Sword XMA

[Mukdo_Centered]

While browsing youtube I came across alot of Martial Arts demos and competitions and alot of these incorperated sword. Now this is not a sword art as we know it, it's just twirly screamy flippy dancing with a sword really. Even so, I love the stuff and I respect the people that do it. It takes alot of athletecism to pull that stuff off.

What is your take on this. I placed this in the flame section ecause I know that some people view this as an insult to martial arts and are highly offended by it. Just post your opinion ^_^

[Lady_Kitsune]

do you have the link to see it?

[Gideon]

Twirly... Flippity... Spinnerity... Sparkley...


in short - SHINEY!!!

:spchless:

[Chaby]

Them Ninjers again...

[Anime12478]

I don't have a problem with it at all. To me, the problem comes when someone says that they are doing kendo or iaido and it's actually something like the XMA stuff. To me, it looks pretty neat.

[samurai80]

Its corny as hell...

1.The intro- "My name is Johnny McNobody!!! I'm from Striking Dragon Super Bad Ass Dojo!!! With your permission, I will begin!!!

2. The outfits- Nothing says awesome like silver shoulder pads.

3. The weapons- Japanese weapons are great...but what if they had blinking lights in the handle? Oh, now they are cool.

4. The routines- Something about the routines say "I'm not good enough to do gymnastics, and I don't have the patience or will, to practice a legitimate martial art." The routines alse say " Hey! Baton twirling is for all ages!"

5. The people- Why watch anime, when you can pretend to live it?

[Andrew S]

Its corny as hell...

1.The intro- "My name is Johnny McNobody!!! I'm from Striking Dragon Super Bad Ass Dojo!!! With your permission, I will begin!!!

2. The outfits- Nothing says awesome like silver shoulder pads.

3. The weapons- Japanese weapons are great...but what if they had blinking lights in the handle? Oh, now they are cool.

4. The routines- Something about the routines say "I'm not good enough to do gymnastics, and I don't have the patience or will, to practice a legitimate martial art." The routines alse say " Hey! Baton twirling is for all ages!"

5. The people- Why watch anime, when you can pretend to live it?
Must spread rep blah, blah.

[JoDuncan]

To be honest i don't think anyone gives a shit.

It's only when they call what they are doing kendo or iai or if they give themselves a gradious title like soke, that people here get their panties in a knot.

personally, i love it.... when it all goes horribly wrong! Shouldda stuck to batons you silly boys!

It's cheer-leading, ninjer style

[Anime12478]

Its corny as hell...

1.The intro- "My name is Johnny McNobody!!! I'm from Striking Dragon Super Bad Ass Dojo!!! With your permission, I will begin!!!

2. The outfits- Nothing says awesome like silver shoulder pads.

3. The weapons- Japanese weapons are great...but what if they had blinking lights in the handle? Oh, now they are cool.

4. The routines- Something about the routines say "I'm not good enough to do gymnastics, and I don't have the patience or will, to practice a legitimate martial art." The routines alse say " Hey! Baton twirling is for all ages!"

5. The people- Why watch anime, when you can pretend to live it?
In #4, you forgot the screaming as loud as you can to sound fierce at random intervals throughout the routine!

[samurai80]

Very good Anime. I thought about it, but that would've required its own seperate list.

[menkotedo]

I don't like it when they call "kata" the things they do. I don't know if it is to give some legitimacy to the whole thing.

[nico storm]

I think also there is a distinction to be made between someone who is actually studying at a dojo, and perferming "legitimate", if that can describe it, XMA, and some 15 year old kid playing with some wall hanger his parents were silly enough to buy him.

It is this second category which lead to news reports of "little Tommy cut off his thumb with a Samurai Sword" and "boy kills brother with samurai sword", and so and and so forth, which ultimately ends up giving those studying genuine arts a bad press.

[LarsCW]

Just give them all a wallhanger and let them twirl it if they wanna.

Make it a new MA.

Have Kaoru yell at them while twirling about the safety issue of twirling wallhangers.

