Yeah, read the book “Philosophy and the Matrix”. I like it, the author is a writer for “Philosophy now” one of my favorite publications. It was interesting, comparing the Matrix to Buddhism, Marxism, and other philosophies.

Sym, by the way our talking, it sounds like you haven't seen it...

Why do you say that? I liked it. The First one was better, but the second one was great as well. What problems did you find with it?

What does everyone think about the Matrix Trilogy thus far?

You seem to be the kind of person who perfere the ART part of “Martial Art,” the kind of person that prefers kata to sparring, am I right? If so, then Aikido is for you.  Aikido is a recently made Martial Art, the founder was born in the early 1880’s! The founder, who name I forget, took Jiujutsu and learned sword and spear fighting because he wanted to be the biggest, baddest dude around! He thought this would ease him, make him happy. While he mastered these arts, he did not find the joy he was looking for, so he turned to Spirituality.  It mixes grappling and joint locking on Jujutsu what the graceful kata of Sword and spear fighting.

Aikido is like TKD in that a lot of Martial Arts think of it as a compete joke. The Aikido masters admits it isn’t the deadliest style on the plant, that isn’t their goal. Anyways, from I know of your, this sounds like an Art you would enjoy, if you can find a school.

  sorry, didn't mean to upset you. All Martial Arts have there place.  

Exactly, now you get what I am saying. Power IS the problem, lack of power, that is. Take Sumo wrestlers, they are used to having guys just has big as they are hurl all there body weight at them, they are used to picking up and slamming over 300 lbs into the clay. Do you think you can produce the “power” to take him out? In kick Boxing, REAL Kick Boxing, not the cardio-crap, they take hits from guys who train daily to hit with the force to KO, do you think you can produce the power to take him out? TKD and Karate are great for Pro Warriors and fighters who spend all day training, but can the average person produce the power needed to defend against these monsters? Lets look at the UFC, the many of the Karate and TKD guys can’t even hold there own against the opponents in the octagon, and they spend countless hours training!

Don’t get me wrong, TKD and Karate have there place in a Fighters arsenal, but one of these styles alone… nah, not a chance, not against someone more powerfull.

Hi, Neo!

Yes, TKD is very powerful. It does take a lot longer to master control as you say, because even the kicks are performed differently from karate. The karate kicks are powered from the knee. So that's really a more gentle kick, which is fine if that's all you need. But there may be an occasion where you really do need a TKD kick. The balance is maintained by slight differences in positioning, and yes, we do need a lot more control because where does the power come from? Not the knee, but the hip. So, the force of your whole body goes into that. So it's good for a difficult attacker, or for those without a lot of bulk or strength.

Karate uses Crescent kicks and other such kicks that draw from the hips, as well kicks that allow for better aim by using from the knees. TKD doesn’t use Snap kicks and roundhouses? The problem IS power. Who has to. What if we are talking about a tough as nails Army Ranger who is picking the fight? A kick from a part time Martial Artist? He will laugh and toss you to the ground.

As we all know, Tolken was Christian. He brought C.S. Lewis into the fold. I don’t see how we anyone and bash Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter, and yet still read C.S. Lewis and John Bunyan, The Chronicles have even more focus on magic Lord of the Rings, and Pilgrims Progress full of Pagan creatures and things of that nature.

My thoughts on all of it, THEY RE FANTASY BOOKS, PEOPLE! Give me a break, there is no Middle earth, no Narnea, no Hogwarts, it is all in good fun. I don’t see why we have to make such a big deal out of any of it. If you lord convicts you for reading such things, then don’t read then, it is that simple.

Boxings (Yes, boxing is a marital art), Kick Boxing, Karate, and now I'm giving JuJutsu a try.

The Staff is every Art. Kung Fu, Aikido, Karate, Jiujutsu, NinJustsu, they all practice the Staff. We even did a little staff at the Ren Faire. Aisde from the sword, it is in doubt the most popular weapon world wide. I mean, think about how useful it is. You can bash an attacker over the head with it, but you can also use it to keep balance while walking or hiking, you can herd cattle and sheep with it, you can reach things higher then your arms can reach with it. It is so much more then a weapon, no wonder everyone from both the east and the west use them!

