the rum soaked fist: internal martial arts forum

newtype wrote:Just wondering how everyone feels about BT's training clips he regularly posts up which often include him light sparring and teaching students? Genuinely curious to hear everyone's opinion on his flavor because I've only seen the more...eccentric....videos being posted.

I really liked the outdoor practice clips BT showed early on, in which they were using the playground equipment at the park for training. It was a great example of going with what you got....making do with what you already have....without spending big bucks on training equipment or paying to join a gym.

Very cool!

meeks wrote:can you provide some links?

There's tons of material on his youtube account...Keeping in mind the "sparring" in these clips reflects the differing levels of his students and what he's trying to teach them at each respective level so there is a lot of playing around. Still, you can get an idea of the flavor of his movements depending on each style (Mantis, Xingyi, Bagua, etc.) and how he applies things through bridging and sticking. Really, I'm surprised because I thought everyone was aware of all his videos but it's only when he posts the more eccentric ones that people take notice. There is a lot of good things going on in his training videos that I wish didn't get so looked over and really, I don't know too many other people on youtube that are posting this much level of contact in a CMA environment.

Light sparring with beginner level students:

Xingyi (More of a dynamic application than straight sparring)

Some playful Mantis sparring(towards middle of video)


I'd love to see the same level of openness from other practitioners...

I have to say, this thread and the equivalent thread on Gene Ching's forum both make me feel kind of cynical. People are saying BT has never actually been in a fight, so I post a link to his old fight footage, and it goes virtually uncommented here and completely uncommented over there. It's like people don't care whether their opinions correspond to reality or not.

It seems to me that a lot of the hostility towards him is due to his way of talking and presenting himself- like he's not allowed to have the cultural background he grew up with for some reason.

No doubt, he gets too caught up in the trash-talking stuff, and it all tends to end anti-climactically. As far as I can recall, that was because the other guy backed out. And granted, Maoshan's fight performance was not impressive at all. But Maoshan is not BT.

To me, his videos present clear information I can make sense of and use. And the MUSU fights are fun to watch. If he's going to be torn down just for talking like a guy from Harlem, I call BS on that.

If it ends in nothing interesting, why post the video?

I don't care if he can fight or not (nor do I really care if he makes videos of himself talking shit, or whatever. always liked his sparring clips with his students though, good on him for that), but why post a video of a bunch of trash talk in a parking lot? What does that accomplish?
What is he trying to do?

re: gilbride:
Are you kidding with the race card? He seems to be a publicity hound who plays up what you refer to as his "cultural background" more than John Wayne over-emphasized his strut and drawl. He's said a few times on this forum that he benefits from the attention, that it helps his fight promotions, so if anyone is turned off by his style it's more likely due to it being overdone than being some kind of prejudice against Harlem baw-gwah. He talked sooooooo much smack on this forum about that TV show and a fight with some karateka, but nuttin' happened. You gotta expect some negative feedback, especially if it comes from people who are only exposed to the hype preceding the non-events, those who don't know—and perhaps don't care—about the entire back story or on what street he bought his first ice cream cone and read his first kung-fu comic book.

Background wtf?.... the fact his online stuff turned into a virtual circus is why he is being ignored....

speaking of which...

id love to see some bagua in a real fight personally. So if he can fight and apply it it's important to me

If I meant race, I would have said race. I don't think it's because he's black, I think it's because of the way he talks, dresses etc. That is culture, not race. And there have been many comments over the years about BTs "gangsta Bagua" so let's not be disingenuous.

Hey its simple. Cry wolf without there being one enough times, people wont look your way anymore.

And he has cried wolf a couple of times before, so. Cant blame us.

Hahahahaha. Disingenuous, eh? Race not equal to culture? So if people are turned off by the way he talks, dresses, and presents himself, it's wrong because why, exactly? A person can't have an opinion about anything except....what, in regard to BT? What else is there to have an opinion about if you're immediately turned off by the overall presentation and lack of delivery on the primarily publicized message?

It's like if someone complains, "Where's the beef?" and is told, "You don't like the burger because it's from a restaurant in Harlem."
No, the problems is, "Where is the beef?"

How are you supposed to get interested enough to look deeper when there is only disappointment being delivered on the surface?

What's beef?

And there have been many comments over the years about BTs "gangsta Bagua" so let's not be disingenuous.

It is official - Gangsta Bagua !!

So this looks like yet another fight to never happen.

gilbride100 wrote:If I meant race, I would have said race. I don't think it's because he's black, I think it's because of the way he talks, dresses etc. That is culture, not race. And there have been many comments over the years about BTs "gangsta Bagua" so let's not be disingenuous.

really?... i grew up on Brixton's doorstep so am familiar with cultures which are outside the mainstream ... no matter how ghetto or street you say something, it's what you say .. what does culture have to do with behaving like an arse?

What I'm saying is that people don't just dog him for what he says or does, but for how he talks and dresses. That's BS, it's classist (not racist) and I don't agree with it. Also, people say "he's never fought," I post a video showing that he actually has, and it pretty much gets ignored. To me, that epitomizes what is BS about the internet. People simply don't care whether their opinions correspond to reality or not. Show them evidence contrary to their opinions and they will simply ignore it.

I don't know the guy, I've never met him, and I'm not saying he's never acted like an a**. I personally have found his videos useful and informative, and I enjoy watching the MUSU fights. That's all.