That was a great scene. (the taking the gun apart that is)
Oh yeah. Well my money is on our very own Glitch. If Jet does not have his script writers and stunt men to do his dirty work, then Glitch would kick his a$$.
Just my humble opinion.
Jeffery
Hey, if we are going to get off topic shouldn’t somebody start a new thread “Jet Li vs. Glitch” in General Questions (it’ll drive Manny nuts). Probably even more than “Godzilla vs. Lassie” would. 
Spiritus: But what would I do if he had a script? Alas, I fear I would be doomed. Being a gifted martial artist Jet (Lian) would be too smart to travel without a script handy. Just like I always lug around some concrete to break in case I have to scare off opponents. You do what works, you know?
You could borrow my handgun. It doesn’t come apart the way Mel Gibson’s does.
ROFL. Hmmm…good plan.
That was a really good scene (the taking apart the gun). Personally, I thought he should have won in the end (Jet in Lethal Weapon 4), if for no other reason than to preclude a Lethal Weapon 5.
Look, if Glitch really was a killer, he would have his own movies.
No offense Glitch, but I think Jet Li would do a pretty good number on you.
He is not the average MA who avoids guns. He even carries a ton of extra magazines with him to reload.
You may be good enough to be a boss bad guy in the end, but somehow, someway Jet Li is gonna get you.
BTW…
I think Jet Li should have won in the end og LW 4 also. No way Mel and Danny should have tried to fight him. I would have let him walk away.
Hell, I would have bought him a ticket
At least they showed just how damn reliable those ak’s are. It even fires under water!!!
What the Hell, since we seem to have all the martial artists assembled here, how do you go about choosing a good school? How do you decide what style is right for you?..If you’re better suited to a striking style, or something that relies more on locks/throws/etc. And what should you look for when you visit the school?..Is weapon training important?..Advice gentlemen?
So you guys seem to think my sensei is a pansy because we have to go to pretty extreme lengths to avoid hurting eachother in practicing (forget sparring!)? Personally, I agree. If I don’t fight, how am I going to learn to fight?
I sold my soul to Satan for a dollar. I got it in the mail.
Well, not a PANSY, he’s done some actual fighting, but…
I sold my soul to Satan for a dollar. I got it in the mail.
Ever since I was a kid I was fascinated by martial arts. For several years prior to joining a dojo I toyed with the idea without making a commitment. “I just don’t have the time” was and excuse I frequently used. When I finally decided that I would have to make the time, I realized that I had to confront my reasoning for desiring the training rather than the simple childhood fascination.
A great deal of deep introspection was required to discern my precise motives. There are the obvious goals such as physical fitness, but those goals fall into place in the natural progression. I’m an atheist, to use the term loosely, so I don’t believe in “spirituality”, but I was looking for a unfication of my mind and body. I sought (and still seek) a better command of my own mind. It is my personal opinion that a focus in general can be found in any discipline with a good sensei, but that’s really just the tip of the iceberg.
Not only did I want to find that sense of focus and unification, but I found that the communication I sought internally was something I desired in the external realms. If you’re simply looking for combat techniques, any ex-merc with a blackbelt will do, but if you seek something more you need to find someone who had to face similar challenges.
I don’t particularly care to beat anyone into a bloody pulp and I judge (unfairly) that martial arts such as tae kwan do, karate, jeet kun do, et cetera, are just too martial for me. I wanted something which would help me realize the connectivity within myself and within relationships outside of my personal physical confines. What I sought was something based more on “flow and blending” or musubi to coin a japanese term. I think that this sense ofmusubi is generally encountered earlier in the training of those martial arts which may be deemed of the “throwing” nature.
I was quite lucky to have walked into the right dojo with the right sensei. Anyone who lives in Connecticut or Massachusetts who wishes to learn aikido should give me an email if what I have inadequately described seems of interest. I must apologize – I realize this was a rather long rant, but it nature of the topic is extremely important to me (it is how I came upon my handle).
Oh, Atrael, weapons training is extremely important. Kenjitsu should give you further insight into your own taijitsu; that is, techniques in sword, for example, should help the development of unarmed techniques. Most importantly, find a sensei who “moves” you.
When my sensei moves me, it is usually with his foot, and it is usually the wall that stops me
I hear you about the akido. IMHO there are 4 basic reason for taking martial arts.
