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Mou Meng Gung Fu
Purple Belt
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- #41
Greetings from Florida
- Thread starter Mou Meng Gung Fu
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OP
Mou Meng Gung Fu
Purple Belt
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- #42
OP
Mou Meng Gung Fu
Purple Belt
- Thread Starter
- #44
More about myself:
To this day, I continue to learn and grow as a martial artist. I am far more experienced and advanced than I was 10 years ago. However, I have also learned quite a bit about patience, respect and humility. I am still learning, still evolving, still reaching for the stars. In December 2016, I coined the term "Mou Meng Kuen" in reference to my personal style of which I am the founder. Many years ago, I shed my biased prejudice against martial arts that I do not understand or have no natural skill at. Since then I have shed any and all previous ranks, trophies, and certificates that I might have recieved in the past. I do not claim to be a master of martial arts. I no longer hold a rank in any system. I do not teach martial arts, except to my close family and friends. I am not interested in sport fighting or making money. I am more passionate about the MA training itself and learning, improving and evolving as a martial artist. In the past, I was very cocky and arrogant, delusional and misinformed, not to mention very angry. But through my studying and training in martial arts, my temperament has improved and my open-mindedness has expanded. I no longer believe in stylized training. I no longer promote violence as a means to an end. My art is becoming ever so softer than what it used to be. This is not the end of my story, however. It's merely the beginning. Who knows where I'll be, or what my martial art will look like 10 years from now? I guess we'll just have to wait and see. Until then, this is where I leave off. Keep flowing.
A martial artist in progress...
To this day, I continue to learn and grow as a martial artist. I am far more experienced and advanced than I was 10 years ago. However, I have also learned quite a bit about patience, respect and humility. I am still learning, still evolving, still reaching for the stars. In December 2016, I coined the term "Mou Meng Kuen" in reference to my personal style of which I am the founder. Many years ago, I shed my biased prejudice against martial arts that I do not understand or have no natural skill at. Since then I have shed any and all previous ranks, trophies, and certificates that I might have recieved in the past. I do not claim to be a master of martial arts. I no longer hold a rank in any system. I do not teach martial arts, except to my close family and friends. I am not interested in sport fighting or making money. I am more passionate about the MA training itself and learning, improving and evolving as a martial artist. In the past, I was very cocky and arrogant, delusional and misinformed, not to mention very angry. But through my studying and training in martial arts, my temperament has improved and my open-mindedness has expanded. I no longer believe in stylized training. I no longer promote violence as a means to an end. My art is becoming ever so softer than what it used to be. This is not the end of my story, however. It's merely the beginning. Who knows where I'll be, or what my martial art will look like 10 years from now? I guess we'll just have to wait and see. Until then, this is where I leave off. Keep flowing.
A martial artist in progress...
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OP
Mou Meng Gung Fu
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- #45
Okay, thanks. FYI, when you say "I began backyard private training with Sensei Mears, a Kodokan Judo and Brazilian Jiujitsu black-belt holder from GM Santella's institute", most people will interpret that to mean that Mr. Mears was awarded his BJJ black belt at Mr. Santella's institute.
If this wasn't the case, do you happen to know who Mr. Mears earned his BJJ black belt under?
I thought you didn't train at Santella's place until the late 2000's?
No problem. Lots of students (especially the less experienced ones) don't think to investigate their chief instructor's credentials beyond "he's wearing a black belt." It's just that you made those claims regarding Mr. Santella's Judo credentials over at MAP, so I figured someone must have given you that misinformation.
Not to worry. You aren't the one I would be investigating. You don't claim any rank or special mastery in anything. I'm looking at Mr. Santella. We in the BJJ community are pretty stringent about policing false claims of BJJ rank - especially black belt.
Uh, you might want to rephrase that. There's no such thing as "the Sherdog UFC/MMA industry." George Adkins is a former MMA competitor who never did nearly well enough to make it into the UFC (pro record 2-8-0). He may be an excellent martial artist and training partner, but he was never part of Sherdog or the UFC and unless he's training fighters now, he hasn't been part of the MMA industry for about 12 years now.
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Mou Meng Gung Fu
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- #47
Forgive me but that's a barrage of questions and I'm not so good with typing/quoting like you are. But I will try to answer you the best I can. Just take everything I say with a grain of salt, as some of your questions pertain to vague memories I have from 10-15 years ago. But here it goes.
I am not sure where Sensei Mears learned BJJ from. I know he was a member of GM Santella's gym. It's possible he learned BJJ from GM Santella himself. I know GM Santella has certificates from the Inosanto Martial Arts Academy under Sifu Richard Bustillo, and many other trophies, certificates and awards in several martial art systems. Other than that, I can't tell you very much other than what I was exposed to.
