# Meeting and Greeting - I am doing that.



## TieXiongJi (Dec 22, 2016)

Hello Martial Talk Forums!

I am a 12 year Taiji Player; started in 2003 with Yang -> Competition Forms -> Sun -> Wu -> Chen. I was a regular in the tournament circuit around Southern California between 2004 and 2008. I taught for over a year in Los Angeles out of my Karate coach's school around 2012. Now I most often practice Chen and I teach Yang to coworkers twice a week.

I am a 12 year Self Defense Student/Expert?; started in 2003 with Chinese Kempo (Chuan Fa) // Taijutsu // Wing Chun // Systema // Japanese Ju Jutsu // MMA // 'Practical' Karate. I stick with a style until it is no longer interesting enough for me to pursue more knowledge. I try to understand the philosophy to ultimately blend the skills within myself as we are all masters of our own domain and by dominating oneself, we can improve ourselves and persevere through any adversity. Recognizing that everything in existence is unique and apart while also uniform and deeply involved in the tapestry of reality. You know, Oneness and stuff...

I am a 5 year Wushu Player; started in 2003 with basics and progressed from Chang Chuan -> Nan Chuan -> Weapons -> Xing Yi. I stopped studying after learning a few Xing Yi forms and winning a few medals. My oldest and best friends came from this experience. I wouldn't trade it for anything.

I am an 5 year Kyokushin Karate Player; started in 2011 at Victory Dojo in Burbank, CA. Loved the whole experience growing with the younger kids and flourishing with the adults. Learned a great deal about tournament fighting while I was here. A bit about self defense and body positioning, but it was primarily a competition school with a secondary focus on self protection and defense. Still learned a great deal about situational awareness and escaping before engaging.

I hope these forums are engaging enough to keep my attention. I look forward to creating bonds with new people.

Thank you,
TieXiongJi -> Translates to Iron Rooster, kind of.


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## Tames D (Dec 23, 2016)

Welcome.


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## Buka (Dec 23, 2016)

Welcome aboard, bro.


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## Gerry Seymour (Dec 23, 2016)

Welcome to MT. With all that dabbling, you should find plenty of discussions here you can contribute to and debate within.

I'm curious about how often you've changed styles. Do you stay around long enough to get the majority of the curriculum, and to gain some depth of understanding? I ask that because with complex arts (those with complex movements for grappling - I can't speak to the striking-only arts as I never got that deep into their curriculum), it takes a couple of years for most to get any real understanding, and the curriculum on many can last years. Just curious about your experience in moving across that many curricula - sounds like a fun adventure.


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## donald1 (Dec 23, 2016)

Hello!


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## Bill Mattocks (Dec 23, 2016)

Welcome to MT!


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## TieXiongJi (Dec 23, 2016)

gpseymour said:


> Welcome to MT. With all that dabbling, you should find plenty of discussions here you can contribute to and debate within.
> 
> I'm curious about how often you've changed styles. Do you stay around long enough to get the majority of the curriculum, and to gain some depth of understanding? I ask that because with complex arts (those with complex movements for grappling - I can't speak to the striking-only arts as I never got that deep into their curriculum), it takes a couple of years for most to get any real understanding, and the curriculum on many can last years. Just curious about your experience in moving across that many curricula - sounds like a fun adventure.



Hello GPSeymour,

The dabbling is due to friction between my current understanding, instructor teaching styles (% time spent on different aspects, philosophy, attention to detail), quality of the other students (you can always determine school quality by watching the advanced students), proximity to either work or home, tuition cost. Obviously there are attributes I can't see without joining the school for at least 3 months. After working with multiple styles, schools and instructors, I have developed my own grading system which helps me determine where I will spend 1000+ hours.
You are correct that a full understanding of the style only comes after many years, but us 10+ year people have enough experience to quickly know if a school is great, good, meh or bad.

Thank you for responding.


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## wingchun100 (Dec 30, 2016)

Welcome to MT.


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## Transk53 (Dec 31, 2016)

Welcome along.


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## Xue Sheng (Dec 31, 2016)

Welcome to MT


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