II think that to an extent we can and need to judge movies before we watch them. If we watch them first, we already have the junk in our heads.

Well, let me just say, I saw was dagged to it Friday, and this is a case where you are wrong, you are judging the movie incorrectly. Any movie where Jim Carey's Charactor asks forgivgeness and becomes saved at the end isn't at all a bad movie. It was quite good. As Jim Carey movies go, the cursing and crude humor took a back seat to getting the point across. Among the point are:

1. God sometimes DOESN'T answer pryers, hism not ours will be done
2. Respect for God
3. Power of Prayer
4. God can do anything, and fix any problem ,no matter who bad it is

These are all non-Cognitive points that are basically quoted in the movie, I did not even mention the many lesson to be learns when you think about it. Bruce Almighty was a VERY god movie, and a much better poster child for Christian movies then these end-times B-movies that keep coming out! It is worth a veiwing, guys, trust me.

A4C- Lets trades scar stories! What are some of your favorite fights? lol

White- Um... what are you wondering...?

If you don't go to movies, how do you know they have all this voilince and sex in them?  

Found an art? Details! lol  

So, what does everyone think about the new T3 movie? I'm going to see it out of respectfor Aronld, but as for the movie it self...

On a side note, I heard an interesting tidbit today. They were considering O.J. Simpson for the role in the first one, but desided agaisnt it. When asked why, James Cameron said, and I quote "People wouldn't have believed a nice guy like O.J. playing a ruthless killer"

Ninja‘s aren’t the superhero‘s Hollywood portrayed them to be, Ninjutsu is the MUC of the Martial Artist world, good in application, bad in competition, and generally rather cocky. The Artist reflex there original practitioners. The Artists of Karate, the first one, conquered people, the Jujitsu/Judo/etc artist, Samurai, highly glorified slaves, Kung Fu, the artist where all gentle monks (until recently, when they had to teach outsiders to pay the bills), all these artist are about humility and honor. Sumo, the original Artist were the biggest, strongest men in Japan, cocky but honorable. But the Ninja’s, no honor, no humility, just cocky assassins. And still today, they are cocky and honorless. They just wouldn't survive in a real mans martial arts competition!

If You can't find Aikido, and you don't find judo appealing, give Hipkado(sp?) a shot. It is a Korean Grappling art. It lacks much of the ground work of Jujutsu, by its practitioners own admission, but it has a lot more focus on striking them Jujitsu.

Yes, I want to learn Ninjutsu, too. They are not the best grapplers, any Judo man could beter the average Ninjutsu guy, but if it was a fight to the death, the Nunjutsu man would win, hands down. One of my old sparring Parnters, Jared, who learned to fight in JuJutsu class, the Army, and the Prosin system(As a guard, not an inmate) fough a Ninja once. lol, it soundsl ike a bad movie, doesn't it? Let me rephrase, he was sparring with someone who knows Ninjutsu, and he beat him everytime. The onyl reason was the Ninjutsu man couldn't use his "death Moves" Ninjutsu isn't an art which "flash" or "sport" to it. It is the art of killing, but it would still be interesting to learn! Some say the Ninja's brought by some Chinese exsiles, Sholin Munks, Warriors, etc.  Ninjutsu was an older art, made in Mid-evil Japan. The people of sevreal villages combined hand to hand combat,  secrecy, and even a little psychological warfare. It was this secrecy which keeps me from tellking you any more, because NO ONE KNOWS! You've have better luck tracing the orgians of the Masions or the Lumanoti! We know for the first year, they didn't not call themselves ninja's. Ninjutsu uses all kinds of weapons, and also teaches there students stealth, how to walk so they are not heard, thing like that. Ninjutsu does not pratice Spinning back hook kicks for other such "flashy" moves.

But the schools are hard to find. I found a guy in town who knew it.That might me your best chance, ask around with your Martial Arts friends and see if they know a Ninja. If I'm little Baptist owned Southern Town of 15,000 people has one, I'm sure your town has a few of them!

