicated practitioner would basically have to spend their whole life training to learn them all.
Kung fu styles generally split into two camps: hard and soft. The hard styles mostly come from Northern China, while the soft ones hail from the South. Personally, I think Wing Chun and Tai Chi complement each other perfectly. Most masters of one usually have a really solid grasp on the other, too. I could probably go on forever about this, but those are just the basics, I guess. If you want to know anything else, just ask.

And seriously, don't listen to all that nonsense people spout to trash-talk any specific style. Every single discipline is worth learning, really. How effective or practical it ends up being just depends on how deeply we understand it, how hard we train, and—obviously—how good the person teaching us actually is.
Anyway, cheers, and welcome to the world of martial arts fanatics.

Maria Morgan2 said:Jamie Fowler2, what exactly are you peddling over there? Maybe some candy corn and peanuts—if that’s even your speed. 😁 Based on those few words you just dropped—I think I’ve figured you out. You probably trained under that specific GRGE guy. Besides, you clearly have zero respect for any skill you haven't personally mastered or practiced yourself. And last thing—you obviously LOVE bureks. I have one question for you: Did you maybe take a hit to the face from someone who actually trains Wing Chun or Tai Chi? 😁
I’m looking for an answer here—and please, let’s keep this civil—but I’m expecting one.

Question for you—has anyone ever actually taken a beating from someone training Wing Chun here in the States?🤷
I see plenty of enthusiasts for this art—but honestly, all these Wing Chun devotees really ought to test themselves in a sparring session against someone from a different striking discipline. It’s about seeing a completely different tactical mindset in action. As it stands, it feels like Wing Chun only offers solutions within its own narrow framework. Go ahead—try finding an answer to an attack by stepping into the ring with a boxer, a kickboxer, or better yet, a Muay Thai fighter.
I’m already seeing posts from Wing Chun trainees who can't even spar with anyone else—mostly because they rely on those reckless eye gouges and groin strikes—so please, let's try to keep the responses a bit more intelligent.🙄
I’m asking the Wing Chun crowd to weigh in on this—it’s been way too long since we had a real debate like this.😁
p.s.
I’d like to ask placidbison20 to move this over to the Wing Chun thread—honestly, it belongs there.

Maria Morgan2 said:Larry Hall67, I see what you do for a living. So, I figured I’d share a few things with you. First off, I noticed you were looking into that SHAN kung fu club and Master Veljko Matokovic. Man, Veljko passed away back in '99—it was such a tragedy. I really hope he's resting easy now. I’ve heard some whispers from folks that the club hasn't actually been around for quite a while, so if anyone out there has any actual updates on what happened to the place, please, let me know. I’d really appreciate it.
Regarding Wing Chun and Tai Chi, I mean, they’re both pretty beautiful martial arts, just like any other discipline, I guess.
Wing Chun is definitely one of those hard styles, right? It's all about that explosive energy and raw speed... and you have to work both sides of your body equally. It isn't like, say, boxing, where everything is skewed. I'm a righty through and through, and I stay that way regardless of who I'm facing. Wing Chun fighters are probably the closest thing you'll get to wrestlers because everything happens at such close range. You end up using basically every part of your body in a fight. There are only three main forms, and honestly, I think learning how to execute them perfectly—especially the first one—is absolutely massive. Then you’ve got the "sticky hands" drills, which are used to sharpen the techniques from all three forms, and then the wooden dummy training, which does the same thing. They also have two weapon forms involving butterfly swords and a long staff. One thing though, there aren't really "sports competitions" for this. I mean, if they tried to make it a sport, they’d probably have to strip away half the techniques just to make it work, and people have tried that before, but it never really sticks.

Now, Tai Chi falls into the soft style category, sort of like a martial art mixed with therapy. Since the forms are trained for combat, they can double as therapeutic movements too, I suppose. In most clubs, you’ll mostly practice the first three forms, depending on how experienced the instructor is, and sometimes the Tai Chi sword form too. Back in the day, Tai Chi had tons of different forms, so a dedicated practitioner would basically have to spend their whole life training to learn them all.
Kung fu styles generally split into two camps: hard and soft. The hard styles mostly come from Northern China, while the soft ones hail from the South. Personally, I think Wing Chun and Tai Chi complement each other perfectly. Most masters of one usually have a really solid grasp on the other, too. I could probably go on forever about this, but those are just the basics, I guess. If you want to know anything else, just ask.

And seriously, don't listen to all that nonsense people spout to trash-talk any specific style. Every single discipline is worth learning, really. How effective or practical it ends up being just depends on how deeply we understand it, how hard we train, and—obviously—how good the person teaching us actually is.
Anyway, cheers, and welcome to the world of martial arts fanatics.

I’m with you on that—though if I may add—everyone should dabble in other combat sports and disciplines at some point; it’s a real eye-opener. That’s actually why I’m into MMA—it introduced me to a massive range of skills I knew absolutely nothing about before. In my previous post, I suggested that the Wing Chun crowd should definitely try sparring with practitioners from other styles, and I’ll reiterate that recommendation here. No offense intended.

I’m leaving these posts right here as a response to the questions from our new members. If you want to keep the conversation going, head over to the Wing Chun thread.