If they can handle 15 minutes of this without attacking her they can call themselves soke and grandmaster when they can handle 30 minutes.

Ofcourse if the wallhanger breaks off and kills someone during the process...

too bad you'll have to start over and listen while Kaoru keeps on going. There is atleast one guarrentee.


She'll never stop. The only thing that might stop is her mini microPC but then that will give her more to speak about to you.:D

[Kaoru]

I think also there is a distinction to be made between someone who is actually studying at a dojo, and perferming "legitimate", if that can describe it, XMA, and some 15 year old kid playing with some wall hanger his parents were silly enough to buy him.

It is this second category which lead to news reports of "little Tommy cut off his thumb with a Samurai Sword" and "boy kills brother with samurai sword", and so and and so forth, which ultimately ends up giving those studying genuine arts a bad press.

I don't think there is so much of a difference. Both haven't had training in a legitimate JSA. The XMA stuff isn't real swordarts, imo. It's just dangerous and crazy. Some of the XMA crowd use wallhangers too. And, I know of at least one incident where a karate guy samurai wannabe was tossing his live blade high up into the air at some tournament doing a "form" and caught half of live blade itself and half of the tsuka instead of just the tsuka and cut up his hands really bad when it came down. Oh, and this same guy had tried to spin his sword around his neck at another competition and cut his neck in the process. Idiot!

This was in Minneapolis, St. Paul, MN in Oct. 2003 just when I started kendo. Here:

http://www.tsuki-kage.com/darwin.html

There are other sword related accidents on this page too.

I honestly can't watch these things. I can't stand the idea that they could either seriously injure themselves or kill someone with all the tossing and fast twirling they do. They often are dumb enough to use live blades, too. It's so scary to watch them! :eek: I can't figure out why they think they are safe when messing around like that. They should get proper instruction and just stop playing with swords.

Thing is, yes, the XMA stuff looks cool... Until you realise those are real swords, and not just safe plastic toys that won't hurt or kill someone.

Kaoru

[menkotedo]

After reading all these articles all I can say is, sh!t, what were they thinking that was stupid, but the worst thing is that before I started kendo and iaido I thought that was supposed to be the real thing (I'm pathetic and have the soul of a ninjer I know) thanks to those bad Discovery channel documentaries, I think it was called Xtreme martial arts ironically, and who could forget the oiled taekwondo b@stard from the Nat geo program who couldn't cut but played with that sword like it was a basketball.

[samurai80]

What a perfect post to follow up LarsCw's with. We don't even need to respond to threads anymore. Whoever starts the thread can just go ahead and posts our highly predictable comments themselves. Examples...

"What do you think of XMA?"

Kenzan-Find yourself a humorous, yet slightly disturbing picture to post.

Kaoru- Reach new heights of paranoia. Now type for a while.

Ignatz- Come up with something funny, and clever... now manage to make it still sound wise.

ScottUK- Find XMA site. Provide link. Follow link with something short to say, but packs more than a fair share of smart ass.

Neil Gendzwill- Be cool, be the Gendz.

Guy from XMA site who mysteriously appears(we'll call him TigerfistIronpalm82)
TigerfistIronpalm82-State your name,rank, "dojo", and then explain why you're so awesome, and why kendo sucks.

[Kaoru]

What a perfect post to follow up LarsCw's with. We don't even need to respond to threads anymore. Whoever starts the thread can just go ahead and posts our highly predictable comments themselves. Examples...

"What do you think of XMA?"

Kenzan-Find yourself a humorous, yet slightly disturbing picture to post.

Kaoru- Reach new heights of paranoia. Now type for a while.

Ignatz- Come up with something funny, and clever... now manage to make it still sound wise.

ScottUK- Find XMA site. Provide link. Follow link with something short to say, but packs more than a fair share of smart ass.

Neil Gendzwill- Be cool, be the Gendz.

Guy from XMA site who mysteriously appears(we'll call him TigerfistIronpalm82)
TigerfistIronpalm82-State your name,rank, "dojo", and then explain why you're so awesome, and why kendo sucks.

