|
|
|
8 Technical Aspects of the Martial Arts
In the past Japanese samurai, Mongolian horsemen, Manchu
bannermen, and European knights spent a lifetime learning the
highly complex art of fighting. It took many years of discipline
to master the techniques of unarmed fighting and fighting...
About No Rules Full-Contact Fighting
Full-contact fighting appeals to participants who want to engage
in realistic combat with an opponent. Competitions tend to be
more aggressive and may have few rules or almost no rules except
the imperative to physically defeat the opponent. In...
AMAZING kung fu martial arts HISTORY
The term 'Kung Fu' does not relate to any specific form of
martial art, but rather translates as 'skill' or 'ability'.
Scholars believe that the use of Kung Fu to describe the Chinese
martial form originated in Hong Kong and Kwangtung...
British Aikido Board National Nepotism Seminar 2004
The British Aikido Board
Disastrous National Nepotism Seminar 2004 – 99 Students
By Henry Ellis Co-author of Positive Aikido.
( BAB Founder member - now resigned )
For many years The British Aikido Board ( BAB ) have...
Fitness In Five Minutes A Day?
What is the minimum amount of exercise needed for health and
fitness? While it depends on the person, lifestyle, and goals,
the general wisdom is that 20-60 minutes per day of cardio
pumping, iron lifting, or muscle stretching is necessary.
...
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
What Are Hard Style and Soft Style Martial Arts?
Sometimes one would see references to 'hard' style and 'soft'
style martial arts. To many non-martial artists, these terms may
be puzzling. In North America, these terms are used to classify
martial art styles into two main categories. Japanese/Okinawan
karate and Korean tae kwon do are generally referred to as hard
styles. Movements in both karate and tae kwon do are often
linear with their forms (traditional sequence of set moves)
performed with crisp movements. Chinese kung fu styles are
usually referred to as soft styles. The circular motions of kung
fu forms give them a more visually graceful or softer appearance
especially when many of the movements flow from one to another.
Even Korean kuk sool won which is sometimes referred to as
'Korean kung fu', is often classified as a soft style since its
movements are also more flowing than the stop and go of tae kwon
do or karate. This is not to say that hard styles such as karate
or tae kwon do are more powerful martial arts than kung fu and
other soft styles. The term 'soft' is a bit misleading because
the power from circular kung fu moves are often hidden. Circular
moves can generate just as much power as linear ones.
The terms hard style and soft style came as a result of the
evolution of North American martial arts competitions,
particularly in forms divisions. For many years, open karate
tournaments which allowed all martial arts styles, had
competitors from different martial arts backgrounds compete in
the same forms divisions. All equivalent level competitors,
whether they used a Japanese/Okinawan karate kata, a Korean tae
kwon do pattern or a Chinese kung fu form, competed together in
the same divisions. This provided a nice martial arts showcase
for spectators especially at the bigger tournaments. However,
some competitors and judges considered divisions with combined
styles to be too complicated. For example, judges who were
familiar with only Japanese or Korean
styles had a difficult
time scoring competitors performing Chinese kung fu forms.
Sometimes competitors from different martial art styles felt
that judges were being biased against them. Judging a hard style
form against a soft style form was often like trying to compare
apples to oranges.
To help resolve these issues, many of the larger martial arts
tournaments expanded to have separate divisions for hard and
soft styles. This was a way to equalize things and add some more
fairness to all competitors. The largest tournaments went
another step ahead and further separated Japanese karate
stylists from Korean tae kwon do stylists by putting them into
different divisions too. This still left many kempo stylists up
in the air because their particular forms have both hard and
soft style elements since their movements are both linear as
well as circular. Some promoters of large tournaments decided to
accommodate kempo stylists by adding in separate forms divisions
just for their style too. Of course many smaller local
tournaments have not been able to offer separate hard and soft
style divisions for martial arts forms competitors mainly
because of financial budget restrictions. The terms hard style
and soft style are used only in North America and parts of
Europe since these are the only regions of the world that have
open martial arts competitions. Martial arts competitions in
other parts of the world such as Asia are generally restricted
to certain specific styles only.
About the author:
Clint Leung is a lifelong martial artist with over 32 years of
training experience in kung fu, tae kwon do, karate, kickboxing
and martial arts weaponry. He has won Canadian and world
championship titles (NASKA, NBL and WSKF). He is also owner of
Free Spirit Activewear (http://www.FreeSpiritActivewear.com) ,
an online retailer and designer of premium martial arts
activewear. Free Spirit Activewear has martial arts info
articles.
|
|
|
|
|
| The World's Martial Arts Information Center |
| Your personal guide to the exciting world of martial arts. Locate schools, organizations, styles and much more. |
| www.martialinfo.com |
|
| Martial arts - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia |
| Today, martial arts are studied for various reasons including combat skills, fitness, ... A practitioner of martial arts is referred to as a martial artist. ... |
| en.wikipedia.org |
|
| About Martial Arts - Martial Arts Styles, Training, Supplies ... |
| Martial Arts Styles, Free Tutorials, Training Tips & our great MA Forum. Find A Martial Arts School, Choose a Style and Read Great Articles. |
| martialarts.about.com |
|
| martialarts.org - a guide to all styles of the martial arts |
| A guide to all styles of martial arts. Live classes, media, articles,free email. |
| www.martialarts.org |
|
| Martial Arts TRICKZ |
| infos, pictures and videos about martial arts tricks. |
| www.bilang.com |
|
| Martial Arts Supplies including Uniforms and Weapons |
| Offers martial arts and boxing equipment, uniforms, weapons, and accessories. |
| www.karatedepot.com |
|
| Martial Arts weapons shop |
| Martial arts weapons including sais, kamas, nunchaku, swords and tonfa. Great prices, fast ship times, $2.95 shipping. |
| www.karatedepot.com |
|
| The Virtual Library: Martial Arts |
| The Virtual Library: Martial Arts collection is an index of stable web sites that offer information on any martial art. This collection of sites is checked ... |
| www.microbiol.org |
|
| Mixed Martial Arts DVDs, MMA News & Grappling Gear |
| World Martial Arts is the leading producer of contemporary martial art instructional videos and martial arts supplies. World Martial Arts sells the hottest ... |
| www.groundfighter.com |
|
| Martial Art Equipment at Century Martial Art Supply - Martial arts ... |
| Martial arts supplies including uniforms, karate equipment, sparring gear and martial arts weapons. martial arts uniforms, martial art equipment, ... |
| www.centuryma.com |
|
| Irish Martial Arts Commission |
| Membership for organizations teaching Aikido, Bujutsu, Karate, Kendo, Iaido, kickboxing, Kung Fu, Ninjutsu, Tae Kwon Do and Sambo wrestling. |
| www.martialarts.ie |
|
| Martial Arts in the Yahoo! Directory |
| Learn about martial arts and its many forms in sites about aikido, kung fu, judo, ju jitsu, and more. Explore various techniques, history, and fan sites for ... |
| dir.yahoo.com |
|
| The Worldwide Directory of Martial Arts Clubs and Classes - USA |
| Martial Arts Clubs.com is a directory of martial arts clubs worldwide. It is free to register a club and free to search for a club. |
| www.martialartsclubs.com |
|
| Complete Martial Arts.com |
| Covering many aspects of martial arts including styles, schools, celebrities, and merchandise. |
| www.completemartialarts.com |
|
| Martial Arts Supply | Karate Equipment | AMAS |
| AMAS Martial Art Supply offers Karate Equipment, Martial Arts Uniforms, Karate Uniforms, Martial Arts Weapons and more. |
| www.amas.net |
|
| Paragon Martial Arts - martial arts clothing - martial arts ... |
| martial arts, martial arts clothing, martial art, martial arts supply, martial arts footwear, martial arts equipment, tae kwon do, martial arts shop, ... |
| www.paragonmartialarts.co.uk |
|
| BudoSeek! Martial Arts Community |
| BudoSeek! Martial Arts Community is the Internet's FIRST Search Engine and Portal Community exculsively for the Martial Arts Community. |
| www.budoseek.net |
|
| Martial Arts Humor |
| A list of jokes from real life comic situations to top 10 type jokes. |
| www.binary.net |
|
| Atlanta Martial Arts Directory |
| A listing of martial arts schools in the Atlanta area. karate, kung fu, tae kwon do, hap ki do, aikido, kenpo, tai chi, taiji. |
| www.atlantamartialarts.com |
|
| Martial Arts Register |
| Martial Arts portal. Free registration for your club and events. What's on, suppliers and Arts information and lots more.... |
| www.martialartsregister.co.uk |
|
|