Hello

H

Hepkat

Joined
Jul 7, 2011
Messages
14
Hi Everyone,

I just wanted to introduce myself. This seems like a cool online community. I got an AK khukuri a couple months ago and am totally in love with it. These knives just feel alive, in a way that all my very nice mass produced knives don't.
One of my jujitsu teachers was just two days ago promoted to eighth dan, and so today I picked up the DOTD sirupari as a gift for her. It seems like it's halfway between being a knife and a lightsaber! Only problem is I want to get one for myself now!
Also, I am a graduate student at the University of Nevada only a few miles from Yangdu's house. She was kind enough to invite me over to pick it up, save shipping, and see all the cool blades waiting to go out along with a few historical pieces from her collection. She is such an awesome person! I can't thank her enough.

Have a nice day everyone,

--Justin
 
Hepkat said:
...only a few miles from Yangdu's house...
Click to expand...

That would be incredibly lucky and kinda dangerous (to your wallet) at the same time.

Benefit to your wallet: The money you save on shipping would be like having a "Buy Ten Get One Free" card.

Welcome to the forum!
 
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Hello, Justin, it is very nice to 'meet' you. I envy you immensely for having an HI product, much less considering buying a second one, but, that must wait for now, as I cannot afford the masterpieces of Himalayan Imports, me and my pathetic unemployment...but, anyway, as a studier of Tang Soo Do, I bow to a fellow martial artist, and to you, I would like to confirm your suspicion: this community is among the best people AROUND. Period. And I would defend the relationships I have developed, (all platonic), here, with my life, if I had to. Willingly. When you come here, no matter how many miles seperate us all, you're home, when you see that sticky that says Cantina Library by Karda, when you see a bunch of posts about good people, and their lives, the Gurkha heroics, Nepali current times, and of course, the nicest knife company owner that I know of, Ms. Martino, you know you're always welcome, no matter if a dozen outside posters say you are not, remember that you are always welcome. Now, I am not perfect. I have made huge mistakes, both with an inkling of troublemaking in mind, and unintentional rudeness, and I know that these people will always take me back with open arms. So long as you are a good person (you sound like a wonderful person, by the by) and follow the rules, you'll do spectacular, no matter your age or experience. And that is exactly why I love this place.
...This is getting too long, so I'll wrap it up, and say Hello, and goodbye, Justin, and I hope your stay is long and fruitful for whatever your intent and purpose was for joining us. Welcome. And...peace.
David
 
Thanks for the welcome guys!

Hmmmmm, I guess that means I need to buy ten more knives! I better start saving my money! Thanks for the heads up Steve

Bows back to Danny, Tang Soo Do is cool stuff. I've done some work with Master Mikeal Smith in Reno, seminars and whatnot and he trains in Jujitsu with me sometimes. Neat style.
 
Really? That sounds cool. I would watch your wallet though, I heard where great knife companies gather...wallets come alive...like zombies...ha ha! But, yeah, I am an orange belt, and I'm about to take a break for a little while from karate, but I would love to hear about this jujitsu. I take it that it is not at all related to jutsu from Naruto, which I only watched a couple of times, though I actually kind of liked that series in a strange way...wonder whatever happened to it..., not a lot in that show was practical, what with the blasts of chakra, sprinting up trees and landing ridiculous leaps undamaged,(as well as their eyes...has anyone ever noticed anime characters almost never suffer damage to their eyes, even if they fall flat on their face with their eyes open or something? I admit showing eyeball damage is nothing I want to see, but still, they should at least have blood shot eyes...whatever....) Anyway, yeah, all I know about jujitsu is that it is supposedly a more rocked-in-face, athletic, super duty version of judo. I have to walk my dogs, but I'll be back to see whatever you feel like posting about it, Justin. I am, undoubtedly, too excited, but I believe getting excited about meeting new people and making friends and whatnot, is a good thing. Peace everyone.
 
Hello Justin and Welcome !!!