OMG... ROTFL!!! :eek: :D If I drank coffee(Actually hate the stuff. Tastes ghastly, but it smells really good.), and I was drinking it right now, it now, thanks to you, would be spewed all over my keyboard. :D Geez, that was very funny. I couldn't stop laughing after reading this. You have us all pegged, don't you. :laugh:

You get +rep if it'll let me. :) I wish I was as funny as you are.

EDIT: I just now tried to give it to you. Stupid thing wouldn't let me! :( Anyway, I'd give it to you if I could. Please pretend you have it from me. :)

Kaoru

[LarsCW]

What a perfect post to follow up LarsCw's with. We don't even need to respond to threads anymore. Whoever starts the thread can just go ahead and posts our highly predictable comments themselves. Examples...

"What do you think of XMA?"

Kenzan-Find yourself a humorous, yet slightly disturbing picture to post.

Kaoru- Reach new heights of paranoia. Now type for a while.

Ignatz- Come up with something funny, and clever... now manage to make it still sound wise.

ScottUK- Find XMA site. Provide link. Follow link with something short to say, but packs more than a fair share of smart ass.

Neil Gendzwill- Be cool, be the Gendz.

Guy from XMA site who mysteriously appears(we'll call him TigerfistIronpalm82)
TigerfistIronpalm82-State your name,rank, "dojo", and then explain why you're so awesome, and why kendo sucks.

I really wonder what kinda link kenzan would come with. Some kinda XMA accident gone wrong maybe:D

I kinda expect Scott to come with some McDojo, I'm really dissapointed with his lack of activity

[Sparv]

I kinda expect Scott to come with some McDojo, I'm really dissapointed with his lack of activity

Isn't he in Paris for the iai championships?

[Kenzan]

Kenzan-Find yourself a humorous, yet slightly disturbing picture to post.



I simply have no idea what you're talking about (http://www.yachigusaryu.com/blog/pics/forza3.jpg).

[Sutemi]

I simply have no idea what you're talking about (http://www.yachigusaryu.com/blog/pics/forza3.jpg).

That school almost fooled me. Devoid of your typical insane trappings, it almost looked like a legitimate place. Then, of course, I read further. (http://www.yachigusaryu.com/about_FAQ.html)


If you don't study Kendo, why do you take a picture of you in tare with a shoto (http://www.yachigusaryu.com/about.html) (which seems pretty awkward in and of itself), or in just in bogu (http://www.yachigusaryu.com/about_gary_moro.html)? Of all of the people I've had the pleasure of practicing with who study koryu bugei, none of them wore kendo bogu at any point in their keiko.

Anyway, I'm surprised nobody threw up this delicious video of XMA (http://youtube.com/watch?v=lueuQu62nRQ)"swordsmanship". I think I hear the "Samurai Jack" theme in the background.

[samurai80]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c-d2-Bgcfcs

Proof that XMA is a horrible rave party. Let me guess where you got the nunchucky training...it was while you were dancing, and...the nunchucks were glow sticks.

Why watch this next video? Because its the "Battle at the Beach". Oh, and because the poster, describes the event as his "Grand Championship win".

"Hey buddy, where ya goin'?"
"Oh me? I'm goin' to the Battle at the Beach."
"Is the Battle at the Beach for some championship title?"
"No...its for the GRAND Championship."

Note the background music on this one in particular. Is this really the song that should play when you want to kick ass?http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y4gMgF_Om14

Sword throwing, shoulderpad having, goodness. Enjoy several flavors of crap, all from one video. By the way, what exactly qualifies you to be a judge? Can you have the right amount of experience in pretending to do stuff? Do you have to have a keen eye for quality, make- up -as -you -go , things?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m5rt8MZW5h0

Lars- You had to ask, didn't you?
Kenzan- My God...is that a dude, or a lady, in the center of that picture?
Sutemi- The video inspired me. Heh.