Hi, Tibby. THought I'd check in. Yes, you can always count on the white belt to do the most damage--in fact, that's what I'd put up against that 300lb sumo dude, heehee!

Okay, let's have the rundown on judo.

Judo is a less violent version of Jiujutsu. No kicks or anything, just grappling, lots of throwing and some ground work. I enjoy it. It was made by a man who knew several different styles of Jiujutsu, around the 1880’s. Remember, Jiujutsu is a combat style, similar the that practiced by the armies today, the Samurai learned and used it. But that was the 1880’s, the Feudal Japan is Shogun’s and Samurai was dieing out, the Edo period passed. So, this guy made Judo, taking all the form of Jiujutsu he knew, and basically made a sport out of it. It resembles a mix of Jiujutsu, Sumo, and even American Wrestling in practice, but it is much more graceful. It, like TKD, is an Olympic sport.

I love sumo, btw, lol

It was pretty rough to watch, but hey, look in the bright side, it wasn’t Omega Code!  

Nah, I was talking to some other Symphony   I luv you

You're right, Tibby, I've not seen the Matrix films.  

I just read the movie review in The New Yorker, there, two weeks ago.  

But I know now if a fifteen year old, Sapphire(Hey, JapEmp, seems you were nailing me for my feminine-sounding name, ahem....), anyway, I know now that if the fight scenes are old for a fifteen year old, then the fight scenes would DEFINITELY be old for me.  

It takes me ten minutes to read a review;  that saves me having to see the movie.

I did rent "Minority Report" recently--"pre-crime".  The FX "spider retina scanners"--those were cool.     "predestination".  

You misused stand him. He meant it seems like a copy of the first movie. Which the fight seems were to an extent. Same basic style.  And yes, Minority Report was a good movie. But I liked the Matrix better.

But on the Matrix, and the gratuitous violence, as Corpus points out, wasn't that cited as part of the "inspiration" for the Columbine shootings?  I thought that was how they dressed.

Oh, Keanu Reaves went all the way to Littleton just to show them how to load a gun and help them make pipe bombs? Yes, Music and Movies can change your mood and give you ideas, but can they load guns for you? Can they sell you bullets? If that is the case, lets watch nothing but Left Behind. Oh, wait ,there was violence then that to. Lets read out bibles! No, we can’t do that, I mean, we might go off a Crucify people! Hey, people have done it before, right? SO a few unstable people watch a movie and play a computer game and try to copy what they see. What is it, like 1 in a million? Should the actions of the few punish the many? Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold didn't kill those kids: no, sir, it was Lawrence Fishbourne and Keanu Reeves. They weren't motivated by rage and frustration at a school system: no, they were motivated by the Matrix! Welcome to Liberal America, where it is everyone fault but your own, right, Sym? Is that the case, Symphony?

I had a nice long reply written, then the program crashed on me!!! Se la Vive :-D.  So, this is a summary of what is said:

I have taken several Martial Arts, and I love Jiujutsu, the one I just started a little while back. It seems to be the most practical, and the most fun. We don’t just line up and do 1000 kicks. Now, we do plenty of that, but we also learn throwing and grappling and ground work and pressure points. Never a dull moment. On top of that in a court of law, if you get into a fight, even if you didn’t start it, you will go to court, no way around it, even if you didn‘t swing a punch, even if you don‘t know Martial Arts. Cops enforce the law, they don’t judge it, Their job is to bring you in if there is a disturbance, arrest first, ask question later. If you take Karate, the court will say you where just trying to be big and bad, but with Jiujutsu, you can argue that your chosen art has holds made just to restrain opponents with minimal damage so you DON’T have to fight them, and this argument will hold up in the court of law.

