Martial Arts and "The Witcher"

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Ok, after 2 days of examination I obtained the black belt 1 dan rank in Shotokan Karate-Do. It was a great achivement for me and I want to share it with you!
 
Some mouvements of Pancheak Silat:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aUa4C7iUDpU&feature=relatedhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AD7V79bTmWs&feature=relatedhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oIKLt2fxhug&feature=relatedhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LMBDEaCiRFk&feature=relatedhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4kMx6Cn07E8&feature=relatedShotokan also:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jdrDnueuXUYhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HdzoRc_LdTg&feature=relatedhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aZbiNtvLm6YAnd speaking of Shotokan... Michael Milon... Was the World Champion in Shotokan Karate. He died after an overdose of cocaine. No one knows if he was a frequent user or just experimenting. Let this be a warning!http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TO-8JU_3znA&NR=1
 
Krav Maga isn't a sport like other martial arts since it is simply a fighting technique meant to dispatch your opponent as quickly and as effectively as possible, no matter the situation. As was said before, it's meant to be dirty. Regarding martial arts, as far as I know there is poor support for martial arts in Romania when compared to other sports like football or rugby (which I practice). I'm sure my fellow romanian can agree on this. I'm particularly dissapointed that there is little support for western martial arts (besides fencing, there is no such thing in Romania) like the ones you guys at ARMA practice. I'm a big fan both of medieval armour and weapons, particularly the plate armour of the late fourteenth century. It would be really great if one day I could wear one of those suits of armour since I've always wanted to know how it feels to wear 30 kg or so of steel. I also have a passion for archery and sword combat but, as I said, there is little or none of the latter availlable.To even up however, I have a habbit of practicing mock sword fights with friends whenever I go to my cabin in the mountains. We use motorcycle helmets for head protection and gloves for hand protection. We then proceed to wallop ourselves with wooden sticks (somewhat) resembling swords. We make due with what we have and we have fun at the end of the day as well.
 
Totally agree with Agent Griff. There is little support in Romania for martial arts when it comes to money. And without them you cannot expand your knoledge (attend seminaries with different masters, compete, buy learning materials like books, videotapes and so one). When Comunist Regime was in power in Romania, martial arts were forbidden, and were practiced underground by some enthusiastic people wich were imitating movements from copyed books and poor copyed videotapes.As for the Western Martial Arts maybe we can do something about it... Dr.Strange give us some pieces of information about ARMA. This is the first step.Also, is a very good ideea if the Devlopers will organise in the near future a Witcher Festival with rock concerts and other events were the stunts could teach some basic swordplay eager to learn people...
 
Ok, let s see now some Kung Fu:First, a general presentation:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qwSY6OhLEWgAnd some styles:Hung Gar:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-VQW55fdJxAhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tNPb7z8GbEQ&feature=relatedhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n-yimf2QLSU&NR=1http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NPb_SYbGk2Y&NR=1http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-lzfCKaLS7w&feature=relatedTang Lang (Praying Mantis):http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IfsU0AZurzEhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QDfX3R6sArs&feature=relatedhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WxdcIOaeMSM&feature=relatedhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=slu335y3oR4&feature=relatedhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SVfOhBOrwrI&feature=relatedhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1AYNaNjnkSw&feature=relatedChoy Lee Fat:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CywiYdRAGGshttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=atxXi_7rU2c&feature=related
 
So AdrianXII and Dr.Strange if I have understood correctly you two train Shotokan Karate-Do, right? I train Shotokai (can be also called Shoto Budo) and I'm very curious how do you do your defense moves? Do you strike with force the coming attack or do you gently push it away like in aikido? In Shotokai we do these like in aikido but our attacks are same as yours quick and piercing. I have heard many things about these defense moves in Shotokan but I want to hear them from someone who trains this martial art. So please post quickly. I'm eager to read your answers.
 
Hi, Dragon Sensei! I have practice Aikido and as far I have learned there is no blocking but a taking over the incoming attack followed with a projection.About Shotokan, I use hard blockings tehniques (the opponent must to feel the blocking), but the force comes from the "kime" (brief muscular contractions in the moment of impact followed by relaxation) so is not just a regular muscular contraction. You practically attack the incoming hand or foot. So, you allways can transform a "gedan barrai" - downward block - to strike the kidneys for example, as you can block a foot strike with "gedan oi tsuki" downward punch.Just a little example: But, I can also use gentle blocks like "shotei uke" - block with the heel of the palm -, or "haishu uke" - block with the back of the palm, for quick and swift blocks double with a back or side dodge.All the respect for Shotokai! I know that is the initial form of karate teached by Funakoshi, before Nakayama started to organise the first competitions.Is interesting to know if this karate style keeped the initial "katas" (forms) not just the old names (Kushanku instead of Kanku Dai or Sho)?Hope to talk again...
 