[samurai80]

Forgot to add http://www.masterfrydefense.com/XMA/XMATEAM207.jpg

[foundinsea]

Aren't most of the XMA people from non-sword backgrounds like karate...or should I say American Karate? I'm not flaming the US, it's just that it seems that when martical arts hit the US mainstream, it somehow gets morphed into something like XMA. It's martial arts, not aerobics or acrobatics. It's interesting to watch though...just never know when someone is gonna get killed...it's like why people like to watch WRC(world rally championships) up close and personal, I think.

[Kaoru]

Aren't most of the XMA people from non-sword backgrounds like karate...or should I say American Karate? I'm not flaming the US, it's just that it seems that when martical arts hit the US mainstream, it somehow gets morphed into something like XMA. It's martial arts, not aerobics or acrobatics. It's interesting to watch though...just never know when someone is gonna get killed...it's like why people like to watch WRC(world rally championships) up close and personal, I think.

For the most part, yes.

Kaoru

[foundinsea]

This is off topic, but I met this one eyed guy from Minnesota (can't remember his name) that did kendo. I think he was shodan or nidan, but hadn't done it in a long time then started up again when he got transferred to Singapore. Don't suppose you might know who I'm talking about, Kaoru?

[Kaoru]

This is off topic, but I met this one eyed guy from Minnesota (can't remember his name) that did kendo. I think he was shodan or nidan, but hadn't done it in a long time then started up again when he got transferred to Singapore. Don't suppose you might know who I'm talking about, Kaoru?

Hmmmm... I've been doing kendo for 4 years now. How long ago was this, and which Minnesota dojo was he a member of? I didn't know there was a guy with only one eye doing kendo here. Wonder if I know him but never knew he only had one eye? I could find out easily enough if I knew a little more. :)

Kaoru

[foundinsea]

1999 is when I met him. Can't say I know which dojo he's from...just kinda popped into my head when I say you were from Minnesota. He wore an eye patch...hits really hard too. Anyway, no biggie...just curious is all since I haven't kept in touch with him since Singapore. Then again, how many "pirates" do kendo anyway...^^

[ccheck5]

I don't think there is so much of a difference. Both haven't had training in a legitimate JSA. The XMA stuff isn't real swordarts, imo. It's just dangerous and crazy. Some of the XMA crowd use wallhangers too. And, I know of at least one incident where a karate guy samurai wannabe was tossing his live blade high up into the air at some tournament doing a "form" and caught half of live blade itself and half of the tsuka instead of just the tsuka and cut up his hands really bad when it came down. Oh, and this same guy had tried to spin his sword around his neck at another competition and cut his neck in the process. Idiot!

This was in Minneapolis, St. Paul, MN in Oct. 2003 just when I started kendo. Here:

http://www.tsuki-kage.com/darwin.html

There are other sword related accidents on this page too.

I honestly can't watch these things. I can't stand the idea that they could either seriously injure themselves or kill someone with all the tossing and fast twirling they do. They often are dumb enough to use live blades, too. It's so scary to watch them! :eek: I can't figure out why they think they are safe when messing around like that. They should get proper instruction and just stop playing with swords.

Thing is, yes, the XMA stuff looks cool... Until you realise those are real swords, and not just safe plastic toys that won't hurt or kill someone.

Kaoru

its sponsered by paul mitchell???

[ccheck5]

I simply have no idea what you're talking about (http://www.yachigusaryu.com/blog/pics/forza3.jpg).

very buff manly chicks, but i dont think those are any sword.....:wink::wink:

[ccheck5]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c-d2-Bgcfcs

Proof that XMA is a horrible rave party. Let me guess where you got the nunchucky training...it was while you were dancing, and...the nunchucks were glow sticks.

Why watch this next video? Because its the "Battle at the Beach". Oh, and because the poster, describes the event as his "Grand Championship win".

"Hey buddy, where ya goin'?"
"Oh me? I'm goin' to the Battle at the Beach."
"Is the Battle at the Beach for some championship title?"
"No...its for the GRAND Championship."

