References for terminology, FAQs, and (Good) Epic Threads


Postby nianfong on Fri Jul 09, 2010 2:26 pm

FAQ01: What is the Rum Soaked Fist (often abbreviated "rsf")?
A discussion forum for people interested in the IMA (internal martial arts). However discussion of all martial arts is allowed. And general topics are discussed in the 'Off The Topic' (OTT) section. The Video Links section is for SERIOUS martial arts videos only. All joke videos go to OTT.

FAQ02: What are the IMA (internal martial arts)?
The main 3 IMA are, in order of age, Xingyiquan (形意拳, aka hsing i ch'uan), Taijiquan (太極拳, aka tai chi ch'uan), and Baguazhang (八卦掌, aka pa kua chang), Xingyiquan being the oldest. Xingyiquan's ancestor, Xinyiliuhequan (心意六合拳, aka hsin-i-liu-ho-ch'uan), is included in these.
There are other arts and styles that branch from these main three, and some similar, modern styles. These include but are not limited to Yiquan (意拳), I-liq-chuan (意力拳), and others. These styles share commonalities in yin-yang/taoist principles in their theories, and all aim to develop the breath, internal energy control, circular momentum, and sensitivity as a priority over body hardening training. However, they do not preclude body hardening. All martial arts include some development of breath training and sensitivity training, but these styles simply place more of an emphasis on this from the beginning.

FAQ03: What is the best way for new members to introduce themselves to the RSF community?
After registering, post some info about your training background and who you have studied with in the Xingyiquan - Baguazhang - Taijiquan section of the forum. Post to the thread here: viewtopic.php?f=3&t=84

FAQ04: What attitude should I have on RSF?
Whether you agree or disagree with someone, never get into personal attack.

Keep a light mood, don't get too serious, and don't try to be a smartass if you're a n00b. Meet the people, search around before making judgements, and you'll blend in.
Don't try to come here expecting everyone to kiss your ass, or trying to show us the errors of our ways and the perfection of yours.
Think of RSF as a bar, a club where members are having a few drinks and discussing topics and joking around. Think of the admins and mods as bouncers that drink with you, even do a little dance but will not hesitate to grab you by the neck and kick you out if you don't follow the rules.

As one frequent contributor put it:

I suggest a different approach to the 'my martial arts daddy can beat up your martial arts daddy' thing. We all know that each of us is pretty comfy doing our own thing. Others think it's hogwash (and that works in every direction, btw), but we're sticking with it anyway. The truth is that there's nothing any of us are doing that has no place for valid criticism to land. I'm so cranky I can find something wrong with or something to criticize in the training of literally any human being on the planet no matter how good they are at it. I bet so could the rest of you.

How about this instead? If/when you see what is, to you (or me), a glaring deficiency in someone else's approach, you simply mention it as objectively as possible, and then offer/suggest an adjunct in training that you believe would shore up that deficiency. This has to be with the understanding that no one is required to accept your critique as valid in the first place, so there is therefore no guarantee that anyone's suggestion be taken.

I think if we operated a little more this way, and this applies to me at least as much as to anyone, we might avoid some of the entrenched loggerheads we've reached on this forum lately. We'd avoid crunching folks' feelings when offering criticism, at least to the extent that we're all adults capable of handling objective and constructive criticism and haven't tethered our identities to what we do.

In general, it's an issue of basic courtesy that if you're going to offer a criticism, you ought also to offer a clear solution that is as easily understood (read: non-jargonized) as possible in its place. For me, I've tried to do that over the many years I've been posting, but I'm going to try a little harder. No promises, it's a 'work in progress', but I'll do what I can to set an example.

FAQ05: What would I have to do to get banned around here?
1) SPAM. If you post spam you will be banned. Please minimize the amount of personal advertising you do on your signature line etc. A simple 1-line link and a quote or something would suffice.
2) Pornography. This is a 21-and-over site, but think of us as being "R-rated", ie no actual penetration, no hardcore pornography. If you post porn, your post will be deleted/edited, and you may be banned for this. In some cases we will give you a warning afterwards, but do not count on it.
3) Snuff films or similar gruesome images of death. Again, we are an R-rated site. If you post snuff, your post will be deleted/edited, and you may be banned for this. In some cases we will give you a warning afterwards, but do not count on it.
4) Trolling. What is a troll? Precise identification of a troll is the job of the admins/mods. Users can flag potential trolls. Enough personal attacks on other members and you may be deemed a troll. Admins and mods can usually tell the difference between joking and serious insults, but try to get to know everyone (and have them know you) before you start flinging joking insults around.

FAQ06: What does BTDT mean?
BTDT = Been There Done That
This is the "garbage bin" of the forum. Threads that have been discussed to death (eg, empty force/ling kong jin, 'what is qi', 'what is intention', etc) and threads that spiral into nonsense and personal attacks are sent here to die. If they continue to get worse it is the prerogative of the admins/mods to lock or even outright delete threads from this section. The rules of forum decorum are looser here, but do not cross the line.

FAQ07: Can I ask about 'empty force'?
Don't even go there! (wise words from Balance). These topics go straight to BTDT.

FAQ08: How do I post an image in my response?
Above the message field where you type your response, find the image button. Click it, and it will place two [ img ] [ / img ] tags in the field (an opening tag and a closing tag). Then copy and paste the complete URL (link) for the image in between the img tags.

FAQ09: What does HTFU mean?
Harden the Fuck Up. It's from a YouTube video featuring an Australian named Ronnie Johns (who is impersonating a guy named Mark Brandon "Chopper" Read).

FAQ10: Who is Sooty (St Sooty)?
A male guinea pig who broke out of his pen, slipped into a pen with 24 females, got busy, and then slept for two days. For obvious reasons, he has heroic status and deep respect from the RSF community.

FAQ11: What does NSFW mean?
NSFW = Not Safe For Work. Don't click on any thread with this title if you're surfing from work.

FAQ12: What's up with all the drama?
RSF seems to "go on the rag" about every 6-8 weeks. Pointless arguments will be engaged at length, accounts will be deleted in a huff and some toys will get thrown around and taken home. RSF is 99.9% male, and the women who can put up with the smell of us and post here are unimaginably cool.

(thanks to Chris Hudson for the first draft

Edited 12-30-2011 by Tom to add quote to FAQ04
Last edited by nianfong on Fri Apr 20, 2012 6:07 pm, edited 8 times in total.
User avatar
Posts: 4575
Joined: Wed Apr 23, 2008 10:28 am
Location: SF Bay Area

Return to FAQs, Reference, Hall of Fame

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 1 guest