Hi, I loved the videos posted here, and I have a small request for the swordmasters and youtube masters here: Are there a few youtube videos you could recommend on "Intro to european sword fighting 101 for the extreme (and out of shape) middle aged beginner, how to hold the sword, do the basic moves in the privacy of your own basement". Background: I took a fencing class around 10 years ago, loved it. Life happened. Now, I'm looking at acquiring a nice bastard sword (battle ready, not the stainless steel wallhangers). This is my bribe to myself, to get in shape. I'm NOT going to actually be in front of other people, in the initial stages, I would sooner die. I did ask a friend about making me a practice wooden european sword (sorry, I have zero interest in the katana, they are beautiful but there's something about the european sword....)So, I have bought the exercise mat, the exercise video, etc. I'll do the situps, but are there any good sword videos, youtube or Amazon.com, that I could learn from? Sorry if this is a little off topic, but I figured those of you in here would have a better clue on what searches to run on youtube than me. I ended up finding a Captain Jack Sparrow Pirate Tutorial, which wasn't quite what I was looking for....Thanks so much.
 
Ok Starwolf let s see what if we can do something about it:First, chek the ARMA site:www.thearma.orgalso some manuals:http://www.thearma.org/Videos/TPVideos.htmAnd now some videos:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HC5FIyfI8TA&feature=relatedhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kj4Ng6DBfrg&feature=relatedhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zfT6JVZVvIw&feature=relatedhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NvvBHR8tm9Q&feature=relatedhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CoDu6vrCcX8&feature=relatedhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y3DhjFUOG6Yhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LE_uf772grshttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uYlclB1CntIhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H5TVgtjPqMkhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DvdmVjyY-s4&feature=relatedhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SDoJ6kZyKis&feature=relatedhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DeQvjzu9-Y4&feature=relatedhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B0HxEBLLSAU&feature=relatedhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h4qij-Ddnj0&feature=relatedhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uOus0HhEcY4&NR=1http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7N8hU-SzSxA&feature=relatedhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uw3u9no9rUM&feature=related
 
A little pause from Kung Fu for some truly spectacular Taekwondo movements:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PqYCNSH-Wjo&feature=relatedhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_gcWAb5Dvz4&feature=relatedhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RAhEvJMSlHg&feature=relatedhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bUK2pQqHVa8&feature=relatedhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w5HrEOykyikhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jvjvugJ2rFM&NR=1
 
Hey, I'm really glad I found this topic! One of many things that I really love about The Witcher is the great combat sequences! I could hunt Drowners all day, just because they go down so easily and I can spend my time studying Geralt's combat techniques... I have done some martial arts, and I'm really facinated with swords and sword techniques. I have studied quite a bit of chi gung, tai chi, push hands, and bagua. I haven't been able to get into the martial aspects as much as I would like as I have a pretty serious lung disease, but I have been feeling better with the use of a new drug, so I have hopes that some day I will be able to branch out more into martial arts and weapons. I have a couple of Chinese swords that I bought on e-bay, and a pair of elk-horn knives that are used in bagua. Neither of the swords are of a very high quality, but they are fun to play with. Some day I definitely want to learn a tai chi sword form. I would be really interested in learning some basic Medieval sword fighting techniques, but right now I am stuck in a rather rural area, and would have to travel to find anything. I used to live in New York City, where you can find almost anything, but that is no longer the case! If anyone knows any books, or even better, videos, to recommend that are good at explaining the basics, please let me know! I have seen a few on Amazon, and I'm thinking of buying one. Also, if anyone knows of teachers or schools in the US, I would be interested in knowing about them. I found one on line - but it was in South Africa. Just not close enough!Meanwhile, I'll continue trying to swing my sword around in my basement like Geralt... :-\
 
Same here...I simply grab my old, worn out bokken and....well maybe not swing it but slash and cut the air....oh its fun! But...I think more like japanese philosophy implies : to use the least energy possible to make the bad dudes go down so my bokken movements are short,sharp and crisp....when I get a proper sword with a scabbard I would love to learn to flick it my me thumb and then perform a quick cut and put it back where it belongs... thats the ultimate stuff..When not feeling like sword...I practice kata...from Shotokan, Goju Ryu and Kyokushin as during the years i managed to learn yet not master all of em. But I am not fond of kata...I would rather spar...free kumite...its non contact the style I do atm so you cant go wrong... I would love to come back to Kyokushin but there is no Kyokushin clubs in Adelaide :( Have a good day folks!
 
@GERALTSGIRL: If you practiced Bagua put it in use. For books I can recommand you "Baguazang - Emei Baguazang - Theory and Applications" by Liang, Yang and Wu. It s very comprehensive, it contains Bagua Qi Gong, 2 forms with applications, 1 form with elk horns knifes with applications. I hope some day I will learn Bagua from you!http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gzwuiWgRyAAhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OGqqiarL9xIhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jAq1WA_RCiI&feature=relatedhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EmN_khT-N7Yhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VMNd3tVWxHg&feature=relatedhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9BjdXU-jIZAhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jIlKpQKOZVchttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RB0VnBcEVUQ&feature=relatedhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x3AhyQwSJPc&feature=relatedWeapons:Spear:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MQP99WBO6NEhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FCf8yb0uGUw&feature=relatedJian (straight sword):http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u8YtzBM-IxADouble Hooks:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vH0JELgGZPYDear Horns:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9tl8DTMKtUAhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gLUtLvrHYssShovel:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=COv02Iwh0i4Broadsword:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gCwyKQmMfzk&feature=related@DRIZZT DOURDEN: I also practice kata (forms) a lot. And I like it so much that I take two medals last yerar(unimportant). But is important to know that Kata is mastered when you use sequances from kata in a street fight situation as a reflex.Some exemple:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tMatkE1DITMhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=txP8vWt3xQE&feature=relatedhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B3RJoTLfcwg&feature=relatedhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xrkUYBQz9iEhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S-V-BF3qlQE&feature=related
 