Physical fitness.
Self-defense
Sport
Spiritual body and mind stuff
It doesn’t matter who you are, if you are looking for one of these elements and you are in a school that focuses on another one, then you will not be happy.
I trained specifically for self-defense, none of the rest.
Hee hee hee
I know the feeling! 
My experience with both the martial arts and street violence has been sporadic, but oddly intense. A couple things I’ve noticed about the really real world:
- Yup, if you can manage to be 6’ 5", 250 lbs. with quick reflexes, you’ll find these attributes very handy in a fight. But your average fight involves average-sized people. In these situations, the mental aspects that Glitch described can make a big difference.
- On the streets (and occasionally on the mat) one or more combatants are usually high on something or other. This can work to your advantage or disadvantage (many street drugs raise your pain threshold, but leave you easily disoriented)
- Improvised weapons. In most situations, things happen too fast for the brawlees to arm themselves, but it’s a very good practice to glance at your environment if your spidey sense starts tingling, to see what might be used as a weapon by you or your opponent.
Hmmn… Where to start?
Let me make a pitch for the ‘traditional’ martial arts (Uechi-Ryu, Goju-Ryu, Shotokan, whatever).
If all you are interested in doing is learning to fight, then there may be better styles for you. But guys, we live in a civilized country. For you to spend years of your life trying to defend yourself against an attack that will probably never come is simply poor judgement (and if you’re always getting into confrontations, you need an attitude adjustment). I don’t care if you live in the ghetto - a real-life confrontation should be a rare event. If you are going to spend years of your life at something, it needs to offer you many things. Physical conditioning and confidence can be had at any martial arts school (although the confidence may be delusional). A traditional martial art will also give you a culture. You will learn history, geography, maybe a new language, and you will gain understanding in how people in other cultures think. If you attend the right school, you will also learn respect, grace in the face of adversity, and poise. In short, you will become a better human being.
Attend Joe Kickboxer’s badass self-defense school, and you’ll gain none of this. You may become a pretty good fighter, or you may not. But your skills will be devoid of emotional control or meaning. (this is not to denigrate non-traditional styles - many of them are very good and DO teach the things I mentioned above. But in many, many more, the only thing they have going for them is that the guy who runs the place has beat up a lot of people).
Anyway, some of the traditional styles are damned good fighting styles in their own right. Uechi-Ryu and Goju-ryu are very good styles for street fighting, as they involve practical close-in techniques, grappling, etc. Neither style has a kick above the waist, for instance. Our tournaments are fought either full-contact or semi-contact (full contact to the body, light contact to the head), and many matches end in takedowns and joint locks, which are the kinds of techniques that work on the street.
As for size vs technique, I must say that you will gain a lot of power with the right technique. I remember few years ago we accepted a new student who was an ex professional football player, about 280 lbs. But his punches and kicks had very little power because of poor technique. A black belt 100 lbs lighter could kick and punch much harder (that doesn’t mean the blackbelt would win - 100 lbs is a lot of mass to your advantage).
Quick rule of thumb when looking for a school - when you walk in, immediately look at the attitudes on the faces of the students looking at you. If they give you the ‘hairy eyeball’ and size you up and down, walk out. If they greet you with smiles and a friendly demeanor, stick around. A good school shouldn’t tolerate agressive attitudes towards strangers, especially in the setting of the dojo.
I have been toying with the idea of taking martial arts again for some time. (I got up to the third belt in Tae Kwan Do when I lived in Japan…it went white, orange, yellow there. I am not too interested in doing Tae Kwan Do again though…) Anyway, I really am not interested in the physical fitness portion of it at all (I.E. I want to stay the same size I am now.) but would like something that would possibly utilize my flexibility, leg strength (could do ten reps of 1800 lbs at age 15 on a hydraulic press thanks to the wonders of gymnastics) and be fun generally speaking.
My question would be what could I take that would do contain those qualities? For the record, when I say I am flexible…I mean in the extreme sense (think circus freaks and that is me… I can do almost all of those stretches and contortions, no joke). I have been pretty interested in Aikido because I believe that it is pretty nonviolent as far as martial arts are concerned and would generally be fat friendly but then again this doesn’t really take in my desire to use my legs. I don’t mind the moderate excercise, but as I said earlier, I want to keep my current shape.
