For Ford Prefect

[Merryprankster]

Other than your nicely inconspicuous name...

Can you please tell us what similarities and differences you've experienced in your boxing and CMA experience?

Thanks.

[Ford Prefect]

Hey Merry,

I only did CMA (Ba Gua) for 6 months. That was coming off 3 years boxing for college and then I left for my pursuits in other combat sports like BJJ and some supplemental training in Judo, Folkstyle wrestling, and Muay Thai. I left because I realized that none of my classmates could fight their way out of wet paper bag.

That being said the initial power generation I learned in ba gua was very similar to boxing. I imagine it would be in any style or sport since it is merely a torquing of the hips. I think some people carry the misconception that boxers use a lot of muscle, but in reality I was taught to stay loose and fluid like I was in Ba Gua. Ba Gua emphasized rooting while striking where in boxing most striking was done on the toes unless you you punching flat-footed, or "rooted", to really try and tear somebody up.

That was about it. The other method of power generation (a vertical whipping of the spine) was so unintuitive and took so long to refine, that I think time would be better spent training drills, bag work, conditioning and sparring. The footwork was more akin to what you'd see in Judo or wrestling. Althought Ba Gua is considered an art where you keep a "moving root" and is supposed to be highly mobile, boxing footwork definately allows you to respond and move more quickly.

The applications training was obviously very different. Since I was boxing for a team, I was trying to blast people doing drills from day one. He knew what was coming, but if he missed, I was sure trying to lay him out and vice-versa. You got used to hitting and being hit. In Ba Gua, the combat drills were definately a lot more cooperative. Even though a lot of work in my boxing training was on bags and mitts, I would go against people either in drills or sparring every single day. I got used to what it was like to hit an actual human being. In my ba gua class there was very little of that. Everybody was off on there own working to perfect whatever it was they were doing. Occasionally you'd get together and do some very cooperative drills and sensitivity stuff. Sparring was reserved for the more advanced guys, but from watching them, I wasn't really impressed.

This is what I saw in my experience training the two and of my observations of the people in the different gyms. Other's experiences may be different, and I'd prefer to stay out of a "my style is better" type debate. ;)

[Christopher M]

From the opposite perspective (that is, having stuck with CMA), I'd generally agree with those observations.

[rubthebuddha]

darn ford and his silly logical thinking. gonna get him in trouble someday.

maybe it is his "inconspicuous" name? ford, are you here from another ... land ... meant to keep an eye on us? :confused: