 Re: Martial Arts Section
2 philosophies that I know "The Pen is mightier than the sword" & "Those who live by the sword die by the sword".
By the way, I was trained in Ashihara Ryu Karate during my secondary school days. That was about 10 years ago. I was inspired to join after intimidated by some school bullies. I quit after secondary school because I pursue interest in other hobbies like bodybuilding duirng my tertiary days. I was a brown belt then. However, the skills I learnt was never put to use. I never met with violent confrontations before. Confrontations were settled in non violent ways.
One thing I learnt is to appreciate simple yet effective moves. It may me look at things the way I never knew. Martial arts was a sport fit for everyone from the young to the old. Although I stop practising for 10 years, the reflex moves were deeply ingrained & I even learned to evolved the moves to suit my style. Martial arts is never a fixed group of techniques. You true fighting style will reflect the character in you. Hong Jia Quan & Yong Chun Quan evolved from Shaolin although 1 is a hard style the other is a soft style.
Though Karate mainly consist of striking techniques, Ashihara Ryu mainly specialise in counterattacking from the opponents blind spots through our footwork & positioning. My sensei was also trained in Hapkido so he also improvised a few basic arm lock techniques into our sparring practise. Unlike Tae Kwon Do, which is unified in the world, Karate is like Chinese Kung Fu, consist of many schools & styles. Few famous schools are Shotokan Ryu,founded by the Father of Modern Karate(Can't recall his name), Shoto was his pen name. Wado Ryu, influenced by Japanese Ju-jitsu, famous for combining locking & striking techniques, Kyo Ku Shin Kai, also known as Oyama Ryu, well received by the Americans, famous for their extreme demolition moves. They break anything from ice to concrete & they also hammer nails into boards with their bare hands.
They are many schools worth mentioning but there are too many. Aikido is worth practising. Like Taichi, it is based on a soft style using the theory of the sphere. Keep practising. Osu!!
:rock: | 