So, what would be some suggestions for me out there?
HUGS!
Sqrl
Atrael:
What is important is entirely dependent upon what you are looking for. Early training, no matter what your eventual focus, needs to develop balance, flexibility, body control, breath control, mental focus, stamina, reflexes, basic tools (hand & foot positions), understanding of human kinesthetics, understanding of distance, timing, etc. Luckily, almost every style does at least a passable job of this. It is much more important, in the early years of training, to find an instructor who will inspire you to work, encourage your personal development, and be honest with you. It is not difficult to relearn/refine motions later in the game if you decide on a different path, but if your enthusiasm wanes you will not move very far along any path. If your instructor is not honest with you, it may be years before you discover that you are walking in the wrong direction.
I personally enjoy weapons work, particularly with escrima sticks, canes, bats and knives. I have a friend who has become deeply involved in Iado. Different paths, different targets. I know some excellent pratitioners who use only empty hand techniques. If you ever expect to have a stick swung at your head, though, it is quite helpful to have a good understanding of how stick attacks look/feel/recover.
I place far more importance upon instructor than style, but style is not unimportant – especially as your path advances. An old sparring partner of mine spent 15 years in a very aggressive Japanese style. The techniques he learned were dominated by driving, straight ahead power. He himself is a very circumspect and unaggressive man. On the mat, his reactions were always a split-second too slow. He had received a set of tools that were not natural for him to apply. They were not bad tools; they just didn’t fit his hand. After we discussed such things, he found another instructor whose system was more natural for his mindset. His fighting improved greatly in a matter of months.
All styles are large enough to encompass some variation in approach and application, but there are tendencies/limitations which you might want to consider. Again, it depends upon the destination you have in mind. I personally feel that style should always be sacrificed for effectiveness. If an Okinowan karateka can show me a better way to execute an upward block, I will use it in my Chinese forms. To me, anything else is foolish. To others, such influences destroy stylistic purity and dilute the art.
The best lack all conviction
The worst are full of passionate intensity.
*
Sqrl:
You might try a southern Chinese that emphasizes strong stance transitions and ground work (dog boxing). Some Chinese schools run very much to th etheatrical and acrobatic, though, so be careful if this is not your goal.
Judo might also be a good option, though if you want to compete it will be difficult to avoid some strong conditioning. Matwork will give you an intense muscular workout, but it is not aerobic, so it is possible to maintain a nice round belly. (It can even be an advantage in upright grappling, as it naturally lowers your center of gravity.)
The best lack all conviction
The worst are full of passionate intensity.
*
SqrlCub:
I’ll defer to Spiritus on the other styles (I’m not familiar with many Chinese styles and I’ll wager that Spiritus has more experience with Judo than I). Pertaining to your interest in Aikido: I was 6’-4" and 185 lbs. when I started aikido. I still am, but a little more toned. 
There are four major schools of aikido: ASU, USAF, AAA and Ki Society. If you’re looking for a more physical workout, USAF is probably your best bet. USAF focuses on kotai waza or technique based on power. I am an ASU aikidoka – we focus on kotai, ryutai, jyutai and kitai waza, in other words: power, flexibility, a mixture of the two, and ki. Aikido won’t give you a particular focus on your legs in regard to kicks, but can be very demanding in terms of stance. After a two hour class or an all-day seminar you will most likely notice the effect on your legs. If you’re interested, see Pete Trimmer sensei in D.C. (he’s ASU affiliated). I’ll look up the contact info if you’d like.
Ok ok, I gots a story: One time when I was 16 or so, I was partying down on Galveston island. I found myself at a gas station, whose parking lot was full of people drinking and whatnot, and ended up having a conversation with this guy and his wife. I’m blurry as to exactly what happened, but a couple of the partiers said something offensive to my new buddy’s wife. Well, next thing you know, this guy takes off his shoes, and begins to kick the shit out of these two guys. It was like a damn Bruce Lee movie - one guy would charge my friend only to be kicked in the face, and then my friend would do a roundhouse and kick the next guy in the face. And these were two grown men, of equal size to my friend, and they didn’t seem too drunk. Well, after a couple of minutes of getting their face bloodied, the two guys decided that they had had enough and got the hell out of there. Before that night, I thought that martial arts was not all that it’s cracked up to be.