Most combat effective Internal martial art?

[CrazyDan]

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[count]

The one that you have learned the best.

[Internal Boxer]

It is the fighter that makes the art come alive, therefore the question of which art is most effective is somewhat irrelevant, are you new to martial arts? are you considering studying a particular style? Hence the reason for your question maybe. So it is down to which fighter is better.

Have any of you guys wondered if the admin team post under fabricated names to start off debates?

[ope]

I cant realy say which is the most effective but the one with the best reputation is Nature Fist..

[doug maverick]

while it is true it's the fighter that makes the style,i would think xing yi is a more combat oriented art thats what it was created for and it is still practiced like that today unlike tai chi witch in some cases has become some kind of hippy style. but that is not to say there is no good tai chi i would be lying if i said that.

[Braden]

Dan - you keep asking all these questions, especially on the main forum. It's good that you want to inform yourself, but really these questions are completely useless. I'm not being critical; I'm honestly trying to help you here. If you want to inform yourself, you need to have developped some experience in the field so that you can both ask intelligent questions and interpret your responses. It's like anything else in this world. For instance, you can't just walk up to a biologist and expect to be able to ask questions that will give you real insight. You have to have some basic grasp of the issues on your own, so that you actually know what the real factors in the field are.

In regards to this specific question, there is no answer. It varies alot from individual to individual. For example, I really enjoy the training methods of baguazhang - I enjoy doing them. This is essential. I don't enjoy the training methods of taiji or xingyi. However, for others it's quite the opposite. So which is the best art? Obviously, for me the answer is one thing, while for someone else, the answer is quite different. I also love some of the unique strategies in bagua. To me, they make alot of sense in the way I want to fight. Others think they're completely foreign to how they want to go about things. Neither one of these positions is "right." But they do dictate what each of us should be training. To make things more complicated, individual teachers will have very different emphases in how they manifest the art, especially in the internal arts. For example, while bagua is stereotypically seen as evasive and circular, there are plenty of people who manifest it as a barging straight forward kind of art - similar to what you probably envision xingyi/hsing-I as being. This is completely valid.

The problem facing a beginner in the martial arts is that these are valid and important concerns, but they truly have no means of understanding, let alone assessing these variables. Reading books and even internet forums can be rewarding in your search for this understanding. However, if you want to benefit from this resource, I would strongly recommend against the kinds of questions which you have been asking. (Ie. What is the best art? What is the best internal art? What has the best striking? What has the best kicking?) None of these questions will generate anything useful. If you've read some books and have specific questions - then THIS is how you can use a resource like this to generate some insight. (Eg. In the book Emei Baguazhang, they show using pigeon-toed stances. Is this common in baguazhang? Is it present in other arts? It looks kind of wierd, what is it's use? - a question like this could generate some real responses, unlike the questions you've been asking).

Furthermore, the best thing you can possibly do right now is go get active in your local martial arts community. Any teacher worth studying with will let you at least sit in and observe one of their classes. Go do this. It would even be a good idea to spend a month or two in each school, just seeing how you like what they're doing. At the very least, this will start to build your conceptual understanding so you can seek real advice. However, even better, this is probably the best way towards finding the ideal teacher for you, and starting a wonderful relationship learning martial arts from them.

[CrazyDan]

Thanks to everyone who responded.

I see your point Braden and appreciate your post, I just want to make sure I have picked out a efficent Martial Art before training in it, because I dont want to end up wasting years studying it and the art turns out its impractical and useless for a real life situation.

[Braden]

I don't know of any inefficient martial arts. There's plenty of inefficient teachers. And a world of inefficient students.

Just go get involved and be active in your training. Don't go through the motions. Play with what you get. Make it work on all levels. You'll find out if what you're doing is for you by this process. There's no other way, unfortunately.

[count]

Would you like to tell us about the style you have chosen and the school you are at that you perceive may be a waste of time? No amount of study is a total waste of time once you get past the point of bradens last post.

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>I don't know of any inefficient martial arts. There's plenty of inefficient teachers. And a world of inefficient students. [/quote]

Good point braden ;)

[Crimson Phoenix]

Xing Yi has a very good reputation...lots of convoy escorts practiced Xing Yi, and Xing Yi obtained the majority of winners during the famous 1928 gong fu showdown in Nanjing...
but thanks God you can make any art efficient if you train well...it's just that it seems easier with Xingyi...it makes me think about that thread in the general forum about aggressivity: maybee Xingyi is efficient because of its tactics and philosophy of advancing endlessly while building up the pressure on your opponent...
Phoenix