Taking more than one style

[DrunkenMunky]

Just wondering what everyone thinks of taking more than one style of kung fu. Do you think this is a good or bad idea? My school teaches Hun gar and Wing Chun, is this a bad combination? Should I only learn one style?

[Hai_To]

I've toyed with the idea myself, but I don't know whether its a good idea or not. I'm curious to see what the general consensus is.

[Dark Knight]

I have taken a couple styles over the years. I would reccomend having a solid base in one before going into another. I was well into black before I looked at others, thi way your not trying to work through different fighting priciples at once.

If they are both being taught at your school your instructor is prob useing similar principles for the two of them. I know a couple places that teach two or more styles but the instructor does a good job at teaching them together. i wouldn worry about them if the same instructor is teaching both.

But if you are looking to learn two styes at two different schools, take time in one first.

[No_Know]

Theoretically, traditionally one masters or quits a style before going to another stlye. This had been the only orthodox successful way to combine styles or systems or system(s) and style(s). Some such.

[JusticeZero]

The thing is, when you learn a martial art you aren't just learning a bunch of tricks, you are wiring principles of movement into your muscle memory. If you take multiple arts, you end up with bits of static where your wires get crossed, your number of body positions to move through builds too fast, and you can seriously hamper your advancement.

[Merryprankster]

You can successfully do more than one style.

However, they have to be different. REALLY different. So different that you can't accidentally fall into one while doing the other.

For instance, you can box and wrestle or probably do something like WC and BJJ but I think trying to learn to box and doing WC at the same time would be pointless.

[taba]

er, what does your school think?

[friday]

i'll leave the main thread topic alone for now ....
but thought i might mention something.
A guy in the USA is a police instructor for martial arts. he also competed in 10 consecutive yearly tournaments in a martial arts competition for police and won. i am not familiar with the rules but his training background included having done boxing and wing chun.

[stoli]

Back to the subject of multiple styles. If you want to learn a traditional art form then my advice would be stick to one style and learn it well, real well, before you move on. In my experience no one style has everything so what you want out of your training will influence what you train in. If you want to be a well rounded martial artist then you WILL need to train in numerous styles. Whether the styles you do are similar or not is irrelevant. As for the boxing and Wing Chun thing I've only one thing to say. If you've taken the effort to learn to box don't bother learning Wing Chun. Sorry to rain on your parade people but nine times out of ten a good boxer will wipe the floor with a martial artist.

[guohuen]

I've found that practicing a style and using a style are two different things. You can ingrain a style into reflex just like a sport, craft, or any art and yet use a different one for combat. If you are refering to MMA I would have to say that you need to pick and choose your techniques and put them together in sets.

[stoli]

Two problems here, one is that if you "ingrain a style into reflex" then you won't use a different one in, shall we say, the heat of the moment (reality), you will use your reflex reaction. Secondly I guess I am talking about MMA as that is the best way to describe a majority of styles now and the essence of training in what you want to call MMA is that you don't "train techniques in sets". It's not that I disagree with your statement completely but if you were correct I would agree with you.

[guohuen]

Hi Stoli. (great name!) I use short sets with specific combat applications. Currently I train five animal and lohan techniques with a sense of enemy for combat. I used to do a MMA of Shotokan, Jiu Jutsu and Judo that I put together myself. I think my point is that I had to learn each system, but when I put together the techniques I was going to actually fight with I stayed focused on these. Sort of like I play the bass and the guitar. I play them very differently. I try not to make them the same instrument. One of the things I have learned about being in a state of preparedness for combat after 35 yrs. in the MA is that you need to have a core of techniques that you can use anytime without thought. I've also noticed that the reason martial artist frequently lose to seasoned streetfighters is that they break form and resort to something else. The way to survive is to have faith in your plan and follow through with it with determination.

[fa_jing]

My sifu has extensive backgrounds in boxing and Wing Chun, as well as JKD. Now, I don't think he studied these simultaneously, but one will help you with the other. He has a pretty darn good MMA record in the ring, too.
I imagine that learning to box, at least for a couple years, would help you with any kung fu style. It also encourages you to apply your Kung Fu principles in the ring, as well as boxing principles to your streetfighting. As long as you concentrate on developing your own personal style at all times, then you'll not get confused when it comes down to applying a technique. However, if your are in the copy your instructor mode, you will get confused between the two or more styles when it comes time to apply.

Still, when you are a beginner, if you want to study multiple styles it is better to pick them as very different from one another as MP said. Also, consider that certain styles are often studied together such as Bagua and Xing-Yi.

-FJ

[[Censored]]

...occurs when you know more about X then your Y teacher, and your Y teacher attempts to "correct" your X. What do you do?

[Merryprankster]

Censored,

That's why you pick two arts that are so far away from each other that you can't possibly "mix them up."

I have a solid base in wrestling. I am learning BJJ. Nothing I do in BJJ will ever screw up my boxing and vice versa. My boxing coach can't "correct," my BJJ game, and my BJJ trainer won't try to "fix," my boxing (but he knows a LOT about MMA comp, and he can adjust my boxing freely to fit the venue--bobbing and weaving, for instance is an invitation to get kneed in the head if you don't do it right, but that doesn't change the basic structure of my stance or of my punching.)