Note the background music on this one in particular. Is this really the song that should play when you want to kick ass?http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y4gMgF_Om14

Sword throwing, shoulderpad having, goodness. Enjoy several flavors of crap, all from one video. By the way, what exactly qualifies you to be a judge? Can you have the right amount of experience in pretending to do stuff? Do you have to have a keen eye for quality, make- up -as -you -go , things?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m5rt8MZW5h0

Lars- You had to ask, didn't you?
Kenzan- My God...is that a dude, or a lady, in the center of that picture?
Sutemi- The video inspired me. Heh.

wow why is th hakama and stuf all homosexual looking? damn sword catchers

[LarsCW]

It's looking homosexual because they are all twirling with the damn swords and doing all these ballet moves.

It's like powerpuff girls meet the ninjer turles what I'm seeing here.

I'm really getting grumpy from not being able to do kendo and then having to see this twirly swirly stuff.

I'm pretty sure they just wanna wear a hakama because it gives everything so much freedom:D

[Fred27]

It's looking homosexual because they are all twirling with the damn swords and doing all these ballet moves.

It's like powerpuff girls meet the ninjer turles what I'm seeing here.

I'm really getting grumpy from not being able to do kendo and then having to see this twirly swirly stuff.

I'm pretty sure they just wanna wear a hakama because it gives everything so much freedom:D

Nothing wrong with the Powerpuff Girls (http://www.eden.rutgers.edu/~yuhongng/powerpuff%20girls%20copy.jpg) :D

[samurai80]

I'm pretty sure they just wanna wear a hakama because it gives everything so much freedom:D

I think the people in the picture Kenzan posted need the hakama once the surgery is complete.

[Yulya]

I don't think XMA looks cool. I think it looks corny and stupid, and the costumes don't help. No offense to anyone, but that is my opinion.

Hilarious thread though!

[webjunkie401]

Let's face it, for the most part, Kendo and Iaido just don't look cool to people who don't practice them. Even to people who do practice them, these really aren't spectator events. XMA looks... well exciting compared to the real thing (for the uninitiated).

That being said, I cringe every time I see one of those videos on YouTube. There's a point where you just have to shake your head and realize that flash will win over substance most of the time. Then you can chuckle as you head off to the dojo.

[Mukdo_Centered]

Anyway, I'm surprised nobody threw up this delicious video of XMA (http://youtube.com/watch?v=lueuQu62nRQ)"swordsmanship". I think I hear the "Samurai Jack" theme in the background.

That's actually one of the vids that I saw before puttin up this thread.

[foundinsea]

Karate must be getting boring...was there a sudden drop in membership recently?

[futabachan]

It's looking homosexual because they are all twirling with the damn swords and doing all these ballet moves.

Hey! You take that back. I'm in a same-sex relationship, and I never do flippy twirly nonsense like this and try to pass it off as legitimate martial arts. You're insulting LGBT people everywhere by comparing them to these McXtreme bozos....

[samurai80]

LarsCW was just repeating the terminology in ccheck's post before him. He's a good guy.

[Raindrop]

futabachan, I agree with you, but I don't think anyone here was insulting actual gay people. I know several gay men and women who are really great serious martial artists and a gazillion times more man or woman than any of those wannabe ninjers combined. Ones sexual orientation has absolutely zero, zilch, nada to do with your worth in martial arts or anywhere else and I think any real Kendoka knows not not judge anyone for such a thing :)

I guess it's one of those things you say, cause you know it'll hit those people were it hurts the most. Those macho wannabe ninjers in those videos try their hardest to look "cool" or "manly" so you just call them the opposite of that. Or at least, what society considers the opposite.

Anyways, when I watch those kind of videos I just wanna scream. They give ALL martial arts a bad name. I guess it's because in the USA they give out black belts for Karate or TKD on a dojo level. Over here, you can only get dan levels in front of a national panel of high level dans, and only if you pass there is it even valid. I know several Karate nidans in the US from Karate chat groups who have had less training than me and I'm just a 2nd kyu. So I guess since they don't get any real challenges and so they pick up a sharp blade and start swirling it around for kicks?

