Also, too much "ooo you just got PWND!" and other kiddie-l33t speak. Its like a forum full of former (or current) nerds who learned how to throw a jab-cross combo (or watches enough UFC to know what it looks like). They're an annoying bunch. If I wanted to deal with that crap, I'd goto 4chan.org
I've got a Sherdog account and I read stuff and post there occasionally. I think I've got a bullshido one as well. But MAP is my favorite of them all. Get into some good discussions here and it doesn't descend into a flame war just because we don't agree on every single point.
It's funny to come back to MAP after a long time away. The more things change... the more they stay the same! I have accounts at both sites... but there are only so many hours in a day to read and post on forums (despite what my old post count says!! lol) - so once you get comfy at one site or have a certain group of people you know and respect their posting style and maybe... just maybe... their opinions then you tend to stay there... sort of a cognitive dissonance thing. If you get the fever for the flavor of Bullshido or Sherdog then by all means post away. It's whatever floats your boat... just don't expect for everyone to have reason or explanations for not posting on those sites that live up or down to your levels of rationalization and reason.
I've got an account on Bullshido but I think the last time I used it was three years ago. I just don't get on with the site itself (without mentioning the members). Black backgrounds, flashing things and adverts all over the place all do my head in (quite literally at times - I get headaches from the things!) so I'll stick with MAP's clean look As for Sherdog, I don't think I've ever been on it!
Why watch the Special Olympics when the real games are on? See, I have enough inflamatory comments and snide, sarcastic wit all on my own. Take the recent thread on horse-stance: On MAP you will get a mix of opinions and observations both pro and con. Mention the same thing on Bullshido and you'll get twenty pages of flaming before they get bored and let the thread die. That, and the fact that I believe anyone that uses the term "aliveness" should put some peanut butter on a bullet and have themselves a peanut butter and 9mm sandwich.
The concept is good but the marketing is annoying. The disciples of Pope Thornton the First, preach the gospel of aliveness with such alacrity one can only assume that they are paid for each use of the word.
I think what bcullen is trying to say is that it is ironic that the proponents of 'aliveness' will talk about how TMAs are some kind of pseudo religion and then seem like your born again buddy who just can't stop preaching the gospel... As bcullen says it is a good concept, but isn't all that complicated an idea and doesn't need all that much analysis...
Fair enough. I guess the word probably gets thrown around so much over on Bullshido because of the forum's goal to root out martial arts fraud, and the members' ever so sincere desire to point out the iniquities in the training of others.
Probably depends on what you mean by "biased". Bullshido takes the view that since martial arts are for self-defense and/or sporting events, the best way to practice them is with the aforementioned "aliveness", and that's a view I agree with. If you want to practice your martial art for some other reason (philosophy, history, fitness, making new friends, etc.) then all the power to you. And if you want to practice techniques that aren't safe to use against a fully resisting opponent, then again, all the power to you. Effective martial arts training encompasses a wide variety of training methods. If your training does not include a healthy amount of practice against a fully resisting opponent however, then I would call that an iniquity. That's not the only way to practice a martial art, but it should be a major focus.
The training methods should speak for themselves. They either effectively represent the goals of the training, or they don't. I'm sure most Bullshido posters are biased towards a particular training methodology, but for a good reason - it has been demonstrated over and over and over again to be effective.
