http://www.templekungfu.com
... is back!

So it is... finally

It contains some new material but, for the most part, its the same tired old stuff.

What do you guys think of the picture at the top, the one with the roundhouse and block. thanks swollenknuck http://www.myspace.com/swollenknuck "Shedding more sweat in peace means less blood in war"

Hello SwollenKnuck, I saw that a few days ago. I believe it is a video “capture’. That is, it has been taken from a video. They seem to be frozen in mid move. This looks different from posing for the picture to my eye. It is with respect that I place my opinion here. If you want to see awkward, check out my thumbs at “youtube”. I am not criticizing here but I am offering my critique. I am doing this because you, SwollenKnuck have asked. It is my understanding that these guys are several hours apart. It is unlikely they are able to meet regularly. Mr. Swanstrom doesn’t appear to be kicking very hard. There isn’t much tension in his torso. More, he has thrown his hands right while kicking left And he has lifted his support heel while appearing to kick with the top of his foot. Mr. Crossman doesn’t have any real stance to speak of here. And his floating block is actually underneath the kick. Only the outside block is on target. But that doesn’t matter because he is leaning away, anyway. Overall, I’d say that someone took a vid of these guys fooling around. They then took a “capture” and placed it on the web page. The rest of their page looks well done. So I’d hazard to guess that whoever put this picture up isn’t trained: Not in Kung fu, anyway. Regards, MrE2Me2 Without prejudice E&OE

:lol:

The thing that catches my eye the most is the kicker's pinky finger sticking out. Thats funny Pai Mei, I noticed the same thing. The biggest thing that I notice is how much the blocker is leaning, it seems to me that if the roundhouse had anything on it it would knock him over. So I’d hazard to guess that whoever put this picture up isn’t trained: Not in Kung fu, anyway. I would have to say I agree with you Mystery, I mean I would hope that if it was them they would have picked a much better picture. I noticed when I went back to it today there are more pages up that I did not see a couple of days ago. I was going to say how I liked that they kept the write up simple and stuck with facts but I noticed now that there is write ups in the history and founder pages with the same old stories of Fu (Hu) Yen and such. What I mean to say is that I think it is impressive enough to say that he has been teaching since the sixties without going into all the contested stories. If they just stuck to the cold hard facts that nobody could contest I think they would be better off. Just my opinion anyways. thanks swollenknuck http://www.myspace.com/swollenknuck "Shedding more sweat in peace means less blood in war"

It doesn't take a genius to notice that the site is still under construction. I think that some of the pictures have been put on the site as place-holders until more appropriate ones are acquired. It's quite likely they may have been fooling around in the picture in question (as MrE2Me2 suggested), and I'm certain the site will undergo changes in the near future. Incidentally, the web site, in the two weeks that it's been up, has already brought in half a dozen students, despite that picture and the site's initial rough form. As for the pinkie sticking out, maybe that's MrE2Me2's "Pinkie of Death!" :lol:

I hope you guys are joking right? I mean come on. Your taking a still shot that is maybe 1/200th of a second window and applying sweeping criticism of people you do not know and likely have never met. See how easy it is to get a still shot of an exact moment of time when a techinque looks proper is not so easy. Can you really not see how sad that is? That would be like me criticising your spelling...my spelling is crap and I know it. I'm not saying your guys fighting skills are crap, but I doubt any of you could put a picture up here of the perfect sidekick. I mean come on, your picking on his pinkie for pete's sake. You guys should spend your time looking critically at your own techniques, you will be better served and I bet you'd find more than a pinkie that is wrong. Unless one of you is going to post a picture of themselves doing the perfect side kick you should be talking so authoritatively about others.

Hello Vortexx and Current Student, My apologies to all concerned. No offense was intended here. And if we are looking for candid shots, try these ones, part way down: http://ca.geocities.com/stnibor/robinskempohomepage.html I “captured” some stills from a vid of Jason and myself. I never appreciated how I straightened my lead leg when stepping. Nor did I realize how far I stepped (so much for short stances). I am glad that the site is doing its job. Although, I’d second Swollen Knuc’s opinion here. Vortexx, you posted, “As for the pinkie sticking out, maybe that's MrE2Me2's "Pinkie of Death!" ” Say…ya think so? l.o.l.! Current Student, you posted, “Unless one of you is going to post a picture of themselves doing the perfect side kick you should be talking so authoritatively about others.” Well, ya got me there. I can’t even decide on which of these is the one: The Side Snap (11 seconds) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ac1uQomTGqE The Side Edge Thrust (16 seconds) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5M4UbZKRpnY The Bottom Heel Thrust (14 seconds) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eI5jOY_nW9s Although, I am partial to this one (19 seconds), :-D (No, I'm not going full out.) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TK9WluPM3Ic And every once in awhile, I’ll do this one. (13 seconds) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zlFpQlDhVUs I’m sure there is lots of material to make me look bad from here :-D Although, I’d prefer not to see it. No offense was intended, Swollen Knuck asked and I answered. Regards, MrE2Me2 p.s, Incidentally, Oxfords English Dictionary defines them like this. “Critique is a detailed analysis and assessment Criticize is to indicate the faults of in a disapproving way” Without prejudice E&OE

RD

I know you at least have posted shots and videos of yourself Mr E but I would hardly say they put you in a position to be critical of someone else's kick still shot. I know, or at least I hope you are not suggesting that what you have posted are examples of perfectly executed techniques. Although, I am partial to this one (19 seconds), Very Happy (No, I'm not going full out.) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TK9WluPM3Ic Seems your hands are not closed either. If you feel that's a flaw then you should not be looking too far away for faults. You've posted a lot of your personal style here and it's admirable to have the courage to stick your ass on the internet for all the world to see. I have not been critical of your techniques not because I view them as perfect but more because it's not my place to criticize you. Like all of us I have enough of my own faults to work on. I’m sure there is lots of material to make me look bad from here Very Happy Although, I’d prefer not to see it. No offense was intended, Swollen Knuck asked and I answered. My point exacly, you of all people should know how hard it is to capture a perfect "anything" in a still. If Swollen Knuck asked you to punch your mother would you do it? "Because someone asked you", does not remove responsibility for your own actions. That's a childs excuse. Why not respectfully reply "I don't think it's really my place to critique someones technique unless they thenselves were to solicit it from me." <edit> OK sorry I guess I'm getting abit carried away here. You said you were sorry I should take it as such.

RD

RD