Look for these things in any school you go to:
1. Does the Master and Senior ranks help the Freshmen and Junior ranks when they are having trouble? Will they pull them aside and help them?
2. Are the Students respectful of the master and each other? In a Martial Arts class, there is chance for serous injury, you want the guy your training with to respect the master and do what he says, and you want him to respect you enough that he will not kill you!
3. Does the master allow for sparring. As the Master if you can see a few of the students spar.
4. Do the students break a sweat at all? Not a requirement, but it how can you even get better if you don’t push your body to the limit! I mean, those Gi’s we where are HOT, it is pretty easy to break a sweat in one of them.
5. How does he treat Tradition verses Modern training? Tradition is an important thing. It will give the student the feeling of a code, a system, it will help keep him in line, and teach him respect, because the traditions are all about respect. Bow before you fight, with the lowest rank bowing lowest, bow when you step onto the mat, etc. BUT, don’t follow Tradition and ignore Modern Training methods. Sports Medicine has advance so much in the past 100 years, it is important he consider that.

Don’t sweat it with the “mediation/Eastern Religion” stuff. Leston to the advise him gives the kids on the aspect. Does he say things like “You can do it, your mind is what is keeping you” things like this, that is simple sports psychology, no mysticism about it, it is proven. And there is wisdom in Eastern Philosophy. I’m a Christian, but as I keep saying, love reading the Tao Te Ching, the book of the Taoist. Knowledge is Knowledge. Most teachers will not FORCE the students the meditate. Just tell you son to pray, in the place of that. I know that worries you, it worried my parents, too, but many teachers don’t make there students Mediate if they feel that strongly about it. But, take an object look at it. It is just a way of relaxing, which sport psychology has proven will increase performance, to relax, to calm down and do your sport!

Now, as he contents with this, he may find his like one aspect over another. He may enjoy the throwing and ground art more, so you put him in a Judo class, or he may preferred the kicks, so you put him in a Tae Kwon Do or Karate class, or he may preferre the punches, so you put him in Kung Fu or Boxing. See what he likes the best and what he is good at. He may just like Jiujutsu and want to say in it! JuiJutsu is a parent Art, many arts stem from it.

If you want any question, I’m sure one of us would be more then happy to answer. Me personally I like taking about it, so I don’t mind at all. When you go to the classes, tell us about it, give us your thoughts, what you noticed about it.

lol, to qoute you “I hear you… yet…” Very good point, I had not thought about it that way, but I have a few points I’d like to draw out here:

Good example, very good with the sex. But, I am a Martial Artist, I know several Marital Arts, and I LOVE sparring, I can’t get enough of it, I say over in classes, to get more time on the mat, I got to other schools just to train, I invite friends over and use the living room carpet! On top of that, I am a HUGE fan a Martial Arts flicks and Anime (major Otaku), but I don’t believe in using violence to get your way, or fighting, unless you have tried every other way to protect your self and/or the ones around you. I think I have a reconcilability as a fighter to protect those who can’t protect them selves, but I’m not the kind of guy who like fighting outside of a sports setting. I’m not going to watch the Matrix, then go spar for an hour, then go to the local bar and pick a fight. Violence IS entertainment for me, I do it, I watch it, but I would never attack some unwitting, unskilled person. Most Martial Artist Agree with me. Mainly, if a judges here you know Karate, it is prison time for you! Fighting just isn’t cool outside of the gym.

On top of that, the Violence shown in the Matrix is unrealistic violence. It is like the argument with Cartoon Violence. In a cartoon, a Mouse will pick up an anvil or battleship and throw it on a cat. And little kids see they, the are not going to be able to pick up a anvil. Likewise, in 5 years of Sports fighting, I’ve never seen someone jump 10 feet in the air, run on a wall, dodge bullets, or fly. The Violence is Loony Tones is just as hard to imitate as the matrix. lol, on an off note, who would win a fight, Neo or Bugs Bunny?