You are lucky to live so close to Auntie.
I wish i did, it sure would make things a little easier for me....I think. :foot:
The only real big rule here is the golden rule, We're just a group of mostly like minded friends who share a love for Himalayan Imports Philosophy and It's bent knives....well...not all of em' are bent, and a fascination with Nepali, Tibetan and Indian culture and Buddhism.
Please be sure to read the Safety Sticky at the top of the main forum. Your safety is important to us.
There is also lots of reading in the Link Library in the main forum and a variety of eclectic subjects in the Cantina Library here.
Please make yourself at home and enjoy!
 
Hey Justin, welcome to the shark pool.

If you like the sirupate as a martial arts blade, next time you see Auntie, ask to handle a tamang if she has one in.
 
Wow, Thanks again for the welcome everyone.

Uh oh Danny, you opened a can of worms. Once you get me talking about martial arts you'll never shut me up! LOL

I think (bear in mind this comes from a guy that doesn't speak Japanese and learned a handful of words from guys who also don't speak Japanese) that Jutsu is basically the same word as Jitsu and they both refer to a style, way of doing something, or the art/science of doing something. So tantojutsu is the way to use a knife (tanto), shurikenjutsu is the way to throw sharp things (shuriken) at people and jujitsu is the way to use softness/gentleness (ju).

The literal translation of jujitsu is somewhat misleading, as "softness" has more to do with manipulating someone without hard strikes then about being soft. Also, jujitsu is a somewhat generic term for the empty handed techniques of the samurai. There are dozens of different jujitsu styles today (perhaps more) and historically there were hundreds (many families had their own unique styles and would only pass the knowledge on to family members). So jujitsu can mean a lot of different things. My particular style is Danzan Ryu Kodenkan Jujitsu, although I'm not super traditional about it and incorporate a lot of stuff from other systems.

A lot of the differences between jujitsu and karate stem from the local technology where they were developed. Jujitsu was developed by samurai, who primarily used weapons (actually for most of their history the bow was the primary weapon of the samurai, and spears were at least as common as Katana in battle). If you expect to fight someone armed with a large blade, punching and kicking is often a very very bad idea. Also punching someone in the helmet or breastplate doesn't work very well.

I slightly less bad idea (fighting an armed opponent empty handed is always a bad idea) is to control the weapon, remove their balance, then engage your own weapon or use theirs against them. Traditional jujitsu almost always teaches a ton of moves that involve grabbing someones wrist or having your wrist grabbed. They don't often say so, but these moves are really about preventing someone from using or drawing their weapon; or dealing with someone who is trying to prevent you from using or drawing your weapon.

Judo (ju=soft/gentle, do=path or way) is a more recent variation, started by a master named Kano in the late 1800's. He combined several different jujitsu styles and removed the techniques that were inappropriate for friendly competition. So no punching/kicking (despite what I said earlier jujitsu does teach striking), eye gouges, throat separation, nerve strikes, neck breaking, spine dislocations, etc. This doesn't mean that Judoka aren't tough. A good Judoka can flip you over and bounce your head off the pavement with frightening speed and efficiency. Most modern jujitsu schools in the U.S. have a large Judo influence.

In the last couple decades most Americans think of Gracie or Brazilian Jujitsu (jiu jitsu = same thing) when they hear jujitsu. This style is similar to Judo in that they took a subset of jujitsu that is suitable for competition. Their subset is more focused on the grappling/wrestling part of jujitsu and they are very good at it. I have a little problem with how they teach, in that many who I have trained with are not taught to differentiate combat/self-defense techniques from competition techniques. There are some very pointed (ha) reasons why the mount and the guard are bad ideas when your opponent has a small pocket knife. Or teeth, or HIV for that matter.

Apologies to everyone for slipping into martial arts instructor lecture mode!

Also, caveat: Much of my knowledge comes from people who are better Martial Artists than Historians. Please take everything I say with a grain of salt!

--Justin
 
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Justin, your martial arts instructor lecture mode is very welcome, especially in the HI Cantina.

(I broke up your wall of text into the paragraphing you indicated with indentations. This makes it easier to read.)
 