I can't even appreciate it for the "show effect". Those acrobats in a circus, for example, they train harder than even most martial artists. Juggling with a live blade is the stupidest thing anyone could ever do, especially if they don't have any training and no relationship with the weapon. You know, if they were training really hard, if they showed respect for the blade, if their moves were coordinated and had real meaning, then it would probably look awesome, but so far I have not seen a single video of any of those XMAers that was even remotely good.

[LarsCW]

Hey! You take that back. I'm in a same-sex relationship, and I never do flippy twirly nonsense like this and try to pass it off as legitimate martial arts. You're insulting LGBT people everywhere by comparing them to these McXtreme bozos....

My intentions were never to offend anybody in same sex relationships futabachan. If I did then you have my sincere apologies.

[galgallin]

I guess it's because in the USA they give out black belts for Karate or TKD on a dojo level.
Respectfully: False.


Over here, you can only get dan levels in front of a national panel of high level dans, and only if you pass there is it even valid.
Same. For real karate anyway. Not Dojo Dan's homebrew.

[Raindrop]

Respectfully: False.
Same. For real karate anyway. Not Dojo Dan's homebrew.


That's strange cause when I lived in the USA the dojos there gave out black belts.

They must have all been homebrew dojos then. There is too many of those fake ones, because just look at those so called "black belts" on youtube and whatnot. If any of them showed up to a JKA event they'd get trashed.

Sorry, I didn't know you had one national JKA-legit federation in the USA where you all take your Karate dan exams, cause when I hear how people got their black belts it sure never sounded like that. And I wonder why they can give nidan to people who have trained for less than 3 years and I need to wait 1 year after ikkyu for shodan and then 2 years for nidan and so on, not to mention still take my time with 7-1st kyu. Do you also have JKA valid karate passports then?

Sorry, I guess I underestimated the large amount of fake dojos, I never meant to imply that all dojos just give out the dan grades, just the non-legit ones then. Which there seem to plenty of.

[Alexyuen]

The sleeveless gi's with the safety reflectors look like safety vests people use on construction sites. Can't say I'm a fan of XMA anything. I can't see the true spirit of martial arts in it. I see no dedication, discipline, or patience. However, if the pracitioners are enjoying what they're doing, and aren't stepping on anyone's toes in while doing it, I think it's okay. Reminds me of dance class.

As my sensei says, its really cool, but it's not we're doing.

[galgallin]

Sorry, I didn't know you had one national JKA-legit federation in the USA where you all take your Karate dan exams, cause when I hear how people got their black belts it sure never sounded like that. And I wonder why they can give nidan to people who have trained for less than 3 years and I need to wait 1 year after ikkyu for shodan and then 2 years for nidan and so on, not to mention still take my time with 7-1st kyu. Do you also have JKA valid karate passports then?

It's been a few years since I stopped training Shotokan, so I may err in details, but the dojos I was speaking for are tied into the ISKF which was affiliated with the JKA until this year. I'm not sure if things have changed since they split, but until then all ISKF karateka had to go to one city for testing which was held every few months and the time restrictions on testing were the same as the JKA (1 year to shodan, 2 to nidan, etc).

In general, you are right, though, it's easier to find a bad karate dojo than a good one. Probably because 'karate' is one of the catch-alls for Japanese arts to the uninitiated. Just thought you'd like to know that there are a good number of American karateka who were _not_ trained to fight like spastic elementary school children.

[Jon Palombi]

Anyway, I'm surprised nobody threw up this delicious video of XMA (http://youtube.com/watch?v=lueuQu62nRQ)"swordsmanship". I think I hear the "Samurai Jack" theme in the background.

Well... what can you say? On one hand, this kind of flashy stuff takes quite a bit of body co-ordination, reflexes and timing. On the other hand, I want to kill him for bastardizing the Way of the Sword. (To each their own.) The problem is that this nonsense actually appeals to young kids who think it is a legitimate form of swordsmanship. How many of them will be distracted away from genuine, traditional sword arts? :confused2 This being said, I'm off to twirl my katana over my head and hopefully NOT let it go flying off somewhere into the crowd of spectators.

Be well and practice often, Jon Palombi