hmm ok....I dont believe that u would follow a kata sequence during a street fight...the attacked in a street fight is much more unpredicatble..imho sparring teaches you much more but yet again it is usually within karate techniques. I admit that a few katas might come in handy if properly applied but take tensho for example....all u do is tensing your muscles and taking the beating while making absurd movements with ur hands. Kata just dont work for me....its quite annoying how ppl adjust their breathing by making this hilarous tssss...or phiiii sound. They shud adjust it silently shudnt they? Unless it involves "nogore' (no sure about the spellin) - most of Kyokushin kata need special breathing and thats cool with me...after all Mas Oyama developed this kinda breathing for a reason. Just gimme tha kata I need no special effects!!!
 
I know a lot of people think that kata (forms in general) are a waste of time. But... there are still karate styles that teach only kata and bunkai (applications) for example Uechi Ryu. In fact, every tehnique can be use in several different ways, starting with the most obvious ones till the most subtle ones.Some examples, one from Shotokan (kata Kanku Dai mening "Watching the Sky"), and another example involving kata Tensho (in fact, the older version of Tensho - Rokushu).Starting with kata Sanchin and Applications:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=loWh6B1ejzY&feature=relatedTensho:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5a1z2RuPKkY&feature=relatedApplications:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mA0elylUMqs&feature=relatedNaifuanchin and Applications:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Kt6iCrS8Oo&feature=relatedKanku Dai Applications:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hx5IU7kp7mQ&feature=relatedhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0NX-0Ll5Zs0&feature=relatedhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DrrOtmPlP98&feature=related
 
Not bad...the applications of tensho look pretty...surprised to see karate ppl doing pushing hands......regarding that Uechi Ryu style....I find karate beautiful as one is able to choose a style that suits the the most.. Kata and applications all day long..hmmm and I thought kyokushin training was torture :) Also....most of the kata known these days are only leftover what the grandmaster made up back in a day...even worse some of the kata are simply incorrect and heaps different than the originals. Especially head movements looking the other way in Bessai Dai....while blockin ur front....is belived to be a misinterpretation....as ur meant to keep aye contact with ur opponent! Meh..I would better do some kata b4 i totally give up on em!....
 
Let s watch some more Kung Fu:Shaolin Kung Fu:Brief presentatnion:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PJVWAvaMopE&feature=relatedShaolin Qi gong:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7qHL2PSpecI&feature=relatedShaolin Zui Quan (Drunkard Boxing):http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2OVsrZDtVHQhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vmxvb18PUHo&feature=relatedDrunken Sword:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b_mip6ra_9A&feature=relatedDrunken Staff:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_8z8itQFz50&feature=related
 
Nice to see a thread like this going on the Witcher Forums.Hi guys, I did bit of Shotokan Karate back in the day, although I never became black belt.But Drizzt, I know what you mean one of my senseis did it all the time, it was rather silly to watch. Sound effects in Martial Arts made by people are just unnecessary unless there's a good reason for it.As for the practical uses of Karate in a streetfight, the dojo I studied at Yoshin-Ryu it was a bit more westernised so to speak so we were taught to use a more practical form almost like boxing but the kicks remained.I've done archery before and considered doing fencing but in Melbourne where I live it's a rare thing reserved for university clubs, the same goes for Kendo.
 
Nice thread. ;DI'm a practitioner of several arts, mostly Tai Chi (I'm the 'application dummy'. Thank god nothing has been dislocated...yet :dead: ), Hsing-I and Arnis/Escrima. I started taking stuff seriously in '97, picking up Arnis, then moving along to other stuff, like Kendo for a couple of years, basic wushu, and then to Tai Chi and Hsing-I (some Bagua, too, but only for a very short while).Application of the above arts? Well, no real problem with Arnis or Kendo (well, mostly, anyway)...it's the 'internal' arts that are 'annoying' in that regard, especially when some of the paradoxical teachings start to get mixed up in your head. ;D The Witcher was quite amusing as far as I'm concerned, though some of the moves were quite 'flashy' (I dunno, I got tired of watching overly flashy wushu routines, especially some of the new routines which could injure the athlete in the long term). I loved the ending cinematic's fight, though (especially that short bit where Geralt seems to stand straight during a transition for a strike. i like the fact that they aren't always in a low, wide legged stance ;D ).As with some of the others here, I too would like to learn Medieval (Western) swordsmanship. I don't think there are any local groups for that here in the Philippines, though. That and martial arts here, except those with foreign instructors who decide to charge more than their local counterparts, are relatively cheap (monetarily) to learn...
 
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