Yeah, what Esav said. You are very knowledgeable indeed, and so must the people who taught you be knowledgeable. I think, personally, that getting a degree or a doctorate in something does not always mean that that person knows virtually everything about their subject and are experts, I think it means that the person is an extremely capable student or something like that. That does not mean they CAN'T be experts too, it simply means that I don't know if everyone slapped with Doctor in front of their name are true experts or just good students. And it gets more sinister than that, but I won't get into it, because that might start an argument, which I do not want to start. But, my point is that martial arts is a grand way to learn history, and I bet there are some parts of history that are hidden in martial arts, only discovered by martial artists training in that art, that historians don't have the time to find out. Secrets could be awaiting an aspiring writer/martial artist to divulge to the world. I know I learned more about Korea via my instructor than I ever did from reading about the Korean War in my History lessons.
There is a large amount of interpretation in martial arts, my instructor only became a third degree black-belt BECAUSE of the ingenious ways he interprets, modifies, adds, and subtracts to/from the art of Tang Soo Do. I strongly encourage you to continue to interpret your martial art, and discourage listening to others, no matter who they are, when or if they tell you to stop trying to do things the way you think is right. Personalization and improvisation is an art in itself, and it is sinful to deprive people of the arts. After all, if the Gurkha's were not allowed to use their brains and improvise, they would be ordinary soldiers; the whole entire reason we are dominant species on this planet is the incredible capabilities of our gray matter. That is why I find people who limit other people to be...disagreeable, unless they limit them for a very good reason. But, I am rambling.
If you managed to get to the end of this Justin, I just wanted to let you know that I am not all angry or bothered at all when I say that my name is David, not Danny, though if it makes you feel uncomfortable for whatever reason to call me David, you can call me Danny. It does not really matter to me, I just thought I would let you know. If you were not talking to me, that is fine too. Peace.
 
Welcome Hepkat :cool:. The more martial artists that get involved with HI, the better, IMHO. :thumbup:
 
Oh my, I'm sorry David! Thats super rude to mess up your name! I wonder why I had Danny in my head. It's really not cool. Names are important, its who you are and should be respected. So again I really didn't mean to do that and aplogize.

The history of Korean martial arts, is something I would love to know more about. I've really only ever studied the Japanese styles. Aside from tang soo do, (which I think is the coolest of the karate systems) do you know anything about hwa rang do? I've been curious about that for awhile.

Also, reading the stuff about the Gurkhas one here is really fascinating. It seems like there isn't really much formal training aside from having a blade in there hands almost from birth!
 
Unfortunately, I do not know anything about hwa rang do, but I do know a few things about Tang Soo Do and Korean martial arts. I know they are a conglomeration of native, Chinese, and Japanese martial arts styles, the Chinese incorporated the flowing, circular motions, while the Japanese, while occupying Korea, forcing the people to practice their arts, contributed their powerful motions. Asia and surrounding nations have apparently been occupying each other as far back as the first time got in a boat, though don't quote me on that, that could just be a figment of my imagination. And, yes, Gurkha's are practically superhuman in resourcefulness, courage, and other physical and mental abilities. And, most importantly, like most soldiers, they are good people. Unlike most soldiers, however, they almost always go above and beyond the call of duty with extraordinarily valorous, superhuman results! And thanks for getting my name right, it does actually mean a lot to me, I just wanted to avoid being rude myself, it is a supremely irritating habit of mine, being unintentionally rude/ignorant/offensive! It's actually supposed to be part of my diagnosis, not being able to fully discipline myself and spurting rude, offensive, unacceptable things, I notice it all the time in my A.S. (Autism Spectrum) friends. I am more well developed in that respect than most Asperger Syndrome people, and am, therefore, exponentially harder on myself when I slip up and say something awful or stupid. Well, I'll see you around on the forums, dude! Peace.
PS: You sound like a kind, slightly quirky, intelligent, and respectful person, Justin, (somewhat like my good friend Quiggifur), and I would like to extend my metaphorical hand in friendship to you, in addition to my welcome to your hopefully long relationship with the Cantina. Whether you want to be friends or not, I'll probably understand either way, I hope you stay a long time and contribute much to our discussions. Peace.
 
Thanks David! I personally think that being quirky is the highest complement. You're a pretty cool guy and I'm glad to have you as a friend.

--Justin
 
Friendship-get! Sweet. You know that comes with a lifetime, infinite favor warranty, right? I fashioned that out of a car commercial I heard once, but 'it be the truth!' as they say in the 'hood.
 
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