How I Killed Your Master Page #001 to whenever we close this thread

[PipBoy]

Making it into a sport isn't the worst thing that can happen, it's just a symptom. Nothing is effective without practice. Sport wrestling may not be immediately deadly, but you can practice it and use it to get into a dominant position, which is often a heck of a lot more effective than trying to use some esoteric theoretically deadly maneuver that you've never had an opportunity to really practice against a moving target. Meanwhile, the difference between a choke out and a murder is as much a degree of commitment as anything. Highly damaging "cheap shots" are worth discussing, but without the ability to really practice them, they often don't really benefit one style more than any other.

[Veho]

I agree; as I said, the level of training in actual sparring/combat situations is more important than the "style," and you can't really train real-life killer techniques application without running out of sparring partners pretty fast. And that's one of the reasons they aren't trained and therefore aren't applicable.

But when a martial art becomes a martial sport, the damaging techniques aren't even taught any more. They're not only neglected, in fact, they're anathema, avoided, and in time, forgotten entirely. What advantage a style had over others is intentionally lost and the style has boiled down to either kickboxing or wrestling.

EDIT: I'm often reminded of something a martial arts instructor once told me, regarding the application of a somewhat complicated grab/hold/throw that would end in broken bones, "sure, this move is tricky, but you'll find it's much easier to do when you've kicked the guy in the nuts beforehand."

[BigDemonicBunny]

Martial arts this, Martial arts that. Hilarious. Lets get back on topic please?

Anyway. Todays comic (025), I had sort of an Avatar: the last airbender flashback when I saw the last frame with old Liu Wong smiling and pouring tea (General Iroh).

[Veho]

Originally Posted by BigDemonicBunny

Martial arts this, Martial arts that. Hilarious. Lets get back on topic please?

I thought this was a martial arts comic.

I love Wong's expression in that last panel.

[Jindra34]

And next we get to see Fei's reaction to the two assassins. Though it sounds like he beats them up for being incompetent.

[ninjagrover]

You go away for a couple of days and look at the interesting conversation that springs up in your absence.

To put in my belated two cents in about an "efficient" style - in my martial arts school, one of the closed-door arts that are taught to students that have become disciples is Baji.

Baji is one nasty style. Full of short, extremely powerful strikes. It is also known as "The Bodyguard Style", as it was taught to some of the bodyguards of the last chinese emperor, Mao Zedong and Chang Kai Shek.

One famous practitioner of Baji was Li Shu Wen, who is said to lament that he didn't know what the second punch of Baji felt like, as he was able to disable/kill his opponents with the first.

The basic training for Baji is the hardest I have ever done. A lot of leg (root) strengthening, developing certain energies (which I am still crap at). Sifu stated when we first started that it would be years (as in at least 2-3) before we would be anywhere near ready to be able to use it offensively. Talk about intimidating!! So I've got a long, long road to travel.

Some more read here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/B%C4%81j%C3%ADqu%C3%A1n