On the other hand, we have some TKD guys who are in my boxing gym, and they have a hard time maintaining stance...tend to bounce around a bit, shift weight to the wrong place, etc. Heck, I do it too, to a lesser degree from my limited muay thai experience.

So, if you pick 'em so far apart, you needn't worry about it so much.

I agree that boxing is great! All I was trying to say in my post was that studying boxing AND another primarily striking style with different stances and footwork and what not, is going to make it hard to learn both. If you want to do THAT, then get a solid base in one, so you can "see the analogies," between them when you try to practice the other.

[SevenStar]

Yeah, I'm with MP on this one. Train arts that are removed from eachother. My sifu won't correct my grappling/throwing, but he will point out the strikes and kicks that I do as we did them in MT. I like my MT kicking though, so I stick with it. Over time, I've learned to make them both work together. That could prove confusing for some though, and even moreso if they trained in, say, two diifferent styles of kung fu or two different styles of silat or kali. That is something I would NOT venture, as there's too much potential for confusion.

[Shaolin-Akira]

my school teaches multiple styles: Hung Gar, Choy lay Fut, Wing Chun, Shaolin 5 Fists, Tai Chi, Bagua, Long Fist, Kam nao Sao. I love it, it gives me a great deal of depth in my training, but we also have 6 hour long classes, and i normaly come early, being one of the senior students. The way our school teaches forms is pretty random, mostly my sifu try's to throw alot of stuff to the younger students to get them to decide on there own what style they want to perfect and base there studies on. I love this type of teaching, i might not know as much of one style as somone else but i have more of a general knowledge which I find to be better.

[Black Jack]

If the system is in the same main group as the one you are training now or the one before it might not mean much if the sub-style in the main group, lets say kali, silat, kung fu is much different than the one before or you are training now.

There are hundreds apoun hundreds of different styles of kali, silat and kung fu, and yes a LOT of some of the same principles but not all, some may focus on certain elements more.

An example, a person who takes Hsing-I and Chang Shuai Chaio is IMHO not messing up the forumla, or is a person taking Sikiran and Giron Esrcima, as long as things are different like you all stated before, but their is some leeway in the main groups for people still to play.

Cheers!

[The Willow Sword]

i think that if you wish to train in multiple styles of fighting that you need to have a good foundation first(someone in an earlier post mentioned that and i wholeheartedly agree).

the problem that most of us run into is the "dedicated to one style and method" mentality. not that there is anything wrong with that at all.
i am one who thinks that having different backgrounds makes more of a rounded out martial artist AND teacher.

Many Respects,,The willow Sword

[Kristoffer]

I think most (or at least alot) chinese arts have alot in common. Like a platform that can be used among eachother. I think u can crosstrain quite well in various CMA.

[Leimeng]

~Cross training in Hsing I and BaGua is not detrimental to development as long as a person spends adequate time developing their basics. In fact, several internal schools teach both at the same time.
~A person can cross train in Shaolin based arts as well as long as their instructor allows it and the put the requisit effort in learning the basics. There is not a great deal of fundamental difference between most shaolin based or 5 family arts. (I know differences exist, but they are not MAJOR.)
~The key to success in this method of training is diligent practice. (That goes for success in anything.) Sadly, many people do not have the commitment level neccessary to develop the real skills.
~If and individual is not willing to put in the three hours a day six days a week in one art to gain real skill, then what makes them think that one hour a day three times a week in three different arts is going to help them develop real skill.


Peace,

Sin Loi

yi beng, kan xue

[nightair]

To learn about a planet one must study the whole universe. Someone doesn't have to take lessons in every style but you need to have a very good understanding about every style you come across. I mean it is stupid not to.If you ever fought someone that trained in another style he would suprise you with things you never saw or heard of and if he studied more than just one style you are screwed becuase he can change it up on you and trick you by mixing them.and people put too much attention to the asian styles nowadays I mean h**l any culture that survived this long has some form of martial arts lately I really goten into reasearcing about styles that are not much known about. Hawiian bone breaking, medieval martial arts native american knive and spear,stuff like that . Most people I come across don' t even know that tai chi and yoga are very good fighting styles and they always want to argue about it just becuase they watch the d**n tv and think they know about ma.
and they always say stupid crap like kendo is the best style for sword. yeah right! dont say something like that until you have seen and experienced all sword styles . that goes for anything. It isn't the styles if the warior within. I've seen so many "black belt" and "masters" get whooped on the steets becuase they don't have the right mind. Look at the ufc. boxers and grapplers always win. not becuase of their style but becuase the attitude that comes with that sort of training.

[logic]

Having a solid base/foundation is important.I don't believe it's a good idea to start taking more than one style from the start.
Take one style for a few years then you could incorperate other styles into your technique.
But I wouldn't take to many at one time even if your a veteran martial artist.

[HongKongPhooey]

Train in one style so much that you become it, and it becomes you. If at the end of this you feel as if you're lacking in something then train in another style.