Neo, yeah, Most every Master I’ve had bashes TKD. My Jiujutsu master right now took Juijutsu from Korean master who also taught TKD, and he bad mouths it every chance. My Karate master had a student in our class who took TKD from one of the largest Martial Arts School in the Area, and he showed her much better ways for self-defense. When a Karate man is showing you how to grapple, you know your Martial art education is missing something! lol Most of the TKD schools I’ve seen are a rip, but hey, if it is good enough for Vann Dam, it is good enough for me! lol For real, TKD does get a bad rap for being “pretty” and not practical. The basic kicks are the same kick you learn in Karate or Kung Fu! The main problem I’ve had, from the amount of TKD I’ve seen, the most grappling they do is “if you opponent gets to close, shove him away and kick him.” That is fine if you are in it for a sport, or if you are a 350 lbs, 7 foot block of muscle, but what if we are talking about a 90 lbs weakling or a lady? A kicking match is the last thing you want to do!
 
I’ve never heard about the Hwarang using jump kicks used to take down mounted opponents. That is very interesting.

lol, sorry for the typo, thanks for point it out.

Gays are bad, we agree, nazis are bad, again, we agree. But Nazis being gay? I don’t know… I’m a little skeptical about that. I mean, they didn’t decide to attack the fags in the middle of the war as a cover up for there homosexual tendencies, the anti-gay stand was in their party platform! I find it hard to believe the entire party was gay. Sure, there may have been some gay nazis, I’m sure there where, but come on, we are talking about a group that is anti-gay by nature!

Yeah, Jiujutsu has a lot of it, too, the using your foes force against himself.When he swings, let him swings, when he knocks, open the door, and see him our the back.

Never really got into the numchucks, but I make up for it with plenty of Sword and Staff styles. I like them because 9 times out of ten, you are going to get something like a pool cue or a broom stick, or my trusty telescoping baton, these things similar to swords and staffs. How many weapons can you find on hand that resemble chucks? I used to work for a Ren Faire, and we learned fencings, and I was a part of Amtgard, a sword fighting reenactments group. On top of that, my Master in Ishenryu (sp?) karate taught an Escreama class (Which his a Philippino sword style) right after Karate, and I stayed a few times, learned some moves. One day, if I ever find a school, I hope to give Kendo a shot. It looks like lots of fun! But anyways, no, never spend much time with the chucks are 3 secton staff or any of that.

I beg to differ about Texas being different. Texas is just like any other state. My father was in the military for most of my life, so we lived in many different places. Texas is just like any other state. 36 state have already passed these laws. Texas is SLOW to act in comparison to other states. We the

Gays hate Nazis. Nazis hate gays. Don’t forget, Nazis are right wingers.

Bloody music dowloaders are running the industry under...

Right… when why have more CDs been bought seen Napster first came out then ever before? How can the music dowloaders be running the industry under when the industry today is doing better then is even has before? None of the New bands complain, it is bands like Matallica who already have Millions of dollars in the bank already that whine about it. The bands that are coming up, they started out online, with free samples. Iti s either that or paying extra to make demo tapes and handing them out. These programs like Kazaa and predecessor Morphous and predecessor Napster have done nothing but helped the music industry.

Yes, that is what a lot of my master are like. They Believe training the Character is just as important as training the body. I current master (The Jiujutsu one) goes as far as to say if you can’t see a change in someone from the time they are white belts to the time they are black belts, they are not True masters!

I have to agree, I could tell some stories about Powerlifting to you. At the risk of sounding like a Jedi Master, I have to admit it is all in your head. YOU choose to do it or not. “Try not. Do. Or do not. There is no try.” That is true. It isn’t some mystic martial arts secret, this is simple sport physiology.

That is true, I’m am not trying to assume anything, but I’m guessing you are a smaller person. DO you think you can get into a kicking match with a 350 Muay Thai Master? That is the problem with women in Karate and Tea Kwon Do, they are great arts, but they are muscle arts. Aikido is like Jiujutsu, with less strength. I’ve seen it, it is great. And the masters of that art are deadly. With those baggy clothes, you never know where the feet are going to land. I have to agree with my Kick Boxing sparring partner, when he humorously (and accidentally) said “Never fight a Aikido Master with his pants on.” lol. You should give Aikido a try, tell me what is it like. Loyalty for your master is admirable, but remember what I said about different styles having a different piece of the puzzle. Have fun!   That is, after all, the most important.