why buy instructional vids?

[doug maverick]

i can't believe people try to learn from these things(although thats how i fell in love with xing yi, but xing yi is easy to follow so it doesn't count) i love to but them just to watch but a friend of mine bought a bagua tape studied it for a few months then tried to fight using the moves he learned(yep you guessed it beng chuan right to the gut )after i whipped his ass, i told him the tapes just give you a taste of the art you need a teacher or if you know the art it's to help you or remind you of the moves.
whats your take on this do you study from tapes or use them for guidlines(again xing yi 5 element style doesn't count but orthodox 10 animal does)

[Vash]

Originally posted by doug maverick
i can't believe people try to learn from these things(although thats how i fell in love with xing yi, but xing yi is easy to follow so it doesn't count) . . . (again xing yi 5 element style doesn't count but orthodox 10 animal does)

Why do parts count, others not?

From what I've seen, any art is going to be rather hard to grasp from videos. You can learn, as I've said before, but it's not going to be the best way to go about it.

[Ray Pina]

Doug with whom do you study Hsing-I. I see you're from NY.

[backbreaker]

Considewring the amount of techniques and applications in IMAs , I think a video could be a good way of keeping track of them all when you forget applications.

[GeneChing]

... but you have to have the eye first. Man, I remember learning from Bruce Lee movies. Videos where they actually try to show you the moves can be really helpful. Reading books is helpful too. Any research is helpful. Of course, I wouldn't read a book then try to fly a plane, which to me is akin to watching a video then trying to use it in a fight. Then again, if I was trapped on a desert island and had to fight natives to get to the plane, with only a book on flying and a video on MA, I might try it. It's all relative. Certainly you can't put down all videos just because your friend tried to learn off a video and he wasn't on a desert island. Nor would I even fault him for experimenting. In fact, that's worthy of some praise. Even a failed experiment has merit.

[Vash]

My thoughts exactly, Gene. Why is it everyone can say what I think, only they can say it better?

[Brad]

whats your take on this do you study from tapes or use them for guidlines
The ones I actually learn from are usually from a system where I feel I allready have a good grasp of the basics(from my teacher). Most that I buy are mostly for entertainment purposes, to get an idea of what a style/form might be like, or if I'm curious about a certain "famous" teacher :)

[doug maverick]

I trained some five element with li tai liang, some ten animal with vengrove thomas, and now i study a mix of both with a friend of my late father. he he's from taiwan i only know his last name Mr.chen(you know respect your elders and all that) he looks kinda young but i've seen a picture of him and my pop in the sixties so i place him somewhere around 55-60(my father was sixty when he died 2 years ago and he was a little older then chen) he trained with wang shu chin and a couple of other xing yi chuan/xinyi chuan masters i just don't remmeber all there names, he's not well known or famous, he use to work for the military(i think he was a combat instructor, at leats thats what some of the marines that train with us said) anyway his style combines the five elements with the 10 animals, it's very destructive, but you have to train santi for 3 months to 1 year before you learn movements, then you learn wang ji wu's sixteen health exercises, and finally pi chuan, and the rest of the five, elementsbut first you have to derive at least fifty mutations of pi chuan, to show you know it before moving on. it's hard training every day except sundays, (even the lord rest that day), at his loft downtown, he doesn't take students really unless you have a go between(my dad for instance, was mine), and he doesn't charge(the guys loaded), hope that answers your question.

[Ray Pina]

Thanks. I didn't mean to pry, was just curious. What a great gift your father has left you with.

How much do you love Tiger Head/Hands? To me, when I learned this, it was like a huge light going off in my head. Combine that with Swallow, and its pretty powerful.

I'm surprised their aren't more Hsing-I discussions here. There's a few of us and man are we lucky. We really do have a no nonsense get right to it style.

Best to you and your training.
Ray

[doug maverick]

i think it's because xing yi is jugde more by skill then leneage and all that crap! we don't care who you studied with we know it's real when you apply it(sure fire way to tell if your xing yi is real: if you have to hold santi for 1year before you start doing movements and still after that 1 hour before you start practicing pi chuan) we don't talk to much about this way or that (as long as it fast and powerful anyway is good) thats what i love about xing yi.

[Ray Pina]

Very true. Not what you're doing but how/who's doing it.

[GeneChing]

My thoughts exactly, Gene. Why is it everyone can say what I think, only they can say it better? Better get out of my head, Vash, it's not for the uninitiated. Or maybe I should get out of your head. What do you think?

[Vash]

Well, I guess so long as there's head involved, it can't be all bad :eek:

[GeneChing]

Why is it everyone can say what I think, only they can say it better? ;) :p

[Vash]

Indeed.