You ask why violence would be any different from sex? You learn to fight, you are born knowing how to have sex. You DO Martial Arts, you HAVE Sex. If some skinny loser who just saw the Matrix challenged me to a fight, I’d have him on his back before you could say “There is no spoon” and the fight would be over. People watch porn, they are going to go off and have sex. With all the Eastern Philosophy and skilled Matrix Arts action, people who see the matrix are going to rush to the Dojo’s to learn to fight “like Neo.” That is an advantage to it being a Martial Arts Movie. We see Neo learning all these Martial Arts, and we see him fighting in a Gi, and doing all kinds of complex kicks and throws, If anything it would have people running to there local Dojo to learn to fight properly, and stay safe when fighting. Some of these moves I haven’t learned yet, they have some complex Martial Arts mixed in with all the computer graphics and wires!

Scripture doesn’t directly talk of fighting, your right, but Paul uses it several times to give examples (I do not fight as one hitting the air, I fight the good fight, etc), so we can assume he at least enjoyed watching it.

My personal favorite, is when he was a boxer, all blood and bruised, talking to the camera after a fight, with his opponent being carried out of the ring in a bloody mess, and he is like “Yeah, I want to give all thinks to God…”   It is like those Rapper at awards show “ And most of all, I’d like to thank my lord and savior, Jesus Christ, for my hit single ‘BEEP you BEEP, mother BEEP’” Some people can be so thick… lol

Yes, that is the idea of Aikido, defense of yourself and the helpless. I hear you about the white belts. Just tonight, I pulled a white belt down on my weight, and his accidentally palm smashed my lip. It is times like that I’m glad I did boxing first. Eh, hardly broke the skin, just a little swollen. They get freaked out, and the just haven’t learned safety. It is still fun. This is a MARTIAL art, we aren’t doing Yoga, people! Lol

Yeah, don’t rule out Eastern philosophy all the way. I LOVE reading the Tao te Ching, believe it or not, given to be my the right had man of the Bishop of this Dioceses! I think it helps me understand the bible. We read the bible with our Western minds, but we forget Jesus was Eastern Minded. If you have ever talked to or been with a Native Asian, you will see they think rather differently then us. Especially the older generations. The younger seem to enjoy copying the US. In Asian, they strive to be like us, in the West, everyone loves anything Asian. How ironic. Anyways, I enjoy studying Taoism and other such Philosophies, they are very interesting.

As a Christian, we want to be peaceful when possible, but there is a time for peace and a time for war, a time for talk, and a time to “kick kiester!” Give Aikido a try, you might enjoy it. If you can’t fine and schools locally, many you would enjoy Judo...

I liked the plot, but you are right, Sapph, nothing new, it was the same old Matrix.

As for the violence, I take it you don't read the OT to much? How about your read Judges, then come back and say the Matrix was to violent! Lol, as the Money changers in the temple about violence! As JESUS himself about violence. Ask the Paul and Peter about violence. Violence is a fact of life, the Christian walk is compared to as a fight, Praise and Worship compared to a war. God is called a “Might man of War.” We are told to put in our “armor.” Again, violence is a fact of life, Christ sees that, so why can’t Christians? He even tells us what to do when faced with violence, proving he acknowledged the existence and unavoidability of it. You say “ Yes, but Jesus would not subject himself to such violence needlessly.” Well, he could have just as easily walked off the cross. An all powerful God has to power to do that he wishes. If he had to, he never would need to even be human, he wouldn’t even have to snap his fingers, and all the Heathens and Pagans and Daemons and Satan would cease to be. He doesn’t, he choose to save his, he choose to die a violent, brutal death for us, he had to live it, He has his arms ties to a splirnty tree, with his hands and feet nailed to it, and the crown of dry thorns in his head, many Christians choose to die death my the same fate, or my being ripped apart by beast, or torn up my Gladiators or have there heads lobed off for Christ, and we modern Christians fear watching a little FAKE kicking and punching?

What would Jesus do, good question. But are we to ask “What would Jesus Do?” or would a better question be “What would Jesus HAVE ME do?” I mean he did say we would do greater thing them him, did he not? So, WWJD? Would he keep himself from being entertained, would be avoid chance to whiteness to the Christians there, and even let the Lord speak to him thru the Silence in the Matrix?

The Matrix hardly has any blood it in, I think the Crucifixions of Christ had a little bit more. Sorry for the rant.