Maria Morgan2 said:Larry Hall67, I see what you do for a living. So, I figured I’d share a few things with you. First off, I noticed you were looking into that SHAN kung fu club and Master Veljko Matokovic. Man, Veljko passed away back in '99—it was such a tragedy. I really hope he's resting easy now. I’ve heard some whispers from folks that the club hasn't actually been around for quite a while, so if anyone out there has any actual updates on what happened to the place, please, let me know. I’d really appreciate it.
Regarding Wing Chun and Tai Chi, I mean, they’re both pretty beautiful martial arts, just like any other discipline, I guess.
Wing Chun is definitely one of those hard styles, right? It's all about that explosive energy and raw speed... and you have to work both sides of your body equally. It isn't like, say, boxing, where everything is skewed. I'm a righty through and through, and I stay that way regardless of who I'm facing. Wing Chun fighters are probably the closest thing you'll get to wrestlers because everything happens at such close range. You end up using basically every part of your body in a fight. There are only three main forms, and honestly, I think learning how to execute them perfectly—especially the first one—is absolutely massive. Then you’ve got the "sticky hands" drills, which are used to sharpen the techniques from all three forms, and then the wooden dummy training, which does the same thing. They also have two weapon forms involving butterfly swords and a long staff. One thing though, there aren't really "sports competitions" for this. I mean, if they tried to make it a sport, they’d probably have to strip away half the techniques just to make it work, and people have tried that before, but it never really sticks.

Now, Tai Chi falls into the soft style category, sort of like a martial art mixed with therapy. Since the forms are trained for combat, they can double as therapeutic movements too, I suppose. In most clubs, you’ll mostly practice the first three forms, depending on how experienced the instructor is, and sometimes the Tai Chi sword form too. Back in the day, Tai Chi had tons of different forms, so a dedicated practitioner would basically have to spend their whole life training to learn them all.
Kung fu styles generally split into two camps: hard and soft. The hard styles mostly come from Northern China, while the soft ones hail from the South. Personally, I think Wing Chun and Tai Chi complement each other perfectly. Most masters of one usually have a really solid grasp on the other, too. I could probably go on forever about this, but those are just the basics, I guess. If you want to know anything else, just ask.

And seriously, don't listen to all that nonsense people spout to trash-talk any specific style. Every single discipline is worth learning, really. How effective or practical it ends up being just depends on how deeply we understand it, how hard we train, and—obviously—how good the person teaching us actually is.
Anyway, cheers, and welcome to the world of martial arts fanatics.

Thanks for such a detailed reply! I have to say, though, that last part was my absolute favorite... You’ve gotta respect every discipline because they're all so rich and unique in their own way. And about the "real-world application" stuff? Man, I truly hope nobody ever actually *needs* to use these skills on a street corner. As for friendly sparring matches, there's definitely room for those without putting anyone else down. Beyond just technique and skill, so much depends on the fighter themselves—their conditioning, their grit, and all that experience.

Thanks for the warm welcome!

Brenda Sullivan44 said:Training sessions kick off this Wednesday, September 2nd.
The crew is fantastic—really top-tier instructors—and you don't need any special gear or a specific age to join; they welcome all beginners with open arms.

Ah, I won't be moving into Los Angeles until September 24th, so does that mean I'll miss out entirely, or is that delay just too much of a gap to bridge?

You can certainly join the training sessions later on—you don't necessarily have to be there from the very first one, you know?

Can anyone give me the lowdown on the Budokai master, Dr. Emin Topic??? Like, is the guy even still kicking, and does he actually still run training sessions??? And what’s the deal with Budokai itself these days? I’m just asking because I’m curious, I guess, since I don't really see anyone around here posting about practicing that specific skill anymore.

Maria Morgan2 said:Can anyone give me the lowdown on the Budokai master, Dr. Emin Topic??? Like, is the guy even still kicking, and does he actually still run training sessions??? And what’s the deal with Budokai itself these days? I’m just asking because I’m curious, I guess, since I don't really see anyone around here posting about practicing that specific skill anymore.

He’s alive and still teaching. http://www.budokai.info/?lang=en

Seriously, does nobody have any actual info on Shark Gym? Like, they don't even have a website or anything online 😢

Zachary Brown5 said:Ah, I won't be moving into Los Angeles until September 24th, so does that mean I'll miss out entirely, or is that delay just too much of a gap to bridge?

Please, feel free to drop by; the club is truly excellent.
Even if you don't show up until December, it makes absolutely no difference, as there is always an open spot for beginners.

Can someone please tell me—does anyone actually know if there’s a decent club in the greater New York City area that offers more than just three sessions a week? Because, let’s be honest, three times a week is frankly pathetic for anyone serious about progress...

Rebecca Walker83 said:Seriously, does nobody have any actual info on Shark Gym? Like, they don't even have a website or anything online 😢

Neno 0911423366

thanks 👍

Does anyone happen to know if there’s a decent spot to train this kind of thing in the Osijek area? I'd love to get some hands-on practice locally—thanks so much!

Hey everyone! So, I'm 13 years old and I really want to start getting into boxing. Does anyone know of a good club in a major US city—maybe somewhere like Chicago or New York—that has really solid coaches?

Anyone know when the Kobudo classes are held in the city?