Sensei Rokko was another member of GM Santella's gym. In the late-90's era, Sensei Rokko was teaching me Shotokan Karate, and for testing purposes we went to GM Santella's gym. That was prior to my training in Judo and MMA, which I would return to his gym for in the mid-2000's (so actually, I was there during 2 different time periods). I left for a while, did some TCMA training, then eventually went back to learn MMA.
When I said I didn't check GM Santella's credentials, it's because I didn't have to. His entire gym was full of credentials, certificates, trophies, ribbons and newspaper articles. He was a well-known instructor in the community. He had several assistant instructors all teaching different classes at the gym. Some pretty big names flew all the way from mainland Japan to instruct the classes there. I really was impressed by his martial abilities. I didn't feel the need to question his authenticity.
As to your comments about George Adkins and Sherdog, you may or may not be correct. I don't know too much about the UFC or how it works. I just know his name is mentioned on Sherdog's official web site. I also know he did TKD and NHB for a while, became a MMA coach and then a sport-fighting referee for some time. I know he has a lot of big name friends in the MMA world. Other than that, I have no comment.
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oaktree
Master of Arts
OK first off this is not how you hold a sword so it makes me think the bokuto traditional sword classes were really just guys in a backyard swinging swords at each other.
oaktree
Master of Arts
This is very bad form and anyone who practices Japanese sword arts will say the same.
oaktree
Master of Arts
What exactly did the shaolin monk teach you in regards to taijiquan and qigong? It is a little odd that he would teach anything related to taijiquan.
OP
Mou Meng Gung Fu
Purple Belt
- Thread Starter
- #51
Who said anything about restricting oneself to Japanese sword arts? I practice Wumingquan, please don't mistake that for something else.
oaktree
Master of Arts
OK then it's really bad mechanics in holding a Japanese sword and shows someone who doesn't understand the how and why you don't hold a sword like that.
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Mou Meng Gung Fu
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- #53
Who said it was a Japanese sword? Mind you, that's an old picture by the way. Someone already bashed me for holding my elbows up like that (refering to a different picture where I'm doing the same technique, just unarmed). But we already discussed why such opinions are irrelevant. Again, this is Wumingquan, please don't confuse it with other martial arts. I don't have the same stylized mentality that you do.
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Mou Meng Gung Fu
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- #54
In 2004, I met a 34th generation Shaolin warrior monk by the name of Shi Yan Ming, who showed me some TCMA demonstrations. Who said I was his student? Be careful how you interpret things. My communication skills on the internet are not so good.
oaktree
Master of Arts
OK fine bad form for holding a Chinese sword though the tsuba, and blade look to be a Japanese sword you then posted another picture of someone holding an obvious katana wall hanger and said you trained in traditional bokuto sword(which sounds a little strange most people would say kenjutsu or name the actual ryuha)
oaktree
Master of Arts
So he showed you some forms and didn't teach you anything ok....So then you started to learn Taijiquan and Qigong or you just were interested in it and read some books on it? I actually practice Chen Taijiquan and Qigong as well.
oaktree
Master of Arts
"traditional Bokuto Sword Freestyle Fencing drills"
There is no such things as Traditional Bokuto sword freestyle fencing drills. The closest thing that comes to this would most likely be Kenjutsu which uses Bokken and they are not freestyle but carefully develop sequences and arrangements for the most part.
There is no such things as Traditional Bokuto sword freestyle fencing drills. The closest thing that comes to this would most likely be Kenjutsu which uses Bokken and they are not freestyle but carefully develop sequences and arrangements for the most part.
That's why I'm trying to track down whether Mr. Santella is actually ranked in BJJ himself. My current research points towards no, but I'm still investigating.
Just for future reference, should you happen to attend another school down the line, having a gym "full of credentials, certificates, trophies, ribbons and newspaper articles" tells you nothing useful unless you investigate exactly who issued those credentials, certificates, trophies, and ribbons and exactly what they are for. (The newspaper articles will almost always be promotional fluff with a local reporter repeating whatever the instructor told him.)
Just to help clarify things for you:
MMA is a sport, with amateur and professional fighters competing in a wide variety of small-time and big-time promotions.
The UFC is currently the largest business running professional MMA events. They usually hire only top-tier MMA competitors who have proven themselves in smaller promotions.
Sherdog is a website for MMA fans that provides reporting and commentary on the MMA scene. One thing they do as part of that reporting is collect results from various pro MMA events and tally up the fight records of the competitors in those events.
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Mou Meng Gung Fu
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- #59
Flying Crane
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Is that you? Tom Cruise?
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